Non-Resident Fellow
Education: Harvard University (PhD, MA, AB)
Peter Timmer joined the Center for Global Development as a senior fellow in March 2004 and became a non-resident fellow in 2007. Now retired from teaching, he is the Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Development Studies, emeritus, at Harvard University. Prior to joining CGD, Timmer was dean of the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at UC–San Diego. In addition to his faculty positions in three schools at Harvard, Timmer has also held professorships at Cornell and Stanford. In 1992, he received the Bintang Jasa Utama (Highest Merit Star) from the Republic of Indonesia for his contributions to food security. He served as the chief outside advisor to USAID for developing their strategy on growth and agriculture for the Natsios Report (Foreign Assistance in the National Interest), and he was one of the key advisors for the World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development. He currently serves as an advisor to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on agricultural development and food security issues.
Timmer's work focuses on four broad topics: the nature of "pro-poor growth" and its application in Indonesia and other countries in Asia; the supermarket revolution in developing countries and its impact on the poor (both producers and consumers); the structural transformation in historical perspective as a framework for understanding the political economy of agricultural policy, and the functioning of the world rice market.
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Selected Works
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Much like 2008, the world rice market seems destined for another price shock, with very aggressive buyin techniques by the Philippines fueling the run-up in prices.
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This course will review the determinants of rural poverty and examine the historical pathways that have led the rural poor out of poverty. A policy perspective will be taken on all three levels of analytical interest: the macro level, the sectoral level, and the household level.
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Billions of people depend on rice to survive. During the 2007–08 rice price crisis, the international community increased funding for food aid and governments tried to stabilize their domestic prices—only to further destabilize the world market. In the newest of three CGD working papers on the crisis, non-resident fellow Peter Timmer untangles the factors affecting world grain prices, from simple supply and demand to hoarding, the availability of storage, and the influence of speculation.
READ MORE
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The net effect of supermarkets in the developing world will be to improve the welfare of consumers, but the extent of that benefit and how well it is distributed are open questions. Many factors, including the fate of small farmers, traditional traders, and mom-and-pop shops, will come into play, and any judgment of the supermarket revolution has to consider them all. In this CGD working paper, non-resident fellow Peter Timmer draws from many perspectives to assess the effect the supermarket revolution may have on poverty alleviation.
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In this video, Dr. Joel E. Cohen, renowned demographer and a student of global demographic trends for nearly 40 years, launched CGD population series with an overview of global demographic trends.
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Successful poverty reduction hinges on successful structural transformation, but poor countries must cope with political pressures resulting from deteriorating income distribution and simultaneously retain the policies that generate rapid economic growth. Based on historical and statistical evidence, CGD non-resident fellow Peter Timmer and Selvin Akkus argue for enacting policies to do just that: policies that value the many non-market payoffs of investment in agriculture, the main driver of short- and medium-term poverty reduction; context-specific policies to connect rural workers to urban economies to reduce rural poverty in the long term; and fairer rich-world agricultural trade policies to allow small farmers better access to domestic supply chains.
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The loss of rice production in Myanmar is worsening the crisis in world rice markets, where prices have trebled this year. Meanwhile, Japan has 1.5 million tons of surplus rice, most of it imported from the U.S. Releasing this rice to global markets would prick a speculative bubble and bring rice prices down fast, while also encouraging China and Thailand to release their surplus stocks. But first Washington must lift its objections and Japan must decide to re-export rice that it imported from the U.S., Thailand, and Vietnam. Failure to act would mean that high-quality U.S. rice would be fed to Japanese pigs and chickens while millions of poor people suffer from hunger and malnutrition. Tom Slayton, a former editor of The Rice Trader, and Peter Timmer, CGD non-resident fellow and visiting professor at Stanford University, explain how prompt action could prevent the rice price crisis from becoming a hunger crisis.
Learn More
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How do people escape poverty? In this working paper, CGD senior fellow Peter Timmer and his co-authors describe pathways out of poverty in Indonesia from 1993 to 2000, a period of economic and political turmoil. They find that most rural poor people who escaped poverty did so without moving to cities. From this experience they distill three policy recommendations: boost agricultural productivity, improve the investment climate for the rural non-agricultural sector, and make education a cornerstone of the government anti-poverty strategy. Learn more
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Ever since Adam Smith, economists have debated what conditions are required for nations to become wealthy. In a new CGD brief, senior fellow Peter Timmer argues that the "Smithian conditions" – low taxes, good government, and peace – are necessary but far from sufficient. He shows how investments in education, technology, and trade have contributed to the rapid progress of countries like South Korea, Singapore, and Brunei. The "miracle" of getting rich, Timmer concludes, lies in creating durable institutions that perpetuate both sets of policies over many decades.
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Are we doing well by doing good?
This CGD Note by C. Peter Timmer explores the alliance between US farmers, processors and shippers that forms the political foundation of the US food aid program. The Note outlines the current winners and losers of US food aid, and argues that surprisingly, the recipients are most often the losers.
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Successful poverty reduction hinges on successful structural transformation, but poor countries must cope with political pressures resulting from deteriorating income distribution and simultaneously retain the policies that generate rapid economic growth. Based on historical and statistical evidence, CGD non-resident fellow Peter Timmer and Selvin Akkus argue for enacting policies to do just that: policies that value the many non-market payoffs of investment in agriculture, the main driver of short- and medium-term poverty reduction; context-specific policies to connect rural workers to urban economies to reduce rural poverty in the long term; and fairer rich-world agricultural trade policies to allow small farmers better access to domestic supply chains.
-
Much like 2008, the world rice market seems destined for another price shock, with very aggressive buyin techniques by the Philippines fueling the run-up in prices.
-
The net effect of supermarkets in the developing world will be to improve the welfare of consumers, but the extent of that benefit and how well it is distributed are open questions. Many factors, including the fate of small farmers, traditional traders, and mom-and-pop shops, will come into play, and any judgment of the supermarket revolution has to consider them all. In this CGD working paper, non-resident fellow Peter Timmer draws from many perspectives to assess the effect the supermarket revolution may have on poverty alleviation.
-
This course will review the determinants of rural poverty and examine the historical pathways that have led the rural poor out of poverty. A policy perspective will be taken on all three levels of analytical interest: the macro level, the sectoral level, and the household level.
-
Billions of people depend on rice to survive. During the 2007–08 rice price crisis, the international community increased funding for food aid and governments tried to stabilize their domestic prices—only to further destabilize the world market. In the newest of three CGD working papers on the crisis, non-resident fellow Peter Timmer untangles the factors affecting world grain prices, from simple supply and demand to hoarding, the availability of storage, and the influence of speculation.
READ MORE
-
How do people escape poverty? In this working paper, CGD senior fellow Peter Timmer and his co-authors describe pathways out of poverty in Indonesia from 1993 to 2000, a period of economic and political turmoil. They find that most rural poor people who escaped poverty did so without moving to cities. From this experience they distill three policy recommendations: boost agricultural productivity, improve the investment climate for the rural non-agricultural sector, and make education a cornerstone of the government anti-poverty strategy. Learn more
-
The loss of rice production in Myanmar is worsening the crisis in world rice markets, where prices have trebled this year. Meanwhile, Japan has 1.5 million tons of surplus rice, most of it imported from the U.S. Releasing this rice to global markets would prick a speculative bubble and bring rice prices down fast, while also encouraging China and Thailand to release their surplus stocks. But first Washington must lift its objections and Japan must decide to re-export rice that it imported from the U.S., Thailand, and Vietnam. Failure to act would mean that high-quality U.S. rice would be fed to Japanese pigs and chickens while millions of poor people suffer from hunger and malnutrition. Tom Slayton, a former editor of The Rice Trader, and Peter Timmer, CGD non-resident fellow and visiting professor at Stanford University, explain how prompt action could prevent the rice price crisis from becoming a hunger crisis.
Learn More
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This paper reviews research on the impact of rice prices on the poor, on real wages in rural and urban areas, and on the broader macroeconomic consequences for investments in labor-intensive manufacturing.
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In this video, Dr. Joel E. Cohen, renowned demographer and a student of global demographic trends for nearly 40 years, launched CGD population series with an overview of global demographic trends.
-
After two decades of neglect, interest in agriculture is on the rise. This new working paper by one of the leading thinkers in rural development argues that the reach and efficiency of rural infrastructure, coupled with effective investment in agricultural research and extension, hold the key to unlocking the potential of agriculture for poverty reduction.
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Rice Price Formation in the Short Run and the Long Run - Working Paper 172
- May 21, 2009
Billions of people depend on rice to survive. During the 2007–08 rice price crisis, the international community increased funding for food aid and governments tried to stabilize their domestic prices—only to further destabilize the world market. In the newest of three CGD working papers on the crisis, non-resident fellow Peter Timmer untangles the factors affecting world grain prices, from simple supply and demand to hoarding, the availability of storage, and the influence of speculation.
READ MORE
-
Supermarkets, Modern Supply Chains, and the Changing Food Policy Agenda - Working Paper 162
- Mar 5, 2009
The net effect of supermarkets in the developing world will be to improve the welfare of consumers, but the extent of that benefit and how well it is distributed are open questions. Many factors, including the fate of small farmers, traditional traders, and mom-and-pop shops, will come into play, and any judgment of the supermarket revolution has to consider them all. In this CGD working paper, non-resident fellow Peter Timmer draws from many perspectives to assess the effect the supermarket revolution may have on poverty alleviation.
-
The Structural Transformation as a Pathway out of Poverty: Analytics, Empirics and Politics - Working Paper 150
- Jul 23, 2008
Successful poverty reduction hinges on successful structural transformation, but poor countries must cope with political pressures resulting from deteriorating income distribution and simultaneously retain the policies that generate rapid economic growth. Based on historical and statistical evidence, CGD non-resident fellow Peter Timmer and Selvin Akkus argue for enacting policies to do just that: policies that value the many non-market payoffs of investment in agriculture, the main driver of short- and medium-term poverty reduction; context-specific policies to connect rural workers to urban economies to reduce rural poverty in the long term; and fairer rich-world agricultural trade policies to allow small farmers better access to domestic supply chains.
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Unwanted Rice in Japan Can Solve the Rice Crisis--If Washington and Tokyo Act
- May 9, 2008
The loss of rice production in Myanmar is worsening the crisis in world rice markets, where prices have trebled this year. Meanwhile, Japan has 1.5 million tons of surplus rice, most of it imported from the U.S. Releasing this rice to global markets would prick a speculative bubble and bring rice prices down fast, while also encouraging China and Thailand to release their surplus stocks. But first Washington must lift its objections and Japan must decide to re-export rice that it imported from the U.S., Thailand, and Vietnam. Failure to act would mean that high-quality U.S. rice would be fed to Japanese pigs and chickens while millions of poor people suffer from hunger and malnutrition. Tom Slayton, a former editor of The Rice Trader, and Peter Timmer, CGD non-resident fellow and visiting professor at Stanford University, explain how prompt action could prevent the rice price crisis from becoming a hunger crisis.
Learn More
-
Pathways Out of Poverty During an Economic Crisis: An Empirical Assessment of Rural Indonesia - Working Paper 115
- Mar 14, 2007
How do people escape poverty? In this working paper, CGD senior fellow Peter Timmer and his co-authors describe pathways out of poverty in Indonesia from 1993 to 2000, a period of economic and political turmoil. They find that most rural poor people who escaped poverty did so without moving to cities. From this experience they distill three policy recommendations: boost agricultural productivity, improve the investment climate for the rural non-agricultural sector, and make education a cornerstone of the government anti-poverty strategy. Learn more
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How Countries Get Rich
- Feb 13, 2006
Ever since Adam Smith, economists have debated what conditions are required for nations to become wealthy. In a new CGD brief, senior fellow Peter Timmer argues that the "Smithian conditions" – low taxes, good government, and peace – are necessary but far from sufficient. He shows how investments in education, technology, and trade have contributed to the rapid progress of countries like South Korea, Singapore, and Brunei. The "miracle" of getting rich, Timmer concludes, lies in creating durable institutions that perpetuate both sets of policies over many decades.
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Food Aid: Doing Well by Doing Good
- Dec 12, 2005
Are we doing well by doing good?
This CGD Note by C. Peter Timmer explores the alliance between US farmers, processors and shippers that forms the political foundation of the US food aid program. The Note outlines the current winners and losers of US food aid, and argues that surprisingly, the recipients are most often the losers.
-
Agriculture and Pro-Poor Growth: An Asian Perspective
- Working Paper 63
- Jul 21, 2005
After two decades of neglect, interest in agriculture is on the rise. This new working paper by one of the leading thinkers in rural development argues that the reach and efficiency of rural infrastructure, coupled with effective investment in agricultural research and extension, hold the key to unlocking the potential of agriculture for poverty reduction.
-
Beyond Population: Everybody Counts in Development
- Sep 23, 2008
Beginning in September 2008, the Center for Global Development is sponsoring a new look at "Demographics and Development in the 21st Century." The role of demographics promises to be fundamental in shaping the coming world. In this series, leading scholars explore how demographic changes may affect prospects for global development. Dr. Joel E. Cohen, renowned demographer and a student of global demographic trends for nearly 40 years, will launch the series with an overview of global demographic trends. Cohen's talk will set the stage for the later sessions that will explore specific demographic shifts now underway and how they may affect development-related outcomes, including poverty reduction, climate change and the financial health of emerging market economies.
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