Based on case studies of Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zambia, the book examines the changes in rural labour markets as a result of a decade of structural adjustment programmes. These programmes were meant to shift relative prices in favour of the agricultural sector, and, within the agricultural sector, in favour of export crops. In response, labour should have moved to the favoured sector. The case studies show that such a shift did not occur and the overview chapter elaborates the complexities of the African labour markets which ensured this outcome.

The study deals with problems and policy options facing Third World mega-cities. It examines the major sources of urban population growth and spatial concentration and analyses the conflict between economic efficiency and decentralization. It also assesses the implications of rapid urban population growth for employment generation and poverty alleviation, discusses the relationship between urban poverty and access to housing and basic social services, and examines the problems of resource mobilization to finance urban programmes. The analysis is based on data gathered from several Third-World...