This book highlights strategies for poverty reduction in developing countries, with emphasis on the power of the market mechanism and vigor of the private sector, focusing ODA on a few longer term challenges and leveraging advances in technology to the fullest, and underlining the importance of human rights and security.

This book offers a critical analysis on employing a universal understanding of poverty and suggests ways forward for poverty reduction for developing countries in a post-2015 era. Taking specific country-contexts into account, the author argues that national poverty lines should be the benchmark for future anti-poverty policies.

Beyond the Enclave sets out to unravel the contradiction of a country, Zimbabwe, where a rich, diverse resource base co-exists with endemic poverty. One reason lies in the colonial economy, which was predicated on an ideology of white supremacy, creating an enclave formal economy employing one-fifth of the labour force. Yet over three decades after independence, the non-formal segment has become even more entrenched. This book assesses Zimbabwe's economy through three main phases: 1980- 0 when a strong social policy framework proved difficult to sustain due to erratic growth, and 1991- 6, when "structural adjustment" demanded a market-driven approach to development. The third phase is characterized by crisis-management leading to policy inconsistencies and reversals. Not surprisingly, such incoherence saw the economy descend into hyperinflation and paralysis in 2007- 8, leading to the signing of the Global Political Agreement in September 2008. In the absence of formal dollarization, economic recovery after the adoption of the multi-currency regime has remained fragile, leaving an estimated 70 per cent of the population outside the banking system. This has further entrenched uneven (enclave) growth as the economy remains locked in a low-income poverty trap. There is a need to facilitate transition towards formality to promote decent jobs. Furthermore, a strategic, developmental role for the state in the economy is now widely recognized as vital for development. Beyond the Enclave argues for a new approach to development in Zimbabwe based on pro-poor and inclusive strategies, which will contribute to the well-being of all of its citizens and wise stewardship of its resources. It offers suggestions on policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation in all sectors, designed to promote inclusive growth and humane development.

The rural economy's contribution to development: summary of findings and policy implications; The rural contribution to development: analytical issues; The rural contribution to development: policy issues.

"There has been much debate about how much poor people in developing countries gain from trade openness, as one aspect of 'globalization.' Ravallion views the issue through both 'macro' and 'micro' empirical lenses. The macro lens uses cross-country comparisons and aggregate time series data. The micro lens uses household-level data combined with structural modeling of the impacts of specific trade reforms. The author presents case studies for China and Morocco. Both the macro and micro approaches cast doubt on some wide generalizations from both sides of the globalization debate. Additionally the micro lens indicates considerable heterogeneity in the welfare impacts of trade openness, with both gainers and losers among the poor. The author identifies a number of covariates of the individual gains. The results point to the importance of combining trade reforms with well-designed social protection policies." -- Cover verso.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have contributed to reductions in poverty and improvements in the human condition in many parts of the world since their "invention" in 2000 and 2001. It nonetheless remains the case that today, as on all the previous days of the twenty-first century, almost one billion people will go hungry. Debates about whether the MDGs have made a positive contribution to poverty eradication and/or whether they have achieved as much as they should have done are becoming more frequent as 2015 and the "end of the MDGs" approaches. This book highlights that active debate about what the MDGs have achieved and what that means for the crafting of a post-2015 international framework for action, must become a priority. The work begins by examining the global context of the goals from a variety of perspectives, and moves on to focus on the region that continues to be the most impoverished and which looks likely to fall short of meeting many of the MDGs: Africa. Presenting both a broad overview of the issues and drawing together prestigious scholars and practitioners from a variety of fields, this work provides a significant contribution to debates surrounding both global poverty and the success and future of the MDGs.

This book critically analyses the topic of US-led external interventions in the affairs of developing countries by using one of the most contested experiments of modern times, namely, the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath. The March 2003 invasion of Iraq has so far failed to deliver the benefits and outcomes its supporters anticipated, prompting international discussion as to whether the promises of externally-led nation-building (as an attempt to mould rogue states in a democratic, market-friendly fashion) are outweighed by the kinds of pitfalls and perils of intervention that have come to characterise the Iraq experience. This book identifies and addresses the major issues emerging from the current debate including the evolution of external interventionism as an idea, an explanation of what went wrong in post-Saddam Iraq and why the Iraq experiment is flawed by the Bush administration's refusal to address long standing political and historical grievances among Muslims as part of the 'War on Terror'. The contributors assess the troubled relationship between Islam and the West, the prospects for democracy in the Middle East, foreign policy debates in the US, and how economics and politics are juxtaposed in a highly contentious manner in any project of externally-driven nation-building. Beyond the Iraq War brings together scholars and practitioners in an attempt to move beyond the polemical dimensions of the existing debate and provide a balanced analysis of what the Iraq enterprise can tell us about the brand of external interventionism espoused by the Bush administration and also the lessons it holds for any future interventions into the affairs of states. It combines a mix of disciplines, most notably international relations and economics as well as theory and empirical evidence. The book is written in a non-technical, but rigorous, manner in order to make complex and diverse issues accessible to the general reader This fascinating and scholarly work will appeal to academics and scholars in the fields of political economics, political science and international relations. Policymakers, journalists and media commentators will also find this work to be of great interest and value.

The world is at the crossroads of social change, in the vortex of forces that are bringing about a different world, a post-neoliberal state. This groundbreaking book lays out an analysis of the dynamics and contradictions of capitalism in the twenty-first century. These dynamics of forces are traced out in developments across the world - in the Arab Spring of North Africa and the Middle East, in Cuba and elsewhere in Latin America, in the United States, and in Asia. The forces released by a system in crisis can be mobilized in different ways and directions. The focus of the book is on the strategic responses to the systemic crisis. As the authors tell it, these dynamics concern three worldviews and strategic responses. The Davos Consensus focuses on the virtues of the free market and deregulated capitalism as it represents the interests of the global ruling class. The post-Washington Consensus concerns the need to give capital a human face and establish a more inclusive form of development and global governance. In addition to these two visions of the future and projects, the authors identify an emerging radical consensus on the need to move beyond capitalism as well as neoliberalism.

Poverty reduction in South Asia is a precondition for sustaining any form of reforms in governance. The new public management reforms which started in South Asia from Sri Lanka taking the initiative in 1977–78 have been a decisive break from the previously practised State driven protectionist system. Investment in the region has been rising and even per capita income has shown some increase, yet the state has not been able to lead these reforms appropriately and efficiently. Thus poverty has not been reduced, ordinary people continue to languish under government programmes and the socially excluded remain outside the mainstream decision making bodies. Governance in South Asia faces the single most important challenge of poverty reduction which continues to blunt and disfigure capacity, self esteem and service delivery system to the poor. This book attempts to bring out microlevel studies from many regions in South Asia to address issues of entrepreneurship, knowledge and professionalism. As an initiator of the idea on developing a critique to the straightjacketed ‘best practice’ research, this book questions the standard practice in evaluating administrative reforms as not being the true base for knowledge. Administrators need to balance capacity and control in every implementation programme. Confining to the knowledge of ‘best practices’ may conceal enormous amount of information from the ‘less than best’ practices which may be necessary to sustain good initiatives of public managers. This book highlights areas of active networking, partnerships and collaborations amongst state and non-state bodies, NGOs and specialist Science and Technical Organizations. The true nature of governance is explained and demonstrated through the processes which otherwise pass off undetected in macro-understanding of governance.