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Showing papers on "Underdevelopment published in 2020"


MonographDOI
01 Mar 2020
TL;DR: In this paper, Franklin Obeng-Odoom seeks to carefully explain, engage, and systematically question the existing explanations of inequalities within Africa, and between Africa and the rest of the world using insights from the emerging field of stratification economics.
Abstract: In this book, Franklin Obeng-Odoom seeks to carefully explain, engage, and systematically question the existing explanations of inequalities within Africa, and between Africa and the rest of the world using insights from the emerging field of stratification economics. Drawing on multiple sources - including archival and historical material and a wide range of survey data - he develops a distinctive approach that combines key concepts in original institutional economics, such as reasonable value, property, and the distribution of wealth, with other insights into Africa's development and underdevelopment. While looking at the Africa-wide situation, Obeng-Odoom also analyzes the experiences of inequalities within specific countries. Comprehensive and engaging, Property, Institutions, and Social Stratification in Africa is a useful resource for teaching and research on Africa and the Global South.

67 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A review of the state of the art on Nigerian energy access studies and an overview of the peer-reviewed literature spanning energy planning, electrification planning, rural electrification, renewable resource potential, energy & electricity access impact, and policies & reforms is presented in this article.
Abstract: Nigeria has been accorded the largest economy in Africa and one of Africa's burgeoning economies. However, a high percentage of the population lives in extreme poverty and is largely rural, accounting for about 51% of the total, approximately 96 million people in 2016. This glaring reality is most evident in the undisputed urban and rural divide with a huge mass of the population living in these rural areas characterised by underdevelopment and limited access to electricity and modern energy services. Energy access is an indispensable instrument such that can be used to achieve great strides in human development, better the economy and enable sustainable development. The present work reviews the state of the art on Nigerian energy access studies and provides an overview of the peer-reviewed literature spanning energy planning, electrification planning, rural electrification, renewable resource potential, energy & electricity access impact, and policies & reforms. It delineates the narrative in existing literature and propounds a new trajectory for future work. This study was facilitated by an extensive systematic literature review which has resulted in an analysis of 90 relevant articles out of a total of 104 articles from a period of 1978–2019. The review reveals no consensus on a standardized framework to synergize the already available strategies and methodologies for improving Nigeria's energy access. An integrated framework that embodies a multi-disciplinary study is introduced and forms the foundation upon which the authors of this paper are conducting further research to conceptualize a unified road map for energy planning, system design, and operation with renewable energy integration geared towards improving localized energy access in Nigeria.

29 citations


Posted Content
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that such technocratic approaches are set to fail less-developed nations for as long as we continue to overlook the background causes of weak taxation at both the national and international levels.
Abstract: Experts from the North have long tried to teach countries in the South how to tax. For decades, they assumed the main challenges were domestic and there was a right answer to be found somewhere in the developed world that could be replicated everywhere else. Only more recently have they dedicated more attention to the international realm, yet their solutions remain tied to technical rules designed by a few specialists, as exemplified by the OECD Secretariat’s “Unified Approach” for the taxation of the digital economy. From a critical and historical socio-legal perspective, this Article argues that such technocratic approaches are set to fail less-developed nations for as long as we continue to overlook the background causes of weak taxation at both the national and international levels. These involve difficulties in applying complex rule sets, but also the very way in which global tax policy is developed, who influences the process, and the resulting distributive consequences.

29 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors build on an analysis of close to twenty years of World Bank reports on land reform in four post-communist countries to show how and why the transfer of land and commercialization end up contradicting rather than mutually supporting each other.

25 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aims to integrate Africa into an ambitious Chinese-constructed infrastructure network as mentioned in this paper, however, the terms of this integration however deepen Africa's dependent position an...
Abstract: The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aims to integrate Africa into an ambitious Chinese-constructed infrastructure network. The terms of this integration however deepen Africa’s dependent position an...

22 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined how this diagnosis holds up against evidence systematically collected and forensically analyzed on specific country situations and found that the internal focal approach to building collapse is largely problematic.
Abstract: Building collapse discourse in developing countries has long followed an internal focal approach. The approach frames the menace around problens that are within the countries. Emphasis is often placed on individual factors (such as developers and building practitioners’ negligence) and administrative challenges (relating to the enforcement of building regulations). This study examined how this diagnosis holds up against evidence systematically collected and forensically analyzed on specific country situations. The study assembled detailed empirical data via interviews and focus group discussions from a range of professionals, including building inspectors, planners, architects and researchers in Ghana and draws on data from various secondary sources. The data was, in turn, interpreted within a critical postcolonial institutional framework. The study found that the internal focal approach to building collapse is largely problematic. Not only does it create a false impression that developing countries have a danger-prone construction culture, but also its intent focus on factors internal to the countries overlooks the systemic underdevelopment conditions (i.e. inherited and externally-imposed factors) which interplay with the internal factors actually create, indeed, maintain and worsen building safety problems in those societies. The study findings challenge not just the way building collapses in developing countries are studied, they also raise issues with the repertoire of interventions that are often proposed for addressing such risks in those parts of the world.

16 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose that development justice be taken up as an analytical concept and praxis-driven framework for research on disasters, resilience, and climate change in the Caribbean and highlight how the logics, practices and debts of colonial underdevelopment, racial capitalism, and neoliberal extraction continue to erode resilience across the region.
Abstract: This paper proposes that “development justice” be taken up as an analytical concept and praxis‐driven framework for research on disasters, resilience, and climate change. The piece begins with a synopsis of the historical‐structural factors exacerbating risk in the Caribbean before reviewing the concepts of vulnerability, resilience, and development justice. Next, drawing from empirical data and via a development justice lens, we highlight how the logics, practices, and debts of colonial underdevelopment, racial capitalism, and neoliberal extraction continue to erode resilience across the region. We end by recommending that future adaptation and mitigation strategies related to disasters, catastrophes, and climate change be more attentive to structural and slow violence, as well as the historical trajectories of imperialism, racial capitalism, and hetero patriarchal norms. In sum, the piece constitutes an evidence‐based assertion that development justice perspectives alongside theories of non‐metaphorical decolonisation be used by scholars, activists, scientists, and states alike who are committed to mediating climate change and preventing/reducing the damage caused by disasters.

15 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined how a specific category of business people understand the phenomenon of innovation in relation to the dimensions of Human Resource Management (HRM) and intra-and external business education and training.
Abstract: Innovation becomes widely perceived as the most significant ingredient of socioeconomic development, for all types of organizations, at all spatial levels. This study aims to examine how a specific category of business people understand the phenomenon of innovation in relation to the dimensions of Human Resource Management (HRM) and intra- and external business education and training. It explores in particular how the firms of a less developed regional business ecosystem perceive this triangle of innovation-education-human resources, what is their current image and how this comprehension evolves over the last years. Through field research in firms located in the Greek region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, we highlight these qualitative correlations between innovation, workforce management, training, and education. Our findings suggest that the “image” of these entrepreneurs to these issues lacks interpretive depth and practical cohesion, which is related to pathogenies caused and causing the overall relative socioeconomic underdevelopment in the region. The originality of this research derives from the presentation and analysis of specific firms’ and professionals’ perceptions of innovation, which are relatively far from the standards set by the corresponding modern scientific literature and practice.

13 citations


Book
18 Jun 2020
TL;DR: Abou-El-Fadl et al. as discussed by the authors studied the divergence between Turkey and Egypt's foreign policies during the Second World War and found that Turkey's Democrat Party pursued NATO membership and sponsored the pro-Western Baghdad Pact regionally, while Egypt's Free Officers promoted neutralism and pan-Arab alliances.
Abstract: After the Second World War, Turkey and Egypt were among the most dynamic actors in the Middle East. Their 1950s foreign policies presented a puzzle, however: Turkey's Democrat Party pursued NATO membership and sponsored the pro-Western Baghdad Pact regionally, while Egypt's Free Officers promoted neutralism and pan-Arab alliances. This book asks why: what explains this divergence in a shared historical space? Rethinking foreign policy as an important site for the realisation of nationalist commitments, Abou-El-Fadl finds the answer in the contrasting nation making projects pursued by the two leaderships, each politicised differently through experiences of war, imperialism and underdevelopment. Drawing on untapped Turkish and Arabic sources, and critically engaging with theories of postcolonial nationalism, she emphasises local actors' agency in striving to secure national belonging, sovereignty and progress in the international field. Her analysis sheds light on the contemporary legacies of the decade which cemented Turkey's position in the Western Bloc and Egypt's reputation as Arab leader.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The contribution of Ibn Khaldun to social change as it relates to Christian religion has not been adequately addressed in academic and the Christian literature, mostly from tertiary institutions in Africa.
Abstract: The concept of social change could be considered an ever-constant phenomenon in human society. This is because virtually nothing has ever remained static since the advent of man and his society. Thus, issues surrounding social change have occupied the mind of scholars for many centuries. Consequently, its applicability to social life issues has gained prominence among authors across cultures. In spite of this, however, it appears the contribution of Ibn Khaldun to social change as it relates to Christian religion has not been adequately addressed in academic and the Christian literature, mostly from tertiary institutions in Africa. This inadequacy may have prevented the enrichment of the literature on social change and the Christian religion. The present article intends to address this flaw in knowledge. It tries to compare the ideas of Western scholars on social change with that of Ibn Khaldun and highlighted similarities and differences which could be used to corroborate or negate the existing literature and further research. Data from a secondary source was used in this article while content analysis served as the methodology. Further to that, the article analyzed areas of food for thought in the change that occurred in the Christian religion, using the West and Africa as a point of reference The article in its concluding remarks argued that Africans may be in control of Christian religion currently, but the likelihood of losing it in the nearest future could be very bright, judging from the escalation of corruption in the faith which Ibn Khaldun argues is usually responsible for a decay of every civilised region. The escalation of corruption has been responsible for the underdevelopment of the continent and needs to be dealt with to advance the continent.


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Fioramonti et al. as discussed by the authors discuss the structural causes of the crisis in the African political economy and highlight the need to identify and address the underlying systemic challenges of their various political economies.
Abstract: 1. Introduction Recent reports on Africa's development displayed high levels of optimism. This is different from previous pessimistic accounts about the future of the continent. The new view on the African political economy is mainly promulgated by international development agencies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They perceive the rapid economic growth of some African countries as a sign of economic development. Seven of the 13 fastest growing economies in the world are African (World Bank 2015). This growth lies at the heart of what some commentators and politicians describe as "Africa rising". However, Africa remains behind in almost every human development indicator. According to the United Nations Development Project --UNDP (2013), Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) was ranked the lowest in the annual Human Development Index (HDI). There has been minimal improvement in key areas such as health, education and inequality (Gumede 2010a). Furthermore, SSA states have low levels of social protection, high unemployment, poverty and pervasive food insecurity (FAO2014; UNDP 2014; ILO 2015). Critics of the African growth thesis have argued the abovementioned evidence illustrates that the region's growth path is not inclusive and sustainable. It is characterised by low levels of human development, and driven by ecologically destructive economic extractivism. Hall (2011: 198) describes this accumulation model as one based on: "non-sustainable forms of resource extraction that are repatriated as profits to corporations outside the locality". Her account resonates with Harvey's (2004) notion of "accumulation by dispossession", which highlights how global capitalism continues to expand by reproducing socioeconomic underdevelopment in less developed countries. His observations raise the question of whether Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a sufficient measure of development. Socio-economic indicators in SSA clearly illustrate that it is not. Fioramonti (2013) provides concrete evidence that justifies why less developed regions (like SSA) should use other indicators, which place human development at the centre of growth strategies. He urges policy-makers to identify and address the underlying systemic challenges of their various political economies. The following section will therefore briefly discuss the structural causes of the crisis in the African political economy. 2. Structural causes of the African crisis Africa's developmental impasse is mainly attributed to the dominance of economic liberalism in global development discourses. It coincided with what Butler (2007) describes as New Right policy revolutions. These prioritise free trade, privatisation, market-led development, deregulation, and financial liberalisation. Proponents argued that the implementation of these principles accelerate economic growth and socio -economic development (Hayek 1979; Schumpeter 1954). Olayode (2005: 25) claims that British and US-American political parties in the 1970s and 1980s "led a systematic and sustained ideological and policy agenda to dismantle the capacity, scope and role of the state that developed in the post-World War Two period". The policy agenda was also supported by the Bretton Woods Institutions (World Bank and IMF), which sought to fortify the newly created global market-based economic system. This paradigm also influenced the economic policy prescripts that came along with financial assistance provided by these institutions. Developing countries had to accept these as part of their lending conditionalities (Gumede 2010a). The main objective was to significantly reduce the role and capacity of the state. The private sector received pre-eminence in the new development approach, characterised by privatisation of most of state-owned enterprises and contracting out service delivery. Many scholars argue that Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) may have aggravated the deterioration of human security in SSA. …

Journal ArticleDOI
01 May 2020
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a method to improve the quality of the information provided by the user. But they do not consider the impact of the user's actions on the overall system.
Abstract: Актуальность рассматриваемой проблемы определена задачами развития ребенка как субъекта деятельности и отношений с самим собой, другими детьми, взрослыми и социальным миром; инклюзией обучающихся с ограниченными возможностями здоровья в общеобразовательную среду и необходимостью создания специальных условий для удовлетворения их особых образовательных потребностей, в том числе, в формировании необходимых жизненных компетенций, к которым относятся навыки коммуникации.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The peripheral condition of Latin America has changed but persists in spite of a long decade of favorable economic conditions and heterodox policies as mentioned in this paper, despite a renewed conceptualization of underdevelopment.
Abstract: The peripheral condition of Latin America has changed but persists in spite of a long decade of favorable economic conditions and heterodox policies. A renewed conceptualization of underdevelopment...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors apply the theories of modernisation and dependency to explain Africa's underdevelopment, which can be seen as a chronic symptom of the underdevelopment of political life within the imperialist context.
Abstract: Over the last sixty years the principal agency of underdevelopment of Africa has been the international capitalist countries. Before the advent of the Europeans in Africa, the continent had robust economic, social and political structures because it was endowed with numerous inexhaustible both human and natural resources. These were seriously disrupted by the colonialists in the course of creating wealth for themselves through the means of exploitation. It is imperative to assert that the debate on the unprecedented political decay created by African political elite (the agents of colonialists) in power has dominated the political discourse among scholars from the region. Africa’s environment has been shrouded in political violence, poor electoral system, incessant military intervention, ethnic/tribal segregation and unity in diversity, rising political cleavages resulting from multi-party system, bad political culture, corruption, alienation of African women from politics, greed and sit-back leadership, dictatorship, foreign influence, religious diversity, administrative mediocrity, secession threat resulting from marginalization of minority, and bad governance. The political instability in the sub-Saharan African States has been the function of political environment, manifesting itself as a chronic symptom of the underdevelopment of political life within the imperialist context. Political environment in the sub-Saharan African States can be explained based on the legacy of political authoritarianism inherited from the colonialists, a factor which resulted to political conflicts, instability and dictatorship. The political authoritarianism of the colonial states is a direct source of the authoritarianism that has plagued Africa. Colonialism created and shaped identities and cleavages in dysfunctional way as political centralization involves one clan dominating another. The conjunctivitis created by the underdevelopment trajectories has called for in-depth investigation into Africa’s underdevelopment in the light of political advancement of the ‘Asian Tiger’ so that efforts towards experiencing political environment with high propensity of political advancement in the sub-Saharan African States could be attained. The study intended to apply the theories of modernisation and dependency to explain Africa’s underdevelopment. Qualitative method will be utilised in the study.

Journal ArticleDOI
15 Dec 2020
TL;DR: The year 1960 marked the moment when the number of nominally independent African countries on the continent rose from nine to twenty-six, and is a symbolic indicator of when Africa began to emerge from the days of European colonisation as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The year 1960 marked the moment when the number of nominally independent African countries on the continent rose from nine to twenty-six, and is a symbolic indicator of when Africa began to emerge from the days of European colonisation. However, from the beginning, very few of Africa’s leaders sought to reorganise the continent’s economic structures and did virtually nothing to question its external exchange relations. Preferring to play the role of compradors, most preferred to stay wedded to their former colonial masters. Consequently, 60 years after the ‘Year of Africa’, most African countries continue to be entrenched in a set of connections that fit well with Kwame Nkrumah’s description of neo-colonialism. This neo-colonialism has a highly resilient material base which continues to maintain the continent in its subordinate global status and which perpetuates its underdevelopment. Sustainable growth and development in Africa continues to be blocked by the domination of external economies. African countries remain constrained from accumulating the necessary capital for auto-centric growth since the surplus is transferred overseas. Asymmetrical economic relationships are embodied by the continued supremacy of the core over Africa, something intrinsic to capitalism. Unequal exchange, the transfer of surplus, i.e. the continued looting of Africa by its elites and their foreign associates, means that the dreams and aspirations of 1960, for the majority of Africans at least, have been frustrated.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The article shows the possibilities of Data Set “Interactive Statistics and Intelligent Analytics of the Balanced State of the Regional Economy of Russia in Terms of Big Data and Blockchain – 2020”, which reflects the balance of Russia's regional economy in 2005–2024.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the impact of trade on animal welfare is investigated, and the impact is categorized into four components: open markets, low animal welfare havens, a chilling effect, and lack of labelling.
Abstract: There is a critical research gap regarding the trade and animal welfare interface: we do not know, empirically, what the impact of trade on animal welfare is. This gap exists, in part, as a result of the paternalism of international trade law and the underdevelopment of global animal law. This article addresses, firstly, the collision of dichotomous trade and animal welfare priorities in legal and political systems. It then explores attempts at reconciliation by the World Trade Organization and the European Union. This involves an investigation of the impact of trade on animal welfare. This impact is categorized into four component parts: (i) open markets, (ii) low animal-welfare havens, (iii) a chilling effect, and (iv) lack of labelling. Case studies from the European Union are examined. Thirdly, the article critiques trade law and policy as ill-suited primary drivers of global governance for animals. Global animal law is identified as a promising alternative, although its early development has been unduly affected by international trade law.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a new theoretical perception of the developmental process of the Greek socio-economic system is proposed, based on the ACEMoglian approach, and the authors describe and recommend the development and underdevelopment process in terms of an "institutionally adaptive socioeconomic system" and a "competitiveness web".
Abstract: The evolution of institutions is a theoretical field of increasing interest today. Socio-economic development in the institutional approach results mainly from the historical unfolding and quality of institutions. This paper aims to highlight Daron Acemoglu’s institutional approach, which appears to be gaining prominence gradually, and propose a new theoretical perception of the developmental process of the Greek socio-economic system. It first analyses Acemoglu’s theoretical contribution, it then compares the ‘Acemoglian’ to other approaches and suggests that the analysis of inclusive and extractive institutions based on historically-significant virtuous and vicious circles has value for the Greek case. While several studies tend to focus on the macroeconomic and macro-financial symptoms of the Greek crisis, an evolutionary approach of the deeper institutional dynamics seems to offer a required reposition. We describe and recommend the development and underdevelopment process in terms of an ‘institutionally adaptive socio-economic system’ and ‘competitiveness web’. These findings indicate that development takes place over historically-significant periods, through complex processes of selection and diffusion of institutional restructurings, and that civil societies are responsible for the political forces who represent them, at least in democratic regimes. In the case of Greece, the proposal to utilise an approach of an ‘institutionally adaptive socio-economic system’ can give a repositioned theoretical perception, especially nowadays when the institutional and evolutionary socio-economic analytical classes seem to be gaining interest and prominence.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined how entrepreneurship can help to speed up socio-economic development in Nigeria and reduce reliance on unsuccessful Western backed neo-liberal development strategies and argued that Nigeria cannot develop without utilizing entrepreneurship as the cornerstone of its development strategy.
Abstract: Entrepreneurship has become a tool for uplifting nations and improving their socio-economic development for the benefit of all citizens. This has worked for Western capitalist economies and the newly industrialized countries (NICs). In Africa there is less reliance on entrepreneurship as an engine of economic growth and development which has led to unemployment pervasive poverty and underdevelopment. The paper examined how entrepreneurship can help to speed up socio-economic development in Nigeria and reduce reliance on unsuccessful Western backed neo-liberal development strategies. The data of the study were sourced from array of both published and unpublished materials such as textbook, journal papers, newspapers, magazines, conference papers and seminar papers and internet material. The paper argues that Nigeria cannot develop without utilizing entrepreneurship as the cornerstone of its development strategy. Furthermore, the paper sees entrepreneurship as crucial to developing indigenous capacity in technology, manufacturing and export trade. It recommends development and implementation of local solutions to developmental problems, effective implementation of development policies, and credit provision to local entrepreneurs and creation an enabling environment for production and trade, and capacity development of Nigerian youth through technical and vocational training.

Journal ArticleDOI
30 Apr 2020
TL;DR: In this article, an ancient Chinese epistemological methodology that consists of time, space, and people, labor mobnility theories was used to deconstruct the overarching labor mobility in the process of industrialization.
Abstract: Rural-to-urban labor migration in developing economies, if beyond employment absorption capacity, is both a symptom of underdevelopment and the factor that exacerbates underdevelopment. Although various theories in development economics, in particular, the dual economy, together with numerous migration literature, bore intention to explore a balanced development approach in rural labor mobility, content-based studies are often overwhelmed, whereas the context/circumstance-based angle (like industrialization) in the research of labor mobility is always neglected. This paper reviews, under an ancient Chinese epistemological methodology that consists of time, space, and people, labor mobnility theories. It combines the old institutionalist and new structuralist schools of thought, searching a dynamic theoretical framework to deconstruct the overarching labor mobility in the process of industrialization.

Journal ArticleDOI
23 Sep 2020
TL;DR: The life chances of Blacks are tied to their experiences in central city neighborhoods (Sampson et al., 2002), and to understand why African Americans have made minimal economic progress since the 1990s, see as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The life chances of Blacks are tied to their experiences in central city neighborhoods (Sampson et al., 2002). To understand why African Americans have made minimal economic progress since the civi...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors re-examine the perspective on the relationship between East Asia's growth economy and its underdevelopment of state welfare, by analyzing the Korean case between t...
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to re-examine the perspective on the relationship between East Asia’s growth economy and its underdevelopment of state welfare, by analyzing the Korean case between t...

Journal ArticleDOI
27 Jul 2020
TL;DR: In this paper, an interpretation of the economic constitution and how it can be directed towards greater participation by the municipality in economic activity and in the local development process is presented. But the authors do not discuss the role of the municipality and the reasons for municipal dependence on central power.
Abstract: This paper sought to present an interpretation of the economic constitution and how it can be directed towards greater participation by the municipality in economic activity and in the local development process. Based on a review of the legal literature related to the economic constitution, its understanding was expanded, allowing the competences it brought to be also attributed to the municipalities. Discussing the role of the municipality in the context of Brazilian federalism, the reasons for municipal dependence on central power were listed. As an alternative to overcoming dependency and underdevelopment, the municipality's intervention in the economic domain was pointed out, based on the incentive to social currencies. Throughout the present study, the objective was to elucidate if it is lawful for the municipality to intervene in the economic domain and if this intervention can occur by encouraging the creation of social currencies of local circulation.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Mar 2020
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that Penang Island's physical urban environment has developed in terms of aesthetic values and appreciated in monetary terms but actual development in a person's capability to function and enjoy a better quality of life is not progressing in tandem.
Abstract: Housing affordability is a critical issue in Malaysia. This issue is doubly challenging in states like Penang where its topographical make-up is divided into a mainland and an island. The dwindling stock of land in Penang Island has inevitably pushed up house prices. To compound this problem, a combination of policy and socio-economic changes has collectively hiked up the cost of buying a house on the island. This has hindered equal opportunities towards home ownership. Based on a development perspective, this paper attempts to contextualize current housing woes in Penang Island. This paper argues that Penang Island’s physical urban environment has ‘developed’ in terms of aesthetic values and appreciated in monetary terms but actual development in terms of a person’s ‘capability to function’ and enjoy a better quality of life is not progressing in tandem. A critical state of developed underdevelopment is currently unfolding on the island in terms of housing affordability. The recommendations of this paper will contribute towards shaping pragmatic housing policies.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight policies that address spatial and gender disparities in education and structural barriers to girls' education with the support of the frameworks of Women in Development (WID) and Gender and Development (GAD) in rural Chinese contexts.
Abstract: The ultimate purpose of the development of this essay is to inform Chinese policymakers on how they can better implement education-related policies to minimise spatial and gender disparities in, and multi-faceted barriers to, educational opportunities. This essay, firstly, highlights policies that address spatial and gender disparities in education and structural barriers to girls’ education with the support of the frameworks of Women in Development (WID) and Gender and Development (GAD) in rural Chinese contexts. Secondly, this essay outlines the problems of rural female underdevelopment in least educationally and financially developed Chinese regions based on critical analyses on relevant statistics and studies. Thirdly, in spite of the Central Government’s and non-governmental organisations’ (NGOs) endeavours to facilitating education development, this essay investigates and analyses how gender inequalities in education persist due to the unaddressed multi-faceted barriers to girls’ education. These multi-faceted barriers include social, cultural, economic and otherwise educational impediments faced by rural poor Chinese girls. Lastly, this essay suggests state and NGOs’ policy and intervention to address such structural barriers to education and enhance rural girls’ decision-making powers and educational opportunities in the long-term.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluate the growth model of the PT governments based on the contributions of Celso Furtado and conclude that the recent growth cycle has alleviated the typical characteristics of underdevelopment.
Abstract: Evaluation of the growth model of the PT governments based on the contributions of Celso Furtado reveals that the recent growth cycle has alleviated the typical characteristics of underdevelopment ...

Journal ArticleDOI
18 Apr 2020-Land
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the impact of large-scale land acquisition on women's and men's access to common pool resources and the impacts on their capacities to perform their reproductive work and resilience.
Abstract: The topic of large-scale land acquisition (LSLA) has attracted wide interest in the literature and the media. However, there is little work on the gendered institutional changes and gendered impacts on common pool resources (CPR) due to LSLA. The aim of this paper is to address these impacts. This is done by discussing data from participatory research (using the methods of participatory observation, semi-structured and narrative interviews, biographies, focus group discussions, value chain analysis, and household questionnaires) on a forestry plantation operated by the British investor, the New Forests Company (NFC) in the Kilolo district, in the Iringa region. The institutional arrangements regarding different land-related common pool resources from pre-colonial times until the arrival of this investment will be shown. Furthermore, how these arrangements have changed over time and since the LSLA is presented. Then, the effects on men’s and women’s access to CPR and, thus, the impacts on their capacities to perform their reproductive work and resilience will be addressed. Furthermore, the paper focuses on how different stakeholders in the land deal (the investor, the government, different local people) make use of these different institutions to push through their own interests regarding the land. Finally, the paper looks at collective compensation payments (such as monetary compensation and jobs) and forms of corporate social responsibility (CSR) schemes, and how they are perceived emically. It is argued that the LSLA in this case clearly grabs land and land-related common pool resources that were previously held in common. Women, such as daughters, sisters, and wives, had specific access and property rights to these. Thus, the paper concludes that this grabbing lowers women’s resilience and deprives them of important resources for their livelihoods, and for food and cash production at critical times. CSR programmes and compensation rarely reach women and are, for them, an anti-politics machine, hiding the grabbing processes, and impacting the poorest of the poor, while the company uses a development discourse to legitimise its activities. In fact, the people perceive the investment as trapping them in underdevelopment.