C. Leigh Anderson

About

C. Leigh Anderson is a professor at the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance at the University of Washington, where she joined the faculty in 1997. Her research focuses on rural poverty and agriculture, specifically examining how market and policy institutions influence individual decision-making. Anderson is the founder and director of the Evans School Policy Analysis and Research Group (EPAR), which works on agricultural measurement, evaluation, risk, and inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, supported primarily by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She teaches courses in economics, statistics, and international economic development. Anderson has previously taught at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and has been a visiting researcher or instructor at institutions including UC Berkeley, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Renmin University of China, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Her contributions to teaching have been recognized with awards such as the University of Washington’s Excellence in Teaching Award and the Department of Economics Henry T. Buechel Award.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Economics
• Biology
• Business
• Economic growth
• Sociology
• Socioeconomics
• Agronomy
• Microeconomics
• Environmental protection

Selected publications

• Economic Benefits of Empowering Women in Agriculture: Assumptions and Evidence

  The Journal of Development Studies · 2020 · 180 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  Systematic reviews and meta-analyses generally focus on intervention impacts or outcomes. Less common, however, are reviews of the assumptions and theory underlying the pathways between intervention and outcome. We consider the hypothetical case for interventions to empower female farmers, either by prioritising women for new investments or re-allocating existing resources. Empowerment is defined as increased women’s decision-making authority related to agricultural resources, management and pro…

  PublisherDOI

• Definitions of “rural” and “urban” and understandings of economic transformation: Evidence from Tanzania

  Journal of Rural Studies · 2020 · 80 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Designing effective policies for economic development often entails categorizing populations by their rural or urban status. Yet there exists no universal definition of what constitutes an "urban" area, and countries alternately apply criteria related to settlement size, population density, or economic advancement. In this study, we explore the implications of applying different urban definitions, focusing on Tanzania for illustrative purposes. Toward this end, we refer to nationally representat…

  PublisherDOI

• Nutritional quality of crops in a high CO₂ world: an agenda for research and technology development

  Environmental Research Letters · 2021 · 62 citations

  Abstract Essential nutrients, including carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals, are required for human health and development. Inadequate intake can negatively affect development and result in a wide range of adverse health outcomes. Rice, maize, and wheat provide over 60% of the world’s food energy intake. Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), water, nitrogen, and soil micronutrients are the basis of this plant material. Since 1850–1900, CO 2 concentrations have increased about 50%…

  PublisherDOI

• A Case of Mistaken Identity? Measuring Rates of Improved Seed Adoption in Tanzania Using DNA Fingerprinting

  Journal of Agricultural Economics · 2020 · 41 citations

  Abstract Studies of improved seed adoption in developing countries are almost always based on household surveys and are premised on the assumption that farmers can accurately self‐report their use of improved seed varieties. However, recent studies suggest that farmers’ reports of seed varieties planted, or even whether the seed is local or improved, are sometimes inconsistent with the DNA fingerprinting results of those crops. We use household survey data from Tanzania to test the alignment bet…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Exploring the gender gap in mobile money awareness and use: evidence from eight low and middle income countries

  Information Technology for Development · 2023-01-13 · 30 citations

  articleOpen access

  We used three waves of Financial Inclusion Insights surveys (2013–2016) to examine gender gaps in mobile money (MM) awareness and use across eight low- and middle-income countries. After accounting for socio-demographic factors (age, marriage, literacy, education, employment, income, and financial numeracy) and other enabling factors (mobile phone, formal identification, and bank account), we found no independent association between gender and MM use in established MM markets in Kenya, Tanzania,…

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Mary Kay Gugerty

  University of Washington

  32 shared

• Travis Reynolds

  University of Vermont

  23 shared

• Pierre E. Biscaye

  17 shared

• Alexander Chew

  9 shared

• Alison C. Cullen

  University of Washington

  9 shared

• Kathryn Bergh

  7 shared

• Marieka Klawitter

  University of Washington

  7 shared

• Elysia Slakie

  7 shared

Education

• PhD, Economics

  University of Washington

  1989

Awards & honors

• University of Washington’s Excellence in Teaching Award
• UW’s Department of Economics Henry T. Buechel Award for outs…

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