Governmental Intervention (governmental + intervention)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


,Land Moves and Behaves': Indigenous Discourse on Sustainable Land Management in Pichataro, Patzcuaro Basin, Mexico

GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES A: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3-4 2003
Narciso Barrera-Bassols
ABSTRACT An ethnoecological study was carried out in the Purhepecha community of San Francisco Pichataro, west central Mexico, with the purpose of investigating how land degradation, in terms of soil erosion and fertility depletion, was (and still is) handled by indigenous farmers so that traditional agriculture could remain sustainable over centuries. After briefly reviewing opposite views on the land degradation issue in the regional context of the Patzcuaro lake basin, the paper focuses on land management at local level. The indigenous concept of land is discussed as an integrated whole, including water cycle, climate, relief and soils. Indigenous people venerate land as the mother of all living beings, including humans. Therefore, people's health and survival require good land care and management. Local knowledge on land management is organized around four basic principles: land position, land behaviour, land resilience and land quality. Fanners recognize land as a dynamic subject, a concept reflected in the expression ,land moves and behaves'. Soil erosion and fertility depletion are perceived as ,normal' processes the farmers control by means of integrated management practices. Farmers recognize several land classes, primarily controlled by landscape position, which require different land care. The example of San Francisco Pichataro demonstrates that traditional agriculture does not necessarily lead to land degradation. But the collective knowledge, or social theory, on land management is increasingly exposed to be fragmented as the community undergoes structural changes and loses its social cohesion under the pressure of externalities such as off-farm activities, out-migrations and governmental intervention, among others. [source]


INTERNATIONAL TRENDS IN WATER UTILITY REGIMES

ANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 1 2007
Yeti Nisha Madhoo
ABSTRACT,:,This paper provides the taxonomy of country experiences in managing their water utilities. Institutions for water supply for various uses and their financial implications are analysed. Different episodes of governmental intervention in water supply and charging are examined. From the survey of different regimes and the existing literature, cost recovery and affordability emerge as the major building blocks for any reform of water utilities. Privatization of water services in terms of ownership change, public-private arrangements and international involvement seems to be a mixed blessing and donor assistance to water projects raises issues in international inequality and does not increase cost recovery levels. Cost recovery is positively associated with economic development, institutional quality and performance of water utilities. [source]


Driving on liquid sunshine , the Brazilian biofuel experience: a policy driven analysis

BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, Issue 8 2009
Clovis Zapata
Abstract This paper analyses Brazil's experience with biofuels, focusing on the central role of the federal government as the main force driving the implementation of alternative locally produced ethanol (ethyl alcohol) and biodiesel. The pioneering, large scale ethanol programme that started over 30 years ago can be considered the most successful experience with the use of biofuels to date, as the government was able to rapidly implement the use of ethanol (ethyl alcohol) as a substitute for petrol in the 1970s and 1980s. The work contributes to the general discussion of sustainable and renewable energy sources and sets out the key policy mechanisms used. The paper also innovatively looks at the second large governmental intervention in the renewable fuels market , the biodiesel programme. In addition to the contribution to the debate surrounding command-and-control measures and economic incentive instruments, the paper analyses how lessons learned from the ethanol experiment were taken into consideration in the design and implementation of the biodiesel mandate, including social and environmental facets. It emphasizes the uniqueness of producing sugarcane ethanol in the Brazilian context and how attempts to carry out similar fast growing biofuels programmes may not be possible in other parts of the world. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source]


Developmental states, civil society, and public health: Patent regulation for HIV/AIDS pharmaceuticals in India and Brazil

REGULATION & GOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2010
Thomas Eimer
Abstract While both India and Brazil are seriously affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, each country has chosen a different approach to providing affordable pharmaceutical treatment. Whereas the Indian government has paved the way for market-driven solutions, Brazilian public authorities are strongly involved in the research and production of HIV/AIDS medication. Brazilian regulations permit comprehensive and free provision of HIV/AIDS drugs, whereas the majority of the affected population in India does not receive adequate pharmaceutical treatment. To explain the different policy outputs, we draw on the developmental state literature. Efficient decisionmaking structures, a devoted bureaucracy, and effective policy instruments enable public authorities to provide public goods even in the context of relative scarcity. We show that the assumptions of developmental state theory have to be complemented by the assessment of civil society actors' potential to trigger governmental interventions in the market. [source]