Stephen Devereux – författare

The recent occurrences of famine in Ethiopia and Southern Africa have propelled this key issue back into the public arena for the first time since 1984, as once again it becomes a priority - not only for lesser developed countries but also for the international community.

Exploring the paradox that is the persistence of famine in the contemporary world, this book looks at the way the nature of famine is changing in the face of globalization and shifting geo-political forces.

The book challenges perceived wisdom about the causes of famine and analyzes the worst cases of recent years – including close analysis of food scarcity in North Korea, Ethiopia, Sudan and Malawi and less well known cases in Madagascar, Iraq and Bosnia. With fresh conceptual frameworks and analytical tools, major theoretical constructs which have previously been applied to analyze famines (such as the ''democracy ends famine'' argument, Sen’s ''entitlement approach'' and the ''complex political emergency'' framework) are confronted.

This volume assembles an international team of contributors, including Marcus Noland, Alex de Waal and Dan Maxwell; an impressive roster which helps make this book an important resource for those in the fields of development studies and political economics.

The recent occurrences of famine in Ethiopia and Southern Africa have propelled this key issue back into the public arena for the first time since 1984, as once again it becomes a priority - not only for lesser developed countries but also for the international community.

Exploring the paradox that is the persistence of famine in the contemporary world, this book looks at the way the nature of famine is changing in the face of globalization and shifting geo-political forces.

The book challenges perceived wisdom about the causes of famine and analyzes the worst cases of recent years – including close analysis of food scarcity in North Korea, Ethiopia, Sudan and Malawi and less well known cases in Madagascar, Iraq and Bosnia. With fresh conceptual frameworks and analytical tools, major theoretical constructs which have previously been applied to analyze famines (such as the ''democracy ends famine'' argument, Sen’s ''entitlement approach'' and the ''complex political emergency'' framework) are confronted.

This volume assembles an international team of contributors, including Marcus Noland, Alex de Waal and Dan Maxwell; an impressive roster which helps make this book an important resource for those in the fields of development studies and political economics.

Seasonality is a severe constraint to sustainable rural livelihoods and a driver of poverty and hunger, particularly in the tropics. Many poor people in developing countries are ill equipped to cope with seasonal variations which can lead to drought or flood and consequences for agriculture, employment, food supply and the spread of disease. The subject has assumed increasing importance as climate change and other forms of development disrupt established seasonal patterns and variations.

This book is the first systematic study of seasonality for over twenty years, and it aims to revive academic interest and policy awareness of this crucial but neglected issue. Thematic chapters explore recent shifts with profound implications for seasonality, including climate change, HIV/AIDS, and social protection. Case study chapters explore seasonal dimensions of livelihoods in Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi), Asia (Bangladesh, China, India), and Latin America (Peru). Others assess policy responses to adverse seasonality, for example through irrigation, migration and seasonally-sensitive education. The book also includes innovative tools for monitoring seasonality, which should enable more appropriate responses.

Seasonality is a severe constraint to sustainable rural livelihoods and a driver of poverty and hunger, particularly in the tropics. Many poor people in developing countries are ill equipped to cope with seasonal variations which can lead to drought or flood and consequences for agriculture, employment, food supply and the spread of disease. The subject has assumed increasing importance as climate change and other forms of development disrupt established seasonal patterns and variations.

This book is the first systematic study of seasonality for over twenty years, and it aims to revive academic interest and policy awareness of this crucial but neglected issue. Thematic chapters explore recent shifts with profound implications for seasonality, including climate change, HIV/AIDS, and social protection. Case study chapters explore seasonal dimensions of livelihoods in Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi), Asia (Bangladesh, China, India), and Latin America (Peru). Others assess policy responses to adverse seasonality, for example through irrigation, migration and seasonally-sensitive education. The book also includes innovative tools for monitoring seasonality, which should enable more appropriate responses.

Social protection is an increasingly important part of the social policy dialogue in Africa, and yet because of its relatively new place in a rapidly evolving agenda, evidence on critical design choices such as targeting, and on impacts of social protection interventions, is mostly limited to case studies or small, unrepresentative surveys. This impressive collection makes a major contribution to building the evidence base, drawing on rigorous analysis of social protection programmes in several African countries, as well as original research and thinking on key topical issues in the social protection discourse.

Social Protection for Africa’s Children is divided into four parts. The first presents economic and human-rights based right arguments for social protection as an integral part of the social policy menu in Africa. This is followed by a part on targeting, which highlights some of the key policy trade-offs faced when deciding between alternative target groups. The third part presents rigorous quantitative evidence on the impact of social cash transfers on children from programmes in South Africa, Malawi and Ethiopia and the final part addresses a set of issues related to social justice and human rights.

This book significantly advances existing knowledge about social protection for children in Africa, both conceptually and empirically. It makes a strong case for social protection interventions that address the short term (amelioration) and long term (structural) needs of children, and shows that programming in this sector for children is both feasible and achievable. Policy makers and practitioners in this sector will have, in this book, the theoretical and empirical evidence necessary to advance social protection for Africa’s children in the decades to come. Furthermore, this book should be an essential resource to postgraduates and students focussing on development economics in Africa.

The first part of the book comprises nine theme chapters, covering vulnerability, targeting, delivery, coordination, cost-effectiveness, market impacts, and asset effects, while the second part consists of fifteen social protection case studies. The continuous interplay between these two parts makes for a unique contribution to the contemporary literature on social protection. The book takes a positive and forward looking view regarding the feasibility of achieving successful social transfers to the poorest in Africa; nevertheless, a critical stance is taken where appropriate, and unresolved strategic issues regarding the targeting, coverage and scale of social transfers are highlighted.

Social Protection in Africa is an essential read for personnel, advisors and consultants working for aid donors, United Nations agencies, NGOs and governments on social transfer programmes in sub-Saharan African countries. In addition, the book represents a valuable resource for training courses on social protection, and will be vital reading for Masters level students and researchers studying emergency relief, social protection, vulnerability and poverty reduction in low-income countries.