ABSTRACT
This concluding chapter provides an overview of the main policy lessons that can be derived from the case studies and from the wider literature on rural labour markets with which they engage. It argues that the fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of poverty and of the characteristics of the rural poor has seriously jeopardized the design of growth and poverty reduction strategies that are job-focused. A more cohesive consensus has emerged in recent times on the importance of labour market institutions and regulations. In sum, there is no single magic bullet, and policy makers should prioritize combinations of measures that are more likely to produce sustained gains, rather than one-off temporary changes, focusing on context specificity and 'best-fit' rather than best practice. The book provides plenty of evidence of the centrality of migrant labour in rural labour markets and their pitiful wages and working conditions.
