10. The Politics of Policy for Poverty Reduction: Comparing Malaysia with Kenya

The purpose of this study is to find out the relationships between the commonly-used strategy of economic development and economic growth. The strategy of economic development of Asian four tigers is saving, public investment, export, labor market competition and the government intervention. However, China and India followed almost the similar ways of country development of Asian four tigers. That is saving public investment, export and government intervention. The strategy is consisted of saving, public investment, export and government intervention. Because of the unavailable data, the government intervention was assumed to be constant. To prove the relationship between the commonly used strategy of economic development for development countries (independent variables) and economic growth of each country (dependent variable), the multiple regression and correlation analysis were the tools of the measurement. The result which produced by the study showed that the commonly used strategy of economic development for developing countries is inextricably linked with the economic growth except public investment of Taiwan that is not associated with economic growth. The second objective of present study is to understand which strategies have more effective influence over the economic growth. The result finds that saving is the most effective influence on the economic growth of each country (except Singapore and India). And then export and public investment, respectively, follow saving. Based on the current research findings, the strategy of economic development, finally, should be applied to other developing countries in order to make economic growth more progressive and society more prosperous.

The prerequisites for the development of the world economy were considered, taking into account the global problems of our time, which create obstacles to the development of countries. The economic obstacles are the need for simultaneous financing of public debt and innovative development. A review of the neoclassical, Keynesian, innovative and institutionalist theories of economic growth of countries are carried out, a comparative description of the concepts of zero, sustainable, noosphere, innovative and inclusive economic growth are provided. It was determined that the application of various approaches to the results of economic growth of countries is important in the context of political and economic shifts, when government policy forms the expected results in the main directions: economic, innovative, social, environmental. It should ensure the transition for all countries to the industrial and post-industrial stages of development, with the formation of a post-industrial society without gap between the rich and poor. The aim of the work is to review the theoretical and methodological provisions on the development of economic growth strategies of countries with transitive and developed economies and their application, considering global challenges for the development of the world economy. It was determined that the development of countries’ economic growth strategies requires a balanced approach in terms of expected results and available resources. Countries with different levels of economic development require different strategies, but with an increase in the level of development of countries, the intensity of strategies decreases, the emphasis shifts from the development of industry to increasing the level of employment and the quality of life of the population, the development of civil society, social and environmental responsibility. The search for and construction of effective methods for the interaction of government structures with the corporate sector of the economy should be an urgent challenge to a market economy in order to direct the efforts of big business to address issues of the countries’ socio-environmental development through dialogue and public-private partnership. The evolution of countries’ growth strategies was based on economic, environmental, social, innovative and technological components that created a positive effect on the development of countries. The practice of their application by different countries has shown that at different stages of development, each component creates the desired effect, when countries choose different options as transitional, and proceed to the development of an inclusive growth strategy. For the developed countries, the strategy of inclusive growth is complementary, resulting in nature strengthening of the basic strategy (for the EU member-countries) of sustainable or innovative growth (for the USA, India, China). The national inclusive growth strategy should be based on the basic principles of parity of economic opportunities for market entities to access resources and markets; equality in political, legislative, antitrust, tax policy; on the implementation of targeted government policies on the labor market (decent work, productive employment, quality of life of the population) and the interaction between business, government, trade unions, employees and the society regarding the uniform distribution of national income and narrowing the gaps between the rich and poor. It was determined that an inclusive economy can be compared with the concept of public-private partnership, with the difference that the second is aimed at conducting dialogue and collaboration in social projects of the corporate sectors of the economy, and the first provides direct involvement of wide population categories in social initiatives. For the transitive economy countries, such as Ukraine, the formation of inclusive-type economic growth strategies should occur after solving the tasks of building a self-sufficient industrial-agricultural economy that will have the character of post-industrial development.

This article examines how public policy development can leverage tourism to stimulate sustainable economic growth in San Martin de las Piramides, a municipality closely linked to the Teotihuacan archaeological site in Mexico. The study highlights tourism's role in generating local employment and tax revenue, particularly within the informal sector, and proposes structured policy interventions. It analyzes the need for formal employment, improved infrastructure, and sustainable tourism practices that align with community well-being and cultural preservation. Drawing on regional economic data and development planning frameworks, the article outlines a multi-phased policy approach that emphasizes stakeholder engagement, governance, and public accountability.

Global population and income growth has driven the demand for agricultural land. This rapid conversion of land use to agriculture has affected the social and economic welfare of local communities within the landscape. Indonesia is a country that has recently undergone rapid land-use change due to increasing demand in global crop commodities. Oil palm, the largest export commodity in Indonesia, has been identified as a key driver of deforestation and biodiversity loss in this region. Oil palm has also replaced agricultural lands that were previously used to grow food crops for local subsistence, as well as other cash crops such as rubber. The agricultural sector is a main contributor to the national economy and is a major element in Indonesia’s economic growth and development strategy. Despite experiencing rapid economic and social changes over the past two decades, rural poverty, malnutrition, and food insecurity continue to persist at high rates. 
\nUnderstanding the social and economic consequences of land-use change is therefore imperative to address how to support the welfare and development of local communities affected within the landscape. This dissertation explores the human dimension of the recent land-use changes and particularly focuses on the impact of agricultural specialization and oil palm expansion in Indonesia. This dissertation has two research objectives. The first research objective is to analyze how agricultural specialization has affected diets in rural Indonesian households over a time. The second research objective is to examine how the oil palm expansion has affected smallholder farmers in terms of household economic welfare and intra-household gender roles. 
\nDespite great strides in reducing hunger over the last two decades, malnutrition remains a major challenge in Indonesia. High rates of child stunting coexist with high and increasing rates of overweight and obesity despite rapid economic growth and reductions in poverty over the last two decades. Part of this economic growth has been driven by a change in agricultural production systems from traditional farming techniques that typically grow multiple crops to more intensified, specialized and commercialized farms. The objective of the first essay is to analyze how changes in the structure of agricultural production have affected diets in rural Indonesian households over time. We use three waves of a panel data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey with a balanced sample of 2785 rural households between 2000 and 2015 to observe transitions in households’ food choices over time in response to the changes in production systems. We find positive relationships between production diversity and household dietary diversity as well as between market access and household dietary diversity. However, we see that there has been an overall decline in dietary diversity in households where production diversity has also reduced. This decline in dietary diversity was mostly driven by the decreased consumption of nutritious food groups (fruits, vegetables, legumes, and fish). Although the magnitude of the association between dietary diversity and production diversity was relatively small, the association between household production and consumption of some of these important food groups was quite substantial. The overall impact of increased specialization in Indonesia during the period 2000–2015 on dietary quality appears to have been negative.
\nAfter looking at national household dietary quality implications, we zoom in on oil palm producing households. The rapid expansion of oil palm in tropical regions has substantial implications for socioeconomic development. Several studies show that smallholder farmers benefit economically from cultivating oil palm. However, most existing studies examine short-term impacts with cross-sectional data, which has two disadvantages. First, issues of endogeneity are difficult to address with cross-sectional data. Second, dynamic and risk effects cannot be analyzed. In this second essay, we address both issues by using three waves of panel data from smallholder farmers in Indonesia and pseudo fixed effects panel estimators. We show that oil palm cultivation increases household living standards, measured by annual consumption expenditure, by 13% on average. Moreover, we demonstrate that oil palm cultivation reduced households’ economic risk, measured in terms of potential decreases in living standard due to income variability. The risk-reduction effect is evident despite fluctuating international palm oil prices and consequences for oil palm revenues and profits. Oil palm requires less labour than alternative crops, thus freeing family labour for other economic activities. We find that oil palm farmers are more involved in off-farm activities, which helps to smooth income and consumption. Policy support may be required to address oil palm adoption constraints that some smallholders face. In addition, fostering the non-farm economy and improving household access to lucrative off-farm jobs are important for equitable rural development.
\nTo our knowledge, there are only few studies that address the intra-household implications of oil palm expansion in Indonesia. Male and female household members might be affected differently by the increasing adoption expanding oil palm cultivation. The last essay explores the gender-disaggregated implications of oil palm cultivation among smallholder households in Indonesia. By using panel and cross-sectional data of 700 smallholder households, we examine the disaggregated farm labor input over time, 24-hour time allocation and females’ economic decision-making power. Results show that oil palm cultivation decreases on-farm family labor input, especially female labor. When looking at the male and female time allocation, results suggest that females spend less time on farms, more time on work inside the house and enjoy more leisure time as the share of farm under oil palm cultivation increases. For the male counterparts, differences in time allocation were not statistically significant, except for more leisure time among male members as the intensity of oil palm cultivation increases. Findings reveal that females are more likely to lose intra-household decision-making power in relation to farm management and farm income allocation. These findings make important contributions to addressing rural development policies aiming to expand cash crop production while also improve women’s welfare.
\n\tThis dissertation concludes by providing a synopsis of all three essays, discussing the limitations, possible future research areas, and broader policy conclusions from the findings presented above. For the first research objective, results point to more nuanced policies, targeting nutrition as such. For the second research objective, findings from essay two and three suggest that positive gains from commercial oil palm cultivation occurred in terms of household welfare but the gender implications are rather mixed. In this context rural non-farm sector is important to support income diversification, especially regarding the economic involvement of females that are no longer working on-farm in oil palm cultivation.

A Consideration of the Public School as an Industry of the Community

Economic Vulnerabilities and Livelihoods: Impact of <scp>COVID</scp>‐19 in Fiji and Vanuatu

The word 'development' is vaguely defined and has diverse meanings in all aspects (political, economic, social, technological, environmental, legal and so forth). Development can be qualitative or quantitative, but this paper concentrates on the qualitative part, although it agrees that qualitative development is the foundation for quality improvement of lives around the world. However, below are some of the generally accepted meanings: According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), it uses a more detailed definitionaccording to them development is 'to lead/live long and healthy lives, to be knowledgeable, to have access to the resources needed for a decent standard of living and to be able to participate in the life of the community.' According to the UNDP, development is looked as "Human Development" (Henk, 2005:2). According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, (Canada, 1999:5), Canada has also incorporated human security/development approach into its foreign policy formulation process(es). The country has redefined the concept of security from the traditional one to that which guarantees "safety for people from both violent and non-violent threats…..characterized by freedom from pervasive threats to people's rights, their safety, or even their lives". The country has also backed its new commitment by expending huge amounts of money and other resources to promote human security worldwide, especially in the form of aid. According to the South Africa White Paper on Defence, 1996, development is an all-encompassing condition in which individual citizens live in freedom, peace and safety; participate fully in the process of governance; enjoy the protection fundamental rights; have access to resources and the basic necessities of life; and inhabit an environment which is not detrimental to their health and wellbeing not only in terms of the internal security of the state, but also in terms of secure systems of food health, money and trade (it is about human security supported by the states and non-state actors). Therefore development is to empower the poor, it is about local people taking control of their own lives, expressing their own demands and finding their own solutions to their problems. Development encompasses capacity building, sensitization training, workshops, seminars and conferences aimed at exploiting the ability or potential of an individual to become self-sustained and support themselves at least to have a decent life. Therefore, development is the act of improving quality of life and making sure everyone has an improved standard of live in the world with the help or efforts of the local people, international bodies, governments and a variety of civil society organizations such as NGOs, community organizations and religious groups. It is also called global development or international development, a vague term covering a wide range of activities, but in simplistic terms it can be understood as the fight against poverty to allow International Development 8 developing countries to 'catch up' with the rest of the world. It has become important to focus on sustainable strategies that focus on long term development rather than quick fixes (Thomas, 2000) . International development or global development is most used in a holistic and multi-disciplinary context of human development and aims at the development of greater quality of life for humans. It, therefore, encompasses foreign aid, governance, healthcare, education, poverty reduction, gender equality, disaster preparedness, infrastructure, economics, human rights, environment and issues associated with these (Worsley,1999). International development ensures that all human beings in the world live a quality life to lift themselves out of poverty and raise their standard of living to one that is closer to the standard of living of the developed states by ensuring that they have access to basic needs of life (food, shelter, clothing, clean and safe water, medicine among others). About 2.6 billion people (about two out of five) live on less than $2 per day. In another comparison, the World Bank, almost one-half of the world's 6.5 billion inhabitants live on the equivalent of less than two dollars a day, and about one-fourth of the world live on the equivalent of less than $1.25 a day (Chen and Ravallion, 2008). Meanwhile, people in the 20-richest countries on average earn 39 times more than people in the poorest 20 (Milanovi, 2007). At the same time, the extent of poverty has declined significantly. For example, the World Bank estimates that from 1981-2005 the percentage of people living on less than $1 per day was halved. The amount decreased from 52 percent to 26 percent in this period (Chen &Ravallion, 2008). In order to improve on the quality of life or to reduce poverty, donor countries, like Canada, provide developing countries with technical expertise, goods and money. According to Worsley (1999) , this is also called international development aid focused on:  Improving the health and education of the people in a country so that people do not die from lack of food, medical services or knowledge (basic needs).  Creating a sustainable food supply so that people can feed themselves,  Boosting economic development so that people can get decent jobs and support their families,  Promoting safety, human rights, and law and order so that people can thrive. According to the (Human Development Report 1996), published by the United Nations Development Program, "human development is the end economic growth which agrees that that economic growth, by increasing a nation's total wealth, also enhances its potential for reducing poverty and solving other social problems. But in poor states what all we see are greater inequality, higher unemployment, weakened democracy, loss of cultural identity, or overconsumption of natural resources needed by future generations (Todaro& Smith, 2009) . International development, however, can promote the concept of international aid aimed at alleviating some of the problems associated with a lack of development. These can only help solve or fix short term challenges and not necessarily long-term solutions (Browne, 1990) . The use of foreign aid should be short term, not long term as it can make poor states dependents on the west and becomes a tool for imperialism and exploitation which keeps poor state underdeveloped. International development, on the other hand, seeks to implement long-term solutions to problems by helping developing countries create the necessary capacity needed to provide such sustainable solutions to their problems. But a truly sustainable development project is one which will be able to carry on genuine international support, be it financial or otherwise. There are many international development projects to address a specific problem or a series of projects targeted at several aspects of improving the quality of lives in many societies. Genuine projects must involve problem solving that reflects the unique culture, politics, geography, and economy of a region. It must be participatory, appropriate, gender sensitive, respect human life, capacity building and empowerment of all people (Parfitt, 2002) . 1.6. Self-Assessment Questions  Q1. What is development and international development?  Q2. Attempt a brief history of international development.  Q3. Clearly identify the goals and means of development. These contrasts highlight both the problem and the progress of what is known in the international community as "development". Large numbers of the world's inhabitants are mired in poverty, especially in Africa, while inhabitants of the world's richest countries live in both relative and absolute luxury. However, international development aims to improve general government policies of these developing countries through the provision of basic needs. The term "development" in international parlance, therefore, encompasses the need and the means by which to provide better lives for people in poor countries. It includes not only economic growth, although that is crucial, but also human development that aims at providing health, nutrition, education, and a clean environment.

Can we live within environmental limits and still reduce poverty? Degrowth or decoupling?

Economic development in the traditional economy is only measured using GDP growth, both in aggregate and per capita. Further increases in GDP will create the necessary conditions for a more equitable distribution of economic and social growth results. However, orientation only to economic growth in building national economy has drawn considerable criticisms. From this point, new economic views have emerged. According to Todaro (2006), the main objective of the new views is GDP growth with simultaneous improvements in poverty alleviation and inequality reduction. High economic growth is often followed by high poverty. Therefore, sustainable economic growth, known as the inclusive growth, is required. In Indonesia, there are still provinces that have not achieved a good level of inclusiveness, one of which is East Java. The rate of its economic growth is very high, but the number of poor people in the area is above the national average. This study aims to analyze the effect of labor and human capital on economic growth in poverty alleviation in East Java using the case study method of 38 regencies and cities during the 2011-2020 period. The panel data was analyzed simultaneously in E-views. This study finds that labor does not affect economic growth, but human capital described by health and education affects economic growth. Further, negative economic growth positively and significantly affect poverty, which means that increasing human capital has a good impact on economic growth and will further reduce poverty.

Rapid globalization driven by the development needs of transition economies, economic reform in developing countries, and unprecedented productivity growth owing to lower unit labor cost, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) revolution, and international movement of labor has posed a challenge for maintaining a sustainable economic growth worldwide. Using qualitative analysis based on data from various secondary sources, we note that both outsourcing and brain drain have intensified over the years as more and more countries are now embracing globalization as a strategy for higher economic growth and development. While the benefits of globalization can differ across countries, it seems that outsourcing and brain drain can bring into play some offsetting forces that are likely to bridge the gap between advanced and developing countries by creating a ‘level playing field’ in the global economy. While the developing and emerging economies are losing skilled labor through ‘brain drain’ to the advanced nations, they are gaining remittance earnings from those nations. At the same time, outsourcing from the advanced countries has created new employment and other opportunities in developing and emerging markets. Although the final impact of outsourcing is debatable, it is very likely that companies will intensify such activities in future due to strong evidences in support of significant cost savings. The outflow of skilled manpower, popularly called brain drain, from developing countries is also likely to increase due to growing demand for ‘replacement migration’ from advanced countries. Increasing job gains from outsourcing and the associated benefits on the economies of developing countries are likely to cancel out the perceived negative impact of brain drain, argued in this paper. The implication is that developed countries should ideally target the relatively poorer countries in their plan for outsourcing, because they are still deprived of the benefits of job creation, though these countries are losing their high-skilled manpower through brain drain.

Gulf economic development is increasingly taking place across digital spheres and being driven by actors with advanced technological skill sets. Gulf Arab governments like the United Arab Emirates aim to encourage technology-driven economic growth and innovation. Spurring recession-resistant growth is especially desirable in the aftermath of the coronavirus-induced economic downturn of 2020–2021. Regional policymakers want to position national citizens at the forefront of this technology-oriented economic development, and consequently they have pursued traditional workforce nationalization policies to ensure the continued participation of citizenry in the region’s labor markets. Using the UAE as a case study, this work explores the prospects for better aligning direct labor market interventions with economic growth and development strategies. An Emiratization policy approach focused on digital and technology-oriented skills is raised as an alternative policy option, subjected to critical evaluation, and considered alongside an initial set of recommendations for harmonizing labor market demands with future-oriented growth.

Purpose – This paper aims to review technical vocational education and training (TVET) literature, identify different components of the TVET system and develop a conceptual framework that integrates human resource development (HRD) and national human resource development (NHRD) outcomes. The renewed focus on technical vocational education and training (TVET) is important for human resource development (HRD), as it expands current understanding of its role in economic development through workforce training. National human resource development (NHRD) perspectives recognize the role of TVET in linking regional and national economic development strategies. Furthermore, TVET’s focus on literacy education, poverty alleviation and inclusion of marginalized and vulnerable populations emphasizes social development outcomes that are critical for NHRD. Using this background, the integration of HRD and NHRD outcomes into one conceptual TVET framework for addressing workforce, economic and social development outcomes has been proposed. Design/methodology/approach – A targeted literature review approach was used for exploring relevant research on TVET systems, identifying the components which support and/or inhibit its effectiveness and an integrative framework that connects education, workforce development, social development and economic development was developed. Findings – Three major themes were identified. The first theme identifies nine sub-themes that make an effective TVET system. These are as follows: national TVET policy, regional TVET policy, training, participation, curriculum, coordination of stakeholder institutions, individual and institutional attitudes toward skill development, managing supply-demand mismatches and economic and social development outcomes. The second major theme underlines the increasing overlap and connection between workforce development, social development and economic development strategies. In the third and final finding, effective TVET systems are positioned as the linking pin connecting the four TVET components (skills, education, innovation and knowledge) to the strategic goals of workforce development, economic development and social development. Originality/value – Integrating national and organizational-based HRD strategies is a unique focus and reflects the broader examination of the differences in the relationship between corporate HRD and more traditional TVET systems. It is argued that the role of TVET in social and workforce development at the regional and societal level cannot be ignored. HRD and NHRD outcomes were integrated by utilizing TVET as a framework for linking economic, social and workforce development strategies.

This communication describes the parameter knowledge productivity, in what concerns national economies' and firms' sustainable growth. Taking knowledge, individual and social, as the foundation for value, it clarifies how society has a natural propensity to increase its value creation and, simultaneously, its value distribution. The discussion is about the optimum balance between value creation and distribution, the former being triggered by investment and the latter represented by labor costs and supporting consumption. The conclusions are, for whole economies, that society quickly distributes extra value in forms of salaries and social benefits increases, flattening the growth rate of knowledge productivity. However, for individual firms, knowledge productivity may increase steadily, what can be considered as a core strategy for firms' economic sustainable growth. I. INTRODUCTION Sustainable growth means constant or increasing growth for a long period. What is the right strategy to achieve this goal, at the firm's level? Many authors and models have produced a variety of answers, dealing with specific parts of the whole, like marketing strategies, R&D efforts, organization management, lean production and others. The aim is increasing profits, output, market shares, capital intensities, shareholders' equity, stakeholders' happiness, etc. However, is there an elemental and simple answer that defines a core strategy? I argue in this communication that the objective of increasing knowledge productivity is a good and simple basis for that. Data from OECD about Unit Labor Costs will be used to illustrate how knowledge productivity varies with economic growth and how society distributes value at about the same pace as creates it. The causal-effect relation between the two parameters, knowledge productivity and growth, will be justified by a logical argument, that shows how the increase of individual knowledge depends on action and work involving technology and capital. As such, investment should grow at least at the same pace as individual and social knowledge. On the other hand, consumption feeds individual knowledge maintenance and creates conditions for new knowledge, what leads to conclude that consumption is as crucial as investment. Finally, transferring these arguments to the firm's level, propositions will be outlined, relevant to the firm's growth strategy, which could be condensed in one only parameter - the increase of the firm's knowledge productivity. Two examples of economic sectors, from the Portuguese economy, will depict how the growth rate of knowledge productivity correlates with Gross Value Added (GVA) growth rate. I will use the term individual knowledge as the knowledge that exists and belongs to the individual and, as such, can not be directly assessed. It is expressed through work, therefore, indirectly valued. Social knowledge has a value attributed by society and may be recognized and accessed, as it is embodied in technological and capital forms.

For the past three decades, LDCs have been advised to focus on economic growth as a strategy for economic diversification, poverty reduction and economic development. In hindsight, this appears to have been sound policy advice, since it is highly unlikely that LDCs will achieve economic and social development and halve their poverty levels in line with internationally agreed goals without a sustained period of growth. In fact, in recognition of this likely scenario, the IPoA states (United Nations, 2011,para. 28) that in order for LDCs to achieve “sustained, equitable and inclusive economic growth [ ] to at least the level of 7 per cent per annum”, they should strengthen their productive capacity in all sectors through structural transformation and overcome their marginalization through effective integration into the global economy.

Quantitative Aspects of the Economic Growth of Nations: VIII. Distribution of Income by Size