Books in the WIDER Studies in Development Economics series

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.

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 collapse in commodity prices since 1980 have been a major cause of the economic crisis in a large part of the Third World. This book demonstrates, using new econometric models, that the producing countries could have prevented this price collapse by appropriate supply management.

Since the 1960s the resource-poor countries have grown faster than the resource-rich ones. This reflects differences in the speed of industrialization and the nature of the political state. This book shows how policies for economic recovery must be adapted to reflect differences in the natural resource base and type of political state.

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.

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.

Now that EMU is here and likely to stay, the 'second generation' of research is under way. This volume presents a significant sample of that research and explores questions such as: How do central bankers who used to run their own banks now melt into a single pot? Are labour markets going to shape up? Is the euro becoming a world currency?

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

The contributors to this volume argue that investment in infrastructure, physical capital, and education is the key to economic development. This is an old policy prescription in the economics of development. What is new is the suggestion that the IT content of these investments should be high.

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.

Based on a review of relevant literature and an econometric analysis of inequality indexes, this volume provides the systematic analysis of the changes in within-country income inequality over years. It offers the empirical assessment of the relation between policies towards liberalization and globalization and income inequality.

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.

The role of the state has occupied centre stage in the development of economics as an independent discipline. The contributors to this volume examine patterns of interventionism and anti-interventionism in a wide variety of historical, political and institutional contexts.

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 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.

A study of progress and setbacks in women's positions, linking them to aspects of the economic development process and state policies. It explores the changing position of women and gender relations, the relevance of the concept of patriarchy, and the impact of development on women and gender.

The contributions to this volume examine the macroeconomic and policy dilemmas confronting public authorities in the emerging economies as they deal with short-term capital movements, especially in the period before the outbreak of currency crises such as those in Mexico and East Asia.

The papers gathered together in this collection show that neither the market nor the state alone offers solutions to efficiency and equity problems commonly encountered in social sectors in poor nations. Innovative ways to address these important problems are explored, favouring an integrative approach to social provision.

Since the 1960s the per capita incomes of the resource-poor countries have grown significantly faster than those of the resource-abundant countries. This guide explains the performance of resource-abundant countries by extending the growth accounting framework to include natural and social capital.

This book advocates a new approach to the relief of famine and hardship in developing countries by addressing the political issues that prevent fair distribution of resources, rather than by simply seeking to provide more food and services.

The world has changed since the United Nations system and the Bretton Woods institutions were created, and so have its governance needs in terms of institutions and rules. This text explores how to meet the needs of institutions and governance in the 21st century.

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.

War has destroyed the hopes and lives of millions of Africans. How can we help Africa's communities to recover? How can we ensure that recovery from conflict benefits the poor and not just a narrow elite? These are just some of the vital questions asked and answered in this important new book, which is one of the first to thoroughly examine recovery from conflict in Africa.

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.