Impacts of displacement on urban livelihoods: a railway project in Metro Manila

This article seeks to understand the ways in which urban livelihoods are affected by development-induced displacement, with a particular focus on residents remaining in the locality. Through an empirical case study of a railway upgrading project in Metro Manila, the article investigates livelihood impacts of large-scale demolition and displacement, which varied depending on whether the physical capital of remaining residents declined due to land clearance and the extent to which they relied on the local livelihood network established with displaced settlers. In comparison, households remained intact when they had little engagement with the local informal economy.     

Intersectionality – A challenge for development research and practice?

“Intersectionality” as a concept is increasingly finding its way into development work. In order to develop an understanding of the concept, this article shows how intersectionality can be used as a conceptual framework to analyse identity-based development claims. The article builds on qualitative research with people living in the countryside in northwest Pakistan to develop an intersectional methodology to engage with development claims. It uses a three-step analytical model to identify subject positions from which different people negotiate “eligibility for development'' and ‘‘responsibility to develop”. The paper shows how frequently used categorisations such as gender and class should be complicated by development practitioners and worked with in a more nuanced way.     

Food security composite indices: implications for policy and practice

Food security is a major topic in academic and international debates. Numerous indicators have been proposed in order to establish which countries are in need of improved food security status, but the lack of consensus as to which indicator of food insecurity is the most appropriate has motivated scholars to propose composite indexes. Building composite indexes involves multiple choices. This Viewpoint warns how discretional choices of algorithms to compute composite indexes for food security may alter the findings. By commenting on the implications that different measurement choices may have in terms of global indexes, the Viewpoint raises provocative practical and political concerns.     

Is “good” resettlement policy unimplementable? Learning from advocacy in Cambodia

Accountability advocacy is an increasingly common approach to working with displaced communities. This article explores a resettlement scheme for an Asian Development Bank project in Cambodia in which advocacy interventions resulted in significant improvements in resettlement sites over the eight years of the project. Resettlement standards improved in some of the sites so much that they might now be called “islands of governance”, tightly ring-fenced from the otherwise limited support provided ordinarily to displaced or landless Cambodians. Given these extremes, the article considers whether “good” resettlement policy is implementable. It also argues that best practice resettlement principles, such as the requirement to minimise displacement – no matter how sensible or well-intended when designed at an international level – have the potential for negative unintended consequences in implementation. These impacts cannot necessarily be mitigated through formal monitoring, oversight, and technical assistance. Building on the knowledge already available, it identifies five considerations relevant to resettlement programmes as they continue to evolve.     

促进高校毕业生就业对策研究观点述评

受新冠疫情等多重因素影响，高校毕业生就业形势越发严峻。本研究在梳理高校毕业生就业相 关理论的基础上，从毕业地、高校类型、学科及家庭因素等方面对高校毕业生就业现状进行了总结。研究认为， 高校毕业生就业存在的主要问题有劳动力需求收缩、就业稳定性变差、“慢就业”现象升温及就业歧视加剧等， 原因主要是劳动力市场就业结构性失衡、用人单位适合毕业生的岗位稀缺、高校毕业生就业能力不足及就业服 务缺乏针对性等。研究建议，为改变高校毕业生就业现状，应完善促进就业创业政策，加强就业服务和权益保障， 建立健全教育与就业的联动机制，提高高校就业工作实效性，同时毕业生也应顺应变化转变观念，制定职业规划， 培育就业能力。