This is the first of two surveys of the World Development Report series. Here we focus on the discursive strategies adopted by the Reports. We begin by setting the Reports within the wider milieu of development theory and practice. Behind the pragmatic, problem-solving image that the Reports aim...

The 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami caused massive human and economic destruction. In this paper we argue that the international response to the tsunami exemplifies a shift in the way humanitarian aid is sourced and delivered, and tease out a framework for understanding the continuities...

The paper tracks 77 households in two villages in Northeastern Thailand over a period of 12 years between 1982 and 1994. The survey data show that the “original” poor of 1982 have improved their position both absolutely and relatively, and the so‐styled “emergent” poor of 1994...