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What activities do rural people of the Third World engage in to secure their livelihoods? What affects their access to resources and employment? How is rural life organized and how has it changed? How do rural people respond to crisis, and how are they helped or hindered by others? These are some of the questions discussed and debated in this book.
The book is arranged in four parts. The first part questions concepts, measures and meanings of rural poverty and provides an historical framework for analysing agrarian structures and change in Latin America, India and sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, it focuses on changing patterns of land distribution and the growth of commercialization, and how they have affected rural livelihoods.
The second part explores the internal dynamics of rural households and the varied ways in which production, co-residence and consumption are organized. The reproduction and differentiation of households over time are also examined.
The third part comprises four 'case studies': the first two take a subcontinental view (India and sub-Saharan Africa) and focus respectively on employment and environmental issues; the other two are based on village studies in Uganda, analysing patterns of class differentiation, and exploring concepts of health and healing practices.
The fourth part concludes the book by considering action on rural poverty and crises in rural livelihoods by the state, non-governmental organizations, and individuals and groups of the rural poor.
The book's twelve chapters are written by specialist authors using key questions, diagrams, tables, photographs and summaries to illustrate and clarify the text. It will be invaluable to undergraduate and sixth form students of development studies, geography, history, economics, anthropology or international politics. It will be particularly useful to development practitioners, such as those joining the staff of official development agencies or nongovernmental organizations.
