Half a century of development economics : a review based on the"Handbook of Development Economics"

Development economics has made remarkable progress in 50 years, says the author, summarizing changes in the field since Nehru's first proposals for an independent India. Synthesizing insights about changes in the field from the many contributors to the"Handbook of Development Economics,"the author observes (among other things): 1) Different schools of thought may dominate, but the range of research has broadened. Economics has"hardened"as its practitioners have learned to use data more carefully and to reason more rigorously. 2) The policy message has been turned upside down. Gone is the idea that development is industrialization and that the main policy problem is to manage the interface between country and city. Today urbanization and industrialization are viewed as mere components of an integrated transformation, in which the expansion of foreign trade is central. Traditional institutions are viewed with far more understanding, because overhasty modernization has often proved counterproductive. 3) More than ever, development is seen as a"whole replacement"process, the key to which is mastery of Northern technology--now understood to be both simpler and more complex than previously thought. Simpler, because much technology is uncomplicated, and complex because even simple technology requires ingenuity and a costly investment in adaptations. 4) There has been a radical change in economists'view of market agents and policymakers. Gone are the days when economists thought their advice should be aimed mainly at planners. Policymakers are utility maximizers, too. Employees of state enterprises coalesce into powerful interest groups that block efforts to raise productivity. The new thinking is sometimes modified by evoking the vague concept of"governance,"under which the economist's view is to help design a system of interacting state and private institutions that, led by the state, cooperate in achieving social goals. Whether something useful will come from this line of thinking remains to be seen. The author detects major gaps in economists'undrstanding of development, suggesting a particular need for further study of collective action (a far more pervasive component of human action than is realized) and the selection of roles by individuals and the costly investment this entails (a concept that may shed light on Schumpeter's well-known but little-studied entrepreneur).Labor Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Health Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Decentralization,Health Economics&Finance,Poverty Assessment,Achieving Shared Growth,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies

Rethinking media flow under globalisation: rising Korean wave and Korean TV and film policy since 1980s

The rising popularity of Korean contents in Asia known as Hanryu ('Korean Wave'), which was partly supported by Korean cultural policy, has many implications with regard to cultural policy in periphery countries under globalisation and the open-door versus cultural diversity debate. This thesis assesses how recent cultural opening under globalisation in Korea has affected Korea's cultural industries both quantitatively in terms of economic performance and qualitatively in terms of cultural content, identity and diversity. These questions are examined in the context of the changing relationship between the cultural industries and cultural policy in Korea since the end of the 1990s. The research draws upon statistical data, historical material and interviews. By researching how the Korean experience has developed, this thesis attempts to look at Hanryu not just as a phenomenon in its own right, but also considers the secondary impact of this phenomenon on perceptions of culture and identity. In particular the thesis considers Hanryu in terms of the cultural influence on neighbouring countries manifest through tourism and a new interest in Korean language and culture. Such cultural effects are less easily measured than economic data but are important to an understanding of causes and effects of Hanryu. Finally this thesis places the Korean experience in the broader context of cultural policy in periphery countries responding to globalisation and the relationship between national cultural policy and the global cultural economy. It is still too early to reach conclusions on the future of Korean cultural industries based simply on the recent trends However, since the mid 1990s, the Korean cultural industries have been transformed dramatically. Cultural policy has contributed to this trend and strengthened the competitiveness of Korea's cultural industries. At the same time the thesis considers some of the limitations and criticisms of Hanryu, including potential loss of cultural diversity and an anti- Korean backlash in some other Asian countries. The Korean cultural industries have benefited from imitating the Hollywood system and developing a distinctive hybrid cultural content and business model. This has made possible an alternative approach to policy and management which lies between two extremes of protectionism and free market ideology. The thesis comments on some of the difficulties and limitations in sustaining such a balance and concludes by considering the sustainability of Hanryu both in Korea and in the broader Asian context

The socio-technical impact of the Internet of Things:an exploratory mixed methods research

This study explores how the Internet of Things (IoT) impacts the socio-technical system of organizations. The paper adopts a mixed methods research with a qualitatively driven approach. Data from 21 interviews with experts in the field of IoT and an online survey with 123 IoT professionals were analyzed. Leonardi’s Socio-Technical System Model (2012) was applied as a lens to examine how IoT influences the organizations’ social subsystem and how that, in turn, affects both the materiality of IoT and users’ intentionality in the technical subsystem. The results suggest transformed roles, potentially flattened hierarchies, decreased privacy, and increased transparency to be the main effects. While apparent changes in the social subsystem cause perceived threats that strongly influence users’ intentionality, they do not certainly affect IoT’s materiality. Noteworthy, however, is that irreplaceable users reportedly have the leverage to enforce changes to IoT’s materiality

Equivalence at Law (and Society): Social Status in Korea, Race in America

Professor Lee\u27s Article uses a comparison between the evolving role of social status in Korean society and that of race in the United States to explore Korean society and its legal system. Tracing the historical origins of status consciousness from the Confucianism of the Chosun dynasty to its vestiges in contemporary Korean society, Professor Lee notes several important parallels between social status in Korea and race in the United States. Emphasizing that there remain significant differences between the ways each functions in relation to law, Professor Lee argues that considering the two in equivalence is nonetheless analytically useful in both framing questions and proposing solutions. Finally, he points out the advantages to be gained from applying U.S. critical race theory methodology in a Korean social status context

The Process of Innovation

The paper argues that innovation processes can be cognitive, organisational and/or economic. They happen in conditions of uncertainty and (in the capitalist system) of competition. Three broad, overlapping sub-processes of innovation are identified: the production of knowledge; the transformation of knowledge into products, systems, processes and services; and the continuous matching of the latter to market needs and demands. The paper identifies key trends in each of these areas: (1) increasing specialisation in knowledge production; (2) increasing complexity in physical artefacts, and in the knowledge bases underpinning them; and (3) the difficulties of matching technological opportunities with market needs and organisational practices. Despite advances in scientific theory and information and communication technologies (ICTs), innovation processes remain unpredictable and difficult to manage. They also vary widely according to the firm's sector and size. Only two innovation processes remain generic: co-ordinating and integrating specialised knowledge, and learning in conditions of uncertainty. The paper also touches on the key challenges now facing 'innovation managers' within modern industrial corporations, bearing in mind the highly contingent nature of innovation.innovation processes, specialised knowledge production, knowledge transformation, modern industrial corporations

The evangelization of secular young adults in South Korea: effective principles for conversion growth among Protestant churches

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatsdissertations/1727/thumbnail.jp