Theory and practice of labour-centred development

This article outlines the theory and practice of labour-centred development (LCD). Much development thinking is elitist, positing states and corporations as primary agents in the development process. This article argues, by contrast, that collective actions by labouring classes can generate tangible developmental gains and therefore that, under certain circumstances, they can be considered primary development actors. Examples of LCD discussed here include shack-dwellers’ movements in South Africa, the landless labourers’ movement in Brazil, unemployed workers’ movements in Argentina and large-scale collective actions by formal sector workers across East Asia. The article also considers future prospects for LCD.     

Varieties of capitalism and the Estonian economy: Institutions,growth and crisis in a liberal market economy

This article examines Estonia's economic institutions, performance and vulnerability to the global economic crisis in the context of the varieties of capitalism framework. It shows that Estonia shares many characteristics of a liberal market economy, but that there are also some features which do not fit the classical model, notably its corporate governance institutions. It also suggests that the varieties of capitalism framework can account for key features of Estonia's economic performance, including its growth trajectory and adjustment to the global financial crisis. The article also reflects on the broader significance of these findings for understanding post-communist capitalism.     

Mogadishu: an economy without a state

When analysing links between conflict, trade and foreign aid in Somalia, it is important to examine the role of the Mogadishu-based business class. Mainly urban-based elites benefit from the profitable business activities, such as the charcoal trade. Nevertheless, potential links between conflict, trade and foreign aid are ambiguous. Whereas trade can trigger conflict in producing areas and along transport routes, it can build trust among the business elite in the urban centres. Today there is a thriving economy largely based on trade and arbitrage, rather than on production, without a functioning state in Somalia. This article argues that, in countries where effective government institutions are absent, security and social services, such as education and health care, are often privatised. However, some individuals have an interest in the continuation of violence to engage in lucrative sectors of the economy which would be regulated or banned under a functioning government.     

Strength and growth in a plantation economy

Conclusion Fogel and Engerman's self-conscious application of economic theory to historical data is extremely useful in clarifying the market relationships operative in the antebellum Southern economy. What is missing in their study is an appreciation of the explanatory limits of the theory they have employed. They have paid a high price in attempting to stretch the capabilities of neoclassical theory into domains beyond its scope. In particular this takes the form of an implicit assumption that if market efficiency is attained, modernization is within reach. There is, on the contrary, no necessary correlation between efficiency defined in this market sense, and long-term strength, growth, or prosperity. Precisely because of the means employed within the plantation economy to achieve viability, there are serious questions which can be raised with respect to both the longevity of the slave system and the consistency of that system with development, and hence an increasing standard of living for its population. In analyzing the internal mechanism by which the slave system worked, Fogel and Engerman interjected issues for which they offered neither testable hypotheses nor employed the relevant methodological framework.     

Manicheism delirium: desire and disavowal in the libidinal economy of an emerging economy

This paper explores the motivations behind the outward foreign direct investment (ofdi) decisions in the past decade of an East Asian government-linked corporation (glc), the largest company of its kind in the world in terms of sectoral specialisation. This glc has travelled far from its origins as an agent of European imperialism to its current controversial role spearheading postcolonial extra-territorialisation strategies. I argue that financial predation is the synechdoche for territorialisation in the new imperialism. Consequently emerging economies pre-empt the financial siege by embarking on ofdi strategies themselves to create economic buffer territory. I construct a psychoanalytical framework for examining how anxiety is acted out in the global economy. I apply concepts of the traumatic moment, anxiety and the defence mechanisms of disavowal, splitting, introjection and projection to analyse the glc’s investments as territorial displacements of the libidinal economy.     

Oligarchic rule and best practice migration management: the political economy origins of labour migration regime of the Philippines

The Philippine labour migration regime has been praised as one of the best examples of government-led migration management in the developing world, with some of the most extensive policies and bureaucratic organisations to manage and protect its citizens working abroad. However, not much knowledge has been accumulated that explains its origins or why it emerged in the Philippines and not in other large-scale migrant-sending countries. Contrary to current explanations that emphasise the economic benefits of labour migration and civil society mobilisation, this paper highlights the migration regime's compatibility with the political economy interests of the country's ruling elites. Bringing together the country's two important political and economic features, oligarchic rule and labour export, this paper suggests that the unique genesis of the Philippines’ migration regime casts doubts on the replicability of the Philippine model in other labour-sending countries as currently pursued by the international development community.     

Discourses on Poverty: emerging perspectives on a caring economy

In The Real Wealth of Nations, Eisler proposes a holistic view of the economy, which would include the caring sectors—the household, unpaid community work and the environment—as an alternative to market-oriented economic models that have proven ineffective in dealing with the problems facing our local and global communities. Her inclusion of language change as part of a strategy for economic transformation implicitly recognises the socially constitutive function of discourse, a notion put forth by critical linguists. Based on these economic and linguistic perspectives, this article reports on a study that examined the social knowledge about poverty constructed through selected discourses to determine whether they communicate a narrow or holistic view of the economy. It proposes that economic planning for poverty reduction build upon the process of language change towards a caring economy as revealed by the study.     

The ethics of managing scarcity: approaches to economy and prudence in a consuming society

This essay analyzes our character as a people, and its interplay with dramatic changes in our society before and after the formal close of the American frontier in 1890. Many of our prized character traits actually work against the prosperity we seek in the current day. We have not yet come to terms with the greed that contaminates every level of social analysis in American history. Nor have we moderated our individualism, entrepreneurialism, and anti-statism, even as we lose the promise of an expanding and vibrant middle class. Our faith in a great destiny must now embrace public purposes, plans, and management as necessary and desirable facets of ordered liberty.

I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. Jeremiah 2:7