Banking on Social Change: Grameen Bank Lending to Women

The Grameen Bank in Bangladesh has become an international model for microcredit as a poverty alleviation strategy. The purpose of this paper is twofold: to evaluate the Grameen Bank as a strategy for empowering and improving the socioeconomic status of women in Bangladesh, and to identify lessons from the Grameen Bank experience that can inform development policy more generally. Arguments for and against Grameen Bank are evaluated in the light of evidence from studies of the Bank and knowledge of women and development. The conclusions that are drawn from this evaluation are that Grameen Bank is not a panacea for poverty alleviation and improving women's lives, that it has increased the income of borrowers, has led to improvements in specific aspects of their lives, and that it has potential if used in conjunction with other progressive social and economic policies to contribute to long-term, sustainable, progressive social change.     

Self-employment earnings and returns to education in rural Peru

This article estimates the returns to education for households who derive part of their income from household based non-farm self-employment ventures in rural Peru. While education is an individual level variable, earnings are observed at the household level. This asymmetry complicates both the estimation and the interpretation of the returns to education. This article is the first jointly to incorporate three channels through which education affects household earnings. Education affects earnings through the marginal productivity of labour (worker effect), labour allocation across activities (between-activity allocative effect) and its production externality effect (spillover effect). The results suggest that the between-activity allocative effects of education dominate the returns. This article also makes novel use of economic geography to proxy for the role that access to markets plays in determining these returns. In particular, altitude is a strong predictor of activity choice and the returns to education in this mountainous country.     

Heterogeneity in returns to schooling: Econometric evidence from Ethiopia

This paper investigates whether returns to schooling in Ethiopia vary across the wage distribution of individuals. To do so, it adopts an instrumental variables quantile regression framework that allows for both endogeneity of schooling resulting from unmeasured ability, and possible heterogeneity in the impact of schooling. The empirical estimates indicate that education contributes more to the earnings of individuals at a lower end of the income distribution.     

A scientific approach to measure public political participation in Pakistan

Public political participation is an exhaustive subject in the democratic system that is contributing as a tilled land since the birth of democracy. It has a wide range of frequency, but voting is one of the easiest among all forms of public participation. Despite the easiness of voting, Pakistan ranks 164th in terms of voter turnout among 169 countries of the world. The voter turnout of the second largest Muslim democracy and the fifth largest among all the democratic states was recorded as 45.3% in the 2013 general election, which was less than India’s (59.4%) and even Bangladesh’s (58.2%). More than half of the population in Pakistan does not think it is its duty to cast its vote. The present study is an effort to investigate public political participation through six independent variables: democratic political party, party mobilization, security, accessibility, leadership image and moderating factor citizen distrust, and a useful sample size of 1884 was collected across the country. SPSS version 24.0 was used to measure the data. The results show significant and positive relations among the dependent and independent variables, while citizen distrust negatively moderates the dependent and independent variables of the study.     

Venezuela: From doctrine to dialogue to participation in the processes of regional development

The growing toward decentralization and democratization of development planning in Venezuela was discussed. Venezuela has a long tradition of rule by a strong centralized authority. Currently, the Office of the President is vested with considerable power, despite the existence of an elected legislator and an independent judiciary. The president rules by decree. State legislatures are elected, but governors of the states are appointed by the president. There are also elected municipal councils. Both state and municipal governments are almost fully dependent on the federal government for both their operating and capital investment budgets. Development programs are administered through 2 systems. Specific programs are administered by almost 100 different institutes and enterprises. The activities of these various programs are coordinated by administrative bodies at the state and federal level. The 2nd administrative system operates at the regional and federal levels. The administrative body at the federal level is the Central Office for Coordination and Planning and was established by Presidential Decree in 1958. This body prepares and coordinates all national development plans. The administrative bodies at the regional level are the Regional Organizations for Development. These bodies were created in specific regions through a series of legislative acts commencing in 1969 and continuing into the present. The development of these regional bodies represented a 1st step toward decentralization. Decree 478, promulgated in 1980, further promoted the decentalization of developmental planning. The decree established a series of assemblies and councils at various levels. A National Council of Regional Development was created at the federal level, and a Regional Council of Development was established at the regional level. At the state level an Assembly of Participation was organized, and at the municipal level a Committee of Citizen Participation was established. Neighborhood associations were mentioned in the decree, but their role was not formalized. This series of newly established bodies plays a role in both advisory and administrative processes. The advisory process begins at the lowest level, and local concerns are expressed upward through the hierarchy. The administrative process flows in the opposite direction. Participation remains highly formalized and is restricted to the participation of recognized leaders and organizations. For example, members of the Assembly of Participation include the state governor, representatives of municipal councils, and representatives of various industrial and commercial organizations. Despite the formal nature of the participation, the 1980 Decree clearly exhibited the trend toward decentralization predicted by John Freeman in his analysis of Venezuelan political structure and published in a book entitled "venezuela: From doctrine to Dialogue." Increased pressure will now be exerted for broader community participation in the development process, and eventually development planning will focus on the equitable distribution of development benefits rather than on the maximization of economic growth.     

Settling on Violence: Expansion of Israeli Outposts in the West Bank in Response to Terrorism

How does terrorism affect land control in intrastate conflicts? This article explores this question in the case of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict during the Second Intifada (2000–2005), and shows that Palestinian attacks led to an expansion of Israeli outposts in the disputed territories of the West Bank. Following suicide attacks, there is an increase in outposts in home districts of the perpetrators. The number of outposts also increases following deadly attacks against Israelis in West Bank districts where these attacks take place. These results suggest that Israeli settlers use outpost expansion as retaliation against Palestinian communities they perceive to be involved in violence, and this shifts territorial control against Palestinians.     

Engendering regulation of artisanal and small-scale mining: participation,protection and access to justice

Abstract

This article argues that adopting a gender perspective when regulating artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is both necessary and achievable. The authors analyse women’s often-ignored needs and experiences as workers, decision-makers and affected community members in the ASM sector. To address these concerns, this article sets out standards for regulating ASM to guarantee women’s access to services and information and women’s decision-making and representation; to address the specific risks women face in the sector; and to provide access to effective remedies. The authors use international instruments to identify good practice benchmarks from which legislators and policymakers can draw. The article also notes where global norms fall short of addressing women’s rights in ASM. Some of the limitations of this approach are also acknowledged, notably the challenge of establishing gender-responsive laws that can be feasibly and effectively implemented. Nonetheless, the proposed approach should be favoured to better respond to the highly masculinised nature of the sector and the differentiated impacts of ASM on men and women while recognising women’s roles as beneficiaries and productive agents of the sector.     

US democracy assistance programs in Ukraine after the Orange Revolution

The 2004 Orange Revolution failed to skyrocket Ukraine into the ranks of consolidated democracies. Some previous research claimed that, in the similar case of post-Rose Revolution Georgia, its vague democratic perspectives can be explained by, among others, a negative impact of politically biased US democracy assistance programs. This article examines five groups of US programs (electoral aid, political party development, legislative strengthening, NGO development and media strengthening) implemented in Ukraine in 2005–2010, and concludes that US diplomatic support for the pro-Western “Orange” leadership did not translate into political bias of US-funded democracy assistance programs.     

Territorial reforms in Europe: effects on administrative performance and democratic participation

Territorial reform is the most radical and contested reorganisation of local government. A sound evaluation of the outcome of such reforms is hence an important step to ensure the legitimation of any decision on the subject. However, in our view the discourse on the subject appears to be one sided, focusing primarily on overall fiscal effects scrutinised by economists. The contribution of this paper is hence threefold: Firstly, we provide an overview off territorial reforms in Europe, with a special focus on Eastern Germany as a promising case for cross-country comparisons. Secondly, we provide an overview of the analytical classifications of these reforms and context factors to be considered in their evaluation. And thirdly, we analyse the literature on qualitative performance effects of these reforms. The results show that territorial reforms have a significant positive impact on functional performance, while the effects on participation and integration are indeed ambivalent. In doing so, we provide substantial arguments for a broader, more inclusive discussion on the success of territorial reforms.     

The effect of human versus automated interaction on willingness to participate in government programs: The role of representation

Increased reliance on automated systems in government raises important questions about the impact of these systems on program participation. We look at the relationship between an automated application process and program participation through a representation lens. From a representative bureaucracy perspective, we examine whether gender representation increases participation intentions compared with interacting with an automated system. We also consider a political dimension of representation, investigating whether interacting with an automated system increases participation intentions among those whose policy preferences do not align with program goals. While we do not see differences based on gender representation in our survey experiment, we do find evidence that an automated system leads to greater willingness to participate among those whose policy preferences do not align with the program. These results provide insight into when automated systems may influence participation, suggesting a potential positive role among those who are not politically favorable toward a program.     

Voting in the rain: the impact of rain on participation in open-air assemblies

ABSTRACT

The analysis of how weather conditions influence participation at the ballot and whether bad weather influences ballot decisions has recently gained momentum. This paper analyses the influence of rain on participation in the Landsgemeinde – the main decision-making body of two Swiss cantons, wherein citizens meet on the main square in order to debate and decide bindingly on political matters of all sorts. We rely on a survey with an in-built conjoint experiment that presents citizens with several hypothetical Landsgemeinde situations characterized by randomly varied combinations of weather and other conditions such as outcome favorability, the expected closeness of the vote and the company available during the event. We find that rain not only decreases overall participation but it also lowers participation when votes are expected to be uncontested and for individuals who do not primarily attend the Landsgemeinde for political reasons.     

Trust,mental models and community participation in transition: Evidence from rural Ukraine

As participatory governance approaches find their way into the development agendas in transition countries, a key question is how to increase citizens’ participation rates. This study examines how social trust and mental models inherited from the communist past shape individual decisions to participate in rural collective action. Using unique data from rural Ukraine, I approach these questions empirically distinguishing different types of participation. I find that social trust and mental models about the roles of communities and the state stemming from the Soviet past affect participation with some reservations. Results suggest that community-driven initiatives should invest more in educational and awareness-raising activities.     

Exchange Rate Regime,Central Bank Independence,and Political Business Cycles in Brazil

This article examines policy consequences of electoral cycles and exchange rate regime choices in Brazil. The literature on opportunistic political business cycles maintains that governments adopt expansionary economic policies before elections to mobilize voters’ support. However, research findings in Latin America based on the theory has been inconclusive. I argue that the lack of conclusive evidence in Latin America stems from measurement errors common in the use of cross-national aggregate data. Using Brazil’s monthly data from 1985 to 2006, this article shows that there are electorally induced fiscal cycles under fixed and crawling peg exchange rate regimes and electorally induced monetary cycles under floating exchange rates only when the nation’s central bank is not independent. Indeed, accounting for Brazil’s unique economic contingencies and longitudinal variations in the de facto central bank independence, its public policy behavior remarkably resembles that of the more affluent, economically stable OECD countries.

How the World Bank manages social risks: implementation of the Social Risk Mitigation Project in Turkey

This paper aims to assess the World Bank’s social risk management approach to poverty by focusing on the implementation details of the Social Risk Mitigation Project in Turkey, a World Bank project that depends on this approach. The paper looks at the approach through the concept of neoliberal governmentality, as an attempt to produce responsible poor citizens during a period when the responsibility for providing social services is transferred to the market and the family. By using field research it demonstrates that, with the intervention of local factors, several unintended consequences emerge in the implementation of a social risk management project. The article concludes that these outcomes, although not planned or intended, have all been instrumental in depoliticising poverty and the poor in the country. Moreover, in spite of all the problems and dissatisfaction, thanks to the Bank’s own portrayal, this project has contributed to the image of the Bank as a development institution that achieves successes in its fight with poverty.     

Solidarity and Social Networks: The Invisible Backbone That Ethiopians and Eritreans in Washington D.C. used to Transform Adams Morgan and U Street

Abstract

This research depicts the social networks that the Ethiopian and Eritrean communities use to establish and support ethnic and non-cultural businesses in Washington D.C. It also showcases the solidarity expressions that, behind-the-scenes, sustain and help strengthen these migrant-led businesses in the area. Furthermore, it describes the opportunity structure found in Washington D.C. that has allowed Ethiopians and Eritreans to open businesses and progress in neighborhoods such as Adams Morgan and U Street. The study uses ethnographic research comprised of participant observation and in-depth interviews to analyze 20 case studies of successful Ethiopian and Eritrean entrepreneurs in D.C. This paper describes the characteristics of an immigrant community that is underrepresented in the literature, especially regarding its entrepreneurship; it underscores the special role that family and kin play in supporting their entrepreneurship; and it makes visible the impact that Ethiopians and Eritreans have had in some areas of Washington D.C.     

Political Institutions and Public R&D Expenditures in Democratic Countries

While research and development (R&D) expenditure is crucial in a nation's competitive advantage, factors determining levels of public investment in R&D have yet to be examined. This article seeks to fill this void, focusing on different democratic institutions such as presidential versus parliamentary systems, majoritarian versus proportional electoral systems, federal versus unitary systems, bicameral versus unicameral legislatures, and the effective number of parties. Building upon theories of political institutions and government size and utilizing public R&D appropriations data from 18 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries between 1981 and 2007, this article reports that democratic institutions do matter in the levels of public R&D spending. However, the effect is more complicated across the different types and performers of research than expected. Additionally, the effect of one institutional dimension is found to be moderated by the existence of the other dimensions, which makes it clearly more challenging to sort out different degrees and directions of the relationships between R&D expenditures and political institutions.     

Accumulating Technology and Location Spillovers Among Firms in Taiwan's Electronics Industry

Using firm-level panel data from the Taiwanese Census of Manufactures for 1986 and 1991 in the context of a modified selection model, we focus on three activities that contribute to the productivity growth of firms in the electronics industry: research and development, direct foreign investment and exports. In particular we address the issue of whether, in addition to the direct benefits of these activities, there are spillovers to other firms within the same four-digit industry or within the same geographical county. Our empirical results indicate that while the survival and direct productivity growth effects of R&D, exports and DFI are positive and statistically significant, intra-industry and geographical spillover effects are consistently present only for the export activity. That is, a firm's expected future TFP is positively and significantly affected by being located in a county and industry with more export activity. In addition, there is some evidence that the indirect effects generated by DFI firms, in the form of location spillover benefits to other firms, are also positive and significant. Finally, the empirical results indicate that the above direct and indirect benefits of the technological activities under study accrue principally to Taiwan's small and medium enterprises, rather than its large firms.     

Farmer resistance to agriculture commercialisation in northern Ghana

Drawing on postcolonial literature and theories of farmer resistance, this article provides an empirically based alternative explanation of African farmer behaviours to narratives that blame them for their lack of technology adoption. Based on six months of ethnographic immersion in one district in the Northern Region of Ghana^a, we identify the ways that farmers defy commercial agriculture investment, government services and non-governmental organisation (NGO) project interventions aimed at intensification, and describe their reasons for doing so. This study interprets farmers’ acts of defiance, such as side-selling or falsely weighting their products, as insights into everyday acts of resistance. We find that throughout Ghana’s postcolonial period, agriculture intensification policy and practice have produced an environment where various development actors and farmers have both a sense of entitlement and mistrust of each other. Farmers’ acts of sabotage may be spaces where they make rational choices based on experiences of historical antecedence, including decades of failed development projects, elite corruption and mismanagement, degrading ecologies and donor hegemony.