Includes bibliographical references and index.

On the relevance of identities, communities, groups, and networks to the economics of poverty alleviation / Christopher B. Barrett -- Toward an economic theory of dysfunctional identity / Hanming Fang and Glenn C. Loury -- Polarization : concepts, measurement, estimation / Jean-Yves Duclos, Joan Esteban and Debraj Ray -- Evolutionary equilibrium with forward-looking players / Lawrence E. Blume -- Is inequality an evolutionary universal? / Samuel Bowles -- Bridging communal divides : separation, patronage, integration / Indraneel Dasgupta and Ravi Kanbur -- The extended family system and market interactions / Karla Hoff and Arijit Sen -- Social divisions within schools : how school policies can affect students' identities and educational choices / George A. Akerlof and Rachel E. Kranton -- Smallholder identities and social networks : the challenge of improving productivity and welfare / Christopher B. Barrett -- Social networks in Ghana / Christopher R. Udry and Timothy G. Conley -- Coping with disaster : morals, markets and mutual insurance : using economic experiments to study recovery from Hurricane Mitch / Michael R. Carter and Marco Castillo -- The role of ethnicity and networks in agricultural trade : evidence from Africa / Marcel Fafchamps -- Altruism, household co-residence and women's health investment in rural Bangladesh / Andrew D. Foster -- Self-help groups and income generation in the informal settlements of Nairobi / Eliana La Ferrara -- Community ties and land inheritance in the context of rising outside opportunities : evidence from the Peruvian highlands / Tatiana Goetghebuer and Jean-Philippe Platteau.