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Development Policy (development + policy)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	55%
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	32%
3 Other Domains	13%

Distribution within Humanities and Social Sciences

General & Introductory Development Studies	30%
General & Introductory Political Science	14%
General & Introductory Geography	5%
10 Other Subdomains	51%

Kinds of Development Policy

economic development policy

Selected Abstracts

STRATEGIC RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT POLICY: SOCIETAL OBJECTIVES AND THE CORPORATE WELFARE ARGUMENT

CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 1 2009
RICHARD T. GRETZ
The article considers the optimal research and development subsidy regime in a two-firm two-country model where each firm is "located" in a specific country. Trade is intra-industry in that customers in both countries purchase from both firms. The article suggests that when both countries subsidize their local firm usually welfare increases compared to the case of zero subsidies. Making the same comparison, profit always falls in the symmetric game and falls about half the time in the asymmetric game. These results call into question some common notions about corporate welfare. (JEL O38, H25, F23) [source]

IDEOLOGICAL DEVELOPERS AND THE FORMATION OF LOCAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY: THE CASE OF INNER-CITY PRESERVATION IN TEL AVIV

JOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 5 2008
NURIT ALFASI
ABSTRACT:,This article studies the role of ideological developers (IDs) in the formation and implementation of local development policy. The IDs are developers whose motivation is ideological as opposed to financial, and they initiate ideas rather than plans and projects. Based on a case study regarding inner-city preservation, we claim that in Tel Aviv, IDs have much leverage on local decision making. The IDs are individuals with high personal capital, who focus on an issue that it is not championed by existing civil groups. As the IDs seek out influential routes to policy makers, they build circumstantial coalitions. Through these limited and conditional partnerships with administrators and other influential actors, the IDs apply pressure and advance their specific cause. [source]

THE APEC FOOD SYSTEM: IMPLICATIONS FOR AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY

THE DEVELOPING ECONOMIES, Issue 3 2000
John GILBERT
First page of article [source]

Local Response to the Global Challenge: Comparing Local Economic Development Policies in a Regional Context

JOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2000
Joanne Wolfson
This article reports on a study that examined and compared the responses of six Greater Toronto Area (GTA) municipalities (two central, four suburban) to the challenges of global economic change. The study was carried out in a context characterized by the transfer to municipal governments of both administrative and financial responsibilities for local services by the government of the Province of Ontario. It found a strong tendency for the municipalities to compete with each other for economic advantage, despite efforts to convince them of the need for a cooperative region-wide approach. Suburban governments relied principally on strategies to draw businesses away from the core, and this type of activity seemed likely to increase because of the municipalities' increased dependence on local property taxes. Nonetheless, study findings suggested several ways in which regional organizations or senior governments might help to strengthen regional economies without expecting municipal governments to surrender control over economic development policy. [source]

Hunting for Consensus: Reconciling Bushmeat Harvest, Conservation, and Development Policy in West and Central Africa

CONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2007
ELIZABETH L. BENNETT
First page of article [source]

Using Farmers' Preferences to Assess Development Policy: A Case Study of Uganda

DEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 3 2010
Philip A. S. James
As part of ongoing economic reforms, the Ugandan government implemented the Plan for the Modernisation of Agriculture (PMA) targeted at reducing rural poverty. This article demonstrates the application of a stated preference method using a choice experiment conducted in 9 sub-counties to assess farmers' preferences for adaptation options and identify areas of the PMA requiring reform to improve its effectiveness. This research shows the importance of microfinance, agricultural extension systems and basic education in farmers' adaptation decisions, and highlights a crucial need to improve local engagement in decision-making. A potentially problematic contradiction between farmers' preferences and some interventions proposed under the PMA is identified. [source]

Improving the Evaluation of Rural Development Policy Pour une meilleure évaluation de la politique de développement rural Die Evaluation der Politik zur Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums verbessern

EUROCHOICES, Issue 1 2010
David Blandford
Summary Improving the Evaluation of Rural Development Policy A previous EuroChoices (Vol. 7, No. 1) compared and contrasted approaches to rural development policy in the EU and US. This Special Issue focuses on the evaluation of these policies, drawing on a workshop held in June 2009 at OECD Conference Center in Paris. Evaluation is an activity that runs parallel with policymaking and is capable of contributing to effectiveness and efficiency at all stages. Evaluators, wherever they work and whatever aspect of rural development is their focus, face some common technical problems. These include multiple (and often ill-defined) policy objectives, the choice of appropriate indicators (especially the need to distinguish between outputs and outcomes), how to establish baseline values, where to draw boundaries in terms of impact and time, and the identification of additionality and causality. Ensuring that lessons learned from evaluation are actually applied is problematic. Experiences covered in this Issue include the use of macro and case-study approaches, and various schemes (investment in human and social capital, and agri-environment and forestry). There is an inherent tension between using a common approach across countries and regions in the interests of comparability and the flexibility needed to capture all the relevant factors in the diverse situations in which rural development actions take place. Un précédent numéro de EuroChoices (Vol. 7, No. 1) comparait et mettait en regard les approches de l'Union européenne et des États-Unis en terme de politique de développement rural. Ce numéro spécial est consacréà l'évaluation de la politique et tire parti d'un atelier qui s'est tenu en juin 2009 au Centre de Conférences de l'OCDE à Paris. L'évaluation va de pair avec l'élaboration des politiques et peut contribuer à améliorer l'efficacité et l'efficience à tous les stades. Quels que soient leur affiliation et l'aspect du développement rural sur lequel ils se concentrent, les évaluateurs sont confrontés à certains problèmes techniques communs. Il s'agit des objectifs multiples (et souvent mal définis) de la politique, du choix d'indicateurs pertinents (en particulier la nécessité de faire la différence entre produit et résultat), de la manière d'établir des valeurs de référence, de la fixation de limites en terme d'incidence et de durée, et de l'identification des effets additifs et de la causalité. Il est difficile de s'assurer que les leçons tirées des évaluations sont effectivement retenues. Les expériences rapportées dans ce numéro comprennent des approches macroéconomiques ou fondées sur des études de cas, et couvrent différents programmes (investissements dans le capital social et humain, mesures agroenvironnementales, mesures forestières). Il existe une tension évidente entre l'utilisation d'une approche commune entre chaque pays et région, qui vise la comparabilité, et la flexibilité qui permet de prendre en compte l'ensemble des différents facteurs des situations variées dans lesquelles les mesures de développement rural sont appliquées. In einer vorherigen Ausgabe von EuroChoices (7:1) wurden Herangehensweisen an die Politik zur Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums in der EU und in den USA verglichen und diskutiert. Diese Sonderausgabe beschäftigt sich auf der Grundlage eines Workshops, der im Juni 2009 am OECD-Hauptsitz in Paris abgehalten wurde, mit Politikevaluation. Die Evaluation erfolgt parallel zur Politikgestaltung und kann in jeder Phase zur Steigerung von Wirksamkeit und Effizienz beitragen. Evaluatoren stehen einigen allgemeinen technischen Problemen gegenüber , ganz gleich, wo sie arbeiten und welchen Aspekten ländlicher Entwicklung sie sich widmen. Dazu zählen multiple (und oftmals unzureichend definierte) politische Ziele; die Auswahl von geeigneten Indikatoren (hier muss insbesondere zwischen Endprodukten und Ergebnissen unterschieden werden); die Frage, wie Ausgangswerte festzulegen und wo Grenzen im Hinblick auf Auswirkungen und den zeitlichen Rahmen zu setzen sind; sowie die Identifizierung von Additionalität und Kausalität. Es ist schwierig sicherzustellen, dass die Erkenntnisse aus der Evaluation auch umgesetzt werden. Die in dieser Ausgabe aufgegriffenen Erfahrungen berücksichtigen u.a. Makro- und Fallstudienansätze sowie verschiedene Maßnahmen (Investitionen in Human-/Sozialkapital sowie Agrarumwelt und Forstwirtschaft). Es besteht eine grundsätzliche Spannung zwischen einer im Interesse der Vergleichbarkeit einheitlichen länder- und regionenübergreifenden Herangehensweise und einer Flexibilität bei der Erfassung aller relevanten Faktoren in den verschiedenen Situationen, in denen ländliche Entwicklung stattfindet. [source]

Directions in Rural Development Policy , Lessons from Both Sides of the Atlantic Richtlinien für die ländliche Entwicklungspolitik , Beispiele von diesseits und jenseits des Atlantiks Les orientations de la politique de développement rural , Enseignements en provenance des deux côtés de l'Atlantique

EUROCHOICES, Issue 1 2008
David Blandford
Directions in Rural Development Policy , Lessons from Both Sides of the Atlantic A workshop comparing rural development policies in Europe and the US found differences in the social values that shape them. These include different attachments to place, concerns with lagging regions, and interests in the assessment of public interventions. There is also a difference in coverage. In the EU environmental and landscape issues form part of the CAP's Rural Development Pillar, using agriculture as an instrument, whereas in the US these are handled by other policies, some of which can claim deeper historical roots. In the context of rural development policy, the EU attaches intrinsic value to the environment, while in the US the focus is more on economic spin-offs from environmental quality. There are also differences in governance; a complete US view requires taking in Federal, State and local initiatives whereas in the EU a more organised framework is apparent. Nevertheless, when policy is viewed from a bottom-up perspective many common features are found. Improving human and social capital and infrastructure are key factors to stimulating economic development on both sides of the Atlantic, though only some of these drivers form part of the CAP's Pillar II. While in the EU the role of rural development is set to expand, this is far less certain in the US where the emphasis on agricultural support is likely to continue to dominate the political agenda. Les orientations de la politique de développement rural , Enseignements en provenance des deux côtés de l'Atlantique Un atelier comparant les politiques de développement rural en Europe et aux États-Unis a mis en évidence des différences entre les valeurs sociales sur lesquelles sont fondées ces politiques. Ces différences concernent entre autre l'attachement à des lieux particuliers, l'inquiétude pour les régions en retard de croissance, et l'intérêt pour une évaluation des pouvoirs publics. Les différences portent aussi sur l'étendue de la question. Dans l'Union européenne, les questions portant sur le paysage et l'environnement sont abordées dans le cadre du pilier de la PAC sur le développement rural, qui porte sur l'agriculture comme instrument du développement rural, alors qu'aux États-Unis, ces questions sont traitées par d'autres politiques dont certaines remontent à loin. Dans le contexte de la politique de développement rural, l'Union européenne attache une valeur intrinsèque à l'environnement tandis qu'aux États-Unis, l'accent est mis plutôt sur les retombées économiques d'un environnement de qualité. Les différences portent également sur la gouvernance : pour avoir une vue d'ensemble sur les États-Unis, il faut considérer les actions aux niveaux fédéral, des États et du local alors que dans l'Union européenne, un cadre plus organisé est apparent. Cependant, dans le cas de politiques partant de la base (bottom-up), de nombreux points communs existent. L'amélioration du capital social et humain, et celle des infrastructures sont des éléments clés pour stimuler le développement économique des deux côtés de l'Atlantique, même si seuls quelques uns de ces facteurs sont compris dans le deuxième pilier de la PAC. Alors que le rôle du développement rural devrait s'étendre dans l'Union européenne, c'est beaucoup moins certain aux États-Unis où l'accent sur le soutien à l'agriculture continuera probablement à dominer l'ordre du jour de la politique. Richtlinien für die ländliche Entwicklungspolitik , Beispiele von diesseits und jenseits des Atlantiks Im Rahmen eines Workshops wurden europäische und US-amerikanische Politikmaßnahmen zur Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums miteinander verglichen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sich die gesellschaftlichen Werte für die Ausgestaltung der Politikmaßnahmen im Hinblick auf Ortsverbundenheit, die Belange der rückständigen Regionen und das Interesse bei der Bewertung öffentlicher Interventionen unterscheiden. Die jeweiligen Geltungsbereiche unterscheiden sich ebenfalls. In der EU bilden Fragestellungen in Bezug auf Umwelt und landschaftliche Gestaltung einen Teil der zweiten Säule der GAP (Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums), und die Landwirtschaft ist dabei ein Mittel zum Zweck. In den USA hingegen werden diese Fragestellungen durch andere Politikmaßnahmen abgedeckt, von denen einige über längere historische Wurzeln verfügen. Im Rahmen der Politik zur Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums misst die EU der Umwelt intrinsischen Wert bei, während sich die USA mehr auf aus der Umweltqualität resultierende wirtschaftliche Nebeneffekte konzentriert. Im Hinblick auf die Governance sind ebenfalls Unterschiede vorhanden: Während es im Falle der USA erforderlich ist, in einer Gesamtbetrachtung die Initiativen auf staatlicher, bundesstaatlicher und kommunaler Ebene zu berücksichtigen, lassen die Rahmenbedingungen in Europa ein höheres Maß an Organisation erkennen. Wird die Politik jedoch aus einer Bottom-up-Perspektive heraus betrachtet, können zahlreiche Gemeinsamkeiten gefunden werden. Bei der Verbesserung des Human- und Sozialkapitals und der Infrastruktur handelt es sich um Schlüsselfaktoren für die Ankurbelung der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung diesseits und jenseits des Atlantiks, wenngleich nur einige dieser Triebfedern die zweite Säule der GAP ausmachen. Während die Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums in der EU eine immer größere Rolle spielen wird, ist dies in den USA längst nicht sicher; dort wird der Schwerpunkt auf die Agrarstützung wahrscheinlich weiterhin die politische Agenda dominieren. [source]

Toward a US Shift from Agricultural to Rural Development Policy: Forces of Challenge and Change Auf einen Wechsel von der US-Agrarpolitik zu einer Politik des ländlichen Raums hinarbeiten: Die Triebkräfte der Herausforderung und des Wandels Vers une transition des politiques agricoles vers des politiques de développement rural aux États-Unis: Les forces du défi et du changement

EUROCHOICES, Issue 1 2008
Charles W. Fluharty
Toward a US Shift from Agricultural to Rural Development Policy: Forces of Challenge and Change On the 5th of November 2007, Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Nutrition, in opening the floor debate on the 2007 Farm Bill, urged a new US commitment to rural policy, keeping in mind that nearly 85 per cent of total farm household income is now generated off-farm. Recent institutional developments, moreover, evidence the success of a decade-long effort to increase focus on the rural development Title of the Farm Bill. One result was the formation of the Alliance for Sensible Agriculture Policies (ASAP), a loose federation of over 30 national organizations, representing the entire political spectrum. It remains highly active in support of Farm Bill reform. Currently, the Senate Bill contains a US$ 400 million increase in mandatory rural development funding. As we move toward an end-game, however, members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives will face the unbridled power of commodity organizations. It is likely that this will again overwhelm public sentiment and wise public choice. Despite overwhelming odds, a new commitment to a more innovative rural policy framework is emerging in the United States. I believe that this Farm Bill will ultimately be viewed as the beginning of a landscape-changing legislative framework for rural people and places in America. Vers une transition des politiques agricoles vers des politiques de développement rural aux États-Unis: Les forces du défi et du changement Le 5 novembre 2007, le Sénateur de l'Iowa Tom Harkin, Président du Comité du Sénat des États-Unis sur l'Agriculture, la Forêt et la Nutrition, en ouverture du débat sur la loi agricole 2007, a appeléà un nouvel engagement pour la politique rurale, en gardant à l'esprit que presque 85 pour cent du revenu total des ménages agricoles provient de sources non agricoles. En outre, les évolutions institutionnelles récentes on mis en évidence les succès d'une décennie d'efforts pour attirer l'attention sur le Titre "développement rural" de la loi agricole. Un résultat a été la formation d'une alliance pour des politiques agricoles raisonnables (Alliance for Sensible Agriculture Policies, ASAP), une fédération large de plus de 30 organisations nationales représentant la totalité du spectre politique. Elle reste très active pour soutenir la réforme de la loi agricole. A l'heure actuelle, la loi proposée par le Sénat prévoit une hausse de 400 millions de dollars des fonds obligatoirement destinés au développement rural. Cependant, à mesure que l'on s'approche de la décision finale, les membres du Sénat et de la Chambre des représentants seront confrontés au pouvoir sans frein des organisations de soutien des produits agricoles. Il est probable que cela va de nouveau dominer les sentiments du public et les choix sensés en matière d'action. En dépit des conditions dominantes, émerge aux États-Unis un nouvel engagement pour un cadre plus innovant pour les politiques de développement rural,.Je crois que cette loi agricole sera considérée comme un point d'inflexion dans le paysage pour les populations et les territoires ruraux aux États-Unis. Auf einen Wechsel von der US-Agrarpolitik zu einer Politik des ländlichen Raums hinarbeiten: Die Triebkräfte der Herausforderung und des Wandels Am 5. November 2007 forderte Tom Harkin, US-Senator aus dem Bundesstaat Iowa und Vorsitzender des Komitees für Landwirtschaft, Forstwirtschaft und Ernährung (US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Nutrition), ein größeres Engagement der USA im Hinblick auf die Politik des ländlichen Raums, als er die Plenardebatte über das Landwirtschaftsgesetz von 2007 eröffnete. Dabei hatte er vor Augen, dass mittlerweile beinahe 85 Prozent des gesamten Haushaltseinkommens der landwirtschaftlichen Betriebe aus außerlandwirtschaftlichen Aktivitäten stammt. Zudem belegen die jüngsten institutionellen Entwicklungen den Erfolg der jahrzehntelangen Bemühungen, die Aufmerksamkeit auf den Titel über die Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums im Landwirtschaftsgesetz zu lenken. Als Folge dessen wurde u.a. die Allianz für vernünftige Agrarpolitikmaßnahmen (Alliance for Sensible Agriculture Policies, ASAP) ins Leben gerufen, ein freier Verband von über 30 nationalen Organisationen, die das gesamte politische Spektrum vertreten. Die Allianz setzt sich immer noch sehr für die Reform des Landwirtschaftsgesetzes ein. Derzeit sieht das Gesetz im Senat eine Budgeterhöhung von $ 400 Millionen zur Finanzierung der verbindlichen Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums vor. Da wir jedoch auf die Endphase zusteuern, werden sowohl Mitglieder des Senats als auch des Abgeordnetenhauses der ungezügelten Macht der Rohstofforganisationen gegenüberstehen. Wahrscheinlich wird dies wieder einmal die Stimmung und die weise Entscheidung der Öffentlichkeit maßgeblich beeinflussen. Ungeachtet dessen entwickelt sich in den USA zurzeit ein neues Engagement hin zu einem innovativeren Rahmenprogramm in Bezug auf die Politik des ländlichen Raums. Ich bin der Ansicht, dass dieses Landwirtschaftsgesetz der Landbevölkerung als Zeitpunkt des Landschaftswechsels in Erinnerung bleiben wird. [source]

Introduction: Children, AIDS and Development Policy

IDS BULLETIN, Issue 5 2008
Alex de Waal
First page of article [source]

Development policies and tropical deforestation in the southern Yucatán peninsula: centralized and decentralized approaches

LAND DEGRADATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2003
P. Klepeis
Abstract It is well established that for multiple biophysical contexts there are legacies of past government policies in present land conditions. Despite this recognition, however, investigation of ongoing tropical deforestation dynamics often de-emphasizes the past. The case of the southern Yucatán peninsula demonstrates the need for historical analysis in identifying key drivers of deforestation. The most important land-use changes in the region over the past 100 years are connected to shifts in national development policies. These shifts represent tensions between centralized and decentralized approaches to land management,as represented by the policies of Presidents Díaz (1876,1910) and Cárdenas (1934,40),that persisted throughout the 20th century. The legacies of these reoccurring development strategies include depleted hardwood reserves, large areas of permanently cleared forest, a complicated system of land allocation, and long-standing tensions between economic, social welfare, and environmental conservation goals. These findings suggest that while centralized and decentralized approaches to development both focus on natural resource exploitation, the rates of deforestation tend to be faster, the patterns of forest clearing more pronounced, and land-use decision making less democratic under systems of centralized control. These conclusions hold implications for land-use decision making today. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Regional sustainable development in France: assessing the environmental implications

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 5 2005
F. Bertrand
Abstract This article considers the environmental dimension of regional sustainable development in France. The first part evaluates the position of the environment in regional sustainable development policies using two levels of analysis. First, it examines the stated objectives for regional sustainable development that relate to a balanced integration of the environmental dimension in relation to the economic and social dimensions. Second, it demonstrates how efforts to implement regional sustainable development (RSD) invariably lead to domination by environmental factors, as a consequence of well established environmental policies. Thereafter, a critical analysis of this outcome is presented, illustrating how the disparity between what is said and done has produced an ambiguous notion of sustainable development (SD), and how different actors have adopted strongly opposing views. This confusion has created resistance by environmental actors, who perceive sustainable development as potentially diluting environmental demands. The article concludes by discussing the possible future role of the environment within regional sustainable development. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source]

Directions in Rural Development Policy , Lessons from Both Sides of the Atlantic Richtlinien für die ländliche Entwicklungspolitik , Beispiele von diesseits und jenseits des Atlantiks Les orientations de la politique de développement rural , Enseignements en provenance des deux côtés de l'Atlantique

Regional development policies and the constructions of gender equality: The Swedish case

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2007
CHRISTINE HUDSON
Drawing on Carole Bacchi's ,What's the Problem? Approach', we explore how arguments concerning the new forms of regional policy are assigning different categories of people different subject positions and, in particular, we focus on the kind of subject positions that are being given to women as a group in this context. The discourse being shaped in national policy is, however, interpreted in specific contexts. Accordingly, we compare the way this new discourse is being (re)interpreted and (re)constructed and the subject positions being ascribed to women in the regional development partnerships and growth strategies in two Swedish regions: Västerbotten and Jönköping. Finally, we draw attention to how both the form and the content of Swedish regional development policies create great difficulties for politicizing gender as a power dimension in society. We suggest that regional politics has become de-politicized and argue for the need for it to be re-politicized with gender included as a conflict dimension. [source]

European Trade Diplomacy and the Politics of Global Development: Reflections on the EU,China ,Bra Wars' Dispute

GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION, Issue 2 2007
Tony Heron
The article analyses the so-called ,bra wars' trade dispute that took place between the EU and China in 2005. This dispute raised a number of important questions linked, not only to the textiles and clothing (T&C) trade regime, but to the broader conduct of the EU in relation to the developing world. Over the years, the EU has attempted to construct a discourse towards developing countries that has sought to articulate a distinctively ,European' approach to issues like preferential trade, equitable growth, poverty reduction and so on. This article thus centres on the broader analytical question raised by ,bra wars': namely, the mounting incongruity between the theory and practice of the development policies of the EU. [source]

Poverty and Local Governments: Economic Development and Community Service Provision in an Era of Decentralization

GROWTH AND CHANGE, Issue 3 2009
LINDA LOBAO
ABSTRACT Social scientists have given substantial attention to poverty across U.S. localities. However, most work views localities through the lens of population aggregates, not as units of government. Few poverty researchers question whether governments of poorer localities have the capacity to engage in economic development and service activities that might improve community well-being. This issue is increasingly important as responsibilities for growth and redistribution are decentralized to local governments that vary dramatically in resources. Do poorer communities have less activist local governments? Are they more likely to be engaged in a race to the bottom, focusing on business attraction activities but neglecting services for families and working people? We bring together two distinct literatures, critical research on decentralization and research on local development efforts, that provide contrasting views about the penalty of poverty. Data are from a unique, national survey of county governments measuring activity across two time points. The most consistent determinants of activity are local government capacity, devolutionary pressures, and inertia or past use of strategies. Net of these factors, levels and changes in poverty do not significantly impact government activity. There is no evidence the nations' poorest counties are racing to the bottom. Findings challenge views that poverty is a systematic structural barrier to pursuing innovative economic development policies and suggest that even poorer communities can take steps to build local capacity, resources, and networks that expand programs for local businesses and low-wage people. [source]

Transnational organized crime in West Africa: the additional challenge

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, Issue 6 2007
ANTONIO L. MAZZITELLI
Despite its vast natural and human resources and the undisputed progress made in the last decade towards the establishment of democratic culture and governing systems, West African countries continue to occupy the bottom ranks of the UN Human Development Index. Similarly, many of them score poorly in World Bank and Transparency International indexes that measure good governance. The international mass media have recently highlighted the role played by the West African region in the transatlantic cocaine trade, as well as in the flow of illegal migrants to Europe. Drugs and migrants are, however, just two of the numerous illicit activities that feed the growth of local and transnational criminal organizations, and the establishing of a culture of quick and easy money that is progressively eroding the foundations of any sustainable and well balanced socio-economic development. The pervasive power of the corruption of criminal organizations, coupled with a general crisis by state actors in the administration of justice and enforcement of the rule of law, contribute towards the progressive diminishing of the credibility of the state as the institution entrusted with the prerogatives of guaranteeing security (of people and investments) and dispensing justice. In this context, the case of Guinea Bissau is probably the clearest example of what West African states may face in the near future if the issues of justice and security are not properly and promptly addressed. If primary responsibilities lie with West African governments and institutions, the international community as a whole should also review its approach to development policies by not only mainstreaming the issues of security and justice in their bilateral and multilateral agendas, but also by making it an essential cornerstone of policies and programmes aimed at supporting good governance and the establishment of states ruled by the law. [source]

Corporate training and development policies and practices: a cross-national study of India and Britain

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2003
P.S. Yadapadithaya
The aim of this paper is to report on the existing corporate training and development (T&D) policies and practices in India and Britain. The data were collected from written questionnaires mailed to 252 Indian and 174 British companies. The results and discussions are based on the most prominent comparative and international dimensions of T&D such as key responsibility for T&D function, corporate commitment to T&D, major drivers and key result areas of T&D; purposes, levels, instruments, timing, and designs of evaluation; major perceived deficiencies and challenges of T&D function. The two-country comparisons revealed that while some of the findings related to corporate T&D policies and practices exhibited differences, others also reflected similarity. Compared with India, more training is done in Britain, more movement to delegating responsibilities or involving line managers in T&D in Britain, there seems also to be more focus on and involvement of individual employees in Britain. British organisations seem to be more concerned with business results from T&D. It may also be argued that the greater importance attached to business results brings about a growing involvement of employees and managers as opposed to HRD practitioners and that it is the greater movement in this direction in Britain compared with India that accounts for most if not all of the differences in the results of the two surveys. [source]

Social development policies: new challenges for the social sciences

INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 189 2006
Thandika Mkandawire
First page of article [source]

Gender and Ethnicity in Bolivian Politics: Transformation or Paternalism?

JOURNAL OF LATIN AMERICAN & CARIBBEAN ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2000
Susan Paulson
Throughout Latin America public discourse and political programs dealing with gender and ethnicity have focused mainly on women and indigenous people, often in paternalistic efforts to help these "marginal groups." Bolivian constitutional reforms implemented between 1993 and 1997 challenge this traditional stance by promoting balanced participation in a nation constituted by multiple identities, yet ongoing processes triggered by these reforms testify to the tradition's stubborn endurance. In this article we ask what prevents institutions working in Bolivia from applying anthropological notions of gender and ethnicity as dynamic and interlocking cultural systems, and we question the distancing and antagonism that exists between those working with ethnicity- and those working with gender. Efforts to clarify these phenomena focus on the lack of articulation between ethnographic observations, political philosophies and development policies. [source]

Development policies and tropical deforestation in the southern Yucatán peninsula: centralized and decentralized approaches

Potentials and constraints of the farmer-to-farmer programme for environmental protection in Nicaragua

LAND DEGRADATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2003
S. Hawkesworth
Abstract The natural environment in Nicaragua has been damaged by rural development policies geared for the export of cash crops, by uneven land distribution and the near absence of concerns about the environmental effects of the prevailing model of development. The demands made by market forces for the export of primary materials have been reasons for land degradation in the big farms, and the need to survive a poverty stricken existence has forced the peasantry to damage the marginal and fragile land they worked. Successive governments did not address these underlying causes of environmental degradation, and even the opportunities afforded by the environment programme that resulted from the 1979 Sandinista revolution, did not result in significant environmental improvements. The paper briefly considers the constraints faced by the Sandinista administration and how the farmer-to-farmer programme (Campesino-a-Campesino) was brought about as a result of the impacts of the Sandinista era. The substantive part of the paper considers PCAC's significance as an agroecological programme and its advantages and limitations for improving peasants' livelihoods via dissemination of land-protective measures. The viability of the programme is assessed by field work carried out examining in detail the case of three communities, and the paper concludes that the gains made in environmental protection and conservation are in jeopardy without structural policy changes. The paper proposes that for the programme to improve its potential, adequate political will, power and organization are necessary to facilitate greater access to secure land tenure among the peasantry. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

A review of upstream development policies in Kuwait

OPEC ENERGY REVIEW, Issue 4 2004
Abdulaziz E. Al-Attar
Since 1993, Kuwait's legislative bodies have been looking closely at the prospect of opening-up the country's upstream oil sector for development and production to international oil companies (IOCs). The country has proposed doing this by means of a mechanism called an "operating service agreement" (OSA). This has generated controversy. One side argues that opening-up the oil sector embodies a pattern of denationalisation and is reminiscent of the country's former concession agreement of 1934. And the other side maintains that the proposed OSA is unquestionably different to the concession agreement, in terms of legal framework, fiscal system and the role of the state. This paper reviews and compares the two types of agreement. It then discusses the impact of improved oil recovery factors on increasing oil reserves and production in the northern and western Kuwaiti oil fields, by transferring technology from industrialised countries. [source]

Institutions and Development: A Conceptual Reanalysis

POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 2 2006
Alejandro Portes
This essay reviews the concept of "institutions" as used in the recent economic literatures on firms and national development and notes its limitations. An alternative framework is proposed that draws on classic and contemporary sociological theory to position the concept of institutions in relation to other basic elements of culture and social structure. The framework is used to analyze (1) the failure of attempts to transplant institutions of developed countries into the global South and (2) the dynamics of massive privatization in Mexico. The bearing of this framework on current institutional theories of social change is examined, leading to the identification of sources of change at different levels of causal significance and scope. This modified theory of change is applied to the longstanding demographic debates on historical and institutional determinants of fertility transitions. The bearing of the proposed "thick institutionalist" framework on social theory and future development policies is discussed. [source]

The relevance, practicality and viability of spatial development initiatives: a South African case study

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2003
John M. Luiz
Policymakers have for long had an ambivalent attitude towards space and have been hesitant in dealing with intra-national models of uneven development. Issues surrounding regional development have always been tainted with ideological and political influences rather than being a purely economic consideration. This article addresses the thinking behind regional development policies and questions the role of spatial policy. It confronts this question in the South African case where local government capacity is particularly constrained and the boundaries between government tiers unclear. The first section outlines a selected critical history of the regional policy literature as it applies to South Africa. This is followed by an examination of South Africa's post-apartheid policy of spatial development initiatives (SDIs) focusing on the most contentious of these, namely the Fish River SDI, which has been plagued by controversy. It focuses on the tensions involved in development planning between government agencies and between politicians and technocrats. It also highlights the growing schism between government and civil society with the former emphasising mega-projects which reinforce its global competitive strategy but with limited apparent benefit to the local community. Lastly, it concludes that little effort was made to integrate the SDI into a provincial poverty strategy and argues that instead of utilising industrial decentralisation to redress inequality and poverty, a ,first-best' option may be for the government to target poverty directly by investing in various forms of human capital. Such an approach would lead to long-term economic growth and also improve South Africa's international competitiveness. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

RISING FOOD PRICES, SOCIAL MOBILIZATIONS, AND VIOLENCE: CONCEPTUAL ISSUES IN UNDERSTANDING AND RESPONDING TO THE CONNECTIONS LINKING HUNGER AND CONFLICT

ANNALS OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE, Issue 1 2009
Ellen Messer
In 2008, the world confronted food-insecurity situations that provoked political demonstrations in more than 50 countries. The alleged sources were production failures and spiking food prices because of bad weather and flawed food and development policies. But additional contributors were the legacies of food wars, armed conflicts in which one or both sides use food (or hunger) as a weapon and in which hunger persists as a consequence of conflict and its attendant social-economic disruptions. This article argues that UN and NGO international and national agencies responding to food insecurity challenges in particular places must consider food-and-conflict scenarios, and adopt conflict-concerned strategies, which are sensitive to the ways in which past foodwars have stymied increases in agricultural production, marketing, and livelihood diversification. Policy makers should also be attentive to political-geographic-ethnic-religious (PGER) divisions that can skew government distributions and access to aid and potentiate additional conflict. [source]

WELFARE, ENTERPRISE, AND ABORIGINAL COMMUNITY: THE CASE OF THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN KIMBERLEY REGION, 1968,96

AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, Issue 3 2006
Tony Smith
Aboriginal; Australia; entrepreneurship; social policy This article traces the development of Aboriginal-controlled businesses and their ability to access land, labour, and finance in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It investigates the influence of the development policies on Aboriginal commercial operations. Among other things, the implementation of a new policy , beginning in the early 1970s , saw the handing over by the state of large tracts of land, and the provision of labour and finance to Aboriginal interests. The article analyses the tension between land and enterprise as a welfare measure and as a means of commercial endeavour. [source]

Forging Collective Capacity for Urban Redevelopment: "Power To,""Power Over," or Both?

CITY & COMMUNITY, Issue 1 2006
Richard Gendron
This paper explores the dynamic of cooperation between economic and political elites in a public-private partnership that was created to guide the redevelopment of downtown Santa Cruz, California, following the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989. While the public-private partnership was instrumental in the success of post-earthquake reconstruction of the central business district, the consensus and cooperation between progressive political leaders and local business elites in this "partnership" were often more apparent than real. This occurred not only because of the longstanding tensions between the local pro-growth coalition and progressive political leadership of the city but also because the public-private partnership became a mechanism for potential regime transformation. Thus, the "collective capacity" needed to proceed with post-earthquake redevelopment of the central business district was "forged" in two senses: It was created to effect necessary redevelopment, but it was also counterfeit. Political elites sought to limit both the scope and the duration of the partnership to check the increasing power of economic elites in the aftermath of the earthquake. Although regime theory acknowledges the relationship between "power over" and "power to," I argue that its emphasis on the latter overlooks critical sources of conflict in the creation and implementation of local urban development policy. Consequently, I further argue that an analysis of both conceptions of power is necessary to understand not only how local development policies are enacted but "who benefits" from them. [source]

Resettlement, Rights to Development and the Ilisu Dam, Turkey

DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 4 2004
Behrooz Morvaridi
A cursory attempt to measure the extent of displacement over the past two decades indicates significant increases in conflict-induced displacement and displacement resulting from development projects. At the same time a growing opposition to the latter form of displacement has raised questions over its legitimacy through a variety of media, including public campaigns and protests. This article focuses on some of the challenges that this presents to the displacement and resettlement discourse. In particular it considers the influences of the rights to development agenda on the spatial context of displacement and its associated economic and political changes. There appears to be a disjuncture between the practices of mainstream development, which tend to interpret development policy as it is defined and applied by a nation state and to assess inequalities within clear geographical definitions, and the universality of a rights based approach to development. This article examines these tensions in the context of displacement and resettlement management, drawing on evidence from a case study of the Ilisu dam in South East Anatolia, Turkey. [source]

Entrepreneurial Policy: The Case of Regional Specialization vs.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE, Issue 5 2008
Spontaneous Industrial Diversity
Regional economic development policy is recognized as a key tool governments use to foster economic prosperity. Whether specialization (or diversity) of economic activities should be a regional development policy goal is often debated. We address this question in a local-diversity context, by reviewing traditional arguments in its favor, supplemented with evidence for more entrepreneurial concepts like industrial symbiosis and Jacobs externalities. We show that the context of entrepreneurship matters more to policy than the type and form of resulting industries. Policies enabling entrepreneurs to exploit opportunities in a context of spontaneously evolved industrial diversity are better facilitators of regional development. [source]