The Effect of a Workfare Programme on Psychological Wellbeing in India

Little is known about the effect of poverty alleviation programmes on mental health. In this paper we use variation in district implementation dates and location of residence to examine the short-run effect of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India on psychological wellbeing. We find that in the first year of the programme, women in recipient districts were less likely to experience depression symptoms. The effects of the programme on men’s mental health, on the other hand, are generally not statistically significant and are not robust to different specifications. We provide suggestive evidence that one mechanism through which the programme could have affected women, at least in the short-run, was providing them with greater economic security and independence.     

Disease,Microdams and Natural Resources in Tigray,Ethiopia: Impacts on Productivity and Labour Supplies

We examine the effects of water microdams and ensuing waterborne diseases on household decisions in Tigray, Ethiopia, where the government implemented a water resource development programme two decades ago. We find microdams increase productivity of both fuelwood collection and crop production, but the costs of these dams to households can be significant. In villages close to dams, disease prevalence is higher and all household labour categories spend more time sick, and more time is spent by male and female adults caring for sick family members. These can cost the household anywhere in the region of 150–250 Birr per season, depending on the type of labour diversion and the productivity of labour. Males are most significant here. Removing their time from production results in 40–60 per cent higher productivity and income losses compared to diversion of female labour. Sick households also spend significantly more money on health care, especially when male and female adults are sick.     

In the Gap the State Left: Policy Feedback,Collective Behavior,and Political Participation in Zambia

In advanced industrial democracies, evidence suggests a positive relationship between inclusive public policy, collective behavior, and political participation. Yet Africa, which generally exhibits high levels of collective behavior, often has exclusionary policies and variable rates of political participation. Using Afrobarometer data and qualitative case analysis in Zambia, this paper argues that the links between collective behavior and political participation differ in African countries due to lower government capacity and weaker structures of accountability linking politicians to policy outcomes. Employing a policy feedback framework, it demonstrates that the policy context in which collective behavior emerges determines the extent to which it influences political participation. Specifically, low levels of service provision generate higher levels of collective behavior, indicating that communities organize in response to need. The extent to which this collective behavior results in political participation, however, depends in part on citizens’ political efficacy.     

Saddam Hussein: Political Psychological Profiling Results Relevant to His Possession,Use, and Possible Transfer of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) to Terrorist Groups

This article applies psychological profiling data from the speeches and interviews of Saddam Hussein during the 1990 Gulf Crisis to many of the recent questions about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD) policies and intentions that were pivotal to the decision to wage war in Iraq. Content analysis of Hussein's verbal comments prior to the invasion of Kuwait and after the introduction of coalition forces into Saudi Arabia were used to assess his psychological state, political attitudes, and decision-making processes under stress. The findings were then applied to the recent issues of Iraqi WMD possession, use, and possible transfer to terrorist groups. The results of this political psychological assessment of Hussein indicated that prior to his removal by coalition forces it was extremely unlikely that he had significantly reduced what he perceived to be Iraq's WMD capabilities. Analysis of Hussein's political psychology, sensitivity to threats, propensity for violent reactions, and tendency to miscalculate indicated that he had a very low threshold for WMD use and may not have waited to be attacked before using these weapons. The results also indicated that the same characteristics that made Hussein an extremely likely candidate for WMD use made it unlikely that he would transfer WMD assets to a terrorist group not under his direct control. Although examination of Hussein's decision making under stress indicated that the invasion would increase the likelihood of Iraqi WMD use, it was not seen as increasing the odds of Iraqi transfer of WMD to terrorist groups. However, the results also indicated the potential for Hussein to suffer from a significant series of cognitive biases with direct impact on his decision making regarding WMD, as well as his ability to use these weapons. Support was also noted for his potential to experience gaps in reality testing and immobilizing anxiety should the military struggle turn desperate for Iraq and for him personally. The implications for the characterization of leaders likely to use WMD were also examined.­     

HIV/AIDS and older women in Zambia: Concern for self,worry over daughters,towers of strength

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa has exposed the way in which gender relations can place women in a particularly precarious position in respect of health matters (Ankrah, 1991; Baylies, Bujra et al , 1999; de Bruyn, 1992; Heise & Elias, 1995; Obbo, 1993; Ulin, 1992). As it advances, it is also evident that women do not face the epidemic as a homogeneous group, but as one which is divided by varying levels of vulnerability and varieties of response. This article focuses on generational differences, as well as those defined by marital status and economic security, and identifies older women who have completed their families as positioned not just to perform a caring role but also to serve as advocates for others in articulating the dangers which gendered practices may pose for their daughters and for women in general, both married and unmarried. It will be argued that they may become spokeswomen for their communities and their families and should be seen as powerful actors around AIDS issues.     

拉美左翼回潮的特征、成因及影响

随着世纪疫情与百年变局叠加震荡,拉美政治生态深度演变。在2021年拉美“大选年”中,左右翼势力展开新一轮对决,诸多国家的左翼政党接连在总统大选、议会选举和地方选举中获胜。拉美政坛劲刮“左转”风,左翼政党强势回归,地区政治力量对比进入调整与重构的新周期,地缘政治开启新格局。     

The Politics of Climate Change Adaptation in Development: Authority,Resource Control and State Intervention in Rural Zambia

In this article, we call for more attention to the national and local politics of climate change in developing countries, and contribute to this through a study of climate change adaptation interventions in Zambia. We show how such interventions form part of central state efforts to extend authority and control over natural resources, and how competing institutional actors such as local governments and chiefs seek to counter this. The article thereby shows how climate change adaptation is emerging as a new arena for deep-seated political and institutional struggles over issues such as authority, land control and devolution in development.     

Training of Civil Servants in Turkey: Progress,Problems, and Prospects

Abstract

Today, public servants in Turkey, like in many countries around the world, face major challenges, including an increasingly demanding citizenry, intensifying globalization processes, rapid developments in the use of information and communication technologies, and the rise in the number and influence of the civil society organizations. To overcome, or at least to lessen, the possible negative impacts of these and other such challenges, thoughtfully designed, and effectively implemented training activities may serve as catalyst. After a brief introduction, the article first identifies and describes the main policies and institutional players associated with training and development of civil servants in Turkey. Second, the article identifies and concisely discusses the most critical and enduring problems concerning training and development of civil servants in the country. The third section of the article evaluates prospects for developing effective training policies and practices. In doing so, the article offers ideas and arguments about the issue around the following topics: publicness, performance, proficiency and professionalism, participation, and partnerships and partnering. The article concludes with a brief summary of the issues discussed along with one specific suggestion for future research on training and development policies and practices in Turkey.     

Information Improves Provider Behaviour: A Replication Study of a Community-Based Monitoring Programme in Uganda

In ‘Power to the People: Evidence from a Randomised Field Experiment on Community-Based Monitoring in Uganda’ (2009), Björkman and Svensson show that a relatively simple intervention – providing community-level health service delivery information and guidance on community-based monitoring – improved provider behaviour, health care utilisation, and health outcomes. In this paper we conduct a pure replication of the original study and extend the original analysis. Overall, we find that the intervention modified healthcare provider behaviours and utilisation, but that the results surrounding the programme’s impact on health outcomes appear less robust.     

Citizens' Learning,Involvement, and Participation in Decision-Making Under the Democratic Ethos: A Theoretical Framework and the Israeli Experience

Public administration literature usually assumes that citizens' participation in administrative decision-making (PDM) processes can improve public sector performance and trust. In this article, we question the universality of this assumption, arguing that PDM processes will have positive results in terms of performance and trust only when there are available channels to influence policy outcomes and democratic participatory behavior. We construct theoretical arguments based on a mechanism of social learning and illustrate them by reference to the case of Israel. The framework highlights the centrality and importance of culture and social characters for the study and planning of public administration reforms.     

印度经济特区的征地问题:缘起·影响·出路

近年来,印度经济以年均8.5%的速度增长,受到世界的瞩目,但其外国直接投资规模却一直是各项经济发展指标中的滞后因素.受到中国经济特区招商引资效果显著的成功启示,2000年,时任印度贸易部长的莫拉索里·马兰提出了建设印度经济特区的发展理念.     

The Impact of a Disaster on Asset Dynamics in the Gobi Region of Mongolia: An Analysis of Livestock Changes

Measuring wealth levels dynamically through productive assets, the ‘asset-based approach’, allows persistent or dynamic differentiation of the transitions in household living standards and predictions concerning the people who may continue to experience low standards of living in the future. Studies using the asset-based approach have been conducted mainly in Africa. For a comparison, we conducted a similar study of herders in Mongolia. There were differences in our results compared to the studies on Africa. First, some herders transitioned chronically. Second, the recovery rate was different among herder types. Third, a hierarchical reversal among different herder types occurred after the disaster.     

Social Learning and Farm Technology in Ethiopia: Impacts by Technology,Network Type,and Poverty Status

Improved farm technologies in Ethiopia display high levels of promise and low rates of adoption. This article studies the impact of social networks on technology adoption focusing on social learning through networks based on physical proximity and those based on intentional relationships. Impacts by network type, technology, and asset poverty status are explored. Social learning is more evident for households not in persistent poverty, for more complex technologies, and within networks based on intentional relationships rather than proximity. Results indicate that technology diffusion in Ethiopia is likely to be enhanced if extension can target intentional networks, rather than spatial clusters.     

Implementing Environmental Sustainability in Local Government: The Impacts of Framing,Agency Culture,and Structure in US Cities and Counties

This article focuses on the organizational factors of environmental sustainability implementation in local government. We investigate the interactions, as well as direct and indirect impacts, of the framing of environmental sustainability and organizational culture and structure on implementation outcomes. We use a survey of 217 city/county planners and managers in 146 randomly selected American mid-sized cities and counties. The survey was specifically designed to tease out organizational features and their impacts. We model these impacts using structural equation modeling. We find that horizontally and vertically integrated organizational structure supports two essential dimensions of organizational culture: innovation adoption and consensus building. These cultural traits positively impact the framing of environmental sustainability at the core of organizations’ logic, which in turn significantly supports implementation outcomes. These findings provide important insights into city/county managers seeking to promote sustainability, and provide a base for future studies of the organizational factors of implementation.     

Capitalism and Civil Society Revisited or: Conceptualizing a Civil,Sustainable and Solidary Economy

International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society - After a brief reconstruction of the discourse on civil society, the notion that civil society and the economy are two separate spheres is...     

The Influence of Living with Parents on Women's Decision-Making Participation in the Household: Evidence from the Southern Philippines

This article analyses the dynamics of women's participation in the decisions made in the household by looking at the effects of events that transpired in the recent period. Results suggest that the wife's participation status is positively affected by the presence of parents, either hers or the spouse's, in the household. Results also show that the wife's parents significantly affect participation in minor issues while the spouse's parents significantly affect the more relevant financial issues. The article also offers a cursory discussion on the role of household headship.     

The Labour Market Impacts of Immigration to Developing Countries: Evidence from a Registration Campaign in Thailand

Little is known about the labour market impact of immigration to developing countries, because most immigration to developing countries is poorly measured. We use an unusual dataset from a campaign to register irregular migrants to study how immigration has affected wages, employment, and internal migration in Thailand. We allow for endogenous migration, whereby immigrants are disproportionately attracted to areas with higher wages. Our results suggest that immigration sufficient to increase Thailand's total labour force by one per cent would reduce Thai wages by approximately half a per cent. This effect is stronger than is generally found in developed countries. We find no evidence that immigration has reduced Thai employment rates or has affected internal migration by Thais.     

Impacts of in-kind transfers on household food consumption: Evidence from targeted food programmes in Bangladesh

This article examines the impact of wheat transfers and cash incomes on wheat consumption and wheat markets. Using propensity score matching techniques, the MPC for wheat is on average 0.33, ranging form essentially zero for Food For Work (a programme with large transfers) to 0.51 for Food For Education. Econometric estimates indicate that the total marginal propensity to consume (MPC) wheat out of small wheat transfers to poor households is approximately 0.25, while MPCs for wheat out of cash income are near zero. This increase in demand for wheat reduces the potential price effect of the three major targeted programmes by about one-third.     

Institutionalizing from the Middle: the Impacts of Provincial Legislation on Rural Grassroots Democracy in China

Nominal democratic institutions under non-democratic regimes vary across countries. This study intends to advance our understanding of such institutions by exploring the relevance of one aspect of the authoritarian regimes, government hierarchy. Focusing on village-level democratization in China, we investigate the intermediary role of the provincial level governments in shaping the variant outcomes of grassroots democracy across the country. Through an analysis of a national sample, we find that divergent provincial legislative interpretation of central policies is a key determinant of public access to power and democratic governance of village-level governments. Our finding suggests that authoritarian states can employ various institutions to gather information, accommodate local variations, and thus contain potential intra-government disagreement.     

Long-term Impacts of Global Food Crisis on Production Decisions: Evidence from Farm Investments in Indonesia

This paper estimates farmers’ investment response to food price spikes using household panel data collected before and after the 2007/08 food price crisis in Indonesia. We found that an increase in farmers’ terms-of-trade allowed relatively large crop-producing farmers to increase their investments at both extensive and intensive margins. Food price spikes had a significant income effect among farmers whose production surplus is large for market sales. During the food price crisis, large farmers particularly increased machine investments, which saved some labour inputs, pointing to the importance of complementarities between land and machine investments.