Marginality : Addressing the Nexus of Poverty, Exclusion and Ecology

This book takes a new approach on understanding causes of extreme poverty and promising actions to address it. Its focus is on marginality being a root cause of poverty and deprivation. “Marginality” is the position of people on the edge, preventing their access to resources, freedom of choices, and the development of capabilities. The book is research based with original empirical analyses at local, national, and local scales; book contributors are leaders in their fields and have backgrounds in different disciplines. An important message of the book is that economic and ecological approaches and institutional innovations need to be integrated to overcome marginality. The book will be a valuable source for development scholars and students, actors that design public policies, and for social innovators in the private sector and non-governmental organizations.​ Front Matter....Pages i-xvii Marginality—An Overview and Implications for Policy....Pages 1-23 Front Matter....Pages 25-25 Marginality—A Framework for Analyzing Causal Complexities of Poverty....Pages 27-40 Exclusion and Initiatives to ‘Include’: Revisiting Basic Economics to Guide Development Practice....Pages 41-56 Marginality from a Socio-ecological Perspective....Pages 57-65 Front Matter....Pages 67-67 Mapping Marginality Hotspots....Pages 69-83 The Poorest: Who and Where They Are?....Pages 85-99 Targeting the Poorest and Most Vulnerable: Examples from Bangladesh....Pages 101-115 Correlates of Extreme Poverty in Rural Ethiopia....Pages 117-131 Examining the Circle of Attachment Trauma, Shame, and Marginalization: The Unheard Voices of Young Kutchi Girls....Pages 133-147 Front Matter....Pages 149-149 Poverty, Agriculture and the Environment: The Case of Sub-Saharan Africa....Pages 151-168 The Marginal Poor and Their Dependence on Ecosystem Services: Evidence from South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa....Pages 169-180 Land Degradation, Poverty and Marginality....Pages 181-202 Front Matter....Pages 203-203 Tackling Social Exclusion and Marginality for Poverty Reduction: Indian Experiences....Pages 205-219 Consumption Behavior of the Poorest and Policy Implications in Indonesia....Pages 221-237 Addressing Extreme Poverty and Marginality: Experiences in Rural China....Pages 239-255 Experiences in Targeting the Poorest: A Case Study from Bangladesh....Pages 257-267 Rural Poverty and Marginalization in Ethiopia: A Review of Development Interventions....Pages 269-300 Front Matter....Pages 301-301 Macro, Fiscal and Decentralization Options to Address Marginality and Reach the Extremely Poor....Pages 303-314 Social Protection, Marginality, and Extreme Poverty: Just Give Money to the Poor?....Pages 315-329 Innovative Business Approaches for the Reduction of Extreme Poverty and Marginality?....Pages 331-351 Front Matter....Pages 301-301 Business Initiatives That Overcome Rural Poverty and Marginality Through Creating Shared Value....Pages 353-364 The Marginalized and Poorest in Different Communities and Settings of Ethiopia....Pages 365-381 Back Matter....Pages 383-389 This volume presents new insights on marginality, i.e. the situation of people living on the edge of socio-economic and ecological systems. The marginality concept leads to different development policies. While the prevalence of poverty declined by about 50 percent in the past two decades, any further reduction of poverty will be more difficult, because of high diversity of extremely poor people, and complex interrelations between poverty, exclusion and ecology. The marginality concept provides guidance to address this issue. Marginality entails addressing the structural forces of poverty, such as exclusion, discrimination and ecological degradations which lead to vulnerability of the poor. In this volume economists, ecology experts, geographers, agronomists, sociologist, and business experts come together to address marginality. The inter-disciplinary research offers conceptual innovations and presents the dimensions of marginality in developing countries. Economic, political, and environmental drivers are assessed and mapped globally and in detail for countries in Africa and Asia, especially Ethiopia, India, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia. Economic growth especially in rural areas remains and farming communities is central to poverty reduction but needs to be complemented with specific actions to reach those at the margins. The social policy actions and measures to end exclusions are highlighted, and the roles of the state, local government, business and community in them are pointed out for overcoming marginality. Environment, general; Environmental Law/Policy/Ecojustice; Environmental Economics; Social Policy