Gendered production and consumption in rural Africa

Recent research underscores the continued importance of gender in rural Africa. Analysis of interactions within households is becoming more sophisticated and continues to reject the unitary model. There is some evidence of discriminatory treatment of girls relative to boys, although the magnitudes of differential investments in health and schooling are not large and choices seem quite responsive to changes in opportunity costs. Social norms proscribing and prescribing male and female economic behavior remain substantial, extending into many domains, especially land tenure. Gender constructions are constantly evolving, although there is little evidence of rapid, transformative change in rural areas

Gold Mining and Economic and Social Change in West Africa

Economic theory often suggests that social institutions are strongly influenced by specific geographic features of regions. The history of gold mining in West Africa, however, suggests that the relationship between mineral resources and social organization is complex and fluid. First, over the centuries gold mining revenues may have encouraged state formation, but at the same time opportunities for conflict and corruption may have undermined state functioning. Second, while gold extraction and trade required social organization, the interpersonal relationships engendered by gold mining also led to new identities and social institutions. These dialectical considerations illustrate how simple theories of how geography affects society need to be tempered by more nuanced understanding of history

Qualitative Impact Study of Credit With Education in Burkina Faso

The objective of this qualitative study is to investigate and document program ef­fects for participants and program communi­ties after two years of activities. Three com­munities were visited for approximately one week each, and an attempt was made to in­terview all current members of the Credit Association in each village as well as com­munity leaders and other nonparticipants

Dim Delobsom

Delobsom, Dim (1897-1940), Burkinan author, canton chief, and civil servant, was born in Sao village, about 60 kilometers northwest of Ouagadougou, in the Mossi region of the presentday country of Burkina Faso. His mother was Datoumi Yaare, from the village of Kaonghin; and his father, Gueta Wagdogo, was the son of Yiougo, the naba (Mossi chief) of Sao. Naba Yiougo supported Mogho Naba Wobgo (Boukary Koutu), the principal king of the four Mossi kingdoms, against a rebelling vassal, the naba ofLalle. In 1896, Mogho Naba Wobgo supported Gueta Wagdogo to attain the chieftaincy (whereupon he assumed the name Naba Piiga ) after the death of Naba Yiougo. The meaning of Dim Delobsom\u27s name, The king has returned the favor:\u27 acknowledged the relationship between the two rulers

Social Norms and the Time Allocation of Women\u27s Labor in Burkina Faso

This paper proposes that major determinants of allocation of women\u27s time are social norms that regulate the economic activities of women. Our emphasis on norms contrasts with approaches that view time allocation as determined by household-level economic variables. Using data from Burkina Faso, we show that social norms significantly explain differences in patterns of time allocation between two ethnic groups: Mossi and Bwa. Econometric results show women from the two groups exhibiting different responses to changes in farm capital. Implications are that policies that foster changes in social norms may have more permanent effects on altering women\u27s behavior

Community Based Targeting for Social Safety Nets

This paper interprets case studies and theory on community involvement in beneficiary selection and benefit delivery for social safety nets. Several considerations should be carefully balanced in assessing the advantages of using community groups as targeting agents. First, benefits from utilizing local information and social capital may be eroded by costly rent-seeking. Second, the potential improvement in targeting criteria from incorporating local notions of deprivation must be tempered by the possibility of program capture by local elites, and by the possibility that local preferences are not pro-poor. Third, performance may be undermined by unforeseen strategic targeting by local communities in response to national funding and evaluation criteria, or by declines in political support.

Why isn't there more Financial Intermediation in Developing Countries?

Financial intermediation, Mutual insurance , Safety nets , Microfinance , Microcredit

For Whom is the Rural Economy Resilient? Initial Effects of Drought in Western Sudan

This discussion piece addresses two recent debates: entitlement theory and the resilience of rural systems. The authors find that in western Sudan entitlement theory provides a specific and useful framework for understanding the nature of the crisis confronting the society. Arguments about the resilience of rural systems, however, need to be more closely examined and will depend on site-specific factors. The rural economy and society of western Sudan were not found to be resilient

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso\u27s rich civic institutions are rooted in the history of the precolonial Mossi kingdoms, the traditions of stateless societies in the southwest, the Islamic brotherhoods that structure the lives of Muslims, the hundred-year presence of the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant missionary societies, and popular struggles for representation during the colonial and postindependence periods. This heritage is a constant feature of contemporary political discourse, with critics accusing the current regime of betraying the country\u27s political traditions. The regime\u27s defenders emphasize its continuity with the past and its efforts to restore civic life after the excesses of the revolutionary period of the 1980s

Official Representations of the Nation: Comparing the Postage Stamps of Sudan and Burkina Faso

An analysis of the imagery on postage stamps suggests that regimes in Burkina Faso and Sudan have pursued very different strategies in representing the nation. Sudan\u27s stamps focus on the political center and dominant elite (current regime, Khartoum politicians, and Arab and Islamic identity) while Burkina Faso\u27s stamps focus on society (artists, multiple ethnic groups, and development). Sudan\u27s stamps build an image of the nation as being about the northern-dominated regime in Khartoum (whether military or parliamentary); Burkina Faso\u27s stamps project an image of the nation as multi-ethnic and development-oriented