Books in the WIDER Studies in Development Economics series

An analysis of the elevated level of contemporary global economic inequality-its measurement, trends over time and geography, and the policy challenges thrown up by them, with a focus on mainly five countries-Brazil, China, India, South Africa, and Mexico.

The transition to a market economy in the countries of the former Soviet bloc was accompanied by a sudden and sharp increase in mortality of some three million people over the period 1989-96. This analysis of the upsurge in mortality rates aims to contribute to policies to tackle the crisis.

Elites play a crucial role in the development process. The impact they have on growth and development exceeds their representation within a country. This volume uses case studies from South Africa to China to seek an understanding of the relationship between elites and economic development.

This volume examines how foreign aid has influenced democratic transitions and consolidation in sub-Saharan Africa.

The volume explores how the Southern Engines, China, India, Brazil, and South Africa are reshaping the world economy. It looks at their development experiences, and examines how these could provide useful lessons to the developing world.

This book deals with the importance of industrialization and the development of manufacturing in the economic development process. It focuses specifically on new challenges such as global value chains, the rise of China, climate change, and the role of state versus private sector entrepreneurs in forging appropriate industrial policies.

Since the end of the Cold War, civil wars in developing countries have escalated to become the most significant source of human suffering in the world today. This is an overview of the nature and causes of the emergencies, including economic, political, and environmental factors.

Examines how African policy makers might develop better coordination between the public and private sectors to identify the constraints to faster structural transformation, and to design, implement, and monitor policies to remove them.

Poor people in developing countries are often affected by droughts, floods, illness, crop failure, job loss, and economic downturns. This book evaluates alternatives in widening insurance and social protection provision, including sustainability and poverty effects, in thematic papers and case studies, development assessments, and policy analyses.

This is a volume of papers on the issue of common property resources such as forests, fisheries, the atmosphere, rivers, and oceans, ownership of which is common or shared.

This volume investigates the ways in which development strategies have affected traditional cultural values and social practices. Some of the positions advanced are controversial, all are imaginative and will provoke thought and reassessment in the field.

This acute examination of the quality of women's life addresses a variety of particularly urgent questions. It develops a universal account of women's quality of life and in doing so confronts issues of cultural relativism. An account of gender justice and women's equality is proposed in various areas in which quality of life is measured.

This is a collection of papers examining the pressing issue of increasing inequality in the distribution of income in developing countries.

This book argues that the linear evolutionary paradigm of development that comes out of the modern Western view of knowledge is a contemporary form of colonialism. The authors propose a pluralistic vision and a decolonization of knowledge; the replacement of one-way transfers of knowledge and technology by dialogue and mutual learning.

There are many channels of access to land and each of these affects how land is used. This book analyzes each of these channels of access to land, and recommends ways of making them more effective for poverty reduction.

The transformation undertaken by the countries of the former communist bloc exhibits immense diversity in terms of initial conditions, shifting targets, consistency, speed, progress and economic performance. This text presents a comprehensive study of the economics and politics of post-socialism.

This two-volume work examines the causes of civil war and consequent humanitarian emergencies in developing countries. Twenty-three international experts explain why wars start and how to prevent them -- offering a less costly alternative to the present reactive strategy.

This volume brings together a significant new collection of studies on formality and informality in developing countries. Containing contributions from some of the very best analysts in development studies, the volume is multidisciplinary in nature, with contributions from anthropologists, economists, sociologists, and political scientists.

This original and important book looks in depth at the challenge of how to mobilize talent for international development. It shows that if managed effectively, this international mobility of talent can benefit both developing countries and more advanced economies.

This volume looks beyond the distribution of income by examining the assets, debts, and net worth of individuals and households to create a global picture of wealth, its distribution and concentration. Unlike previous studies, this study includes material on a number of transition and developing countries as well as high income OECD countries.

This is the first of three volumes on food strategies, analyzing the problem of hunger and deprivation in the modern world and providing a survey of current thinking on hunger. It will benefit development and agricultural economists, political economists, social scientists and policy-makers.

This study seeks to understand the rise and fall of the "golden age" of monetarist capitalism enjoyed by Western countries from the end of World War II until the 1960s. Blending historical analysis with economic theory, it questions the basis of present policy-making and provides policy proposals.

This work is an introduction to the study of group behaviour in developing countries. It provides both relevant theoretical issues and 11 case studies. The authors explore what determines modes of behaviour of groups, and the consequences for efficiency, equity, and well-being.

Focusing particular attention on sub-Saharan Africa, this volume deals with the control and prevention of famine. Topics covered include the problems of early warning and early action, the politics of famine prevention, the influence of market responses and the reduction of future famine.

Part of a major report on world hunger instigated by the World Institute for Development Economics Research, this volume deals with possible solutions to the problem of regular outbreaks of famine in various parts of the world.

India is a country of great diversity. This volume of essays reflects an attempt to draw lessons from the disparate experiences within India, rather than from contrasts with the experiences of other countries. A general overview precedes detailed studies of Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and West Bengal.

This volume brings together a significant new collection of studies on formality and informality in developing countries. Containing contributions from some of the very best analysts in development studies, the volume is multidisciplinary in nature, with contributions from anthropologists, economists, sociologists, and political scientists.

This volume looks beyond the distribution of income by examining the assets, debts, and net worth of individuals and households to create a global picture of wealth, its distribution and concentration. Unlike previous studies, this study includes material on a number of transition and developing countries as well as high income OECD countries.

Contributors provide a set of authoritative studies of emerging development issues. This text addresses both analytic and empirical issues on the role of environmental resources in the development process, presenting explanations of existing situations and policies for the future.

This is a collection of papers examining the issue of increasing inequality in the distribution of income in developing countries. Growth, Inequality and Poverty comprises many of the most important contributions to the debate.