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The Middle East is one of the most conflict-prone regions—butwhy? The Collier-Hoeffler model of civil war provides the starting point for our analysis. In an application to Africa, Collier and Hoeffler found poverty to be the most significant predictor of conflict. For conflict in the Middle East, a more complex picture emerges. Consistent with Collier and Hoeffler, the authors find that economic development and economic growth, in addition to longer periods of peace, generally decrease the likelihood of conflict. They also find that ethnic dominance is significant, while social fractionalization is not. Contrary to Collier and Hoeffler, they find that regime type matters. Variables for the Middle East region, Islamic countries, and oil dependence are not significant. Conflict in the Middle East is quite well explained by a general theory of civilwar, and there is no need to invoke a pattern of "Middle Eastern exceptionalism."

Bibliography: leaves 95-97. ; Though there has been a rapidly growing body of texts that is concerned with understanding the consequences of HIV/AIDS on urban development planning (Harber, 2001; Tomlinson, 2001; Van Donk, 2003), the translation of this knowledge into tangible improvements of people's lives has not happened yet, due to a nonexistent or very slow policy response and poor implementation. Besides political obstacles, this lack of response is equally caused by the absence of clearly defined targeted intervention strategies based on a comprehensive, realistic and holistic analysis of the situation. So far HIV/ AIDS has been understood and responded to as mainly a medical problem. This dissertation pulls together the diverse dynamics and impacts of HIV/AIDS on urban development and poverty in South Africa and uses this information to develop context sensitive intervention models and implementation strategies.

HIV/AIDS can now be considered a pandemic as it affects all parts of the world. As attentive as scholars have been to the biomedical and epidemiological aspects of the disease, they have been slower to try to understand it as a disease of transnational significations or meanings. This article looks to the ways that the conceptual categories of HIV/AIDS came to India in the biomedical literature, the approaches that the media in the United States and India took in contending with these meanings, and how these categories travel globally in dominant and negotiated realms of discourse. Throughout this analysis, attention is paid to ways that high-risk groupings obscure alternative approaches based on understandings of the dynamics of poverty, history, gender, and culture. Finally, this article argues that critical approaches to science and medicine are essential to help produce a more complex science.

Book review in this articleEconomic Analysis of Property Rights (2nd edn.) Yoram BarzelA Critique of Orthodox Economics: An Alternative Model Harold LydallThe Myth of Adam Smith Rashid SalimThe Wealth and Poverty of Nations David LandesBritain's Economic Performance (2nd edn.) Tony BuxtonPositioning Pensions for the Twenty‐first Century Michael S. GordonThe Power of Ideas: The Heritage Foundation at 25 Years Lee EdwardsThe March of Freedom: Modern Classics in Conservative Thought Edwin J. Feulner JrHeart of Freedom: A Life ‐ A Love of Liberty William L. LawA Step‐By‐Step Guide to Strategic Planning: What Every Manager Must Know George A. SteinerThe China Miracle: Development Strategy and Economic Reform Justin Yifu Lin, Fang Cai and Zhou LiReining in the Dinosaur: The Story Behind the Remarkable Turnaround of New Zealand Post ivienne SmithCentral Banking and Banking Regulation Rosa Maria LastraBritain at the Crossroads Russell Wood

Abstract "Subsistence" and "informal economy" are contrasted in their utility as sociological concepts and their ability to explain a variety of activities in two rural Mississippi Delta communities. Literature on subsistence stresses that the desired outcome of participation is not an increase in income but the social rewards of participation itself. Two underlying dimensions of participation in these activities are documented through the literature and through a confirmatory factor analysis of empirical data: life‐style choice and economic strategy. These were constructed into indexes and examined individually and in combination as dependent variables using regressors at the community, household, and individual levels. Community ties were weakly associated with participation in such activities. Whites and those with higher incomes participated more in lifestyle choice oriented activities. Participation in general was statistically related to households needing less weekly income and being of larger size. Potential connections with persistent rural poverty are discussed.

Survey research in Mexico has flourished as an instrument in the country's modernization, particularly since the 1970s. It has profited from a close association with government. This association has, at times, led to an uneasy relationship with academics, but in recent years, the increasing availability of official survey data has permitted independent critiques of the government's own analysis of surveys and of their methodology. The challenge to Mexican survey research comes primarily from the social heterogeneity and uneven development of the country. Factors making it difficult to standardize national surveys are the persistence of a traditional rural sector, part of whose population speaks indigenous languages; large differences in consumption levels between and within regions; high rates of population mobility; and a large informal sector. The article focuses on the achievements and shortcomings of Mexican survey research when applied to the rural-urban transition, poverty, labor markets, and migration.

Argues that the world is on the verge of a global economic slump, citing the example of the Thai crisis in 1997 because a Southeast Asian crisis that became an Asian crisis became the Great Asian Depression. This cycle of negative growth, economic insecurity, & poverty, it is argued, has set off a cascading series of events throughout the world that signal an economic crisis of contraction. The authors explain specific developments in the crisis along with an analysis of assorted Asian economies (Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, & Japan). The European response, capital controls, the International Monetary Fund, & the United States Congress are discussed in relation to their contributions to the Asian crisis. The ongoing battle will be over the US push for increased capital flows & the Asian resistance to them unless both sides can create a method to ensure "prudential regulation.". R. Rodriguez

This article describes a study of time to employment for 502 randomly sampled participants in an experimental two-parent public assistance program. The study analyzed participant charac teristics, work-related program components, and labor market conditions as related to length of time to participant employment. Event history analysis was used to regress a proportional hazard rate of employment onto the explanatory vanables. A multivanate model of factors associated with the hazard rate for employment mcluded weeks unemployed prior to program apphcation, age in years, semirural district, Native American race, weeks employed at last job, years of education, and hourly wage of last employment. Findings support long-held assumptions regarding ties between two-parent families and the labor market. Implications for practice include caution against arbitrary program time limits and encouragement of policies that support and enable education and employment for families at risk of poverty.

Includes bibliographical references. ; Farmworker families that live and work on commercial farms are amongst the poorest people in South Africa. Poverty is experienced in several dimensions, including low cash income, poor access to services, isolation, intermittent and insecure employment, dependence on employers, and limited social, economic and political power to improve their conditions. This study investigates the worker households' access to and use of energy, in order to identify their domestic energy needs. An evaluation of energy supply, including all fuels used by workers, is undertaken. Guidelines for strategies to improve farmworker households' access to energy services are proposed. The research relied on the analysis of empirical information from both primary and secondary sources and placed this in an integrated energy planning framework. Primary data included a national postal survey of farmers (3000 questionnaires were sent, 575 returned) and interviews with worker families in the West Cape.

Book review in this Articles:Negotiating Family Responsibilities By JANET FINCH & JENNIFER MASONAgeing and Economic Welfare By PAUL JOHNSON & JANE FALKINGHAMTime for Retirement: Comparative Studies of Early Exit from the Labour Force By MARTIN KOHLI, MARTIN REIN, ANNE‐MARIE GUILLEMARD & HERMAN VAN GUNSTEREN (eds.)Empowering the Elderly: Direct Consumer Funding of Care Services By WILLIAM LAINGPrivate Residential Care: the Admission Process and Reactions of the Public Sector By JUDITH PHILLIPSThe Abuse of Elderly People: a Handbook for Professionals By JACKI PRITCHARDCarers: Research and Practice By JULIA TWIGG (ed.)The Coming of Age in Europe SALLY GREENGROSS and othersWhen I'm Sixty‐Four By SALLY HERNESocial Policy in Europe: Latest Evolution and Perspectives for the Future By B. GREVE (ed.)Poverty and the Adequacy of Social Security in the EC: A Comparative Analysis By H. DELEECK, K. VAN DEN BOSCH & L. DE LATHOUWER

Difficulties in the transition from autocratic to democratic government should be explained by sociocultural as well as political variables. Here, a historical analysis of the correlation of class, status, & politics in Haiti, using archival data, participant observation conducted in 1988 in Port-au-Prince, & 1986 interview data, highlights the dominance & pervasiveness of a dual system of class & status stratification. Throughout Haitian history, the economic variables of poverty & underdevelopment were buttressed by a system of class & status inequalities to support an enduring pattern of oligarchy, dictatorship, political instability, &, in the last thirty years, of institutionalized waste & corruption. The people's struggle for democracy must first overcome an assortment of economic, political, & administrative obstacles left by the Duvaliers' dictatorial regimes. Such a struggle is further hampered by the country's dual stratification, which still dominates its social & political institutions, & may be the most serious roadblock to the institutionalization of democracy in Haiti. Modified AA

Abstract. Henry George's classicism was evident in his acceptance of "hard core" assumptions inherent in classical economic analysis, notably that rational self‐interested behavior exercise in competitive markets maximized economic welfare. However, George's "stage theory," the "Law of Human Progress," led him to reject the classical nexus between social and economic welfare. The emergence of an exchange economy improved efficiency and economic welfare, but institutional changes lagged behind, particularly the redefinition of property rights. Consequently, economic growth based on land as a private rather than public good widened the gap between economic efficiency and social welfare. Hence George's paradox of poverty amidst progress. George resolved the equity efficiency conflict by treating land as a public good. Then, the sale of monopoly rights to land through the "single tax" on land rents captured the difference between the private and social costs of land use.

This report seeks to formulate a long-term vision for Haiti's health sector to accelerate progress toward universal health coverage (UHC), a key objective of the government's National Health Policy (Politique Nationale de Santé, PNS)–MSPP (2012). Progress toward this goal has been hindered by political instability and frequent natural catastrophes. Most recently, in October 2016, Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc on Haiti's health system. It has been estimated that at least 1,000 people died and 1.4 million Haitians were directly affected by the hurricane. Such disasters have influenced Haiti's government and development partners by demanding a short-term focus on acute need priorities. This study aims to take a step back, assess Haiti's health financing system, and identify critical constraints and opportunities to accelerate progress toward UHC and the health-related United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the long term. The report compiles existing studies and information, and it provides new analysis of larger data sets, as well as hospital financing data. To our knowledge, it is the first attempt to assess systematically the health financing system in Haiti.

Exploiting DHS data from 235 regions in 29 Sub-Saharan Africa countries, we find that the combination of low levels of malnutrition together with dramatically high rates of mortality, encountered in Kenya's Lake Victoria territory, is unique for Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper explores the causes of this paradox for the Kenyan context. Our identification strategy consists of two parts. First of all, we apply multilevel regression models to control simultaneously for family and community clustering of the observed malnutrition and mortality outcomes. Secondly, to address unobserved but correlated factors, we exploit information from GIS and malaria databases to construct variables that capture additional components of children's geographic, political and cultural environment. Our analysis reveals that beneficial agricultural conditions and feeding practices lead to the observed sound anthropometric outcomes around Lake Victoria. In contrast, high mortality rates rest upon an adverse disease environment (malaria prevalence, water pollution, HIV rates) and a policy neglect (underprovision of health care services). Nonetheless, a significant effect of the local ethnic group, the Luo, on mortality remains.

"Improving the health status of the poor and addressing their specific health needs is crucial for poverty alleviation. In this context, the design of health care systems is one of several key challenges. This study analyses the accessibility of the Latvian health care system from a pro-poor perspective. What access barriers currently affect poor and vulnerable inhabitants of Latvia? How can these barriers be removed and the health care system be made more pro-poor? In this analysis of the Latvian health care system, three relevant dimensions of accessibility are identified: the financial, the geographical, and the informational one. For each dimension, barriers to access, existing measures to overcome these and their limits are discussed and reform proposals made. Overall, efforts to enhance the access of poor and vulnerable groups to the Latvian health care system must tackle the pooling and funding side, improve the overall stewardship of health care and social protection, and meet with a supportive general political framework." (author's abstract)