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Symposium on The Cambridge History of Nationhood and Nationalism
No full textThis symposium consists of two critical reviews of The Cambridge History of Nationhood and Nationalism by Eric Storm and John Breuilly, followed by a response to those critiques by the editors of the two volumes
Eco positioning drives sustainable fashion consumption through process related strategies and brand familiarity
No full textThis study investigates how eco-positioning strategies influence consumers’ evaluations of fashion brands, their willingness to pay for eco-friendly fashion products, and their sustainable fashion consumption intentions. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Value-Belief-Norm Theory, this study constructs an integrated analysis framework. Data were collected through a structured online experiment, wherein participants completed three randomized experimental modules, each testing a distinct dependent variable. Within each module, participants were independently assigned to different eco-positioning stimuli. The results indicate that eco-positioning significantly affects brand evaluation and purchase intention, with process-related eco-positioning having a stronger effect. High brand familiarity enhances the effectiveness of eco-positioning strategies. Strong eco-positioning remarkably increases consumers’ willingness to pay, with perceived environmental sustainability playing an important mediating role. Additionally, sustainable fashion consumption intention under eco-positioning advertising is markedly higher than that under other advertising conditions, with environmental concern and fashion involvement acting as key moderating factors
Education and policy borrowing in the Arabian Gulf: technical and vocational education and training in Saudi Arabia
No full textWhile policy borrowing in education is a common practice globally, this paper illustrates the problematic nature of drawing on international experts to reform and develop education policy in Saudi Arabia. While the reliance on consultants was initially driven by a lack of expertise in education policymaking, the impetus to compete globally has led to a focus on “international best practices” rather than policies that are informed by the needs of the local context. Changes to the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) agenda illustrate how reforms based on successful policies in other economies have fallen short in addressing the education and work aspirations of young people within Saudi Arabia. Drawing on qualitative data collected from 152 participants in secondary school as well as vocational colleges, this paper illustrates that despite the education policy rhetoric that positions TVET as a flexible and desirable educational pathway for young people, on the ground policies and reforms do not address the broader challenges within the education system that influence how TVET is perceived and experienced. The paper highlights the importance of incorporating young people’s perspectives to contextualise policies so that they benefit intended recipients
New urban frontiers
No full textThe frontier is undergoing a resurgence as a productive spatial trope in urban geographical research. This article provides a critical overview of this “frontier moment” and contextualizes it within the history of geography and allied disciplines. Building on this tradition, and drawing on the studies collected together in this special issue, we argue that the frontier is a powerful conceptual lens that can generate new insights into the twenty-first century urban. The paper develops a new typology of urban frontier thought: urbanizing frontiers; peripheral frontiers; violent frontiers; and capitalist frontiers. In light of the troubled history of frontier thought, it proposes two principles for critical and reflexive scholarship on urban frontiers. First, this scholarship should challenge the colonial myth of empty land, or terra nullius, by making visible the agency of those social actors situated “beyond” the frontier. Second, it should problematize assumptions that frontier spaces signify an inevitable and all-encompassing logic of expansion by recognizing the continual reproduction of “outsides” that exceed capitalist urbanization
Unlocking new methods to estimate country‐specific effects and trade elasticities with the structural gravity model
No full textWe propose new methods to identify the impact of country‐specific characteristics, policies, and trade costs on bilateral trade flows within the structural gravity framework. We complement theory with a simple two‐stage estimating procedure and offer proof of concept by quantifying the impact of country‐specific research and development (R&D) expenditure on trade. Our results suggest a positive relationship overall but a larger impact of R&D on international (versus domestic) trade. Importantly, our methods deliver trade elasticity estimates without the need for price or tariff data, and we highlight this feature by obtaining aggregate and sectoral trade elasticity estimates, including for services
Underbidding for oil and gas tracts
No full textCommon values auction models, where bidder decisions depend on noisy signals of common values, provide predictions about Bayesian Nash equilibrium (BNE) outcomes. In settings where these common values can be estimated, these predictions can be tested. We propose a series of tests, robust to assumptions about the signal structure, to determine whether the observed data could have been generated by a Bayesian Nash equilibrium. In the setting of oil and gas lease auctions in New Mexico, we find evidence that participation decisions are correlated and that participants systematically underbid in light of ex post outcomes
Varieties of Chinese capital in African agriculture: a bounded improvisation analysis
No full textDebates on Chinese state capitalism and agribusiness expansion have focused on issues of China’s overseas agricultural land investments. While China-focused analyses have deepened our understanding of the complex dynamics between Chinese state-business relations and the diverse regimes of capital export, they often overlook the institutional complexities of host countries. This study addresses that gap by investigating the interplay between the agency of different types of Chinese investors and the land tenure institutions in Tanzania and Zambia. I conceptualize three distinct types of Chinese investors – cooperative competitors, flying geese, and footloose opportunists—each characterized by unique drivers and objectives for internationalization. I further theorize how these investors navigate, adapt to, and improvise within the constraints of host-state land tenure systems. Drawing on 28 comparative cases collected through multiple field trips, the analysis highlights both the differences among Chinese firms operating in the same institutional setting and the varying strategies employed by similar firms across different regulatory environments. The typology developed in this study not only sheds light on the diverse and adaptive strategies of Chinese overseas investors but also provides broader insights into how firms engage with institutional constraints across sectors and beyond Africa
How does research for advocacy work in the case of tobacco and health? A useful new guide
No full textI’ve been trawling through a ‘Research for Advocacy Action Guide’ from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a US group (thanks to Ken Shadlen for the heads up). With its focus on health advocacy, especially in the US, it makes for an interesting comparison with my own experience at Oxfam, which works on a wider range of issues, more of them in the Global South. Both approaches have their strengths and weaknesses
Public relations in deeply divided societies: challenges of social inclusion, deliberative democracy, and inequality
No full textProfessor Ian Somerville, University of Leicester, in conversation with Professor Lee Edwards. London School of Economics and Political Scienc
Accounting and corporate failure: the evolving role of accounting information in bankruptcy prediction
No full textThis paper reviews the extensive literature on the predictive power of accounting information for bankruptcy. Prior research demonstrates that financial statement information effectively predicts bankruptcy out-of-sample, both independently and in combination with market data. I discuss several attributes of accounting information that may enhance or impair its utility in bankruptcy prediction. Using a comprehensive dataset of bankruptcies from 1980 to 2023, I analyse how the role of accounting information in credit risk assessment has evolved over the past four decades. My findings reveal that the predictive power of models based solely on accounting information has remained stable over the most recent decades, whereas the predictive power of equity market information has shown a modest increase. Notably, the performance of accounting and market-based models does not always align. In periods of declining market information efficacy, accounting information often remains robust, mitigating the impact on combined models. Conversely, market information frequently offsets reductions in the predictive power of accounting data, underscoring the complementary strengths of these information sources