Florena Montoya is a Junior Researcher in the Welfare Research Program at ISDC. Her research interests lie on the intersection between economic development, agriculture, migration, conflict, and gender. She recently completed her Master’s degree in Development Economics at the University of Göttingen, Germany, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from El Rosario University, Colombia. […]
Climate change and violent conflict are defining challenges of our time. However, it is not yet understood how they interact in shaping human welfare and food security, how their interaction shapes gendered outcomes, or how social protection systems can mitigate their impact. To address these knowledge gaps, we first examine how household food insecurity relates […]
Governments worldwide responded to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic with various lockdown measures. Restrictions curb the spread of a virus but also cause serious economic challenges. Evidence on how the severity of lockdown policies impacts the economic behaviour of households in low- and middle-income countries over time remains absent. To close this knowledge gap, […]
The detrimental impacts of wars on human development are well documented across research domains, from public health to micro-economics. However, these impacts are studied in compartmentalized silos, which limits a comprehensive understanding of the consequences of conflicts, hampering our ability to effectively sustain human development. This article takes a first step in addressing this gap […]
Fragile Lives 2024 was the first edition of a new annual expert conference aimed at discussing the role of scientific evidence in shaping policies for fragile and conflict-affected areas. Throughout the event, held on 1 and 2 October 2024 at Humboldt University of Berlin, representatives from academia, policy, and practice explored how poly-crises, where violent […]
We are happy to announce that ISDC has become a member of the Anticipation Hub – a platform to facilitate knowledge exchange, learning, guidance, and advocacy around anticipatory action. Anticipatory action is an important tool in the toolbox of humanitarian response. Through our work, we generate evidence around what works, and we look forward to […]
Viola Convertito a Communications Assistant at ISDC, working primarily on the ‘Building Local Resilience in Syria impact evaluation project. Her research interests focus on welfare policies in conflict-affected areas, with particular attention to food security and agricultural resilience. In the past, Viola has held various roles, including conference organizer and social media manager. Additionally, she […]
Background South Sudan continues to face severe levels of violent conflict and climatic disasters, and households rely heavily on humanitarian assistance. In Bentiu, IOM and six other UN organizations have provided early action support under the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to prepare households against the risks of future floods and to mitigate their […]
Registration is now open for the international expert conference ‘Fragile Lives 2024‘! The conference, which will take place on 1-2 October 2024, will host a unique mix of experts from academia, policy, and practice speaking on the cutting edge of research and programming on three themes: Key speakers include: Beyond that, the conference will include […]
ISDC is pleased to announce the publication of a new research article titled “Short- and Medium-Term Impacts of Small-Scale Vegetable Support on Food Security: Evidence from Syria.” Written by Ghassan Baliki, Melodie Al Daccache, Hala Ghattas, and Tilman Brück, this article provides critical insights into the effectiveness of small-scale agricultural interventions in conflict settings. Key […]
Small-scale agricultural and horticultural interventions play a critical role in improving nutrition and food security of vulnerable households in peaceful settings. However, scant rigorous evidence exists on the impacts and sustainability of such interventions in conflict settings. In this paper, we address this knowledge gap by analyzing the short- and medium-term impacts of a small-scale […]
Strengthening social protection in complex humanitarian settings is a top priority for policy-makers and practitioners. This project will generate relevant evidence from two reseach studies.
As part of the ANH Academy Week, ISDC is hosting a Learning Lab on ‘Conducting Rigorous Impact Evaluations of Food Systems Interventions in Humanitarian Emergencies and Conflict-Affected Settings.’ Session Description Many consider Rigorous Impact Evaluations (RIEs) to be the gold standard in evaluating interventions. We agree. However, various methodological, ethical, and practical challenges to conducting […]
The goal of ISDC’s work in Bentiu is to measure the development of behavioral and welfare outcomes of internally displaced households in light of shocks and humanitarian assistance, specifically anticipatory one-off cash transfers (in anticipation of floods), by regularly following up with the same 1,200 households.
As part of the ANH Academy Week, ISDC is hosting a Learning Lab on ‘Conducting Rigorous Impact Evaluations of Food Systems Interventions in Humanitarian Emergencies and Conflict-Affected Settings.’ Session Description Many consider Rigorous Impact Evaluations (RIEs) to be the gold standard in evaluating interventions. We agree. However, various methodological, ethical, and practical challenges to conducting […]
The primary aim of this impact evaluation is to identify, quantify, and rigorously assess different targeting approaches for WFP Lebanon’s food assistance program in Lebanon.
Complex humanitarian emergencies are a main driver of food and nutritional insecurity. Agricultural interventions are key to improving nutrition and food security, and their positive impacts are well-documented in stable developing countries. However, it is unclear if their positive effects on food security hold in complex emergency settings, too. In this paper, we systematically review […]
Every year, the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) hosts a conference brings together actors from across the development economics community to present and discuss research on Africa. This year, ISDC was represented by Behavior Research Program Director Wolfgang Stojetz and Dorothee Weiffen from our Welfare Research Program. Each presented a research paper […]
We study how the stringency of policy measures to counter the COVID-19 pandemic affects individuals’ trust in formal institutions. Drawing on micro-level panel data from Germany spanning an 18-month period from the onset of the pandemic, we show that, on average, there is a pronounced negative relationship between the stringency level of COVID-19 countermeasures and […]
Isabella is a Research Assistant in the Welfare Research Program at ISDC. Her interests include gender equity, violent conflict, and welfare in developing contexts. She is currently enrolled in the Master’s program Data Science for Public Policy at the Hertie School in Germany and holds a BA in Economics from the Javeriana University in Colombia. […]
The effects of agricultural and nutritional support programs on health are not fully understood. This article looks at school and home gardens, which are gaining attention in the research and development community, but evidence for their effects is limited, particularly for lower-income countries. We examine whether a joint school and home garden program improves blood […]
