Survey data on which this paper is based were collected in a rural district in Kenya between December 2000 and January 2001. The main objective was to identify the factors that determine female participation in household decision-making. Our results suggest that bargaining models and resource...

This paper uses data collected from migrant's wives in the Nyeri district of Kenya. The main objective is to determine whether migration and remittances contribute to the development of agriculture. Our results suggest that most migrants are pushed out of rural areas, belong to the group of...

This article explores the socio-economic situation of female heads and poor heads of household in rural Botswana by means of a case study of the village of Nshakazhogwe, a village considered to be typical for rural east Botswana. It examines the extent to which the occurrence of poverty of...

Empirical studies on the impact of women’s paid jobs on their empowerment and welfare in the Bangladesh context are rare. The few studies on the issue to date have all been confined to the garment workers only although studies indicate that women’s workforce participation in Bangladesh has...

Poverty and social deprivation in Botswana are rising in rural areas while they are declining in urban towns and villages. Revenue from diamond mining is thought to have made a significant contribution to reducing poverty levels in cities and urban villages. However, the benefits from diamond...

Recent trends in the growth of cities particularly in developing countries (and especially in India and China) are identified. Beneficial and negative sharing mechanisms influencing the growth of cities are examined. Economic benefits of agglomeration arise not so much from the type of economic...

This article provides an overview of beneficial sharing mechanisms that stimulate the growth of cities and negative sharing mechanisms and spillovers which retard their growth. The economic benefits and drawbacks of a city location are considered for businesses, employees and consumers. It is...

It is suggested that valuing objects is a distinctive human trait. It is a prerequisite for rational behaviour. Factors that are likely to influence valuations, the difficulties of getting agreements about valuations and the limited perspective of economics as a basis for valuation are discussed...

The conservation of natural forests contributes significantly to the goal of achieving sustainable economic development. There is, however, growing concern that natural forests (which provide tangible and intangible economic benefits to humankind) are being lost at a rate which (combined with...

The extent to which conservation is feasible is constrained by budgets and the financial sacrifice stakeholders are willing to bear. Therefore a possible objective for conserving a species is to minimise the cost of achieving that stated aim. For example, if a minimum viable population (MVP) of...