This study examines the impact of mobile phone enhanced intervention in agricultural extension service delivery in India. Findings show that the amount, quality and speed of service delivery, have improved significantly because of the intervention.There are also benefits in terms of greater knowledge and awareness of new agriculture practice, farmers' aspiration to try new technology in the future and access to credit. The system does not discriminate farmers from disadvantaged and low education backgrounds. Thus, a system of well-used technology, which is assisted by trained village youths can serve as a tool for inclusive development.

Resurveys in six villages in Madhya Pradesh show that contrary to mainstream perceptions, seasonal/circular migration has become more accumulative for the poor over the last five years as new opportunities in urban areas have reduced the uncertainty of finding work, wages have increased and the dependence on contractors has declined. Furthermore, migration is attracting more women and upper castes as traditional restrictions related to manual work break down. Migration has brought greater returns to those with skills or strong social networks. Others, relying on contractors or facing discrimination, have not benefited as much. Nevertheless, migration is viewed by the poor as a strategy for improving household well-being. Migration has reduced borrowing for consumption, improved debt repayment capacity and given migrants greater confidence and bargaining power. The paper concludes that policy should shift towards migrant support away from migration prevention. NGO initiatives that offer lessons for migrant support are reviewed.circular migration, poverty, India, gender, caste, social protection,

The study identifies socioeconomic determinants of livelihood choices of rural households in Bangladesh (4,195 households from 139 villages) by applying a multinomial logit model of occupational choice and a multivariate tobit model that allows for jointness in decision making. Results reveal that households choose multiple livelihood options. A number of socioeconomic factors and resources at the household level as well as the state of rural infrastructure significantly determine households' choice of livelihood options. Overall, resource rich and educated households engage in diversified livelihoods and rural infrastructure promotes diversification of livelihoods. Female headed households fail to participate in any of the livelihood categories and consequently earn significantly lower income. Policy implications include investment in rural infrastructure, irrigation, rural electrification, education, livestock resources, as well as targeted approach for female headed households, e.g., creation of a hired labour market and skills/education programs for females.

In developing country production environment, farm production efficiency is often measured in terms of on-farm resources and producer characteristics. In this paper we postulate that input and output market related factors also influence farm production decisions hence its efficiency. Stochastic frontier production function was used to assess technical efficiency and its determinants including input and output market variables for a sample of 1962 pig farms in Vietnam with data collected in 1999. There are significant differences in production behavior and efficiency level between the North and the South, among farms producing different breeds, between mixed and specialized farms, between household and commercial farms, and

This study quantifies occupational segregation and wage discrimination in rural labour market of Bangladesh. Wage equations for seven employment categories was estimated applying Heckman's two-step procedure. Multinomial logit analysis was applied to estimate occupational attainment for males from a set of personal characteristics and then an occupational distribution for females was simulated. Data set used was a part of an eight-village census undertaken by the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex. Ideally the capacity to transform time and strength of labour into income between men and women should differ due to the difference in productivity. This analysis shows that more than seventy per cent of total gender pay gap remains unjustified and is due mainly to the concentration to the low paid work owing to job discrimination. Development programmes in the rural sector have achieved some success in bringing poor women into the paid job but failed to reduce within job discrimination. Attempts to reduce poverty will not bring the desired goal unless women have free access to paid work and the unjustified job segregation and pay discrimination are considerably reduced.