Working class power and state formation in Mao Zedong's thought, 1931–1934

One facet of contemporary debates surrounding international development and humane governance is the growing attention being focused on participatory governance as a method of reducing poverty and increasing social rights. The article evaluates the evolutionary forms of participatory governance in the Philippines since the mid-1990s. Various administrations have attempted to introduce participatory programs concerned with poverty reduction and agrarian reform in the Philippines. Various institutional obstacles and the failure of many non-government organisations to engage with these processes at an adequately strategic level, however, have hampered these attempts. The rhetoric of participation has often been contradicted by a commitment to forms of neo-liberal governance that facilitate the exclusion of public scrutiny and debate over issues of development strategy and security. The article concludes by arguing that real progress on establishing participatory forms of governance requires taking measures that challenge embedded power relations. Non-government organisations are better served by maintaining more oppositional political stance.     

Poverty Among Small Farmers Under Frei and Pinochet, 1968–1986

Abstract — This paper draws on the results of a nation-wide panel study of small farm households interviewed in 1968 and 1986 to complement accounts of Chile's economic performance under the governments of President Frei (1964–1970) and General Pinochet (1973–1989). It is shown that in contrast to macroeconomic trends of increased inequality and impoverishment after 1973, the incidence of poverty in the sample declined slightly but significantly over the period. The result is robust both to the choice of poverty index and poverty line. It is all the more striking because the sample represented the poorest group in Chile during the 1960s. Nevertheless, the incidence of poverty in the sample remained extremely high. In 1967–1968, more than three-quarters of households could not meet their basic needs, while in 1985–1986 this proportion reached nearly two thirds. The fall in poverty may be attributed to a combination of increased coverage of the rural areas by targeted welfare programmes and the effects of the life cycle in increasing the proportion of panel household members eligible for, and dependent on public transfers between 1968 and 1986.     

Functioning Achievements in Urban Bangladesh: A Comparison with Rural Areas

In view of the differences in the nature and concept of poverty across rural and urban regions, this article argues that a nationwide standardised poverty reduction strategy package may not be equally effective in these two regions. This article examines the limitations of existing poverty assessment approaches used in Bangladesh and identifies various indicators that are responsible for the achievement of higher level functioning in urban regions in contrast to rural areas. The methodology of the study is based on 917 samples of poor persons with microcredit collected from nine districts of Bangladesh. Significant differences have been observed in the indicators of poverty for rural and urban areas. The results from our participatory study reveal that the urban poor are more inclined towards social functioning achievements such as voting, decision-making at both household and work levels, having a voice at local meetings and co-operatives, whereas the rural poor are still demanding the most basic requirements.     

Exploring Variations in Turnout: Constituencies and Wards in the Scottish Parliament Elections of 1999 and 2003

Elections for the Scottish Parliament and for all Scottish local authorities were held on the same day in 1999 and 2003, allowing a more detailed exploration of turnout variations than has been possible before. On both occasions, turnout in the two sets of elections was almost identical so that reported ward turnout at local level also indicates ward turnout in the parliament elections. Parliamentary turnout is analysed at both constituency and ward levels. The latter gives us greater confidence in the constituency results and also suggests some relationships which are not apparent at constituency level. The strongest determinant of turnout is consistently found to be the proportion of adults with a degree; religious affiliation, here analysed for the first time at the aggregate level, is also strongly related to turnout.     

Challenges of the pan‐African parliament

It must be enabled to receive representation by individuals and associations whose interests have been affected by international or continental public policies or practices. In turn, it must be able to intervene decisively to protect rights in member states. By doing this, the parliament can deepen its credibility and relevance to African peoples struggling with poverty and injustice across the continent.     

Confrontation and co‐operation in the Indian Ocean

The end of the Cold War has created new dangers and opportunities. The formation of an Indian Ocean Rim trading bloc has the potential to benefit some of the poorest people in the world. Regional maritime co‐operation could provide the catalyst for alleviating poverty on the Indian Ocean Rim by giving a spurt to incomes and employment from the seas.     

阿拉伯国家在菲南和平进程中的作用

在菲南和平进程的两个阶段中,阿拉伯国家的角色经历了两次转变:从摩洛穆斯林的支持者转为双方谈判的中介人,从停火协议的维护者转为全面和平的推动者.它们成功地促成菲南局势从战乱转向和谈、从纸上和平转向实际和平,并促使菲南由局部和平向全面和平过渡.阿拉伯国家所以能发挥这样的作用,原因在于它们拥有影响冲突双方的实力、公正解决冲突的立场以及由菲律宾的灵活外交策略促成的相互间的良性互动关系.     

Economic crisis,families, and family policy in the Baltic states, 2009–2014

ABSTRACT

The three Baltic countries experienced the most rapid population decline throughout the 1990s and 2000s in Europe. The resulting critical demographic situation motivated the governments of the Baltic states to pay more political attention to family policy issues than in the rest of Europe. The aim of the paper is to analyze the development of family policy in Baltic countries and factors that influenced it during the 2009 economic crisis. Also, the outcomes in terms of child poverty and fertility are highlighted. Results show that the economic resources and fertility level had an essential impact on family policy in the Baltic states. Economic support to families, in turn, directly alleviate the poverty level of families and indirectly influence fertility.     

Economic liberalization and poverty in the developing countries

In recent years the neoliberal economists have sought to establish the claim that economic liberalization unfailingly promotes growth and reduces poverty in the developing countries. Liberalization of markets in the developing countries, according to them, promotes economic perfection by intensifying competition between domestic and external economic actors and exposing management and workers to improved practices. Thay also claim that liberalization of trade and investment regimes by the developing countries has attracted more direct foreign and portfolio investment which, in turn, has accelerated the rate of economic growth and lifted the poor out of poverty. This article contends this neoliberal claim and argues that the post-Cold War neoliberal regime of global economic liberalization ensures the production of poverty in the developing countries by shrinking their prospects of economic growth. It pursues a structural explanation to explore how the neoliberal regime fosters conditions that make possible the continued production of poverty in the developing South and arrives at the conclusion that the neoliberal regime of economic liberalization was not designed to promote growth in the developing countries, rather it was initiated to facilitate capital accumulation by transnational capitalist class at the global level. As its consequence, the poverty situation has not improved; rather there has been a rise in absolute poverty in many developing countries.     

A tide that does not lift all boats: the surge of remittances in post-disaster recovery in Tacloban City,Philippines

For the last forty years, remittances have been a lifeline for some Filipinos in times of crisis as well as everyday life. So, it was no surprise when the media and nongovernmental organizations credited the Philippine diaspora with playing a significant role in post-disaster recovery after Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda struck in 2013. While remittances poured in after this disaster, they were differently experienced, had different impacts, and led to uneven post-disaster outcomes. This article highlights the class-based inequalities that structure access to and mobilization of remittances after post-disaster recovery. We compare the experiences of middle- and lower-class households in three communities heavily affected by Haiyan in Tacloban City, Philippines, to investigate who benefitted and who was excluded from remittances in this post-disaster recovery. The findings of the case study shed light on wider issues of poverty, class, and vulnerability in the Philippines.     

Zur Entwicklung der Vermögensungleichheit in Deutschland

For a long time, the social policy discussion in Germany has been heavily dominated by income inequality and poverty risk rates, while at the same time the analysis of personal wealth distribution was underdeveloped, last but not least due to a severe lack of appropriate data. Using representative micro data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), this paper analyzes individual level information on net wealth for 2002 and 2007. This five year period saw a pronounced increase in both income and wealth inequality. More detailed analyses by SES reveal significant differences in wealth holdings by migration status, education level, region, income level as well as across age groups. This cross-sectional perspective is being enriched by panel analyses focusing on correlates of individual wealth holdings as well as on determinants of wealth mobility. Using a multivariate regression framework we find clear indication for the relevance of the individual employment and income career as well as a sustaining importance of intergenerational transmission (by means of bestowals and inheritance) for both wealth accumulation and mobility.     

Micro-credit and the reduction of poverty in Bangladesh

This article explores the relationship between micro-credit and the reduction of poverty by looking at a unique data set about BRAC, one of the largest micro-credit providers in Bangladesh. The article shows that the majority of population in the data set lived below the poverty line and that poverty was slightly more prevalent among households receiving BRAC credit than among similar non-BRAC households. Moreover, regression results suggest that BRAC's micro-credit program has had an insignificant impact on household consumption. Overall, the analysis in the article leads to the conclusion that micro-credit had minimal impact on the reduction of poverty.     

Army and islamic opposition in Indonesia

The article examines the effects of agricultural development, agrarian structure and some related variables on rural poverty in India. The results while asserting the existence of trickle-down process, indicate its limited and declining power. Moreover, the process of marginalisation and proletarianisation of the peasantry and inequality in the distribution of land have poverty-aggravating effects. The study underlines the needs for increasing productive employment with real wages sufficient to maintain basic needs for sustainable reduction in rural poverty. It also suggests that an increase in the average size of the marginal and small holdings through appropriate land reforms would be poverty alleviating.     

The human development puzzle in Kerala

Participatory approaches to development have been implemented increasingly. One form is the World Bank's community-driven development (CDD) programme. Participation has, also, become increasingly securitised since 2001. One instance of these trends was the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) project in the Philippines. This paper examines the implementation of CDD and the problems of its securitisation, using the Philippines as a case study. A composite conceptual framework is advanced that draws upon the international analyses of development. Adapting the concepts of securitisation and de-politicisation, it argues that a new hegemonic-development framework has appeared: the Securitised-Washington consensus. The analysis assesses these trends through the examples of KALAHI and Philippine politics and economics. It suggests that securitised CDD projects result in token efforts at political reform and poverty alleviation that often are contradicted by counter-trends towards development decline and militarisation. Unless these deep-rooted problems are confronted, localised participation is likely to remain ineffectual.     

菲律宾的业务流程外包与信息产业:发展、动因及前景

菲律宾的业务流程外包与信息产业(BPO-IT)近年来得到了迅猛发展,成为拉动菲律宾经济增长、增加就业机会和缓解贫困的引擎.本文介绍BPO-IT产业在菲律宾的发展及其对经济的贡献;探析支持该产业在菲律宾快速增长的外部推力与内在动因;分析菲律宾的竞争与比较优势,预测BPO-IT产业在菲律宾的发展前景.     

Can the poor fight back? A multilevel analysis of corruption,poverty and collective demand for accountability in Africa

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the effects of the perceptions of corruption and personal experience of bribery on the propensity for ordinary Africans to support collective action-based anti-corruption tactics. It also evaluates how poverty shapes the association between corruption and support for collective civic action against corruption. The paper bases its findings on the multilevel level regression analysis of public opinion data from 35 African countries. The results show that an increase in experience of paying bribes increases poor people’s preference for anti-corruption tactics based on collective action. Furthermore, individuals who perceive corruption to be widespread are significantly more likely to support collective action as their country’s poverty level rises. These findings strongly challenge the view recently expressed in some of the literature that high levels of corruption erode the willingness of especially poor Africans to bring corruption under control.     

Typhoon Haiyan: pushing the limits of resilience? The effect of land inequality on resilience and disaster risk reduction policies in the Philippines

Disaster risk reduction has been an important priority in the Philippines for the last twenty years. Yet Typhoon Haiyan still resulted in at least 6000 deaths and affected more than 14 million people. Why was this the case in a country supposedly well equipped to respond to natural disasters? While there are several explanations, including the sheer scale of this typhoon, corruption, and implementation challenges, this paper focuses on growing social and economic inequalities. This paper argues that the resilience discourse and framework at the national level do not translate into programs that help lift people out of poverty, particularly landless people. This is because state-led resilience policies focus on technical aspects of recovery rather than the root cause of vulnerabilities, explaining to some extent the high level of casualties in the wake of typhoon Haiyan. Evidence supporting this argument is drawn from more than forty interviews between 2013 and 2015 with disaster victims and professionals involved in resilience building.     

浅析马来西亚的农村发展政策与战略

农村的发展在马来西亚经济以及社会、政治的发展中都占有很重要的地位.马来西亚农村的基本特点包括贫困率高、生产率低、缺乏最基本的经济和社会福利设施以及市场不发达等.马来西亚农村经济是以农业为基础的,所以以农村改革为主的马来西亚农村发展政策一直都是农村经济结构转型和消除农村贫困的主要政策工具.自独立以来马来西亚的农村发展取得了很大的成就,但是农村贫困问题以及部门之间和部门内部的发展不平衡问题仍然比较突出.因此,到今天农村的发展依然是马来西亚经济发展的重要内容.     

Agrarian transition in the southern Philippines: more than poverty,dispossession, and violence

ABSTRACT

On the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, scholars have documented a precarious land tenure, livelihood, and security situation for many smallholders. Agrarian political economy studies provide insightful analyses of the underlying causes of much poverty and violence on the island. Less attention has been given to cases of smallholder success. This article proposes that conditions for smallholder farming, even among ethnic minority groups, are more varied across the island than the literature suggests. In upland villages of north-central Mindanao, agrarian transition is a multi-directional process that produces different outcomes among households, kin groups, and villages. The main case study is a thriving mixed swidden and fixed field Maranao-Muslim farming village. Almost all the households in the village have successfully claimed land as their own and diversified and improved their livelihoods in recent times. To explain these positive outcomes, the article uses a relational approach and draws on anthropological literature on kinship, land tenure, and place to assess the bargaining power of smallholders in land deals. A stronger cross-fertilization of key insights in agrarian political economy and anthropological literature on kinship enriches the debate on agrarian transition in the southern Philippines.     

Killing the messenger: Environmental reporters under fire in the Philippines

Abstract

In much of the world, reporting on the environment is like reporting on motherhood. It cuts across all political, economic, and social lines, and it's a safe beat. This is not true in the Philippines, where being an environmental reporter means taking on the richest and most powerful forces in the country. It can be, as one reporter put it, “bad for your health.” More to the point, in the Philippines environmental reporting is a life-and-death issue.