The collection of original contributions in this volume of "Research in Economic Anthropology" addresses two recurrent themes in economic anthropology. These are the process of economic development and the basis on which economic integration takes place. The development theme is divided between papers that are concerned with the social and demographic impact of development, and those that examine the recent post-socialist transition. The integration theme is represented by articles that examine the symbolic foundations of economic integration, and by contributions that focus on the moral basis of integration and continuity. With respect to both themes theoretical issues are discussed, and detailed ethnographic cases are drawn from Asia, Europe, Russia, Latin America, and the U.S.

This book takes a multi-disciplinary critique of economics' first principles: the fundamental and inter-related structuring assumptions that underlie the neo-classical paradigm. These assumptions, that economic agents are rational, self-interested individuals, continue to influence the teaching of economics, research agendas and policy analyses. The book argues that both the theoretical understanding of the economy and the actual working of real-world market economies diminish the scope for thinking about the relation between ethics, economics, and the economy. It highlights how market economies may "crowd out" ethical behavior and our evaluation of them elides ethical reflection. The book calls for a more pluralistic and richer approach to economic theory, one that allows ample room for ethical considerations. It provides insight into understanding human motivations and human flourishing and how a good economy requires reflection on the ethical relations between the self, world, and time.

...sober and extremely well-researched book.' - Inder Malhotra, Business World;This book examines the economic and technological basis for India's rise to power and the political factors that shape the nature of the power it will develop into. It shows that while India has concentrated on many of the scientific and technical capabilities that serve the needs of a rising power, it has not been able to achieve a balanced process of development. This imbalance feeds sub-national political discontent and undercuts the very power that India has sought to acquire, thus delaying her rise to power.

As Africa entered the 1990s, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission on Africa declared the continent incapable of feeding at least one-fifth of its peoples. Africa is the only region in the world where per capita food production is actually declining. Even with imports, the average African gets only enough nourishment to meet 85 percent of the minimum daily calorie requirement. This book analyzes the contemporary food crisis in Africa from an historical perspective, using two West African case studies.

From the perspective of food production and entitlement, the volume traces the economic history of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde beginning with the slave trade, through the colonial and postcolonial periods to democratization and structural adjustment. Using the theory and methodology of political economy, the study argues that the way in which African societies have been integrated into the world market diverted resources from food production, exacerbated exploitation, thus affecting entitlement to the food produced. Conditions for national food dependency and the degradation of the environment ensued.

The essays in this book examine Zimbabwe's macroeconomic and structural adjustment experiences since independence. Part One analyzes the impact on economic growth, inflation, employment and labor markets. Part Two deals with financial liberalization, and the financial turmoil and currency crisis experienced in the wake of reforms. Part Three examines trade liberalization and its impact on investment and income distribution. Part Four gives sectoral perspectives on the agricultural, manufacturing, and health sectors.

The literature on innovation in Africa is rapidly expanding, and a recurring thread in the emergent literature is the pervasiveness of systemic weaknesses that inhibit the innovation process. Despite these, firms are able to innovate in Africa. It is then logical to ask: how do African firms manage to overcome the prevalent constraints and learn to innovate? This book directly tackles this question, with a view to improving our understanding of the innovation landscape in Africa. The book brings together some of the latest innovation research from across the African continent, ranging from Tanzania and Ethiopia in the east to Nigeria in the west. The chapters included in the collection adopt different but complementary theoretical and methodological approaches to address a rich mix of interrelated issues. These issues include the factors that enhance or inhibit innovation in African firms, the sources of (knowledge/information for) innovation, policy options for overcoming constraints and facilitating firm-level innovation, the nature and roles of brokers and intermediaries in dealing with innovation constraints and in facilitating the innovation process and the role of interactive learning and acquisition of embodied technology in the innovation process. This book was originally published as a special issue of Innovation and Development.

Pro-poor growth is considered central for achieving sustainable poverty reduction and the Millennium Development Goals. This volume analyzes determinants of pro-poor growth in eight countries. It employs advanced methods and tools for pro-poor growth research, including ex post analytical tools as well as ex ante simulation methods, highlighting the strengths and limits of this methodological toolbox. The book places particular emphasis on the role of regional inequality, price and policy reforms as well as political economy issues affecting pro-poor growth at the country level. It also analyzes the impact of agricultural, labour market policies, macroeconomics and natural resource policies.

Foreign trade is a key factor in the development strategy of Third World countries. The development of world trade as a whole has not, however, led to an improvement in the relative position of the developing countries. Despite efforts to promote and liberalize world trade, serious quota and tariff barriers in world markets--often a violation of the principles advocated and accepted in international forums on world trade--still exist for many Third World countries. Specific issues such as import controls, export subsidies, foreign trade and payments, negotiating strategies, and industrial protectionism are explored as are the broad theoretical aspects of the role of trade in Third World development.

Much of our understanding of local economic development is based on large urban agglomerations as nodes of innovation and competitive advantage, connecting territories to global value chains. However, this framework cannot so easily be applied to peripheral regions and secondary cities in either the Global South or the North. This book proposes an alternative way of looking at local economic development based on the idea of fragile governance and three variables: associations and networks; learning processes; and leadership and conflict management in six Latin American peripheral regions. The case studies illustrate the challenges of governance in small and intermediate cities in Latin America, and showcase strategies that are being used to achieve a more resilient and territorial vision of local economic development. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of local economic development, urban and regional studies, and political economy in Latin America as well as to policy-makers and practitioners interested in local and regional economic development policy.

The contributors to this collection examine the progress and impact of the "new poverty strategies" which have governed the policies of development agencies over the past decade. While in some areas progress has been impressive, in others it has been hampered by persisting inequalities, civil conflict, institutional gaps, and turbulence in the international financial system. In light of this, The New Poverty Strategies proposes a range of new policies and donor initiatives designed to achieve greater success in poverty reduction in the new century.

'Training for Transformation in Practice' brings together the experiences of 17 activists who have adapted these materials to their own social and cultural contexts. The book starts by describing the roots of training for transformation in people's struggles in the global South to gain political and economic independence and to overcome poverty.

The book is the first attempt to offer a holistic and integrated exploration of the political-economic framework underpinning economic regionalism. In doing so it provides a much-needed contribution to the literature on international political economy, international relations and Asian political economy in relation to economic regionalism. The existing literature provides broad generalizations and limited discussion on economic integration (i.e. free trade agreements, FTA) with most analyses of regionalism generally contained to the field of economics with a focus on the welfare implications of FTAs, both for participating countries and the world as a whole. Readers of this book can view economic regionalism from a variety of perspectives with input from Chinese, Japanese and Korean research institutes, business and industry groups, and government officials. Drawing on the considerable country experience and expertise of the authors, the book attempts to unravel the paradox of the market-driven economic globalization process (regionalism) and address a serious gap in the current literature relating to the political-economic characteristics and strategies of China, Japan and Korea in relation to economic regionalism.

One of the key issues for the prosperity of our societies in a globalised economy is to connect public policies together to achieve maximum results. Policy-makers and practitioners in key public and private agencies need to learn how to collaborate, to create joint-decision processes, to evaluate the effects of new governance partnerships and to become more efficient in the use of engagement tools. This book develops a conceptual map for this new area of practice and provides leading cases from different OECD countries to help practitioners plan for this form of innovation.

Can the experience of the 1980s in Latin America be analyzed and evaluated to shed light on prospects for the 1990s? The central objective of this volume is to survey the development experience of the Latin American region in the 1980s and explore prospects for the coming decade. In this context, themes of crucial importance for the region are examined, including democratic consolidation, income distribution, the environment, hyperinflation, and the debt problem. Although socioeconomic and political aspects are emphasized, issues of equity and the environment are of special importance. Case studies of Peru, Chile, Mexico, Argentina, and Cuba provide fresh information on these issues in specific countries. The book focuses on the problem of development at a critical juncture in the evolution of the region. Not surprisingly, the contributors express differing points of view, but have in common the sense of the urgency of development problems that face Latin America.

Central issues concerning the region's economy are the focus in the first part of the book. In the second part, key issue areas for the future are discussed. Of central concern in an exploration of the prospects for Latin America is the sustainability and improvement of democratization which proceeded in the 1980s. On the whole, the authors are not optimistic. The immense economic difficulties faced by the region--the debt overhang, the large and continuing overflow of financial and real resources, hyperinflation in some countries--will not be easy to manage. Although there are no guarantees that income distribution will be improved, among the positive developments foreseen for the 1990s are improved economic management, the addressing of environmental issues, and greater attention to issues of women's rights. This book should serve as a useful and timely guide to a complex region for both students and policymakers.

Despite the large amounts of human and financial resources invested to foster democratic governance in developing countries, statistics show that the majority of these countries have not yet achieved significant improvements in living standards. While some regions make strides towards improving the living conditions of their citizens, Sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, is still trapped in poverty with more than 40% of its 600 million people living below the internationally recognized absolute poverty line of one US dollar per day. Poor governance and corruption should be highlighted as the most important systemic factors contributing to poverty in developing countries. As a result the institutional foundations of these countries are weakened, public funds are misappropriated, and policies and programs aimed at reducing poverty and fostering sustainable economic growth are undermined. It is therefore not surprising that a 2008 Transparency International report found a direct link between corruption and the failure of the societal institutions designed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals in the majority of developing countries. This book investigates the problems of democratic governance, particularly as they relate to corruption, and also whether democracy should be based on universal principles or local context and historical factors. It also analyses the rule of law, in promoting democratic governance and curbing corruption and if governmental, non-governmental organizations, and civil societies are effective in promoting democratic governance and curbing corruption. This book will go beyond identifying the challenges and offer plausible solutions that could be adapted to various developing countries. It is premised on the importance of bridging theory and practice, which has been lacking in most local and international development publications, making of interest to scholars and policy-makers alike concerned with public administration in developing countries.

This book provides a theoretical framework to explain the formation and growth of economic agglomerations and industrial clusters from the viewpoint of spatial economics, and goes on to present current examples of clustering and policy in different economies, through the case studies such as the automobile cluster in China; the technopolis in Austin, Texas; the automobile clusters in India; Japan's industrial cluster policy; the industrial cluster in the Greater Bangkok, Thailand; and the electronics cluster in Guadalajara, Mexico.

This book examines the facts concerning child labor in Latin America--how it varies over time; across countries; and in comparison to other areas of the world. The rich evidence presented in the book supports the view that the root causes of child labor can be identified, that child labor has identifiable costs that can last across generations, and that there are policy alternatives that can succeed in its eradication. This book aims to improve the understanding of root causes and consequences of persistent child labor and to contribute to the policy debate with the goal of enhancing the current and future welfare of all children in Latin America.

Can sustainable economic development be achieved without strong environmental protections? Bringing together theoretical issues in development economics and a wide range of empirical evidence, this book examines this question and explores ways that environmental sustainability has been--and might be--incorporated into existing theories of economic development. Protection of the environment is an essential part of development, and the best chance for achieving long-term sustainable development is to systematically incorporate environmental issues into key aspects of economic development paradigms. To show this, Desta makes use of theoretical approaches, draws policy implications, and illustrates each point with in-depth case studies from developing countries.

Although economists have attempted to discern the factors that contribute to sustainable economic growth since the 18th-century, development economics did not emerge as a legitimate discipline until after World War II. By the 1980s, the view that environmental concerns pose economic constraints had given way to the belief that environmental and development issues are interwoven. This book integrates existing economic development theories and environmental issues in a comprehensive, user-friendly way. It pulls together and makes understandable a wide range of current thinking and historical development, concluding each chapter with a case study that shows the workings of these ideas in practice.

Microfinance in developing countries: Issues, policies and performance evaluation is a collection of studies by leading researchers in the field of microfinance. It discusses key issues that the rapidly growing microfinance industry currently faces. It offers interesting views and innovative analysis of topical matters concerning impact, performance, challenges and innovations in the microfinance realm. Issues relating to impact include measurement problems; the debate of multiple versus single assessment criteria; and the question of whether microfinance institutions are effective in delivering the microfinance promise. Issues relating to performance include the ongoing debate over the balance between social and financial performance; performance measures; and the controversy over mission drift. Issues relating to the challenges faced by the microfinance industry include the problem of over-indebtedness; improving agricultural microfinance; and assessing the role of local culture in the design of an effective microfinance sector. Lastly, topical issues relating to innovations include assessment of technological and financial innovations and the application thereof as well as the continued expansion of microfinance beyond microcredit in developing countries. Together these issues provide an overview of microfinance as it stands today and point to the direction in which it is heading.

Distinguished by its breadth of coverage and in-depth discussions of key topics, this book looks at the implications of environmental factors for economic policy-making. As well as chapters on damage and benefit analysis, monitoring and enforcement of environmental regulation, and the special problems of developing countries and the environment, it also includes a review of relevant microeconomic theory, an introduction to the history of environmental policy and legislation, and case studies of approaches to development versus preservation dilemmas and regional cost benefit analysis.

China and India have both received a great amount of focus from the foreign investors. However, there are acute differences in the implementation of the economic reforms; China made rapid progress in the manufacture of high technology products, whilst India progressed in the development of high technology. This book explores the contrasts between China and India in attracting, utilizing and related issues and discusses the challenges faced by the foreign investors.

Kuznets focuses on the four key characteristics of South Korean economic development since the mid-1960s: relatively high investment rates, labor market competition, export orientation, and a strong, interventionist government. He uses an informal model to simplify the complex relations that underlie Korea's outstanding growth and also assesses the relevance of the model for other countries. The work is designed to be read by non-specialists, in that no prior knowledge of Korea has been assumed. The work concentrates on economic issues, and policy choices are of particular interest. References are made to English-language literature on economic development in general and on Korean development in particular.

This book is a selection of studies and articles aimed to sensitize planners and decision-makers to the invisible socioeconomic and cultural contribution of women in developing countries. The authors addresss such questions as: How can we make the contribution of women visible and more productive? How can we better utilize human resources that are often illiterate? How can we build on traditional wisdom in order to modernize? How can we reduce poverty? How can we prevent women from being excluded from the more lucrative activities of the informal sector?

Comprised of chapters that explore the impact of the global crisis on emerging economies and firms and their response to it. The ways in which the leading emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China are dealing with the challenges of the crisis are complemented by the methods applied by countries and firms in Central and Eastern Europe.