Colonialism, social compacts, and the taxonomy of poverty -- The city of Quito -- Living on the edge : survival strategies of the urban poor -- Defining the "solemn poor" : wordplay and petitions of poverty in colonial Quito, 1678-1782 -- Prostrate before the feet of the king : widows, wdowhood,...

Although growth has improved substantially in most African countries in recent years, poverty across the continent has fallen very little in the aggregate. There have been strong poverty reduction performances in some countries, but others exhibit higher poverty rates now than in 1990 despite...