"Millions of Africans spend their entire lives poor, hungry, and malnourished, and most depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, either directly or indirectly. Despite its potential to drive economic growth and poverty reduction, however, African agricultural development has remained disappointing-whether because of underinvestment or poor returns to investments. This book, Institutional Economics Perspectives on African Agricultural Development, is inspired by the conviction that effective African agricultural development requires building better institutions. It provides an accessible synthesis of new institutional economics theory and research into understanding and improving African agriculture, particularly smallholder agriculture. Interspersing theory with case studies from a wide range of countries, the book addresses such policy issues as how markets for different commodities and services function in different political, cultural, and economic contexts. It not only makes an important contribution to the existing literature, but also provides development practitioners, policymakers, and graduate students working-or intending to work-in these fields with essential knowledge and tools for addressing these challenges. OVERVIEW: Theoretical and Conceptual Framework; Exchange in Goods and Services; Natural Resources Management; and An Institutional Perspective on the State: Its Role and Challenges."

The culmination of over a decade's worth of research by the Pond Dynamics/Aquaculture Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP), Dynamics of Pond Aquaculture not only explains the physical, chemical, and biological processes that interact in pond culture systems, but also presents real-world research findings and considers the people who depend on these systems. This book uses data from CRSP field research sites in East Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America, and North America to present a complete picture of the pond system and the environment in which it exists. A thorough study of the principles and practices of aquaculture, the book reflects the state of the art in pond aquaculture and incorporates recent advances that have changed the science in the last decade or so. It provides a thorough review of the many methods, techniques, and ideas that comprise this complex and fascinating area of study.

Annotation. Proposals to address water shortages are usually based on two assumptions: water is a commodity that can be bought and sold; states, or other centralized entitles, should control access to water. This book criticizes these assumptions from a socio-legal perspective. Eleven case studies examine laws and distribution in regions around the world.