Abstract
A new type of rural development information system is described. It is based on two recently introduced low-cost technologies; microcomputers and the informant survey. When the informant data from the universe of subdistricts in a region are analyzed with modern multivariate techniques, it is possible to derive comprehensive measures of institutional structure as well as five measures of rural progress. The latter are: a level of living scale based on housing characteristics, a measure ofinequality derived from the difference between the housing of irrigated and dryland farmers, an estimate of agricultural productivity, a score of ecological problems, and a measure of status group restrictions, specifically restrictions on females. These and similar measures of social structure constitute the ‘macrosocial accounting’ file. In addition this information system includes project monitoring and administrative accounting files. The uses of this system are familiar — comparative description, monitoring and evaluation — but in this integrated and upgraded form, the potential problem solving capacity of rural development agencies should be significantly enhanced.
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The research on which this paper is based was supported by the Office of Rural Development Administration of the Agency for International Development via its sponsorship of Cornell's Rural Development Committee. We are also indebted to the Central Tunisian Development Authority for its support. None of these agencies is responsible for the opinions and conclusions expressed in the article, of course.
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Young, F.W., Bertoli, F. & Bertoli, S. Design for a microcomputer-based rural development information system. Soc Indic Res 9, 283–312 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300659
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300659