The Political Economy of Rural Development argues for a new analysis of rural economic growth patterns, based on research the author conducted in Scandinavia. Ottar Brox reverses a long-standing conviction in urban planning theory by asserting that improving the economic opportunities for individuals in rural areas is an indirect investment in urban hubs. Peasant resistance, he reveals, is the logical result of urban neglect of local interests. The Political Economy of Rural Development is a convincing argument for new, localized economic strategies and will be invaluable to those interested in rural planning and economics.
This volume is concerned with integrated social and economic development in the Third World. It directs special attention to the psychological manipulation of peasants in order to keep them on the land and, where possible, make them more productive. In Part One, Henry Bernstein outlines and illustrates concepts for the analysis of contemporary peasantries. His introduction provides a general, historical framework for understanding the relationship of contemporary peasantries to "modernization." It is followed, in Parts Two and Three, by case studies of programs in Colombia (Rosemary E. Galli), Mexico (Hannes Lorenzen and Ernest Feder), Tanzania (Bruno Musti de Gennaro), and Bangladesh (Elizabeth Hartmann and James K. Boyce). In Part Four, Rosemary Galli offers a concluding essay on "Rural Development and the Contradiction of Capitalist Development." In this book, empirical evidence combines with personal experiences to cut through the rhetoric of those who consider "the underdeveloped nation" as an abstract unit. It reveals the variety of contemporary rural development strategies. From their synthesis emerges a picture of the internal political configuration of underdevelopment—the role of international capital and technology in rural areas and in assessment of the impact upon peasant farmers. This book persuasively argues that international agencies, supporting and supported by national governments and elites, promote development policies inimical to the welfare of rural cultivators.
This volume is concerned with integrated social and economic development in the Third World. It directs special attention to the psychological manipulation of peasants in order to keep them on the land and, where possible, make them more productive.
With the use of wide-ranging case studies the author clearly illustrates the impact of schemes intended to re-allocate land in developing countries. Concluding that land reform can play a major part in stimulating rural economies this book explores the extent to which such policies can successfully reduce poverty and increase agricultural growth.
This title, originally published in 1981, explores the difficult, and at times volatile, relationship between public choice and rural development in developing countries. The book is organised into three major sections: the first section examines important general themes, the second describes how public choice and rural development intertwine in some areas of concern to aid donors, and finally, the third section revisits the major themes discussed in the book and offers further understanding to the critical questions and problems at hand. It is a valuable resource for students interested in environmental studies and development studies.
The book shows how class relations develop and is a consequence of capitalist development of the rural non-agricultural/non-farm sector (RNFS)---seen as the dialectical relation between the forces and relations of production---as mediated by the state, which produces uneven social and spatial outcomes. Central to the framework for this book are four inter-related conceptual building blocks or themes: social relations of production, productive forces, role of the state and concrete development outcomes of capitalist production in RNFS in the context of class and non-class relations of oppressions. These four conceptual themes follow a logical sequence where each concept evolve in specific contexts within the RNFS; while connected to each other in a dialectical manner; and come together to form the central argument of the book.
Economic development may be seen from many different points of view: in terms of history, theory or empirical generalization. The Political Economy of Development draws these points of view together as it explores the practice of economic development itself and considers the issues that arise in attempting to devise development strategies for developing countries and to implement them. The term 'political economy' highlights the fact that economics cannot be conducted in isolation, and always has to be related to the political and social setting of the countries with which it is concerned. The Political Economy of Development foregrounds the political context of development in its study of applied economics.
