Development Geography at the Crossroads of Livelihood and Globalization

This paper explores new insights generated by livelihood research with respect to poverty problems in the world and how people deal with global challenges. Through the examination of the changing outlines of livelihood in the present era of globalisation, the authors unravel the fuzzy relationship between globalisation and local development from an actor point of view. First, the paper analyses the historical and theoretical context in which the modern livelihood approach developed, followed by a short explanation of its contemporary definition. Globalisation trends in livelihoods are then considered in order to determine the consequences for local development. The main issues reviewed are the decomposition of households, the increased diversification of livelihoods, and the emergence of multi-local livelihoods and livelihood networks. In the conclusion it is argued that the future agenda on local development in development geography should include the study of rooted and dispersed livelihoods