There has been a vigorous debate about poverty measurement in Russia, where both the poverty line and poverty data have been subject to criticism. We outline some of the issues raised and discuss the use of an alternative welfare measure based on household assets. Asset indices have mostly been...

The aim of this paper is, first, to present an overall development index corrected for gender differences — the 'Multidimensional Gender-related Development Index' (MGDI) — which can be viewed as an alternative to the Gender-related Development Index. Secondly, to present a 'Multidimensional...

This paper focuses on the iconoclasticism of water as a plentiful resource and the near universalization of decentralizing institutions to manage it. The authors explore two agro-pastoral regions — Ambovombe District (Madagascar) and Tana River District (Kenya) — and consider institutional...

In the Sahel, efforts have been made to improve access to water for agriculture through the creation of irrigation schemes and pastoral water points. In the past, decisions on the construction and operation of these water facilities were typically based on hydrological and technical factors...

The Millennium Development Goals are time-bound quantified targets for improving the human condition from different perspectives. Within each Goal several targets have been set, and to each target there corresponds one or more indicators. For each indicator we axiomatically characterize an index...

The Development Centre of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Gender, Institutions and Development Data Base (GID-DB) is a new cross-country research tool with comprehensive measures of gender equality. It improves upon existing sources because it is the only data base...

Freedom is a key concept in Amartya Sen's definitions of capabilities and development. This paper focuses on a serious and neglected form of unfreedom — domestic violence — and argues that freedom from such violence must be integral to evaluating developmental progress. Conceptually, it...