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The research of this thesis focuses on the nexus of vulnerability (or the risk to become poor), fiscal decentralization and public service delivery in the perspective of the development of China during the last 50 years. This development has been remarkable: a consistent high level of economic growth, a massive reduction of poverty and at the same time wide and fundamental reform of the public sector. The subject is a contemporary issue in particularly as vulnerability is considered a key for addressing the poverty challenges in the world and is strongly related to public services and decentralisation. The thesis presents a methodology to estimate the evolution of vulnerability by region through analysis of household assets consisting of liquid resources, human capital and health care. This is done on the basis of provincial level panel data in China from 1985 to 2001. Asset composition is estimated through an one-stage Theil decomposition index which is introduced into a logistic regression. The conclusion is threefold: Firstly, liquid assets and human capital contribute to the reduction of vulnerability, while health care does not reduce vulnerability. Secondly, Interior and Western regions have higher degree of vulnerability, while the Eastern region has lower vulnerability. Thirdly, inequalities within regions contribute about 20-30% to vulnerability, while inequality between regions contributes about 70-80% to vulnerability. The research provides also empirical evidence on the extend that public service delivery is a determinant of fiscal decentralization by using OLS regression, OLS regression with Fixed Effect, Two-Stage Least Square (TSLS) and TSLS with FE to analyze the effects of various education and health variables on fiscal decentralization. This is undertaken on the revenue and the expenditure side, as well as on the growth of extra-budget revenues and extra-budget expenditures. The conclusion is that the quality of secondary and higher education has overall a negative impact on the fiscal decentralization, probably due to lack of internationalization of spill-over effect caused by huge migration in China. Also part of the research is an analysis of the impact on vulnerability, as measured by the dependent variable food consumption, by the quality of public services delivery in the education and health sector. This is undertaken through an OLS, OLS with Fixed effect, Two Stage Least Square (TSLS) and TSLS with Fixed Effect regressions as well as robustness tests through lags of respective one and two years. The conclusion is fourfold: (i) the quality of primary education has a negative impact on vulnerability, probable due to high inequality and to the selection bias of children from poor families being taken out of school (Connelly and Zheng, 2003); (ii) the quality of the secondary education service has a negative impact on vulnerability in all time lags with TSLS with Fixed Effect. Therefore, these results are strongly robust; (iii) the quality of higher education service has a negative impact on vulnerability. However, these results are less robust than the one with secondary education; and (iv) the health care has also a partially positive impact under the fixed effect. The research in this thesis is based on datasets from five sources: (i) China Datacenter of Michigan University; (ii) China Statistical yearbook; (iii) Prof. Belton M. Fleisher and Prof. Min Qiang of Ohio University on human capital; (iv) Prof. Jing Jin of John Hopkins University and Prof. Heng-fu Zou of the World Bank on fiscal decentralization; and (v) Prof. Yiu Por Chen of DePaul University in Chicago on political decentralization. The policy implication of the thesis is that vulnerability can be reduced substantially through social service delivery. However, fiscal decentralization in China has led to the introduction of userfees which form a barrier for the poor, particularly in the rural areas. The fiscal decentralization policies therefore need be accompanied by a fiscal envelope for poor regions to ensure that basic services are available and accessible to all citizens ; La thèse traite les questions abordées par la vulnérabilité, la décentralisation fiscale et les services publics en Chine. Le processus de développement était remarquable avec une croissance phénoménale et avec une réduction de la pauvreté massive. En même temps, il y avait de grandes réformes dans les secteurs publics notamment dans les domaines de l'éducation et de la santé. Le thème de la thèse est contemporain puisque la perspective de la vulnérabilité est considérée un défi important pour résoudre le problème de la pauvreté. Celle-ci est liée étroitement aux politiques menées dans le secteur public en général, plus précisément dans la décentralisation fiscale. La thèse présente une méthodologie pour estimer l'évolution de la vulnérabilité par région en Chine. Cela est fait à travers des actifs liquides, la capitale humaine et la santé publique. La vulnérabilité est estimée par un indice de la décomposition de Theil et celle- ci est introduite dans une régression logistique. La conclusion est la suivante : Premièrement, les actifs liquides contribuent à une réduction de la vulnérabilité. En revanche, la santé publique ne réduit pas la vulnérabilité. Deuxièmement, la région Ouest et la région Intérieur ont une vulnérabilité plus élevée par rapport à la région Est. Troisième, l'inégalité dans une région contribue 20-30% à la vulnérabilité, cependant, celle-là entre les régions contribue 80-70% à la vulnérabilité. La recherche dans la thèse montre également que les services publics ont un effet déterminant à la décentralisation fiscale en utilisant le MCO, les effets fixés, la DMC et la DMC avec les effets fixés. Ceux-ci sont appliques aux différentes variables de la décentralisation fiscale, respectivement, les dépenses publiques, les revenus publics, les dépenses publiques extrabudgetaires et les revenus publics extrabudgetaires. La conclusion est que la qualité dans le secteur d'éducatif au niveau secondaire et supérieure ont des impacts négatifs sur la décentralisation fiscale probablement à cause des effets de « spill-over » qui sont liées aux migrations, au coût fixe (au niveau supérieure) et à l'économie d'échelle. En revanche, le secteur de la santé n'a presque aucun effet. En plus, les revenus extrabudgétaires ainsi que les dépenses extrabudgétaires ont une corrélation très forte. La thèse aborde également une analyse de l ' impact sur la vulnérabilité, mesurée avec la variable de la consommation alimentaire, par les qualités des services publics dans les secteurs de l'éducation et dans la santé publique. Celle-ci est faite à travers le MCO, les effets fixés, la DMC et la DMC avec les effets fixés. En plus, un test de robustesse est introduit avec un retard de 1 et 2 ans. La conclusion est les suivants : Premièrement, la qualité des services publics dans l'éducation aux niveaux secondaire et supérieur a des impacts négatifs sur la vulnérabilité. Deuxièmement, l'éducation au niveau primaire augmente la vulnérabilité, probablement à cause de l 'inégalité. Troisièmement, la qualité des services publics dans le secteur de la santé a peu des effets sur la vulnérabilité. La recherche dans la thèse est fondée sur la base des données suivants : (i) China Datacenter de Université de Michigan sur le service public; (ii) Annuaire statistique de la Chine; (iii) Prof. Yiu Por Chen, Université de DePaul à Chicago sur la décentralisation politique ; (iv) Prof. Belton M. Fleicher et Prof Min Qiang, Université d'Ohio sur le capital humain ; et (v) Prof. Jing Jin de John Hopkins Université et Prof. Heng-fu Zou, Banque Mondiale sur la décentralisation fiscale. La recommandation politique de la thèse est que la vulnérabilité peut être réduire substantiellement par une politique du service social bien ciblé. Cependant, la décentralisation fiscale en Chine a suscité l 'introduction de frais d ' usage qui est devenu une barrière pour accéder aux services essentiels, notamment dans la région rurale. C'est la raison pour laquelle la décentralisation fiscale devrait être accompagnée d ' une enveloppe fiscale pour la région pauvre afin d 'assurer les services publics pour tous les citoyens de la Chine

The "Puerto-Rican Problem" in Postwar New York City presents the first comprehensive examination of the emergence, evolution, and consequences of the "Puerto Rican problem" campaign and narrative in New York City from 1945 to 1960. This notion originated in an intense public campaign that arose in reaction to the entry of Puerto Rican migrants to the city after 1945. The "problem" narrative influenced their incorporation in New York City and other regions of the United States where they settled. The anti-Puerto Rican campaign led to the formulation of public policies by the governments of Puerto Rico and New York City seeking to ease their incorporation in the city. Notions intrinsic to this narrative later entered American academia (like the "culture of poverty") and American popular culture (e.g., West Side Story), which reproduced many of the stereotypes associated with Puerto Ricans at that time and shaped the way in which Puerto Ricans were studied and perceived by Americans

Introduction -- Encountering the 'refugee' : crafting the policies -- Dealing with the refugees : rehabilitation, variation, discrimination -- Creating a new refugee domain : Assam and Tripura -- Becoming political : politicisation of refugees in West Bengal -- Politics as defence : activation of refugees in Assam and Tripura -- Epilogue.

Cover -- Half Title -- Series -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- 1 The international law on development-induced displacementŁ -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 Human rights norms -- 1.3 Policy standards -- 1.4 Conclusion -- 2 Development projects as a displacement phenomenon in Africa -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Drivers of internal displacement in Africa -- 2.2.1 Armed conflicts -- 2.2.2 Situations of generalised violence -- 2.2.3 Natural or human-made disasters -- 2.2.4 Human rights violations -- 2.3 Development projects and internal displacement -- 2.3.1 Dams

Preface -- Chapter 1. Introduction: What is intercultural dialogue and why is it needed in Europe today? -- Chapter 2. Data and methods: A conceptual approach to intercultural dialogue -- Chapter 3. Definitions and contexts of intercultural dialogue within European policy documents -- Chapter 4. Analysing intercultural dialogue through conceptual densities -- Chapter 5. Affective rhetoric and 'sticky concepts' in European education policy documents -- Chapter 6. Conclusions and suggestions for improving European education policies.

"Europe is no longer fit for purpose. With his trademark style, Bongiovanni takes an unflinching look at what led the continent to this moment. Do not read this book if you're optimistic about Europe's future - but read this book if you care about that future." -Ian Bremmer, President and Founder of Eurasia Group "A valuable and timely wake-up call Europeans ignore at their own peril." -Kishore Mahbubani, Author of Has the West Lost It?: A Provocation Francesco M. Bongiovanni returns with a sequel to The Decline and the Fall of Europe, a book Guardian journalist Nils Pratley labelled 'a wake-up call for the twenty-first century'. Since 2012 Europe hasbeen confronted with new, unexpected game-changing challenges such as the refugee crisis and its human tsunami, the surprise of Brexit and the explosion of 'alternative' politics. Europeans have finally come to realize that the open-societies that they have been comfortably living in are under threat and fragmenting, leaving their survival uncertain. Minorities are falling prey to an Islamist ideology that conveys values and customs diametrically opposed to European ones. Terrorist acts have become the 'new normal', part of daily life. The North-South cleavage brought about by the eurozone crisis is now completed by a deep East-West cleavage born from the refugee crisis. Against this backdrop, a Germany that is not all that it seems has become Europe's de-facto ruler, but is unfit to lead, while Trump's America cannot be counted on as it once used to be, forcing Europe to fend for itself. A beacon of stability and prosperity in the past, a naive and unprepared Europe, facing new and terrifying challenges is today more than ever torn apart, increasingly unstable and adrift. Francesco M. Bongiovanni holds an MBA from Harvard, USA, and a doctorate in engineering. He has lived in Europe, Asia, the USA and the Arab World. A former investment banker in Wall Street and London, he subsequently worked as an entrepreneur and advisor in direct investments and private equity. He has been made a Knight of the Order of St Charles for his contribution to humanitarian endeavours and biodiversity protection. Bongiovanni is also an author and composer of classical symphonic music and jazz

Provides insight into Europe's current political and financial crisis, citing such factors as dependence on foreign oil and a lack of a unified foreign policy and making predictions about future prospects while explaining the role of Europe's success in American security