Rural futures. How much should markets rule?

Main author: Bernstein, Henry
Other authors: Oya, Carlos
Format: Monographs and Working Papers           
Online access: Click here to view record


Summary: The paper distinguishes different approaches to markets in, and affecting, rural sub-Saharan Africa, and present some associated policies, notably ‘market-friendly’ and ‘market-challenging’. We then propose a political economy approach as a more satisfactory way of grasping the complex social dynamics of ‘real markets’ and their forms of unequal power. This is illustrated in relation to the class differentiation of ‘small farmers’ and its effects for rural ‘livelihood diversification'.