The concept of social capital, well grounded in the sociological and anthropological literatures (for example, Coleman 1988), is increasingly being analyzed and used by economists and other development policy practitioners. The entry point for many economists is Robert Putnam’s research on Italian regional economic performance (Putnam 1993) and his subsequent work in the United States. For Putnam, “social capital refers to features of social organization such as networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit” (Putnam 1995, 67).

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. This approach is known as the “unitary model,” the “common preference model,” or the “joint family utility model,” depending on the study consulted.

"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; increase funding for scientific and technological research to boost agricultural production and efficiency; and develop specific policies and institutions to deal with environmental degradation caused

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. It is an accessible, easy-to-read synthesis of the gender research that IFPRI has undertaken in the 1990s.

This study explores the impact of changes in environmental conditions on intrahousehold labor allocation to the collection of environmental goods such as fuelwood and leaf fodder for a sample of rural Nepali households. Using household-level panel data collected in 1982 and 1997, the study finds that household collection time significantly increases with measures of environmental resource scarcity, and that the increase appears to come almost equally from men and women.

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.

La Oficina Regional de la FAO para América Latina y el Caribe, con la colaboración de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) y la Organización Internacional de Trabajo (OIT) realizó durante los años 2009-2011 una investigación regional titulada Políticas de mercado de trabajo y pobreza rural. En el marco de esta investigación se profundizó el análisis sobre las condiciones laborales en un sector que concentra una importante proporción de mano de obra femenina.

Esta publicación da cuenta de una parte de los resultados de la participación de América LAtina y el Caribe en la Primera Asamblea General del Foro (Estambul, Turquía, del 28 al 30 de Setiembre de 2010). El documento contiene textos producidos en el marco de las actividades del Foro Abierto sobre la Efectividad del Desarrollo de las Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil.

La finalidad del documento es incursionar en países seleccionados de América Latina sobre el aporte de las mujeres rurales a través de sus ingresos a diferentes tipos de hogares como uno de los aspectos económicos importantes para visualizar su aporte y fomentar la elaboración de políticas públicas que beneficien a las mujeres: en el empleo, en el mejoramiento de sus condiciones de trabajo y como productoras, contando con un mayor a acceso al crédito, a la tierra, a los recursos naturales y tecnológicos.

El documento contine los elementos conceptuales para el desarrollo de un Marco Estratégico de mediano plazo de cooperación de la FAO en Agricultura Familiar en América Latina y el Caribe.
La aprobación de este Marco se realizará en la Conferencia Regional de la FAO a llevarse a cabo en Buenos Aires, Argentina del 26 al 30 de marzo de 2012.

El Grupo de Trabajo Intercultural Almáciga (España) con el apoyo de la Oficina de Derechos Humanos ha elaborado un informe que resume las principales actividades relacionadas con derechos de los pueblos indígenas que se han llevado a cabo en el marco del Consejo de Derechos Humanos (CDH) de las Naciones Unidas a lo largo del año 2008. La información se refiere a tres aspectos del trabajo del CDH. En primer city, la presentación del informe del Relator Especial sobre la situación de los derechos humanos y libertades fundamentales de los indígenas, Dr.