The traditional vision of rural economies as purely agricultural is clearly obsolete. Farm households across the developing world earn an increasing share of their income from nonfarm sources (see Table 4.1). And the specialized nonfarm households that emerge often diversify into multiple...

In Poland, rural households are encouraged to diversify their activities both in and outside the agricultural sector in order to stabilize and improve their income. However, relatively few households appear to do this. This paper addresses this issue, investigating the returns from the income...

The reality of climate change is now well-accepted and there is emerging evidence that climate change poses a massive threat for development especially in poor countries. An understanding of the emerging trends of climate change and its effects in local ecologies is an important starting point...

To what extent do heterogeneous village contexts lead to diverging educational opportunities for the children living in them? This study investigates the relationship between residential context and educational inequality in rural China, drawing on data from the most recent, near-nationwide...

Available data indicates a growing urban-rural income gap (the ratio of mean urban to rural incomes) with a significant increase from around 1.8 in the late 1980's to over 3 today. These estimates do not take into account the higher volatility of rural incomes in China. Current literature based...

This paper empirically examines the effect of participation in National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) on the livelihood security of rural poor. Data are collected from 220 respondents (including both beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries) through a structured questionnaire from Sonepur district...