Underdevelopment in Two Norths: The Brazilian Amazon and the Canadian Arctic

The developmental scholar Andre Gunder Frank has constructed a model to explain regional underdevelopment within developed nations. Underdevelopment is defined as the inability to control the rents from local resources and limited input into political decision making. The model is based on the concepts of metropolis and satellite, the satellite being a region that is politically, socially, and economically dependent on the metropolis, Frank applies this concept to the Brazilian Amazon as a satellite of southeastern Brazil and concludes that the Amazon region has underdeveloped due to the abrupt entry and withdrawal of capitalist investment. This article applies the Frank model to the Canadian North as a satellite of southern Canada and, using the historical examples of the fur trade, the Klondike gold rush, and the whaling and petroleum booms, concludes by noting that the entry and collapse of capitalist investment in the Canadian Arctic has led to a similar form of underdevelopment or dependency in that region. Underdevelopment and dependency in both regions are seen as a result of the collapse of economic, and primarily resource extraction, booms.Key words:n orthern development, underdevelopment, dependency, André Gunder Frank, colonialism, fur trade, Klondike gold rush, natural resources, politicsMots clés: développement du Grand Nord, sous-développement, dépendance, André Gunder Frank, colonialisme, commerce des fourrures, ruée vers l’or du Klondike,ressources naturelles, politique

Youth Visitor Dynamics in Pacific Coast National Parks

Recent media reports have suggested that members of the Millennial Generation (born 1981- 1997) and Generation Z (born after 1997) are less inclined to visit national parks, compared to older generations. We used three methods to examine the validity of these media statements: Qualtrics-based social media surveys (on Facebook and Instagram), face to face semi-structured interviews with park rangers at four Pacific coast national parks—Redwood, Crater Lake, Mount Rainier, and Olympic—and on-site visitor counts at park visitor centers and on trails. We compared these observations with the limited historical data on visitor ages available from the National Park Service. Our results suggest that media reports are overstated, and that the number of both Millennial Generation and Generation Z members visiting national parks is at least stable and perhaps even increasing. A possible explanation for divergent results is that younger people may be accessing park information through online and social media sources, and therefore bypassing visitor centers and direct contact with park rangers.https://ir.una.edu/geography_studentpresentations/1002/thumbnail.jp

Investment Strategies for Northern Cash Windfalls: Learning from the Alaskan Experience

The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (1971) and the creation of the Alaska Permanent Fund (1976) provided Native and non-Native Alaskans with two means of trust capital investment. To date Native Alaskans have largely chosen a strategy of investment in local established and/or new businesses, while the Permanent Fund has pursued a portfolio management strategy. Both investment means were examined against their stated ends (for the former: profit, social responsibility and cultural preservation; for the latter: savings, profit, and dividend distribution). It is concluded that business risk investment in an isolated and remote northern state characterized by economic reliance on externally controlled business cycles is inherently risky and that a strategy of international portfolio management has paid far superior dividends. Given that the current situation in the Canadian North (two Northern Accord agreements-in-principle and the Dene/Metis and Yukon Comprehensive Land Claim agreements-in-principle achieved in 1988) parallels the situation in Alaska in the 1970s, the authors propose a strategy for the creation of a model developmental natural resource trust fund based on the best features of the Alaskan models. This model fund combines a portfolio management trust philosophy with the goal of sustainable economic development in the quest for northern fiscal autonomy.Key words: Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, Alaska Permanent Fund, resource management, Native people, economic development, sustainable development, trust funds, investment, Native land claimsMots clés: Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, Alaska Permanent Fund, gestion de ressources, autochtones, développement économique développement durable, fonds de placement, investissement, revendications territoriales des autochtone

Renewing the wealth of nations

This thesis explores how capital flows are linked to economic development and proposes an alternative pathway to enhancing livelihoods in the marginal spaces of the global economy, drawing on examples from North America and the Pacific. Mainstream theories of development are largely based on European and North American examples, and argue for a progression of developmental stages from agriculture to industry to services, based on a flow of capital from core to periphery. Such theories are not place-specific, and do not reflect the particular conditions of remote and marginal places. In the peripheral spaces of the global economy, investment opportunities may be limited. An alternative practice is to invest outside the region of capital generation, through the mechanism of a trust fund. I argue that local development can be achieved through investing in global financial markets, in core countries, rather than at the site of capital generation. In this way, local development is not limited to the marginal place where the benefits are to be felt; peripheral capital instead flows into the core to seek out the best investment opportunities. The local development process becomes differently spatialized by engaging global financial markets. Capital generated in the periphery often comes in temporary streams, or windfalls, and benefits decline when the resource is depleted. Such non-renewable resources can be transformed into renewable fiscal ones when capital generated from resource extraction is invested in financial markets through a trust fund. To make non-renewable resources renewable, they can be converted from a physical form into a financial form, thus extending the benefits of capital into perpetuity. This thesis suggests that trust funds may serve as an alternative development mechanism in certain peripheral spaces of the global economy. Trust funds receive a share of resource revenues and increase them through investment. States can establish trust funds as an instrument of government policy, with all citizens as beneficiaries. Trust funds allow for re-spatializing the nature of investment as well as for sustaining it over time. My analysis is based on the examination of six case studies. Two of these are peripheral economies in North America: the state of Alaska in the United States, and the province of Alberta in Canada. Both Alaska and Alberta established trust funds to manage their petroleum revenues. The four remaining cases are independent Pacific island nations: Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu. Each of these island nations established a trust fund to manage windfall resource revenues. The performance of these six trust funds has varied, largely reflecting policy choices. I develop a set of six criteria for the management of a successful fund. In this thesis, I ask development practitioners to reimagine the economic spaces of marginal economies and the relationship between core and periphery. I argue for a separation of the sites of capital generation and capital investment, and for transforming non-renewable windfall resources into renewable fiscal ones

The Kola Peninsula: Geography, History and Resources

The Kola Peninsula in northwest Russia is one of the most important economic regions in the circumpolar North. The region contains valuable natural resources, including a wide variety of mineral and fish resources, and is proximate to the large gas fields of the Barents Sea. A large population, industrial complexes, and military infrastructure are also characteristic of the region. The Kola Peninsula developed rapidly during the Soviet period (1917-92) under the principles of socialist development policy. This policy favoured extensive resource extraction and industrialization and resulted in increased northern settlement, much of it involuntary. Soviet development policy prompted the opening of new mines and the construction of smelters and refining facilities, while Soviet military policy necessitated the establishment of large military basing operations. Resource development and processing have led to severe environmental damage in the region and beyond. This paper describes the geographical features of the Kola Peninsula and the region's development history and contains data on natural and labour resources.Key words: Kola Peninsula, Murmansk Region, Murmansk, Russian Arctic, Soviet Arctic, natural resources, economic development, militarizationLa presqu'île de Kola dans le nord-ouest de la Russie est l'une des plus importantes zones économiques du Grand Nord circumpolaire. La région contient de précieuses ressources naturelles, y compris une grande variété de ressources minières et de poisson, et elle est proche des champs gaziers de la mer de Barents. Cette région se caractérise aussi par une forte population, ainsi que par la présence de complexes industriels et d'une infrastructure militaire. La presqu'île de Kola s'est développée rapidement au cours de l'ère soviétique (1917-1992), selon les principes des politiques socialistes de développement. Ces dernières, qui mettaient l'accent sur une intensification de l'exploitation des ressources et de l'industrialisation, ont accru la colonisation - en grande partie forcée - dans le Nord. Les politiques soviétiques de développement ont amené l'ouverture de nouvelles mines et la construction de fours de fusion et de raffineries, tandis que les politiques militaires soviétiques ont rendu nécessaire l'édification d'importantes installations pour des bases militaires. L'exploitation et le traitement des ressources ont causé dans la région immédiate et au-delà de sérieux dommages écologiques. Cet article décrit les caractéristiques géographiques de la presqu'île de Kola et l'histoire du développement de la région, et il présente des données sur les ressources naturelles et en main-d'oeuvre.Mots clés : presqu’île de Kola, région de Mourmansk. Mourmansk, Arctique russe, Arctique sovibtique, ressources naturelles, développement économique, militarisatio

Microequity and microfinance

This paper examines the work of the Village Enterprise Fund, an US nongovernmental organization, in East Africa as a case study in equity based microfinance in low-income countries. Many small business established in high-income countries rely on some form of equity capital to fund the startup phase and much of the growth of the business. The success of startup grants and equity financing in high-income countries suggests that this method might also be applicable in low-income countries. Using the work of the Village Enterprise Fund as an example, the paper argues that startup grants and equity finance are useful and appropriate in addition to the more common loan-based approaches. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Development and infinity

This article examines the links between development and the infinite, suggesting that the idea of sustainable development is simply a means of extending the idea of development indefinitely. Western society is viewed as operating under the prime symbol or imaginary social signification of infinity and infinite development. The article then proposes an interpretation of perception through the use of metaphor, arguing that metaphors shape interpretations of development, and that contemporary ecological projects such as sustainable development are largely metaphorical. The conclusions note that the mainstream concept of sustainable development is inherently conservative and therefore adds little to a clearer understanding of nature-society relations and development policy. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd