Most efforts to trace the effects of
income inequality on growth have focused on redistribution.
However, empirical investigation has not substantiated
either the positive association of income inequality with
redistribution or the negative association of redistribution
with economic growth. The authors analyze the effects of
inequality in the broader context of social polarization.
They argue that social polarization, whether rooted in

Accounting for around a third of the
1996 Goss Domestic Product (GDP) of US$ 9 billion (second
only to oil), and almost three-fourths of all employment,
agriculture is a dominant sector of the Cameroonian economy.
Also, as in most African countries, poverty in Cameroon is
concentrated in rural areas, with more than 80 percent
(approximately 5.5 million) of all poor people living in
such areas. The Government of Cameroon's objectives

After almost a decade of high-level
effort to bring the charges (tariffs) that farmers pay for
electricity more nearly into line with the costs of supply,
India has barely made a dent in the longstanding and
increasingly uneconomical practice of subsidizing power to
agricultural consumers for irrigation. Progress has been
slowed by the understandable but misplaced concern that
higher tariffs would harm farmers--and that the injured

This study researched Indigenous
Knowledge Systems (IKS) in agriculture in Zimbabwe's
rural areas, focusing on crop farming in the Tonga of Binga
District in Matebeleland's North Province, and
livestock in the Kalanga tribe of the Plumtree District in
Matebeleland's South Province. The study aimed to
uncover some of the knowledge that indigenous people used to
survive under the harsh climatic and physical conditions of

Since 1991, radical changes have taken
place in the policy and institutional environment governing
the agriculture sector in Zambia. Policies of liberalization
and privatization have entailed the replacement of
previously state-supplied agricultural services (notably
credit, inputs supply and agricultural marketing) by private
sector provision. The Agricultural Sector Investment Program
(ASIP), assisted by the World Bank, provides the context for

This Health Sector Note is the result of
the first phase of an open, participatory three-step process
for developing the Health Sector Policy and Strategic Plan
(HSPSP), and serves as the preliminary basis for further
rounds of discussions, and analyses among stakeholders, to
arrive at a strategic vision for the national health sector.
The socioeconomic situation is reviewed, stipulating Eritrea
remains one of the poorest countries in the world, where

Countries in transition from centrally
planned to market economies face several challenges when
planning investments. These include a lack of information
about beneficiary groups, particularly those in rural areas;
and the collapse of institutions maintained by the state
prior to transition. During preparation of the Estonia
Agriculture Project, the government sought World Bank
technical assistance to undertake a social assessment (SA)

The livestock sector in Mali accounts
for 43 percent of cattle exports in the Sahel sub-region.
However, while the sub-sector accounted for 28.6 percent of
agriculture's contribution to Gross Domestic Product
(GDP), investment in it amounted to only 10.7 percent of the
total budget allocation to rural development. The African
Financial Community (CFA) devaluation in January 1994
increased the competitiveness of red meat from Sahelian

How to address the link between
environmental regulation and trade was an important part of
discussions at the World Trade Organization Ministerial in
Doha, Qatar in November 2001. Trade ministers agreed to
launch negotiations on trade and the environment,
specifically clarification of WTO rules. The authors address
an important part of the background context for deciding
whether or how to link trade agreements to the environment

Buying, selling and mortgaging farmland
are still rare in Eastern and Central Europe. Not
surprisingly, given the level of risk in many of these
countries, short-term transactions, especially leasing, are
more common. These short-term transactions do almost as well
as land sales in allocating resources. Making them more
secure by improving simple registration and enforcement
systems and increasing public access to information on what

? This article outlines the role that
the World Bank will play in supporting a modified rural
development strategy for the Sub-Saharan Africa region: The
Bank will be more selective in targeting countries for
assistance in rural development programs, focusing on those
that demonstrate commitment to appropriate agricultural
policy and investment. It will expand its information,
education and communication initiatives to help governments

A history of repeated external and
domestic shocks has made economic insecurity a major concern
across the Caribbean region. Of particular concern to all
households, especially the poorest segments of the
population, is the exposure to shocks that are generated by
catastrophic events or natural disasters. The author shows
that despite high consumption growth, the Caribbean region
suffers from a high volatility of consumption that decreases