Henry Rempel

The role of urban-to-rural remittances in rural development.

One of the effects of rural‐to‐urban migration is the return of money and resources by the migrants to their respective home areas. Recently, it has been argued by several authors that such remittances represent a significant means for removing supply constraints to improved productivity in agriculture. In this paper the authors examine critically the available evidence on the rural impact of remittances. Subjects covered in the paper include the extent of the urban‐to‐rural remittances, the determinants of such financial flows and the use made in the rural areas of the money received. The paper concludes there is little evidence that urban‐rural remittances have been a significant means to rural economic development.

The determinants of interregional migration in Kenya

Abstract The polytomous logistic model is applied to unpublished census data from Kenya to test recent theoretical advances in migration theory. In addition to reporting econometric results for interregional migration in Kenya, the accumulated knowledge on the key determinants of migration, as reported in some 20 econometric studies on internal migration in developing countries, are summarized.

The divergence of private from social costs in rural‐urban migration: A case study of Nairobi, Kenya

In LDCs the level of urban wages tends to induce more people to seek employment in the towns than can be employed at this wage level. The existence of these urban unemployed causes the private costs of migration to diverge from the social costs. The individual rural resident decides to remain or migrate on the basis of perceived private costs of migration. The effect of a decision to migrate on the economy is the social cost of migration. In our study we consider the determinants of different levels of private and social costs associated with different stocks of urban unemployed. In addition, utilising survey data on Nairobi, Kenya, an attempt is made to quantify the major private and social costs of migration to determine whether they diverge significantly. On the basis of these estimates some policy options for limiting urban unemployment caused by urban in‐migration are considered.

The determinants of and changes in the structure of wages and employment in the manufacturing sector of the Kenyan economy, 1967-1972

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to consider explicitly the structure of both employment and earnings in the manufacturing sector of the Kenyan economy. This includes a description of the structure of wages, an attempt to explain the determinants of the structure, and an attempt to determine the nature of the cause-and-effect relationships between wages and changes in employment. Also, the responsiveness of the structure of wages and employment to changes in industry demand for labour is considered.

The challenge of spending tsunami assistance well

The magnitude of the December 2004 tsunami disaster generated a massive outpouring of donations in support of the people affected. The media attention generated, combined with the magnitude of the funds involved, presented major challenges for organizations responding to this disaster. This paper draws primarily on a project in Tamil Nadu that utilized funds from a Canadian International Development Agency, as channeled through four churches in Canada to an Indian nongovernmental organization, to address the relief and rehabilitation challenges faced by 12 coastal villages. Specifically, the challenges of a transition from relief to development in these low-income fishing villages will be analyzed to assess whether this tsunami has had longer-term effects on how development assistance is transferred to deserving participants affected by low, unstable income as well as disaster.

Rural China Adapting to a World Market

ABSTRACT China has entered the World Trade Organization. Adapting to a world market will accelerate and shape major changes occurring in the rural areas of China. Specifically, it will affect Chinas food system as agriculture adjusts to a growing population, increased consumer food safety and quality concerns, and increased competition for agricultural imports and exports. The paper projects likely changes in Chinas food requirements for the first quarter of this century and considers the production, employment and income distribution implications for Chinas agriculture sector as it adapts to a world market.

China's agriculture sector: Emerging trends and new challenges

Abstract The Ninth Five‐Year Plan defines Chinas approach and priorities to economic reform for the period 1996–2000. The Plan recognizes that the agriculture sector is the weak link in Chinas drive for rapid economic development. It is the thesis of this paper that the 9th Plan focuses too much on producing more of Chinas staple foods and fails to lay the foundation for an agriculture that can meet the rapidly changing taste patterns of that subset of the population that is becoming more urban and is experiencing a rapid growth in income. It is argued that China needs to develop a mature food and agriculture system which directs resources to creating an efficient agricultural inputs and services subsector as well as a modern post‐harvest subsector. This will involve institutional development with extensive investment in such activities as the timely and efficient delivery of farm inputs as well as the storage, transport, processing and marketing of farm output. External forces will have a major impact...