Globalization and Rural Poverty: A Perspective from a Social Observatory in the Philippines

globalization, poverty, Philippines, agriculture

The (un)happiness of knowledge and the knowledge of (un)happiness: Happiness research and policies for knowledge-based economies

Paper presented to the International Conference Policies for Happiness, June 14-17, 2007, Certosa di Pontignano, University of Siena, Italy.This paper explores the current state and interfaces of two broad policy discourses, i.e. that of policies for knowledge-based economies (KBEs) and policy implications of happiness research, which so far have exhibited little explicit cross-referencing. I first review the state of 'mainstream' knowledge policy associated with the OECD, the related but somewhat separate literature on information society indicators, and some 'non-mainstream' knowledge policy analysis. This is followed by a brief overview of some of the major policy implications and controversies in happiness research. Next, I discuss major interfaces of the two policy discourses. They mostly concern the nexus of education, work and innovation. I also illustrate the diversity of beliefs and values about some core elements of KBEs in a group of what are usually regarded as similar countries, and advocate the use of subjective variables to capture these differences. The main argument put forward in this paper is that policies for KBEs should be informed by insights from happiness research

Monetary policy in the 2008-2009 recession

The recession that began with a cyclical peak in December 2007 originated in a combination of real shocks because of a fall in housing wealth and a fall in real income from an increase in energy prices. The most common explanation for the intensification of the recession that began in the late summer of 2008 is the propagation of these shocks through dysfunction in credit markets. The alternative explanation offered in this article emphasizes propagation through contractionary monetary policy. The first explanation stresses the importance of credit-market interventions (credit policy). The second emphasizes the importance of money creation (money-creation policy). According to Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Chairman William McChesney Martin, "The System should always be engaged in a ruthless examination of its past record" (FOMC Minutes, 11/26/68, 1,456).Monetary policy ; Credit

The Transformation of Rural Labour Systems in Colonial and Post-Colonial Northern Nigeria

The study attempts to highlight the interrelation between three central points in the ongoing debate on the political economy of development: viability, surplus, and class-formation. A case study of the develop¬ment of rural labour systems in Northern Nigeria is meant to provide both a better qualitative and quantitative idea of this interrelation. After an analysis of the socio-economic effects of forced and bonded labour during colonial times, the articulation of different systems of family and non-family labour has been investigated. Class-specific effects of labour and capital input do even result in an increasing use of communal labour by rich and middle peasants after the Nigerian Civil War: its form remains, but its content changes fundamentally. The socio-economic and material base for small-scale peasant subsistence production has been gradually destroyed.political economy of development; labour systems; rural areas; economic history; Africa; colonialism; Nigeria;

Migration as a Political and Public Phenomenon: The Case of Slovak Republic

Publication within the project “The V4 towards migration challenges in Europe. An analysis and recommendations” is financed by Visegrad Fund

Ambitious entrepreneurship, high-growth firms and macroeconomic growth

We examine the impact of ambitious entrepreneurship (entrepreneurs expecting to grow their firm) and high-growth firms (firms that have actually realized high growth rates) on subsequent macroeconomic growth in a sample of high and low-income countries, in the period 2002-2005. Our empirical evidence shows that once we control for the share of ambitious entrepreneurs the overall positive effect of entrepreneurship on macroeconomic growth disappears. Growthoriented entrepreneurship seems to contribute heavily to macroeconomic growth in both low- and high-income countries. In low-income countries, the overall positive effect of entrepreneurship on macroeconomic growth does not disappear after introducing the share of ambitious entrepreneurs into the statistical model. In contrast to ambitious entrepreneurship in nascent and young businesses, established high-growth firms do not seem to contribute to macroeconomic growth.These established high-growth firms seem to flourish in countries with high levels of entrepreneurship in general, while there appears to be no connection between the rate of high-growth firms and the share of ambitious entrepreneurs. �

The political economy of violence: the case of Venezuela

This thesis will attempt to answer the question of how can the rise in social violence be explained in the oil-rich nation of Venezuela since the 1980s? The once relatively peaceful nation of Venezuela has seen a dramatic rise in social violence over the last three decades that has placed her amongst some of the world\u27s most dangerous countries. A review of the relevant literature will reveal that the study of a social phenomenon such as violence, and in a nation such as Venezuela, is a complicated task because there are a number of different but in many cases interlinked variables that contribute to the formation of this social phenomenon. Therefore the conceptual framework will consist of a multi-variable analysis so that this study may go about to formulate an appropriate explanation based on the complex causes and effects that surround this issue. However, special attention will be given to the nation\u27s developmental history has given way to a severe socio-political crisis. But although special attention will be given to this important variable, no hierarchy of variables will be established as the convoluted nature of social events makes it very difficult to formulate one. Other factors that will also be analyzed as they contribute to the rise of social violence are: the nation\u27s vast hydrocarbon wealth (which is always an outstanding variable because of its economic importance), economic reform and liberalization, and the urbanization process. Although there have been several studies on oil-rich nations (including Venezuela), their economic dynamics, the Latin American urbanization process, and the Venezuelan political crisis, there is an absence of studies that include these intervening factors in a comprehensive manner. This thesis hopes to fill this gap

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 21 (04) 1967

published or submitted for publicatio