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1981. The Role and Development of Technology-Intensive Suppliers in Resource-Based Economies: A Literature Review

Author:
Carlos Torres Fuchslocher
Publication Date:
11-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Although primary industries are important to developing countries, they have been largely unable to contribute to rapid growth. Systematically strengthening the development of local technology-intensive suppliers (t-suppliers), however, may contribute to both reinforcing the industrial base and supporting the competitiveness of primary production. Indeed, the development of t-suppliers has been common in those resource-based economies which achieved a high level of development (Scandinavia, Canada, Australia). This paper explores the role of t-suppliers in natural resource-based economies. It outlines a theoretical framework for the analysis of the factors which foster or constrain their development and defines areas for an effective promotion of t-suppliers. The proposed model of analysis distinguishes between factors influencing the development of t-suppliers on the level of the main industry (MI), the level of supplier firms or firm-level and the level of external determinants with special reference to industrial policy factors.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, and Third World
Political Geography:
Canada, Australia, and Scandinavia

1982. Crises, Hegemony and Change in the International System: A Conceptual Framework

Author:
Dirk Nabers
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
The paper tries to shed light on the conceptual link between international crises like the one following September 11, 2001, the Asian financial crisis of 1997/1998, the end of the Cold War or major international conflicts, and processes of change in the international system. It argues that cultural structures rest on their continuous instantiation through social practices, thereby making them coterminous with process. Process is constituted by meaningful acts of social agents, and can thus only be grasped by analysing meaning. Meaning is transmitted by language. Meaningful language is never reducible to individual speakers; it is a social act. In the paper, I call this process discourse. Linking Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) with the theory of hegemony developed by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, I will finally be able to show how hegemonic discourses serve as the nexus between crises and cultural structures and how they make cultural change possible.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Development
Political Geography:
Asia

1983. Why Reform Fails: The 'Politics of Policies' in Costa Rican Telecommunications Liberalization

Author:
Bert Hoffmann
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
As the 'Washington Consensus' reforms are losing momentum in Latin America, the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB) is calling for shifting the focus from the content of policy choices to the political process of their implementation. As this paper studies the paradigmatic case of telecommunications reform in Costa Rica it underscores the importance of these 'politics of policies'. The analysis finds, however, that the failure of repeated liberalization initiatives was not only due to policy-makers' errors in steering the project through 'the messy world of politics' (IDB); instead, as liberalization remained unpopular, policy content indeed mattered, and only the interaction of both explains the outcome. Particular attention is drawn to the political feed-back effects, as the failed reform, precisely because it had been backed by bi-partisan support, became a catalyst for the disintegration of the country's long-standing two-party system.
Topic:
Corruption, Development, and Politics
Political Geography:
America, Washington, Latin America, and Central America

1984. Political Party and Party System Institutionalisation in Southeast Asia: A Comparison of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand

Author:
Andreas Ufen
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
It is generally acknowledged that a higher degree of party and party systems institutionalisation is positively correlated with the consolidation of democracy. It is, thus, useful to compare different levels and types of institutionalisation. In this article the distinction made by Levitsky ("value infusion' vs.'behavioural infusion') with reference to party institutionalisation will be employed. Moreover, institutionalised party systems are characterized, according to Mainwaring and Torcal, by 'stability of interpary competition'. The empirical research of this paper finds that the early organisational consolidaton of social cleavages, such as in Indonesia, enhances institutionalisation. Furthermore, the relation between central and local elites appears to be essential strong bosses or cliques undermine institutionalisation in the Philippines and in Thailand respectively. Most Indonesian parties are better institutionalised than those in the Philippines and Thailand with reference to 'value infusion'. In addition, the party system in Indonesia is better institutionalised in terms of 'stability of interpary competition'.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and Politics
Political Geography:
Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Southeast Asia

1985. Crafting Political Institutions in Africa. Electoral Systems and Systems of Government in Rwanda and Zambia Compared

Author:
Alexander Stroh
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Scholars of institutional design attribute large importance to the choice of new institutions. The comparative analysis of how Rwanda and Zambia crafted their new electoral systems and the systems of government regards procedural, structural and rational choice variables which may influence the option for particular solutions. External influences and the type of transition are determinants that can decide which actors make their interests prevail. The degree of innovation or conservatism of new institutions is mainly a result of the speed of the process and the kind of actors involved. However, rational reflections on how to produce legitimacy and minimize personal risks which take into consideration the state of conflict in the country decide on the speed and on innovative outcomes. The structured analysis of only two cases uncovers already that it is rather difficult to realise the transfer of design recommendations into reality.
Topic:
Development, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Africa, Rwanda, and Holland

1986. Free Distribution Or Cost-Sharing? Evidence From A Randomized Malaria Prevention Experiment

Author:
Jessica Cohen
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
It is widely believed that cost-sharing—charging a subsidized, positive price—for a health product is necessary to avoid wasting resources on those who will not use or do not need the product. We explore this argument in the context of a field experiment in Kenya, in which we randomized the price at which pregnant women could buy long lasting anti-malarial insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) at prenatal clinics. We find no evidence that cost-sharing reduces wastage on those that will not use the product: women who received free ITNs are not less likely to use them than those who paid subsidized positive prices. We also find no evidence that cost-sharing induces selection of women who need the net more: those who pay higher prices appear no sicker than the prenatal clients in the control group in terms of measured anemia (an important indicator of malaria). Cost-sharing does, however, considerably dampen demand. We find that uptake drops by 75 percent when the price of ITNs increases from 0 to $0.75, the price at which ITNs are currently sold to pregnant women in Kenya. We combine our estimates in a cost-effectiveness analysis of ITN prices on infant mortality that incorporates both private and social returns to ITN usage. Overall, given the large positive externality associated with widespread usage of insecticide-treated nets, our results suggest that free distribution to pregnant women is both more effective and more cost-effective than cost-sharing.
Topic:
Development, Globalization, Health, and World Health Organization
Political Geography:
Kenya

1987. Utility Payments as Alternative Credit Data: A Reality Check

Author:
Sara Burr and Virginia Carlson
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Access to credit is one of the cornerstones of wealth-building in the United States. Yet, between 35 million and 54 million persons are not participating in the credit market. Many individuals outside the credit mainstream are unable to access credit, or credit at competitive rates, because of the lack of traditional information, such as mortgage and credit card payments, available on their credit files. However, there is evidence that the inclusion of alternative data on credit-like payments, such as utility payments, in credit reporting can help bridge this information gap. The first step toward filling this gap requires utility companies to systematically report these data to the major credit bureaus.
Topic:
Civil Society, Demographics, Development, and Economics
Political Geography:
United States

1988. The Third California: The Golden State's New Frontier

Author:
Joel Kotkin and William H. Frey
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
For most Americans, California evokes coastal images, the sunny beaches of south or the spectacular urban vistas of San Francisco Bay. Yet within California itself, the state's focus is shifting increasingly beyond the narrow strip of land between the coast- line and its first line of mountain ranges.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Environment
Political Geography:
United States, America, and California

1989. Committing to Prosperity: Moving Forward on the Agenda to Renew Pennsylvania

Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Pennsylvania is at once the same and different, three years after the release of the 2003 Brookings Institution report “Back to Prosperity,” which proposed a new vision for how Pennsylvania might revitalize its cities, towns, and regions in order to compete more energetically in today's global economy.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
United States and Pennsylvania

1990. A Pathway to the Middle Class: Migration and Demographic Change in Prince George's County

Author:
Alice M. Rivlin and Brooke DeRenzis
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The Washington area is growing and decentralizing. From 1990 to 2000, the District of Columbia's population declined while the number of people living in surrounding suburbs increased. Prince George's County was among the suburban jurisdictions that experienced population growth, increasing by 10 percent from about 729,000 residents in 1990 to over 800,000 in 2000. Prince George's continues to grow, with an estimated 840,000 residents in 2005.
Topic:
Demographics, Development, Economics, and Migration
Political Geography:
Washington