Publication:
Drivers of Sustainable Rural Growth and Poverty Reduction in Central America : Honduras Case Study, Volume 2. Background Papers and Technical Appendices

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (10.3 MB)
155 downloads
English Text (238.83 KB)
101 downloads
Date
2004-12-31
ISSN
Published
2004-12-31
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This regional study encompasses three Central American countries: Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras. The focus of this report is Honduras. The objective of the study is to understand how broad-based economic growth can be stimulated and sustained in rural Central America. The study identifies "drivers" of sustainable rural growth and poverty reduction. Drivers are defined as the assets and combinations of assets needed by different types of households in different geographical areas, to take advantage of economic opportunities, and improve their well-being over time. The study examines the relative contributions of these assets, and seeks to identify the combinations of productive, social, and location-specific assets that matter most to raise incomes, and take advantage of prospects for poverty-reducing growth. It adopts an asset-based conceptual approach, where assets are defined to include natural, physical, financial, human, social, political, institutional, and location-specific assets, and, focuses on how households deploy their assets within the context of policies, institutions, and risks to generate a set of opportunities. The report further analyzes the quantity, quality, and productivity of assets needed by households in different geographical areas, to exercise their potential for generating long-term growth and improving well-being. Findings indicate that while there are well-defined areas of higher economic opportunity, given their underlying agricultural potential, relatively good access to infrastructure, and high population densities, poverty is widespread, and deep in rural Honduras, particularly in hillside areas. And, although agriculture should form an integral part of the rural growth strategy in hillside areas, despite its limited potential, agriculture alone cannot solve the rural poverty problem, yet, those remaining in the sector need to be more efficient, productive and competitive. It is recommended to move from geographically untargeted investments in single assets, to a more integrated and geographically based approach of asset enhancement with proper complementarities, such as land access and security, technical assistance provision, health and education services, and strong local level institutions,
Link to Data Set
Citation
World Bank. 2004. Drivers of Sustainable Rural Growth and Poverty Reduction in Central America : Honduras Case Study, Volume 2. Background Papers and Technical Appendices. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14561 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Drivers of Sustainable Rural Growth and Poverty Reduction in Central America : Nicaragua Case Study, Volume 2. Background Papers and Technical Appendices
    (Washington, DC, 2004-12-31) World Bank
    This regional study encompasses three Central American countries: Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras. The focus of this report is Nicaragua. The objective of the study is to understand how broad-based economic growth can be stimulated, and sustained in rural Central America. The study identifies "drivers" of sustainable rural growth and poverty reduction, where drivers are defined as the assets and combinations of assets needed by different types of households in different geographical areas to take advantage of economic opportunities, and improve their well-being over time. The study examines the relative contributions of these assets, and identifies the combinations of productive, social, and location-specific assets that matter most to raise incomes, and take advantage of prospects for poverty-reducing growth. The study's focus on assets is appropriate given historically stark inequalities in the distribution of productive assets among households in the region. Such inequalities are likely to constrain how the poor share in the benefits of growth, even under appropriate policy regimes. In Nicaragua, economic potential has a strong spatial pattern, with high potential areas close to the main cities. But to generate substantial gains in poverty reduction and broad-based growth, complementarities between productive, social, and location-specific assets must be addressed. The report thus recommends the move from geographically untargeted investments in single assets, to a more integrated and geographically based approach of asset enhancement with proper complementarities. And, if the development objective is to reach the largest number of poor, invest in a variety of social and productive household assets, in higher potential areas with the highest rural poverty densities. However, remote areas such as the Atlantic, need specialized analyses and differentiated strategies and investments. The report highlights the need for more strategic convergence in linking the investment, and impacts of sectoral projects backed by the Bank, and other donors in the diverse geographical regions of the country.
  • Publication
    Drivers of Sustainable Rural Growth and Poverty Reduction in Central America : Guatemala Case Study, Volume 2. Background Papers and Technical Appendices
    (Washington, DC, 2004-12-31) World Bank
    This regional study encompasses three Central American countries: Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras. The focus of this report is Guatemala. The study is motivated by several factors: First is the recognition that sub-national regions are becoming increasingly heterogeneous, and economically differentiated as part of ongoing processes of development and diversification, with some areas advancing, and others being left behind. Second is the acceptance that one rural strategy does not fit all; design of an appropriately tailored rural strategy requires understanding the assets, markets, and institutions that frame household opportunities and livelihood strategies. Third, rural heterogeneity requires identification of sufficiently homogeneous areas and household types to facilitate policy formulation, investment strategies, and project design. Fourth, there is a need to bridge the gap between conceptual strategies, and their timely implementation in order to obtain tangible and sustainable results. To this end, it is necessary to identify the appropriate sequencing, and complementary of investments in assets needed to drive growth and reduce poverty. The study's focus on assets is appropriate given historically stark inequalities in the distribution of productive assets among households in the region. Such inequalities are likely to constrain how the poor share in the benefits of growth, even under appropriate policy regimes. Rural poverty in Guatemala is characterized by three important features. First, geographic isolation, caused by varied topography, and inadequate transport networks, is an important correlate of poverty. The second dominant feature of rural poverty is ethnic exclusion. Poverty rates are far higher among indigenous groups and groups whose primary language is not Spanish. Third, rural poverty is concentrated in particular areas: that is, it has a particularly strong spatial dimension in Guatemala. Findings indicate that the high degree of overlap between high poverty rates, and high poverty densities in areas such as the Western Altiplano, means that investments there should reach significant proportions of the country's rural poor. Thus, to generate substantial gains in poverty reduction and broad-based growth, complementarities between productive, social, and location-specific assets must be addressed. Specifically, the report focuses on access to land, and strong local level institutions, and social capital, to compensate for lack of physical assets. This also requires a move from geographically untargeted investments in single assets, to a more integrated and geographically based approach of asset enhancement, with proper complementarities.
  • Publication
    Drivers of Sustainable Rural Growth and Poverty Reduction in Central America : Honduras Case Study, Volume 1. Executive Summary and Main Text
    (Washington, DC, 2004-12-31) World Bank
    This regional study encompasses three Central American countries: Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras. The focus of this report is Honduras. The objective of the study is to understand how broad-based economic growth can be stimulated and sustained in rural Central America. The study identifies "drivers" of sustainable rural growth and poverty reduction. Drivers are defined as the assets and combinations of assets needed by different types of households in different geographical areas, to take advantage of economic opportunities, and improve their well-being over time. The study examines the relative contributions of these assets, and seeks to identify the combinations of productive, social, and location-specific assets that matter most to raise incomes, and take advantage of prospects for poverty-reducing growth. It adopts an asset-based conceptual approach, where assets are defined to include natural, physical, financial, human, social, political, institutional, and location-specific assets, and, focuses on how households deploy their assets within the context of policies, institutions, and risks to generate a set of opportunities. The report further analyzes the quantity, quality, and productivity of assets needed by households in different geographical areas, to exercise their potential for generating long-term growth and improving well-being. Findings indicate that while there are well-defined areas of higher economic opportunity, given their underlying agricultural potential, relatively good access to infrastructure, and high population densities, poverty is widespread, and deep in rural Honduras, particularly in hillside areas. And, although agriculture should form an integral part of the rural growth strategy in hillside areas, despite its limited potential, agriculture alone cannot solve the rural poverty problem, yet, those remaining in the sector need to be more efficient, productive and competitive. It is recommended to move from geographically untargeted investments in single assets, to a more integrated and geographically based approach of asset enhancement with proper complementarities, such as land access and security, technical assistance provision, health and education services, and strong local level institutions,
  • Publication
    Drivers of Sustainable Rural Growth and Poverty Reduction in Central America : Guatemala Case Study, Volume 1. Executive Summary and Main Text
    (Washington, DC, 2004-12-31) World Bank
    This regional study encompasses three Central American countries: Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras. The focus of this report is Guatemala. The study is motivated by several factors: First is the recognition that sub-national regions are becoming increasingly heterogeneous, and economically differentiated as part of ongoing processes of development and diversification, with some areas advancing, and others being left behind. Second is the acceptance that one rural strategy does not fit all; design of an appropriately tailored rural strategy requires understanding the assets, markets, and institutions that frame household opportunities and livelihood strategies. Third, rural heterogeneity requires identification of sufficiently homogeneous areas and household types to facilitate policy formulation, investment strategies, and project design. Fourth, there is a need to bridge the gap between conceptual strategies, and their timely implementation in order to obtain tangible and sustainable results. To this end, it is necessary to identify the appropriate sequencing, and complementary of investments in assets needed to drive growth and reduce poverty. The study's focus on assets is appropriate given historically stark inequalities in the distribution of productive assets among households in the region. Such inequalities are likely to constrain how the poor share in the benefits of growth, even under appropriate policy regimes. Rural poverty in Guatemala is characterized by three important features. First, geographic isolation, caused by varied topography, and inadequate transport networks, is an important correlate of poverty. The second dominant feature of rural poverty is ethnic exclusion. Poverty rates are far higher among indigenous groups and groups whose primary language is not Spanish. Third, rural poverty is concentrated in particular areas: that is, it has a particularly strong spatial dimension in Guatemala. Findings indicate that the high degree of overlap between high poverty rates, and high poverty densities in areas such as the Western Altiplano, means that investments there should reach significant proportions of the country's rural poor. Thus, to generate substantial gains in poverty reduction and broad-based growth, complementarities between productive, social, and location-specific assets must be addressed. Specifically, the report focuses on access to land, and strong local level institutions, and social capital, to compensate for lack of physical assets. This also requires a move from geographically untargeted investments in single assets, to a more integrated and geographically based approach of asset enhancement, with proper complementarities.
  • Publication
    Drivers of Sustainable Rural Growth and Poverty Reduction in Central America : Nicaragua Case Study, Volume 1. Executive Summary and Main Text
    (2004-12-31) World Bank
    This regional study encompasses three Central American countries: Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras. The focus of this report is Nicaragua. The objective of the study is to understand how broad-based economic growth can be stimulated, and sustained in rural Central America. The study identifies "drivers" of sustainable rural growth and poverty reduction, where drivers are defined as the assets and combinations of assets needed by different types of households in different geographical areas to take advantage of economic opportunities, and improve their well-being over time. The study examines the relative contributions of these assets, and identifies the combinations of productive, social, and location-specific assets that matter most to raise incomes, and take advantage of prospects for poverty-reducing growth. The study's focus on assets is appropriate given historically stark inequalities in the distribution of productive assets among households in the region. Such inequalities are likely to constrain how the poor share in the benefits of growth, even under appropriate policy regimes. In Nicaragua, economic potential has a strong spatial pattern, with high potential areas close to the main cities. But to generate substantial gains in poverty reduction and broad-based growth, complementarities between productive, social, and location-specific assets must be addressed. The report thus recommends the move from geographically untargeted investments in single assets, to a more integrated and geographically based approach of asset enhancement with proper complementarities. And, if the development objective is to reach the largest number of poor, invest in a variety of social and productive household assets, in higher potential areas with the highest rural poverty densities. However, remote areas such as the Atlantic, need specialized analyses and differentiated strategies and investments. The report highlights the need for more strategic convergence in linking the investment, and impacts of sectoral projects backed by the Bank, and other donors in the diverse geographical regions of the country.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    Argentina Country Climate and Development Report
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11) World Bank Group
    The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.
  • Publication
    Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21) Luna-Bazaldua, Diego; Levin, Victoria; Liberman, Julia; Gala, Priyal Mukesh
    This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.
  • Publication
    Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022
    (Washington, DC, 2022-11) World Bank
    The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.
  • Publication
    World Development Report 2006
    (Washington, DC, 2005) World Bank
    This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.
  • Publication
    Business Ready 2024
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03) World Bank
    Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.