The paper describes and, as far as possible, explains variations in policies, programs, and institutions that influence agricultural growth, agrarian relations, and rural welfare across developing countries and over time. It evaluates the impact of distorted policy patterns on agricultural...

This Elmhirst lecture first discusses the factors that allow rural people in low-income countries to design, plan, and implement their own rural development. These are divided into two broad groups: the institutional environment for rural development (the private sector, communities, civil...