The household: the neglected link in research and programs for poverty alleviation

The failure to recognize the general equilibrium effects of agricultural modernization in alleviating poverty in the general economy is a significant problem, causing agricultural research to not receive credit for its contribution to poverty alleviation. That issue is analyzed as the first part of the paper. The importance of the household as the place where a significant share of a societyʹs human capital is produced is discussed in the second part. These forms of human capital include cognitive skills, values, vocational skills, nutrition and health. The way each contributes to poverty alleviation is discussed, together with the importance of new technology for the household. c 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.