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4721. Macroeconomic Policy and Sustainability

Author:
Jonathan Harris
Publication Date:
07-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:
The trend in mainstream economic thought about macroeconomic policy has been towards minimalism. In the optimistic Keynesian phase of the 1960's, it was assumed that both fiscal and monetary policy were effective tools for macroeconomic management. But the influence of monetarist and New Classical critiques has led to a gradual erosion of theoretical support for activist government policy. First fiscal policy fell by the wayside, perceived as too slow and possibly counterproductive in its impacts. Then New Classical and rational expectations critiques suggested that even monetary policy was ineffective. Thus the role of government policy has been reduced to a cautious effort not to make things worse -- in effect a return to an economics of laissez- faire.
Topic:
Development, Economics, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance

4722. Agriculture in a Global Perspective

Author:
Jonathan Harris
Publication Date:
02-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:
In the twenty-first century, it is evident that world agricultural systems will have to supply sufficient food for a population somewhere between 7.5 and 12 billion. Projections for world agriculture in the first half of the twenty-first century very widely, largely depending on assumptions about yield growth. An investigation of the patterns of yield growth for major cereal crops offers evidence that the pattern is logistic, implying that an upper limit to yields is being approached. This pattern is consistent with ecological limits on soil fertility, water availability, and nutrient uptake. It is also evident that current agricultural production is imposing serious strains on ecosystems, with widespread soil degradation, water overdraft and pollution, and ecological impacts such as loss of biodiversity and the proliferation of resistant pest species.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Economics, and Environment

4723. Civil Economy and Civilized Economics: Essentials for Sustainable Development

Author:
Neva Goodwin
Publication Date:
01-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:
This essay will consider the relevance of the social sciences - especially economics - to the foundations of sustainable development. Looming environmental crises have served as a prime motivating force for reevaluating fundamental principles. In particular, the concept of sustainability, carrying with it clear requirements for values, goals and ethics, has begun to reshape economics. The broadest conception of sustainability is found if we understand sustainable development to mean Socially And Environmentally Just And Sustainable development - "SAEJAS development".
Topic:
Development, Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Political Economy

4724. Improving Upon Nature: Creating Competitive Advantage in Ceramic Tile Clusters in Italy, Spain, and Brazil

Author:
Jorg Meyer-Stamer, Silene Seibel, and Claudio Maggi
Publication Date:
10-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
This paper shows how using a combination of a cluster and a global value chain approach helps to assess local competitive strategies and upgrading possibilities. The global ceramic tile industry is dominated by two industrial clusters, Sassuolo in Italy and Castellón in Spain, which are not only dominating tile production in their respective countries and in Europe but are also the global technology leaders and the leading exporters. The Italian tile manufacturers are closely linked with capital goods manufacturers, the Spanish with producers of glazing materials. The equipment and materials producers drive technical change and innovation in tile design, whereas the tile manufacturers try to establish a competitive advantage in particular by innovating in downstream activities: training tilers, establishing diversified brands for different sales channels, and going into direct sales. Analyzing the value chain, from inputs and capital goods to final sales, offers new insights into scope and alternatives of local upgrading. It also helps to reassess the competitiveness of tile clusters in the developing world. This is done for Brazil's leading cluster which is located in Santa Catarina. Tile firms there can benefit from the fierce rivalry among Italian capital goods producers and among Spanish producers of glazing materials, as well as the rivalry between Italy and Spain. They are technology followers. However, having to deal with a volatile and very competitive market, they are innovative in downstream activities, experimenting with concepts which are not yet used by Italian or Spanish manufacturers.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Europe, Brazil, Spain, and Italy

4725. Assessing Scholarly Communication in the Developing World: It Takes More Than Bytes

Author:
David Block
Publication Date:
01-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
STUDIES of scholarly communication in Western Europe and North America describe a world in crisis. (Borgman, 2000.) By the early 1990s, the cost of print journals had reached a level that discouraged their purchase by even the richest institutions, and digital editions of these works, a feature of the next decade, raised the ante higher still. Copyright, the legally-enforced ownership of ideas in some fixed form, has become more contentious in a digital realm, which potentially makes unauthorized usage as simple as "copy and paste." And, finally, while archiving scholarly publications has been difficult in the medium of acidic paper, it has become even more problematic in electronic form where the data themselves, the media that hold them and the computer programs that make them intelligible are all subject to decay or obsolescence. This triumvirate—spiraling information costs, control of information and its preservation for succeeding generations—constitutes the developed world's central focus for research and planning in scholarly communication. (Atkinson, 2000. NINCH).
Topic:
Development, Education, International Cooperation, Science and Technology, and Third World
Political Geography:
North America and Western Europe

4726. The Role Of Transition Assistance: The Case Of Kosovo

Author:
Glenn Slocum
Publication Date:
11-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
The Center for Development Information and Evaluation (CDIE) has responsibility for conducting Agency-wide evaluations of USAID assistance topics of interest to USAID managers. In 2000, USAID initiated an evaluation of the role of transition assistance, with a specific emphasis on the role and activities of the Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI). Transition assistance, as used here, refers to the OTI-administered programs providing flexible, short-term responses to help advance peaceful, democratic change in conflict-prone countries. This assistance is usually provided during the two-year critical period after conflict when countries are most vulnerable to renewed conflict or instability.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, Economics, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe and Kosovo

4727. The Role Of Transition Assistance: The Case Of East Timor

Author:
Glenn Slocum and Jean DuRette
Publication Date:
11-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
The Center for Development Information and Evaluation (CDIE) has responsibility for conducting Agency-wide evaluations on USAID assistance topics of interest to USAID managers. In 2000, USAID initiated an evaluation on the general role of transition assistance and specifically on the role and activities of the Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) in the Bureau of Humanitarian Response (BHR).
Topic:
Democratization, Development, Economics, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia

4728. Participation, Consultation, and Economic Reform in Africa: Economic Fora and the EG-DG Nexus

Publication Date:
10-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
Economic restructuring, in spite of the social and political dislocations it can cause, remains an essential step in the process of growth and development for most developing countries. While conditions differ throughout the developing world, nearly all countries still struggle with the question of how to integrate economies in varying states of disrepair and non-competitiveness into the highly competitive global economy in a way that will provide for basic needs and ensure growth. At the same time, most of these countries are attempting to initiate or consolidate delicate and difficult transitions from authoritarian to democratic governance. This dual transition poses an important challenge for donors and others who support developing countries in their pursuit of democracy and growth.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and Economics
Political Geography:
Africa

4729. Fieldwork Methodology for a CDIE Assessment of USAID and Poverty Reduction Approaches

Author:
Jonathan Sleeper and Lynn Salinger
Publication Date:
08-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, U.N. agencies, many bilateral donors, and a number of developing countries have made poverty reduction their overarching development objective. The United States was a signatory in 1996 to the OECD/DAC's international development goals, which included halving of world poverty by 2015. Under the aegis of a comprehensive development framework which empowers national partners to design and implement their own development actions, debt relief for the world's most heavily indebted poor countries is being linked by the multinational development organizations to the development of national Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs).
Topic:
Development, Economics, Human Welfare, and Poverty
Political Geography:
United States

4730. Urban and Industrial Pollution Programs: Russia Case Study

Author:
Matthew Addison, Mark Hodges, Steven Gale, and Nick Wedeman
Publication Date:
07-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
Since the official dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has moved forward to make the difficult transition to open markets and more democratic institutions. The journey toward a complete restructuring of the Russian economy and an adoption of wide-ranging political reforms has been perilous. Political instability continues, crime and corruption have become more widespread, and economic conditions show little sign of improving quickly. Efforts to privatize state-held industries, initially seen as wildly successful, have now met with resistance, and full citizen involvement in government is far from complete.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Environment, Human Welfare, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Asia