Research and Regions. a KWIC Indexed Bibliography

Computerized techniques applied to economics to produce bibliography of related materia

Enabling Effective and Equitable Marine Protected Areas: Guidance on Combining Governance Approaches

Human life depends on the benefits the ocean provides for health, well-being and economic growth. But we are using the ocean's resources faster than they can naturally recover. There is a widening gap between the declining health of the ocean and the growing demand for its benefits. Securing healthy oceans and coasts to contribute to sustainable development requires widespread changes in how we manage our activities in and around coastal and marine areas. The need for change is clear as the impacts of over-exploitation, pollution, coastal development and climate change on oceans and coasts become increasingly visible.Marine protected areas offer one of the best options for maintaining or restoring the health of ocean and coastal ecosystems, particularly when they form part of holistic policy and integrated management systems.Strong governance that influences human behaviour and reduces impacts on marine and coastal ecosystems is essential for marine protected areas to be truly effective. This Guide provides evidence-based advice on how to use the governance of marine protected areas to promote conservation and share sustainable marine resources. It has been developed using 34 marine protected area case studies from around the world. It provides a governance framework and highlights key issues in order to address specific governance situations.The Sustainable Development Goals and targets on oceans recognize the need to combine biodiversity conservation and sustainable use, with a clear role for people and the equitable sharing of costs and benefits.The Guide shows how integrated governance can combine the roles of national governments, local communities, and market schemes to enhance the effectiveness of marine protected areas. There is no "one size fits all" solution. This guidance therefore provides a flexible approach to governance that can be relevant to any marine protected area.The case studies used in the Guide cover a variety of marine protected area types, including no-take, multiple-use, small, large, remote, private, government-led, decentralized and community-led protected areas. They highlight different governance approaches, challenges faced, and solutions implemented to achieve conservation objectives. Further details can be found in the Case Study Compendium that supports the guide.Global in scope, the guide recognizes the essential aspects of gender, class and ethnicity-related equality as fundamental factors to achieving sustainable development goals and delivering effective and equitable governance of marine protected areas.People who can benefit from this Guide include planners, decision-makers and practitioners engaged in marine protected area development and implementation, or those who have a general interest in protected area governance.Ultimately, governing the oceans in a sustainable way could see marine protected areas as a driver - not a limit - for the vital economic and social benefits that we derive from the global ocean

Evolving Institutions and Catching-up by the Candidate Countries of the EU

Since institutions include not only governmental and civic organizations and regulations, but also social customs and behavior, the post-transition development can not be analyzed or understood without the heritage of the past. All-encompassing state-ownership, monopolization and elimination of all kinds of competition reached unprecedented proportions in the Soviet-type economies, creating oligarchic organizations, mentalities, and behavioral patterns. The ruling communist elite enjoyed extreme privileges; citizens became much more alienated from the state than in democratic societies. Experiences of the fastest growing countries proved that by reforming the institutional system and the policy-regime the growth potential of an economy can be much better exploited and catching-up with the more developed countries can be faster. Because of the "velvet" character of transition in East Central Europe, many of the old special interest organizations were not destroyed, thus creating obstacles to faster growth and structural change. In the catch-up process much depends on the openness of an economy, however its performance is basically determined endogenously, by the allocation of resources and their efficient use depending on the institutional structure. The lack or weakness of the rule of the law is one of the main obstacles to the economic catching-up of the East Central European societies and their accession to the European Union. The share of the shadow economy in the transition countries increased very substantially and is about twice as big as in developed market economies. Increased criminal activities and large-scale tax-avoidance is closely related to corruption and is very damaging for the lawful and secure environment of growth. Corruption is strongly negatively associated with the investment rate, and through this it lowers the rate of growth. Clientelistic networks evolved around the political parties, creating a social network where political loyalty prevails against market relations, democratic decision making, and professionalism in public administration. In the political struggles, the question was not only which political group would govern the country, but also who would privatize the vast quantity of state assets, and to whom. In clientelist regimes corruption, favoritism, partiality, give-and-take, and nepotism abound, and thus democratic morale and the logic of the market is destroyed. The analysis shows that the institutions in place in most of the East Central European countries are suitable to achieve a faster growth rate than the EU average, thus catching-up in the not too distant future seems probable after accession. However, the deficiencies in the rule of law are seriously hindering the full utilization of the growth potential of these economies

Oil, Coffee and the Dynamic Commons Problems in Colombia

The dynamic commons problem arises when different groups in society engage in intense redistributive activity as a result of an export boom. This paper analyzes the role that institutions play in ameliorating that problem in the case of coffee and oil in Colombia. The paper presents a model that rationalizes the existence of a federation of coffee producers that effectively reduces inefficient redistribution to other sectors of society. According to the empirical evidence we find that domestic coffee prices have been unaffected by political factors, so that in practice appropriation of coffee rents does not depend on electoral and partisan cycles. The case of oil is substantially different. Here, rents are claimed by a large number of divided agents. According to the model, one feasible solution to the dynamic commons problem when the fiscal structure is not unitary is to impose a set of rules that restrict appropriations by different groups during windfalls. The major cost of this solution, embodied in the Oil Stabilization Fund, is the total loss of flexibility.

Environmental governance and resource tenure in times of change : Experience from Indonesia

The dissertation examines change and complexity in evolving systems of environmental governance in Indonesia, and explores interactions with resource tenure. The aim is to better understand how and why different actors have negotiated and contested resource tenure under conditions of changing environmental governance. The dissertation elaborates a notion of dynamic hybridity in environmental governance and resource tenure systems. The dissertation draws on three empirical case studies and focuses mainly on the period from the late 1990s through to 2015. The cases were geographically disbursed and covered the loosely categorized ideal states of state-led management, community-based management, and payments for environmental services. The findings show how different analytical and theoretical perspectives - for example, a more nuanced focus on trust between actors, considering ideational changes as captured in the changing values of resources, and the bundle of rights approach to understanding property rights - can explicitly encourage a temporal (dynamic) perspective in analyzing changes in resource tenure and environmental governance