1,358,980 research outputs found
Liz Lerman Dance Exchange Archives
No full textLiz Lerman Dance Exchange Archives is the administrative, programmatic, performance, press, and visual records of the company, its members, and its related groups. Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, based in the D.C./Montgomery County, Maryland area, was founded by Liz Lerman in 1976. Liz Lerman Dance Exchange pursues a broad definition of dance as a multi-disciplinary art form that encompasses movement, music, imagery, and the spoken word. The collection consists of the administrative materials of correspondence, reports, meeting materials, pamphlets, notes, publications, and statistics; the production materials of photographs, playbills, flyers, press kits, and contextual information; memorabilia; and video and audio cassettes, all of which relate to the activities and functions of Liz Lerman Dance Exchange
Article: David Lerman, "Will Bypass Handle Traffic," June 11, 1986
No full textTextual: Article, copy; 11” x 8.5” (27.9 cm x 21.6 cm)Article by David Lerman entitled "Will Bypass Handle Traffic" dated June 11, 1986 from The Connection. This article discusses a proposed bypass from Springfield, Virginia through Reston, Virginia. This bypass, known today as Fairfax County Parkway, was constructed from 1987 through 2001. In this article, Lerman address concerns of residents from Burke and Reston concerning the design of the bypass. Most were concerned that the four-lane bypass couldn't handle the daily traffic projected. Many believed it would have to be extended to six lanes in the future. Some residents addressed concerns over the size of the median and desired it be reduced from forty-two to eighteen feet. Planned Community Archives Collection, 638.02.0
LAND CONSOLIDATION AS A FACTOR FOR SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE IN MOLDOVA
No full textSince 1991, Moldova has carried out a wide range of radical reforms affecting its social and economic system. The land reform, which was practically completed in 2000, created over 1 million landowners among the rural population. Many of them entrusted their land to managers of newly created corporate farms. Others used their privately owned land to establish independent family farms. The creation of independent family farms (so-called "peasant farms") was one of the primary goals of the land reform. More than 280,000 peasant farms have been created, averaging 1,86 hectares in size. The small size of the peasant farms, whose holdings are furthermore split into 3-4 parcels, raises considerable concerns about their long-term viability and has led to an intense public debate regarding the impacts of fragmentation. In this paper, we use the data from several recent surveys in Moldova to support the case for land consolidation. We show that, in the individual sector, larger farms produce higher family incomes and thus farm augmentation makes a positive contribution to the well-being of the rural population. We also show that, for farms of a given size, productivity increases as the number of parcels decreases. After demonstrating the economic advantages of consolidation, we proceed to discuss the actual use of various market mechanisms for land consolidation, including leasing as well as buying and selling of land. We then show that, in our surveys, farms with leased land are in fact larger than farms that rely on owned land only. This completes the logical circle of our argument: land consolidation leads to better economic performance, while land leasing is actually used as a market mechanism for consolidation, which benefits both lessees (through increased farm incomes) and lessors (through income from lease payments for their land).land consolidation, land lease, land market, Moldova, Land Economics/Use,
AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE ENTERPRISE IN THE TRANSITION FROM SOCIALIST COLLECTIVE FARMING
No full textCooperative enterprise has appeal as a means of filling gaps in the economic institutions of the rural sectors of the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. But in addition to problems that have faced cooperatives in the West because of their inherent characteristics, the Soviet-era legacy created cultural burdens that cooperatives will have to overcome. A review of countries’ experiences since 1989 indicates some commonalities in attempts to create “new cooperatives,” but also instructive differences across countries. The evidence so far is unfavorable for cooperatives in agricultural production. In marketing and input supply the current situation is more promising. In both production and marketing, the economic institutions remain in flux. Unique approaches involving cooperatives may take permanent root, but their long-term prospects are in doubt.Agribusiness,
A New Chapter in the History of SRNT: The Formation of the European Chapter of SRNT (SRNT-E)--A Letter from the Presidents of SRNT and SRNT Europe
No full textDuring the last annual meeting of the SRNT Europe in Bath (UK), an important event in the history of SRNT took place. On September 6, Caryn Lerman (President of SRNT) and Christian Chiamulera (Past President of SRNT Europe) signed the agreement that established the formation of the first SRNT Chapter, the SRNT-Europe (SRNT-ESP).
A brief look into the history of the Society may help us to appreciate the importance of this event. Since 1998, when the first European conference of SRNT was organized by Karl Fagerström in Copenhagen, SRNT Europe has been a group of European members mainly active in the organization of the annual SRNT Europe meetings. Well-attended and successful conferences were hosted in London, Paris, Spain, and many other locations, typically in September/October. These meetings attracted members not only from the region but also from North America. Importantly, the SRNT Europe meetings have afforded an opportunity for researchers from non-European and developing countries to attend SRNT conferences and contribute their expertise. It could be said that ..
DUALITY OF FARM STRUCTURE IN TRANSITION AGRICULTURE: THE CASE OF MOLDOVA
No full textThe duality of farm structure in Moldova is manifested by the existence of a relatively small number of large corporate farms at one extreme and a very large number of small and very small family farms at the other. “Medium-sized” family farms, the backbone of any market agriculture, virtually do not exist in Moldova. Moldovan agriculture is characterized by a much greater concentration of land in large farms than agriculture in market economies. The small individual farms on the whole are more productive and more efficient than the large corporate farms. They produce higher incomes for rural families than corporate farms. The main conclusion of the paper is that land should be allowed to flow from large corporate farms to small family farms through the medium of land markets until an equilibrium is established between the two farm sectors at a new level closer to that observed in market economies.farm structure, efficiency, productivity, land fragmentation, land concentration, farm size, Moldova, Farm Management, Productivity Analysis,
LAND REFORM AND DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURAL LAND MARKETS IN RUSSIA
No full textRussia has experienced dramatic changes in land ownership and land tenure since the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991: agricultural land has been largely privatized, individual landowners now have legal rights to most agricultural land in the country, and previous prohibitions on buying and selling of land have been removed by recent laws. The necessary preconditions for the development of agricultural land markets have been met and we are beginning to witness transactions that involve individual landowners, and not only the state. However, further development of the embryonic land market is severely circumscribed by the inadequacy of the administrative and technical infrastructure. In this paper we discuss the dynamically evolving legal framework for land reform, consider the impacts of land reform on privatization and ownership structure of agricultural land, and analyze the development of land market transactions. The analysis is based on official statistical sources and the results of a questionnaire-based survey conducted by the authors in 2003 in three regions. The paper concludes with a review of the existing constraints on land transactions and some policy recommendations.International Development, Land Economics/Use,
RURAL LIVELIHOODS IN ARMENIA
No full textIn this paper the structure of the rural economy in Armenia is explored from a household perspective. The paper draws on the livelihoods framework, recognizing the different capitals and activities that support rural households' livelihood strategies. Ownership of capitals and access to activities are examined in relation to the incidence of poverty on the basis of data from a recent large-scale survey of rural households in Armenia. Different measures for the outcome of livelihood strategies in terms of well-being are observed, which are consistently linked to income levels across poor and other households. Income-poor households are found to be less well-endowed especially with financial and social capital. They derive smaller income shares from economic activities, and more from dissaving and social payments. The findings are relevant to policies aimed at alleviating rural poverty.Community/Rural/Urban Development, Labor and Human Capital,
PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY OF SMALL AND LARGE FARMS IN MOLDOVA
No full textThe paper presents a comparative analysis of the productivity of small and large farms in Moldova based primarily on cross-section data from three farm surveys conducted by the World Bank and USAID in 2000 and 2003. The survey data are supplemented where feasible with time series from official national-level statistics. We calculate partial land and labor productivity, total factor productivity, and technical efficiency scores (using Stochastic Frontier and Data Envelopment Analysis algorithms) for the two categories of small individual farms and large corporate farms. Our results demonstrate with considerable confidence that small individual farms in Moldova are more productive and more efficient than large corporate farms. This finding is not restricted to Moldova, as a similar result has been obtained by other authors in Russia (2005) and in the U.S. (2002), where a recent study has found that an increase of farm size reduces, rather than increases, agricultural productivity. Policies encouraging a shift from large corporate farms to smaller individual farms, rather than the reverse, can be expected to produce beneficial results for Moldovan agriculture and the economy in general. The government of Moldova should abandon its inherited preference for large-scale corporate farms and concentrate on policies to improve the operating conditions for small individual farms. At the very least, the government should ensure a level playing field for farms of all sizes and organizational forms, and desist from biasing its policies in favor of large farms.family farms, corporate farms, comparative performance, technical efficiency, total factor productivity, agrarian reforms, transition countries, Farm Management, D24, J24, P27, P31, P32, Q12, Q15, R14,
TURKMENISTAN'S NEW PRIVATE FARMERS: THE EFFECT OF HUMAN CAPITAL ON PERFORMANCE
No full textAlmost all former socialist countries are introducing private farming as part of land reform. In countries where such farming existed one or two generations ago, land might be restituted to former owners. In Turkmenistan, where there had been little private agriculture and no small landowners, land was distributed to new beneficiaries. This paper shows that the previous position of the new farm “owners” strongly affected what resources they had (land, capital, water) and how effectively they used them. The study is based on a survey conducted in 2000 on a sample of 143 farmers from Turkmenistan’s all five administrative regions. The farmers were divided for analysis into five categories, according to previous positions (managers, middle-level specialists, skilled and unskilled workers, and administrative staff). On the average, all categories of farmers turned a profit. However, the most successful were the middle-level specialists (agronomists, engineers). They had the largest plots, the best land, and the best-equipped farms. Like the managers and the administrative staff, they had savings, some of which they used as startup capital. They diversified their production more than others, and were better able to obtain credit. Former unskilled workers were the least successful, lacking capital, and unable to afford risks, thus growing only wheat and cotton at the expense of other crops and of livestock. Earlier studies have shown that former position affected the share of resources received by individuals in the ex Soviet Union. In addition to confirming the finding, we have shown that former position also affected the use of those resources, and the economic performance of the users. Unfortunately, the sample size was small, and our conclusions remain thus tentative.Farm Management,
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