Exports,growth and threshold effects in Africa

Abstract

The relationship between openness and growth remains a controversial issue in development economics with many studies focusing on the export–growth relationship. This paper examines whether the relationship between exports and growth found in large cross-section studies also holds in the context of African economies. The paper employs threshold regression techniques to examine whether African countries benefit more from exports when they reach a certain level of development or openness. Our results suggest that there is indeed a positive relationship between exports and growth in Africa. The threshold regression analysis also suggests that it is not necessary for a country to reach a certain level of development or to have an existing export base for this relationship to hold, though it is found that the relationship is stronger for countries that experience higher rates of export growth.     

Grass-Root Organisations,Intergovernmental Collaboration,and Emergency Preparedness: An Institutional Collective Action Approach

Abstract

This paper examines the importance of grass-root emergency response groups in emergency preparedness. Consistent with the Institutional Collective Action framework, we highlight key constraints associated with local government strategies of mutual resource exchange and barriers to intergovernmental collaboration. We examine local governments’ emergency preparedness using survey data collected in the North Central Texas region. We employed a simple OLS analysis to determine mutual exchange and Poisson estimations on the likelihood of local governments receiving and providing external assistance. Findings showed that the presence of grass-root organisations in a jurisdiction is associated with emergency preparedness, highlighting the importance of norms of volunteerism. Local political institutions and participation in federally funded programmes also have an effect on local government decisions.     

Marx’s critical political economy, ‘Marxist economics’ and actually occurring revolutions against capitalism

Abstract

Most revolutions against capitalism have occurred in ‘backward’ and Third World societies, and they have divided and disarrayed Marxisms in the West. One key reason, this paper argues, is intellectual. When, long ago, Marxists surrendered to the bourgeois challenge to Marx – neoclassical economics – developing, in place of Marx’s critical political economy, a ‘Marxist economics’, they lost touch with Marx’s analysis of capitalism as contradictory value production. That analysis could illuminate how capitalism’s contradictions drive its imperialist expansionism and how and why resistance to it must, equally necessarily, take national forms. As a result, major currents of Marxism in the West either have paid attention to imperialism and anti-imperialist resistance but without Marx’s analysis of capitalism as contradictory value production or have insisted that their (mistaken) conception of Marx’s analysis implies that capitalism has no necessary connection with imperialism. Neither tradition can actually develop Marxism to comprehend the actual historical record of revolutions since Marx’s time. Neither can inform new mobilisations against capitalism, whether in or outside its homelands. It is high time we return to Marx’s analysis of capitalism as value production and develop it.     

Presidential Leadership in a Fractured State: Capacity,Autonomy, and the American State

Abstract

This paper sets out a conceptual framework for studying the conditions under which presidential leadership in the United States can be thought of as autonomous. Unlike others, who view executive institutions as reflections of conflicts between dominant societal forces, I examine the case of the American presidency and focus on organizational–institutional considerations. Specifically, I focus on the process of institutionalization as a means of building capacity, which I argue, in contrast to others, is a necessary condition for autonomy. Additionally, Iargue that work on the presidency, and the American state in general, suffers from a level of analysis problem, which obscures opportunities for identifying and analyzing autonomous presidential leadership. I conclude with thoughts for a research agenda.     

The Invisibility of Wage Employment in Statistics on the Informal Economy in Africa: Causes and Consequences

Abstract

This article challenges the claim, along with the statistics that support it, that self-employment is by far the dominant employment status in the informal economy. The article begins by reviewing key insights from relevant literature on the informal economy to argue that conventional notions of ‘wage employment’ and ‘self-employment’, while unfit for capturing the nature and variety of employment relations in developing countries, remain central to the design of surveys on the workforce therein. After putting statistics on Tanzania’s informal economy and labour force into context, the analysis reviews the type of wage employment relationships that can be found in one instance of the informal economy in urban Tanzania. The categories and terms used by workers to describe their employment situation are then contrasted with those used by the latest labour force survey in Tanzania. The article scrutinises how key employment categories have been translated from English into Swahili, how the translation biases respondents’ answers towards the term ‘self-employment’, and how this, in turn, leads to the statistical invisibility of wage labour in the informal economy. The article also looks at the consequences of this ‘statistical tragedy’ and at the dangers of conflating varied forms of employment, including wage labour, that differ markedly in their modes of operation and growth potential. Attention is also paid to the trade-offs faced by policy-makers in designing better labour force surveys.     

Community Planning: Fostering Participation in the Congested State?

The proliferation of partnership working across the British state raises difficult questions for democratic control and public participation. It is widely anticipated that 'community plans' - comprehensive strategies to promote social well-being - will address these issues, by facilitating public involvement in the governance of local areas. This paper examines community planning in Scotland to assess how far this hope is justified, drawing on government-sponsored research and a case study of community planning conferences. While community planning is extending opportunities for involvement, democratising local governance is subservient to dominant concerns with promoting joint working and demonstrating added value. Participatory events are structured to sustain belief in these activities.     

Mass destruction

How international organizations influence the domestic politics and foreign policies of states is often ignored in the study of international cooperation. This article develops an approach focusing on how states may influence the international agenda, which then shapes the position‐taking opportunities and constraints politicians face as they try to maintain their domestic political positions. This article is a preliminary exploration of how agenda setting works, what kinds of agenda‐setting strategies are available, and under what conditions agenda setting matters. Aspects of past secessionist crises will be used to clarify the discussion. The interaction between domestic position taking and international agenda setting will then be applied to the current crisis in Yugoslavia to determine why Greece, in particular, has been more influential than one might have expected.     

Governance Strategies and Welfare Effects: Vertical Integration and Contracts in the Catfish Sector in Vietnam

Abstract

Using an original dataset from the Vietnamese catfish sector, we study the impact of vertical coordination options on household welfare and the implications of different stages of vertical coordination for the success of the whole sector. The welfare gain from contract farming and employment on processor-owned estate farms is estimated using a maximum simulated likelihood estimator. Our results show positive welfare effects from participating in contract farming, but not from employment on processor-owned estate farms. The results imply that contract farming presents opportunities for economic growth, but additional effort is required to make the contracts more accessible to smallholders.     

The Leaderless Nexus: When Crime and Terror Converge

This article argues that the breakdown of hierarchical structures in illicit organizations is creating new opportunities for criminals and terrorists to collaborate. The rise of networked organizations has given greater independence to criminals and terrorists who previously answered to a clear chain of command. These members are now willing to engage in operations that before had been off-limits because the leadership believed the activity would hurt the organization's broader mandate. The result is that a “leaderless nexus” is beginning to emerge between criminals and terrorists. The phenomenon has far-reaching and dangerous implications for U.S. security, and should be thoughtfully considered as lawmakers debate homeland security reform.     

The Virtual Value Chain and E-Government Partnership: Non-Monetary Agreements in the IRS E-File Program

Abstract

Electronic government (e-government) models generally espouse the principle of partnership with the private sector. What is not always clear is what is meant by partnership, though, and how public organizations should organize and manage such relationships to support e-government initiatives. The paper relies on a conceptual framework of the virtual value chain to understand how a new form of collaboration emerged in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) e-file program in 1999 and what dimensions helped to make it a success. As part of a larger, multi-nation study of public–private partnerships in e-government, this paper examines IRS e-file program, one of the largest, longest-standing (dating back to 1986), and most successful US e-government programs with tens of millions of users each year.

The IRS e-file program experienced dramatic changes in its long-standing partnership with the tax preparation and related software development industries in 1999 and 2000. It is possible, using the concept of the virtual value chain, to understand how the IRS rethought its relationship with its private-sector partners. A combination of conditions in the market place, in US society, within the IRS, and among the private-sector partners helped to make this new model of collaboration quite successful. The paper concludes by examining how the dimensions of partnership in the IRS e-file case and the concept of the virtual value chain might enable other public organizations to reconceptualize their e-government partnership arrangements with the private sector using a new model of collaboration.     

Controlling “Uncontrollable” Agency‐Influenced Spending in the United States

Abstract

The present study is a comparative investigation of implicit and explicit parameters that exist to constrain agency actors from the rational pursuit of increasing agency‐influenced spending over time. The underlying assumption is that agencies that are relatively free from the constraint of budget structure and process will exhibit higher levels of related proportional spending. In particular, state mandatory spending is investigated through application of the tenets of institutional theory to the growth and expansion of Medicaid, which has been charged with inducing “uncontrollable” spending. Findings from a panel data analysis of states indicate that beyond the often‐cited drivers of Medicaid costs, states that are less restrictive in terms of budget rules exhibit higher proportional levels of Medicaid spending. The primary implication of the study is that a vigorous inquiry into the drivers of state expenditures must consider the institutional constraints that hinder programmatic growth and spending influenced by agencies implementing policy.     

International terrorism

In this article, it is argued that the U.S. ICBM force has no strategic value and should be dismantled. The article outlines a post‐cold war U.S. strategic nuclear force and proposes how this dyad force fits a strategy rather than offering a strategy to fit within the force. Deterrence theory anchors the analysis here. Second, this article asserts that U.S. security will be enhanced in the next century with Russian‐American cooperation on nuclear issues. Moving to a dyad now is step one in that direction, which in turn changes the perception of U.S. strategic weapons.

As weapons proliferate, deterrence against renegade nations and groups must become the cornerstone of U.S. doctrine. A dyad force and Russian‐American cooperation, both steps that restructure U.S. doctrine, will begin a process that deters these nations or groups.

This article depicts how each leg of the U.S. triad that remains following the START II treaty is a continuation of START I logic and planning. In other words, the article attempts to show how the rationale for a START II treaty force does not mirror a changed world. The purpose of this evidence is not to be dogmatic or critical but to strengthen the argument that U.S. nuclear strategy is still reflective of a bygone era.     

Military service,governance and the African Diaspora

Abstract

During World War II black soldiers who served in the United States Army and in the Caribbean colonial forces of the British military performed their duties within the constraints of a racialized governmentality. When black soldiers served in the military forces of either nation, they were regulated by policies meant to control and contain their participation. The institutional racism within both the War Department and the Colonial Office is representative of a political theory of racialized governmentality – the black body was inscribed with governance by those who exercised power. This paper outlines and defines the concepts and terms of engagement necessary to understand the mentalities and realities facing black soldiers in two colonial settings during the Second World War.     

The United Nations convention against the taking of hostages: The inside story

Abstract

This article briefly outlines the four‐year negotiating process from early 1976 to late 1979, which it was necessary to follow before agreement could be reached and the United Nations General Assembly adopted, by consensus, an international treaty designed to make the act of hostage‐taking a universal crime. The treaty requires that a ratifying state prosecute an international hostage‐taker found within its borders or hand over the hostage‐taker to another state for prosecution. It fills existing gaps in international law by abolishing existing “safe havens” for hostage‐takers. The article focuses in particular on the third and final three‐week meeting of the thirty‐five‐nation Ad Hoc Committee established by the United Nations to carry out this task and shows how agreement was finally achieved.     

Chechen Demographic Growth as a Reaction to Conflict: The Views of Chechens

Abstract

This article presents the views of émigré Chechens on the reasons behind the particular patterns of demographic growth of Chechnya. The main driving force, identified by the respondents interviewed in the research, is the fear of national extinction. The traditional obligation for Chechen men to defend the homeland adds another explanation: the Chechen respondents consider demographic growth to be related to preparedness for war. Both explanations are related to the perception of Russia as an imminent threat. A range of other factors was mentioned by smaller numbers of respondents. The article concludes that Chechen demographic growth is related to the unresolved Russo–Chechen conflict.     

Small State Discourses in the International Political Economy

Abstract

This article supports growing calls to ‘take small states seriously’ in the international political economy but questions prevailing interpretations that ‘smallness’ entails inherent qualities that create unique constraints on, and opportunities for, small states. Instead, we argue that discourses surrounding the ‘inherent vulnerability’ of small states, especially developing and less-developed states, may produce the very outcomes that are attributed to state size itself. By presenting small states as a problem to be solved, vulnerability discourses divert attention away from the existence of unequal power structures that, far from being the natural result of smallness, are in fact contingent and politically contested. The article then explores these themes empirically through discussion of small developing and less-developed states in the Commonwealth and the World Trade Organization (WTO), considering in particular how smallness has variously been articulated in terms of what small states either cannot or will not do.     

The Evolution of the U.S. Government's Annual Report on Terrorism: A Personal Commentary

This article examines the evolution of a key U.S. Government annual publication on terrorism. From its inception in 1977 to the present, the U.S. Government's annual terrorism report has been the primary statistical compiler of international terrorist incidents. Given the magnitude of this task and the inherent difficulty in defining the term “terrorism,” this report has been controversial and criticized. Love it or hate it, for many decades, this report was the sole source of statistics on international terrorism. The author argues that despite its flaws, this unclassified annual report does provide value and usually paints a fairly accurate picture of the international terrorism landscape. Over the last two years however, there have been claims that this report has become politicized and tailored to fit the views of the administration on the terrorist threat. The author rejects this charge and claims that this publication has been objective and that it has evolved over time into a more credible and useful report.     

Protecting buildings against explosives

This article sets out to establish the links between classical military doctrine as applied to general war and the empirical development of any doctrine with regard to insurgency and counterinsurgency. The theme is developed by covering both the attrition theory and the maneuver theory of warfare in outline, and then by examining the essential tenets of maneuver warfare in detail and applying these tenets to the experience gained by the United Kingdom in countering insurgency. The scope and role of the newly fashionable “information warfare” in counterinsurgency operations is examined, followed by an assessment of the important task of integrating all the separate aspects of these operations into an overall plan of action for a counterinsurgency campaign. The author concludes that there is a clear and positive link between classical doctrine for the application of force in general war and doctrine that can be usefully applied in counterinsurgency operations.     

Why do men rape? Understanding the determinants of rapes in India

Abstract

The study examines the determinants of rapes in India using state-level data for the time period 2001–2015. The panel model analysis indicates that there is no impact of education and economic growth, pointing towards a larger role of social and cultural factors in this context. The effect of deterrence variables (such as the number of police stations) is non-existent, possibly pointing towards the incompetency of the police force. Social attitude towards women emerged as the most robust predictor of the extent of rapes in India. We argue that the fundamental problem lies in the misogyny deeply rooted in the Indian society.