The lowdown on rural poverty

"Today, the hamlets dot a forsaken land of rampant poverty where men drink from morning to night. The interconnected crises of low fertility, high death rates and ragged infrastructure have left much of the nation barren."

Associated Press 06/09

Early signs along the road of economically incorrect practices

Tolerable, perhaps, when taken in isolation

But soon you get a sense of what statisticians and investors are up against

These dismal shops will not get any better if people carry on their habits of growing their own food, fishing their own fish and milking their own goats.