INRA - News Economics and social sciences

All the news

Wafa gives her two-year-old daughter and husband some bread, olives and hummus that she bought using food stamps. © WFP/Rein Skullerud (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Press release

17 Apr 2018

Targeting food aid for vulnerable populations more effectively

With uncertain future budgets for United Nations food aid, food security for refugee populations can only be achieved when aid is carefully targeted and effective. INRA researchers and their colleagues recommend taking simultaneous account of both individual and regional- and community-level data to effectively identify households facing food insecurity and/or economic vulnerability.

A young herdsman tending his herd in a pasture in Nepal’s Manaslu region. © INRA, MEURET Michel

Press release

06 Apr 2018

Environment and economic growth: what’s become of Nepal’s forests?

Nepal is a hilly and mountainous country where a quarter of the land is covered by forest, an essential source of energy for rural inhabitants. Researchers from INRA and their colleagues showed that firewood collection remained stable between 2003 and 2010 despite rural households’ rising living standards and energy needs. This paradox is explained by a decline in farm-based activities, which reduces pressure on forest resources.

Experimental set-up used for the analysis of the impact of social information on group performances in collective estimation tasks

Press release

06 Nov 2017

Modelling social interactions to improve collective decision-making

How are we affected by other peoples' opinions? To answer this question, scientists¹ at CNRS, INRA and Université Toulouse 1 Capitole conducted a study in France and Japan, quantifying this impact on our decisions. They identified five behaviours common to both countries: a majority of subjects make a compromise between their opinion and that of others (59% of people in France), some hold to their opinion (29% in France), whereas others follow faithfully, amplify or contradict the information they receive.

Pile of journals © Gabriella Fabbri-Stock.xchng

Press release

26 Sep 2017

Research and agricultural higher education publications: ranked 1st worldwide for number of citations in animal and plant sciences

An exploratory study carried out by INRA within the Agreenium network has made it possible to identify the key strengths in French research and agricultural higher education on an international level. Agreenium is a cooperation institute that brings together 14 higher education institutions and 4 research bodies.

Instruments of Land Policy - Dealing with Scarcity of Land. Edited by Jean-David Gerber, Thomas Hartmann, Andreas Hengstermann. Routledge (UK), 300 pages.
ISBN: 9781138201514 (Print). © Routledge

Just published

14 Sep 2017

Instruments of Land Policy - Dealing with Scarcity of Land

This book is part of the Urban Planning and Environment series.

1