CMI Staff
Dr Magnus Hatlebakk

Thematic research group:
Poverty Reduction
Keywords:
Poverty traps, rural development, applied game theory, econometric analyses, informal credit, labor markets, foreign aid, health systems, social exclusion, nutrition, labor migration
Geographic keywords:
Sub-Saharan Africa
Southern and Central Asia
Asia: Nepal (main focus)
Africa: Malawi, Tanzania
Senior Researcher
E-mail: magnus.hatlebakk@cmi.no
Phone: +47 47938121
On this page: Projects | Publications
Magnus Hatlebakk is an economist whose research focuses on rural development. In particular he studies household level poverty traps that may result from inferior positions in the rural labour and credit markets. Hatlebakk applies game theory as well as quantitative and qualitative empirical methods to understand the relatively complex economic- and social interactions between landlords and the less wealthy households within village economies. His main line of research, including his Ph.D. from the University of Bergen, covers informal credit and labour markets in rural Nepal, and includes analyses of interventions into poverty traps by way of micro-credit, workfare programs and land-reforms. He has conducted a number of field-works in rural Nepal. His research has, more recently, developed into a focus on economic and social exclusion, in particular bonded labour, and caste-based discrimination, as well as analysis of the civil conflicts in Nepal. He is also involved in research on nutritional demand among the poor, and the quality of rural health services.
| Projects | Project search: Magnus Hatlebakk |
Current and recently completed projects:
Long term poverty dynamics in Nepal
Start: Jan. 2010 (Current)
Geography: Nepal
Inclusive growth in India
Start: Aug. 2009 (Current)
Geography: India
Poverty traps in industries with low knowledge- and investment barriers
Start: Jan. 2009 (Current)
Geography: Nepal
Social networks and labour migration in South-Asia
Start: Jan. 2008 (Current)
Geography: India, Nepal
Social exclusion, democratic inclusion and the insurgency in Nepal
Start: Jul. 2006 (Current)
Geography: Asia: Nepal
Economic determinants of food intake and health outcomes in Nepal
Start: Jan. 2006 (Current)
Geography: Asia: Nepal
Health Worker Motivation, Availability and Performance (MAP)
Start: Jan. 2006 (Current)
Keywords: Health worker, Performance
Geography: Tanzania
Global Health and Development
Start: Jan. 2006 (Current)
Geography: Tanzania, Nepal
Bonded Labor in Nepal
Start: Dec. 2004 (Current)
Geography: Asia: Nepal
Well-being among Fisherfolks in Africa Research (WELFARE)
Start: Jan. 2005 (Completed)
Keywords: Small scale fisheries, poverty analysis, social change
Geography: Southern Africa; West Africa
| Publications | Publication search: Magnus Hatlebakk |
Publications by category:
Journal Articles and Book Chapters
Fishery as a livelihood strategy in Malawi. Analyzing a small LSMS sub-sample
Hatlebakk, Magnus (forthcoming)
in Journal of International Development. DOI: 10.1002/jid.1703
Maoist control and level of civil conflict in Nepal
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2010)
in South Asia Economic Journal vol. 11 no. 1 pp. 99-110
Capacity-constrained collusive price discrimination in the informal rural credit markets of Nepal
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2009)
in Review of Development Economics. vol. 13 no. 1 pp. 70-86
Grameen Bank
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2007)
Økonomisk Forum vol. 61 no. 4 pp. 14-22
"A new and robust subgame perfect equilibrium in a model of triadic power relations."
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2002)
Journal of Development Economics. vol. 68 no. 1 pp. 225-232
Reports
Ethnic and Fiscal Federalism in Nepal
Aalen, Lovise and Magnus Hatlebakk (2008)
Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (Commissioned report)
Inclusive growth in Nepal
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2008)
Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (Commissioned report)
Economic and social structures that may explain the recent conflicts in the Terai of Nepal
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2007)
Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (Commisioned report)
Foreign aid and social sector spending in developing countries
Hagen, Rune J. and Magnus Hatlebakk (2002)
(SNF-report no. 30)
Triadic power relations with production, external markets and multiple agents.
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2002)
(Center for Analytical Economics. Department of Economics. Cornell University. Working Paper. no. 02-18)
Will more credit increase interest rates in rural Nepal?
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2000)
(PDF is a revised version of Department of Economics. University of Bergen. no. WP-21-2000)
CMI Reports
Statistical evidence on social and economic exclusion in Nepal
Das, Arun K.L. and Magnus Hatlebakk (2009)
Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI Report R 2009: 15) 54 p.
Evaluation of NPA's Support to Mutuelle, a Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme in Rwanda
Hatlebakk, Magnus and Øystein Evjen Olsen (2005)
Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI Report R 2005: 2)
CMI Working Papers
Explaining Maoist control and level of civil conflict in Nepal
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2009)
Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI Working Paper WP 2009: 10) 14 p.
Regional variation in livelihood strategies in Malawi
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2009)
Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI Working Paper WP 2009: 6) 13 p.
LSMS Data Quality in Maoist Influenced Areas of Nepal
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2007)
Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI Working Paper WP 2007: 6) 14 p.
The Effects on Agrarian Contracts of a Governmental Intervention into Bonded Labor in the Western Terai of Nepal
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2006)
Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI WP 2006: 6) 40 p.
Other External Publications
Sosial eksklusjon i Nepal, berre retorikk?
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2009)
in Hamro Patrika issue 2. pp. 18-21.
Conference Papers
Explaining Maoist Control and Level of Civil Conflict in Nepal
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2008)
Presented at: NCDE, Stockholm, June 16-17, 2008
Livelihood Strategies and Regional Poverty in Malawi
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2007)
Presented at: Annual Conference of the Norwegian Association for Development Research, Bergen, Norway 5-7 November 2007
Om Nobels Fredspris 2006: Grameen Bank
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2007)
Presented at: Plenumsforedrag. Det Nasjonale Forskarmøtet for Økonomar 2007, Tromsø, 4-5. januar
The Effects on Agrarian Contracts of a Governmental Intervention into Bonded Labor in the Western Terai of Nepal
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2006)
Presented at: NEUDC-conference, Cornell University 2006
Attached Labor in Nepal: A Field-Study of Landlord-Labor Relations that are Misrepresented in the Nepal-LSMS data
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2004)
Presented at: 75-years of Development Research conference at Cornell University, May 2004
Why the poor prefer to stay poor
Hatlebakk, Magnus (2002)
Presented at: The Nordic Conference in Development Economics, Bergen, May 2002








