A host of internationally eminent scholars are brought together here to explore the structural causes of rural poverty, income inequality as well as the processes of social exclusion and political subordination encountered by the peasantry and rural workers across a wide range of countries. This volume examines the intersection of politics and economics and provides a critical analysis and framework for the study of neo-liberal land policies in the current phase of globalization, and utilizing new empirical evidence from ten countries it provides an in-depth analysis of key country studies, a comparative analysis of agrarian reforms and their impact on rural poverty in Africa, Asia, Latin America and transition countries. Presenting an agrarian reform policy embedded in an appropriate development strategy which is able to significantly reduce and hopefully eliminate rural poverty, this work is a key resource for postgraduate students studying in the areas of development economics, development studies and international political economy.