This paper explores the meaning of Veblenian instrumental value from the perspective of two strands of twentieth-century systems literature: the theories of Niklas Luhmann and C. West Churchman. The distinct Veblenian approach to defining instrumental value is in terms of the "generic ends of...

The paper reports the progress of the Honduran poverty reduction strategy program, projects, and policy measures. The report provides details on the organization and results of the consultation process, and analyzes the macroeconomic framework for the poverty reduction strategy. An overview of...

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate causal link between social capital and microfinance by testing the role of social capital in explaining the household's access to microcredit under the group-based lending approach. Design/methodology/approach – Household level primary data...

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate causal link between social capital and microfinance by testing the role of social capital in explaining the household's access to microcredit under the group-based lending approach. Design/methodology/approach – Household level primary data...

This paper uses the structure of institutional economics to provide an explanation of the recent U.S. financial crisis. Institutional theory suggests that a county’s political, legal, social, and cultural institutions determine and characterize its economy. An institutional perspective of...

The paper aims at a conceptual contribution to the normative economic analysis of rural de-velopment (RD) policies. RD is regarded as a problem of interaction between individuals; (lacking) structural change or the (missing) integration of externalities are therefore recon-structed as...

This paper analyzes the phenomenon that the transfer of agricultural land and water resources for urban use with adverse consequences to agricultural production has not been adequately addressed in the Indian context, through a case study of the state of Tamil Nadu which stands in the forefront...

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), enacted in 1985, provides conservation benefits and agricultural supply control through voluntary, long-term retirement of crop land. Large-scale, long-term land retirement programs produce, in varying degrees, negative effects on those businesses and...

Purpose – The social safety net of health care insurance is rapidly expanding in rural China. New Rural Cooperative Medical System (NRCMS) programs proliferated between the national decree of 2002 and 2008, moving from a situation where less than 10 per cent of the rural population had access...