This book examines female-headed households (FHHs) in the world economy, aspects of their poverty, and the implications of those for sustainable development. Following a general discussion of FHHs in the world community, the work discusses FHHs in two regions of India, one being an example of unsuccesssful development and the other of successful development. The research is based on fieldwork in five rural villages. One village, comprising mostly female-headed households, provided a unique case study. The other four villages include both male- and female-headed households with a high proportion of female-headed households.

The authors found that female-headed households dominate the poorer sections of the community, and women's access to resources is limited by cultural, social, and economic influences. Women, particularly those in FHHs, bear the heaviest burdens in times of economic hardship. These women face more forms of discrimination outside the home than women from male-headed households. They have fewer customary rights but greater freedom of movement and more opportunities for paid employment. The authors go on to show that the benefits of government development programs have not reached remote areas. The trickle-down approach has not worked, but sustainable development programs focusing on women's development and self-responsiblity have helped to lift the economic status of women in general and FHHs in particular.

After reviewing theories about how women are likely to fare as a result of economic development, the editors and their contributors focus on the socioeconomic status of women and changes in it as a result of processes of economic development in individual countries in five continents. Economic development is supposed to remove impediments to the improvement in women's status. In some developing countries researchers have found that instead of lessening the forces of restrictions, economic development may, in fact, have strengthened them. The editors call for a greater involvement of women as active participants in the process of dismantling social, legal, and institutional barriers to women's development.

This book highlights several important issues which policy makers as well as state and private sector agents are confronted with while implementing different types of programs to improve social and economic conditions for beneficiaries of these programs. However, the process of implementation of one development project may produce unfavourable effects on several other projects and on beneficiaries for some other projects. In such a situation, project implementing agents will be required to take measures to ensure that adverse externalities stemming from the implementation of each project are minimised.

After reviewing theories about how women are likely to fare as a result of economic development, the editors and their contributors focus on the socioeconomic status of women and changes in it as a result of processes of economic development in individual countries in five continents. Economic development is supposed to remove impediments to the improvement in women's status. In some developing countries researchers have found that instead of lessening the forces of restrictions, economic development may, in fact, have strengthened them. The editors call for a greater involvement of women as active participants in the process of dismantling social, legal, and institutional barriers to women's development.

The book is based on two recently published books by Kartik Roy. Governance Institutions and Economic Development: Emerging China, India, East Asia presented an in-depth analysis of the reasons for successes and failures of these nations developmental efforts. Economic, Environmental and Political Governance in China, Japan, India, Brazil, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam brought acknowledged the urgency of the need for countries political leaders to follow the teachings of Kautilya, Confucius, Ibn Khaldun, Karl Marx and Mahatma Gandhi and to make serious efforts to implement those lessons in practice. It is worth noting here Mancur Olsons famous remarks that economic decisions are unlikely to be taken in the collective interest of individuals due to bargaining costs and the problem of free riders, unless they are members of small groups. Such a coalition of self-interest individuals is likely to try to redistribute income towards itself instead of working to raise efficiency and national income for the full benefit of the entire population and country. Hence, the authors feel that it is more likely that in all democracies rather than in autocracies, members of the ministry will form Olsons coalition of self-interest fulfilling persons who are semi-literate, have rarely been engaged in any income earning activity, and who are adept at taking recourse to dishonest means to fill up their pockets, as well as to attain glory, and who have no knowledge of the teachings of Kautilya, Confucius, Khaldun, Marx, Gandhi and other great men of the past. Likewise, they will have no interest in their implementation on practice. In this book, the authors have made an effort to create a synergy between the theory and practice in economic development.