Since 1986, Vietnam has moved from a centrally planned towards a market-oriented system through several major economic and trade reforms. First positive results of the reform process became visible in the early 1990s when poverty declined significantly. The Vietnamese agricultural sector has...

This paper investigates the economic relevance of sustainable behavior of agroforestry practices for smallholders using the example of firewood exploitation in rural Tanzania. Three questions are addressed: (1) To what extent do households behave sustainably regarding firewood extraction from...

Recent papers indicate that decentralized bioenergy crop production offers increased market access and income diversification strategies for the rural population. The analyses concentrate on the potential effects of newly discussed crops such as Jatropha curcas, cassava, and sugarcane on macro...

The overall objective of this discussion paper is to advance the knowledge on rural livelihoods in Stung Treng, Cambodia. In a cluster analysis, five clusters with very different livelihood strategies are identified based on a sample of 600 rural households. Despite the fact that nearly all...

Does the labeling of products which have been produced without any child laborers contribute to increased welfare of children? This paper presents some results of a survey in Nepal conducted to analyze which factors determine the probability of a child to work, and to examine the influence of...

To achieve a better understanding of the diverse vulnerabilities of different social groups affected by the tsunami in December 2004 in Sri Lanka, a survey of 500 households in the Sri Lankan urban area of Galle has been conducted in cooperation with several institutes under the direction of the...

A large proportion of internationally traded goods are subject to labor standards and this proportion is on a continuing rise. Such developments created a hot debate about the impact of labor standards on trade, but there has been no clear international consensus on the net costs and benefits...

The montane rainforests of Ethiopia are the worldwide origin of the Coffea arabica gene-pool. However, the forests witness high rates of depletion and deforestation leading to an irreversible loss of the forest ecosystem and biodiversity. Certification of forest coffee started in Ethiopia in...