This chapter challenges one of the main tenets of agricultural economics—that households behave as though they are single individuals, with production factors allocated efficiently between men and women. In many contexts this is a convenient and innocuous assumption.

The collective model of the household predicts that bargaining power determines the share of resources allocated to an individual within the household. The concept of bargaining power is elusive, however. It is perhaps useful at this point to outline the possible determinants of bargaining power, while not making any claims to measure power itself.

Most economic research treats the household as a single agent, assuming that individuals within the household share the same preferences or that there is a household “head” who has the final say. This simple framework has proved immensely useful; despite a common misperception, it can explain many differences in well-being or consumption patterns within households.

Economists who analyze household decisionmaking allocation have traditionally assumed that the household acts as a single unit. They assume that there exists one decisionmaker whose preferences form the basis of household welfare and that all household resources are effectively pooled.

"To end hunger and prevent the recurrence of famine and starvation, we need to take the following steps: invest in public health, child nutrition, education, women’s and girls’ social status, and other components of human capital; reform public institutions and create innovative funding and partnership arrangements; change government policies at all levels to be both pro-poor and pro-growth;

This book synthesizes IFPRI's recent work on the role of gender in household decisionmaking in developing countries, provides evidence on how reducing gender gaps can contribute to improved food security, health, and nutrition in developing countries, and gives examples of interventions that actually work to reduce gender disparities.

Resumen El propósito de este documento es incentivar un debate sobre un tema poco discutido en la región.

How can young people be involved in creating more livable cities? Can the noble participation principles set forth in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Agenda 21 of the Earth Summit, and Habitat II be realised? What is being done to help young people, especially children in difficult circumstances, to get their voices heard by policy-makers?

Le Programme d’Action National de lutte contre la Désertification (PAN) qui constitue l’outil essentiel de mise en œuvre de la convention internationale de lutte contre la désertification au Maroc est fondé sur les principes de : la prise en compte des facteurs de blocage, la promotion d'une approche globale et participative, le principe d'intégration, la tâche d'intégration, le principe de con

World Bank Group President, James Wolfensohn addressed the Board of Governors. In the past year the Bank launched a new initiative—the Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF). The aim was to bring the social and the structural aspects of development together with the macroeconomic and the financial so as to establish a much more balanced and effective approach.