Building Bond Repayment Capacity in Developing Countries: A Study on Property Tax Collections and Debt Affordability in Mexico

This article uses a multinomial regression model to analyze the bond repayment capacity of issuers of municipal bonds in Mexico. The study emphasizes the role that property and land-based taxes have in the enhancement of repayment capacity, as these are highly underutilized levies with important revenue raising potential. The findings show that there is no statistically significant link between these taxes and the chosen proxy for repayment capacity. This follows from an institutional and legal framework that creates an artificial environment of fiscal solvency. The Mexican case is instructive on how not to create a subnational bond market.     

Anti-Social Capital in Former Members of Non-State Armed Groups: A Case Study of Colombia

Illegal organizations, like mafia syndicates, gangs, and insurgencies, are often highly cohesive and hostile toward the outside world. Such groups cultivate a particular form of “anti-social” capital, which relies on ingroup bonding and limits outgroup bridging for the purpose of commissioning illicit acts. We argue that experiences within the group leave members with varying intensities of anti-social capital, and that higher intensities lead to significantly weaker relationships with political institutions and civil society, even many years after they exit the group. We test this theory using survey data from 1,485 former members of insurgent and paramilitary groups in Colombia, along with insights from 68 qualitative interviews. We find strong evidence that anti-social capital has individually varying and sticky effects on former members. These effects are pervasive and intense, and exhibit surprising and counterintuitive properties: former members of pro-state militia with higher levels of anti-social capital are systematically less likely to trust political institutions, while members of peasant-based insurgent groups with high levels of anti-social capital are less likely to participate in their communities.     

Reference Group Perspective on State Behaviour: A Case Study of Estonia's Counterterrorism Policies

For over a decade Estonia has been untouched by terrorist violence. However, notwithstanding the lack of a viable terrorist threat, the Estonian government adopted extensive counterterrorism measures. What explains the scope of Estonia's counterterrorism measures? The main proposition of this article is that the content of states' counterterrorism policies is shaped by the types of responses adopted by their reference groups. The evidence examined in the study demonstrates that Estonia's primary reference groups, NATO and the EU, have influenced the republic's counterterrorism programme. An unattractive target to terrorists, Estonia adopted broad counterterrorism responses to defend indivisible Euro–Atlantic security and to protect democratic values that terrorists attempt to destroy.     

Analysis of Changes in External Accountability and Accounting in Privatized Industries: A Case Study of British Gas

This study investigates the consequences of regulation for organizational and accounting change in privatized industries by means of a case study of the gas industry, with particular emphasis on issues of accountability and the role of accounting information. The paper extends Stewart and Ranson's (1988) discussion of the distinctive conditions which apply to public and private sector organizations by highlighting an important interim phase in relation to privatized industries, where public service obligations coexist to varying degrees with private sector objectives. The extension of their framework of public and private sector models to include a new 'commercial' model provides the basis for an analytical framework encompassing the three cultures — that is, public service, commercial and competition — which is used to understand organizational change in the gas industry.     

Social Identity Group and Human (In)Security: The Case of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)

The article uses social identity group theory and human insecurity to examine the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). After first defining social group identity and its characteristics, the article reviews the Al Qaeda ideology that serves as the foundation of ISIL, before turning attention to the message and legacy of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and their profound influence on ISIL. The article concludes by arguing that only by ending the marketplace of identities can stability be restored to Iraq and Syria.     

Compensatory Aid and Debt Relief: A Case Study of Uganda

We propose a contingency financing framework to assist low-income countries in the achievement of debt sustainability. The framework relies on an accounting method to quantify external shocks to the balance of payments and provides compensatory financing to offset their impact. We apply the framework to the case of Uganda during the period 1988–2002 and find that it would have been highly effective in identifying and offsetting the adverse liquidity implications of shocks to the country's trade balance.     

Assessing the Impact of Microcredit: A Zambian Case Study

Expectations are high, but evidence of the impact of microcredit remains in short supply. This article estimates the impact of an urban credit programme in Zambia on business performance and on a range of indicators of wellbeing. Borrowers who obtained a second loan experienced significantly higher average growth in business profits and household income. Inflexible group enforcement of loan obligations resulted in some borrowers, especially amongst those who had taken only one loan, being made worse off. Our methodological investigations suggest that the supply of rigorous impact studies can be increased by basing them on data collection that serves a wider range of purposes, including market research.     

Assessing Operational and Collaborative Performance Management: A Case Study of PhillyStat

Many cities and agencies in the U.S. have adopted the “-Stat” approach, which is called “PerformanceStat” in general. Philadelphia has created PhillyStat as its performance management and tracking tool, of which unique feature is its twofold review process involving both operational and outcome level. This study assesses the capacities of PhillyStat. The assessment suggests four implications for jurisdictional governments and agencies employing the “-Stat” approach. First, the “-Stat” approach should evolve toward strategic review beyond day-to-day operational review. Second, the “-Stat” approach should close the gap in diverse views on government performance. Third, the “-Stat” approach should be used as an effective tool for public management and leadership. Last, the “-Stat” approach should develop capabilities for cross-organizational collaboration.     

Ideology and Disengagement: A Case Study of Nationalists and Islamists in Chechnya

Abstract

Disengagement from militant groups has often been explained in individual terms such as battle fatigue or the desire to rejoin family and friends. We seek to examine empirically which other factors, beyond individual-level determinants, have influenced disengagement processes among militants belonging to different types of Chechen militant organisations. Drawing empirical insights from unique in-depth interviews with former members of the Chechen insurgency, their relatives, eyewitnesses to the Chechen wars and experts with first-hand knowledge of the researched phenomena, this study examines disengagement among jihadist and nationalist Chechen militants. Focusing on group-level factors, such as the capacity to resist external pressures, the use of violence, in-group social bonds and group cohesion, this article demonstrates that disengagement has been a less viable course of action for Chechen jihadists than for nationalist militants.     

Convergence of Counterterrorism Policies: A Case Study of Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia

This article distinguishes the demand from the supply of counterterrorism following either a large-scale terrorist attack or campaign. On the demand side, terrorism shocks increase the willingness of civilians to sacrifice their liberties for security, thereby giving the government a mandate to augment defensive and proactive measures against the terrorists. The supply side differs greatly between domestic and transnational terrorism. Supply problems may plague countermeasures against transnational terrorism as at-risk nations act strategically. In particular, there is a strong proclivity for nations to overspend on defense and to underspend on proactive measures. These tendencies are explored using simple game theory. A country's sovereignty also bolsters the ability of targeted nations to address domestic terrorism with an appropriate mix of counter- terrorism measures.     

Democratization of the State: A Global Perspective and South African Case Study

ABSTRACT

This essay provides a global perspective on the democratic transformation of the state in societies undergoing democratization. Comparative research indicates that the development and effective performance of democratic political systems require the establishment of honest and competent public bureaucracies that avoid political partisanship and demonstrate respect for the diverse values and interests of the populations they serve. Especially important in democratizing the state is the development and practice of the norms of secondary democracy. The practice of these norms of mutual respect, fairness, and collaboration create the essential culture or modus vivendi of democracy. The Republic of South Africa is analyzed as an important case study of a contemporary state that is attempting to create a democratic and corruption-free public service in a country with an extremely racist, authoritarian, and corruption-ridden past. This case study reveals that the democratization of the state in South Africa, as in the case of other countries around the world, requires the members of the state bureaucracy to practice the norms of secondary democracy in their daily relations with one another and in their relations with the citizenry.     

Ethnic Group Identity and the Roma Social Movement: Transnational Organizing Structures of Representation

This paper examines the relationship between European integration and ethnonational demands with the example of selected regions in the European Union (EU). It follows the theoretical premises of new regionalism and explores the ways in which ethnonational groups use the opportunities and resources of European governance to express their identities, material interests, and political demands. Methodologically, it conducts a plausibility probe of the potential effects of European integration on ethnonationalism by testing for regional differences in identities, interests, and political attitudes. The case studies are drawn from the UK (Wales and Scotland), Belgium (Flanders), Austria (Carinthia and Burgenland), Romania (Northwest and Center regions), and Bulgaria (South-Central and South-Eastern regions) as a representative selection of regional interests in the EU. The paper finds that European integration affects ethnonational groups by reinforcing identity construction in the direction of inclusiveness and diversity. Although regional actors are more supportive of the EU than the European publics in general, they also seek access to representation in the authority structures of the state. Based on these findings, the paper concludes that European integration facilitates a growing public acceptance of its resources, in parallel with persisting allegiances to the nation-state, the community, and ethnoregional distinctiveness.     

Biopi®acy and Intellectual Property as the Basis for Biotechnological Development: The Case of Mexico

This article provides a geopolitical and geoeconomic analysis of the strategic foundation of biodiversity, as the basis for the development of technologies that are leading the technological revolution in the early 21^st century, specifically in relation to the advance of biotechnology. It explores the mechanisms promoted by Nation States and Multinationals involved in biobusiness in order to establish global processes of biotic plundering in highly biodiverse areas—biopiracy—as well as the forms of their appropriation—patenting genetic material and its related knowledge. This dynamic is analyzed at the world level and discussed with specific reference to Mexico.     

Smallholder Livelihood Adaptation in the Context of Neoliberal Policy Reforms: A Case of Maize Farmers in Southern Veracruz,Mexico

Governments around the world have embraced trade liberalisation as a means of enhancing efficiency to realise economic growth and alleviate poverty. Likewise, the Mexican government implemented neoliberal policy reforms, the NAFTA in particular, to stimulate sustainable development. Using the Mexican maize sector as illustration, this article describes the adaptation process of smallholders to market changes shaped by these reforms. Going beyond the aggregated level, we have investigated smallholders' livelihood strategies. Contrary to what economic models estimated, our data suggests that farmers intensified the cultivation of maize rather than switch to sectors in which Mexico has a comparative advantage.     

Infrastructure and Cluster Development: A Case Study of Handloom Weavers in Rural Ethiopia

Clustering is an important structure of production in the rural nonfarm sector. Based on a primary survey of rural handloom clusters in Ethiopia, this article examines the mechanism and performance of clustering. Given weak financial institutions, clustered producers and traders use trade credits to ease working capital constraints. Moreover, geographical clustering enables entrepreneurs with limited capital to enter the business through shared workspaces and fine division of labour. An improvement in infrastructure can further enhance firm performance in a cluster. In towns with electricity access, producers work longer hours by sharing lit workspaces at lower rental cost.