338,022 research outputs found

    Can cash transfer programs work in resource-poor countries?

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    Cash transfer programs are rare in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper describes the evolution of a cash transfer program in major urban centers of Mozambique, from its inception in 1990 through two major reorganizations until October 1998. Appropriate design, strong multisectoral political support and adequate administrative capacity are critical factors determining the success of such programs. Key lessons applicable to other resource-poor countries designing social assistance programs are drawn, recommending adequate targeted support to truly destitute persons incapable of physical labor in urban areas where administrative costs are more manageable than in more isolated rural sites.Poverty. ,Rural population. ,Social service Mozambique. ,Subsidies. ,

    Kenya-Malawi Biomass Energy Project Summary Report

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    This project is intended to carry out an engineering, social and economic evaluation of food processing in the rural areas of Malawi and Kenya. The aim is to collect the information necessary for designing a clean and low-cost energy system for co-generation of heat and electricity from agricultural waste to support food processing. the objective of this research is to survey the following aspects: Technical: The existing energy-intensive food processing industries in the partner countries. Social: Current and historic social resources: e.g. the designers, operators and beneficiaries of the existing processes; Locally available skills for designing and operating alternative energy solutions. End-user: Current and historical regional usages of the agricultural products; Local views on existing problems and their desired goals

    The relationship between international migration, trade, and development: some paradoxes and findings

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    The interactions among trade, international migration, and economic development in migrant-sending areas are complex, and paradoxes abound. This paper summarizes global trends in world migration and remittances, discusses some paradoxes surrounding the trade-migration-development relationship, and reports findings from new research on Mexico-to-U.S. migration, using data from rural Mexico. It concludes with some thoughts about designing policies to raise the development potential of remittances in migrant-sending areas.Emigration and immigration ; International trade ; Economic development ; Developing countries ; Emigrant remittances ; Mexico

    Social fund support of microfinance : a review of implementation experience

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    The case studies were developed in order to help Bank task team leaders, and their client country counterparts, design and support effective microfinance components, within social funds. The case studies aim to highlight best practice, as well as challenges for designing, and implementing a microfinance component within a multi-sectoral project. Based on lessons learned from these case studies, a set of guidelines were developed, available from the Social Protection Advisory Service, or the Social Funds website.Banks&Banking Reform,Rural Finance,Private Participation in Infrastructure,Agricultural Research,Microfinance

    Roles and responsibilities in agile ICT for development

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    This paper examines the different roles in designing interactive software in a ICT for development context. Using experiences from a participatory action research project, in which we used agile methods to design and deploy an system to support ‘agricultural information flow’ for a co-operative of small farmers in rural India, we identify points of difference between the roles in standard descriptions of agile software methods and the roles as they emerged in our project. A key finding is the critical role played by a ‘Development Project Manager’ in facilitating dialogue, orchestrating the activities of other actors and in building the capabilities and confidence of all the participants in joint action

    Gender Needs Awareness and Gender Asymmetry: An Analysis of a Rural Women Survey in Mountainous Areas of South-eastern Spain

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    Achieving gender symmetry in rural areas is an important target for the European Union. There is no shortage of talent, ideas and energy amongst women in rural areas, nor are there legal constraints. However, a range of cultural obstacles still stand in the way of their full participation in rural development (the persistence of traditional views about women's and men's roles in society, etc.) particularly in the Mediterranean areas. The integration of equal opportunities will no longer be a choice, but it will be an obligation in the design and implementation of rural development programmes and projects. Some European initiatives (NOW, EQUAL, LEADER, etc.) have already been taken to improve rural women's opportunities to participate more actively in economic and public life. In this context, surveying and the data collection will be considered an important preliminary step in the implementation of gender symmetry-focused development policies. In this paper, after briefly discussing the different gender paradigms in rural development, some results of a survey conducted on 304 rural women living in mountainous rural areas of the province of Granada (Southern Spain) are presented. The position of rural women as regards employment, family, socio-cultural, institutional matters, etc., is described. Then women's perception and awareness regarding both practical and strategic gender needs in the area are analysed. Factors related to how women stand with respect to gender needs have been identified using the probit regression model. From the above results, some conclusions have finally been drawn that could be helpful for designing strategies to achieve a better level of gender symmetry in the region, focusing sustainable rural development on a "gender planning" approach.gender needs, rural development, gender asymmetry, Southeastern Spain, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Labor and Human Capital, O18, Q01, R13,

    Agricultural strategy development in West Africa: The false promise of participation?

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    "Participatory approaches are an increasingly prominent technique for designing agricultural strategies within Sub-Saharan Africa. However, such approaches are frequently criticized for either not involving enough stakeholders or limiting the scope of their participation. By analyzing the role of stakeholder participation in the formulation of agricultural and rural development strategies in West Africa, this paper finds that a lack of broad-based participation in these strategies was not a major problem. Rather, the real challenge lies in transforming the outcomes of participatory processes into policies that can be feasibly implemented. The paper highlights why an emphasis on participatory processes can sometimes result in disappointment among stakeholders and discusses a range of measures to help overcome this dilemma. " from authors' abstractAgricultural and rural development strategies, Policy process, Participation, Representative democracy, Governance,
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