In the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Paul Kagame's new government embarked upon a revolutionary restructuring of the economy. It lifted tight government controls on the production, sale, and distribution of a variety of goods, liberalized many sectors of the economy, and gave people...

Proponents of Fair Trade claim it improves the lives of farmers in developing countries by providing them a higher sale price for their crops, allowing for a higher standard of living, and offering the opportunity to escape the vulnerability of poverty. Drawing on field work conducted in Costa...

Despite having the largest economy in Africa, many of South Africa's citizens grapple with poverty. For rural residents especially, poverty is pervasive, and hunger a very real threat. Government efforts to improve the lives of smallholder farmers and other rural residents are slow to bear...

Can indigenous people protect their environment and, at the same time, develop strong businesses that help diversify their livelihoods and alleviate poverty? In Namibia, the answer is yes. Through community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), Namibians who form conservancies now have...

Rising food prices caused a worldwide food shortage in 2008 that led to riots and protests around the globe. Though food prices have now declined, the struggle with hunger for many Africans is far from over. Some African countries' hunger woes reflect systemic problems with land tenure,...

Can indigenous people protect their environment and, at the same time, develop strong businesses that help diversify their livelihoods and alleviate poverty? In Namibia, the answer is yes. Through community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), Namibians who form conservancies now have...

Compared to other urban redevelopment approaches, Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) - special geographically defined zones that are authorized to collect taxes from their members and then manage those revenues to serve a variety of purposes - have had relative uncontreversial success. Since...

Following the destruction wrought by the 2005 Gulf Coast Hurricanes, Louisiana and Mississippi instituted disaster recovery programs for homeowners. Louisiana's disaster recovery program, the Road Home program, is "the largest single housing recovery project in U.S. history." It is also mired in...

The Millennium Challenge Account's (MCA) focus on results and creating incentives for developing countries to enact good policy continues to hold promise for a well-needed change in government-driven international development assistance. The continued success of the MCA will depend on the...

Prior to 2003, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was an independent agency with direct congressional oversight. But in the wake of the September 11th attacks, FEMA was integrated into the newly-formed Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This merger, which severed the...