This course will review the determinants of rural poverty and examine the historical pathways that have led the rural poor out of poverty. A policy perspective will be taken on all three levels of analytical interest: the macro level where overall economic growth and the structural transformation provide the framework for analysis; at the sectoral level, where the role of agriculture in poverty reduction is the focus; and at the household level, where individual characteristics and asset holdings, including human capital, inform our understanding of who is successful in exiting poverty in a sustainable fashion.