In the developing world, people in rural areas are even poorer than city dwellers. Reducing the gap between city and country, even slightly, could greatly improve the quality of peoples lives. This collection of essays presents evidence from a variety of countries and backgrounds - India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Fiji, Brazil, Nigeria and Kenya are among the countries studied. It poses the question of whether peasant poverty is mainly a result of decisions made in the interests of cities and urban groups. The authors discuss the roles of both markets and governments in attempts to reduce income disparities.