Heoretical framework: central place theory. Regional provision and useof services. Household patterns of service use. Changing patterns of service provision and use at the regional and household levels. Conclusions and policy implications.

Life in rural communities is bound to change with historically unprecedented speed in the coming decades. How will this change be guided by local, national and global policies in order to enhance the livelihoods of rural inhabitants and to overcome the growing division of rural and urban areas? The contributions in this publication, ranging from scientific papers to short reports from practitioners, are grouped around 4 major themes: political and institutional frameworks to foster rural development; natural resources management; broadening the technological base of rural economies; and improved linkages between urban and rural areas. The overall message is unanimous: there is a promising future for the rural areas worldwide if adequate policies can be enforced and more efficient and fair institutions can be created.

Papers presented at the National Seminar on Rural Development in India: Prospects and Retrospect, held at St. Joseph's College, Jakhama in Nagaland, India; organized by St. Joseph's College, Jakhama, India; sponsored by University Grants Commission, North Eastern Regional Office, at India.

Contrary to conventional wisdom that equates rural economies with agriculture, rural residents in developing countries often rely heavily on activities other than farming for their income. Indeed, nonfarm work accounts for between one-third and one-half of rural incomes in the developing world. In recent years, accelerating globalization, increasing competition from large businesses, expanding urban markets for rural goods and services, and greater availability of information and communication technology have combined to expose rural nonfarm businesses to new opportunities as well as new risks. By examining these rapid changes in the rural nonfarm economy, international experts explore how the rural nonfarm economy can contribute to overall economic growth in developing countries and how the poor can participate in this rapidly evolving segment of the economy. The authors review an array of recent studies of the rural nonfarm economy in order to summarize existing empirical evidence, explore policy implications, and identify future research priorities. They examine the varied scale, structure, and composition of the rural nonfarm economy, as well as its relationship with agricultural and urban enterprises. And they address key questions about the role of public intervention in the rural nonfarm economy and how the rural poor can participate in and navigate the rapid transition underway in rural areas. The contributors offer new insights to specialists in rural development and to others interested in overall economic development.

This volume is an effort to enhance, both directly and indirectly, the benefits of information for poverty alleviation through more informed food policy. This volume resulted from a multidisciplinary workshop held at the International Food Policy Research Institute in September 1992. It is divided into three parts: food policy issues and new challenges for data; strengths and weaknesses of different survey approaches for food policy design; and data quality and design of survey modules.

The international setting and the resurgence of regionalism; Regional trading arrangements in economic theory; The ASEAN economies in the global trading system; ASEAN economic arrangements and the free trade area plan; Quantitative analysis of the AFTA plan.

Based on a survey conducted on 800 households between 1986 and 1989.

Production and policy trends for food crops. Methodology for measuring economic incentives and comparative advantage. Data sources and general assumptions. Analysis of incentives and government intervention. Regional comparative advantage of food crop.

The prospects for continuous growth in rice yields have been examined within the context of a simulation model where demand parameters for both rural and urban populations and for different income groups have been used. Coupled with available estimates of supply response parameters, the prospects for a rice surplus in year 2000 appear moderate. On average, only 157,000 metric tons of rice surplus would result if current prices were to prevail. If prices were allowed to adjust, only a negligible price decline would result. That is also the case in the more favorable scenario of high growt of rice yields. Domestic demand would be capable of absorbing the increased rice surplus without an appreciable decline in price. The analysis of the proposal to support rice prices through procurement of domestic production has led to the conclusion that even massive increase of domestic procurement would result in very small price increases while at the same time causing serious storage capacity and budgetary problems for the government.