Understanding Changes in Poverty brings
together different methods to decompose the contributions to
poverty reduction. A simple approach quantifies the
contribution of changes in demographics, employment,
earnings, public transfers, and remittances to poverty
reduction. A more complex approach quantifies the
contributions to poverty reduction from changes in
individual and household characteristics, including changes

This report aims to assist the
Government of the Maldives in designing and implementing
social protection reforms, in particular for pensions and
safety nets. The report gives an overview of poverty, risk
and vulnerability in Maldives and analyzes the role and
effectiveness of pensions and social assistance policies in
helping poor households mitigate and cope with risks. Based
on the analysis, the study delineates a menu of options for

A brief which takes on the myth that large mega farms are more modern and productive than smallholder farms. Concludes that by boosting the productivity of smallholders, governments and donors can increase food production and rural employment; reduce rural poverty through the commercialization of subsistence agriculture; and more effectively empower women. With secure rights to their land, access to markets, and credit and technology, smallholders can drive the growth of rural economies throughout the developing world.

Access to modern renewable energy services are a key input to poverty eradication and in ensuring food security. Biogas is a renewable energy option suited to provide clean, modern and decentralised sources of energy. Portable systems, such as FlexiBiogas, offer a lot of advantages over traditional fixed dome systems.

How can the private sector contribute to the fight against hunger, poverty and malnutrition in the remote areas of sub-Saharan Africa? This article looks at a model that has been applied in Kenya and Tanzania, addressing the right tools, skills and knowledge to make smallholder production a success.

This report analyzes some key aspects of
food security, namely production, trade, markets and food
aid at the national level, and consumption at the household
level. In doing so it aspires to make a contribution to the
on-going work in Afghanistan regarding the attainment of the
poverty and hunger Millennium Development Goal. The major
findings of the report can be summarized as follows: Food
security (at the national level) does not necessarily

The elderly in Russia have often been
among those least able to cope with all the changes that
have taken place during the transition. Unlike the situation
prior to reform-when pensions were stable-they now face
considerable uncertainty. If they have not been in poverty,
many have been close to it. While the elderly have
experienced difficulties, they have also been the
beneficiaries of a very large transfer of wealth. In Russia,

German Development Cooperation has developed an approach for the sustainable production of charcoal that has proved to have a considerable impact in Northern Madagascar. Since both environmental and socioeconomic aspects are addressed in a very effective way, this approach has high potential referring to global challenges such as land degradation, rural poverty and climate change.

This paper examines spending plans
suggested by the recent literature regarding Dutch disease
and examines their implications to Niger relative to its
expanding mineral sector. The key to the benefits of
significant mineral revenue lies with the productivity and
supply responses of spending. If significant output gain is
ensured, then there is little difference across the spending
plans in their effects on real consumption. The overshooting

This paper presents simulations for the
period 2013-2030 of measures that permit increased spending
on infrastructure and human development, the priority areas
in Liberia's 2013-2017 "Agenda for
Transformation" and for its national vision, Liberia
Rising 2030. The simulations are carried out with a Liberian
version of MAMS (Maquette for Millennium Development Goals
Simulations), a Computable General Equilibrium model.

Kazakhstan aspires to become one of the
world s 30 most developed economies by 2050. The focus is on
laying the basis for the accelerated diversification of the
economy through industrialization and infrastructure
development, including enhancing human capital to drive
innovation and economic efficiency. This country economic
memorandum report adopts an analytical framework that looks
into options that will be explored to help authorities think

Despite its vast agriculture potential,
Africa is increasingly dependent on food imports from the
rest of the world to satisfy its consumption needs. Food
output has not kept pace with population growth, and more
than 80 percent of production gains since 1980 have come
from the expansion of cropped areas rather than from greater
productivity of areas already cultivated. This paper looks
at the current requirements for seed trade in Africa, the