Why microfranchising is needed now : introduction and book overview / Jason S. Fairbourne -- Microfranchising : the next step on the development ladder / Stephen W. Gibson -- The informal economy and microfranchising / Michael Henriques and Mathias Herr -- Current international development tools...

Poverty reduction remains a major development challenge in much of Asia and the Pacific. Historically, technology has played a central role in raising living standards across the region, including those of the poor. The Green Revolution and various innovations of modern medicine and public...

1. Currents of environmentalism -- 2. Ecological economics : "taking nature into account" -- 3. Indices of (un) sustainability, and neo-Malthusianism -- 4. Political ecology : the study of ecological distribution conflicts -- 5. Mangroves versus shrimps -- 6. The environmentalism of the poor :...