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Livelihood Trajectories of Rural Young People in Southern Africa: Stuck in Loops?

Hajdu, Flora; van Blerk, Lorraine; Ansell, Nicola; Hemsteede, Roeland; Mwathunga, Evance; Hlabana, Thandie; Robson, Elsbeth

Authors

Flora Hajdu

Lorraine van Blerk

Nicola Ansell

Roeland Hemsteede

Evance Mwathunga

Thandie Hlabana



Abstract

Attempts to boost rural development in the Global South tend to focus on ways in which people can transform their lives. Interventions are often designed to help overcome specific envisioned constraints and push individuals onto a pathway out of poverty. Research has contributed to nuancing this vision by documenting the non-linearity of pathways, which often results in people being left in limbo or stuck, rather than moving forward. Based on a study in two villages in Malawi and Lesotho, this article argues that even these nuances do not fully capture the real-life experiences of the63 young people who participated. Interviews tracing the course of their lives between 2007–08 and 2016–17 reveal trajectories that are circular rather than linear, and show the detrimental effects of being stuck in these frustrating loops of taking action without progressing. Conceptualizing rural young people’s livelihood trajectories in contexts of severe poverty as loops highlights the structural issues that need to be addressed if their lives are to be transformed. Understanding development as emancipation from sources of unfreedom means focusing on the structural constraints that keep some people in poverty, and the importance of attaining agency if they are to put their needs on the agenda and demand basic rights

Citation

Hajdu, F., van Blerk, L., Ansell, N., Hemsteede, R., Mwathunga, E., Hlabana, T., & Robson, E. (in press). Livelihood Trajectories of Rural Young People in Southern Africa: Stuck in Loops?. Development and Change, https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12826

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 22, 2024
Online Publication Date May 11, 2024
Deposit Date May 28, 2024
Publicly Available Date May 28, 2024
Journal Development and Change
Print ISSN 0012-155X
Electronic ISSN 1467-7660
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12826
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4674031

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Copyright Statement
© 2024 The Authors. Development and Change published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Institute of Social Studies.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.




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