Suchergebnisse

This book focuses on the 2007-2008 food price crisis and the ensuing financial and economic crisis (both globally and in sub-Saharan Africa), illustrating the problems using country case studies that cover their origins, effects on agriculture and rural poverty, and their underlying factors. The 13 chapters in this volume address several themes, all related to the food and financial crises and their impacts in sub-Saharan Africa. Broadly speaking, the principal themes discussed in this book are the causes and consequences of the dual crises, their impacts in sub-Saharan Africa at both the macro- and micro-levels, and finally, how Africa can address some of the key challenges - primarily related to improving productivity and policy - that may help the continent escape the devastation of such crises in the future.

The central objective of the volume is to review and consider a range of evidence on the 'tradeoffs versus synergies' theme as it pertains to the multiple objectives of agricultural intensification in low-income countries. The evidence is wide ranging and includes theoretical and conceptual analysis, numerous empirical examples and case studies from Asia, Africa and Latin America and analyses of selected technology, policy and institutional issues. The book contains 24 chapters and an index.

Photographically reduced microform copy has demonstrated its value for efficient information storage and transmission. However, microform readers have been the object of user complaints. Some of these complaints are associated with design variables. An experiment was conducted to assess the effects of the two design variables of screen angle and screen luminance on microform reading at three low levels of ambient illumination. Negative microfiche and rear-projection readers were tested. Eye fixations and regressions were measured for 26 subjects while they read comparable microform materials under the 18 conditions of a full factorial experiment. Results showed that screen angle and luminance both significantly affected reading, but variations in ambient illumination did not. A vertically positioned screen with luminance of 41 ft—Lamberts provided the best reading condition at all levels of reading comprehension. However, these results were not consistent with user preferences.

AbstractFuelwood scarcity creates a widespread environmental problem that places a major burden on women and children in the rural areas of developing countries. Consequently, many governments, donors and non-governmental organizations have encouraged on-farm fuelwood production and agroforestry practices. Whether, however, fuelwood from different sources can be easily substituted is an important empirical question as the degree of substitutability can depend on local markets and households' resource endowments and incomes. In this paper, we examine the substitution between three fuelwood sources among rural households in western Kenya: fuelwood collected off-farm, fuelwood produced on-farm, and that which is purchased. Using household-specific shadow prices for fuelwood and male and female wages, we find that strict gender divisions in household labor result in limited substitution between fuelwood sources. Among the implications are that programs and policies promoting agroforestry will have limited success without first addressing the structural differences in labor markets.

This essay introduces a special section of this issue containing a set of papers on the dynamics of coupled human and natural systems. We frame this introduction by setting out some of the major issues confronting researchers who wish to incorporate both economic and biophysical dynamics in their analysis. We contrast the three papers contained in this section in terms of how they respond to these different issues. We conclude that these papers provide important new insights on both how to model and analyze dynamic coupled human and natural systems and how to define policies that will lead to improved human well being and environmental conditions.