Recent discussions in development have moved away from holistic theorisation towards more localised, empirical and inductive approaches. In development practice there has been a parallel move towards local ‘participation’ and ‘empowerment’, which has produced, albeit with very different agendas, a high level of agreement between actors and institutions of the ‘new’ Left and the ‘new’ Right. This paper examines the manifestations of this move in four key political arenas: decentralised service delivery, participatory development, social capital formation and local development, and collective actions for ‘radical democracy’. We argue that, by focusing so heavily on ‘the local’, the see manifestations tend to underplay both local inequalities and power relations as well as national and transnational economic and political forces. Following from this, we advocate a stronger emphasis on the politics of the local, ie on the political use of ‘the local’ by hegemonic and counter-hegemonic interests.

Participatory development and empowerment: the dangers of localism

Preface and acknowledgments Introduction 1. Explanation and dialectics Part I. Philosophy and Economics: 2. Philosophical anthropology 3. Economics 4. Exploitation, freedom and justice Part II. Theory of History: 5. Modes of production 6. Classes 7. Politics and the state 8. Ideologies 9. Capitalism, communism and revolution Conclusion references Index of names index of subjects.

Making Sense of Marx

The evolutionary theory of land rights can be considered the dominant framework of analysis used by mainstream economists to assess the land tenure situation in developing countries, and to make predictions about its evolution. A central tenet of this theoryis that under the joint impact of increasing population pressure and market integration, land rights spontaneously evolve towards rising individualization and that this evolutioneventually leads rightsholders to press for the creation of duly formalized private property rights — a demand to which the state will have an incentive to respond. This article looks critically at the relevance of the evolutionary theory of land rights as currently applied to Sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, the question of whether the establishmentof private property rights is an advisable structural reform in the present circumstancesis examined, in the light of evidence accumulated so far. It will be argued that most of the beneficial effects usually ascribed to such a reform are grossly over-estimated and that, given its high cost, it is generally advisable to look for more appropriate solutions that rely on existing informal mechanisms at community level.

The Evolutionary Theory of Land Rights as Applied to Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Critical Assessment

Unemployment: macroeconomic performance and the labour market

The European Miracle: Environments, Economies, and Geopolitics in the History of Europe and Asia.

The New Institutional Economics and its applicability to development

Kontrolle der GeldbestAnde in den EWG-LAndern. — Der Aufsatz behandelt das allgemeine Problem, wie die Zuwachsrate der GeldbestAnde vorausgeschAtzt und kontrolliert werden kann unter der Annahme, da\ nur der Multiplikator eine stochastische Variable ist. Relativ einfache statistische Verfahren, bei denen die VerAnderungen der Multiplikatoren in der Vergangenheit sowie die VerAnderungen der Geldbasis in der Gegenwart und in der Vergangenheit als erklArende Variable verwandt werden, deuten darauf hin, da\ die europAischen Zentralbanken ihre monetAren Ziele nur mit betrAchtlichen Fehlermargen erreicht haben. Diese Fehler konnen aber bis auf ein Drittel oder ein Viertel vermindert werden, wenn man statt eines vierteljAhrlichen ein jAhrliches Kontrollverfahren benutzt. Au\erdem sind die Fehler fur die Zuwachsraten von M2 kleiner als fur die von M1.

Money stock control in the EEC countries

This paper studies the impact of labor market policies on growth and unemployment in labor-exporting MENA countries. The analysis is based on a framework that captures many of the main features of the labor market in these countries. We conduct a variety of policy experiments, including a reduction in payroll taxation, cuts in public sector wages and employment, an increase in employment subsidies, a reduction in trade unions’ bargaining power, and a composite reform program. A number of specific policy lessons are drawn from our simulations. Our broad message is that in order to foster growth and job creation in the region, labor market reforms must not be viewed in isolation but rather as a component of a comprehensive program of structural reforms aimed at exploiting policy complementarities.

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Labor Market Reforms, Growth, and Unemployment in Labor-Exporting MENA Countries

Exchange Rates, Money and Output: The European Experience

The paper addresses the issue of trade liberalization in developing countries from a political economy perspective using the theory of collective action. The role of collective action and interest group behavior is analysed critically both with respect to the initiation of attemps at liberalization and its outcome in terms of success or failure. A probit model is then used to test empirically the various hypotheses as to the determinants of likelihood of success of liberalization attempts. A sample of 51 liberalization episodes relating to 24 countries and spanning the period 1950–80 is used. Five factors are found to be critical in the process of liberalization: the strength of exporters groups as represented by the diversification and importance of manufactures and traditional exports, the strength of import-competing sector's opposition as measured by the share of manufacturing in GDP, the time elapsed since the beginning of import substitution, the size of country and the leadership committment and role.

Mustapha K. Nabli

Papers

The New Institutional Economics and its applicability to development

Money stock control in the EEC countries

Labor Market Reforms, Growth, and Unemployment in Labor-Exporting MENA Countries

Exchange Rates, Money and Output: The European Experience

The political economy of trade liberalization in developing countries