Suchergebnisse

In the age of ever increasing connectivity, it is hard to remain disinterested in the plight of people who are either near us or thousands of miles away. People are willing to learn about the issues troubling others, and frequently they are willing to organise themselves and sacrifice both their time and hard-earned income to support a cause which they identify with. In fact, a Euro barometer survey indicates that within the European Union, Europeans show solidarity even in times of [economic] crisis. [up to] 85% find development aid very important or fairly important (Euro barometer, 2011). This is encouraging for the European Union: despite the global economic crisis, the solidarity towards the need to help others in developing countries has changed very little since 2009 (Euro barometer, 2012). At a more global level, there are greater attempts made for international coordination on issues such as poverty reduction, environmental sustainability and accountability. ; peer-reviewed

Climate policy documents and national plans of small island states and subnational jurisdictions frequently reference the need for 'resilience'. Yet, definitions of 'resilience' vary across disciplines, and depend on one's cultural lens. Furthermore, climatic trends and events are often not the only challenges facing island communities; they occur alongside political, economic, social, and cultural change and events, giving rise to context- specific and interlinked vulnerabilities, which in turn require tailored and thoughtful solutions. This special section seeks to reflect on what the concept of 'resilience' means in island contexts, how it is deployed, and the dynamics of governance and decision making for 'resilience'. Drawing on the papers in this special section, we suggest that there are several points of 'creative tension' in resilience discourse. Identifying the gaps between 'resilience' as currently conceptualised, and what could be, helps us move towards more equitable and just resilience. ; peer-reviewed

It is not clear how different social, demographic, economic and ecological factors influence the prevalence and lethality of pastoralistfarmer conflicts in Nigeria's Mid-Benue Trough. This study introduces the ethnicity dimension alongside factors such as climate change, economic development, population density, political violence and terrorism. Data originates from secondary sources, and multinomial regression is used to model significant effects. The results suggest that ethnicity has a greater impact on the lethality of conflicts than other factors (0.038, x2 = 16.339). Further results show that lethal pastoralist-farmer conflict incidents occur in areas directly affected by climate change (87.4 per cent), with low levels of economic development (77.3 per cent) and low population density (58.9 per cent). The study highlights the effect of the multi-ethnic nature of the area as a main driver of lethal conflicts. Solutions for actions are therefore discussed for consideration by relevant authorities in efforts to integrate the ethnic diversity of the area into policy.

The creation of successful business environments is an important prerequisite for durable and sustainable competitiveness. This chapter documents the type of constraints that may hinder business success as well as the policy approaches that may create operating environments conducive to business success in small island contexts. Surrounding influences and circumstances are well known to make considerable difference for business―both on a national and global level. The defining characteristics of small island economies themselves have also been explored and documented in what is now a considerable body of research. Less well known is the manner in which conditions in small island contexts may make a difference to business. The contribution of this chapter lies in juxtaposing knowledge on the type of contextual conditions that may result in business success against situational considerations applicable in small island contexts. The chapter reviews the kind of market and regulatory failures that may hinder business success and then proceeds to examine a number of good-practice examples in the domains of connectivity, sector-led initiatives, innovation, place-based approaches, sustainable tourism, circular economics, and climate change. Drawing lessons from islands that have managed to actively capitalize on their geographic specificities and succeeded in attaining higher levels of competitiveness, the chapter provides a synthesis of factors that create the right environment for business to develop and flourish in small island contexts, and that boost marine island economy competitiveness. Today's marine economy is, however, dependent upon onshore infrastructure; labour; expertise; and healthy and stable ecological, social, and political environments, none of which can simply be taken for granted. The very factors that make islands ideal for hosting marine activities—such as an extensive land-sea interface and density-facilitated agglomeration economies—may be placed at risk by marine economyoriented island development. It is thus that economic activities on the land-sea interface—whether port services or coastal tourism—can reduce islanders' access to the sea as well as lead to environmental degradation that threatens the continued viability of the economic activities in question. Those pursuing island development should take care to balance short-term and longterm objectives while leveraging the very real competitive advantages that arise from island spatialities. ; peer-reviewed

Malta assumed the Presidency of the Council of the EU in January 2017 with a list of priorities ranging from migration to social inclusion, security to the single market. In addition to the challenge the Presidency represents for any Member State, small states are particularly 'stretched' in meeting the myriad commitments the presidency involves. Therefore, from the outset, Malta's Presidency represented a challenge for the Government and Public Service. In addition, Malta was also faced with several 'external' challenges beyond its control but which had the potential to complicate its task at the helm of the Council, including elections in key member states, the formal launch of the BREXIT process and the inauguration of the Trump administration in America; as Malta entered 2017 it truly found itself in the proverbial 'eye of the storm'. After completing its Presidency the consensus in Malta and abroad was that the EU's smallest state had scored highly in delivering on its priorities and that it had been a success. This book represents the first academic assessment of the Presidency and reflects the Institute for European Studies' commitment to contributing to the body of academic knowledge on Malta and the European Union. ; peer-reviewed

An analysis of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2017. ; peer-reviewed

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether good governance across countries, utilising the Rule of Law indicator of the Worldwide Governance Indicators, is associated with economic growth, measured in terms of real GDP. It is to be noted that in this paper both variables are measured in terms of changes, comparing like with like. It is hypothesised that a country with a high level of economic development and a high level of good governance (typically an economically advanced country) tends to find it more difficult to improve these two variables, when compared to a country with lower levels GDP per capita and good governance (typically an economically backward country). This assumption is termed the "diminishing marginal governance effect".


Design/methodology/approach
The paper tests the hypothesis that governance improvements are related to real GDP growth, using the panel data regression approach. In this way both variables are measured in terms of changes, comparing like with like. Relevant control variables are utilised to impose the ceteris paribus condition.


Findings
The paper finds that improvements in good governance are statistically and significantly related to economic growth. This confirms the hypothesised "diminishing marginal governance effect" explained above.


Research limitations/implications
The main research limitation of this paper is that measuring changes in the "Rule of Law" indicator over time may be subject to errors given that the "Rule of Law" score of each year is an average value with related standard deviations, and the latter vary from one year to another and from one country to another.


Practical implications
The major practical implication of this paper is that good governance matters for economic growth and that in order to produce evidence for this the governance score must be measured in terms of changes and not in terms of levels. Another implication is that equations that compare economic growth with levels of governance are misspecified as they would not be comparing like with like.


Social implications
There are various beneficial social implications associated with good governance which is considered as a major pillar for orderly social relationships. Economic growth also has important social implications as it means, if properly distributed, improvements in material well-being of the population.


Originality/value
The originality of this paper is that it measures governance in terms of changes and not of levels. Studies on the relationship between governance and economic growth that measure governance in terms of levels generally do not find a positive relationship between the two variables. In using changes in both governance and real GDP, this paper confirms the "diminishing marginal effect of governance", hypothesis.

"This volume covers a wide spectrum of governance issues relating to small states in a global context. While different definitions of governance are given in the chapters, most authors associate governance with the setting and implementation of policies aimed at managing a country or territory, and with the related institutional structures and interventions by political actors. Generally, good governance is associated with concepts such as policy effectiveness, accountability, transparency, control of corruption, encouragement of citizens' voice and gender equality-factors which are, in turn, linked with democracy. What emerges from the book is that the societies of small states are being re-shaped by various forces outside their control, including the globalization process and climate change, rendering their governance ever more complex. These problems are not solely faced by small states, but small country size tends to lead to a higher degree of exposure to external factors. The chapters are grouped into four sections broadly covering political, environmental, social and economic governance. Governance is influenced by many, often intertwined, factors; the division of the book into four parts therefore does not detract from the fact that governance is multifaceted, and such division was based on the primary focus of each particular study and its main disciplinary background. The expert authors have, moreover, used a variety of approaches in the studies, the subject of small states being well suited to scholarly work from different disciplines using qualitative, quantitative and mixed approaches to arrive at useful conclusions"--

The sustainability challenges faced by islands in the European Union (EU) are not well reflected in EU policy, where the approach to island issues has been incremental and fragmented. This paper identifies EU islands and their main sustainability issues, and argues for a stronger awareness of island issues in EU policy processes. It notes in particular the current restrictive definition of islands, which excludes island states, and the fact that the issues of peripherality and insularity do not fit into any of the categories provided in the EU's impact assessment guidelines. Moreover, since European islands are found at various administrative scales, there is a lack of harmonized statistical data on fundamental factors necessary for monitoring their sustainable development. ; peer-reviewed

This research was carried out within the framework of the European FP6 project SENSOR, on science-based ex-ante Sustainability Impact Assessment Tools (SIAT) to support decision making on policies related to multifunctional land use in European regions ('Sustainability Impact Assessment: Tools for Environmental, Social and Economic Effects of Multifunctional Land Use in European Regions' (SENSOR), Contract Number 003874). ; Sustainable development is a fundamental objective of the European Union and the global community. The considerable sustainability challenges faced by small islands are recognised at UN level, however the sustainability challenges faced by EU islands are not well reflected in EU policy, where the approach to island issues has been incremental and fragmented. After identifying EU islands and their main sustainability issues, this paper argues for a stronger awareness of islands issues in EU policy processes. It notes in particular three issues that needed to be addressed before this is done. These relate to the current restrictive definition of islands, which excludes island states, and the fact that the island issues of peripherality and insularity do not fit into any of the categories provided in the EU's impact assessment guidelines, a key tool for internalizing sustainability concerns in EU policy. Third, since European islands are found at various administrative scales, there is a lack of harmonized statistical data on fundamental factors necessary for monitoring sustainable development in EU insular regions. The role of Malta in highlighting challenges and concerns faced by European islands is also explored, vis a vis the European Union policy-making and policy- designing mechanisms. ; peer-reviewed

AbstractHimalayan cities are highly vulnerable to climate change and increasingly exposed to water insecurity. Given the complexities of water usage within society, developing, allocating, and managing water resources equitably is a serious emerging challenge. This paper adopts a convergent mixed method approach to explore water inequity issues in water distribution and water quality among the core and peripheral wards of Dhulikhel, a mid‐hill town of Nepal. In doing so, the paper analyzes the determinants of inequitable water distribution in core and periphery wards, perception of water quality, and underlying causes of inequity in water quality in core and peripheral wards. The paper found that various socioeconomic, environmental, technological, and governance‐related factors are causing inequity in water distribution. Our analysis showed that climate change is adding on top of these existing challenges, exacerbating inequity in access to water. This paper also found that while core wards benefit from donor schemes that ensure good water quality, the peripheral wards do not enjoy the reach of such schemes, and given climate change impacts on rainfall patterns, seasonal availability of water is likely to be unpredictable in the future.

The attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a key objective for small island developing states (SIDS) and sub-national island jurisdictions (SNIJs). Despite progress in reducing poverty and social inequalities, improving access to education and health and reducing gender inequalities, many are highly vulnerable to shocks. To assess their ability to improve resilience, the paper investigates their advancement towards achieving the SDGs. The existing literature suggests a mismatch between the progress indicated in the official SDGs' reports and public perceptions about these achievements. Using online surveys of stakeholder groups undertaken in 2020; this research critically reviews the current literature on the progress towards achieving SDGs in two Indian Ocean islands: Mauritius and La Réunion. The study further juxtaposes public perceptions, categorises patterns and identifies gaps in policy design. The findings map out the actions needed at national, regional and international levels to address sustainable development challenges. ; peer-reviewed