Development Policy Review 

About: Development Policy Review is an academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Poverty & Government. It has an ISSN identifier of 0950-6764. Over the lifetime, 1390 publications have been published receiving 41310 citations.

The Rapid Rise of Supermarkets in Latin America: Challenges and Opportunities for Development

Abstract: Why are we writing, in the same article, about ‘supermarkets’ and ‘development’ in a region where 39% of the people are in poverty and 13% in absolute poverty (Echeverria, 1998)? Are not supermarkets niche players for rich consumers in the capital cities of the region? The answer is ‘no’; that traditional image is now a distant memory of the preliberalisation period before the 1990s. This theme issue of Development Policy Review shows that supermarkets are now dominant players in most of the agrifood economy of Latin America, having moved from a rough -estimate population-weighted average of 10-20% in 1990 to 50-60% of the retail sector in 2000. In one globalising decade, Latin American retailing made the change which took the US retail sector 50 years. The supermarkets, together with large-scale food manufacturers, have deeply transformed agrifood markets in the region. Many of those changes spell great challenges – even exclusion – for small farms and processing and distribution firms, but also potentially great opportunities. Development policy and programmes need to adapt to this radical change. The above findings are derived from the articles in this theme issue, the key points of which are compared in this overview article, and set in the context of background and other recent case literature. Earlier versions of the articles 1 were presented at the International Workshop ‘Concentration in the Processing and Retail Segments of the Agrifood System in Latin America, and its Effects on the Rural Poor’, held in November 2000 in Santiago, Chile, organised by the International Network for Research on Farming Systems (RIMISP) and funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom. The nine articles are on Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Mexico. They focus on the rise of supermarkets and large-scale food manufacturers over the 1990s to the present, and illustrate the effects of their rise on the dairy products and fresh fruit and vegetables (FFV) sectors. Dairy and FFV were chosen because of the interest development programmes have for these products: they are seen as good prospects for sma ll farms and firms because of their higher value-added and income-generation potential and their relative lack of economies of scale (compared with basic grains and

Good Enough Governance Revisited

Abstract: The concept of good enough governance provides a platform for questioning the long menu of institutional changes and capacity-building initiatives currently deemed important (or essential) for development. Nevertheless, it falls short of being a tool to explore what, specifically, needs to be done in any real world context. Thus, as argued by the author in 2004, given the limited resources of money, time, knowledge, and human and organisational capacities, practitioners are correct in searching for the best ways to move towards better governance in a particular country context. This article suggests that the feasibility of particular interventions can be assessed by analysing the context for change and the implications of the content of the intervention being considered.

Evolving Themes in Rural Development 1950s- 2000s

Abstract: ∗ ∗ ∗ This article provides a brief overview of the major switches in rural development thinking that have occurred over the past half-century or so. Dominant and subsidiary themes are identified, as well as the co-existence of different narratives running in parallel. The continuing success of the long-running ‘small-farm efficiency’ paradigm is highlighted. The article concludes by asking whether sustainable livelihoods approaches can be interpreted as providing a new or different way forward for rural development in the future. The answer is a cautious ‘yes’, since these approaches potentially permit the cross-sectoral and multi-occupational character of contemporary rural livelihoods in low-income countries to be placed centre-stage in efforts to reduce rural poverty.

Should Industrial Policy in Developing Countries Conform to Comparative Advantage or Defy it? A Debate Between Justin Lin and Ha‐Joon Chang

Abstract: This is the first in an occasional series of DPR Debates, designed to illuminate specific issues of international development policy. Each debate will bring together two well-known researchers or practitioners, giving them the opportunity, over three rounds, to test and challenge each other's ideas. The debates are intended to be robust but accessible, rooted in rigorous research but useful to the wide readership of Development Policy Review.

The Rise of Supermarkets in Africa: Implications for Agrifood Systems and the Rural Poor

Abstract: The rise of supermarkets in Africa since the mid-1990s is transforming the food retail sector. Supermarkets have spread fast in Southern and Eastern Africa, already proliferating beyond middle class big-city markets into smaller towns and poorer areas. Supplying supermarkets presents both potentially large opportunities -- and big challenges for producers. Supermarkets' procurement systems involve purchase consolidation, shift to specialized wholesalers, and tough private quality and safety standards. To meet these requirements, producers have to make investments and adopt new practices. That is hardest for small producers, who thus risk exclusion from dynamic urban markets increasingly dominated by supermarkets. There is an urgent need for development programmes and policies to assist them in adopting the new practices that the supermarkets' procurement systems demand.