Gender dimensions of decision-making on production assets and challenges facing women

This article investigates gender dimensions of decision-making on access to, and control over, productive assets for agricultural development in selected communities in Ghana. The men were more educated, resourced, and economically empowered than the women. This resulted in differential access to, and control over, resources by gender and a low level of female participation in decision-making. The study identified a land access gap by gender and crop acreage gap of up to 80% for women as compared to men. Challenges limiting women in agricultural production and processing include inadequate land access, inadequate capital, inefficient processing technologies, and unattractive markets.     

Moving from nos/otros to nosotros: a transcendent approach to sustainable development

Traditional top-down approaches to community development reinforce nos/otros binaries within provider/recipient relationships; transcendent approaches, on the other hand, create space for nosotros collaborative development. This article describes an instance of the nos/otros binary, in which a foreign volunteer in a rural community in Ecuador assumed the role of practitioner and limited community members’ roles to recipients or beneficiaries of her development projects. Inspired by findings from this experience, the article presents a case study highlighting an alternative, transcendent, nosotros approach in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where community members work together to imagine, implement, and sustain projects.     

Social normativity,housing, and urbanisation in an Indian city

A significant part of urbanisation in India is happening through unregulated or partly regulated trajectories that are either informal or semi-formal in nature, and regulatory authorities have come to terms with them on a piecemeal basis over a period of time. This article contends that what is considered unplanned by regulatory agencies is actually planned by people and facilitated by the normativity surrounding both formal and informal institutions of urbanisation in society. The study looks at the processes through which such a housing settlement comes into being and negotiates legitimacy, authorisation, as well as basic civic services.     

农村城镇化与制度创新

我国农村城镇化进程中不可避免地出现了一些问题。从理论和实践的结合上弄清农村城镇化推进与制度的关系,从制度创新入手解决问题,是走中国特色城镇化道路的现实选择。     

我国诚实信用原则制度体系的构建

要充分发挥诚实信用原则在市场经济活动中的作用,就必须重视诚实信用原则制度体系的构建。在我国,诚实信用原则制度体系的构建既有积极条件,也有消极条件。诚实信用原则制度体系的构建主要包括诚实信用的立法、执法与司法机制,国家公务行为的诚实信用机制,诚实信用的中介服务机制,诚实信用的信息机制,诚实信用的社会监督机制,违反诚实信用原则的处罚机制等。     

制度环境、技术效率与区域经济增长差异

将影响技术效率的制度因素纳入效率评价模型,运用构造的DEA三阶段模型测算了1995-2007年中国29个省级行政单位(文中简称省市区或省份)经制度环境变量调整前后的技术效率水平,并对制度环境与地区间技术效率水平及相应的增长差异进行了分析。研究结果表明:第一,中国技术效率整体上呈波动型增长趋势,但与经济周期的波动趋势并不吻合,效率改善并非经济高速增长的主要原因;第二,制度环境影响各地区技术效率水平,技术效率的不同又是造成区域经济增长差异的重要原因。所有制改革、对外开放、财税体制改革等制度变迁均有利于技术效率的改善,而城镇化、科技体制改革对技术效率的影响并不显著;第三,东、中、西部地区纯技术效率呈收敛增长趋势,且西部地区技术效率低下的主要原因在于规模非效率;第四,制度环境变量调整后各地区技术效率差异逐步增加,制度因素在区域经济平衡发展方面具有重要作用。     

Eco-regional conservation and development in Madagascar: a review of USAID-funded efforts in two priority landscapes

The need for eco-regional or landscape-scale conservation and development has been widely recognised in Madagascar, yet implementation remains problematic. The approach was initially driven by biodiversity-conservation concerns, without enough emphasis on sustainable development, especially agriculture. Current challenges include consensus building for eco-regional visions, strengthening partnerships with government institutions, and negotiating land-use trade-offs within focal landscapes. Increased attention to revenue generation from agriculture and forest products, as well as enhanced communication and widespread participation by all stakeholders, should augment the success of broad-scale conservation and development programmes.     

Garden of Eden? The impact of resettlement on squatters' ‘agri-hoods’ in Fiji

Since the mid 1990s, squatter settlements in Fiji have been expanding at a phenomenal rate, largely due to the non-renewal of agricultural land leases and inadequate urban governance. In response to squatter growth, the government of Fiji has implemented a squatter-resettlement scheme. This scheme threatens the livelihoods of squatters engaged in urban agriculture, or ‘farming squatters’. In this article, interviews with key informants and squatter residents will reveal contrasting attitudes and approaches to the issue of ‘farming squatters’. The article suggests a more participatory process to address the needs of ‘farming squatters’.     

Gender in Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction,Manila, October 2008

The Congress on Gender in Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction (held in Manila 19–22 October 2008) was the Third Global Congress of Women in Politics and Governance. Its purpose was to provide a forum for decision makers to formulate gender-responsive programmes related to climate change and disaster-risk reduction. More than 200 people participated, including parliamentarians, representatives of environmental and women's organisations, and donor agencies. Proceedings focused on the fact that climate change magnifies existing inequalities, and in particular gender inequality. The Congress issued the Manila Declaration for Global Action on Gender, Climate Change, and Disaster Risk Reduction.     

Complexities in natural-resource management: irrigation infrastructure in Bihar

All over Gaya District in Bihar, irrespective of a person's caste or economic status, irrigation is the overriding topic of concern on public platforms and in private conversations. In the absence of adequate government action, different kinds of community endeavour are emerging to answer the need, some supported by radical political movements, others by organisations of a religious persuasion, and still others primarily by prominent local citizens.