434 research outputs found
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Non-Cooperation in Fish Exploitation. The Case of Irreversible Capital Investment in the Arcto-Norwegian Cod Fishery
Get PDFA two-stage, two-player non-cooperative game model is developed under an irreversible capital investment assumption. The main aim is to predict the number of vessels that each player in such a game will find in his best interest to employ in the exploitation of the Arcto-Norwegian cod stock, given a non-cooperative environment and the fact that all players are jointly constrained by the population dynamics of the resource. The predictions obtained are then compared with (i) the sole owner's optimal capacity investments for the two players; (ii) the results in Sumaila (1994), where perfect malleabilty of c ap aci t y is assumed implicitly; and (iii) available data on the Arcto-Norwegian cod fishery
Shifting Cultivation and "Deforestation". A Study from Sumatra, Indonesia
Get PDFAbout half of tropical deforestation is commonly explained by the expansion of traditional agriculture (shifting cultivation). This article first questions the share of responsibly assigned to traditional agriculture. Secondly, a simple framework based on a theory of land rent capture is developed to explain agricultural expansion. The framework is applied in the study of recent changes in shifting cultivators' adaptations in a lowland rainforest area in Sumatra, Indonesia. Increased rubber planting and expansion into primary forest are seen as a response to increased rubber profitability and (expected) land scarcity, and as a race for property rights. Government land claims have been important in initiating a self-reinforcing land race, and have therefore significant multiplier effects on forest clearing
Shifting Cultivation Expansion and Intensity of Production: The Open Economy Case
Get PDFThis paper studies decision making in shifting cultivation, in particular labour inputs, length of rotation or fallow period (intensity of production), and the agricultural frontier (expansion). Analytical models are developed, combining forest rotation and spatial approaches in resource economics. The small, open economy assumption is used, that is, all prices, including the wage rate, are fixed in the models. This is crucial for the effects of various policies. Three different property rights regimes are discussed: Social planner's solution with secure rights to all forestland, open access, and homesteading, where property rights are established through forest clearance
Do Interest Groups Matter in Economic Policy-Making? Reflections from a Zambian case study
Get PDFThe current debate within development research strongly emphasise the role of interest groups in developing and sustaining democratic and liberal economic reforms. With this debate as its point of departure, the paper discusses to what extent interest groups actually matter in Sub- Saharan Africa. Did interest groups shape the former policies of the one-party regimes and are organised interests likely to respond to market-based economic reforms? Arguing that political institutions must ultimately be understood within each national historical context, the general discussion of the paper is illustrated with references to Zambia. The paper was originally presented at the conference "Democratisation in developing countries: Social, economic and political consequences", held at Chr. Michelsen Institute, 3-5 Februar 1994
Human Rights Violations and the Paradox of Democratic Transition. A Study of Chile and Argentina
Get PDFThis comparative analysis of recent transitions to democracy in Argentina and Chile examines (1) the impact of the type of transition on democratic consolidation; (2) how resolving the problem of past human rights violations has influenced civil-military relations and democratic stability; and (3) what has been the role of human rights NGOs, the Catholic Church, andd political parties. A major conclusion is that state-civil society linkages are important to understanding demodratic transition and consolidation and that these linkages have unfortunately been deemphasised in much recent transition theory.
Elin Skaar is a junior professional officer with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Namibia. She was affiliated to the CMI preparing her MA dissertation on the transition to democracy in Argentina and Chile
Human Rights and Development. The Discourse in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Get PDFThe aim of this study is to review central debates on human rights within the social sciences and humanities with a view to enumerating the present state of knowledge about human rights and development. The central topics discussed in the report are: The development of human rights norms; cultural relativism versus universal human rights; human rights and economic development trade-offs; conflicts between different categories of rights, relations between human rights and political development; ethical and practical aspects of monitoring and reporting on human rights respect; election monitoring, aid conditionality and the linkage of human rights and development. The new challenges facing the field of human rights research in the post-cold war era are concerns figuring centrally in the discussions. The report contains a bibliography
Hvorfor har militæret fortsatt makten i Burma?
Get PDFThis paper seeks to explain why the military has remained in power in Burma after the country-wide uprising for democracy in 1988. It is argued that a theoretical approach has to include a focus on the particular actors and the processes of action, complimentary to structural factors. It is in the concluding section suggested how a more comprehensive analysis has to include the historical role of the military and political culture
Macro-Economic Effects of Development Plan Expenditures. A Framework for Analysis, with Special Reference to Uganda
Get PDFDevelopment plans are mainly concerned with the financial aspects of development projects, while the economic aspects are often neglected. This paper constructs a methodology for converting the information given in development plans into data suitable for a real-economy model. The method deals with backward linkages in terms of the demands by the projects for products and services from the rest of the economy; and forward linkages in terms of benefits the project is expected to generate and its future demands on public budgets for operation and maintenance. The paper is focusing on Uganda as a case, while the overall aim is to illustrate general principles
A Hobbled Democracy. The Kenya General Elections 1992
Get PDFOn 29 December 1992 the first multi-party elections since 1966 were held in Kenya. This report provides a critical assessment of the circumstances surrounding that event. The irregularities and problems encountered in the run-up to the elections and in the balloting and counting phases cast very serious doubts indeed on their freeness and fairness. The evidence adduced, the bulk of it credible and corroborated, even if part of it may be merely circumstantial or impressionistic, will go a long way towards supporting such a conclusion.
However, the multi-party elections, despite flaws and irregularities, no doubt signify that Kenya is moving in a democratic direction. The run-up to the election and the period of political fermentation before that time, the campaign, and the elections themselves have created a wider democratic space in Kenya. The embryo of a new democratic political culture is discernable; from it there is likely to emerge a genuinely democratic practice. Yet, there will continue to be setbacks and hurdles to be overcome.
The report concludes on a self-critical note. Whereas the institution of election observing is worth defending, a minimum of professionalism is required on the part of election observers in the discharge of their duties.
Inadequate attention has thus far been devoted to specifying and operationalising a set of criteria to be satisfied in order to enhance the professionalism of election observing