Using an asset-based approach to identify drivers of sustainable rural growth and poverty reduction in Central America : a conceptual framework

The asset-based approach considers links between households'productive, social, and locational assets; the policy, institutional, and risk context; household behavior as expressed in livelihood strategies; and well-being outcomes. For sustainable poverty reducing growth, it is critical to examine household asset portfolios and understand how assets interact with the context to influence the selection of livelihood strategies, which in turn determine well-being. Policy reforms can change the context and income-generating potential of assets. Investments can add new assets or increase the efficiency of existing household assets, and also improve households'risk management capacity to protect assets. After all is said and done, a household's asset portfolio will determine whether growth and poverty reduction can be achieved and sustained over time. The asset-based framework is amendable to different analytical techniques. Siegel suggests combining quantitative and qualitative spatial and household level analyses (and linked spatial and household level analyses) to deepen understanding of the complex relationships between assets, context, livelihood strategies, and well-being outcomes.Municipal Financial Management,Economic Theory&Research,Public Health Promotion,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Poverty Assessment,Environmental Economics&Policies,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Municipal Financial Management

Export commodity production and broad-based rural development: coffee and cocoa in the Dominican Republic

An estimated 80,000-100,000 Dominican farmers produce coffee and cocoa, nearly 40 percent of all agricultural producers. The sectors also provide employment for tens of thousands of field laborers and persons employed in linked economic activities. The majority of coffee and cocoa producers are small-scale and most are located in environmentally sensitive watersheds. Recent trends in international commodity markets have challenged the survival of both sectors. Production is characterized by low yields and uneven quality, while periodic hurricanes have contributed to a lackluster and unstable record of output and exports. Despite these conditions, most experts acknowledge the fact that appropriate agro-ecological conditions exist in Dominican Republic for production of high-quality coffee and cocoa. To be competitive and sustainable, some changes must take place in the coffee and cocoa sectors. The objective of this study is to provide an overview of the coffee and cocoa sectors, to identify major problems, and to suggest possible strategies to deal with these problems. The authors conclude that if the objectives of the government are poverty reduction, environmental protection and overall well-being of rural society, it is critical to move beyond a commodity-specific approach to a broader rural development focus on households, regions and environments where coffee and cocoa are currently being grown.Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Crops&Crop Management Systems,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Crops&Crop Management Systems,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems

An asset-based approach to social risk management : a conceptual framework

There is increasing concern about the vulnerability of poor and near-poor rural households, who have limited capabilities to manage risk and often resort to strategies that can lead to a vicious cycle of poverty. Household-related risk is ususally considered individual or private, but measures to manage risk are actually social or public in nature. Furthermore, various externality issues are associated with household-related risk, such as its links to economic development, poverty reduction, social cohesion, and environmental quality. Hence the need for a holistic approach to risk management, or"social risk management,"which encompasses a broad spectrum of private and public actions. An asset-based approach to social risk management is presented, which provides an integrated approach to considering household, community, and extra-community assets and risk-management strategies. The conceptual framework for social risk management focuses on rural Sub-Saharan Africa. The report concludes with several suggestions on moving from concepts to actions.Health Economics&Finance,Insurance&Risk Mitigation,Banking Law,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform

ECONOMIC AND FISCAL IMPACTS OF A RETIREMENT/RECREATION COMMUNITY: A STUDY OF TELLICO VILLAGE, TENNESSEE

Retirement/recreation communities (RRCs) have been promoted as a way for some rural regions to develop their economies. RRCs can have substantial economic impacts (changes in employment and income) and fiscal impacts (changes in local government revenues and costs) on rural communities. Because the magnitude and direction of these impacts are site-specific, assessments of RRCs as a rural development strategy should consider both the economic and fiscal impacts for a given region. This paper presents a case study of the economic and fiscal impacts of Tellico Village on Loudon County, Tennessee.Retirement community, Economic and fiscal impacts, Rural development, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Viewing microinsurance as a social risk management instrument

The objectives of this paper are to highlight some of the potential and limitations of microinsurance in the context of Social Risk Management (SRM) framework to stimulate further discussion. The paper draws on existing literature on SRM and microinsurance. Where relevant, it invokes lessons from microfinance. The authors conclude that there is potential for efficient and equitable risk management through microinsurance, but also limitations. Microinsurance may be an acceptable means of managing a few limited forms of risk, but not all. SRM practitioners need to recognize that effectiveness of any risk management instrument depends on the nature of risks, household and group characteristics and dynamics, and the availability of alternative risk management options. SRM options should strike a balance between household risk management activities and the multiple instruments available at different institutional levels, including informal, market-based, and publicly provided mechanisms. Microinsurance is a potential part of the SRM toolbox, but risk management can be enhanced through different mechanisms or combinations of them.Insurance&Risk Mitigation,Banks&Banking Reform,Non Bank Financial Institutions,Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Economics&Finance

Is export diversification the best way to achieve export growth and stability? A look at three African countries

Malawi, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe depend heavily on export earnings from a narrow base of agricultural commodities (coffee, cotton, sugar, tea, and tobacco). This dependence increased between 1961 - 1973 and 1974 - 1987, when international prices for those commodities were declining and unstable. Policymakers concerned with the instability and downward trend in export earnings for the three countries, tend to equate these trends with the countries'narrow export commodity base. They often propose export diversification as an expedient remedy. But the authors found that horizontal diversification would have produced lower export earnings and more instability. Policymakers introducing horizontal diversification must first consider price forecasts, comparative advantage, the economy's changing structure, and the costs of adjustment. Reactions to historical price movements can produce unexpected, undesirable results. A shift during this period from favorable to unfavorable price trends, and shifts in the covariances of deviations from price trends, complicate the design of export diversification policies, especially policies aimed at stabilizing export earnings. Generally, the most effective way to achieve growth and stability in export earnings is to increase and stabilize agricultural production and the volume of exports. The authors analysis shows that different export diversification policies can help fulfill different policy goals.Economic Theory&Research,Airports and Air Services,Achieving Shared Growth,Water Resources Assessment,Crops&Crop Management Systems

Identifying the drivers of sustainable rural growth and poverty reduction in Honduras

"The overall objective of this paper is to develop an appropriate conceptual and analytical framework to better understand how prospects for growth and poverty reduction can be stimulated in rural Honduras. We employ complementary quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis, driven by an asset-base approach. Emphasis on assets is appropriate given high inequalities in the distribution of productive assets among households and geographical areas in Honduras. Such inequalities are likely to constrain how the poor share in the benefits of growth, even under appropriate policy regimes. We focus on household assets (broadly defined to include natural, physical, human, financial, social and locational assets) and their combinations necessary to take advantage of economic opportunities. We examine the relative contributions of these assets, and identify the combinations of productive, social, and location-specific assets that matter most to raise incomes and take advantage of prospects for poverty-reducing growth. Factor and cluster analysis techniques are used to identify and group different livelihood strategies; and econometric analysis is used to investigate the determinants of different livelihood strategies and the major factors that impact on income. Spatial analysis, community livelihood studies and project stocktakings are brought in to complement some of the more quantitative household survey data used. Our conclusions and recommendations are mainly focused on hillsides and hillside areas since the majority of the available data is for these areas." Authors' AbstractPoverty alleviation Latin America ,Sustainability ,Livelihoods ,Spatial analysis (Statistics) ,Hillside areas ,

Vulnerability : a view from different disciplines

Practitioners from different disciplines use different meanings and concepts of vulnerability, which, in turn, have led to diverse methods of measuring it. This paper presents a selective review of the literature from several disciplines to examine how they define and measure vulnerability. The disciplines include economics, sociology/anthropology, disaster management, environmental science, and health/nutrition. Differences between the disciplines can be explained by their tendency to focus on different components of risk, household responses to risk and welfare outcomes. In general, they focus either on the risks (at one extreme) or the underlying conditions (or outcomes) at the other. Trade-offs exist between simple measurement schemes and rich conceptual understanding.Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Economics&Finance,Insurance&Risk Mitigation,Economic Theory&Research,Rural Poverty Reduction

Guidelines for assessing the sources of risk and vulnerability

Social risk management (SRM) is a new means of looking at poverty, risk, and risk management that was recently presented in the World Bank's Social Protection Strategy Paper. The SRM perspective addresses how vulnerable households can be helped to better manage risks and become less susceptible to potentially damaging welfare losses. This paper provides some basic concepts and guidelines for organizing ideas and information that are relevant to risk and vulnerability assessments. Several templates are provided in the Annex, along with a list of completed and ongoing World Bank reports that investigate risk and vulnerability.Insurance&Risk Mitigation,Health Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Social Risk Management,Banking Law

Tourism as a Sustainable Rural Development Strategy: Building Consensus in Resident Attitudes

A survey of community leaders, broadly categorized as business people, public officials, and conservationists, was conducted to assess attitudes toward tourism in a six-county region of the Southern Appalachian Highlands of Tennessee and North Carolina. Broad support for tourism development was found across all groups, with the caveat that economic growth not take place at the expense of community character or environmental quality. In general, however, members of conservation organizations were more concerned about the negative impacts of tourism development than were business people or public officials. The methodology employed highlights issues of agreement and conflict among influential community groups. This approach can help communities engage in a consensus-building process and plan a sustainable tourism-based development strategy that is acceptable to all groups