Suchergebnisse

An essay covering books by 1) Geoff Dyer, the Contest of the Century: The New Era of Competition with China -- and How America Can Win (2014) and 2) Robert D. Kaplan, Asia's Cauldron: The South China Sea and the End of a Stable Pacific (2014). Adapted from the source document.

This study is an inquiry into the emergence and transformation of Batkhela bazaar in the North West of Pakistan. It investigates the emergence of the bazaar in the face of historical conditions that were characterized by social stratification and political exclusivity. It then probes the transformation of Batkhela bazaar and it's functioning in the current socio-political conditions. We investigate the above processes with a focus on entrepreneurs of the bazaar. Particularly we examine their efforts in challenging historical conditions during the emergence of the Batkhela bazaar and their continuous endeavor to keep the bazaar functioning. The study also reflects on the social and political embeddedness of the entrepreneurial activities of the bazaar. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI1; CRP2; PSSP ; DSGD; PIM ; CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

Agriculture, including fisheries and forestry, accounted for 36.4 percent of Myanmar's GDP in 2010-2011. Approximately 69 percent of the total population of 59.78 million (2010-2011) lives in rural areas and 61.2 percent of the total labor force is employed by the agricul-ture sector (MOAI 2012). The government has designated the agriculture sector as a main pillar of the economy and is dedicating vari-ous efforts and investments to achieve greater progress in the sector. Rice is the primary crop, followed by maize, pulses, and oil seeds. Over 90 percent of the total rice sown in Myanmar1 is done so by farmers' reusing their seeds. Hybrid varieties of maize are grown more widely in part due to domestic hybrid production and imports. In recent years, there has also been an increase in the production of fruits and vegetables due to demand from China as well as the emergence of supermarkets in the country which has also increased the utilization of quality seeds and seedlings. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI1; ReSAKSS Asia ; DSGD

Using empirical data from 87 watershed communities in semiarid India, our study has shown that collective action in watershed management can be captured through a set of variables that indicate the capacity of communities to design and enforce certain common institutional arrangements and their ability to mobilize local financial and labor resources for watershed investments. The level of collective action in terms of internal institutional capacity was affected negatively by the size of the groups (number of households and area of the village), while distance from markets and high rainfall seemed to increase it. On the other hand, collective action in terms of internal mobilization capacity decreased with rainfall, size of group, number of seasonal migrants, and distance from the seat of the local administration but increased with area of the village, flow of information within the village, and the share of land under village commons. The mobilization capacity also seems to have increased with equitable distribution of benefits and preference for employment of the rural poor and female workers. However, the results clearly show that in most watershed communities the level of collective action is very limited, indicating that only few communities have achieved higher levels of active participation of resource users in watershed programs. ; PR ; IFPRI2; CAPRi ; EPTD

Pakistan's economy relies heavily on its cotton and textile sectors. The cotton-processing and textile industries make up almost half of the country's manufacturing base, while cotton is Pakistan's principal industrial crop, supplying critical income to rural households. Altogether, the cotton-textile sectors account for 11 percent of GDP and 60 percent of export receipts. The future of this vital component of the national economy is uncertain, however. These industries face the challenges of unstable world prices and increased competition resulting from global liberalization of the multilateral textile and clothing trade. At the same time, Pakistan's macroeconomic situation is volatile. Given such challenges and volatility, this study investigates what the future might hold for Pakistan's cotton and textile industries and its implications for rural and urban poverty reduction in the country. The study uses a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model calibrated to a 2001–02 social accounting matrix of the Pakistan economy to conduct experimental simulations of possible economic changes. The CGE model results are linked to the nation-wide 2001–02 Pakistan Household Integrated Economic Survey to examine the implications the simulated developments have for Pakistani poverty. Simulation 1 examines the effects of a doubling of foreign capital inflows, as occurred from 2002 to 2006, before a subsequent financial crisis emerged in 2008. Simulation 2 analyzes the counterfactual effects of an increase in world prices of cotton lint and yarn and/or textiles which would have offset declines experienced in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Pakistan's strong textile association motivates Simulation 3, which examines the effects of a 5-percent increase in government production subsidies to the industry. Simulation 4 uses a dynamic-recursive version of the model to analyze the short- and long-run effects of a 5-percent increase of total factor productivity (TFP) in cotton, lint and yarn, and textile production. ; PR ; IFPRI1 ; MTID

Introduces a special issue of Forced Migration Review focusing on the politics of disaster relief & reconstruction efforts following the Asian tsunami of December 2004.

This book is a comprehensive analysis of the impact of the 1998 floods, the response of the government, and the coping strategies of households. It contains valuable lessons for developing countries on maintaining food security following major production shortfalls and serves as a guide for future research and decisionmaking on ways to address chronic food insecurity in Bangladesh. ; PR ; IFPRI2; GRP26; Theme 8; Disaster Prevention and Recovery ; FCND; MTID

At their peak, the 1998 floods covered two-thirds of Bangladesh, causing severe damage to the major rice crop and threatening the food security of tens of millions of households. In this paper, we first highlight the contribution of government policy interventions, including trade liberalization in the early 1990s, to stabilization of rice markets during and after the flood. Then, using a panel data set covering 750 households in three rounds over a 13-month period, we analyze impacts of the flood on household assets, consumption and nutritional outcomes. Finally, we present empirical estimates of the contribution of rice market stabilization and government transfers to household food consumption. ; ISI; IFPRI3; GRP26; Theme 8 ; FCND; MSSD ; PR

India's investments in agricultural research, extension, and irrigation have made it one of the largest publicly funded systems in the world. But some policymakers who perceive that the benefits to research may be declining are advocating a cut back on public spending on research. This research report, which examines the effects of research and development on productivity in India, finds that India is still benefiting from these investments. The main sources of agricultural productivity growth in India during 1956–87 were public agricultural research and extension; expansion of irrigated area and rural infrastructure and improvement in human capital were also important contributors. The report also shows that the public benefits from private research can be sub stantial, indicating that private firms capture only part of the real value of improved inputs through higher prices. Private agricultural research accounted for more than 10 per cent of growth of total facto productivity (TFP) during 1956–87, and in 1966–75, when India was more open to foreign technology, private research contributed 22 per cent of productivity gowth. Industrial policy and technology policy, including intellectual property rights policy, will require careful evaluation and reform in order to encourage private investment in agriculture. Even so, Pray and Rosegrant argue that barriers to technology transfer should be removed in order to stimulate technology transfer and growth. Nevertheless, public investment in agricultural research will likely retain its primary role. Contrary to concerns that growth in TFP has decreased over time, the report finds that during 1977–87, the period when the results in regions that adopted high-yielding varieties early on could be expected to taper off, TFP growth was 50 per cent higher than before the Green Revolution and 17 per cent higher than in the early years of the Green Revolution, indicating that gains are far from over. The rates of return to public agricultural research are high, and it appears that the government is under investing in agricultural research. Expanding public investment in research and extension would lead to even greater gains. (Forward by Per Pinstrup-Andersen) ; PR ; IFPRI1