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The international recovered paper trade serves two important functions: increasing raw material availability in the paper and board industry and providing economic incentives to recycle. The purpose of this paper is to shed further light on emerging patterns in this trade by empirically analysing the changes in the bilateral trade flows of recycled paper between 1992 and 2008. According to our estimations, two important changes occurred in the 1990s and 2000s. First, the growing importance of developing economies in global recycled paper trade plays a significant role in import demand as a determinant of trade flows. Second, the changes in global trade patterns necessitate investigating the transportation cost measures used in applied research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the debate on the role of technical change and industrial policy in Indonesian economic growth using the pulp and paper industry as a case study. The analysis indicates that industry and trade policies had a positive influence on growth and capital accumulation, but gave Indonesian pulp and paper companies few incentives to create or deepen their technological capabilities, resulting in fragmented and limited technology assimilation. The findings also raise questions about common interpretations of total factor productivity growth in Indonesia in terms of inspiration versus perspiration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of profit distribution in the restructuring of the Swedish paper and pulp (P&P) industry between 1945 and 1977. In addressing this issue, we will draw on the life-cycle theory and market imperfection arguments to examine whether the less profitable firms shared more of their profits as dividends, or remained on the market longer by reinvesting the majority of the profits. Our study shows that an increasing share of the profits was distributed to owners over time, and thus less profit was reinvested in industrial renewal. We find that the observed general upward trend in dividends can be attributed to the decline in profit and firm legacy, as firms in the Swedish P&P industry kept dividends up while reducing reinvestment as their profit margins decreased over time. Our study shows that the market imperfections related to capital taxation and investment funds increased rather than decreased dividends. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Economic historians researching other countries, Australian economic historians employed outside Australia (but retaining links with home), and well-known non-Australian economic historians, who spent some of their careers in Australia, are afforded comparatively little attention. I Australian Economic History i is very much an appeal to universities and policy-makers - not to mention historians and economists - to recognise the role that economic history can play in solving the big challenges of our time. A somewhat peculiar dimension of Wright's account is its emphasis on Australian-based economic historians working primarily on Australian economic history. [Extracted from the article]

Knowledge is an essential ingredient for economic development, growth and gaining a competitive advantage. In order to produce novel and valuable knowledge, it is advantageous, perhaps vital, to rely on insights gained from prior research efforts. Those knowledge spillovers (KS) provide the rationale for sustained economic growth and produce unique place-based knowledge spaces. Due to the spatial embeddedness and stickiness of knowledge, most investigations mainly pay attention to the localized nature of KS, but what about those spillovers from other jurisdictions, or perhaps even from across the globe? To analyse the role played by international KS, the present study investigates to what extent international KS shape the evolution of the UK science and technology space. The first step involves creating knowledge spaces following the methodology outlined by Kogler et al. (2013; 2017) for the period 2006-15. Subsequently, we are following the paper trail of publications and patents developed by UK authors and inventors to depict to what degree international KS in specific science and technology domains have contributed to the production of novel knowledge in the UK. The results indicate that four out of five citations made in publications and patents in the UK are the works of authors and inventors residing elsewhere. This has important policy implications considering recent tendencies to curtail trade and the free movement of labour, all of which contribute to the diffusion of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the role of the Spanish legal ecology in maintaining social cohesion, bolstering the popular legitimacy of the imperial project, and setting the boundaries of economic development. Drawing the connections between Hapsburg and Bourbon governance through two (inconclusive) legal cases, the first lasting throughout the Spanish War of Succession (1700-1713), and the second occurring during the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). The ambiguity of missing appeals and references to previous legal actions corresponds to the reality for Africans and their descendants in the Spanish Indies for whom there was rarely a clear endpoint in their dealings with the courts. The first case follows two sisters, Maria Josefa Copete and Lorenza Elena, as they defend their freedom against their half-brother. In the second case Nicolás Quintana, an African slave, fights to avoid being sent to the gold mines and separated from his family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A previous paper on RIS3 assessed its potential to influence growth strategies and their delivery. It held that significant further investment work was needed in tools and techniques, data and intelligence, and innovation in leadership capacity and capabilities. It further asserted that such investment was needed to be part of a commitment to a long-run learning and evaluation process. This paper considers synergies and dissonances between these national approaches to development in England. In particular, it explores how far RIS represents a step change from previous approaches to innovation-led growth. Alternatively, is it more accurately an incremental facelift and rebranding of previous orthodoxies? Does it add value to or detract from national policy for England? What roles might the approach play in the so-called ‘devolution revolution’? Can the (small scale, ‘light touch’) Advisory Hub approach support and promote those roles? What, if anything, might the England experience have for other nations and regions of Europe? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable tourism indicators (STIs) are an integral element of tourism planning and management. This study systematically reviews the research contributions on the development of STIs based on four criteria including: i) the relevance of the STIs to the sustainable development goals (SDGs); ii) governance; iii) stakeholders involved; and iv) the distinction between subjective and objective indicators. A search of Scopus indexed journals published up to April 2018, yielded 97 papers for examination. The findings demonstrate the lack of direct attention to the SDGs in those papers published after their launch in 2016. However, the majority of the SDGs and their targets have indirectly been covered in the reviewed papers. The results revealed that, among the sustainability themes of economic growth, social inclusion, environmental protection, and governance, the STIs studies tended to overlook the dimension of governance. The findings showed that residents are the most engaged stakeholder group, and tourists the least engaged as compared with government and businesses. The results also indicated that more attention is afforded to objective compared to subjective indicators. The findings also demonstrated that much of the focus is on European countries rather than the Global South which is the major focus of the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) are a central instrument in international development cooperation and of key importance in guiding donors' policies towards southern recipients. However, many aspects of the PRSP have been criticised by a variety of development stakeholders. A checklist of 85 questions has been developed to analyse the inclusion of aspects of sustainable development in PRSPs and to point to sustainability challenges and opportunities. It thus facilitates targeted advice and quality improvements. The checklist was applied to a selection of 12 PRSPs of developing countries. The results reveal an insufficient integration of the ecosystem services concept, of biodiversity and of climate issues. Property rights, gender issues, water and energy are as a rule well elaborated. PRSPs show significant variation in the integration of environmental sustainability issues. Sustainability assessments can contribute to significant improvements between first and second generation PRSPs provided the assessments are supported by a strong institutional framework and a dedicated political commitment towards sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The causal relationship between economic growth and defence spending has attracted considerable attention and has been the subject of many empirical studies. Hoping to contribute to the existing pool of literature, this paper examines the relationship between military expenditure and growth in the case of Cyprus, a small island economy, for the period 1964-99. The findings reported suggest the presence of bi-directional instantaneous causality between defence spending and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The defense-growth nexus is investigated empirically using time series data for the US and allowing the effect of defense spending on growth to be non-linear. Using recently developed econometric methods involving threshold regressions, evidence of a level-dependent effect of military expenditure on GDP growth is found: the positive externality effect of defense spending prevails for relatively lower levels of defense spending (with respect to the history of defense spending in the US) and reverts its influence for higher levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces a special issue on technological development and policy making in China, highlighting their importance for China's economic growth. It discusses the shift in China's economy from reliance on property sector investment and low-value manufacturing to a new paradigm based on technological innovation and internal market expansion. The article emphasizes the need for adaptive policy making and financing support for science and technology development to enhance productivity growth. It also explores the Augmented National Innovation System (ANIS) in China, the growth of the semiconductor industry, and the limitations of the fiscal system. The research papers in this collection provide insights into China's economic transformation and propose reforms to support its development. [Extracted from the article]

How is policy for information and communication technology (ICT) for developing countries actually formulated? How are the negotiations made, and with whom? What are the dialectical queries and responses, the give and take that compose policy discussions? Some of this is accomplished behind the scenes, and will remain inaccessible to our scrutiny. However, much of the critical interaction among key players such as government officials, academics, consultants, employees of non-government organizations, donors, and development officers is available publicly for analysis and interpretation via the text exchanges produced on open forum Internet discussion groups. Thus, when subjected to systematic analysis, this data becomes a prime source for developing a rich understanding of policy formulation. In this article the authors use a special kind of qualitative rhetorical analysis called dramatism to analyze and thus understand the formulation of policy online through an open discussion forum. Rationales for ICTs for development, appropriate ICT impact assessment, and implementation for economic development in a variety of countries were available via the Internet forum studied. The language of the discussion from actual, unedited texts of Internet discussions using dramatistic analysis is examined. The ensuing discussions reveal a collective vision that helps influence ICT policy formulation, rationales, distribution, implementation, and use in developing countries. Dramatism is construed to be a humanistic method that rests on the assumption that dramas are created through small group interaction and chain through written speeches and documents until they reach the mass media and are picked back up by small groups once again. Through analysis, the emerging main plot, subplot, hero, and villain of the ICT policy drama that took place from 1998–2002 in an Internet discussion forum are identified. The conclusions drawn are intended to be useful to both researchers and policy makers, who will be able to draw on this contribution to create a wide-ranging set of information technology strategies and policies that can be implemented in many developing nation contexts. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The papers in this special issue cover a wide range of areas in the methodology and application of spatial econometrics. The first develops a generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator for the spatial regression model from a second-order approximation to the maximum likelihood (ML). The second develops Bayesian estimation in a stochastic frontier model with network dependence in efficiencies, with application to industry dynamics. The third studies cross-country convergence under the Lotka-Volterra model and obtains new insights into spatial spillovers. The penultimate paper develops robust specification tests for the social interactions model under both ML and GMM frameworks. The final paper proposes identification and GMM estimation in a high-order spatial autoregressive model with heterogeneity, common factors and spatial error dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent popular and scholarly work has drawn attention to the relationship between universities and urban housing markets. Universities play a critical role in the post-industrial urban economy and have many impacts beyond their campus. This paper focuses on the policy debates to expand housing for students with the intention of relieving pressure in the rental housing market in cities that are home to many higher education institutions and their students. Boston, for example, is home to one of the largest student populations enrolled in institutions of higher education in the United States. The city faces a tight rental market, in part, because of the high number of students who seek off-campus rental housing. This paper examines the evolution of a policy debate about universities and rental housing that led to the creation of the LightView housing project at Northeastern University. Drawing on archival analysis of public documents and key informant interviews with stakeholders, we identify the tensions of this housing project and the policy debate, in which universities need to confront how their housing projects impact neighborhoods and how the public and transparent nature of development shapes the policy debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sandbox is a non-accredited training programme in the performing arts and digital technologies for young people in four blighted neighbourhoods in Panama. In this paper, I reflect on my role in the design of this programme, how it was later implemented and whether it contributed to processes of economic development. To guide this reflection, I use a social capacities framework, where economic development is seen as a set of dynamics that enhances human flourishing (James 2018). The paper uses a wide range of data sources, including interviews with participants of the programme. My reflection concludes that programmes such as Sandbox work more effectively not when looking to create jobs and income, but when they aim to develop the capacities of participants to discover who they are within their own social context, helping them come closer to the labour market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The article argues that it is hard to see that media development so far has contributed neither to economic development or to political liberation in African states. The media situation and the literacy problems is connected to social differences and tensions between elite vs. local populations and the urban culture vs. the village. Media transmits stereotypes of modernity and urban life that are conflicting with rural and traditional cultural identities. It is being argued that media changes in the future will make things even worse. African countries are confronted with globalized media trespassing into rural culture and establishing themselves in local consumption patterns, before local media structures have had the possibility to develop. This means a severe threat to local culture and to the possibility of developing civil society at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As we stand on the cusp of what Schwab claims to be the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), the world of work is undergoing a rapid and profound transformation. Zimbabwe strives to ready its labour market for the seismic changes already underway. In order to thrive in the future of work, the World Economic Forum advises that a country must educate its populace in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Unfortunately, Zimbabwean women remain underrepresented in STEM professions, with a mere 28.79 percent of women holding STEM degrees, compared to 71.21 percent of men. These statistics underscore the urgent need to educate more women in STEM fields. This paper addresses the bigger question: "Is Zimbabwe ready for the future of work"? To this end, this paper offers a nuanced analysis of the 4IR and its implications for Zimbabwe's future of work. Drawing on primary and secondary literature, we map out women's barriers and propose strategies to overcome them. This paper uses an integrative literature review, making a valuable novel contribution to the burgeoning literature on the intersection of the 4IR, gender equality and the future of work in Zimbabwe. The paper showcases that Zimbabwe is unprepared for the changing nature of work and needs to increase women's participation in STEM subjects. By empowering Zimbabwe's women in STEM fields, we can ensure that they can thrive in the future of work and that Zimbabwe can participate fully in the digital economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's commentary on the theories of development underlying the Educational Sector Policy paper of the World Bank. The two main aims of education according to the paper are as follows: contribution of education to the achievement of social justice and role of education in economic development. The author criticizes the strategies derived from the new theories of development which link the achievement of economic development and social justice. According to him, it does not follow from the newer theories of development that equality will contribute to economic development. He also claims that the paper makes the methodological mistake of attempting to derive policies directly from descriptive social theory.

This paper examines the drivers behind China's economic growth. In particular, it focuses on the channels of knowledge spillovers: human capital and openness to trade and foreign direct investment. The specific features of the study include using the most recent comprehensive panel data consisting of 29 provinces during the period 1994-2006 and performing unit root and cointegration tests in the panel data framework. The paper finds that human capital, trade and FDI are the significant determinants of total factor productivity, but their importance varies with technological levels of provinces. These findings have important policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews and revives a longstanding conversation about race and development studies, which was prominently explored in a collection of papers on race and racism in the journal Progress in Development Studies back in 2006. This revival is timely in the context of a global call to decolonise higher education. Given the central logic of race and racism in European colonialism, and the decolonial argument that colonialism continues in the production and value of knowledge, I examine the presence and absence of race and racism in discussions of decolonising higher education and in development studies. Through a systematic review and content analysis of papers published in six major development studies journals over the past 13 years, I identify where and how race is present in current development scholarship and explore the implications of this for a decolonial turn in development studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the early 2000s, plant closures have been a significant concern in Ontario, Canada. Scholars and policymakers alike aim to investigate the causes of plant closures and determine how to mitigate their impacts. Despite the large body of literature on plant closures, local economic development practitioners' perspectives and experiences have been neglected. To fill this gap, this paper interviewed twenty-two practitioners from various cities in Ontario to understand how practitioners perceive and respond to plant closures. The findings provide a comprehensive overview of the various dynamics of plant closures. Also, based on the findings, seven policy recommendations are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is an attempt at applying Samir Amin's lens in the analysis of socio-economic development in Africa. Social and economic development in Africa has been substandard, largely because of the economic system followed and because effective structural transformation has not taken place – Samir Amin's works explained what needed to be done to transform Africa (and the broader global south). It is in this context that the paper posits that post-colonial Africa has had to contend with disruptive socio-economic and political realities instituted by European colonialism, slave trade and inappropriate integration of Africa to the so-called global economy. The fundamental explanation for the poor socio-economic development in Africa is global capitalism, and one of the possible solutions is in Samir Amin's delinking proposal as well as the restructuring of the African economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the purpose of this paper, we examine the association between foreign direct investment, openness to trade, infrastructure, innovation, and economic development in 10 members of the Commonwealth Independent States between 2000 and 2020 using a panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag model. According to the results, none of the elements that are researched for this paper has a statistically significant influence on economic growth over the short term. On the other hand, in the long run, each of the variables, including foreign direct investment, infrastructure, innovation, and trade openness, has a statistically favorable and substantial impact on economic growth; furthermore, the findings are in line with the findings of the baseline static panel data models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this second contribution to the Policy Dialogue, Colin Hunt emphasises the large contribution that oil palm plantations and the pulp and paper industry have been making to Indonesia's economic growth in recent years, notwithstanding the environmental consequences of such activities. The implication is that avoided deforestation can be expected to have a significant negative impact on segments of the population who would benefit from the business and employment opportunities that would otherwise be generated, directly or indirectly. Palm oil companies typically spend about three dollars on goods, services and labour for every dollar of profit. The author argues that any compensation package for avoided deforestation needs to include all the potential beneficiaries of palm oil production, not just the palm oil companies, and to generate economic activity similar to that being replaced. (Ed.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A call for papers on multinational companies in Africa and host country development is presented.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including impact of investment in human capital on economic growth; human capital in U.S.; and income inequality.

While previous studies of natural resources and territorial conflict have explored the role that specific resources play in conflict, few have examined the topic of natural resources more broadly and in great depth. This paper generates hypotheses regarding natural resource type, theorizing that the particular characteristic of resource renewability impacts conflict behavior over associated territory. Further, the role of economic development is considered. Utilizing the latest version of the Issue Correlates of War and Correlates of War datasets, these hypotheses are empirically tested. The results demonstrate the importance of renewability and the consistency of findings regarding resources and low-level conflict. Natural resources are found to, in general, discourage more severe forms of conflict, with important caveats. Less developed states are found to play an important role in driving more severe forms of conflict, as are disputes over sea related and oil resources. The paper concludes by outlining the implications for policymakers and scholars studying the topic of territorial conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors present details of a research-based course in development economics taught at a private liberal arts college. There were three key elements in this class: teaching of applied econometrics, group presentations reviewing published and working papers in development economics, and using concepts taught in class to write an original research paper. The project required using econometric analyses on an existing data set that was available online to answer a question in development economics. The authors illustrate how the three elements of the class complemented each other and provide a case study as an example. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an ambitious, contentious, and world-spanning project. Using Chinese Communist Party (CCP) documents, this paper examines one of the stated purposes of the BRI: to address regional inequality between China's east and west, focusing upon Xinjiang. Through an analysis of regional economic data, the demographics of Xinjiang and Xinjiang governing bodies, and a case study of the Chinese steel industry, this paper shows that the BRI has so far failed to check increasing regional inequality in China and that job opportunities for local communities in Xinjiang are constrained by social and political factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Convention on Biological Diversity's post-2020 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) includes targets to formally protect thirty percent of Earth by 2030 and stimulate financialization of biodiversity conservation. This paper foregrounds potential risks and limitations of the GBF in Thailand. It examines the historical context of state-run protected areas, including their role in facilitating state territorialization and dispossession, political and cultural persecution, and deleterious economic agendas. It then shows that implementation in Thailand could displace residents of more than 200 villages and supplant roughly forty percent (3,951 square kilometers) of all state-registered community forest lands, which provide various livelihood, cultural, and conservation benefits. The paper challenges three assumptions: that parties to the Convention will recognize the rights and agency of Indigenous Peoples and local communities; that state-run protected areas are managed for biodiversity conservation and not for economic growth; and that perpetual economic growth and modernization are compatible with conservation. Effective and equitable conservation in Thailand and elsewhere requires more socially and ecologically responsive community rights-based approaches that empower (rather than supersede) customary institutions and transcend unsustainable political-economic imperatives for privatization and perpetual economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply chain integration (SCI) has been considered an antecedent of sustainability performance (SP) by some studies; however, empirical findings on the nexus between SCI and SP in the existing literature are inconsistent. The study aims to provide an extensive literature review on the SCI–SP relationship. We propose a conceptual research framework to investigate the SCI–SP relationship with consideration of the effects of contextual moderators. A meta-analysis is adopted to analyse the sample of 60 selected empirical papers focusing on this relationship. The results provide evidence of a positive relationship between SCI and SP, which is affected by the two types of moderating variables: operationalisation of SP construct and control variables (industry sector, economic development, and the country's logistics capabilities). We find that SCI has the greatest impact on economic SP and the lowest impact on social SP. The SCI–SP relationship is more robust in the service industry than in the manufacturing industry. When a country's logistics capabilities increase, SCI's influence on SP becomes weaker. The results of this study are drawn from extant empirical research, and thus the validity and reliability of these findings rely on the validity and reliability of the original studies. This study is the first meta-analysis to examine the vital relationship between SCI and SP and adopted a country's logistics capabilities as a moderator. The results offer managerial insights regarding integration dimensions that positively affect various measures of SP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dominant perspective within the field of development economics is that structural change away from the industries that developing countries traditionally specialize in, such as agriculture and mining, is necessary to support a broad process of development. In this paper, we ask whether and how structural change within, as well as away from, such industries might help create more economically successful, socially just and environmentally benign trajectories of progress. Combining insights from innovation studies of economic development with ideas from socio-technical transitions studies, we analyse two cases of alternative, potentially transformative agricultural ventures in Argentina. We explore their practices, relative to mainstream ventures, and reflect on their potential to contribute to more sustainable trajectories of change within and out of the mainstream agricultural sector, and the ways in which they can be supported to do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that urban-regional income development depends on a larger fabric of economic relations at the national and international levels. Focusing on Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) in the US, the paper identifies firms' subsidiary networks across space and their changes over time. These networks form a basic architecture through which important growth impulses in production and innovation are transmitted that impact urban income levels. Using a balanced panel of U.S. CBSAs with LexisNexis Corporate Affiliations data from 1993 until 2017, we develop a model that examines the relationship between national and international connectivity and urban income levels, differentiated by origin/destination of ties, industrial sectors, and various interaction effects. Our results strongly support that linkages at both the national and international scale (particularly linkages with European locations) are significantly related to urban-regional income development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sino-Latin American trade have increased substantially for decades. However, the increasing trade imbalances between China and several Latin American countries have yielded growing trade frictions. In this paper, we re-calculate the bilateral trade balance using the value-added content in trade and measure the contribution of Sino-Latin American trade to economic growth. The results show that gross trade statistics seriously overestimate the real bilateral trade imbalance, and China's trade surplus with Mexico decreased by over 50%. The composition of Sino-Latin American trade suggests that most Latin American economies are complementary with Chinese economy. The South-South trade has been increasingly important for both China's and Latin America's economic development. We foresee an optimistic future of relations and continuously increasing trade between China and Latin America. Meanwhile, more efforts should be made to settle trade frictions and intensify Sino-Latin American relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews exit strategies for social venturing entrepreneurs. Exit is important for social venture entrepreneurs because they do not intend to stay in perpetuity in businesses they establish in the countries and communities where such businesses are set up. The paper, factoring in the two motives of social impact and financial returns, argues that social venture entrepreneurs who follow traditional business and entrepreneurship exit strategies may miss the very mission under which they establish such a business. A conclusion drawn from a literature and practitioners' model is that a "hybrid" of business entrepreneurship and project-based exit criteria could be a best fit exit approach for such entrepreneurs, especially those who invest in sub-Sahara Africa. Data for this paper were collected by means of a normative case study approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the governmentality in Macao's higher education (HE) by exemplifying how neoliberalism and Chinese nationalism simultaneously inform the governmental rationalities and technologies in the city. Like many other systems, neoliberalism has substantially shaped Macao's HE. However, owing to post-colonial identity, Chinese nationalism has become a significant driving force in the development of Macao's HE after the handover. On the basis of governmentality and a qualitative single case approach, this paper demonstrates how the neoliberal logic and nationalist discourses frame the governmentality in postcolonial Macao's HE. The paper further argues that the recent development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area signifies an intensification of national integration that is deliberately associated with a wave of marketisation in HE. These developments represent the economic and political imperatives of Macao's HE policy and provide insights into Chineseness in HE within the contemporary political context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese mammoth investment projects abroad, and especially those under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) umbrella, are receiving heavy scrutiny in academic and policy circles. However, there is insufficient empirical evidence to evaluate their impact. This paper employs a difference- in-differences approach and a pair of new datasets on government spending and economic activity compiled by the World Bank to examine the local impacts of the Chinese-Pakistan Economic Corridor in Pakistan. It finds that the 2013 announcement of CPEC was accompanied by a disproportionate increase in government spending in CPEC districts. However, in the six years after it was first announced, CPEC has not directly contributed a significant increase in economic activity in the districts along its path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented 'lockdowns' and stay-at-home orders to prevent the spread of infection. Social scientists have analysed mobility during these lockdowns to understand compliance at a population-level, and whether there were systematic barriers to compliance for certain population groups. Much of this analysis has used mobility data from private companies, gathered via smartphones. In this paper, we consider an unexplored source of such data - urban management administrative data - and demonstrate its usefulness for understanding mobility, and what these patterns might reveal about socio-spatial inequality and local economic activity and suggest greater imagination when analysing such data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses upon alignment behaviour in the post-Soviet space and seeks to explain why balancing Russia by certain post-Soviet states, despite their numerous efforts to form alliances, has failed. Whereas this failure lies within the explanatory realm of the classical alignment theories, it is more puzzling why some of these post-Soviet states understood the limitations of balancing well and acted accordingly, while others failed to do so at detrimental costs. Trying to explain the failure of balancing Russia, the paper introduces a new theoretical concept that complements the existing alignment theories, and subsequently moves to explain the empirical puzzle of variations in post-Soviet states' assessment of alignment options. In doing so, the paper focuses upon three case studies, namely Georgia and Ukraine on the one hand, that increased their efforts to balance Russia in the last decade and ended up detrimentally, and Azerbaijan on the other hand that refrained from doing so. Unit level variables such as the elites' mis-perceptions/miscalculations of their alignment options as well as distribution of material capabilities, domestic politics and different strategic cultures are employed to explain the variation. The theoretical concept offered in the paper allows for an accurate understanding of alignment behavior in the post-Soviet space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resilience approach has recently emerged as a new topic of EU foreign policy debates and research. This paper adopts a complexity theory perspective to analyze the operationalization of the resilience approach in the EU response to crisis in Ukraine during 2014–2021. Building upon this theory, this paper distinguishes between resilience-as-quality of a complex system and resilience-as-thinking about a complex system. The empirical analysis focuses on the complexity features of non-linearity and self-organizing localization of EU interventions undertaken in the framework of the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP). It concludes that the emerging system of intervention displays some complexity qualities, yet the EU crisis response follows the linear and top-down logic embedded in the project-based practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the nature, origins and expression of place leadership in communities undergoing large-scale economic transformation. It examines where people look for leadership in the management of the places where they live, and how their perspectives are affected by an adverse event. It documents community attitudes on the influence those who occupy positions of authority have been able to exert on this transition, drawing on perceptions from places affected by the shutdown of the Australian automotive industry in the second decade of the twenty-first century. It seeks to understand which individuals and roles were seen to be influential in leading this process of change. This article gains insights into how leaders have an impact, and where this ability to effect change comes from. It does so with reference to the structural conditions embedded within Australian political life and the way leadership finds expression in periods of uncertainty and transformation. The paper finds communities are acutely aware of where the power to lead change resides, but concerns with the efficacy of that leadership have contributed to discontent. A greater focus on further empowering local leadership while delivering on long term expectations would have resulted in more positive perceptions. MAD statement This paper answers the question, how can local leaders manage large-scale, disruptive change such as the closure of a major employer or the shutdown of an entire industry? The paper makes clear that different types of leaders need to respond in varied ways, depending on their source of authority, their degree of connection to the affected community and the nature of the shock experienced by the local economy. Senior government leaders need to map out and deliver a roadmap for economic recovery, social service providers need to be responsive to local needs and those leaders living in the community must continue to strengthen social networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of moralization processes and classification struggles in public contestations over gentrification. Focusing on representations in news media, the paper examines recent public reactions centering on a "hipster café" in London's East End. The analysis shows that the hipster, typically associated with trendy, youthful middle-class people, is a contested figure who some actors attempt to cast as a folk devil blamed for the increasing social polarization and displacement of working-class people following gentrification. But largely misrecognized in this debate is the intensification of neoliberal policies in contributing to these processes. Moreover, dominant representations portray the hipster figure as contributing to the vibrancy and economic development of gentrified districts. Lastly, it is argued that the public contestations over gentrification and the hipster figure involve forms of class politics about the moral hegemony to legitimate particular narratives about who has the right to the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dominance of the 'After the Washington Consensus' for international development is based on mainstream-neoclassical economics that has been imposed by Washington upon debt-stranded developing and developed countries. Against this tide, the purpose of this paper is to develop an alternative scheme and recommendations for international development, pulling from the Marxist political economy practice. Considering, Marxist political economy as a living tradition, the paper contributes to offering a Marxist political economy perspective to international development in the form of a retort to the 'After the Washington Consensus'. 'After the Washington Consensus' represents an evolution from the Washington Consensus, due to the need for capital to adapt to new forms of exploitation. Students and scholars of international development would benefit from this worthwhile exercise that distinguishes in a succinctly and methodically manner between mainstream-neoclassical and Marxist political economy perspectives on international development. The paper concludes that in contradistinction, a Marxist political economy approach to international development that serves the interests of the working class does not have any commonalities with the 'After the Washington Consensus' that serves the interests of international capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a context where many African populations are excluded from the traditional banking system, financial inclusion appears to be a determining factor in enabling agents in need of financing, notably producers and consumers, to have easy access to financial services in order to contribute to the multiple efforts of economic and social progress of nations. However, to date, the literature remains silent on the optimal level of financial inclusion that can boost growth. Consequently, this paper aims to verify whether there is a non-linear relationship between economic growth and financial inclusion in the WAEMU zone. Econometric applications based on the PCSE (panel-corrected standard error) model on a panel of eight countries for the period 2014–2018 reveal a U-shaped relationship between the extended banking rate and economic growth. Economic growth shows two different behaviours depending on whether one is on the side of one or the other of the regimes inherent to the inflection point. In view of these results, we suggest that the public authorities: i) intensify campaigns to open accounts in local languages, ii) promote the development of online sales applications for goods and services, iii) pursue the dematerialisation of financial operations within public administrations. Finally, this paper paves the way for future research on the microeconomic component and a similar treatment of the subject, but taking into account the occurrence of the Covid pandemic19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investment in capital, new technology, and agricultural techniques has not been considered an endeavor worthwhile in a medieval economy because of a lack of strong property rights and no incentive on the part of lords and barons to lend money to or grant rights to peasant farmers. Therefore, the medieval economy and standards of living at that time often have been characterized as non-dynamic and static due to insufficient investment in innovative techniques and technology. Paul Baran's concept of the economic surplus is applied to investment patterns during the late medieval, mercantile, and early capitalist stages of economic growth in England and the UK. This paper uses Zhun Xu's Baran Ratio concept to try to develop general trends to demonstrate and reinforce other historical accounts of these times that a productive and sufficient level of public and private investment out of accumulated capital income, taxation, and rents does not have a real impact on economic per capita growth until around the 1600 s in Britain. This would also be about the time of capitalism's ascent as the dominant economic system in England. Even then, dramatic increases in investment and economic growth do not appear until the late 18th Century when investment more consistently becomes more than one hundred percent of the level of the domestic economic surplus and takes in government spending. The types of investment, threshold amounts of investment out of profits and rents along with government spending seem to matter when it comes to a growth path raising GDP per capita and national income per capita to higher levels. Although much of this knowledge perhaps is embodied in current historical accounts, the Baran Ratio nicely summarizes and illustrates the importance of levels of investment to economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines journal publications and article citations on the subject of the spatial dimensions of income inequality within the social sciences. A systematic literature review methodology is used to develop a dataset containing 2944 articles published between 1980 and 2014. Analysis reveals that the number of papers soared in the late 1990s with significant differences (1) between papers focusing on the causes versus consequences of inequality; and (2) in the spatial scales studied. Increases in interdisciplinary and multidimensional approaches to understanding regional inequalities are also key features of the literature. Areas for future work on spatial inequality are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Nigeria is among the countries in Africa with the largest emigrant population as well as an impressive pool of annual remittances. Despite the importance of remittances in the matrix of national development, they are no substitute for the expertise and skills needed to drive the various sectors of the economy. Thus, since 1999, successive Nigerian governments have emphasised return migration as an important strategy to mainstream its diaspora into national development. In this vein, diverse policy efforts have been initiated to ensure its actualisation. The paper interrogates the continued currency and feasibility of return migration in the face of transnationalism and diasporic integration dilemmas. The paper uses qualitative data generated from primary and secondary sources to critically examine Nigeria's migration architecture. It finds that return migration is fraught with several integration dilemmas for returnees as they are confronted with adjustment crises on return. The paper contends that the transnational character of the Nigerian diaspora necessitates the adoption of policy options that recognise the universality of their contributions and thus do not require their relocation to the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial development and economic growth nexus is still an ongoing debate. Several studies have indicated the positive benefits associated with enhancing financial development. Nevertheless, more work can still be done to reap the full benefits of financial development. With growing social disparities in African countries, identifying the channels through which financial services can be effective is important to maintain stability on the continent. This paper employs a system generalized methods of moments (GMM) technique, to attempt to identify the channels through which financial services can be effective. The paper tests such an effect using a panel of 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa from 2005 to 2016. The results suggest that credit provided by financial institutions and liquid liabilities affect economic growth negatively. Credit to the private sector, on the other hand, contributed significantly to GDP growth. The study underlines the important role of a vibrant private sector to serve as an engine for growth and reduce poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]