This paper assesses improved maize adoption in Malawi and examines the link between adoption
and household welfare using a three-year household panel data. The distributional effect of
maize technology adoption is also investigated by looking at impacts across wealth and gender
groups. We applied control function approach and IV regression to control for endogeneity of
input subsidy and improved maize adoption. We found that modern maize variety adoption is
positively correlated with the household’s own maize consumption, income and asset holdings.
We found evidence that improved maize adoption has stronger impact on welfare of femaleheaded
households and poorer households.
Key words: Improved maize, hybrid maize, technology adoption, subsidy, Malawi, Africa