A majority of the world’s population living in extreme poverty work in agriculture. Agriculture is a fundamental instrument for sustainable development and poverty reduction. Because agriculture depends directly on climate, climate risk and poverty are deeply intertwined in many rural areas of the developing world. Moreover, agricultural households often have limited access to financial markets, including for insurance. The provision of formal financial services to the rural poor is complicated; the costs are high for both provider and customer, and information constraints, transaction costs and trust can limit both supply and take-up.
These key features of global poverty motivate major themes in my research. In general, I use economic theory and apply rigorous econometric techniques to discover innovative solutions for sustainable international agricultural development. Through my research, I seek to develop more resilient smallholder farming systems and contribute to sustainable international agricultural development.
A list of my publications can be found below. My google scholar page is here.
Naugler, Alix, Hope Michelson, Sarah Janzen, Chris Magomba, (forthcoming) ``Firm Turnover Under Asymmetric Information: Tanzania’s Agro-dealer Sector." American Journal of Agricultural Economics.
Janzen, Sarah, Nicholas Magnan, Conner Mullally, Shruti Sharma, and Bhola Shrestha, (2025) “Going the Distance: Hybrid Vocational Training for Women in Nepal.” Journal of Development Economics 174. 103414. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2024.103414]
Collishaw, Anissa, Sarah A. Janzen, Conner Mullally, Hannah Camilli, (2023) “A review of livestock development interventions’ impacts on household welfare in low- and middle-income countries.” Global Food Security, 38, 100704 [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2023.100704]
Ekstrom, Kierstin, Sarah A. Janzen, Nicholas P. Magnan, (2023) “Resilience in the midst of a pandemic: A study of a livelihoods program in rural Nepal.” Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 45(4): 1941-1955. [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/aepp.13383]
Shin, Soye, Nicholas Magnan, Conner Mullally, Sarah Janzen, (2022) “Demand for Weather Index Insurance among Smallholder Farmers under Prospect Theory.” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 202, 82-104. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2022.07.027]
Janzen, Sarah A. and Savannah Noray. (2021) “Temporary Migration as a Mechanism for Lasting Cultural Change: Evidence from Nepal” IZA Journal of Development and Migration. 12:16. [https://reference-global.com/article/10.2478/izajodm-2021-0016]
Janzen, Sarah A. and Jeffrey D. Michler. (2021) “Ulysses’ Pact or Ulysses’ Raft: Using Pre-Analysis Plans in Experimental and Non-Experimental Research.” Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy. 43, 1286–1304. [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/aepp.13133]
Janzen, Sarah A., Michael R. Carter and Munenobu Ikegami. (2021) “Can Insurance Alter Poverty Dynamics and Reduce the Cost of Social Protection in Developing Countries?” Journal of Risk and Insurance. 88, 293-324. [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jori.12322]
Janzen, Sarah A., Nicholas Magnan, Conner Mullally, Soye Shin, Isabel Palmer, Judith Oduol and Karl Hughes. (2021) “Can Experiential Games and Improved Risk Coverage Raise Demand for Index Insurance? Evidence from Kenya.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 103 (1), 338-361. [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ajae.12124]
Schwab, Benjamin, Sarah A. Janzen, Nicholas P. Magnan, and William M. Thompson. (2020) “Constructing a Summary Index using the Standardized Inverse-Covariance Weighted Average of Indicators.” Stata Journal. 20 (4), 952-964. [https://doi.org/10.1177/1536867X20976325]
Janzen, Sarah A., and Michael R. Carter, (2019) “After the Drought: The Impact of Microinsurance on Consumption Smoothing and Asset Protection,” American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 101 (3), 651-671. [https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aay061]
Janzen, Sarah A., Nicholas P. Magnan, Sudhindra Sharma and William M. Thompson, (2018) “Short-term Impacts of a Pay-it-forward Livestock Transfer and Training Program in Rural Nepal.” American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings, 108, 422-245. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/26452775]
Carter, Michael R. and Sarah A. Janzen, (2018) “Social Protection in the Face of Climate Change: Targeting Principles and Transfer Mechanisms.” Environment and Development Economics, 23, 369-389. [doi:10.1017/S1355770X17000407]
Janzen, Sarah A. (2018) “Child Labor Measurement: Whom Should We Ask?” International Labour Review, 157 (2), 1-23. [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/ilr.12041]
Janzen, Sarah A., Nicholas P. Magnan, Sudhindra Sharma, and William M. Thompson (2017) “Aspirations Failure and Formation in Rural Nepal.” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 139, 1-25. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2017.04.003]
Janzen, Sarah A., Nathaniel D. Jensen, and Andrew G. Mude (2016). “Targeted Social Protection in a Pastoralist Economy: Case Study from Kenya.” OIE Scientific and Technical Review, 35 (2), 587-596. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27917969/]
PEER-REVIEWED BOOK CHAPTERS
Ikegami, Munenobu, Michael R. Carter, Christopher B. Barrett and Sarah A. Janzen. (2019) “Poverty Traps and the Social Protection Paradox.” in C. Barrett, M. Carter and J. Chaves, (Ed.), The Economics of Poverty Traps. University of Chicago Press and NBER.
Carter, Michael R., Sarah A. Janzen, and Quentin Stoeffler. (2018) “Can Insurance Help Manage Climate Risk and Food Insecurity? Evidence from the Pastoral Regions of East Africa.” in L. Lipper, N. McCarthy, D. Zilberman, S. Asfaw, G. Branca, (Ed.). in Climate Smart Agriculture - Building Resilience to Climate Change. New York: Springer International Publishing and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.