This paper examines two sets of shortcomings with these policy studies: the first is that many have been slow to incorporate understanding of why markets are imperfect, how and why many of those engaged in markets try to keep them imperfect, and what the implications of imperfections are for policy measures. The second is that few studies go beyond the question of what should be done by way of policy improvement – the how (i.e. of implementation) is severely problematic but generally neglected. This paper treats each of these sets of difficulty in turn, and then asks what can be done to improve matters.

The authors provide an excellent summary of the way "how" questions are ignored in policy advice. Analysts usually simply list the requirements of sound policy, or merely itemise what governments should do. A typical listing might read as follows:

• fully implement market liberalisation;
• provide input credit to farmers;
• develop a legislative infrastructure;
• promote smallholder production of export crops;
• invest in market development;
• provide safety nets to support vulnerable groups;
• maintain credible and sustainable macroeconomic policies.

• establish institutions capable of setting relevant quality standards, adjusting them to ongoing market changes, and enforcing them upon growers;
• offer small-scale producers and traders means to increase their market power;
• develop simplified procedures for protecting against dumping and countervailing duties;
• increase investment in rural transport, water and processing infrastructure;
• abandon top-down approaches to rural development in favour of more decentralised and participatory approaches.

The authors conclude that much more attention is needed to implementation constraints, such as weak infrastructure, power relations, and corruption, and to how these can be overcome or circumvented. In addition, if evidence-based research is to be more relevant to policy, it will have to be re-tooled to make good the above deficiencies. In particular, there may be need for new methods which are more qualitative, such as case study or networking analysis.