Agricultural growth has long been recognized as an important instrument for poverty reduction. Yet, measurements of this relationship are still scarce and not always reliable. This paper presents additional evidence at both the sectoral and household levels based on recent data. Results show that rural poverty reduction has been associated with growth in yields and in agricultural labor product...

This paper reports procedures and results obtained from linking marriage registers with the 1851 and 1881 censuses for Birmingham, a major industrial center, and rural areas in Norfolk. The results underscore regional contrasts in mobility processes. Those starting out in Birmingham from unskilled origins whether parental or initial occupation, had quite high probabilities of experiencing upwar...

In rural Ecuador and elsewhere in Latin America, the departure of migrants and the receipt of migrant remittances have led to declining rural populations and increasing cash incomes. It is commonly assumed that these processes will lead to agricultural abandonment and the regrowth of native vegetation, thus undermining traditional livelihoods and providing a boon for biodiversity conservation. ...

China’s agricultural development in recent decades is impressive. Its farmers continue to feed the world’s largest population and China’s crop yields are well above global averages. Yet rural incomes have been stagnating, with wide and growing geographic disparities. Overall, China’s median net per capita rural income is low, estimated at US$317 in 2003. Nevertheless, Chinese agricultural devel...

Since 1980, the number of undernourished people in eastern and southern Africa has more than doubled. Rural development stalled and rural poverty expanded during the 1990s. Population growth remains very high, and declining per-capita agricultural capacity retards progress toward Millennium Development goals. Analyses of in situ station data and satellite observations of precipitation have iden...

Chinese ecological agriculture (CEA) is a relatively recent agricultural and rural development approach, which has emerged in light of continuous efforts in exploring sustainable agriculture and rural development in modern China. Based on the discussion of the ecological agricultural concepts and practices in ancient China, as well as the agro-ecological problems that have emerged in modern Chi...