Using land-time-budgets to analyse farming systems and poverty alleviation policies in the Lao PDR

Clemens Grunbuhel and Heinz Schandl

International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2005, vol. 5, issue 3/4, 142-180

Abstract: This paper applies the method of 'Land-time-budget analysis' to a rural subsistence community and to the national economy of the Lao PDR. The analysis is conducted to meet two ends: to identify the community's/the nation's resource use profile in terms of land and time use - the analysis identifies biophysical constraints of socio-economic development and trade-offs in resource use patterns; to contrast the results of the analysis with national poverty alleviation policies and visualise their effects on local communities. Results show that shifting cultivation, a traditional socio-economic strategy in Laos, is doomed for extinction as a practice for securing subsistence. Little, if any, provisions are made by the planners to persuade shifting cultivators to leave their trade and moving to the lowlands and urban areas. Policies are shown to actually decrease the rate of subsistence, which is risk-averse, and increase market participation, which is unstable.

Keywords: sustainability; development policy; social metabolism; land-time budget analysis; food security; household income; rural subsistence; Laos; poverty alleviation; socio-economic development; farming; agriculture; rural communities; subsistence communities; land use; time use; biophysical constraints; resource use. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=7990 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ids:ijgenv:v:5:y:2005:i:3/4:p:142-180

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in International Journal of Global Environmental Issues from Inderscience Enterprises Ltd
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sarah Parker ().