Showing papers on "Underdevelopment published in 2003"

Late Victorian holocausts : El Niño famines and the making of the Third World

Abstract: "Late Victorian Holocausts" focuses on three zones of drought and subsequent famine: India, Northern China and North-Eastern Brazil. All of these countries were effected by the same global climatic factors that caused massive crop failures, and all experienced brutal famines that decimated the populations. The effects of drought were magnified in each case because of singularly destructive policies promulgated by different ruling elites. The author, Mike Davis, argues that the seeds of underdevelopment in what later became known as "The Third World" were sown in this era of high imperialism, as the price for Capitalist modernization was paid in the currency of millions of peasants' lives.

The Lopsided Continent: Inequality in Latin America

Abstract: ▪ Abstract Latin America has the most unbalanced distribution of resources of all regions in the world. This review defines a set of common elements characterizing social structures on that continent, suggests some lines for analysis and theorizing, and supports the integration of regional studies into broader discussions of stratification. We begin with an overview of the situation on the continent as a whole, including a short discussion of the relationship between poverty and inequality, where we also address some concerns with data availability. We then devote a section each to class, gender, and race. We conclude by identifying three critical factors that explain Latin American inequality: its position within a global economic system, internal colonialism with maintenance of racial categories, and the underdevelopment of state structures.

Negotiating Citizenship: Migrant Women in Canada and the Global System

Abstract: Introduction: Negotiating Citizenship Negotiating Citizenship in an Era of Globalization Underdevelopment, Structural Adjustment and Gendered Migration from the West Indies and the Philippines Gatekeepers to the Domestic Service Industry in Canada Foreign Domestic Workers in Canada Marginalized and Dissident Citizens - Nurses of Colour The Global Citizenship Divide and the Negotiation of Legal Rights Dissident Transnational Citizenship: Resistance, Solidarity and Organisation Conclusion

The Politics of Higher Education: Toward an Expanded Research Agenda:

Abstract: The politics of higher education as a field of study suffers from acute underdevelopment. The challenge confronting politics of higher education researchers is one of stimulating a systematic and sustained scholarship that is topically, theoretically, and methodologically multidimensional. The purpose of this article is to suggest prospective research directions that correspond with each of three broad recommendations for organizing future research in this important area of inquiry: the need for a wider range of issue coverage, the need for a broadened and enriched theoretical perspective, and the need for improved analytic sophistication and rigor. Substantial emphasis in the article is placed on comparative approaches to research so as to take maximal advantage of the multiple political and policy “laboratories” afforded by American federalism.

Migrant Remittances and (Under)Development in Mexico

Abstract: This article examines two heuristically defined positions regarding the relationship between international migration and rural economic development in Mexico: the `structuralist' or `historical structuralist' position of the 1970s and early 1980s that argued that remittances do not lead to rural economic development; and the `functionalist' position of the 1990s that argued the opposite. The author critiques systematically the functionalist position, then situates it politically in the context of failed neoliberal economic policies. He argues for the need to study international migration as a total social process, that takes into account the comparative impact of migrant labor on the US and Mexican economies. Despite its subordination of social actors to determining social structures, the structural approach offers a better starting point for a reformulated approach to the social and economic consequences of international migration in the contemporary world.

Export Diversification in Low-Income Countries: An International Challenge After Doha

Abstract: This paper discusses major policy issues related to commodity dependence and export diversification in low-income countries. Contrary to some widely-held view, it argues that natural resources are not necessarily a "curse" — that they do not condemn low-income countries to underdevelopment but can provide rather a basis for sustained export-led growth. Natural resource-based sectors have potential for export diversification. The OECD "mirror" trade data suggest that many different routes to diversification exist, including resource-based manufacturing and processing of primary products. However, these opportunities are not being exploited in many low-income countries. This is because export diversification is typically a slow process, and this process needs to be sustained by an appropriate and coherent strategy, characterised by a combination of vision, co-ordination and management of conflicting interests. Moreover, the analysis of trade support services in two African countries ...

Development and corruption : The East Asian paradox

Abstract: East Asia presents scholars of political economy with a number of puzzles and paradoxes. First and foremost, East Asia has defied the developmental odds. While most of the non-western world has struggled and often failed to break out of a vicious cycle of underdevelopment, growth rates in East Asia have greatly exceeded those in all other regions of the world. Since current economic wisdom holds that, ceteris paribus, higher levels of corruption should be associated with lower rates of development,1 East Asia’s economic success is paradoxical because most of the region’s countries have been dogged by relatively serious high-level corruption throughout the period of rapid growth.

Democracy, Governance, and Growth

Abstract: For many decades, underdevelopment in much of the world was blamed variously on capital deficits, exploitation by rich nations, and market-distorting economic policies. The chapters in this volume provide much of the evidence underpinning a growing consensus among development and growth economists that successful economic development depends more fundamentally on the way societies are organized and governed. They argue that "good governance" is a prerequisite to sustained increases in living standards.The difference between developmental success and failure in this view has little to do with natural resource availability, climate, aid, or developed nations' policies. Rather, it is largely a function of whether incentives within a given society steer wealth-maximizing individuals toward producing new wealth or toward diverting it from others. The chapters, seminal essays written by Mancur Olson and his IRIS Center colleagues, provide theoretical and/or empirical underpinnings for the emerging consensus that differences in the way governments and societies are organized have enormous implications for the structure of incentives faced by politicians, bureaucrats, investors, and workers, which in turn determines the level of a nation's material well-being.Overall this volume applies tools and concepts from the "New Institutional Economics" to some of the major issues in economic development. It will be of interest to scholars and students of various disciplines--including political science, law, and sociology as well as economics--interested in the determinants of economic development and global economic change. The book will also be of interest to many aid practitioners, particularly those working in anticorruption and public sector reform issues.Stephen Knack is Senior Research Economist, Development Research Group, the World Bank.

The rise of the Ukrainian oligarchs

Abstract: Like many post-Soviet societies, Ukraine has experienced over the past decade the emergence of an oligarchic system. Political and economic elites have become locked into a 'partial reform equilibrium'. Unfinished political and economic reforms have fostered the exchange of economic resources against political support, weakened the state capacity and opened the way to undemocratic outcomes. President Kuchma has become the centre of a 'personal rulership', in which rent-seekers and rent-givers have forged an alliance aimed at preserving the current state of affairs. The consequent situation of stall has benefited both economic actors, allowing them access to the redistribution of national wealth, and political actors, allowing them to consolidate unchallenged their position of power. The systematic plunder of economic resources, perpetrated under the oligarchic system, has imposed great costs upon Ukrainian society, condemning it to a vicious circle of underdevelopment, administrative weakness and inabilit...

Debates in local economic development policy and practice

Abstract: A NEW PARADIGM FOR LED? Local Economic Development (LED) is a discipline still coming into its own, with competing strands of argumentation still generating conflict. At the root of the conflict is debate over whether traditional types of local strategies a) are working, and b) are generating ‘pro-poor’ economic development, or simply more ‘uneven development’. The latter term refers to a structured, systematic mode of capital accumulation at one pole, and the ‘development of underdevelopment’ at another. Although it was once associated with ‘dependency theory’, it is a far more subtle conceptual approach to understanding ingrained poverty and inequality (Bond, 1998, 1999, 2000a, 2000b). The past two decades have, after all, witnessed extraordinary pressure on local authorities, especially formal municipalities, to become more entrepreneurial. These pressures have accompanied the overall slow-down in growth in the international economy that began during the late 1970s, and reflect shifting power relations. In short, urban entrepreneurialism became a feature of virtually all LED strategies as competition for investment intensified. The term ‘smokestack chasing’ emerged to characterise the most ambitious attempts to ‘place-market’ a given municipality. The tide has probably turned on this epoch, which was called the period of the ‘Washington Consensus’ because it entailed rigid nation-state adherence to ‘neoliberal’ (free-market) dictates, often enforced by the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and the discipline of international financial markets. These included:  government budget cuts, increases in user-fees for public services and privatisation of state enterprises;  the lifting of price controls, subsidies and any other distortions of market forces;  liberalisation of currency controls and currency devaluation;  higher interest rates and deregulation of local finance;  removal of import barriers (trade tariffs and quotas); and  an emphasis on promotion of exports, above all other economic priorities.

Technology, Inequality, and Underdevelopment: The Case of Latin America

Abstract: The conventional wisdom is that the best way to alleviate poverty is to provide the maximum freedom for individual entrepreneurs and corporations to create wealth Drawing on the case of Latin America, this article contends that there are serious defects in analyses based on such assumptions New technologies and restructuring of international capitalism have accelerated wealth creation worldwide but amid growing inequalities Technology is mainly controlled by large multinational corporations and not directed at relieving the deprivation suffered by the world's poor Pervasive, persistent economic inequality and lack of access to appropriate education and training have all been significant in Latin America's failure to develop rapidly during the twentieth century Most successful “latecomer” countries in the past two hundred years have adopted heterodox autonomous growth strategies, and the authors suggest that such strategies are necessary now to counter the powerful processes that sustain inequality

Poverty, underdevelopment and infant mental health*

Abstract: Very great advances have occurred in disciplinary and professional knowledge of infant development and its influence on subsequent development. This expertise includes the ways in which early experiences affect the capacity of mature individuals for social adjustment and productive competence, and promising methods of intervention to promote infant mental health and prevent adverse sequelae of risk conditions. However, very little of this knowledge has been applied in work among infants and children living in conditions of poverty and underdevelopment. This lack of application continues despite the enormous threats to the well-being of infants and young children brought about by the combined effects of poverty and the AIDS pandemic, especially in southern Africa. Protein-energy malnutrition, maternal depression, and institutional care of infants and small children are cited as illustrative of areas in which interventions, and their evaluation, are desperately needed in resource-poor countries. An argument is made for the critical importance of considering and addressing psychological factors in care givers and children in conditions of extreme material need. An example is provided of a simple intervention model based on sound developmental principles that can be implemented by trained non-professionals in conditions of poverty and underdevelopment.

Feminist Post-Development Thought: Rethinking Modernity, Post-Colonialism, and Representation

Abstract: Feminist Post-Development Thought: Rethinking Modernity, Post-Colonialism, and Representation, edited by Kriemild Saunders (London: Zed, 2002) The keywords "feminist thought" and "post-development" in the title to this book at once open the overwhelming debates in which development is seen as the excruciating test of the entire body of feminist thought in practise The highly contested meanings of development (in terms of whose, why, and how) and feminist thought (structured by race, class, and ideological and global hierarchies) point to the obvious pitfalls that such a project is likely to encounter Such contradictions are often problematised and convened in the collective body of 'Third World women," who are seen not only as incapacitated in terms of gender, like their counterparts in rest of the world, but also as suffering additional deprivations on account of regional underdevelopment Therefore, the symbolic Third World woman presents the ultimate challenge of development to the visionaries and practitioners An advanced form of Pierre Bourdieu's "field" of contesting social forces is embodied in this woman as the development experts are now joined by "First World" feminists who campaign for and draw attention to the plight of this ubiquitous woman This brings together the non-representational character of "the women in Other' non-European/North American places" in the world and the frequently voiced project of letting the "other" women speak for themselves The challenges and visions of development then become a source of critique of prevalent feminist thought that unwittingly tends to focus on the Third World and the female bodies therein as laboratories for experiments in "development" This collection of seventeen lucidly written essays attempts a bold step further in reviewing feminist thought vis-a-vis visions of post-development The task is simultaneously to present a critique of current development ideologies as well as to recognise and theorise the inherent schisms in feminist thought The introductory chapter by Kriemild Saunders makes a systematic overview of the various debates opened by the feminist discourses on development The historical moorings of the various debates are collectively described as the "opening of a sub-field" within the larger field of development (3) But the subsequent writings show that the auxiliary nature of the sub-field has over a period transmuted into a full field complete with its own little codes and phrases that are used and understood by others in the field The point here is that the entire discourse is presented in terms of a number of acronyms that carry certain obvious and immediate meanings to the "insiders'" in the field …

Strategies for Developing China's Software Industry

Abstract: The software industry is deemed an ideal target for a developing country to integrate into the world information and communications technology (ICT) market. On the one hand the industry is labor intensive, and the developing countries have a large labor surplus; on the other hand, it is a worldwide trend for developed countries to outsource a vast amount of low-end, software-related tasks to the low-cost countries and regions, which fits into some developing countries' caliber nicely. India has often been cited as the role model for a developing country to tap into the world software market for its continuous success in the software export sector. In comparison, China's software industry is still negligible in the world despite its sustained high economic growth rate since the economic reform took off in the late 1970s. This paper aims at examining strategies for developing China's software industry. We use India as a reference because of the similarities of the two countries' stages of economic development and the clear divergence in their ICT structures and development paths. Although the language barrier has often been singled out as the major obstacle for China's software exports, we believe the major reasons for its underdevelopment can be ascribed to the following factors. On the national level, the government attention has been skewed toward the hardware sector in the ICT industry, and there is no clear national vision for the strategic direction for the software industry. On the industry and firm level, software development has been regarded as the art of individual creativity rather than an engineering process. As a result, the importance of quality and standards, the two important critical factors in software development, have been largely neglected. Perhaps an even more fundamental factor lies in the deeply rooted notion that software is an attachment to the hardware and should be a free product. The lack of intellectual property rights protection on the government side also contributes to the low spending on software, which further hinders software firms' incentives to innovate. Extending Heeks's model of strategic positioning for developing country software enterprises, we conclude that rather than following in the footsteps of India to promote export, China should focus on its domestic software services market in the near term and pursue a more balanced development strategy in the long run. Rather than asking the question of whether China can become a major competitor like India in the world software market, we propose that there are rich opportunities for collaboration between China and world software superpowers, including India. Alliances between Chinese and foreign software firms will help both sides gain benefit from becoming cocompetitors in niche markets of mutual benefit. Cooperation with these international firms will also naturally open up foreign markets for the Chinese software firms.

The Vicious Circle of Party Underdevelopment in Russia: The Regional Connection

Abstract: This article explores the region-level impediments to the process of party formation in Russia during 1993–2002. The design of Russia’s national electoral system produces parties because they are e...

Foreign Direct Investment, Democracy and Development: Assessing Contours, Correlates and Concomitants of Globalization

Abstract: Introduction Outline of Study Chapter 1 The Contours of Globalization The Globalization Debate The Advance of Globalization Trade Growth of FDI Growth of Democracy Growth of Income and Welfare Open Markets and Development Chapter 2 Globalization and Development: Theory Old and New Introduction The Neo-Liberals and Development The Neo-Marxists Theories of Underdevelopment Causality Between FDI and Democracy Chapter 3 Globalization and Growth Empirics Introduction Capital is not Capital! PEN Empirics Controversy Adjudication: New Data, Models and Results Results of New Analyses Chapter 4 Democracy and Growth: Theory Old and New Introduction Regime Type and Economic Growth Collusive Elite? Convulsive Mass? Discerning 'Good' Democracy from 'Bad': A Synthesis The Hypothesis, Variables and Data Chapter 5 Empirics of Democracy and Growth and Growth of Democracy Introduction Results and Conclusions Globalization and Democracy Causality Chapter 6 Assessing Globalization's Correlates and Concomitants Summary, Conclusions and Implications

Language planning in Zimbabwe: The conservation and management of indigenous languages as intangible heritage

Abstract: It is necessary to promote and enhance African languages as intangible cultural heritage. This heritage needs conservation and management in the form of language planning and policy making that would contribute towards the restoration of the indigenous speakers’ humanity, identity and culture. Our indigenous languages seek to focus on African philosophy, aesthetics, art, performing arts, politics, sociology, sport and other subjects. These languages would explore ways in which the forms of African cultural life and expression will help to shape, inform and influence cultures and intellectual traditions across the globe. It is necessary to transcend colonial alienation as “part and parcel of the anti-imperialist struggles of [Zimbabweans] and African peoples” whose indigenous languages “were associated with negative qualities of backwardness, underdevelopment, humiliation and punishment.” (Ngugi, 1981:28). This paper will testify the superiority of our indigenous languages to English. The researcher believes in the maxim “free your mind”: the mind must be liberated even from the confines of biased Afro-centric thought. These languages will convey the profound need for the Zimbabwean people to be re-located historically, economically, socially, linguistically, politically, and philosophically. For a number of years, Africans have been devoid of their cultural, economic, religious, political and social heritage. They have been living on the periphery of Europe. It is this “illusion of the fringes” that this paper seeks to eliminate and restore “the African person as an agent in human history…” (Asante, 2003:1)This will answer questions on how African cultural and intellectual traditions radically and indelibly shape the world. In demanding to know the total system of truth about the world, the first step is to know the reality of our own existence through our indigenous languages.

CHALLENGING MODERNIZATION : Gender and Development, postmodern feminism and activism

Abstract: Studies of change and transformation in the South have been described as studies of “development,” “modernization,” “underdevelopment”2 and for gender-related issues has been associated with “Women in Development” (WID) or more recently “Gender and Development” (GAD). Suffice it to say these are political discourses, which legitimize mainstream definitions of modernization and development. As Marianne Marchand points out in chapter 3 “development” has been a problematic concept-not only because it accepts and perpetuates unequal relations in the global economy, but also because it ignores the possibility that people may perceive “progress” or “development” very differently from policy makers. For instance, the poor may desire greater material well-being without altering their patterns of social life-such as the Chipko movement (Shiva 1988). Development, then, is a contentious term, especially with the emergence of neo-liberalism in the post-Cold War era and the emphasis on market reforms as the principle mechanism to mediate contemporary core-periphery relations in the global system.3 But even theories of development and underdevelopment remain firmly anchored in emancipatory paradigms that emerged in the age of Enlightenment.

The politics of underdevelopment: metered to death-how a water experiment caused riots and a cholera epidemic.

Abstract: Water privatization programs in South Africa, part of a government policy aimed at making people pay for the full cost of running water (“total cost recovery”), was developed by private water companies and the World Bank to finance improved water supplies and build the country's economy. Instead the programs are causing more misery than development. Millions of poor people have had their water supply cut off because of inability to pay, forcing them to get their water from polluted rivers and lakes and leading to South Africa's worst cholera outbreak—which the government paid millions of dollars to control. Residents in some townships are rebelling, and many of the private multinational water companies are reassessing their involvement in South Africa.

The Rise and Fall of the Dependency Movement: Does It Inform Underdevelopment Today?

Abstract: While dependency theory as a conscious, explicit approach to development can be considered a thing of the past, its legacy is very much with us. The impact that dependency ideas held in Latin American centers of academia was pervasive, while also gaining many adherents in Europe and the United States. Perhaps more importantly, this impact went beyond scholarly circles. As Falcoff (1980, 797) observed, "dependency explanations…are no longer confined to academic sanctuaries; they are now the common currency of a growing body of generals bishops, editors, chiefs of state, even Latin American businessmen." What gave the dependency perspective particular allure is that, unlike other previous paradigms, it was held to be a distinctively Latin American analysis of Latin American development. Its legacy can be discerned from the pronouncements of Latin American scholars, policymakers and politicians who choose to put the emphasis on the structural conditions of the world economy that work against the prospects of the region's economies. Understanding the dependency movement is important, not least because it is a consequential episode in the history of social thought in Latin America. It also marks one of those rare instances in which ideas produced in the Third World come to influence the thinking of scholars in the developed world. Indeed, the supply of underdevelopment theory (principally structuralism and dependency) has been regarded as "Latin America's major contribution to the social sciences."

Financial Development in the CIS-7 Countries; Bridging the Great Divide

Abstract: This paper documents the great divide in the level of financial development between the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) 7 countries and the more advanced economies in transition, in particular those of Central and Eastern Europe and Baltic states. It discusses the roots of financial underdevelopment in the CIS-7 countries by examining the differentials in interest rate spreads between the CIS-7 countries and the transition economies that have achieved faster financial development. The roots of the divide are traced to weaknesses in the institutional infrastructure for financial intermediation, which lead to a combination of low depositor trust in the banking system and high credit risk. High credit risk stems mainly from the poor creditor-rights protection and weak auditing and accounting standards. Financial sector reform strategies that fail to give priority to the resolution of weaknesses in the basic financial infrastructure are unlikely to be successful in letting the CIS-7 countries bridge the great divide.

The Concept of the Sustainable Economy and the Promise of Japan's Transformation

Abstract: In recent years the concept of a sustainable economy has become a popular theme. Lester Brown's 1981 book, Building a Sustainable Society, called for a sustainable society based on conservation and population stability. While in the present economic situation this may seem absurd to some, the present dilemma is actually an appropriate context in which to discuss the concept. Human environmental exploitation has considerable effects on the ecology of the planet, thus the idea of sustainable human economies is appealing to many environmentalists. Some economists (e.g., Kennedy, 1993) have been skeptical of sustainability scenarios, but current trends in a few locales indicate potential avenues to sustainable economic adaptations. Paradigms of economic development lined to socio-cultural orientation and religious perspective have been used recently to explain social phenomenon like "fundamentalism" (see Armstrong, 2000). The basic concept in this argument is that a "conservative spirit" infuses nations historically Muslim which has impeded economic progress. Reference to Japan in this context should shed light on this argument. The present interest in sustainability may seem strange to applied anthropologists who questioned the development models of the post-W.W.II period, especially that of W.W. Rostow (1960). The debate at that time centered on the idea of underdevelopment as an index of cultural "vigor," with sustainable economies classified as "traditionalist." This attitude was expressed by Schaedel (1964) in the context of the period as, "The degree of utilization that a given society makes of its natural resources, given a certain basic technology, is presumably an index of cultural vigor, ingenuity, efficiency, or whatever concept one cares to employ." Carl Sauer proposed the idea that human society can achieve a positive level of economic adaptation which he called ecological climax (1941). Sir Joseph Hutchinson advanced this idea and described how such a society could maintain its vigor and stability, opposing still current theories by economists that stable societies must degrade (1966). In the 1970s a number of geographers and ecologists defined in opposition to this idea, one of a preferred goal of a "climax economy", one in which a society had become adapted to its environment at a level below its carrying capacity and recognizing the benefits of diversity in animal and plant populations and the value of wilderness (e.g., Fisher and Sargent, 1974). Little consideration, however, was made to studies of complexity which demonstrated that with increasing complexity and density of population societies undergo declining marginal productivity (even factoring for innovation), declining marginal returns on investment, and increased costliness per unit of energy extraction (Tainter, 1988). Consumption by humans, and the social consequences of consumer society, were noted by John Maynard Keynes in his Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, written in 1930. Keynes suggested potential adaptations to economic structure of societies which might lead to a world of slow or zero growth but maintain post industrial lifestyles and health. Failures in planned economies and the disparity between rich and poor in even some of the most developed Western economies have made Keynesian ideas seem idealistic to most. However, some trends exist today which may prove that sustainable modern economies are possible. Bogin (2001) reviewed the evolution of human population and its growth and showed that popular notions of a demographic transition are based on incomplete data on European populations in the 19th century presented as simple models in the works of Davis (1945) and Thompson (1929). These demographers assumed a natural progression from a preindustrial to an industrial stage in all societies. Anthropologists have demonstrated, however, that different societies experience a variety of population responses to industrialization; population "surges" are not uniform in relation to improved sanitation and health or in food production and distribution. …

Regional prestige: Cooperatives and agroindustrial identity in southwest Goiás, Brazil

Abstract: This study of a wealthy soybeancooperative in central Brazil shows howglobally ambitious institutions promotethemselves as regional organizations. Manystudies of cooperatives focus on their abilityto provide material improvements in the livesof cooperative members and to the locality inwhich they operate. Data from cooperativemembership, from promotional literature, andfrom local news article illustrate symbolicstrategies used by management to aggressivelypromote the idea that the cooperative saved theregion from underdevelopment. The claim that itrepresents regional interests is problematicbecause the cooperative has promoted frontierspeculation by its membership in the Amazon.The cooperative has also embracedexport-oriented agriculture and cattleranching, sidelining regional foodproduction.

Rethinking (reluctant) capture: south african telecommunications and the impact of regulation

Abstract: The South African telecommunications sector has recently been the subject of renewed interest as it commences its second phase of liberalization and opens up its fixed line market to competition. With democracy in place since 1994, the challenge of economic and social development created by the ravages of apartheid required detailed government policy in every sector. Telecommunications was no exception. Since the promulgation of the 1996 Telecommunications Act,' developmental objectives, particularly universal service, the advancement of small and medium enterprises (SMMEs) and the economic empowerment of historically disadvantaged individuals have rivalled more pedestrian sectoral reform goals often given priority in other countries, such as the promotion of innovation and competition. In 2001 the government began to articulate its plan for the future of telecommunication policy beyond the expiry of the incumbent's monopoly in 2002. Its vision continues to assume a positive correlation between telecommunication infrastructure and economic growth and suggests that policy is tailored to achieve that end. It also continues to draw on ideas of distributive justice, but rhetoric has begun to shift from emphasizing universal service objectives to stressing the importance of foreign investment and of maximizing revenue generation from the restructuring of state assets. Thus at her most recent parliamentary media briefing, the Minister of Communications underscored the connection between investment, economic growth and development and located foreign and domestic investment as "central factors" in addressing the "social ills of poverty unemployment, illiteracy and underdevelopment".2 With an unprecedented downturn in the global telecommunications market as background, this article assesses some of the new policy proposals for the sector already in the early phases of implementation. A brief overview of the development of the South African (SA) telecom industry will be provided and the contours of the new policy landscape sketched. It is suggested that a key concern regarding the sector's economic future lies in the regulatory environment and the role of vested interest groups in shaping its overall development. A number of legislative provisions having an adverse impact on sound regulatory governance will be examined. These have motivated an attempt to understand

Regress and War: The Case of the DRCongo

Abstract: The New York-based International Rescue Committee (IRC) estimates that, by the end of 2001, the indirect death toll in the ongoing war in central Africa – the first international armed conflict the continent had seen – had reached 2.5 million. In this media-silent war, which began in August 1998, people were killed not so much by bullets, but by an amazing lack of concern on the part of the occupying armies, rebel organisations and armed resistance groups, and by the ambiguous attitude adopted by the international community. Politically, various groups were aligned in ever-changing alliances that were devoid of any long-term ideology or strategy. In the present article, we argue instead that the international war in Central Africa can only be understood as an intricate cluster of phenomena. The long-term erosion of elite power and finance in some parts of Africa, occasioned by a changing geopolitical reality in the continent, sparked divergent responses, ranging from state reconstruction in some countries to resistance, criminalisation and war in others. The latter response would appear to be most common in weak states with deteriorating infrastructures and rich natural resources which were extracted on a small scale by petty producers. This would seem to give credence to the assertion that natural riches are a curse rather than a blessing. The above argument also runs against the deep-rooted conviction that Africa's underdevelopment is a consequence of the international economic environment and globalisation processes. We submit that Africa is being strangled by a lack of serious foreign investment rather than by a new scramble for the continent's natural resources.

THE LOPSIDED CONTINENT: Inequality in

Abstract: U Abstract Latin America has the most unbalanced distribution of resources of all regions in the world. This review defines a set of common elements characterizing social structures on that continent, suggests some lines for analysis and theorizing, and supports the integration of regional studies into broader discussions of stratification. We begin with an overview of the situation on the continent as a whole, including a short discussion of the relationship between poverty and inequality, where we also address some concerns with data availability. We then devote a section each to class, gender, and race. We conclude by identifying three critical factors that explain Latin American inequality: its position within a global economic system, internal colonialism with maintenance of racial categories, and the underdevelopment of state structures.

The Legacy of Colonialism: A Model of Africa's Underdevelopment

Abstract: Despite the existence of empirical studies linking Africa’s current underdevelopment to its colonial history, a formal theoretical explanation of this link has yet to be made. How could colonialism have had apparently lasting impacts? I provide a game-theoretic model that explains how extraction, taking the form of the slave trade and colonial control, resulted in a permanent increase in rent-seeking behavior and a permanent decrease in the security of private property, both of which have helped foster Africa’s current underdevelopment. JEL classic ation: B52; C72; D72; D74; J24

Power Inequalities and the Institutions of Senegalese Development Organizations

Abstract: The focus on decentralization and civil society in Africa demands that scholars examine the factors that affect the institutions (i.e., rules and procedures) of local development organizations. Using two case studies from rural Senegal, this article investigates how the preferences of group participants, the authority positions of group actors, and the alternatives that individuals have shape the institutions of local organizations. The article then illustrates how the rules that emerge through institutional bargaining affect the decisions local organizations make about issues such as resource allocation and the implementation of development projects. Resume: Se concentrer sur la decentralisation et la societe civile en Afrique demande aux chercheurs d'examiner les facteurs affectant les institutions (c'est a dire les reglements et procedures) des organisations locales de developpement. En se basant sur deux cas d'etude dans le Senegal rural, cet article examine comment les preferences des participants au groupe, la position d'autorite des acteurs du groupe, et les alternatives proposees aux individus et offrant les memes benefices que ceux de l'organisation, faeonnent les institutions des organisations locales. Cet article illustre ensuite comment les reglements emergeant des negociations institutionnelles affectent les decisions prises par les organisations locales sur les problemes tels que l'allocation des ressources et la mise en oeuvre de projets de developpement. Introduction Since the 1980s, many sub-Saharan African governments and international donors have decentralized authority structures and emphasized community associations as a means of fostering development and grassroots democracy (Conyers 1983; Mutizwa-Mangiza & Conyers 1996; Wunsch & Olowu 1990; Ribot 1995; Tordoff 1994).J In addition, international aid agencies have directed more funds to local organizations (van de Walle & Johnston 1996). Despite these efforts, development in many sub-Saharan African countries has stagnated, as evidenced by weak agricultural production, declines in overall economic growth, increasing debt levels, and poor export production (New York Times, june 1, 2000; World Bank 1997). In addition, there is little evidence to suggest that decentralization has fostered democracy. Although these various problems cannot be blamed fully on ineffective governance, I believe that it is necessary to examine the institutions of local development organizations and the power inequalities that they often reflect in order to better understand the continent's problems. This article applies insights from various theories of "new institutionalism" to case studies from rural Senegal. The purpose of the article is twofold. First, I examine how three variables affect the formation of institutions for local development organizations.2 These variables are the preferences of participants, the authority positions of the actors, and the opportunities for members to achieve the same benefits elsewhere. Though development organizations and their institutions are intricately connected, the primary focus of this article is on the institutions (i.e., the rules and procedures). Organizations are created with purposive intent, but it is institutions that shape organizational outcomes and the behavior of individuals within the organization (North 1990:5). The second purpose of the article is to illustrate that institutions have an enormous impact on development organizations. In the language of new institutionalism, one might say that institutions "matter." I do not assume, however, that institutions that emerge from bargaining are necessarily as efficient, democratic, or effective as they could be. The lessons of the case studies have widespread applicability for state officials, international donors, and nongovernmental organization (NGO) officials who seek to design effective development initiatives. Scholars have approached sub-Saharan Africa's underdevelopment using several explanatory variables, including class, ethnic, and gender cleavages, as causal factors influencing underdevelopment (Fatton 1995; Horowitz 1985; Parpart & Staudt 1990). …