Human Resource Underutilization in an Era of Poverty Reduction: An Analysis of Unemployment and Underemployment in Ghana

Abstract: Unemployment is more prevalent in urban than rural Ghana, while underemployment is pervasive in rural Ghana. The paper analyses trends in these two forms of human resource underutilization and examines their major determinants. It is found that a positive association exists between the underemployment rate and the incidence of poverty in specific industries. The data supports the importance of demographics, education and firm sizes as major determinants of unemployment. Furthermore, these factors together with type of employment are the factors influencing underemployment. To reduce the level of unemployment and underemployment, the government should provide support for: (1) growth of private sector firms and informal sector activities; and (2) rural alternatives to agricultural activities. These implications are also relevant to other African countries trying to combat the twin problems of unemployment and underemployment.     

Rural Income Poverty in Western China Is Water Poverty

I. IntroductionThe elimination of poverty lies at the heart of development economics, and providesthe main justification for policies of promoting economic growth and development allover the world. Although arduous efforts have been devoted to poverty reductionworldwide, about 1.2 of 6 billion live on less than $1 a day (World Bank, 2002). AlthoughChina has reduced its poor population from 250 million in 1978 to 30 million in 2003, anoverall reduction in world poverty still depends on progre…     

全球化时代国家地位和作用的变化

全球化使国家的行为方式和国家间关系都受到制约和影响,国家的主要地位和绝对作用正在受到来自全球体系和国内社会两种力量的侵蚀。民族国家仍然是全球政治舞台上的最重要角色,但并不是惟一的重要角色,非国家行为体将与国家一样成为全球体系中的重要力量。非国家主体并非表明国家统治权力的衰弱或者是对国家权力的否定,其作用与国家权力之间也并不是一种对立关系,它只是说明国家在全球政治中所具有的地位与作用正在发生变化。     

Rural Nonfarm Activities and Poverty in the Brazilian Northeast

This paper combines two complementary data sets to present a disaggregated spatial profile of poverty in the Brazilian Northeast, and to investigate the importance of nonagricultural activities for its rural dwellers. We present both univariate and multivariate profiles of nonagricultural employment and discuss its determinants. While the main occupational difference between the rural poor and the rural nonpoor in Brazil seems to be the greater reliance of the former on paid agricultural employment (vis-à-vis own cultivation), rather than access to nonagricultural activities, the evidence nevertheless suggests that diversification into this growing sector provides both an important complement to the budgets of the poor, and possibly a self-insurance mechanism against negative shocks. Despite the substantial heterogeneity of the sector, two general findings are robust: returns to education are comparatively high; and location in relation to urban areas is an important determinant of both employment and earnings in rural nonagricultural activities.     

全球化背景的中国农业转基因生物安全问题

转基因生物安全问题引起了世界范围的广泛关注,已经成为一些国家的重要政府职能。当前,健全转基因生物安全管理的法律体系,确立转基因生物安全评价的基本原则,加强转基因生物安全的标准化以及转基因生物产品的技术壁垒研究是中国转基因生物安全管理的关键。     

农村贫困线的测度与优化

贫困测度是监测贫困状态和制定反贫困政策和战略的重要依据.农村是我国反贫困的主战场,如何准确地界定贫困村,特别是如何科学地确定贫困线,是全面描述和正确评估农村贫困的现状和脱贫进程,及时把握扶贫政策对缓解农村贫困的实际效果的关键,并成为当今理论研究和反贫困实践的热点.文章对贫困线的构成要素、测定方法、演变过程和调整方法作了初步的探讨.     

金融全球化与我国证券市场发展

证券市场在中国仅仅是一个新兴产业,又是一个相对脆弱的行业,中国证券市场经过十余年的发展,对推动我国国有企业改革,拓宽企业融资渠道,促进资产流动和重组,优化资源配置,引进市场机制,培育人们的投资意识和市场经济意识,起到了积极的作用,但在政府推动经济体制改革的政策驱动下产生和发展起来的中国证券市场还存在某些缺陷,面对汹涌而来的世界经济大潮.面对异彩纷呈的全球性金融革命,怎样才能抓住进入WTO的机遇,克服缺陷,迎接金融全球化挑战,正是我们亟待解决的问题.     

Rural Labor Migration and Poverty Reduction in China

Using various sources of data, this paper examines the contributions of rural labor migration to economic growth and poverty reduction in China. The results show that there is still a significant number of people living in poverty in rural areas, while the effectiveness of migration on poverty reduction has declined, implying an urgent need for new approaches to poverty reduction. China's experiences could also be valuable for the formulation of development strategies in other developing countries.     

全球化时代应该有什么样的健康观

健康是人人关心的话题,应该说这是时代的进步,但是这个进步中也有很多值得思索的问题。迎合人们的心理需求,当今社会上出现了一波一波的保健品热和保健方法热。有人在议论中西医哪种更科学,更有效。众说纷纭,各执一词。媒体的信息过多,变化过快,也往往让人眼花缭乱,不知所措。     

The 21st-century Nation-State in an Era of Globalization

It is generally acknowledged that the mainstream of the world today is peace and development. And the current global trend is economic globalisatlon, political multi-polarization and cultural pluralism all of which result in the regional integration. Economic globalisatlon, the most significant feature in the 21st-century, has a substantial impact on the modem state, Undoubtedly, globalisation has become the impetus of the progress of the human society. However, the contemporary state is inevitably faced with severe challenges from the increasing globaliAatlon, The state sovereignty has been gradually eroded as a result of the globulized economy. This essay intends to clarify the economic, polhleal and cultural changes of contemporary state sovereignty in the globalized world. Then, main similarities and differences between modern state and traditional state will be analyzed in a detailed way based on these three main aspects.     

Poverty and Inequality in The Soeharto Era: An Assessment

This paper surveys the evidence on trends in poverty and inequality during the years of Soeharto's presidency. That Indonesia saw a decline in the incidence of poverty, and improvements in other welfare indicators such as infant mortality rates and literacy rates over these years, seems indisputable. Comparative studies show that by the latter part of the 1980s, the headcount measure of poverty in Indonesia was below that in the Philippines although above that in Malaysia and Thailand. But relative poverty has declined more slowly, and indeed increased in some urban areas between 1987 and 1996. The paper also examines evidence on the determinants of rural poverty in Indonesia in 1993, and suggests that rural development programs targeted to the specific needs of poor people in poor areas will be essential if rural poverty is to be further reduced in future years.     

以科技创新助力脱贫攻坚与乡村振兴衔接

实现脱贫攻坚成果与乡村振兴的有效衔接,是现在和未来一段时间必须面对的重要课题.目前,脱贫攻坚成果巩固仍然面临着一些问题与窘境,如"空心村"和老龄化、扶贫产业缺乏科技含量和竞争力、消费扶贫语境下有些产品质次价高、一些地方发展主导产业时忽视生态环境等问题.为此,可以通过科技创新支撑巩固脱贫攻坚成果和助力乡村振兴,支撑农村和农业及非农产业发展,实现科技强农、科技助农、科技兴农和科技富农,推进传统资源依附型农业向智能依附型农业转变,打通科技创新助力实现两大战略有效衔接的通道.通过制度创新以及体制机制创新,营造技术创新成果转化和知识产权保护的良好环境,使人力资本向有条件的农村聚集,实现科技与产业、技术与农户的有效对接,最终以科技创新助力脱贫攻坚成果与乡村振兴的有效衔接.     

Participation and Poverty Reduction: An Analytical Framework and Overview of the Issues

This paper examines the relationship between community participationand the efficacy of interventions designed to reduce poverty.It outlines a simple model that identifies three actors involvedin the provision of antipoverty interventions: financiers, providersand beneficiaries. This model is used to illustrate what happenswhen the poor move from being passive beneficiaries to beingthe providers of these interventions. Beneficiary participationhas the potential to lower the cost of providing these interventions.It can ensure that they more closely reflect the preferencesof the population that they are designed to serve. However,this benefit is contingent on the ability of communities toengage in collective actions. In fractionalised communities,or where trust and/or social capital are weak, there is a riskthat community participation may result in the capture of benefitsby local elites, to the detriment of the poor. Further, we arguethat the failure to delegate true decision-making authority(allowing for de jure but not de facto participation), may resultin beneficiaries being reluctant to act because of concernsthat they will be subsequently overruled.