Abstract

Market failures affecting economic growth in poor rural areas are firmly on the agenda but for goods and services with private good characteristics are generally not conceptualised and understood in ways that help policy analysis and formulation to recognise and address these failures. We need a greater recognition and understanding of the causes and nature of coordination failures which lead to these market failures. This paper examines core features of poor rural areas, the nature of coordination problems faced by different potential economic actors, the impacts of these problems on markets and economic development, and the ways that these have been addressed or ignored in different policies and policy approaches in Asia and Africa in the last 40 years. We conclude by drawing out the implications for policies seeking to promote pro-poor economic growth in poor rural areas today. 1

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