Programs that provide lower-skill employment are a popular anti-poverty strategy in developing countries, with India's employment guarantee program (MGNREGA) employing adults in 23 percent of Indian households. MGNREGA has reduced rural poverty, but some have raised concerns that guaranteeing lower-skill (or uncredentialed) employment…

This study aims to analyze the effect of lifelong, notably adult and informal, learning experiences on the business capability and productivity of poor women entrepreneurs in rural Indonesia. The measures of entrepreneurial ability of the research subjects were in terms of their engagement, as microcredit receivers, in adult learning processes…

A fit-for-purpose, functional program is the vehicle that guarantees the relevance of an education system by ensuring the sustainability of the society. Failure of a program to be relevant has the potential to cause crisis in a society. This basic qualitative research study explored the experiences of the beneficiaries of a skills development…

The study examined the linkages between Education and poverty and the possibility of poverty reduction through access to education and better employment opportunities. The paper also stressed that poverty acts as both cause and effect on lack of education. In particular the paper examined whether education is contributing to poverty reduction…

Effective poverty reduction programs require careful measurement of poverty status. Commonly used consumption or income-based classifications of poverty aggregate together households that are persistently poor with those who are only in poverty due to passing conditions. They also classify as non-poor households that are at risk of falling into…

"Workfare" schemes that offer poor participants unskilled jobs at low wages have become a popular alternative to cash or in-kind handouts. Yet little is known about a key determinant of the cost effectiveness of such schemes in reducing poverty: the behavioral responses through time allocation of participants and their families. These…

This annual report discusses the work of the Grassroots Educare Trust to provide economic and technical assistance to 177 preschool communities throughout Western Cape Province in South Africa, with a heavy emphasis on those in poor, black-populated areas. After messages from the chairman of the board of trustees and the director, the report is…

Kerala, a state in southwestern India, has implemented radical reform as a development strategy. As a result, Kerala now has some of the Third World's highest levels of health, education, and social justice. Originally published in 1989, this book traces the role that movements of social justice played in Kerala's successful struggle to…

Discusses rural poverty in Bangladesh and describes the creation of the Grameen Bank, which combines business with social engineering. The rapid diffusion of the bank both within and outside Bangladesh is described; interpersonal strategies used in communicating its programs, especially to women, are explained; and the socioeconomic impact in…

From 1994 to 1997, social welfare improved in Peru. Areas of improvement included decreased poverty and severe poverty rates, increased school attendance and literacy, and a healthier population. Most important among health improvements was reduced malnutrition among young children. Social improvements stemmed from the favorable overall economic…