Showing papers in "International Journal of Social Economics in 2007"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the extent to which introducing the concept of global public goods in international development is helpful for understanding human well-being enhancement and consider some implications of the concept for international development.
Abstract: Purpose – Public economics has recently introduced the concept of global public goods as a new category of public goods whose provision is central for promoting the well‐being of individuals in today's globalized world. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which introducing this new concept in international development is helpful for understanding human well‐being enhancement.Design/methodology/approach – The paper considers some implications of the concept of the common good for international development.Findings – The concept of global public goods could be more effective if the conception of well‐being it assumes is broadened beyond the individual level. “Living well” or the “good life” does not dwell in individual lives only, but also in the lives of the communities which human beings form. A successful provision of global public goods depends on this recognition that the “good life” of the communities that people form is a constitutive component of the “good life” of individual human...
128 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the current poverty situation and poverty alleviation efforts of the NGOs in Bangladesh with emphasis on the impacts of two NGO programs in two villages of Barisal district.
Abstract: Purpose – This paper seeks to analyse the current poverty situation and poverty alleviation efforts of the NGOs in Bangladesh with emphasis on the impacts of two NGO programmes in two villages of Barisal district.Design/methodology/approach – This research has employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The research has primarily used first‐hand empirical data. In order to substantiate primary data, relevant secondary information has also been used. Data were collected through household survey by applying both open‐ and closed‐ended questionnaires. With a view to analysing data, inferential as well as descriptive statistics have been applied.Findings – The findings revealed that the economic condition of the poor in the study areas has not improved much when judged against some selected indicators, namely, income, food and non‐food expenditure, productive and non‐productive asset, food security, and employment creation. The Foster Greer Thorbecke index shows that the majority of the NGO benefic...
92 citations
92 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the possible cointegration and the direction of causality between financial development, international trade and economic growth in India and found that there is a long-run equilibrium relationship between real income and international trade in the case of India.
Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the possible co‐integration and the direction of causality between financial development, international trade and economic growth in India.Design/methodology/approach – Annual data covering the 1965‐2004 period have been used to investigate co‐integration and Granger causality tests between financial development, international trade, and growth after employing unit root tests to see if the variables under consideration are stationary.Findings – Results reveal that there is a long‐run equilibrium relationship between financial development, international trade and real income growth in the case of India. Furthermore, unidirectional causality was investigated that runs from real income to exports and imports, from exports to imports, M2 and domestic credits, from M2 to imports, from imports to domestic credits. Bidirectional causality has also been obtained between real income and M2, and between real income and domestic credits. Finally, no direction of causality has...
81 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide a deep understanding of success factors contributing to a micro-finance institution (MFI) in a developing country, e.g. Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and how MFI in developing country might learn from this success.
Abstract: Purpose – To provide a deep understanding of success factors contributing to a micro‐finance institution (MFI) in a developing country, e.g. Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and how MFI in developing country might learn from this success.Design/methodology/approach – This is a case study research which took place at BRI branches as well as its village units (unit desa). Data were gathered from both sides, e.g. from BRI and borrowers. The interviews, raging from in depth interviews to semi‐structured interviews, were conducted in Jakarta and some rural cities mainly in Java and South Sulawesi between August and September 2003.Findings – Factor contributing to the success of BRI lay on the decision to keep adapting its practice with environmental changing. Also BRI is very innovative in choosing collaterals so in one hand, the credit is still interesting for lower class community, but at the same time they work as compensation in case the clients fail to repay their credit and thus ensuring the sustainability of...
80 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the structure of corruption in Kenya and its implications on the performance of firms and found that Kenyan manufacturers spent significant proportions of their annual sales on unofficial payments including kickbacks on government contracts.
Abstract: Purpose – This paper draws from research that sought to explore the structure of corruption in Kenya and its implications on the performance of firms.Design/methodology/approach – The research takes the form of descriptive and econometrics analyses of Investment Climate Assessment data sets.Findings – Kenyan manufacturers spent significant proportions of their annual sales on unofficial payments including kick‐backs on government contracts. There is also evidence of co‐movement between such unofficial payments and red‐tape, suggesting that corruption does not play any greasing function. Not only does corruption undermine firm growth but also reduces the propensity to export. The findings uphold others that demonstrate the deleterious consequences of corruption.Research limitations/implications – Further work is needed in tidying up the methods of collecting corruption data. Although a battery of strategies was used to reduce potential response biases common in corruption data, the information leans toward...
68 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the trends of social responsibility of the corporate sector in India and find that trends in socially responsible initiatives are both positive and crucial in nature in India.
Abstract: Purpose – This paper sets out to explore the trends of social responsibility of the corporate sector in India.Design/methodology/approach – The methodology being followed in the paper is exploratory in nature as data are scanty. An analysis has been done on an overall score drawn from a structured questionnaire being administered.Findings – Trends in socially responsible initiatives are both positive and crucial in nature in India.Research limitations/implications – The vastness of the corporate activities in a big country like India, on the one hand, and the scanty data availability, on the other, lead to issues being restricted in some sectors.Practical implications – This research has a tremendous effect on society with respect to the CSR approach being conceived, adopted and initiated by UN Global Compact.Originality/value – The paper has touched on the cutting‐edge research initiatives in the field of CSR.
61 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the nature and correlates of poverty in Ghana using the most recently published household living standards survey; they computed poverty indicators using the Foster et al., and Theil's inequality indicators to examine the nature of poverty.
Abstract: Purpose – This paper's purpose is to examine the nature and correlates of poverty in Ghana.Design/methodology/approach – Using the most recently published household living standards survey; the paper computes poverty indicators using the Foster et al., and Theil's inequality indicators to examine the nature of poverty. It also does a qualitative analysis on the nature of poverty by examining access to social amenities by households. Finally, based on standard empirical literature the paper runs an ordinary least squares and a probit regression to determine the correlates of poverty.Findings – Most households rely on wood fuel, do not have access to tap water and live in rooms rather than full apartments. Expenditure inequality is high and greater in the rural areas compared to the urban areas. Inequality within locations appears to be the main source of national inequality. A household is less likely to be poor if the head is educated, as well as if the household is urban based. Again, households with hea...
59 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the process of green community entrepreneurship in the social economy by studying creative responses among environmental non-profit organizations to an external fiscal shock and identify the factors that facilitate this process.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the process of green community entrepreneurship in the social economy by studying creative responses among environmental non‐profit organizations to an external fiscal shock.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 12 managers of environmental non‐profit organizations were interviewed to identify and classify their responses to a single external fiscal shock. These organizations are connected by a social capital network, their national association, Green Communities Canada. The social economy and ecological economics literatures are reviewed to construct a definition of green community entrepreneurship. Interview respondents identified factors which facilitate this process.Findings – The need for green community entrepreneurship was driven by two interrelated issues (a loss of external government funding, and an associated market collapse for residential energy audits), and facilitated by three main factors (external social capital network flows, internal ...
56 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors applied Granger non-causality tests by Toda-Yamamota, Dolado and Lutkephol (popularly known as the TYDL model) for an empirical exercise to find out the causal linkages between stock market and economic activity.
Abstract: Purpose – An understanding on the linkages between financial development and economic growth in general and the stock market with economic activity in particular is imperative in emerging economies. The objective of this paper is to find out the causal linkages between stock market and economic activity in India.Design/methodology/approach – The paper applies recently developed Granger non‐causality tests by Toda‐Yamamota, Dolado and Lutkephol (popularly known as the TYDL model) for an empirical exercise.Findings – The notable finding of the paper is that both the stock price (BSE Sensex) and economic activity (IIP) are integrated of order one, i.e. I (1). The Johansen‐Juselius co‐integration tests suggest the existence of one co‐integrating vector. This rules out spurious relations and suggests the presence of at least one direction of causality. The TYDL model suggests that there is bi‐directional causality between stock price and economic activity during the post‐liberalization period, implying that a ...
56 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluate the conventional binary hierarchical representation of the formal/informal economy dualism which reads informal employment as a residual and marginal sphere that has largely negative consequences for economic development and needs to be deterred.
Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to evaluate critically the conventional binary hierarchical representation of the formal/informal economy dualism which reads informal employment as a residual and marginal sphere that has largely negative consequences for economic development and needs to be deterred Design/methodology/approach – To contest this depiction, the results of 600 household interviews conducted in Ukraine during 2005/2006 on the extent and nature of their informal employment are reported Findings – Informal employment is revealed to be an extensively used form of work and, through a richer and more textured understanding of the multiple roles that different forms of informal employment play, a form of work that positively contributes to economic and social development, acting both as an important seedbed for enterprise creation and development and as a primary vehicle through which community self-help is delivered in contemporary Ukraine Research limitations/implications – This survey reveals that depicting informal employment as a hindrance to development and deterring engagement in this sphere results in state authorities destroying the entrepreneurial endeavour and active citizenship that other public policies are seeking to nurture The paper concludes by addressing how this public policy paradox might start to be resolved Originality/value – This paper is one of the first to document the role of informal employment in nurturing enterprise creation and development as well as community exchange
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a case study of how sustainable livelihoods approaches (SLAs) to development may allow an alternative and less universalistic approach to environmental changes such as soil erosion.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to debates about environmental policy in developing countries by examining how far sustainable livelihoods approaches (SLAs) to development may allow an alternative and less universalistic approach to environmental changes such as soil erosion.Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides an overview of debates about environmental narratives and SLAs. There are tensions in both debates, about how far local institutions represent adaptations to predefined environmental risks, or instead enable a redefinition of risks according to the experience of poor people. In addition, there is a tension in how far SLAs should be seen as a fixed institutional design, or as a framework for organizing ideas and concerns about development. The paper presents research on soil erosion in Thailand as a case study of how SLAs can redefine risks from erosion for poor people.Findings – SLAs provide a more contextual analysis of how environmental changes such as soil erosio...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the relationship between government revenue and expenditure for Fiji and found evidence of fiscal synchronization, implying that expenditure decisions are not made in isolation from revenue decisions.
Abstract: Purpose – Understanding the relationship between government revenue and government expenditure is important from a policy point of view, especially for a country like Fiji, which is suffering from persistent budget deficits The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between government revenue and expenditure for FijiDesign/methodology/approach – The Johansen test for cointegration and Granger causality test are used to conduct the empirical analysisFindings – The key findings are that: government revenue and government expenditure in both the aggregate and disaggregate sense are cointegrated; in the short‐run government expenditure Granger causes government revenue in an aggregate sense, departmental expenditure Granger causes aggregate revenue, and there is bidirectional causality running between government expenditure and customs duties; and in the long‐run there is evidence of fiscal synchronization, implying that expenditure decisions are not made in isolation from revenue decisionsR
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore and compare three different principles for allocating responsibility for governance in a multi-level context of addressing sustainable development: culpability, capacity and concern.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore and compare three different principles – the culpability, capacity and concern principles – for allocating responsibility for governance in a multi‐level context of addressing sustainable development.Design/methodology/approach – The principles are first analysed from a theoretical and normative standpoint, linking to earlier literature on for example, the contribution principle, subsidiarity and global citizenship. Then the three principles are analysed in an empirical setting. The selected case is the issue complex around the health and environmental concerns from pesticide use in developing countries. Document analysis and semi‐structured interviews were carried out with relevant stakeholders from local, national and global governance levels on themes which enabled analysis of the workability and justness of the principles and whether they were already applied to some degree.Findings – Analysis of the case shows the mutual complementarity of the three p...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the possibility of a procedural deliberative alternative to an atomistic conception of individuals and an economic logic of markets or a priori universal lists, as ethical foundation for evaluating socio-economic change.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the possibility of a procedural deliberative alternative to an atomistic conception of individuals and an economic logic of markets or a priori universal lists, as ethical foundation for evaluating socio‐economic change.Design/methodology/approach – To develop this argument, the paper combines a modified Kantian categorical imperative with deliberative ethics drawing on the writings of Habermas and Dewey. The journey through the European Enlightenment thought of Kant to the contemporary thought of Habermas and Bourdieu aims at mapping continuity and change in key themes in development ethics. These ideas are then given practical application in a case‐study of the people‐forestry interface in Nepal.Findings – The paper shows how Kantian non‐deception links to Habermas' notion of communicative action and Dewey's notion of cooperative inquiry, and how Kantian non‐coercion links to the inclusion of subaltern voices. While the paper proposes that more open deli...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a paradigmatic look at corporate governance and argue that any view expressed with respect to corporate governance is based on one of the four paradigms or worldviews.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a paradigmatic look at corporate governance.Design/methodology/approach – This paper starts with the premise that any worldview can be associated with one of the four basic paradigms: functionalist, interpretive, radical humanist, and radical structuralist. The paper looks at the current state of mainstream academic finance and notes that it is founded only on the functionalist paradigm. It argues that any view expressed with respect to corporate governance is based on one of the four paradigms or worldviews. It, therefore, discusses four views expressed with respect to the nature and role of corporate governance.Findings – The paper emphasizes that the four views expressed are equally scientific and informative; they look at the nature and role of corporate governance from a certain paradigmatic viewpoint. Emphasizing this example in the area of corporate governance, the paper concludes that there are opportunities for mainstream academic finance, in gene...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the importance of people's micro-attitudes when confronted by such events, and the freedom of the agent to react appropriately in order to generate peace, and his responsibility towards the other, become nowadays essential and have to be improved by appropriate innovative education programs.
Abstract: Purpose – Conflicts, especially when they turn into civil war or genocide, have irreversible consequences for people. The impact is not only economic as shown by several quantitative studies, but also social and ethical since it deeply affects the mind and behaviour of both current and future generations. The main issue is, therefore, to avoid the eruption of such conflicts, in both pre and post‐conflict situations, by implementing preventive approaches. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue.Design/methodology/approach – Even if macro‐analyses bring up a series of objective causal factors to explain the reasons of uprisings and conflicts, we insist on the importance of people's micro‐attitudes when confronted by such events. The freedom of the agent to react appropriately in order to generate peace, and his responsibility towards the other, become nowadays essential and have to be improved by appropriate innovative education programmes.Findings – Learning to live together and to behave with e...
TL;DR: The role of ethics and values in the Indian economy and business in ancient times and the changed nature of these factors in the contemporary period is discussed in this paper, where books and writings from ancient times are used for discussions related to the earlier periods.
Abstract: Purpose – This paper seeks to give an idea about the role of ethics and values in the Indian economy and business in ancient times and the changed nature of these factors in the contemporary period.Design/methodology/approach – Books and writings from ancient times are used for discussions related to the earlier periods. Studies by the author and other scholars are used to analyze the contemporary situation.Findings – Ethics and values have guided the Indian economy and business since ancient times. With the large‐scale destruction of the native systems in the eighteenth century, and the failure to recognize and revive them after independence, ethics and noble values ceased to guide the economic and business systems. At the local business and society levels, higher human qualities such as help, faith‐based business transactions and basic norms are present even today, especially at the non‐corporate level.Research limitations/implications – This paper does not discuss different aspects of ethics and values...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the association between economic factors (consumer price index, real gross domestic product per capita, base discount rate, and rate of unemployment) and numbers of hospital psychiatric beds.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between economic factors (consumer price index, real gross domestic product per capita, base discount rate, and rate of unemployment) and numbers of hospital psychiatric beds.Design/methodology/approach – Time series analytical techniques (unit root and cointegration tests) were applied to two regional data sets from the nineteenth century (North Carolina, USA; Berkshire, UK) and three national data sets in the twentieth century (US; UK; Italy) to test the hypothesis of a relationship.Findings – All data sets suggest a long‐run relationship between economic factors and psychiatric bed numbers. Increase of consumer price predicted a decrease of hospital beds (and vice versa) in all data sets and was the strongest predictor of changes in psychiatric bed numbers. Hence, economic factors appear to be an important driver for the supply of hospital beds.Research limitations/implications – Cointegration tests are not true causality tests as they o...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the framework of one of the leading awards of India by testing the relationship between stakeholder results and enabling practices using regression analysis, structural equation model and data envelopment analysis.
Abstract: Purpose – Quality and business excellence awards that recognize excellent organizational performance have become a major driving force in enhancing the competitiveness of Indian firms in the global economy. While the frameworks underlying these awards have been used extensively by organizations, little empirical evidence exists regarding the validity of these frameworks as a predictor of building competitiveness. This paper aims to address this issue.Design/methodology/approach – This study critically examines the framework of one of the leading awards of India by testing the relationship between stakeholder results and enabling practices using regression analysis, structural equation model and data envelopment analysis.Findings – The results of the study reveal that the framework is used by the organizations to enhance firm level competitiveness but not as a tool to contribute to national competitiveness.Research limitations/implications – There is scope for further research to review the effectiveness a...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the possible impacts of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) for sustainable development of tourism, especially in the context of the third world.
Abstract: Purpose – The paper is developed around, and aims to focus on, the possible impacts of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) for sustainable development of tourism, especially in the context of the third worldDesign/methodology/approach – The paper is an exploration of the issuesFindings – Findings generally imply that the historical development of GATS is not in tune with the aspirations of the small and medium scale enterprises in tourism, especially those located in the South The agreements show only scant regard for the principles of sustainable development, tooPractical implications – On a pragmatic level, the paper highlights the opportunities and threats to the stakeholders It focuses on the most disadvantaged ones in tourism development and provides a set of guidelines for informed actionOriginality/value – The paper tries to explain the meaning and intent of technical and arcane treaty clauses in understandable terms and provide a set of guidelines within which the treaty has to
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed the pay and performance of chief executive officers (CEOs) in Portuguese, non-profit organizations (NPOs), focusing on the role played by the economic performance of the organization, together with the structure of the board and individual characteristics of the manager.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the pay and performance of chief executive officers (CEOs) in Portuguese, non‐profit organizations (NPOs), focusing on the role played by the economic performance of the organization, together with that played by the structure of the board and the individual characteristics of the manager If the CEO can influence the board structure, agency problems arise, which in turn allow the CEO to extract rent and demand compensation in excess of the equilibrium levelDesign/methodology/approach – An ordinary least squares (OLS) model and an instrumental variable (IV) models are estimated for comparative purposes The IV permits to account for endogenous variables in the regressionFindings – It is concluded that governance is important in the Portuguese non‐profit sector Several variables affect the CEO, namely, organization performance variables, board composition variables and individual variables This result highlights the urgent need for a code of governance
TL;DR: In this article, the authors test whether performance differences between labour-managed and mercantile firms are due to the measures used in the comparison, rather than to their distinct capital ownership configurations.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test whether performance differences between labour‐managed (LOFs) and mercantile (PCFs) firms are due to the measures used in the comparison, rather than to their distinct capital‐ownership configurations.Design/methodology/approach – Tests for the equality of two means and two variances of a variety of performance measures were used to ascertain whether differences between LOFs and PCFs firms are due to the measures used in the comparison, rather than to their distinct capital‐ownership configurationsFindings – The indicators analyzed do not provide either type of organizational structure a definite superiority in either short‐economic performance or in short‐term profitability and the profitability indicators assign as good a chance of survival to LOFs as to PCFs of similar size, even if the analysis of their respective debt structures indicates some clear limitations on their growth prospects.Practical implications – The paper stresses the importance of using ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a framework that describes how culture evolves and how certain external shocks may or may not cause it to change, by examining culture from the game-equilibrium view of institutions.
Abstract: Purpose – This paper seeks to propose a framework that describes how culture evolves and how certain external shocks may or may not cause it to change.Design/methodology/approach – The central point is that culture, like firms and markets, is a type of institution and is, therefore, susceptible to the same sort of analysis applied to other institutional forms. In this study, culture is examined from the game‐equilibrium view of institutions that suggests that norms of behavior are endogenously generated and become self‐enforcing through the repeated interaction of individuals. Two historical examples are offered to assess the proposed framework: the experience of ethnic Malays in Malaysia following independence from Britain, and Brazil's agricultural workers during the early part of the twentieth century.Findings – Conceptualizing culture in institutional terms challenges conventional wisdom, which regards culture as exogenously given. The institutional view of culture permits an evaluation of environment...
TL;DR: In this article, a case study in the globalization of jobs in Ireland by objectively assessing many socioeconomic implications of the call center industry in Ireland is presented. And the authors explore in depth the nature of call center sociopolitical activity and influence.
Abstract: Purpose – This paper seeks to build on a previous article published in International Journal of Social Economics Vol. 33 No. 10 titled, “A case study in the globalization of jobs in Ireland” by objectively assessing many socioeconomic implications of the call center industry in Ireland. The paper first builds a foundation of understanding on what comprises the call center sector and highlights the fact that it is a large, complex and stratified business. It investigates the socioeconomic impact of this industry on Ireland by analyzing how Irish call center jobs pay compared with other Irish industry sectors and the impact of immigration on salary levels. The paper also assesses the evolution of the business model of Irish call centers and Ireland's international recruiting patterns as they impact the Irish labor pool. Finally, it seeks to explore in depth the nature of call center sociopolitical activity and influence.Design/methodology/approach – This general review is based on a field research project i...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provided empirical evidence of food security and human development interrelationships for a sample of low-income countries, and found that food accessibility, measured by food prices and vulnerability are negatively correlated with human development, and that poor countries should increase efforts to enhance agricultural production through an operational emphasis on farmers at a risk of food insecurity.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence of food security and human development inter‐relationships for a sample of low‐income countries.Design/methodology/approach – The analytical procedure involves the estimation of a reduced form equation utilising cross‐country data that relates human development to food security indicators.Findings – Empirical results confirm a positive correlation between food availability, calories and protein supply and human development. Food accessibility, measured by food prices and vulnerability are found to be negatively correlated with human development.Practical implications – The implication of the findings is that poor countries should increase efforts to enhance agricultural production through an operational emphasis on farmers at a risk of food insecurity – especially low‐income small holders and women farmers.Originality/value – The paper examines the effect of food security on human well being.
TL;DR: In this article, several measures of public sector capital stock are constructed and used in testing the effects of human capital investment on private sector productivity and the main finding is that human capital that is generated within the public sector increases private-sector productivity.
Abstract: Purpose – To analyse productivity of public expenditures; especially to find out the effect of human capital investment on private sector productivity.Design/methodology/approach – Several measures of public sector capital stock are constructed. These measures are used in testing the effects on private sector productivity. Empirical analysis makes use of cross‐country panel data and utilizes various panel econometric methods.Findings – The main finding is that public sector capital has a positive impact on private sector productivity. Some evidence is provided to the hypotheses that also human capital that is generated within the public sector increases private sector productivity.Research limitations/implications – There are a lot of measurement problems with the cross‐country data. Also the non‐stationarity of data creates some estimation problems. These may have some impact on the quantitative, but perhaps not on qualitative, nature of results.Originality/value – Relatively few analysis have made in th...
TL;DR: In this paper, an empirical analysis of the relationship between total consumption of different key metals (aluminium, copper, lead, nickel, tin and zinc) and per capita income of some important developing countries (Brazil, China and India) today present in the international scenario with very different perspectives from in the past.
Abstract: Purpose – The main purpose of the paper is to propose an empirical analysis of the relationship between total consumption of different key metals (aluminium, copper, lead, nickel, tin and zinc) and per capita income of some important developing countries (Brazil, China and India) today present in the international scenario with very different perspectives from in the past.Design/methodology/approach – The research is carried out investigating a double aim. Mainly, whether the environmental Kuznets' Curve (EKC) model related to material consumption (and hence “renamed” as material Kuznets' Curve) could be used – in empirical terms – as a possible explanatory pattern of past and current trends for these three important countries. Second, whether the observable trends in industrialised countries is similar to those already implemented in the developing ones. After a brief, but ineluctable, premise considering the theoretical basic assumptions to define the issue and regarding general statements, the specific...
TL;DR: Examining gender differences in occupational status among South Korean workers in 1988 and 1998 to better understand how occupational status differs by gender between these time periods finds occupational segregation by gender was more extreme.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine gender differences in occupational status among South Korean workers in 1988 and 1998. In 1988, the South Korean National Assembly enacted an Equal Employment Opportunity Act. The goal is to better understand how occupational status differs by gender between these time periods.Design/methodology/approach – Using the “88 and 98 Occupational Wage Bargaining Survey on the Actual Condition (OWS),” the paper examines occupational differences by gender and log wage using OLS.Findings – Occupational segregation by gender was more extreme in 1988 than 1998. In 1988, 83.3 percent of all female workers were employed in three broad occupational categories. Few women (5.4 percent) worked as professional, technical or administrative workers. By 1998, 11.5 percent of female workers were employed as professionals. The highest paid occupational categories, in South Korea, have the lowest percentage of female workers. Women benefit from additional educational experience, t...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that knowledge in general, and knowledge of markets in particular, is ultimately a product of the researcher's paradigmatic approach to a multifaceted phenomenon and therefore it is as much an ethical, moral, social, ideological, and political activity, as it is a technical one.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show that knowledge in general, and knowledge of markets in particular, is ultimately a product of the researcher's paradigmatic approach to a multifaceted phenomenon and therefore it is as much an ethical, moral, social, ideological, and political activity, as it is a technical one.Design/methodology/approach – Any adequate analysis of markets necessarily requires fundamental understanding of the worldviews underlying the views expressed with respect to the nature and role of markets. This paper starts with the premise that any worldview can be associated with one of the four basic paradigms: functionalist, interpretive, radical humanist, and radical structuralist.Findings – It shows that any view expressed with respect to markets is based on one of the four paradigms or worldviews and is equally scientific and informative.Research limitations/implications – The paper's discussion is limited to only four paradigms.Originality/value – The paper notes that there ar...