Salvatore Di Falco

Senior Fellow
Salvatore is a Professor of Economics. His research focuses on the intersection between agricultural, environmental and development economics. He has analyzed the contribution of natural resources such as biodiversity on agricultural productivity, food security, and weather risk in arid environments. His work also focuses on the role of institutional structures (common property forests) on natural resource conservation, rural development and poverty reduction. More recent work includes the impact of social capital and traditional sharing norms on consumption, saving accumulation, investment decisions and adaptation to climate change. 

Selected Publications:

  • Di Falco, S., & Han , K. (2025). Mitigating the health impact of a famine: Evidence from the 1985 Ethiopian emergency food aid. Journal of Development Economics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103531.
     
  • Di Falco, S., Bulte, E., Kassie, M., & Vollenweider, X. (2025). Low-Quality Seeds, Labor Supply and Economic Returns: Experimental Evidence from Tanzania. The Review of Economics and Statistics. https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_01285.
     
  • Di Falco, S., Nigus, H. Y., Nillesen, E., & Mohen, P. (2023). Markets and socially responsible behavior: do punishment and religion matter? Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 209, 572-593. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1016/j.jebo.2023.03.023
     
  • Di Falco, S., & Vieider, F. (2022). Environmental Adaptation of Risk Preferences. The Economic Journal, 132, 2737–2766. https://doi.org/10.1093/ej/ueac030
     
  • Di Falco, S., & Barbier , E. (2021). Rural Populations, Land Degradation, and Living Standards in Developing Countries. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy. https://doi.org/10.1086/713152
     
  • Bulte, E., Di Falco, S., & Lensink, R. (2020). Randomized interventions and “real” treatment effects: A cautionary tale and an example. World Development,127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104790.
     
  • Di Falco, S., Berck , P., Bezabih, M., & Kohlin, G. (2019). Rain and impatience: Evidence from rural Ethiopia. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 160, 40-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2019.02.016.
     
  • Di Falco, S., Feri, F., Pin, P., & Vollenweider, X. (2018). Ties that bind: Network redistributive pressure and economic decisions in village economies. Journal of Development Economics,131, 123-131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2017.12.001.
     
  • Bulte, E., Beekman, G., Di Falco, S., Hella, J., & Lei, P. (2014). Behavioral responses and the Impact of new agricultural technologies : evidence from a double-blind field experiment in Tanzania. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 96 (3), 813-830. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aau015.
     
  • Andrade De Sá, S., Palmer, C., & Di Falco, S. (2013). Dynamics of indirect land-use change : empirical evidence from Brazil. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 65 (3), 377-393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2013.01.00