The Place of Local Power

What is the reform of local self-government? How will its conduct affect the life of the country? How will the tax and social policies of the state change? The main author of the reform, deputy head of the President's Administration Dmitry Kozak, participating in the "Business Breakfast" at Rossiiskaia gazeta, talks about this on the eve of the second reading in the Duma of the packet of draft laws on the reform of federative relationships and of local self-government.     

Drug and alcohol use,delinquency, and vandalism among upper middle class pre- and post-adolescents

This article analyzes data from a survey research study of students in the fifth through twelfth grades of an upper middle class Chicago suburban community. The findings indicate the use of alcohol and drugs among both prepubertal and teenage students, and the involvement of both groups in theft and vandalism. The level of community affluence and quality of community institutions and services rule out the explanations (the tangle of pathology) usually offered in studies of delinquency in lower class and low-income communities. Peer group pressures and psychogenic factors appear to influence these kinds of acting-out behavior. And since considerable numbers of students noted that their parents had not established certain important regulations for them, the view advanced by this study is that deficient socialization and inadequate parenting also appear to be causes of these behavioral problems. However, since the study did not categorize the data in a way to permit cross-tabulations either supporting or invalidating this argument, this conclusion is a tentative one. It is suggested that future research dealing with these problems among this social stratum investigate the influence of parenting on acting-out behavior.Received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Main interests are emotional problems and acting-out behavior.Received his M. A. from Loyola University.     

Assessing Small and Medium Forest Enterprises' Access to Microfinance: Case Studies from The Gambia

Small and medium forest enterprises (SMFEs) are commonplace in many developing economies. SMFEs often face several challenges, with access to finance frequently being cited as a key hurdle. This study aimed to evaluate the access that SMFEs in The Gambia have to microfinance, and to determine strategies for improving the delivery of these services. Data show that most SMFEs have decent access to deposit accounts, but limited access to credit. While cooperative credit unions and other non-financial institutions have been providing microloans to SMFEs, access to such financial services could be improved. Six strategies to do so are proposed.