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3202. Privatization of Land and Indigenous Communities in Latin America: Tenure Security or Social Security?
- Author:
- Søren Hvalkof
- Publication Date:
- 09-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- This working paper summarizes the discussions and findings of a recent study of the impacts of contemporary land privatization processes and individual titling programs affecting indigenous communities in Latin America, with particular emphasis on indigenous economies and production systems. The study was informed by case studies from Peru, Bolivia and Honduras and Mexico, with the main focus on the indigenous peasant societies of the highlands, where individualization schemes apply. The neoliberal policies of the 1990s promoted market based legal and administrative reforms, with a strong emphasis on developing a dynamic land market that would eventually have an impact on indigenous communal land tenure systems, whether they were the direct target or not. From the present study it can be seen that there are significant contradictions between indigenous communal land arrangements and tenure systems, and the market-based land and agricultural policy reforms being promoted by the multilateral donor agencies. In the conventional economic development discourse land tenure security is considered a prerequisite for economic growth. The study shows, however, that in relation to indigenous communities the question of tenure security is much more complex and closely related to the security of social reproduction, safeguarding of communal control and of the communal decision-making authority. It shows that privatization and individualization of land tenure per se has not generated the expected results.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and Ethnic Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Latin America
3203. Corporate Social Responsibility: Is everything what counts countable?
- Publication Date:
- 05-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Media Tenor International
- Abstract:
- In the past few years, the principle of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been raising great interest in business and politics. Companies increasingly commit to environmental and social measures on a voluntary basis. The discussion around CSR is not new. Yet the debate of whether or not CSR activities are working, and how efficiently they can be measured, is relatively recent. So far not much progress has been made. The instrument of media analysis could be a starting point – and the MEDIA TENOR CSR Index a measuring stick.
- Topic:
- Economics, Environment, Industrial Policy, and Mass Media
- Political Geography:
- Germany
3204. Why the Code of Conduct for Resolving Sovereign Debt Crises Falls Short
- Author:
- Barry Herman
- Publication Date:
- 03-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The Institute of International Finance, a bankers group, has promoted its “Principles for Stable Capital Flows and Fair Debt Restructuring” as a code of conduct for debtor governments and their private creditors to avoid and if necessary resolve sovereign defaults. Although drafted with Brazil, Korea, Mexico and Turkey, I argue this purely voluntary code is excessively creditor friendly. Instead, a more balanced code should be developed in a broad, open and politically legitimate forum, and be coupled with an international disciplining mechanism that pushes creditors and debtor to a negotiated outcome under the code. A suggested approach concludes the paper.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Turkey, Brazil, Korea, and Mexico
3205. Fisheries Trade in India: Understanding Potentials and Barriers.
- Author:
- Meenakshi Rajeev
- Publication Date:
- 08-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The fisheries sector assumes significance in the Indian economy in several respects. The most important amongst them is the providence of livelihood to many poor households especially located in the coastal areas. These households can generate income from the sector due to the fact that many varieties of marine fishes have been exported from the country including chilled and dried items, fish oil, shrimp and prawns. Thus from the point of view of employment and income generation, international trade has considerable significance as well. It is the trade aspect of the sector that would be the focus of the current paper.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Demographics, Economics, and Food
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
3206. Police Corruption, Crime and Crime Reporting: A Simultaneous Equations Approach
- Author:
- Omar Azfar and Tugrul Gurgur
- Publication Date:
- 09-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- We study the causal relationship between police corruption, crime and crime reporting, using data from the International Crime Victimization Survey. Using a simultaneous equations approach we find a number of intuitive relationships, which are statistically significant. The clearest of these is that crime reporting reduces police corruption.
- Topic:
- Security, Crime, Economics, and Sociology
- Political Geography:
- Africa
3207. Structural Change and the Growth of Industrial Sectors: Empirical Test of a GPT Model
- Author:
- Fulvio Castellacci
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- This paper investigates the empirical relevance of a model of structural change and the growth of industrial sectors. The model analyses the process of diffusion of general- purpose technologies (GPTs) and how this affects the dynamic performance of manufacturing and service industries. The empirical analysis studies the dynamics and the determinants of labour productivity growth of a large number of sectors in 18 OECD countries over the period 1970-2005. The results of dynamic panel data and cross-sectional analysis provide support for the empirical validity of the model. Industries that are close to the core of the emerging GPT based on information and communication technologies (ICTs) are characterized by greater innovative capabilities and have recently experienced a more dynamic performance. Relatedly, countries that have been able to shift their industrial structure towards these high-opportunity manufacturing and service industries have grown more rapidly.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Globalization, and Industrial Policy
3208. Regional Inequality and Convergence in Europe, 1995 – 2005
- Author:
- Arne Melchior
- Publication Date:
- 11-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The paper presents new results on within-country regional inequality in per capita income for 36 countries during 1995-2005; focusing on Europe but with some non-European countries included for comparison. In 23 of the 36 countries there was a significant increase in regional inequality during the period, and in only three cases there was a reduction. Regional inequality increased in all countries of Central and Eastern Europe, while for most Western European countries there was little change. For the EU-27 as a whole, there was a modest increase in within-country regional inequality, but convergence across countries. The latter effect was quantitatively more important, so on the whole there was income convergence in the EU-27, especially after 2000. Regional inequality is particularly important for some large middle-income countries such as China, Russia and Mexico. In such countries there may however be considerable price differences across regions, and the use of common price deflators for the whole country may lead to a biased assessment of regional inequality.
- Topic:
- Economics, Political Economy, Social Stratification, and Sociology
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, Europe, and Mexico
3209. East-West Integration and the Economic Geography of Europe
- Author:
- Arne Melchior
- Publication Date:
- 12-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Implementation of the European internal market and East-West integration has been accompanied by a dramatic change in the spatial distribution of economic activity, with higher growth west and east of a longitude degree through Germany and Italy. In the east, income growth has been accompanied by increasing regional disparities within countries. We examine theoretically and empirically whether European integration as such can explain these developments. Using a numerical simulation model with 9 countries and 90 regions, theoretical predictions are derived about how various patterns of integration may affect the income distribution. Comparing with reality, we find that a reduction in distance-related trade costs combined with east-west integration is best able to explain the actual changes in Europe's economic geography. This suggests that the implementation of the European internal market or the Euro has “made Europe smaller”. In Central Europe, the dominance of capital regions tends to eliminate east-west growth differences inside countries. There is no convincing support for the hypothesis that European integration had adverse effects on non-members.
- Topic:
- Economics, Markets, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Europe
3210. The Internationalization of Firms in the Service Industries: Channels, Determinants and Sectoral Patterns
- Author:
- Fulvio Castellacci
- Publication Date:
- 12-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The paper presents the results of a new survey on the international activities of Norwegian enterprises in various service industries. The survey focuses on three main internationalization channels: international sales, international cooperation and R outsourcing. The empirical analysis studies the relevance of these channels, and investigates the related strategies, objectives and determinants. International sales and collaborations emerge as the two most relevant channels, whereas the scope for R outsourcing seems to be far more limited. The analysis of the determinants of international activities suggests three main results: (1) the innovative capability of firms matters for their international performance; (2) the various internationalization channels seem to be complement, rather than substitute, strategies to compete in foreign markets; (3) sectoral specificities greatly affect firms' internationalization strategies and performance.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- Europe