Those who study global poverty and ways to reduce it face a perennial set of questions: Do advances in knowledge, research, and technology make a real difference in the lives of poor people? What effect does research have on the poor? Who benefits? The contributors to Agricultural Research, Livelihoods, and Poverty shed light on these questions through a collection of case studies that explore the types of impact that agricultural research has had on livelihoods and poverty in low-income countries. The studies focus on the impact of research carried out by several institutions that are part of or collaborate with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the leading nonprofit consortium conducting international agricultural research in low-income countries. The countries covered include Bangladesh, China, India, Kenya, Mexico, and Zimbabwe. The contributors employ micro-level case studies and macro-level analysis and combine methods and perspectives from economics, sociology, and anthropology. They examine whether and how agricultural research has affected livelihoods, vulnerability, and poverty; the extent to which poverty reduction can be attributed to different technologies; and the economic, social, and cultural contexts in which technologies affect different social and economic groups. This book will help researchers in the agricultural and social sciences, as well as others concerned with development policy and its implementation, to better understand the pathways connecting research and poverty reduction and to guide future study of this vitally important issue. CONTRIBUTORS: Michelle Adato, Javier Becerril, Suraiya Begum, Mauricio R. Bellon, Manik L. Bose, Michael Bourdillon, Connie Chan-Kang, Alamgir Chowdhury, Shenggen Fan, Lawrence Haddad, Kelly Hallman, Peter Hazell, Paul Hebinck, John Hoddinott, Mahabub Hossain, Bill Kinsey, K. Krishnaiah, David Lewis, John Marondo, Ruth Meinzen-Dick, Dubravka Mindek, Netsayi Mudege, Mary Omosa, Trudy Owens, Frank Place, and Keming Qian.