Do Beliefs About Herbicide Quality Correspond with Actual Quality in Local Markets? Evidence from Uganda

Adoption of modern agricultural inputs in Africa remains low, restraining agricultural productivity and poverty reduction. Low quality agricultural inputs may in part explain low adoption rates, but only if farmers are aware that some inputs are low quality. We report the results of laboratory tests of the quality of glyphosate herbicide in Uganda and investigate whether farmers’ beliefs about the prevalence of counterfeiting and adulteration are consistent with the prevalence of low quality in their local market. We find that the average bottle in our sample is missing 15 per cent of the active ingredient and 31 per cent of samples contain less than 75 per cent of the ingredient advertised. Farmers believe 41 per cent of herbicide is counterfeit or adulterated. Beliefs are significantly correlated with quality at the local market level, but beliefs remain inaccurate, adjusting for only a fraction of actual differences in quality. Price is also significantly correlated with quality in local markets, but prices also adjust for only a fraction of quality differences. Although, like fertiliser and hybrid maize seed, herbicide in Uganda is low quality, herbicide use is substantially higher.     

Unpacking the Global Perspective: Examining NISPAcee Region-Focused Public Administration Research in American Scholarly Journals

Comparative and international public administration research in the United States (US) has enjoyed moments of both prestige and inattention over the last several decades, variation that is important in that it reflects the efforts of a scholarly field to contribute to improved individual and organizational performance. These contributions are, in and of themselves, worthy of attention and critical reflection. This article examines public administration research focused on the Network of Institutes and Schools of Public Administration in Central and Eastern Europe region published in US-based academic journals from 1997 to 2012, discussing trends that have characterized empirical and conceptual research during that period. The article concludes with comments on collaboration in public administration research.     

El papel de la unasur ante los conflictos internacionales: dos estudios de caso

The Union of South American Nations, unasur, has, since its beginnings, stood out as an effective player in international conflict resolution and mediation. In order to achieve said resolution and mediation, this multilateral organization has appealed to different political configurations which allow for a channeling of conflicts which do not conform to institutional patterns and traditional resolutions. Despite its preference for alternate forms of resolution, presidential summits have worked as its main resource in the search for innovative solutions that are respectful of South American countries’ democratic and constitutional order. This article specifically analyzes two cases of profound institutional problems: the failed coup d’état in Ecuador (which occurred on the 30^th of September 2010) and the overthrow of Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo in June 2012. After studying these two extreme cases, and their political reverberations, a comprehensive view is laid out regarding unasur’s successes and failures as a player in international conflict resolutions.     

Speaking from the periphery

Many households and businesses in developing countries are said to face credit constraints which limit their ability to undertake investments in various production-enhancing economic activities required to reduce poverty. This limited access to formal credit is often attributed to the lack of ‘acceptable’ collateral, resulting from the absence of formally registered land titles. Despite the fact that this assertion is fast gaining ground, land registration has not been found empirically to positively influence access to credit. This article seeks to critically examine the above argument and provide credible theoretical explanations as to why previous studies in the developing world have failed to establish any significant positive link between land registration and access to credit. It is argued that formalising property titles alone will not be enough solve the problem of limited access to credit in the developing world.     

Offsetting the Development Costs? Brain drain and the role of training and remittances

Over recent decades global labour markets have emerged and skill shortages in particular sectors have generated an international competition for the best and brightest. The developed world is seen to ‘poach’ this talent from poorer countries, with the resultant ‘brain drain’ undermining their capacity to develop. This paper calls into question the assumption that the emigration of the highly skilled will automatically represent a loss to the country of origin. The paper positions itself between the two extremes of brain drain as constituting a pure loss or a pure gain for sending countries and calls for a more moderate approach to skilled migration and its impact on development. The paper goes beyond the simple brain drain/brain gain dichotomy by looking at the flow of the skilled within specific geographic spaces and the resultant policy dilemmas and options.     

Books received

Alternatives for Planning: Planning and the Alternative Economic Strategy, D. Howl, Department of Civic Design, University of Liverpool (Working Paper No. 21), 1982, pp. 46, £2.30.

The Hidden Homeless: A Report of a Survey on Homelessness and Housing Among Young Blacks in Gloucester, Harry Cowen and Richard Lording, Gloucester Community Relations Council, May 1982, pp. 54, no price given.

Town and Country Planning in Britain (Eighth Edition), J. B. Cullingworth, Allen and Unwin, 1982 pp. 367, £18.00 hardback, £8.95 paperback.

Local Government in Ireland, Desmond Roche, Institute of Public Administration, 1982, pp. 391, £19.95 hardback, £9.95 paperback.

The Parish Pump, Myles Tierney, Able Press, 1982, pp. 126, £3.90.

Reports on: (1) Faulty Goods; (2) The Nationalised Industries; (3) Bureaucracies; (4) Shopping; (5) The Neighbourhood; (6) Public Transport; and (7) The Elderly Consumer, National Consumer Council, Papers 1–3, 1981, Papers 4–7, 1982, 1–4 pp. 30, 5–7 pp. 58, £1 each.

Running in the Red: The Political Dynamics of Urban Fiscal Stress, Irene S. Rubin, State University of New York Press, 1982, pp. 171, $30.50 cloth, $9.95 paper.

The Other European Community: Integration and Co‐operation in Nordic Europe, Barry Turner and Gamilla Nordquist, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1982, pp. 307, £7.95 paperback.

Local Government Reform and Reorganisation: An International Perspective, edited by Arthur B. Gunlicks, Kennikat Press, 1981, pp.243, £14.85.

British Work Creation Programmes, Michael P. Jackson and Victor J. B. Hardy, Gower, 1982, pp.87, £9.50.     

How States Exploit Jihadist Foreign Fighters

ABSTRACT

Jihadist foreign fighters are frequently described as non-state actors whose prominence challenges the traditional, state-dominated international system and our understanding of it. In practice, however, foreign fighters rely heavily on the very states they reject. Some of the most important foreign fighter movements in the world today receive massive and explicit state support, while still others rely on states to tolerate their fund-raising, transit, recruitment, and other core activities. Yet the scope, scale, and nature of this reliance varies tremendously, as does its overall impact. To stop or at least limit these flows, it is vital to change the policies and capacities of these state backers.     

New Perspectives on the Chinese Rural Economy, 1885-1935

Abstract

In 1929 a nationa "uproar" erupted over the "Confucius Saw Nanzi Case" (Zi jian Nanzi an). It was sparked by Confucius' meeting Nanzi, the Duchess of Wei, on stage in the June 28, 1929 student performance of Lin Yutang's "one-act tragicomedy" Confucius Saw Nanzi at the Second Normal College at Qufu, Shandong Province, the birthplace of Confucius. Examined in detail in this study are both the "tragicomedy" and the "uproar," both the modern creative project and the social and political forces that shaped its text and reception.