69 research outputs found
Policy options and their potential effects on Moroccan small farmers and the poor facing increased world food prices: A general equilibrium model analysis
No full text"This study evaluates the potential impact of the recent rise in world food prices on the Moroccan economy and possible policy options to respond to it. The study focuses mainly on the poverty effects of such an external shock and the possible policy responses to it. A new social accounting matrix (SAM) and a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model have been developed for this study based on micro-level data in combination with sectoral and economywide data. The CGE model simulations show that while increased world food prices hurt poor consumers, the general equilibrium effect of welfare loss is modest. Agricultural producers gain, and benefits to small farmers are especially large. The simulation of import subsidies shows that while such policy options can temporarily stabilize domestic prices, the benefits to consumers are at the expense of producers. However, the model results indicate that there are win-win options for Morocco if policies are based on a longer-term objective. Direct transfers to poor consumers, combined with increased public investment in agriculture to improve agricultural productivity, is a win-win strategy that the government should consider. Low productivity in staple crop production is the dominant reason for poverty among Moroccan farmers. Improving this productivity can also benefit poor consumers by lowering domestic food prices." from authors' abstractFood prices, Agricultural policy, Social accounting matrix, Computable general equilibrium (CGE), Small farmers,
The non-technical side of office technology
No full textMany office technology projects fail. The outcomes of these projects are often not in line with initial expectations. This book assumes that this disappointing result is largely the result of the fact that office technology projects are too IT-driven. The basic assumption is that the problems experienced in a specific office environment can be solved by a technical solution. In this book, the author suggests that office technology projects should acknowledge the existence of a non-technical side to office technology, namely the underlying intentions of the technology, which is referred to as the spirit. The effects of new office technology are not a function of the quality of the technology itself, but of the extent to which end-users apply the technology in accordance with its spirit. This suggests that office technology is 'realized' while it is used, not during its technical development. Therefore, improving office technology projects means that they should be less IT-driven, and more IT-use driven
Toward a typology of food security in developing countries:
No full textThe recent global food and financial crises have reversed the last decade's progress in reducing hunger and poverty. This paper conducts a factor and sequential typology analysis to identify groups of countries categorized according to five measures of food security—consumption, production, imports, distribution, and agricultural potential—by using indicators from 175 countries. The analysis first identifies five distinct food security groups, characterized by food intake, and then further splits these groups based on the various measures of food production, trade security, and agricultural potential. The results suggest that the general category of “developing countries” is extremely heterogeneous and is not particularly useful if the focus is on issues of food security. The results also indicate that different responses are needed by different types of food-insecure countries to address the food and financial crises.food security, Typology, agricultural potential, factor analysis, Poverty, Hunger, financial crisis, Developing countries, Development strategies,
mcbooki432p336: Registrants of Milford Who Served in World War II (cont.)
No full textMaffei, Bruno John; Magill, Russell John; Manhart, John C.; Martin, Robert Richard; Martin, Walter Robert; Mastros, Wallace James; Miller, Forrest Ray; Miller, John Norman; Morrell, Truitt Oscar; Morris, Foster Lewis; Morris, Harold LaMarr; Murdock, Gordon W.; Murdock, Heber Orson; Murdock, Robert Evans; Murdock, Rueben Kent; Myers, Obra Art; McCormick, John Frances; McCulley, Gilbert Arthur; McCulley, Jesse Lewis; McCulley, John Herbert; McDonald William Leroy; McWhorter, Clarence Arthur; Nichols, Robert Edward; Nickles, Clarence Jasper; Oakes, Harold Steiner Jr.; O'Rear, Alfred Munroe; Outzen, John Dern; Patterson, Jim Williams; Patterson, Leo; Patterson, Vernett White; Paul, Charles Dean; Penland, Noel Kermett; Pitchforth, Samuel Eugene Jr.; Posey, Charles Henry; Price, James Edward; Price, Robert Gillies; Raines, James Albert; Rawlins, Bernard; Regan, Stanley Robert; Roberts, Carl Williams ; Roberts, Max Blaine; Robinson, Elmer Smith; Rogers, Ennis Darrell; Rogers, Joseph Ruel; Rogers, Leland Burdett; Russey, Harry Clay; Schaffner, Alfred Calvin; Schaidt, Donald William; Schow, Delbert; Shannon, Rollin Robb; Sierras, Mike Molina; Sly, Donald R.; Smith, Albert Byrl; Smith, Charles Kent; Smith, Joseph William; Smith, Kenneth Adam; Smith, Owen Royle; Spykerman, Raymond; Stahl, John Evan; Stenbom, Charles Elwood; Stewart, Howard; Stewart, Max Owen; Stewart, Robert Frank; Stewart, William Junior; Stoddard, Howard Hitchell; Thompson, Earl Theodore; Thompson, James Warren; Thompson, Leland G.; Thompson, Richard Allen; Tribole, Charles William
Integrating survey and ethnographic methods to evaluate conditional cash transfer programs:
No full text"Survey and ethnographic methods have been combined in the evaluations of conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs for the governments of Nicaragua and Turkey. This paper describes the quantitative and qualitative research designs for these evaluations, discusses the relative benefits of quantitative and qualitative approaches for studying CCTs, and provides examples of how findings of these different approaches complemented, explained, illuminated, or contradicted each other. While the surveys provided reliable measures of program impacts on human capital, the qualitative research provided explanations of why we do or do not find these impacts, and explored how social processes and social relations were affected by, and in turn shaped responses to, the programs. While many official evaluations now require mixed methods, and these have demonstrated policy relevance and impacts, there is still considerable progress to be made with respect to how methods are integrated in practice and how mixed approaches are appreciated in social program evaluation." from authors' abstractqualitative research, ethnography, survey research, mixed-method research, evaluation, conditional cash transfers, heath, nutrition and education programs, Social protection, Targeting, Gender relations,
HRM in the Middle East: toward a greater understanding
No full textSince the publication of the first special issue on human resource management (HRM) in the Middle East in this journal in 2007, the last seven years have witnessed a significant increase in the volume and breadth of topics relating to HRM in the region. Our aim in this special issue is to contribute to a greater understanding of HRM research and practices in the Middle East, hoping to push the research agenda forward. To achieve our aim, we critically examine the direction that HRM research on the Middle East has taken in the last seven years. We then point to current and future challenges facing the region, and suggest how these regional realities are likely to shape HRM research and practices, thus suggesting avenues for further research. Finally, we present the nine articles included in this special issue. Taken together, these articles provide a better understanding of the challenging issues facing both employees and organizations in the region, point to important new developments in theory and practice and open up avenues for further debate particularly in the areas of employment nationalization policies, self-initiated expatriation, local employee's view on expatriate managers, female talent retention, knowledge transfer from multinational corporations to local subsidiaries, high performance work systems, and employee and leaders' behaviors. © 2014 © 2013 Taylor and Francis.Afiouni F, 2013, INT J HUM RESOUR MAN, V24, P1895, DOI 10.1080-09585192.2012.722559; Al Kharouf Amal, 2008, Critical Perspectives on International Business, V4, DOI 10.1108-17422040810870060; Al Ariss A, 2011, BRIT J MANAGE, V22, P286, DOI 10.1111-j.1467-8551.2010.00734.x; Al-Hamadi AB, 2007, INT J HUM RESOUR MAN, V18, P100, DOI 10.1080-09585190601068383; Ali AJ, 2010, PERS REV, V39, P692, DOI 10.1108-00483481011075567; Al-Lamky A., 2006, WOMEN MANAGEMENT REV, V22, P49, DOI 10.1108-09649420710726229; Al-Waqfi Mohammed, 2010, Employee Relations, V32, DOI 10.1108-01425451011051596; Aycan Z, 2000, APPL PSYCHOL-INT REV, V49, P192, DOI 10.1111-1464-0597.00010; Aycan Z, 2007, INT J HUM RESOUR MAN, V18, P11, DOI 10.1080-09585190601068243; Ballout H. 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From "best practice" to "best fit": a framework for designing and analyzing pluralistic agricultural advisory services worldwide
No full text"The paper develops a framework for the design and analysis of pluralistic agricultural advisory services and reviews research methods from different disciplines that can be used when applying the framework. Agricultural advisory services are defined in the paper as the entire set of organizations that support and facilitate people engaged in agricultural production to solve problems and to obtain information, skills and technologies to improve their livelihoods and well-being... To classify pluralistic agricultural advisory services, the paper distinguishes between organizations from the public, the private and the third sector that can be involved in (a) providing and (b) financing of agricultural advisory services. The framework for analyzing pluralistic agricultural advisory services presented in the paper addresses the need for analytical approaches that help policy-makers to identify those reform options that best fit country-specific frame conditions. Thus, the paper supports a shift from a “one-size-fits-all” to a “best fit” approach in the reform of public services... Based on a review of the literature, the paper presents a variety of quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches derived from different disciplines that can be applied when using the framework in empirical research projects. The disciplines include agricultural and institutional economics, communication theory, adult education, and public administration and management. The paper intends to inform researchers as well as practitioners, policy-makers and development partners who are interested in supporting evidence-based reform of agricultural advisory services. from Authors' AbstractAgricultural extension work, Pro-poor growth, Capacity strengthening,
Can cash transfer programs work in resource-poor countries?
No full textCash transfer programs are rare in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper describes the evolution of a cash transfer program in major urban centers of Mozambique, from its inception in 1990 through two major reorganizations until October 1998. Appropriate design, strong multisectoral political support and adequate administrative capacity are critical factors determining the success of such programs. Key lessons applicable to other resource-poor countries designing social assistance programs are drawn, recommending adequate targeted support to truly destitute persons incapable of physical labor in urban areas where administrative costs are more manageable than in more isolated rural sites.Poverty. ,Rural population. ,Social service Mozambique. ,Subsidies. ,
Breaking the norm: An empirical investigation into the unraveling of good behavior
No full textWe present results from an artefactual field experiment conducted in rural Peru that considers how observing nonreciprocal behavior influences an individual's decision to reciprocate. Specifically, we consider the behavior of second movers in a trust game, assessing how their decision to reciprocate is influenced by the observed behavior of others and the extent to which their actions can be observed. In documenting how an external shock to the number observed not to reciprocate influences reciprocation, the paper endeavors to provide some insight into how reciprocity can unravel when individuals are learning behavior in a new market institution.artefactual field experiment, norms, nonreciprocal behavior, Trust, Markets, Institutions,
Formal-informal economy linkages and unemployment in South Africa:
No full textSouth Africa's high involuntary unemployment and small informal sector are attributed to an underperforming formal sector and barriers to entry in the informal sector. This paper examines the economywide linkages between the formal and informal economies while accounting for different types of informal activities. A multiregion empirically calibrated general equilibrium model is developed capturing both product and labor markets. Three policy options are considered. First, results indicate that trade liberalization reduces national employment. At the same time, it increases formal employment, hurts informal producers, and favors informal traders, who benefit from lower import prices. Past liberalization may, therefore, partly explain South Africa's small informal sector and its concentration among traders rather than producers. Second, wage subsidies on low-skilled formal workers increase national employment but hurt informal producers by heightening competition in domestic product markets. This suggests that it is insufficient to examine unemployment policies by focusing only on labor markets. Third, unconditional cash transfers stimulate demand for informally produced products, thereby raising informal employment without undermining formal producers. The transfer does, however, place a large fiscal burden on the state and is less effective at reducing national unemployment than a wage subsidy. Overall, these findings underline the importance of distinguishing between the formal and informal sector implications of socioeconomic policies.informal economy, involuntary unemployment, formal economy, labor markets, trade liberalization, national employment, Cash transfers, wage subsidy, Computable general equilibrium (CGE) modeling, Development strategies,
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