Globalisation and rural poverty

This paper surveys the effect of globalisation on rural poverty. It challenges the presumption of a positive relationship between globalisation and welfare of the poor. The forces of change through globalisation and liberalisation are seen to influence the welfare of the rural poor through their influence on productivity, growth, income distribution, technologies, security of livelihoods, and national policies. Globalisation has both debit and credit entries: large potential benefits, for example from accelerated growth, but also the real danger that the rural poor will be left out, for example they will not have access to the knowledge and other assets necessary for success in a commercial world.