‘Money and (dis)connection’: Income inequality and network disadvantage as barriers to sustainable technology adoption

Scholars have highlighted the role of income distribution as a fundamental factor to understand consumption, health, adoption of technologies, social cohesion, democratic stability, and long term economic performance, among other phenomena. Moreover, reducing income inequality was included in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. However, less attention has been put on the link between differences in household incomes and other pressing sustainability challenges, such as those that depend on massive adoption of new technologies within network industry sectors: telecommunications, waste management, transport, energy and water. Does existent income inequality translate into adoption gaps within these sectors? Is inequality an obstacle for advancing the vision of an inter-connected and more sustainable world? This research explores these questions through seven stand-alone papers, which focus on adoption of broadband internet, municipal recycling and railway passenger transport. Part I of the thesis includes four papers based on publicly available data from traditional mainstream sources. Chapter 1 provides a systematic map of the peer-reviewed literature on the link between income inequality and adoption of the three selected network technologies. Chapter 2 looks at country-level panel data from OECD countries. Chapter 3 analyses cross-sectional data in a broader world-wide sample. Chapter 4 compares borough-level recycling and income distribution in two European cities: London (United Kingdom) and Barcelona (Spain). Part II provides an in-depth analysis of two South American metropolitan areas: Santiago (Chile) and Medellín (Colombia). This part includes three papers (chapters 5, 6 and 7), each one focusing on a specific sector, that employ mixed-methods based on fieldwork conducted in both cities. The main contributions of the thesis are new evidence on the negative effect of income inequality on network technology adoption, and a discussion of the role of formal and informal institutions in this relationship.CONICYT PFCHA/DOCTORADO BECAS CHILE/2016 ‐ 7217012

Fiscal Decentralization in Colombia: A Work (Still) in Progress

The degree of fiscal decentralization in Colombia is impressive. In some respects, however, Colombian decentralization has hardly changed since the process first began over 40 years ago. This review of the experience of the last few decades and the challenges now facing the country shows that there have been some clear successes as a result of decentralization. However, many problems have also arisen as a result of both perverse incentives built into the system and the failure to build up central and especially local capacity to manage a more decentralized system. Unless these critical problems are resolved, fiscal decentralization in Colombia will remain a work in progress with, at best, only partially successful outcomes whether in terms of providing public services to the country’s growing population more effectively, efficiently, and equitably or in terms of improving subnational governance in general

Global Energy Consumption: An Analysis of Variables That Shape Per Capita Usage, or How Pump Price, Urbanization, and Fossil Fuels Imports Impact Fossil Fuels Consumption Per Capita Across OECD Countries

Among reasons explaining the importance of studying fossil fuel consumption are: crude oil is a subject of the international commodities market, thus, any fluctuation related to its\u27 availability or price would impact the rest of the World; natural resources like oil, gas, and coal are limited; the extensive use of fossil fuels harms our surroundings, creating many environmental concerns; every human (on average) has been using more energy since 1971 and the trend is expected to continue. The upward trend is not consistent among individual countries. Therefore, the core question of my research is, `Why do some countries consume less Fossil Fuels per Capita (FFCC) than others?` I use a multivariate framework to answer the central question, including three independent (Pump Price for Gasoline, Urbanization, and Fossil Fuel Imports) and two control variables (Latitude and GDP per capita). My research is built upon three Hypotheses: In a comparison of countries, higher pump prices are associated with a decrease in FFCC compared to those with lower pump prices; In a comparison of countries, a greater urban percentage of the population is associated with a decrease in FFCC compared to those with a less urbanized population; In a comparison of countries, higher fuel imports are associated with a decrease in FFCC compared to those with lower fuel imports. As a basis of the quantitative method, I use a sample of twenty-eight OECD counties to design and test a model for 2009-2018 (The Model). The output of the multiple regression analysis shows that the Model explains 40% of the variance in the Dependent Variable. I use a qualitative method to review three case studies (Finland, Canada, and Colombia). Finland’s local conditions make the country almost an ideal candidate to fit the Model. Canada’s local situation concerning FFCC explains why the country does not fit the Model well, despite significant efforts of urbanized communities to pursue energy efficiency. The Colombian government’s continuous interventions prevent the country from fitting the Model and make Colombia an apparent outlier. Going forward, it is important to develop a worldwide database containing information on taxation and promote energy-related reporting among countries to ensure quantitative data availability

Policy options for the promotion of electric vehicles: a review

The upward trend in fuel prices and the desire to reduce pollution levels mean that the electric vehicle has become an increasingly attractive alternative in recent years. The aim of this study is to examine the main barriers that the electric vehicle must overcome if it is to become a successful mode of transport and to review the main public policies that governments might implement to help in overcoming these obstacles. Public policies have been directed at four basic features of the electric vehicle: the charging network; increasing demand for these vehicles; industrialization and research and development programs; and the introduction of electric vehicles in programs of sustainable mobility. This article describes the public policies that have been implemented around the world to overcome the barriers to the adoption of electric vehicle so that it might become the vehicle of the future

Reaching more farmers: Innovative approaches to scaling up climate-smart agriculture

The purpose of this working paper is to provide insight into how we can use novel approaches to scale up research findings on climate-smart agriculture (CSA) to meaningfully address the challenges of poverty and climate change. The approaches described include those based on value chains and private sector involvement, policy engagement, and information and communication technologies and agro-advisory services. The paper draws on 11 case studies to exemplify these new approaches to scaling up. These are synthesised using a simple conceptual framework that draws on a review of the most important challenges to scaling up. This provides the material for a discussion around how particular scaling up approaches can help to address some of the challenges of scaling up. The analysis offers insights into scaling approaches, challenges and some opportunities for scaling CSA practices and technologies. We conclude that multi-stakeholder platforms and policy making networks are key to effective upscaling, especially if paired with capacity enhancement, learning, and innovative approaches to support decision making of farmers. Projects that aim to intervene upstream at higher leverage points can be highly efficient and probably offer cost-effective dissemination strategies that reach across scales and include new and more diverse partnerships. However, these novel approaches still face challenges of promoting uptake, which remain contextualized and thus require a certain level of local engagement, while continuously paying attention to farmer’s needs and their own situations

Promoting Renewable Energy Development and Deployment through International Cooperation: Canada's Role in the 21st Century

The development and deployment of renewable energy technologies is increasingly recognized as a necessary action to tackle climate change, advance energy security, and to achieve a transition towards a low-carbon, sustainable economy and society. Despite that, the penetration and commercialization of renewable energy solutions has been hindered, particularly in developed countries, by the existence of market-related, economic, financial, institutional, regulatory, technical, social, cultural, behavioural, and other barriers. Dismantling those barriers will require an in-depth understanding of the challenges faced and the implementation of a variety of tools and mechanisms that are increasingly recognized by energy experts as effective in the facilitation of renewable energy deployment. In the last decades, international cooperation has played an important role in helping low-income countries increase the penetration of renewable energy sources. Collaboration is key considering that it creates opportunities for transferring knowledge and environmentally sound technologies, for fostering local capacity, for accessing finance and funding to develop new projects, for ensuring that new technical and policy initiatives are informed by know-how accumulated in leading countries, and for guaranteeing that new renewable energy projects are of the highest quality. That said, the purpose of this report is to identify, based on an extensive literature review and interviews, cooperation mechanisms through which Ottawa can help promote the deployment of renewable energy solutions in developing countries where the penetration of these technologies in the electricity mix is low or non-existent. The research question are: 1) Why should Canada collaborate with developing countries to advance renewable energy as a climate change mitigation strategy?; 2)How can Canada help promote the widespread deployment and commercialization of renewable energy technologies in low-income countries that rely on conventional energy sources; and 3)What must be the focus or targets, financing sources, and mechanisms to foster collaboration? The report concludes that the Canadian government has an obligation to collaborate with developing countries in the implementation of climate mitigation and adaptation strategies mainly on the grounds that Canada is and has been one the top emitters of greenhouse gases (GHG). Secondly, it suggests that Canada could make a meaningful contribution by focusing its efforts and resources on helping beneficiary countries, through bilateral agreements, enhance local capacity building and improve their policy framework for renewable energy development. Lastly, it recommends that said assistance should be provided by offering training and certification at no cost either on RETScreen or on renewable energy system installation and maintenance for individuals who meet a number or conditions and, furthermore, by connecting local politicians and regulators with a select group of leading renewable energy policy experts from Canada. These and other initiatives could be funded with public money provided that fossil fuel subsidies are reduced or eliminated. Subsequently, the report demonstrates that Canada's collaboration could help Latin American countries, such as Colombia, diversify their electricity portfolio, reduce GHG emissions, advance long-term energy security and sustainability, and provide economic opportunities for the country's most marginalized and vulnerable populations. Finally, it indicates that additional research is needed to identify countries that would be interested and that could benefit from entering into a long-term collaborative relationship with the Canadian government and, furthermore, to analyse alternative collaboration models and pathways

Promising Approaches to Address the Needs of Poor Female Farmers: Resources, Constraints, and Interventions

This paper critically reviews attempts to increase poor female farmers' access to, and control of, productive resources in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It surveys the literature from 1998 to 2008 that describes interventions and policy changes across several key agricultural resources, including land, soil, and water; labor-saving technologies; improved varieties; extension services; and credit. Main questions: (1) Are women more constrained in access to, and control of, productive resources? (2) What are the key intervention strategies to address constraints to accessing such resources? (3) What are some of the promising approaches that have been used in the field? and (4) Have those approaches been rigorously evaluated, and what are the implications for scaling up

Marketing as a means to transformative social conflict resolution: lessons from transitioning war economies and the Colombian coffee marketing system

Social conflicts are ubiquitous to the human condition and occur throughout markets, marketing processes, and marketing systems.When unchecked or unmitigated, social conflict can have devastating consequences for consumers, marketers, and societies, especially when conflict escalates to war. In this article, the authors offer a systemic analysis of the Colombian war economy, with its conflicted shadow and coping markets, to show how a growing network of fair-trade coffee actors has played a key role in transitioning the country’s war economy into a peace economy. They particularly draw attention to the sources of conflict in this market and highlight four transition mechanisms — i.e., empowerment, communication, community building and regulation — through which marketers can contribute to peacemaking and thus produce mutually beneficial outcomes for consumers and society. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for marketing theory, practice, and public policy

Promising approaches to address the needs of poor female farmers: Resources, constraints, and interventions

"Recognizing that “gender matters,” many development interventions have aimed to close the gender gap in access to resources, both human and physical, and to address the specific needs of female farmers. This paper critically reviews attempts to increase poor female farmers' access to, and control of, productive resources in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It surveys the literature from 1998 to 2008 that describes interventions and policy changes across several key agricultural resources, including land, soil, and water; labor-saving technologies; improved varieties; extension services; and credit. Compared with interventions designed to increase investment in human capital, only a minority of interventions or policy changes designed to increase female farmers' access to productive resources have been rigorously evaluated. Future interventions need to consider interactions among inputs rather than treat each input in isolation, adapt interventions to clients' needs, and pay attention to the design of alternative delivery mechanisms, the trade-offs between practical and strategic gender needs, and the culture and context specificity of gender roles." from authors' abstractGender, Agriculture, Interventions, Agricultural growth, Agricultural technology,