Spotlights on certification and farmers’ welfare: crossing boundaries in social scientific research

Social scientists have the freedom to adopt different methodological approaches when researching development. This article illustrates how four common social scientific methodologies (positivism, social constructivism, action research, and normative political theory) differently conceptualise the effects of sustainability certification on Indonesian smallholder farmers. It shows that each approach results in different insights, offering a web of information to practitioners. Better understanding the different methodologies may help practitioners to take position in dilemmas, not in a linear process of knowledge accumulation, but in an iterative process of research consultation and practices.     

跨域生态环境治理的府际合作研究——基于京津冀地区海河治理政策文本的量化分析

生态环境治理效益具有强外溢性,必然求地方政府打破"行政区行政"及"部门利益梗阻",达成政府间合作.对海河流域水污染治理政策文本的量化分析,有助于研究跨域生态环境治理中府际合作的推进动因、运行机制与合作效果.研究发现,海河流域治理中的府际合作网络已基本形成;在体制内行政力量和体制外利益机制的推动下,合作行动目标明确,激励...     

The learning organisation as a model for rural development

This article presents evidence from Uganda's National Agricultural Advisory Service to argue that the concept of ‘the learning organisation’ is a valuable complement to participatory development which may facilitate a shift towards more democratic development institutions in which target beneficiaries have a stronger voice in planning and managing development. The concept of ‘the learning organisation’ as developed within the literature of management studies cannot, however, be readily translated into anything as specific as a clear set of practical guidelines. Rather it acts as a seed that grows to take on characteristics specific to the rural development context.     

国有商业银行公司化治理的焦点问题与对策

国有商业银行的公司化治理是国有银行商业化的关键,也是国有银行与国际接轨的必备条件.国有商业银行公司化治理的焦点问题主要是委托人缺位、代理人缺位、委托代理链条过长、信息披露机制不健全,其对策主要是"三会"分设、"三权"分开、有效制约、协调发展、改革"官本位"激励机制,实行组织扁平化和业务垂直化管理.     

西方公司丑闻对中国公司治理的借鉴意义

近几年西方国家频频发生的公司丑闻,表明了西方公司治理机制自身存在缺陷。通过分析这些缺陷,可以在股权结构、公司治理结构、监控机制和治理理念方面发现市场导向型模式和网络导向型模式的差异。对于中国建立合理的公司治理模式有重大意义。     

Privatisation of urban water and sewerage services in Turkey: some trends

This article describes the experience of privatised urban water-supply and sewerage services in Turkey, focusing on the cases of three cities that have opted for such privatisation. The article opens with an examination of the management of urban water and sewerage services in Turkey and explores the development of water services and water policies in local government institutions. The second section introduces case studies of cities that have transferred the management, operation, and maintenance of urban water services to private operators.     

Lessons from selected development policies and practices

This article identifies lessons learned from field research and related analysis, to address three fundamental aspects of development that are often overlooked: culture and governance, inclusive development, and market-based approaches. All three cases address issues of poverty and inequality. In addition, the critical role of institutions in governance and development is also highlighted. Finally, by bridging the gap between culture, economy, and society through these approaches, better and more effective development policies and programmes can be formulated and implemented.     

Facilitators of development or Kapos for capital: the primrose path to GATS

This article arose from work undertaken on behalf of a UK-based NGO developing a policy response to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). It looks at GATS as a key to locating development NGOs (NGDOs) within the broader field of development aims and practices, examining the long-term implications of GATS with respect to the idea of a ‘fourth position’ for such NGOs. It is argued that this theoretical position fails to take into account changing imbalances of power between NGDOs and their Southern counterparts that began under structural adjustment, as a consequence of which many NGDOs now occupy a position from which effective mediation between civil society, the state, and the market would be difficult if not impossible. In addition, GATS represents a step-change along the evolutionary path towards a market-oriented ideology whose verticalist worldview represents a profound contradiction to the avowedly progressive aims of most NGDOs.     

Walking together: the journey of the Non-Aligned Movement and the women's movement

The story of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the way in which women engaged with it, gaining from its overall liberatory calls, as well as its political independence from the UN and other multilateral agencies, is relatively unknown in the world of development and women; and yet it is an important example of multilateral space. This article argues that the NAM, and its engagement with women, has the historical and strategic potential to be the platform from which to launch an inclusive growth paradigm.