Fitting the facts and capitalizing on new opportunities to redesign rural development programs in Latin America

Abstract

The article analyzes rural development in Latin America, beginning with the slippage between institutions & objective conditions for rural development, then moving on to the quantitative evolution of rural poverty. The incidence of rural poverty has generally not declined, although social development has improved. Even so, gaps between rural & urban social development remain large, & urban migration has been the great escape valve. Also surveyed are changes in the structure of employment & sources of income for rural populations, demographic changes in the rural labor force, & the effects of globalization. Rural areas are increasingly integrated economically with urban areas, & there has been progress toward governmental decentralization at the municipal level. Progress has also been made in local social capital formation, particularly the expansion of civil society organizations, though localized success stories lack the scale to make a difference in aggregate poverty figures. The article concludes with a survey of the main initiatives to implement territorial approaches to rural development. 6 Tables, 33 References.