The Rule of The Jungle in Pakistan: A Case Study on Corruption and Forest Management in Swat

Corruption in the forest sector of Swat, Pakistan is impairing the sustainable management of forest. We analyze corruption in a case study setting against the backdrop of the reform options that are most often cited as possible solutions. As we highlight in this study, the ‘crime and punishment’ approach is not feasibly implemented if the overall institutional environment is weak. Since countrywide overhaul of corruption through sweeping reform programs, the other reform approach, is a difficult and lengthy task, there is a need for an alternative kind of reform. In the case of a corruption-ridden centralised forest management regime, institutional reform should move away from enforcement of existing institutions and promote communal management of natural resources by locals.Corruption, Forest Management, Environmental Policy, Institutional Reform

Not Always Sparse: Flooding Time in Partially Connected Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

In this paper we study mobile ad hoc wireless networks using the notion of evolving connectivity graphs. In such systems, the connectivity changes over time due to the intermittent contacts of mobile terminals. In particular, we are interested in studying the expected flooding time when full connectivity cannot be ensured at each point in time. Even in this case, due to finite contact times durations, connected components may appear in the connectivity graph. Hence, this represents the intermediate case between extreme cases of fully mobile ad hoc networks and fully static ad hoc networks. By using a generalization of edge-Markovian graphs, we extend the existing models based on sparse scenarios to this intermediate case and calculate the expected flooding time. We also propose bounds that have reduced computational complexity. Finally, numerical results validate our models

Are EU Environmental Policies Too Demanding for New Members States?

In 2004, ten new states entered the European Union. Relative to the pre-2004 member states, these accession states have lower environmental standards, and some worry that it will be too demanding for these new EU members to fully comply with European environmental provisions. In this paper, we assess one rationale for such harmonization. Specifically, we analyze the determinants of environmental policies’ stringency, and show that differences in corruption levels are more important as explanatory factor when compared to income differentials. Since high levels of corruption characterize some countries in the enlarged EU, we argue that this is a good reason for an upward harmonization of environmental policies at the EU level.Corruption, European union, Environmental policy

Institutions and Forest Management: A Case Study from Swat, Pakistan

Deforestation in the North western part of Pakistan is a long standing problem. The Forestry Department, as formal managers of the forest resources, has been undergoing a long reform process aimed at improving its performance. This reform process has not resulted in less deforestation. From the policy perspective this has been leading to stated intentions to further reform the Forestry Department, the question is whether organizational reform is the answer. We think there are more limiting bottlenecks to sustainable forest management in Pakistan. De facto property rights are not as simple as denoted by statutory law. In this article we explore the mechanisms behind the deforestation and try to uncover mechanisms to reverse the process. Although our conclusions are not very optimistic, we provide a framework for determining the bottlenecks in the management of common resources from the perspective of institutions. We show that in circumstances where institutional change is necessary we are faced with a trade-off between the transaction costs related to the enforcement of “improved” institutional arrangements and the transaction costs improving enforceable institutional arrangements. Incurring these transaction costs only makes sense if the benefits from improved institutional arrangements outweigh them and the transition costs. When we relate this dilemma to the management regime of the forest in North west Pakistan, we identify at the one end of the spectrum the ideal forest management system; at the other end we see the spontaneous evolution of self organization. The current situation is an intermediate form with an incoherent set of external interventions and strategic reactions by different agents in the local communities. The emergent system of management is the one producing the present dismal outcome.New institutional Economics, Corruption, Forestry, Swat

An Empirical Contribution to the Debate on Corruption,Democracy and Environmental Policy

Both theoretical and empirical studies have shown that democracy and corruption have substantial influence on environmental policy. In this paper, we empirically analyse whether both democracy and corruption are equally important determinants. When these variables are jointly included as explanatory variables, we find that corruption stands out as an important determinant of environmental policies, while democracy has a very limited impact. Further on, we discuss our results in the context of the Environmental Kuznets Curve literature. We argue that institutional disarray that plagues developing countries will make it problematic for them to have increasing environmental policy stringency combined with increasing incomes. Finally, and more optimistically, when we consider our results in the context of institutions and growth, we conclude that there is a possibility of reaching a double dividend. Reductions in corruption would induce both higher growth rates and stricter environmental policies. Thus, institutional improvement is an extremely valuable step in achieving sustainable development.Corruption, Democracy, Development, Environmental policy, Institutions

Airport slot allocation in Europe: economic efficiency and fairness

We propose a mechanism for solving the airport slot allocation problem in Europe. We consider the interdependence of the slots at different airports, and we maximize the efficiency of the system. Through an experimental analysis we quantitatively assess the cost imposed by grandfather rights, which constitute one of the main principles of the current slot allocation mechanism. Moreover, we introduce the possibility to fairly redistribute costs among airlines through monetary compensations. Our results suggest that it is possible to remove grandfather rights without significantly penalizing airlines.Air Traffic Management; Airport slot allocation; Compensation mechanism; SESAR.

Metaheuristic algorithms for the simultaneous slot allocation problem

In this paper, we formalize the simultaneous slot allocation problem. It is an extension of the problem currently tackled for allocating airport slots: it deals with all airports simultaneously and it enforces the respect of airspace sector capacities. By solving this novel problem, the system may overcome some major inefficiencies that characterize the current slot allocation process. We tackle the simultaneous slot allocation problem with two algorithms based on metaheuristics, namely Iterated Local Search and Variable Neighborhood Search, and with an integer linear programming model: for each of these three algorithms, we allow a fixed computation time, and we take the best solution found during that time as the final solution. We compare these algorithms on randomly generated instances, and we show that, when small instances are to be tackled, metaheuristics are competitive with the exact model. When medium or large instances are to be tackled, the exact model suffers some major issues in terms of memory and computation time requirements. Metaheuristics, instead, can deal with very large instances, achieving very high quality results.Air Traffic Management; Airport slot allocation; Metaheuristics; Integer linear programming

Participation, planning and natural resources in Bolivia: from fiction to practice?

In this paper, we focus on participation in the main planning documents produced in Bolivia in the first decade of the 2000s: the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and the National Development Plan (PND). We analyze how these planning instruments have been able to capture popular participation through diverse mechanisms and how these practices fit in the current mainstream participation discourse. Special attention is paid to natural resources because of the predominant role they have in the Bolivian economy and because of their substantial contribution to the state budget. The Bolivian experience shows an apparent paradox: while the process leading to the PRSP followed participatory guidelines and the PND did not, the resulting PRSP failed to include the most pressing demands of social movements, while the PND succeeded in including them. This case shows how the articulation of political processes escapes simplistic characterizations and the application of ‘out of the textbook’ participation might result in highly exclusionary outcomes. It also shows that the voice of social movements can take unexpected paths and have a profound influence on political events that go well beyond the possibility of standardized participatory processes

Forest management in Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua : reform failures?

In this study we contrast forestry reforms and their stated objectives against the state of the forestry sector in Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua. Once we look at the policy failures that underlie the gap between policy objectives and the state of forestry, we find that stated policies are not implemented and their design is marked by intrinsic flaws. We conclude that there is a reform failure matched by a failure to reform. The Poverty Reduction Strategies of the three countries followed -- and possibly reinforced -- existing policy trends but they were unable to solve implementation problems and lack of coherence that mark the policies of the sector