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Begin New Search Topic Political Economy Publication Year within 25 Years

251. China's Naval Policy off the Coast of Somalia: International Participation, the Preservation of Strategic Interests, or Security?

Author:
Dr. Jean-Paul Gagnon
Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
This work will try to analyse China's naval policy off the Somali coast. The main contribution this work will attempt to make is to offer evidence concerning whether China's anti-pirating policies in the Gulf of Aden are more for the benefit of the international community, China's own strategic interest (a political economy outlook), or diplomatic growth. This work may be important as it could contribute to our understanding of China's current foreign policy to a slightly better degree. This will be attempted in the first instance by analysing the literature concerning China's humanitarian policies in Africa to establish a sense of the literature on this subject. In the second instance, we will examine the official foreign policy stance provided to the international community by the current administration in China. And finally, in the third instance, we will comparatively analyse if the policy statement is logically compatible with the extant literature. The analytical structure used to do so is Charmaz's (2006) grounded theory methodology. This study shows that China's foreign naval policy off the coast of Somalia is probably a mix of humanitarian, economic, and international diplomatic goals.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
China and Somalia

252. Shocked and Awed: How the War on Terror and Jihad have Changed the English Language

Author:
Emilian Kavalski
Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
It is always difficult to comment on the work of an author who has passed away before its publication. The pervasive sense of finitude tends to draw attention to (as well as offer a glimpse into) some of the concerns and interests that must have preoccupied the author in his final days. What is particularly challenging is that the work under review is by no other than Fred Halliday – a scholar, commentator, and insatiably curious student of international affairs, whose research has left an indelible mark on the field. At the same time, Fred Halliday has been someone who has constantly strived to escape the straitjackets of mainstream paradigms. This was evident in his 2008 Burton Valedictory Lecture at the London School of Economics and Political Science before moving to take a research professorship at the Barcelona Institute for International Studies. Fred Halliday concluded his speech to the mesmerized audience by insisting that it is music (and, in particular, dance) that can provide the creative platforms for grasping the complexity of global life (or what he called at the time 'the suffering of passions in ideas and in life').
Topic:
Economics, Political Economy, and International Affairs

253. Youth in Rwanda and Burundi

Author:
Marc Sommers and Peter Uvin
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Extensive research with nonelite youth in postwar Rwanda and Burundi revealed stark and startling contrasts between the lives of poor Rwandan and Burundian youth, particularly concerning issues of masculinity, education, urban migration, and social mobility. Severe manhood pressures and the threat of failure for male and female youth emerged as the dominant research theme in Rwanda. In Burundi, severe economic pressure surfaced as the dominant research theme. Yet many youth there believe that the future holds promise if they can work hard, remain flexible, and have some luck. Although youth in Burundi contend that educational accomplishment directly influences social mobility and survival strategies, the Rwanda research points to low demand for education and training among the lesser-educated youth majority. For Burundian youth, especially male youth, urban migration was a risky but nonetheless desirable option. Meanwhile, Rwandan youth mainly viewed rural-urban migration as an escape from humiliation in rural areas. Whereas many Burundian youth held out the hope of improving their lot and perhaps even ascending socially, the commanding imprint of risk aversion led many Rwandan youth to focus on minimizing prospects of collapse. Most Burundian youth believe that they have options and possibilities while most Rwandan youth do not. While Rwandan youth face constraining adulthood mandates and government regulations, as well as a severe housing crisis, Burundian youth perceive a range of options for making plans and then implementing them. Weak governance and adaptable cultures appear to provide nonelite youth populations in postwar contexts with opportunities for creative advancement. Strong and restrictive governments and cultures, while capable of implementing policies that are favorable to economic growth, may also create calamitous results for many youth. Boosting Rwandan youth prospects calls for reforming or perhaps eliminating housing and informal economy regulations that undermine their aims. Aiding Burundian youth necessitates an enhanced focus on jobs and job training. Qualitative research on marginalized youth perspectives should be carried out before youth work begins.
Topic:
Demographics, Economics, Political Economy, and Social Stratification
Political Geography:
Africa and Burundi

254. Herbert Hoover: Father of the New Deal

Author:
Steven Horwitz
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Politicians and pundits portray Herbert Hoover as a defender of laissez faire governance whose dogmatic commitment to small government led him to stand by and do nothing while the economy collapsed in the wake of the stock market crash in 1929. In fact, Hoover had long been a critic of laissez faire. As president, he doubled federal spending in real terms in four years. He also used government to prop up wages, restricted immigration, signed the Smoot-Hawley tariff, raised taxes, and created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation-all interventionist measures and not laissez faire. Unlike many Democrats today, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's advisers knew that Hoover had started the New Deal. One of them wrote, "When we all burst into Washington ... we found every essential idea [of the New Deal] enacted in the 100-day Congress in the Hoover administration itself."
Topic:
Economics, Markets, Political Economy, Financial Crisis, and Governance
Political Geography:
United States and Washington

255. Publication Practices for Transparent Government

Author:
Jim Harper
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Government transparency is a widely agreed upon goal, but progress on achieving it has been very limited. Transparency promises from political leaders such as President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner have not produced a burst of information that informs stronger public oversight of government. One reason for this is the absence of specifically prescribed data practices that will foster transparency.
Topic:
Democratization, Political Economy, Politics, Communications, and Governance
Political Geography:
United States

256. The Forgotten Villages - Land Reform in Tanzania

Author:
Rasmus Hundsbæk Pedersen
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Successful implementation of t anzania's land reform is being held back by a scarcity of resources and a lack of coherence within the land administration system. ordinary men and women in the villages are losing out, not experiencing any improvement in tenure security. Urgent support is needed to enable village authorities to carry out their task.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Africa and Tanzania

257. Experiences of Plantation and Large-Scale Farming in 20th Century Africa

Author:
Peter Gibbon
Publication Date:
11-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The paper's background is a revival of the historically dominant narrative on the large-scale and plantation farming (LSF and PF) in Africa, in reaction to the contemporary phenomenon of 'land grabbing'. The historical antecedents of this narrative are examined and its central contentions – that features including low productivity and limited employment generation normally, if not intrinsically characterize LSF and PF – are problematized. This is undertaken on the basis of comprehensive reviews of the historical and contemporary literatures on African LSF and PF farming and labour control systems.
Topic:
Agriculture, Political Economy, Territorial Disputes, and Food
Political Geography:
Africa

258. Publishing Construction Contracts as a Tool for Efficiency and Good Governance

Author:
Charles Kenny
Publication Date:
11-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
Construction is a $1.7 trillion industry worldwide, much of which is linked to publicly financed projects. Outcomes from this financing are frequently suboptimal. Cost and time escalation, as well as poor quality, are linked to weak governance and corruption, which are endemic in the sector. There is considerable evidence that transparency and oversight are potentially powerful tools to reduce the development impact of corruption. One comparatively cheap and potentially powerful tool to improve outcomes in public procurement is the regular publication of contract and implementation details. In particular, the publication of government contracts would considerably improve transparency. Publication would also provide a large stock of public intellectual capital which should (i) reduce legal costs of contracting; and (ii) help spread best practices and ease the process of learning lessons from failed approaches. The approach is feasible: some jurisdictions have already introduced it.
Topic:
Corruption, Development, Political Economy, and Infrastructure

259. Public Policy, Price Shocks, and Conflict: Price Shocks and Civil War in Developing Countries

Author:
Robert H. Bates and Brett L. Carter
Publication Date:
11-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Those who study the role of agriculture in the political economy of development focus on government policy choices on the one hand and the impact of price shocks on the other. We argue that the two should be studied together. We find that civil unrest (Granger) causes government policies, pushing governments in poor and medium income countries to shift relative prices in favor of urban consumers. We also find that while civil wars are related to food price shocks, when government policy choices are taken into account, the relationship disappears. We thus learn two things: Policies that placate urban consumers may inflict economic costs on governments, but they confer political benefits. And when estimating the relationship between price shocks and political stability, equations that omit the policy response of governments are misspecified.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Economics, Government, Markets, Political Economy, and Food

260. The New Institutionalism and Africa

Author:
Robert H. Bates, Steven Block, Ghada Fayad, and Anke Hoeffler
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
After briefly reviewing the new institutionalism, this article uses the history of political reform in Africa to test its key tenet: that power, if properly organized, is a productive resource. It does so by exploring the relationship between changes in political institutions and changes in economic performance, both at the macro- and the micro- level. The evidence indicates that political reform (Granger) causes increases in GDP per capita in the African subset of panels of global data. And, at the mIcro-level, it demonstrates that changes in national political institutions in Africa strongly relate to changes in total factor productivity in agriculture.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Economics, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Africa