Most ecological and environmental resources are scarce. Ecological economics and environmental economics are concerned with ways in which these resources can be better managed to reduce economic scarcity or more generally, administered to achieve particular objectives most economically. The way...

The importance of taking account of the total economic value of ecosystems is stressed and the possible reasons why the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) emphasised the importance of ecosystem services for biodiversity conservation is discussed. It is suggested that the Millennium Ecosystem...

Although middle income countries such as Botswana are credited with reliable data that are used in poverty measures, it is sometimes argued that the time lags between data generations or surveys are too wide. The Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) in Botswana takes place every 10...

Provides a sketch of Bangladesh’s socio-economic performance in the light of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. After providing some background on these goals and on Bangladesh, this article considers trends in the incidence of poverty and hunger in Bangladesh, access to education and...

The attainment of self-reliance (zi li geng sheng) is an important goal for China. However, approaches to achieving it have altered greatly since the People’s Republic was established in 1949. Following the split between China and the Soviet Union in 1960, Mao Zedong claimed that China could...

Employment and social inclusion have been regular themes in the agenda of the European Union for the past fifteen years. From a soft coordinated approach mainly focused on the fight against unemployment, the European Union has moved towards a more coordinated but still voluntary strategy for its...

Botswana was among the highest growing economies in the world during 1985-2005 and achieved a reduction in its overall incidence of poverty from 60 per cent in 1985/86 to 30 per cent in 2002/03. The incidence of rural poverty in Botswana decreased from 55 per cent in 1985/86 to 40 per cent in...

Empirical studies on the impact of women’s paid jobs on their empowerment and welfare in the Bangladesh context are rare. The few studies on the issue to date have all been confined to the garment workers only although studies indicate that women’s workforce participation in Bangladesh has...

Poverty and social deprivation in Botswana are rising in rural areas while they are declining in urban towns and villages. Revenue from diamond mining is thought to have made a significant contribution to reducing poverty levels in cities and urban villages. However, the benefits from diamond...

Reports responses to interviews conducted in three rural villages in Eastern India in January 2000 as well as replies to questions asked at a forest meeting in West Bengal of groups/persons interested in rural women and development. The questions were designed to provide information on...