Human resources are central to economic development and can be increased in value and productivity by investment in human beings e.g. in their education and health. But for a considerable period in the past economists stressed the importance of the accumulation of man-made physical capital for...

Relying on a structured survey of 117 wives in four rural villages in the Midnapore District of West Bengal, this article investigates the influence on the intra-family status of wives of variables which may increase the bargaining power of wives in their family. Several indicators of status are...

Reviews major economic theories of migration concentrating on their behavioural assumptions. Most of these theories assume homogenous optimising behaviour by economic agents. By contrast, Lipton assumes heterogeneity of group behaviour - rich persons optimise whereas poor persons are more...

Income inequality has increased sharply in higher income countries. Theories attributing this to bifurcation of labor markets are examined. Some theorists attribute this bifurcation primarily to technical change with influence from globalization. Others take an opposite viewpoint. A contrasting...

Begins by considering trends in the incidence of rural poverty in China, comparing China and India. Although the incidence of rural poverty in China declined generally, such poverty is still a matter for concern, especially now that China has joined the WTO. There is concern about the possible...

The prosperity achieved by developing countries in South East and East Asia as well as in many other parts of the developing world, would have been unthinkable fifty years ago. The significant rise in standard and quality of life of the citizens of these countries cannot be explained by their...

The most widely accepted view of sustainable economic development is that it is economic development ensuring that each succeeding generation is no less well off than its predecessor. This mainstream approach, however, has several limitations. It can, for example, result in a development path...