Analysis of off-farm work decisions among smallholder farm households in Burkina Faso

This article investigates off-farm work decisions by smallholder farm households. Using data on 1,101 households from Burkina Faso, it demonstrates that in addition to the usual household socio-demographic characteristics, remittances, access to information and beneficiary of specific training affect off-farm work decisions, as well as rainfall factors and idiosyncratic health shocks. Community characteristics such as accessibility and number of inhabitants are also key factors. While suggesting that off-farm work is less likely to be undertaken for accumulation purposes, these results have important policy implications. In particular, policy measures should consider each segment as a separate entity.     

Shaking off the neoliberal shackles: “democratic emergence” and the negotiation of democratic knowledge in the Middle East North Africa context

ABSTRACT

There is a general assumption in democracy promotion that liberal democracy is the panacea that will solve all political and economic problems faced by developing countries. Using the concept of “good society” as analytical prism, the analysis shows that while there is a rhetorical agreement as to what the “good society” entails, democracy promotion practices fail to allow for recipients’ inclusion in the negotiation and delivery of the “good society”. Contrasting US and Tunisian discourses on the “good society”, the article argues that democracy promotion practices are underpinned by neoliberal parameters borne out from a reliance on the transition paradigm, which in turn leave little room to democracy promotion recipients to formulate knowledge claims supporting the emergence of alternative conceptions of the “good society”. In contrast, the article opens up a reflective pathway to a negotiated democratic knowledge, which would reside in a paradigmatic change that consists in the abandonment of the transition paradigm in favour of a “democratic emergence” paradigm.     

俄远东地区2001年工业运行浅析

工业是俄罗斯远东地区的主导经济部门。2001年远东工业仍未走出低谷,但有的工业部门生产已出现恢复性增长。按部门概述远东工业生产运行状况,指出存在的问题及成因,以探讨解决问题的途径。     

Community-managed rice banks: lessons from Laos

Rice banks are increasingly used in South-East Asia as a means of addressing seasonal food crises facing poor communities. Despite general agreement about the effectiveness of community-managed rice banks in improving food security, there has been almost no research into their effectiveness in reaching the poorest, or the prospects of sustainability linked to regular repayments of rice. Concern Laos sought to answer these questions through community mobilisation, forming rules and regulations to encourage the participation of the poorest, developing simple tools and procedures in line with existing community capacity, and building greater community capacity. Other challenges remain, such as changing the prevailing ‘relief’ mentality, ensuring women's participation, and establishing regular savings schemes, in order to enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of the rice banks.     

俄罗斯开发远东地区自然资源的动因

当前,俄罗斯正处在一个复杂的国际政治、经济环境中,大力开发远东地区的自然资源对于其经济振兴和国家安全来说既是必由之路,又是明智之举。     

后阿拉法特时代的以巴关系--对中东和平进程三大关键因素的分析

阿拉法特辞世后,阿巴斯当选巴民族权力机构主席,完成了巴勒斯坦民族解放事业领导人的代际更替,沙龙组成新的联合政府,布什完成连选连任,巴、以、美三方的变化为推动中东和平进程的实现带来了历史性机遇,以巴恢复和谈势在必行。但由于三方特别是以巴双方各自面临重重困难,因此,在形式上恢复和谈容易,就实质性问题达成协议难。     

Highlights from a low-level area: infant mortality and social structure in eight East Frisian parishes, 1740–1839

Considerable variations in infant mortality rates have occurred within the low-lying region of northern Germany's East Frisia. Individual parishes can be assigned to three specific groups by registered mortality levels for the period 1740–1839. Differences also existed between parishes containing Geest (heathland), bogs, and marshland reflecting specific geographical and environment factors, as well as the structure of the local economy. In both Geest and bog parishes, the level of infant mortality and its trend over time were not homogeneous. In the two marshy river parishes, only environmental factors were significant; both registered the lowest rates of infant mortality. They had fertile soil, extensive grazing land, an exceptionally high number of large agricultural holdings, and households that were above average in size. By contrast, the highest rates of infant mortality were found in one bog and two Geest parishes, but these communities remained heterogeneous in terms of geographical size and population growth and density.     

远东港口在发展东西方国际运输走廊中的作用

随着亚太经济一体化进程的发展 ,在中国东北和美国西海岸之间建立一条经过俄罗斯滨海边疆区港口的货物直达运输线路已提到日程。这条被称为东西方国际运输走廊的货运线路不仅能节省运费和运输时间 ,还能牵动亚太地区贸易规模的扩大 ,带来投资机遇。同时会促进俄罗斯经济稳定 ,加速其与亚太经济一体化的进程     

中东伊斯兰力量掌权前景分析

1979年伊朗伊斯兰革命成功后,中东出现了伊斯兰力量夺权的浪潮。总体来看,伊斯兰组织采取了四种策略,即政变、恐怖袭击、内战或者革命以及参加民主选举。由于各国执政者对军队的严密控制,除苏丹这个特例外,政变从未成功。恐怖袭击虽能破坏社会秩序,但无法动摇政权的根基。伊朗革命具有极强的特殊性,别国无法成功复制。而大多数中东国家中央政府相对强大,不具备发生内战的条件。因此,在中东国家实行政治改革后,参加民主选举成为获取权力最为现实可行的方式。在此情况下,越来越多的伊斯兰组织将会放弃暴力夺权的方式,淡化意识形态的色彩,与其他世俗政治派别一起公平竞争国家权力。     

Remortgaging Women's Lives: The World Bank'sLand Agenda in Africa

In recent months, the World Bank has issued a series of draft policy reports on land relations. This is the first time in over two decades that the Bank has sought to review its policy on lending in the land sector. Access to the draft reports and participation in the consultation process has, however, been severely limited. Nonetheless, the World Bank expects to issue the final Report by the end of this year. This paper presents a gender analysis of the two draft documents that have been made available to date. It assesses their implications for gender relations in Africa. It explores the World Bank's promotion of formal rural credit and challenges the assumption of the availability of women's unpaid agricultural labour. The paper argues that, far from being over, the struggle over land relations which has characterised the last decade in Africa, must continue. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.