World Development Perspectives最新文献

{"title":"Livelihood strategies and NTFP utlisation among rural female-headed households in Limpopo Province, South Africa","authors":"Lloyd J.S. Baiyegunhi ,&nbsp;Linley Chiwona-Karltun","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2026.100765","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2026.100765","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) play a crucial role in the livelihoods of female-headed households in rural South Africa, though level of utilisation varies. While research highlights their significance, few studies examine how local agro-ecological conditions shape income sources and trade-offs between agriculture and NTFP collection. This study draws on household survey data collected from 240 female-headed households in Limpopo Province. Using the sustainable livelihood framework, households were grouped into livelihood clusters based on NTFP income shares, and the determinants of NTFP utilisation were analyzed with a Multinomial Logit (MNL) regression model. Spearman’s rank correlation revealed a negative association between NTFP income and crop, livestock, and wage income but a positive association with social grants and remittances. One-way ANOVA indicated no significant differences in total income across livelihood clusters, suggesting that NTFPs primarily supplement rather than determine household income, with social grants and remittances buffering variations in utilisation. In contrast, crop and livestock income play a smaller role in these household livelihood strategies based on varying levels of NTFP utilisation. Overall, the findings affirm that NTFP collection remains a key livelihood strategy for female-headed households, complementing other income sources. Policies promoting sustainable forest management, capacity building, and improved market access should recognize and support NTFP collection to enhance rural livelihoods. Further research should examine non-income factors, including livelihood stability, resilience, and the long-term sustainability of NTFP-based livelihoods.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"41 ","pages":"Article 100765"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146078277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Economic fitness and energy justice transition in Africa: empirical evidence from political, environmental, and governance pathways","authors":"Abdulkadri Toyin Alabi","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2026.100759","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2026.100759","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines how economic fitness drives energy justice transition across 30 African countries between 2011 and 2020. Drawing on a balanced panel dataset and employing the Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) technique, the study first demonstrates a robust positive direct effect of economic fitness on a composite energy justice index capturing distributive, procedural, and restorative dimensions. Conditional pathways further revealed that political stability amplifies this effect in North and West Africa but dampens it where governance is fragmented, while environmental quality exhibits a complex, region-dependent moderation pattern. Mediation analyses reveal that government effectiveness serves as a critical channel through which structural economic capacity translates into equitable energy outcomes, particularly in contexts with stronger institutional frameworks. Regional heterogeneity tests further indicate that energy-importing countries reap greater justice dividends from complexity than exporters, highlighting the importance of domestic market dynamics. The asymmetric effects confirm that the impact of economic fitness intensifies at higher levels of energy justice performance, highlighting non-linear gains as countries progress along the transition curve. Robustness checks, using lagged variables, alternative estimators, and variable substitutions, consistently corroborate these findings. These results suggest that beyond capital and technology, structural economic diversification is foundational to Africa’s equitable energy future. The key policy implication is the need to integrate industrial upgrading into national energy strategies. African governments should promote economic complexity whilst ensuring an inclusive energy transition that leaves no one behind.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"41 ","pages":"Article 100759"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146037763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Basic Income and social cohesion: Exploring the effects of a BI pilot in informal settlements in Hyderabad","authors":"Diana Bashur ,&nbsp;Vibhor Mathur","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2026.100764","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2026.100764","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While Basic Income (BI) experiments have expanded globally, most evidence has focused on wellbeing, health, labour, and other individual-level indicators. Community-wide effects, such as social cohesion, remain relatively underexplored. This paper draws on mixed-methods research on a community-wide BI pilot implemented in informal settlements in Hyderabad. The pilot consisted of a cash payment and a ‘Plus’ in the form of relational support. We find significant positive effects on various social cohesion indicators, with participants reporting boosts in dignity, inclusive decision-making, trust, solidarity, cooperation and mutual support linked to the intervention. Our findings confirm the BI and wider cash transfer literature on the potential of unconditional and universal cash as a tool for strengthening social cohesion.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"41 ","pages":"Article 100764"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146078276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Circular economy and gendered antagonism in the Global South: The Kambuta fish market in Kisumu, Kenya","authors":"Patrik Zapata ,&nbsp;Jaan-Henrik Kain ,&nbsp;María José Zapata Campos ,&nbsp;Sebastian Carenzo ,&nbsp;Michael Oloko ,&nbsp;Silas Otieno ,&nbsp;John Xavier Chweya","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2026.100762","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2026.100762","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Global South waste pickers are key for a circular economy, while providing livelihoods and essential services. At Kambuta fish market in Kisumu, Kenya, poor women started to claim fish remains from the fish exporting industry and transform these into innovative products. The article answers three questions linked to inequalities and exploitation between fish factories, County/City, local middlemen and brokers, and informal fish workers (mostly women): How does this fish market function in terms of circular economy and zero waste? How did the Kambuta market come into being, including its innovative fish remains practices? How has this development affected the fish workers, their community, and Kambuta market as a site for innovative recycling? Methods include interviews, focus groups, site observations, video-voice and action-oriented activities. We show how benefits from innovations, typically made by poor women, are largely seized by others, typically men. Furthermore, corporate actors make these gains their own, as they realise that what they saw as waste gain value through grassroots innovations. There is a distributive conflict between men and women regarding who has the right to access, distribute and to profit from waste; a gendered dispute that intensified as the fish remains increased in value due to innovations by grassroots women.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"41 ","pages":"Article 100762"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146188626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cultivating change: exploring the link between certification, dietary quality and women’s empowerment among coffee farmers in Rwanda","authors":"Sophia Bohn ,&nbsp;Meike Wollni ,&nbsp;Bruno Paz","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100757","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100757","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sustainability standards promise not only to promote environmentally friendly production, but also to improve farmers’ livelihoods by linking them to high-value markets. While there has been extensive research on how sustainability standards affect farmers’ incomes, much less attention has been paid to whether sustainability standards can help improve smallholders’ diets. In addition, the role of women’s empowerment as a potential pathway through which sustainability standards may affect nutrition has remained largely unexplored. Using cross-sectional survey data from 711 coffee farmers in Rwanda (283 non-certified and 428 certified under Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, Organic, or Café Practice), we assess the impact of certification on dietary quality and the potential mediating role of women’s empowerment. Dietary quality is measured using the Dietary Quality Questionnaire (DQQ), a standardized tool implemented globally in more than 50 countries. Women’s empowerment is captured through an aggregated empowerment score reflecting production and related capacity building, access to and decision-making over productive resources, control over income, and time allocation. Using inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA), we find positive associations between certification and dietary quality outcomes. In addition, results of mediation analyses show that women’s empowerment mediates part of this relationship especially through women’s empowerment in agricultural production. Our findings suggest that enhancing women’s empowerment within certification schemes is not only an important goal in itself, but can also make a significant contribution to improving smallholders’ dietary quality outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"41 ","pages":"Article 100757"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145927427","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Role of cattle fattening in urban poverty reduction and livelihood improvement in Africa: Evidence from a Ghanaian city","authors":"Mohammed Awal Abubakari ,&nbsp;Moses Naiim Fuseini ,&nbsp;Ibrahim Abu Abdulai","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2026.100758","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2026.100758","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although interest in livestock production in and around West African cities has gained traction in recent years, the contribution of this widespread practice to poverty reduction has not been adequately researched. This study, therefore, responds to the limited literature on how cattle fattening in African cities contributes to poverty reduction, using empirical evidence from Wa in Ghana. A concurrent mixed-methods design was adopted, involving the use of questionnaires and key informant interview guides for data collection. Data obtained from 110 cattle holders and four purposively selected key informants were analysed using descriptive statistics, multiple regression, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and thematic analysis. The findings show that urban cattle fattening in urban areas generates employment, increases household income, and facilitates the accumulation of productive assets. However, high feeding costs, lack of vaccination services, neighbour complaints, theft, and housing constraints limit its full potential. The study recommends investment in veterinary services, affordable feeding options, community engagement mechanisms, and training and extension services to enhance productivity. Furthermore, urban livestock policies should recognize cattle fattening as a viable pathway for livelihood improvement and poverty alleviation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"41 ","pages":"Article 100758"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145927428","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Climate, power, and structural reforms: the political economy of international financial institutions and climate-resilient development","authors":"Giulia Ragosa ,&nbsp;Julia Tomei ,&nbsp;Yacob Mulugetta","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2026.100770","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2026.100770","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As climate change intensifies into a macro-critical risk, embedding climate considerations at the core of macroeconomic planning has become indispensable for fostering both economic and climate resilience. This paper examines how international financial institutions – particularly the International Monetary Fund and multilateral development banks – are supporting Global South countries in this process through budget and balance-of-payments support programmes and related structural reforms. It addresses a key knowledge gap by shedding light on the real-world political economy dynamics that shape programme design and implementation, drawing on 64 policy documents and 12 interviews with stakeholders and leading experts.</div><div>The findings show that climate integration has advanced – via new climate-informed diagnostics and technical assistance – but remains uneven, often narrowly focused and not treated as a systemic macroeconomic concern. While these programmes create important entry points for climate-aligned reform, they frequently fall short of transformative change amid a complex interplay of domestic politics, institutional path dependencies and global geopolitics. At the country level, fragmented mandates, limited capacity, elite bargains and distributional conflicts constrain implementation – particularly in highly indebted countries where short-term stabilisation eclipses long-term transitions. Internationally, shareholder power, legacy institutional mandates, dominant ideas and lending competition shape the ambition and content of programmes, while deep structural constraints in the global economy limit their transformative potential. Advancing climate and economic resilience in the Global South therefore requires politically informed, context-sensitive approaches aligned with long-term structural transformation − combining deeper climate-informed diagnostics and reforms with serious attention to debt relief, fiscal space, domestic political incentives and political economy structures in the global financial system.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"41 ","pages":"Article 100770"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147421169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Inheriting subsidies: Intergenerational correlation in Conditional Cash Transfers in Colombia","authors":"Blanca Zuluaga,&nbsp;Karen Camilo","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100744","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100744","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper aims to analyze the intergenerational dependence on Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) in Colombia, specifically focusing on the Más Familias en Acción (MFA) program. It addresses the endogeneity problem often associated with welfare dependency research, which complicates the understanding of whether children benefit from subsidies due to their parents’ prior participation or shared characteristics. By employing a mixed-methods approach that combines qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys, the study aims to establish causal relationships regarding the transmission of subsidy dependency across generations. Our findings from the quantitative estimations reveal a significant and causal correlation between parental and child participation in the MFA program, suggesting that having a parent who received the transfer increases the likelihood of the child receiving it as well. The qualitative findings enrich our understanding of intergenerational subsidy dependence by uncovering the interplay between structural constraints and cultural norms, which reveals that subsidy dependance is the result of a dynamic process shaped by limited economic opportunities, socialization within beneficiary families, and a perceived absence of state alternatives. This research highlights the importance of understanding the mechanisms behind intergenerational subsidy dependence, emphasizing the need for anti-poverty programs to foster upward mobility rather than perpetuating welfare dependency. Our paper contributes to the literature by providing rigorous evidence on the implications of CCTs for family dynamics and policy design.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"40 ","pages":"Article 100744"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145325290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Redistribution, income inequality, and conflict in developing countries: Is there any causality?","authors":"Brandon Parsons ,&nbsp;Ayoub Rabhi","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100739","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100739","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Amid growing conflict in developing countries, this study investigates the effect of income redistribution on internal conflict across 93 developing countries. The study analyzes panel data from 1990 to 2021. The study explores whether absolute redistribution effectively reduces instances and risks of civil disorder, political violence, terrorism, and civil wars. Findings reveal that greater market income inequality is associated with heightened internal conflict, whereas enhanced income redistribution leads to diminished internal conflict levels. However, the study identifies a non-linear pattern where the benefits of redistribution decrease beyond certain thresholds, suggesting the potential of diminishing returns. Granger causality tests further indicate a bidirectional relationship between income redistribution and internal conflict, suggesting a potentially vicious circle where each variable exacerbates the other. The findings highlight the need for redistributive economic policies to foster societal peace in developing countries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"40 ","pages":"Article 100739"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145222779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"“The children don’t want to listen, the fathers need to be ready”: Perceptions and belief systems connected to the restoration and preservation of a sacred forest in Benin","authors":"Julia Bello-Bravo ,&nbsp;Peter Neuenschwander","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100736","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100736","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The preservation of forests is critical for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the sustainable use of land. Building on previous research, this study explores the interplay of local beliefs, cultural practices, and ecosystem services around a restored sacred forest in southern Benin. Utilizing Raymond Williams’ concept of <em>structures of feeling</em>, it investigates how local stakeholders’ beliefs and actions influence the forest’s restoration and maintenance. Findings include (1) a consensus that forests exist for human use despite differing perspectives on what constitutes appropriate use, (2) concerns about the ongoing loss of traditional knowledge and practices related to forest use, (3) challenges posed by modernizing perspectives that view traditional practices as backward, contrasting them with the cultural and spiritual values associated with the forest, and (4) beliefs about the forest’s role for human well-being. The study shows how structures of feeling can underpin successful negotiations and compromise support for the project’s continuing success and SDG goals around sustainable land use. Further research is needed to understand the intricate web of social, environmental, and economic structures of feeling around sacred forests, particularly aesthetic, spiritual, and social dimensions that address the erosion of indigenous knowledge and practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"40 ","pages":"Article 100736"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145222783","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}