World Development Report 2008

World Development Report 2008

Author: World Bank

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2007-10-15

Total Pages: 390

ISBN-13: 0821368095

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The world's demand for food is expected to double within the next 50 years, while the natural resources that sustain agriculture will become increasingly scarce, degraded, and vulnerable to the effects of climate change. In many poor countries, agriculture accounts for at least 40 percent of GDP and 80 percent of employment. At the same time, about 70 percent of the world's poor live in rural areas and most depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. 'World Development Report 2008' seeks to assess where, when, and how agriculture can be an effective instrument for economic development, especially development that favors the poor. It examines several broad questions: How has agriculture changed in developing countries in the past 20 years? What are the important new challenges and opportunities for agriculture? Which new sources of agricultural growth can be captured cost effectively in particular in poor countries with large agricultural sectors as in Africa? How can agricultural growth be made more effective for poverty reduction? How can governments facilitate the transition of large populations out of agriculture, without simply transferring the burden of rural poverty to urban areas? How can the natural resource endowment for agriculture be protected? How can agriculture's negative environmental effects be contained? This year's report marks the 30th year the World Bank has been publishing the 'World Development Report'.


Rural Financial Markets in Developing Countries

Rural Financial Markets in Developing Countries

Author: Von Pischke, J. D.

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press

Published: 1983

Total Pages: 464

ISBN-13:

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Until recently the use of agricultural credit as a developmental tool seemed clear and straightforward. Most concerned people believed that increases in the volume of cheap credit were necessary to boost agricultural production, and that the rural poor could be brought into the mainstream of development through supervised credit programs. It seemed that certain ideal types of rural credit institutions offered the promise of meeting farmers' credit needs, and that experience in the industrialized countries with cooperatives and specialized agricultural finance institutions could be effectively transplanted to low-income countries. This collection of readings highlights facets of rural financial markets that have often been neglected in discussions of agricultural credit in developing countries. It moves beyond a narrow concern with the simple provision of credit to a broad consideration of the performance of rural financial markets and of ways to improve the quality and range of financial services for low-income farmers. It reflects new thinking on the design, administration, evaluation and policy framework of rural finance and credit programs in developing countries.


Undermining Rural Development With Cheap Credit

Undermining Rural Development With Cheap Credit

Author: Dale W Adams

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-11-28

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 1000009416

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Originally published in 1985, twenty-three chapters are brought together in 4 parts dealing with, respectively, problems in rural finance, interest rate policies, politics and finance, and new directions for rural financial markets. In an introduction it is argued that cheap and abundant credit is often regarded as essential for rural development but that actions taken on the basis of this assumption have given disappointing results. Low-interest policies and the improper use of financial markets are seen as the principal reasons for this. It is recommended that higher and more flexible interest rates are allowed and that little or no attention is given to target loans. Informal lenders are thought to offer valuable services therefore they should not be discouraged. More emphasis should be put on voluntary savings mobilization and access to formal loans by non-farm rural firms. It is concluded that many traditional agricultural credit programmes are counterproductive and that attractive product and input prices together with higher yields would be more powerful in stimulating agricultural development.


Rural Finance and Credit Infrastructure in China

Rural Finance and Credit Infrastructure in China

Author: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Publisher: OECD Publishing

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13:

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Although Chinas rural economy has made significant progress over the last twenty-five years, rural finance and institutional reforms are still lagging behind. This publication reviews the findings of an OECD meeting held in October 2003 and organised with the Chinese Government (with participants including Chinese policy makers and industry experts, as well as representatives from the World Bank, the FAO, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Development Bank). The meeting discussed options for improving the countrys rural finance and institutional framework, as well as considering the role that the Chinese government could play within the reform process.


Agricultural development: New perspectives in a changing world

Agricultural development: New perspectives in a changing world

Author: Otsuka, Keijiro, ed.

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2021-01-14

Total Pages: 798

ISBN-13: 0896293831

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Agricultural Development: New Perspectives in a Changing World is the first comprehensive exploration of key emerging issues facing developing-country agriculture today, from rapid urbanization to rural transformation to climate change. In this four-part volume, top experts offer the latest research in the field of agricultural development. Using new lenses to examine today’s biggest challenges, contributors address topics such as nutrition and health, gender and household decision-making, agrifood value chains, natural resource management, and political economy. The book also covers most developing regions, providing a critical global perspective at a time when many pressing challenges extend beyond national borders. Tying all this together, Agricultural Development explores policy options and strategies for developing sustainable agriculture and reducing food insecurity and malnutrition. The changing global landscape combined with new and better data, technologies, and understanding means that agriculture can and must contribute to a wider range of development outcomes than ever before, including reducing poverty, ensuring adequate nutrition, creating strong food value chains, improving environmental sustainability, and promoting gender equity and equality. Agricultural Development: New Perspectives in a Changing World, with its unprecedented breadth and scope, will be an indispensable resource for the next generation of policymakers, researchers, and students dedicated to improving agriculture for global wellbeing.


Microfinance In Asia

Microfinance In Asia

Author: Christopher E C Gan

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2017-03-27

Total Pages: 390

ISBN-13: 9813147962

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Lack of credit access is severe in low income and poor families that are normally considered to have fewer opportunities to borrow from banks due to insufficient valuable assets for collateral. These low-income households face limited opportunity to acquire new technology and working capital for agricultural production and thus tend to fall behind. As a result, providing access to finance to low-income rural households has been considered an important component of any rural development strategy. Microfinance programmes, in particular, have been gradually embedded in national strategies of many developing countries as they are poverty-focused. They aim to facilitate the access to financial services such as credit for the poor who are usually disadvantaged in terms of access to conventional financial services from formal financial institutions. The objective of this book is to provide an overview of microfinance programmes in Asia focusing in particular on the determinants of the accessibility of rural households to microcredit. The book studies seven Asian countries such as China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Bangladesh with two specific case studies.


Agricultural Policies for Poverty Reduction

Agricultural Policies for Poverty Reduction

Author: OECD

Publisher: OECD Publishing

Published: 2012-03-02

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 9264112901

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This volume sets out a strategy for raising rural incomes which emphasises the creation of diversified rural economies with opportunities within and outside agriculture.


Improving Access to Finance for India's Rural Poor

Improving Access to Finance for India's Rural Poor

Author: Priya Basu

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2006-01-01

Total Pages: 152

ISBN-13: 0821361473

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Annotation This book examines the current level and pattern of access to finance for India's rural households, evaluates various approaches for delivering financial services, analyzes what lies behind the lack of adequate financial access, and identifies what it would take to improve access to finance.


Rural Poverty in Developing Countries

Rural Poverty in Developing Countries

Author: Mr.Mahmood Hasan Khan

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2001-03-14

Total Pages: 28

ISBN-13: 9781589060067

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Reviews causes of poverty in rural areas and presents a policy framework for reducing rural poverty, including through land reform, public works programs, access to credit, physical and social infrastructure, subsidies, and transfer of technology. Identifies key elements for drafting a policy to reduce rural poverty.