The rural landscape of the Third World is generally seen as one worked by the impoverished. Chris Dixon shows that this is an increasingly inaccurate picture. Wealth does exist, with the landed often maintaining lifestyles comparable to their richest urban neighbours. And while land remains the basis of real wealth, the rural workforce is diversifying its activities away from agriculture becoming involved in a range of manufacturing, processing, trading and service industries. Yet still rural poverty persists, and the book illustrates just how difficult it is to assess the success of development initiatives adopted to eliminate it.

This book, first published in 1990, provides a general introduction to the approaches, policies, and problems associated with Third World rural development. Rural Development in the Third World is relevant to students of geography, the environment and developmental issues.