Economic models as devices of policy change: Policy paradigms,paradigm shift,and performativity

Can the emergence of a new policy model be a catalyst for a paradigm shift in the overall interpretative framework of how economic policy is conducted within a society? This paper claims that models are understudied as devices used by actors to induce policy change. This paper explores the role of models in Danish economic policy, where, from the 1970s onwards, executive public servants in this area have exclusively been specialists in model design. To understand changes in economic policy, this paper starts with a discussion of whether the notion of paradigm shift is adequate. It then examines the extent to which the performativity approach can help identify macroscopic changes in policy from seemingly microscopic changes in policy models. The concept of performativity is explored as a means of thinking about the constitution of agency directed at policy change. The paper brings this concept into play by arguing that the “performative” embedding of models in institutions is an important aspect of how paradigm shifts unfold that the current literature has neglected.     

Institutionalised Co-production: Unorthodox Public Service Delivery in Challenging Environments

In developing countries in particular, services are often delivered through unorthodox organisational arrangements that cannot simply be dismissed as relics of ‘traditional’ institutions, or as incomplete modern organisations. Some have emerged recently, and represent institutional adaptations to specific political and logistical circumstances. We need to expand the range of organisational categories that are considered worthy of study and develop a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of unorthodox arrangements. The concept of institutionalised co-production provides a useful point of entry. Institutionalised co-production is defined as: the provision of public services (broadly defined, to include regulation) through a regular long-term relationship between state agencies and organised groups of citizens, where both make substantial resource contributions. We explain some varieties of institutionalised co-production arrangements; explore why they appear to be relatively so widespread in poor countries; and relate the concept to broader ideas about public organisation.     

Remittances,Poverty, Inequality and Welfare: Evidence from the Central Plateau of Burkina Faso

This paper applies Gini and concentration coefficient decomposition as well as the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke poverty index and the Stark-Yitzhaki welfare index to new data from four villages in Burkina Faso, to compare the marginal effects of remittances from intercontinental and intra-African migration on inequality, poverty and social welfare. Evidence is found that intra-African remittances reduce inequality while intercontinental remittances have the opposite effect. Also, it is found that although remittances from intercontinental migration are associated with much lower incidence, depth and severity of poverty, the marginal impact of remittances from this form of migration on social welfare is limited because recipients do not include the rural poor.     

Look Who's Talking: The Impacts of the Intrahousehold Allocation of Mobile Phones on Agricultural Prices

Using data from the Philippines, we study the impact of mobile phones on the prices agricultural producers receive for their cash crop. We first look at the impact on price of mobile phone ownership at the household level. Because this masks a considerable amount of heterogeneity, we then look at the impact on price of the intrahousehold allocation of mobile phones. We find that whether the household owns a mobile phone has no impact on price, but whether a farmer or spouse owns a mobile phone is associated with a 5- to 8-per cent increase in price.     

Gender and Modern Supply Chains in Developing Countries

The rapid spread of modern supply chains in developing countries is profoundly changing the way food is produced and traded. In this article we examine gender issues related to this change. We conceptualise various mechanisms through which women are directly affected, we review existing empirical evidence and add new survey-based evidence. Our results suggest that, although modern supply chains are gendered, their growth is associated with reduced gender inequalities in rural areas. We find that women benefit more and more directly from large-scale estate production and agro-industrial processing, and the creation of employment in these modern agro-industries than from smallholder contract-farming.     

The Japanese worker

Abstract

Robert Cole points out in his introduction to Japanese Blue Collar that there are two dominant but conflicting views of the social relations of production in the Japanese economy, views which Cole conveniently sums up under the rubrics of “uniqueness” and “convergence.”     

An interpretation of argentine economic growth since 1930∗Part I

This study uses pairing of Mexican‐owned manufacturing firms and firms with direct United States investment, to examine the effects of ownership structure on firms’ performance and sources of technology. Results suggest that in terms of profitability, growth and export performance the Mexican firms were competing successfully during the period 1966–73. Furthermore, the basis for this strong posture by the Mexican manufacturers was not due to a heavy reliance on foreign technology imported through formal channels, but rather is linked with internal innovative activity and the use of domestic consultants.     

An interpretation of Argentine economic growth since 1930. Part II∗

This article focuses on the measurement of embodied technological change. It develops the core-machinery approach to capital measurement, which is based on an engineering perspective on technological change. Using technical characteristics of different types of machinery, technical progress in the capital stock can be decomposed into incremental innovation in existing machinery and radical shifts to new technologies. The usefulness of this approach is illustrated by an analysis of embodied technological change in the Indonesian spinning and weaving industries. The core-machinery measure is compared with more traditional measures of the capital stock which are based on price information. Strengths, weaknesses and relevance of the new measure are discussed.     

Nepali fuelwood production and consumption: Regional and household distinctions,substitution and successful intervention

This article uses household data from Nepal's two major populated regions (and 27 of 59 districts within those regions) to examine fuelwood consumption and production. In contrast with a purely market assessment, household analysis includes production which is consumed in the producing household. The household regressions yield coefficients and elasticities that are very different from and more reliable than a comparable assessment of market demand and supply. Household results generally support the hypotheses that expenditures on fuelwood are a small share of total household activity and that fuelwood is not sufficiently scarce to alter household behaviour. Fuelwood is sufficiently scarce, however, to alter behaviour for those households in the hill region that do not participate in market exchange. These households may be the best targets for public market interventions designed to alter fuelwood supply and deforestation.     

A New Method for the Removal and Analysis of Small Particles Adhering to Carpet Fiber Surfaces,,

Fibers are a commonly encountered evidence type and fiber comparisons are routinely conducted. When the characteristics of questioned and known fibers correspond, the probative value is limited because the characteristics compared are determined by their manufacture. It would be valuable to test the hypothesis that questioned fibers originated from a specific carpet. One means of testing this is to analyze fine particles on the fibers. A procedure was developed for removing adhering particles from fibers and preparing them for scanning electron microscopy/ energy dispersive X‐ray spectrometry (SEM/EDS) analysis. The efficacy of several fluids (acetone, ethanol, hexanes, aqueous ethanol, aqueous sodium hexametaphosphate) and agitation methods (sonication and vortexing) for removing particles from fibers was evaluated. The most effective method evaluated was sonication in ethanol for 10 min. The recovered particles were filtered onto a polycarbonate filter and analyzed by automated SEM/EDS analysis to generate data on the particle assemblage. This method makes possible future research to test the within‐item and between‐item variability of particle assemblages on fibers.