Understanding Market-Based Livelihoods in a Globalising World: Combining Approaches and Methods
Nazneen Kanji; James MacGregor; Cecilia Tacoli (2005)
What happens when livelihoods analysis and value chain analysis are used in combination? How can research on livelihoods and markets produce policy-oriented information?
This IIED paper argues that developing policies to enhance people’s livelihoods through market access requires understanding both livelihoods assets and strategies, and the nature of markets for particular goods.
Thus combining livelihoods and value chain analyses can produce important insights. It describes a selection of studies combining these approaches: on shrimp farming in Bangladesh, peri-urban horticulture in Mali, cashew production in Mozambique and India, and rattan and bamboo weaving in Vietnam.
The two approaches compensate each others’ weaknesses in that:-
Livelihoods analysis goes beyond costs and prices, income and consumption to shed light on the choices that people make in particular contexts, allowing an assessment of possible trade-offs between outcomes.
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Value chain analysis provides a picture of the vertical linkages between local, national and global markets, to shed light on how firms may influence the actions of people in other parts of the chain.
It emphasises that:-
Understanding the specific context is very important – the history, politics, policies and institutions of a particular place have a bearing on how markets develop and interact with people’s livelihood strategies.
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Combined approaches can highlight the opportunities and constraints which small producers and small enterprise participants face in increasingly globalised systems.
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The more participatory the research is, the more likely it is that results will be useful, since the research process itself can contribute to learning and action.
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The combination is more likely to yield results that are reliable, robust, comprehensive and policy-oriented.
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