Using a macro-meso-micro framework this paper examines the shifts in the hegemonic development model and the implementation of new participatory mechanisms. It argues that despite macro-level policy shifts, in the Chilean context, the implementation of these mechanisms at the meso- and...

This paper discusses relevance in development studies. We argue that current debates around relevance assume a hegemonic view of development, which is bolstered by the high levels of research funding from key policy-making institutions. We feel relevance can be pluralized and radicalized, but...

This paper argues against what we call ‘the local trap’, in which development researchers and practitioners falsely assume that localized decision-making is inherently more socially just or ecologically sustainable. The local trap constrains research on a range of topics in...

There is reasonable agreement that effective and well-developed institutions have a significant role to play in economic development. Accordingly a number of studies have attempted to relate institutions to the rate of economic growth and the level of efficiency of markets. This paper assesses...

The use of indigenous knowledge has been seen by many as an alternative way of promoting development in poor rural communities in many parts of the world. By reviewing much of the recent work on indigenous knowledge, the paper suggests that a number of problems and tensions has resulted in...

This paper examines empirically the impact of micro-credit on poverty in Bangladesh. Unlike previous studies, the focus is on both objective and subjective poverty and particular attention is paid to the length of time programme participants have had access to micro-credit. A household-level...

The importance of good health of a population is crucial when determining social welfare. A new health-adjusted national income indicator that explores the relationships between economic growth, health and social welfare in Bangkok, Thailand from 1975 to 1999 is applied. This new approach to...

Poverty in Africa is multifaceted. It is characterized by, among other things, a lack of purchasing power, rural predominance, exposure to risk, insufficient access to social and economic services and few opportunities for formal income generation. On average, 45-50% of sub-Saharan Africans live...

Government policy in post-1994 South Africa, whilst upholding the principles of community participation and development, has been firmly wedded to a neoliberal growth agenda. This paper critically examines whether one element of that new growth agenda, that of Spatial Development Initiatives,...

Under a ‘landscape approach’ to biodiversity conservation, USAID/Madagascar integrates by design concerns for forest resources and humans in five target ecoregions. This paper examines relationships between its strategic framework and how the mission reports results from development...