In the last two decades public policies have reflected a drive for accelerated global economic integration ('globalization'), associated with greater economic liberalization. The outcomes have been largely disappointing, even in the estimate of their designers. Rural livelihoods have become more...

Poverty reduction is a central feature of the international development agenda and contemporary poverty reduction strategies increasingly focus on “targeting the poor”, yet poverty and inequality remain intractable foes. The report seeks to explain why people are poor and why inequalities...