Developing-countries in the age of globalisation: Regional trends and economic policy recommendations

Globalisation is a frequently used buzzword which many people associate with a fear of unemployment, rising inequality and social decline. In various instances, globalisation is even used as a scapegoat for every perceptible wrong turn; memories of the dependency debate of the seventies and eighties are reawakened. Others see globalisation as the greatest opportunity which has arisen in the few past years to transport the progress of Man to the remotest corners of the world, for the benefit of all. This evaluation of globalisation, ranging as it does over the entire conceivable spectrum between demonising and glorifying, is the reason for the attempt which has been undertaken here to take stock of the present empirical --

Le chronomètre et le carillon. Temps rationalisé et temps domestique en maison de retraite

Cette étude a pour objet la rencontre problématique entre les temporalités spécifiques de l’entreprise (« faire vite ») et de l’accompagnement des personnes âgées vivant en institution (« respecter le rythme de chacun »). Le terme dépendance prend ici tout son sens, puisque le placement en établissement est aussi un déclassement en ce qui concerne le droit de gouverner soi-même l’occupation du temps. Lever, coucher, toilette, habillage, alimentation… ces pratiques quotidiennes font l’objet d’une planification bien établie, qui s’impose aux résidents. Mais, par ailleurs, la gérontologie et l’éthique professionnelle enjoignent d’humaniser le traitement réservé aux personnes âgées. Cet impératif humaniste consiste notamment à respecter les temporalités individuelles. Comment se conjuguent alors, en pratique, les exigences du temps rationalisé, plus ou moins chronométré, et celles du temps domestique, qui peut se révéler tout simplement interminable ?This article examines the difficult encounter between the time frame of an organisation (“do it fast”) and care for the elderly in the institution (“respect the rhythm of each person”). The concept of dependency is fully relevant, because institutionalisation involves disempowerment, in terms of the right to control one’s own time. Getting up, going to bed, washing, dressing, eating… these daily activities are scheduled and then imposed on the residents. Yet gerontology and professional ethics enjoin personalised treatment of the elderly, and in particular respecting individual’s own time frame. The question is how, practically, to articulate the needs for a rationalised use of time, more or less by the clock, and a more homely sense of time, that can appear simply too long 

Contribution of foreign direct investment to poverty reduction: The case of Vietnam in the 1990s

In the current context of increasing globalisation, there exist many arguments against it in that it does not benefit the poor. Globalisation through foreign direct investment (FDI) might do nothing for the poor since foreign investors usually recruit skilled workers who are likely to be non-poor. FDI may outcompete local small enterprises making local workers become poor or the poor workers worse. Nevertheless, whether this presumption is true in every developing country is still open to discussion. The paper aims at analysing impacts of FDI on poverty reduction in Vietnam in the 1990s because following the economic reform in the late 1980s Vietnam achieved high economic growth, rapid poverty reduction, increasing FDI and trade. FDI is also considered an integral component of the economy. Hence to what extent FDI contributes to poverty reduction may be a relevant question to the country that was characterised by widespread poverty in the 1980s. The paper analyses FDI's impact on poverty reduction in Vietnam through direct and indirect impacts. The direct impact of FDI works through employment creation and it is estimated to be negative but insignificant. The indirect impact of FDI works through FDI's effect on economic growth and through FDI's contribution to the local budgets. Regarding FDI's contribution to growth, estimated coefficients are significantly positive based on panel data covering 61 provinces of Vietnam and the 1990-2000 period. Furthermore, FDI interacts positively with local human capital in affecting economic growth. Economic growth is then estimated to exert significantly positive impacts on the magnitude of poverty reduction results. Therefore, FDI has indirectly helped reduce poverty in Vietnam. Regarding FDI's contribution to the local budget, this effect remains insignificant. Globalisation through FDI thus benefits the poor. Policy implications then include policies that help attract FDI continuously, policies that facilitate the implementation of registered foreign investment projects and policies that upgrade the quality of the labour workforce. --

Foreign Direct Investment and Income Inequality revisited

? This paper discusses the impact of FDI on income inequality. ? The theoretical ways in which FDI might influence income inequality between countries as well as within a given country are discussed, with special attention also given to employment generation effects. ? Revisiting previous research we show that significant effects of FDI are hard to find in more recent work, with older studies showing mixed results. ? Re-estimating the prominent study of Tsai (1995) with newer data we augment it by allowing for FDI-influences on inequality by region, income level, and export focus. ? We find no overall impact of FDI on inequality. Also region and income differentiated estimations show no country group-specific impacts of FDI. Only in the export focusdifferentiated estimations we find some evidence of an inequality increasing impact of FDI in countries primarily exporting primary goods (without fuel). ? FDI thus do not have significant implications for income distribution in general. --

Child labour and international trade: An economic perspective

Child labour is a widespread phenomenon. Although economic activities of children have been commonplace even before the industrialisation, it has in the meanwhile become a lasting symbol of the industrial revolution and of industrialisation in general. In most countries the inclusion of children in the labour force is legally restricted. Nevertheless, economic activities of children, most of these within their families, continue to be an everyday feature of economic development, especially in the poorer countries. Beside cultural or social factors, these economic activities are mainly determined by economic forces. Hence, economic conditions most likely play a fundamental role in explaining child labour. Economic development trends which change the economic conditions therefore influence the extent of child labour. --

The Economic Growth Debate - Geography versus Institutions: Is There Anything Really New?

International analysis of economic growth has confirmed the theoretical assumption that international variations in per capita income can to a large extent be explained by differences in the accumulation of capital and human capital and by differing rates of technological progress. However, these results do not provide an answer to the question as to what causes trans-national variations in accumulation rates and technological progress. In searching for the ultimate drivers of economic growth, three competing lines of explanation have emerged: ? The geography-hypothesis which assumes that economic growth is ultimately determined by geographical characteristics ? The institutions-hypothesis which views the quality of institutions as a fundamental driver of growth ? The policy-hypothesis which emphasises the importance of economic policy This paper provides an overview over these three hypotheses and revisits the debate over their empirical relevance. Comparing the three approaches leads to the conclusion that none of them is really new and that many of their findings have already been incorporated into the strategies for international development assistance. Furthermore, the three hypotheses are not as exclusive as the debate on geography versus institutions would suggest but are indeed interconnected and complementary. --

Zur Problematik der Massenarmut in Entwicklungsländern : der Zusammenhang zwischen der Mikro- und der Makroebene

In vielen Entwicklungsländern ist es trotz teilweise beeindruckender Wachstumserfolge in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten bisher nicht gelungen, für die Masse der Bevölkerung nachhaltige Verbesserungen ihrer Lebensbedingungen zu schaffen. Große Teile der Bevölkerung in den Entwicklungsländern sind bis heute weitgehend vom wirtschaftlichen Wachstum in ihren Ländern ausgeklammert worden - der \u27trickle-down\u27-Effekt1 hat nicht auf sie durchgeschlagen. Im Weltentwicklungsbericht 1990 wurde - bezogen auf das Jahr 1985 - von 1,115 Mrd. Menschen in den Entwicklungsländern ausgegangen, die absolut arm waren; das entspricht ungefähr einem Drittel der Gesamtbevölkerung dieser Länder. Man kann davon ausgehen, daß es in den Entwicklungsländern derzeit ca. 1,2 Mrd. absolut armer Menschen gibt, von denen ca. 80 % in ländlichen Gebieten leben

Essai méthodologique sur des stéréotypes régionaux au Canada

L'auteur, cartographe-géographe, s'est proposé trois objectifs :— un essai de géographie psychologique sur les images mentales régionales, se rattachant à la géographie du comportement ;— un essai méthodologique utilisant quelques procédés simples de statistique descriptive.— une recherche sur la transmission comparée d'informations par procédés graphiques et par procédés statistiques.Les données utilisées ont été recueillies à l'aide de 75 questionnaires à quatre voletsconcernant un Québécois, un Torontois, un Français, un citoyen des Etats-Unis. Malgré la faiblesse numérique des échantillons, des représentations régionales contrastées ont pu être dégagées.As a geographer and a cartographer, the author had in mind a threefold scope :—• to bring a contribution to psychological and behavioral geography, by analyzing regional mental images ;— to get students acquainted with simple quantitative methods of descriptive statistics ;— to initiate a cartographical research dealing with noises in the transmission of informations, by comparing graphs and figures.The datas were collected through 75 four pages questionaries, in order to get descriptions of a Quebec-City citizen, a Toronto citizen, a Frenchman, and a U.S. citizen. In spite of the numerical scantiness of the samples, regional differences were noticeable