Christian Volpe Martincus

Jeffry Frieden

Jorge Cornick

Thomas Reardon

Kun Li

Ernesto H. Stein

Juan S. Blyde

Mauricio Mesquita Moreira

Federico Merchán

Danielle Trachtenberg

Marisol Rodríguez Chatruc

Rzavan Vlaicu

Víctor Zuluaga

Tomás Bril-Mascarenhas

Sergio Ardila

Piero Ghezzi

Thirty years after the region embarked on large-scale liberalization, trade policy could have been expected to become all but irrelevant. Instead, a mismatch between expectations and what could realistically be delivered set the stage for much of the disappointment, skepticism, and fatigue regarding trade policy in the region, particularly in the early 2000s. By setting the bar unrealistically high, governments and analysts made trade policies an easy target for special interests that were hurt by liberalization and for those ideologically opposed to free trade. The most immediate victims were the more tangible growth and welfare gains, whose relevance was lost amid the noise of grandiose visions.

What Global Integration Can Do for Latin America and the Caribbean

Trading Promises for Results

Steven Haggblade

Peter B. R. Hazell

Contrary to conventional wisdom that equates rural economies with agriculture, rural residents in developing countries often rely heavily on activities other than farming for their income. Indeed, nonfarm work accounts for between one-third and one-half of rural incomes in the developing world. In recent years, accelerating globalization, increasing competition from large businesses, expanding urban markets for rural goods and services, and greater availability of information and communication technology have combined to expose rural nonfarm businesses to new opportunities as well as new risks. By examining these rapid changes in the rural nonfarm economy, international experts explore how the rural nonfarm economy can contribute to overall economic growth in developing countries and how the poor can participate in this rapidly evolving segment of the economy. The authors review an array of recent studies of the rural nonfarm economy in order to summarize existing empirical evidence, explore policy implications, and identify future research priorities. They examine the varied scale, structure, and composition of the rural nonfarm economy, as well as its relationship with agricultural and urban enterprises. And they address key questions about the role of public intervention in the rural nonfarm economy and how the rural poor can participate in and navigate the rapid transition underway in rural areas. The contributors offer new insights to specialists in rural development and to others interested in overall economic development.

Opportunities and Threats in the Developing World

Transforming the Rural Nonfarm Economy

Thomas Reardon

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