Subsidiarity and Proportionality in the Single Market: An EU fit for inclusive growth

This report offers a fresh perspective on the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality in the European Union based on a thorough-going economic analysis. Specifically, the report uses the EU Single Market as a case to discuss shortcomings and potential improvements in five key policy areas. It reviews how the principles of subsid- iarity and proportionality can help boost growth in the EU at the aggregate country level – while at the same time allowing EU regions to benefit from growth. The report focuses on the regional level as economic growth has been uneven across the EU’s regions over the last decade and, consequently, growing disparities between re- gions have emerged. This alone merits a review on how we can reconcile the twin objectives in the future

Mapping Antecedents and Outcomes of Marginality and Social Exclusion among Small Landholders: A Systematic Review

This study aims to review determinants of the social exclusion (SE) of small farmers in the agriculture sector, which is one of the key approaches to creating sustainable rural development and an integral part of the country’s economic development. The selected group's social and economic underpinnings play a vital role in their productive decision-making regarding rural development. As per the literature review, databases of peer-reviewed scientific publications, and official publications of the relevant fields from 2005 to 2020, it has been deduced that the literature lacks elucidated support on the small landholder (SLH) in defining their marginality and social exclusion. This study particularly attempts to fill this gap by reviewing the comprehensive research of said domains. A precise and effective list of main players in this field to the smallholders throughout the developing and developed countries has been produced. Findings indicate that government interventions in terms of the welfare system, credit facilities, agriculture resources, market access, and farmers’ migration significantly influence decreasing social exclusion, food security, and attainment of the SDGs. Moreover, educational systems through farmer social networks, farmer-based organizations, and farmer field schools help adapt to climate change and the latest agricultural technologies, increase livelihood choices, reduce poverty and inequalities, empower women, and improve the social status of farmers. This is ultimately and positively associated with the social inclusion of small farmers and sustainable economic development

Land use and food security in 2050: a narrow road

After a first foresight study on "World food security in 2050" (Agrimonde), CIRAD and INRA have turned their attention to a new foresight exercise on 'Land use and food security in 2050' (Agrimonde-Terra). This new study seeks to highlight levers that could modify ongoing land-use patterns for improved food and nutrition security. Agrimonde-Terra proposes a trend analysis on the global context, climate change, food diets, urban-rural linkages, farm structures, cropping and livestock systems, and explores five scenarios. Three scenarios entitled "Metropolization", "Regionalization" and "Households" are based on current competing trends identified in most world regions. Two scenarios entitled "Healthy" and "Communities" involve potential breaks that could change the entire land use and food security system. The "Healthy" scenario is the only one that makes it possible to achieve sustainable world food and nutrition security in 2050. Nevertheless, current trends in agricultural and food systems in most parts of the world converge towards the "Metropolization" scenario, which is not sustainable in terms of both land use and human health. Therefore, changing the course of ongoing trends in favor of sustainable land uses and healthy food systems will be one of the main challenges of the next decades. It will require systemic transformation, strong and coherent public policies across sectors and scales, and consistent actions from a wide range of actors. This foresight provides a large information base on land uses, food systems and food security and constitutes a tool box to stimulate debates, imagine new policies and innovations. It aims to empower decision makers, stakeholders, non-governmental organizations and researchers to develop a constructive dialogue on the futures of land uses and food security at either world, regional and national levels

Introduction: Generating concepts of ‘the urban’ through comparative practice

This Introduction to the special issue, ‘ Comparative Methods for Global Urban Studies’, outlines the basis for a reformatted comparative method inspired by the complex spatialities of the urban world. The articles in the volume each bring forward innovative approaches to comparative methods which support wider conceptualisations of urban processes and urban experiences. The articles in this volume consider a wide range of urban contexts and collectively move beyond geopolitically imprecise propositions of ‘southern’ urbanism to embrace the wider comparative agenda of thinking with both the diversity and the profound interconnectedness of the urban globally. The articles contribute to decentring urban studies, opening conceptualisation to a range of different contexts and differently positioned writers. They also speak to the analytical and methodological challenges posed by current trends in global urbanisation, as dispersed, fragmented and extending over vast territories. Thinking with the multiple elsewheres of any urban context invites a comparative imagination – this introduction draws together the creative ways in which authors in this volume have responded to this potential. Processes of conceptualisation both emerge from and more acutely reveal the spatiality and nature of the global urban: comparative method, then, also proposes a certain mode of theorisation of the urban

How Does Convergence Influence Cluster-Based Economic Growth in Regions?

This thesis is a novel study examining the influence of convergenceon cluster-based economicgrowth in regions. The goal of which isto provide exploratory insights frombothnational and international perspectives. This research study examines the relevant literature in thefieldsof convergence,clusters,and regions. It thenadoptsideologies from the most salient studies,to create a conceptual framework. There is limitedextantliterature currently available on the connection between convergence, cluster-based economicgrowth,and regions. AnOECD (2011) report identified the importance of regions as they are themost effective place to make economic decisions. The convergence approachof moving towards equality, bottom-up growth,and co-opetition can be regarded as being imperative to the successful augmentation of a region. This research used a qualitative method (Bryman and Bell, 2015) with 30 semi-structured interviews. The rationale behind the use of a qualitative methodology (Fidel, 2008),is the limitedliteratureavailableon convergence.Therefore, in order tounderstand how convergenceinfluences cluster-based economic growth in regions, it is essential to conductaqualitativestudy andanalysis (Rocha, 2004)

Sustainable Food System Assessment

food supply; environmental aspects; sustainable agriculture; nutrition polic