A future with no individual ownership is not a happy one: Property theory shows why
In: Futures: the journal of policy, planning and futures studies, Band 152, S. 103209
In: Futures: the journal of policy, planning and futures studies, Band 152, S. 103209
In: The Accounting Review, Forthcoming doi: 10.2308/TAR-2020-0637
SSRN
For a growing number of countries in Africa the discovery and exploitation of natural resources is a great opportunity, but one accompanied by considerable risks. In Africa, countries dependent on oil, gas, and mining have tended to have weaker long-run growth, higher rates of poverty, and greater income inequality than less resource-abundant economies. In resource-producing economies, relative prices make it more difficult to diversify into activities outside of the resource sector, limiting structural change. Economic structure matters for at least two reasons. First, countries whose exports are highly concentrated are vulnerable to declining prices and volatility. Second, economic diversification matters for long-term growth. This book presents research undertaken to understand how better management of the revenues and opportunities associated with natural resources can accelerate diversification and structural change in Africa. It begins with chapters on managing the boom, the construction sector, and linking industry to the resource—three major issues that frame the question of how to use natural resources for structural change. It then reports the main research results for five countries—Ghana, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia. Each country study covers the same three themes—managing the boom, the construction sector, and linking industry to the resource. One message that clearly emerges is that good policy can make a difference. A concluding chapter sets out some ideas for policy change in each of the areas that guided the research, and then goes on to propose some ideas for widening the options for structural change.
In: Page , J & Tarp , F 2020 , Implications for Public Policy . in J Page & F Tarp (eds) , Mining for Change : Natural Resources and Industry in Africa . Oxford University Press , Oxford , WIDER Studies in Development Economics , pp. 449-471 . https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198851172.003.0020
Natural resources can make diversification and structural change more challenging. This chapter focuses on why public policy matters. International competitiveness depends on both relative prices and on the policy and institutional changes and investments that governments make to enhance it. Drawing on the five country case studies in this volume, the authors suggest lessons for the design of policies to promote structural change in Africa's resource exporters. They address the three key themes—managing the boom, the construction sector, and linking industry to the resource—then propose ideas for widening options for structural change. These include reforms to deal with 'Dutch disease', expanding the concept of structural change from a focus on industrialization to 'industries without smokestacks', and investing in knowledge.
BASE
In: Springer eBook Collection
1. Overview -- 2. Industrial Policy, Firm Capabilities and Kaizen -- 3. Kaizen towards Learning, Transformation, and High-Quality Growth: Insights from Outstanding Experiences -- 4. Why is Kaizen Critical for Developing Countries? Kaizen as a Social Innovation in the Era of Global Inequality -- 5. Kaizen promotion in Ethiopia – A role of the government and change of mindset of people -- 6. Kaizen Dissemination through the Government and Private Sector in Southeast Asia: A Comparative Study of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Myanmar -- 7. Opportunities for Kaizen in Africa: Developing the Core Employability Skills of African Youth through Kaizen -- 8. The Role of Kaizen in Participation in the Global Value Chain: The Case of the Mexican Automotive Industry -- 9. Enhancing Learning through Continuous Improvement: Case Studies of the Toyota Production System in the Automotive Industry in South Africa -- 10. Does Management Matter? An Assessment of Kaizen in Brazil -- 11. Kaizen for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Vietnam -- 12. Management Practices and Performance Improvement in Manufacturing Enterprises: The Case of Kaizen Adoption in Ghana -- 13. Consequences of Kaizen practices in MSMEs in the Philippines: The case of the Manufacturing Productivity Extension Program (MPEX).
This open access book provides a glimpse into the Japanese management technique known as "Kaizen," and the ways it has been disseminated around the developing world. The novelty of this book is three-fold: it provides a contextualized view of the mechanisms of initiatives implementing Kaizen in developing countries; compared with productivity studies, it places the relationship between workers and managers at the center of inquiry, reflecting the intent of SDG8 concerning decent work and economic growth; and it provides an overview of the heterogeneity of Kaizen in terms of geography and firm size. This book explores how improving management techniques can support firms' productivity and quality. Given its wide range of case studies from across Africa, Asia and Latin America, this book will be of value to scholars, policymakers and advocates of sustainable development alike.
In: Oxford scholarship online
In: Economics and Finance
In: UNU-WIDER studies in development economics
In: Oxford scholarship online
For a growing number of countries in Africa the discovery and exploitation of natural resources is a great opportunity, but one accompanied by considerable risks. This book presents research on how to better manage the revenues and opportunities associated with natural resources.
There are a myriad of laws, guidelines and unwritten agreements relating to human, hominid and hominin remains. Legal gaps and inadequate definitions of what constitutes a fossil have meant that a 'finders keepers' approach is often applied to the ownership and control of our ancestors' remains. Such shortcomings expose numerous legal and ethical conundrums. Should any one organisation, individual or government control access to recently-found remains, limiting opportunities to unlock the secrets of evolution? Given that humans can start fossilisation processes immediately after burial, at what point does it become appropriate to dig up their remains? And who should control access to them? Could any prehistoric Homo ever have imagined they would one day be exhumed and their remains laid out in cases as the centrepiece of a museum exhibit? This paper surveys a number of implications that arise from these foundational questions, and ultimately challenges the belief that human, hominin and hominid remains are self-evident 'objects' capable of clear ownership: rather they constitute creative cultural intersections, which are deserving of greater ethical consideration. Protocols for respecting, protecting and conserving remains while allowing a greater equity in access to information about our common ancestors are both desirable and urgently required.
BASE
In: The journal of development studies, Band 56, Heft 3, S. 451-468
ISSN: 1743-9140
World Affairs Online
In: Newman , C , Page , J , Rand , J , Shimeles , A , Söderbom , M & Tarp , F 2020 , ' Linked-in by FDI : The Role of Firm-Level Relationships for Knowledge Transfers in Africa and Asia ' , The Journal of Development Studies , vol. 56 , no. 3 , pp. 451-468 . https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2019.1585813
This study combines evidence from interviews in seven countries with (i) government institutions responsible for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), (ii) 102 multinationals (MNEs), and (iii) 226 domestic firms linked to these foreign affiliates as suppliers, customers, or competitors, to identify whether relations between MNEs and domestic firms lead to direct transfers of knowledge/technology. We first document that there are relatively few linkages between MNEs and domestic firms in sub-Saharan Africa compared with Asia. However, when linkages are present in sub-Saharan Africa they raise the likelihood of direct knowledge/technology transfers from MNEs to domestic firms as compared to linked-in firms in Asia. Finally, we do not find that direct knowledge/technology transfers are more likely to occur through FDI than through trade. As such our results are not consistent with the view that tacit knowledge transfers are more likely to occur through localised linkages.
BASE
In: WIDER Studies in Development Economics Ser.
Although manufacturing has played an important role in the growth of developing countries, Africa has lagged in this industry. This book argues that activities sharing the characteristics of manufacturing, including tourism and ICT, are beginning to play an important role in Africa, offering new opportunities for growth in coming decades.
In: WIDER Studies in Development Economics
Structural transformation in Africa has become a hot topic. One of the earliest stylized facts of development economics is that low-income countries have large differences in output per worker across sectors, and movement of workers from low- to high-productivity sectors—structural transformation is a key driver of economic growth. Between 1950 and 2006, about half of the catch-up by developing countries—led by East Asia—to advanced economy productivity levels was due to rising productivity within manufacturing combined with structural transformation out of agriculture. Manufacturing has the capacity to employ large numbers of unskilled workers, is capable of large productivity gains through innovation, and entails tradeable products that permit economies of scale and specialization. But manufacturing in Africa, rather than leading growth, has typically been a lagging sector. In 2014, the average share of manufacturing in GDP in sub-Saharan Africa hovered around 10 per cent, unchanged from the 1970s, leading some observers to be pessimistic about Africa's potential to catch the wave of sustained rapid growth and rising incomes. This book challenges that view. It argues that other activities sharing the characteristics of manufacturing—including tourism, ICT, and other services as well as food processing and horticulture—are beginning to play a role analogous to the role that manufacturing played in East Asia. This reflects not only changes in the global organization of industries since the early era of rapid East Asian growth, but also advantages unique to Africa. These 'industries without smokestacks' offer new opportunities for Africa to grow in coming decades.
In: The journal of development studies, Band 56, Heft 3, S. 451-468
ISSN: 1743-9140