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Smallholder income diversification in Zambia -- What explains the international locationof industry? -- Debt relief and adjustment effort in a multi-period model -- Disability and marginal utility of income

This paper presents a rational reconstruction of Kropotkin's view on human nature, institutional change and economic development. Kropotkin shows that mutual aid among animals as well as in human society is far more important than recognized by contemporary individualist interpretation of Darwinism on society. His major contribution to political economy is that he offers an endogenous model of why institutions exist. However, his biological determinism and ethical naturalism imply that he disregard historical context, which leads him to de facto apply the perspective of historical idealism. The rise of the modern state, for example, he explains by the spread of the "idea of the state" and not by the economic development. Adapted from the source document.

This study addressed the triangular relations between Latin America, Beijing and Washington in the last 15 years using a process tracing technique on the economic and political models of the region. It specifically focused on the South American development during the post-Washington Consensus era, as well as the expanding influence of China over this region. The aim of this paper was to transmit the idea that the failure of neoliberalism in the 90s together with the expansionism of China have shaped the contemporary political and economic arena among the countries of South America. This work could help to understand the historical process of the construction of develop paradigms on the region and its impact on the society.

This study takes its starting -point in the Swedish referendum about a membership in the European monetary union. The purpose of the study is to explain the differences that became visible during the EMU-referendum, by thoroughly explore macro-factors & their importance to the voting against a membership at a municipal level. In earlier pursued research concerning voting behaviour & public opinion differences general explanations appear which work as an initial position for this study, the creation of three alternative explanation models & the macro factors to be tested. This study has a statistical design & its intention is to study macro-factors in the 290 municipals of Sweden through collecting material from several sources. The material has been compiled to analytical aggregate data & will be analysed through bivariate- & multivariate regressions. The result shows that the differences that became visible concerning the EMU-referendum can be explained from economic factors & economic structural differences between the municipals. Tables, Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.

Most studies of emerging Swedish parties and politics have mainly focused on the Swedish Social Democrats and their struggle for democracy and political power, most as a prelude to the so called "Swedish Model". Competing parties have received attention from historians on the national level, but their local origin remains to large extent an open field. The aim of this study is to investigate how local political factors shaped the emerging liberal party organizations in two small Swedish towns. By a case-oriented comparison two towns are contrasted, Skövde in Skaraborg county and Filipstad in Värmland. This thesis suggests that the distinction between national politics and municipal government, based on the interests of economic elites, was transformed during the period 1880-1920. During this period local elections and local government became increasingly sites for political struggle between different parties, with new agendas. With a framework that considered parties in light of their functions rather than organizational types and theoretical concepts borrowed from the sociology of social movements, the thesis main results suggest that political mobilization and liberal party-formation was depending on the local political traditions. The theoretical framework made it possible to pinpoint both similarities and differences between the cases. The results of the study indicate that the historical tradition is central to parties to emerge and flourish. This suggests that it is more meaningful to focus attention on local and regional processes to understand the historical development than has previously been done. ; De svenska partiernas historia är relativt väl känd på nationell nivå, men deras lokala ursprung är mindre utforskat och inte minst gäller det borgerliga partier. I den här avhandlingen undersöks hur lokalpolitiska faktorer formade de framväxande frisinnade, eller liberala, lokalorganisationerna i Filipstad och Skövde. Avhandlingen visar att politisk mobilisering och politisk organisering i städerna i hög grad formades av lokala och regionala politiska traditioner. Den visar också att kommunerna var politiserade långt före att de nationella partierna tog hand om valen och kommunala frågor. Studien visar att det fanns en kontinuitet mellan äldre lokala partier och de lokalavdelningar av nationella partier som etablerades efter sekelskiftet 1900. Det var en kontinuitet som återspeglades såväl ideologiskt som organisatoriskt. Avhandlingens resultat pekar på att det är mer meningsfullt att fokusera uppmärksamheten mot lokala och regionala politiseringsprocesser för att förstå den generella politiska utvecklingen i Sveriges historia än vad som tidigare har gjorts. Anders Forsell är doktorand i historia inom Forskarskolan i regionalt samhällsbyggande. Det här är hans doktorsavhandling.

The literature highlights how climate change might challenge the definitions of wine geographical indications (GIs) in Europe. The central issue addressed in this thesis is whether European GI viticultural systems could tackle climate change via initiating adaptive institutional change processes to relax the constraints imposed by GI production standards. To do so, drawing from institutional economics theory and literature on cooperatives and collective brand, we developed a novel agent-based model (ABM) representing an abstract GI wine production system in the European Union (EU). Using illustrative data, our model allows testing different impact scenarios driven by climate change, spatial heterogeneity, and alternative institutional settings (i.e., voting mechanism). We used the model to explore individual and collective components of climate resilience and the relationship between economic agents and their environment. We compared the average output of 100 simulations for each of the 12 different climate-landscape-institution scenarios. The inclusion of endogenous institutional change led to considerable variations in all target variables, including the emergence of complex/chaotic behaviours. It enabled the system to reduce farm exits, increase profitability and collective brand value. We showed how landscape heterogeneity has a twofold role in the climate resilience of the system. It increases individual adaptability but obstructs collective adaptive capacity through institutional change. The two different voting mechanisms considered (i.e., relative and absolute majority) did not produce any discernible result. The study highlights the importance of policies oriented to strengthening investments in intangibles and facilitating GI rule amendments, especially in sectors where cooperatives predominate due to poor intangible investments capability and other issues connected to member heterogeneity.

The Canadian federal government has introduced policy to phase out coal-fired electricity generation by 2030, as part of its climate change mitigation commitments under the Paris Agreement. The policy plan, positioned as a just transition, includes funding and measures to help workers and communities manage economic difficulties arising from the coal phaseout. Sustainability transitions, however, are rarely a purely economic process, as changes in demographics, values, norms and meanings may also ensue. Understanding this process as one of symbolic coping, wherein coal communities must socially come to terms with the phaseout and the resulting threat to their identities, adds another dimension to the just transition concept. This study aimed to better understand the social-psychological processes of sense-making in sustainability transitions, by investigating how coal communities are understanding and coping with the coal phaseout, and how social representations of the coal industry are transforming as a result. Social representations theory (SRT) was the main conceptual framework used, as it explores group-level common-sense understandings, which can be useful in analyzing processes of disruption or transition. Through qualitative case study research in two coal producing communities in Saskatchewan, one of four Canadian provinces affected by the coal phaseout, I explored the dynamics of the social representation of the local coal industry. Using the central core approach to SRT, I identified a core element based in shared history, stability and prosperity, which seemed to provide a foundation for making sense of the coal phaseout policy. From this foundation, I found two models of social representation transformation, resisting and progressive, implicating a split in the social representation of community life after coal. With this theoretical application, I explored social implications of the Canadian coal phaseout, illustrated a model of social representation transformation, and demonstrated a framework that can be applied to transition research in other contexts. I also discussed potential governance implications for designing just transition policies.

Bergslagen in south-central Sweden is an informal region with a long history of intensive land use. The legacies of than 2000 years of integrated use of ore, forests and water major national and international economic importance now involve several challenges for the maintenance of landscapes. This includes sustainability of rural and urban communities, of green infrastructures for natural capital and human well-being as well as of forests, river basins and mining. In response to this cross-sectoral integration necessary at multiple levels of public, private and civil as well as academia and schools. Landscapes need thus to be viewed as integrated socio-ecological systems. Collaboration and continuous learning among actors and stakeholders are needed for sustainable use and management of landscapes' goods, services and values. To support this requires (1) data, monitoring and assessment of different aspects of sustainability, (2) continuous knowledge production about material and immaterial landscape values relevant for the management of ecological, economic, social and cultural dimensions, (3) information and communication using both traditional media, as well as (4) through art and culture. the vision to contribute to satisfying these requirements Sustainable Bergslagen initiative emerged gradually since 2004 as a multi-level partnership for sustainable landscapes (www.bergslagen.org). By joining the International Model Forest Network (IMFN), and the network for Long Term Socio-Economic and Ecological Research (LTSER), actors and stakeholders can learn from other regions' sustainable development processes, and make Bergslagen more visible internationally.

This study deals with the issue of democratization in Latin America during the 20th century, and in particular the role of the left in this process. The purpose of this study is to empirically analyze the role of the left as a political actor in the process of democratization toward the deepening of the democratic rule in Latin America. The research questions are: what role did the left have in the transitions to electoral democracies during the 20th century in Latin America? Why did the left have the role it had in the transitions? How does the left's view of democracy affect the transition to electoral democracy, and the further democratization to deepen democratic rule? What structural constraints affect the left's ability to deepen democratic rule? A comparative qualitative method and different theoretical concepts of democracy, democratization, elite perspective, mobilization and organizations have been used, and examples from different Latin American cases are given. One empirical conclusion is that the role of the left in the transitions to electoral democracies varies from participation with active left leaders, collective left actions, to not have any significant role at all. A second empirical conclusion is that in cases where left wing governments have tried to enforce a model of participatory democracy, the result has been " coup d'état" or rebellions conducted by military forces and supported by the economic elite and the United States of America. In other cases when left parties in government instead have remained within the framework of an elite democracy, the result has rather been stabilization of the liberal democratic rule. The main theoretical conclusions are as follows: the theoretical discussion about democratic consolidation and the deepening of democracy have to consider that different actors' (in this study the left) preferences for various models of democracy differ; the actors' view of democracy matter in the game of democratic development and democratic consolidation; and the relations between the elite actors' preferences for different models of democracy determine the outcome of a specific form of democratic model (in this study electoral democracy, liberal democracy or participatory democracy).

This mainly deductive study examines what factors explain the variation of e-democracy and if, why a causal pathway exists. The deductive feature is carried out through examining the predictions of the modernization theory, testing hypotheses concerning the link between economic development and wealth in relation to e-democracy. Deriving from a theoretical point of departure where e-democracy is conceptualized with the help of democratic theory, this phenomenon is studied in three different but linked empirical parts. A cross-sectional global study did establish a relationship between some of the indicators derived from the theory; however, the magnitude of the explanatory power was lower at the level of e-democracy than at the level of democracy. A cross-sectional national study of all Sweden's municipalities did show that especially high levels of education were clearly related to high levels of e-democracy. Approaching the questions of causal mechanisms and deviations from the found pattern, case studies did emphasize that the linkage between the structural conditions and actor's-orientated explanations largely could verify what is deducted from theory. However, the importance of economic possibilities and internal prioritizations inside the political organization was essential for the development of e-democracy and was found through more inductive approaches. The main contribution of this thesis is the results that, both on an aggregated and a micro level, verify the theory but also add other important explanations. Another important conclusion is the creation of a model for e-democracy where a complete e-democracy is linked to democratic theory and not only maintains information, discussion, and decision-making processes through information and communication technology but also does this while strengthening political participation and political equality. ; PECOI

This dissertation studies the development of the environmental issue from a discursive perspective. Through an analysis of views on nature and the environment in several NGOs and main political organs, the dissertation tries to explain how a certain view became hegemonic. The analysis pertains to the period between the publication of Silent Spring in 1962 and the introduction of the concept sustainable development by the UN in 1987. From a realistic starting point and with critical discourse analysis (CDA) as its method, the dissertation aims to identify causal powers and mechanisms that have generated and institutionalized the environmental discourse. An analytical model is developed and applied on three levels; a sociolinguistic, institutional, and macrosocial level; which also reflect the methodological progression of the study from description to explanation. The result shows that the discursive practice was hegemonized by a Western view promoting economic growth. This discourse gradually gained ground at the expense of an anti-systemic discourse which posited structural societal changes as the answer to environmental problems. Mechanisms such as the exclusion of some views and actors from common discursive practices were crucial for the process of homogenizing the discourse and developing consensus. Through incorporating that part of the environmental movement which did not fight the dominant economic and political system, the UN turned it into support for its own project, which is part of the process of hegemony. At the same time the environmental objectives of the hegemonic discourse were established in the institutional spheres. The institutionalization of the environmental issue changed the focus from social critique to a question of development and technology, something which helped displace the original critical and partially anti-systemic character of environmental discourse. Through turning the critical and negative account of the situation into a more harmonious and hopeful vision, for instance in terms of sustainable development, a foundation was laid for the later development of ecological modernization. When the hegemonic discourse invested the concept of sustainable development with emphases on progress and economic growth, it encapsulated the environmental issue within the framework of the prevailing social system. ; With summary in English and Spanish/Con resumen en inglés y en español

Economic and social conditions on Swedish farms have altered in recent decades, restructuring the sector, but the family farm is still the primary production unit. Sweden is often described as a role model in gender equality, but a gender-unequal situation in farming has been identified, posing a political challenge. This thesis critically assessed how gender inequalities are reproduced within Swedish family farming by analysing how the 'doing' of family farming, in terms of labour and material relations, is shaped and reproduced. This approach focused the analysis on relations of and in production, by placing labour and property at the centre. Other approaches yielded novel information. The theoretical frameworks of labour process theory, political economy, feminist standpoint theory and material feminism, provided conceptual space to examine the reproduction of gender inequalities. In mixed method research, two types of survey data, interviews with farmers and literature on occupational health and safety in agriculture were used to analyse gendered access to arable land and farming conditions; the Swedish agrarian structure and the gendered organisation of the labour process; the gendered understating of agricultural health and safety; and the temporalities of Swedish family farming. The results showed how gender inequalities are reproduced in the temporal and spatial organisation and structuring of the labour process and through unequal distribution of resources. Unequal access to arable land contributes particularly to the gendering of farm management, farm diversification and farm ability to provide household income. A spatial stratification was observed, with larger gendered differences in more productive areas. The farm labour process forms the diverse experience of time, space, economy and labour of men and women in family farming. The different spheres and socio-economic modes of the labour process puts men and women in unequal positions, with differing materialised experiences of family farming and farm work; its risks, problems and consequences. The findings highlight the persistence of family farming in the Swedish agrarian structure and the importance of gender mainstreaming in e.g. policy, education and risk prevention work. More research is needed on the gendering effects of renegotiation of the family farm concept and situated agrarian change.

The aim of this thesis paper is to integrate three important thematic aspects i.e., improve qualities in the urban ecological situation, provide ideas for handling stormwater flooding and ideas to improve socio-economic aspects for inhabitants. The integration of ideas is illustrated in a masterplan program-sketch in three phases. Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh. Dhaka is a densely populated fast developing city. The chronological changes of the natural setting due to rapid growth of urbanization in Dhaka city creates an imbalance with nature and disrupts urban ecology. The green and blue structures are replaced with built areas and hard surfaces. The situation for urban ecology in the city of Dhaka affects storm water flooding and social wellbeing. The methods used for background knowledge to this proposal are literature reviews, document searches, interviews, GIS analysis and a study of role models from different countries and contexts where a variety of solutions, proposals and functions inspired me in my own sketching. The methods and the background for this thesis were used to formulate guidelines to support the overall program-sketch for the three phases in a masterplan. The first phase program-sketch includes redesigning the informal settlements in Karail into better living conditions for the dwellers according to Patrick Geddes theories by keeping the overall road- and block structure and provide new shelter, job opportunities and adding recreational values to the area. The second phase concentrated on re-establishing of water streams in a green park according to the philosophy of Fredrick Law Olmsted, and in the third phase the former airport Tejgaon to become a large green area for social meetings, recreation activities for the Dhaka city inhabitants and provide job opportunities for the informal dwellers. The discussion on strengths, limitations, challenges, and further development ends with a conclusion that it is of great importance to work integrated with the three thematic aspects urban ecology, storm water flooding and social wellbeing on an overall level and with understanding of the issues among both specialists, politicians, and inhabitants to be able to implement necessary change towards sustainability.

Few studies have previously investigated how poor animal welfare might be associated with infection of zoonotic pathogens in humans. This paper assesses the predictive value of the presence of Campylobacter spp. in broiler chicken flocks when animal-based measures related to footpad dermatitis, hock burns, body lesions and arthritis are identified under commercial conditions (high density). The study population included 32 flocks analysed on farm and at slaughter, slaughtered between April and August 2008 in six different slaughter plants in Brittany, France. Welfare and health indicators are those indicated by the European legislation and sampling was carried out in the framework of the European baseline survey on the prevalence of Campylobacter in broiler chicken. Caecal contents, sampled both on farm and at slaughter, and carcass skin samples from the neck and breast at slaughter, were investigated for the presence of Campylobacter spp. Logistic models/classification trees were used to estimate the probability of the presence (or absence) of a specific foodbome pathogen in a flock based on specific animal-based measures (or combinations of measures) in order to study the potential relationship between welfare indicators and foodbome pathogen prevalence/incidence levels. On farm, flocks with more than 25% animals with severe lesions on between 25 and 50% of the footpad are predicted to be Campylobacter-positive whereas flocks where less than 13 individuals have arthritis are predicted to be Campylobacter-negative. The error rate on farm and at slaughter was 10 and 4% respectively indicating good predicting abilities. A poor welfare environment may result in stress, which reduces chicken immunocompetence making them more susceptible to Campylobacter spp. An infection with Campylobacter spp may lead to impaired defence and susceptibility to other pathogens which may result in greater intestinal excretion. Poor welfare and high growing rate lead to digestive troubles that lead to litter humidity. Litter humidity that, among other things, causes footpad dermatitis may also influence the horizontal transmission of the Campylobacter spp. infection due to the normal coprophagic behaviour of poultry. Reducing welfare problems by a better management of rearing conditions would not only improve broiler welfare, but it would also decrease the risks of Campylobacter contamination, of carcass condemnations and of economic loss for the poultry industry.

In this report we aim to analyse the economic and environmental impacts of Pillar I direct payments, and to demonstrate alternative instruments that are better suited to achieve CAP objectives. The instruments—a targeted payment to land at risk of abandonment and a tax on mineral fertilisers—were selected on the basis of the Polluter Pays and Provider Gets Principles. We do this using two state‐of‐the‐art agricultural economic simulation models. The first model, CAPRI, is used to quantify the large‐scale or aggregate impacts for individual countries, the EU and the world. The other model, AgriPoliS, is used to quantify the fine‐scale or farm and field level impacts in a selection of contrasting agricultural regions, to consider the potential influence of the large spatial variability in agricultural and environmental conditions across the EU. The results show that direct payments are keeping more farms in the sector and more land in agricultural use than would otherwise be the case, and thus avoiding land abandonment, principally in marginal regions. Particularly the area of grassland is substantially higher, because it is generally less productive than arable land and hence more dependent on direct payments for keeping it in agricultural use. The magnitudes of the impacts of direct payments on land use therefore vary strongly across regions due to spatial variability in productivity: marginal regions with large areas of less productive land are heavily influenced by direct payments, while regions with large areas of relatively productive land are hardly affected, because this land would be farmed in any case. By keeping more farmers in the sector longer, direct payments are slowing structural change, which can hamper agricultural development. However the potential benefits of faster structural change vary considerably among our study regions. In relatively productive regions direct payments are hindering development, because too many farmers are staying in the sector and preventing the consolidation of land in larger farms, which would improve their competitiveness and increase farm profits. On the contrary, the mass departure of farms that is currently avoided, will not lead to the same general benefits in marginal regions. Instead of freed land being absorbed by remaining farms, large areas of relatively unproductive land are abandoned without payments. This land is unprofitable to maintain in agricultural land use, even if integrated into larger farms, because current market prices are too low to motivate farming it. Consequently direct payments pose a serious goal conflict: the avoidance of land abandonment on the one hand, which can have negative impacts on public goods, and restricting agricultural development on the other hand. Once again this goal conflict is rooted in the spatial variability of agricultural conditions in the EU. Maintaining extensively managed farmland, particularly semi‐natural pastures, is central for conservation of biodiversity and preservation of the cultural landscape. Therefore direct payments are contributing to the provisioning of these public goods, but principally in marginal areas. Further, abandonment of land can reduce its agricultural productivity due to erosion or afforestation. Thus, direct payments are contributing to food security by preserving the productive potential of land for the future, but only marginal land since relatively productive land is farmed in any case. Production of agricultural commodities is affected to a lesser degree by direct payments than land use per se. Nevertheless, food exports from the EU are higher and imports lower as a consequence of direct payments. However, the additional supply generated by direct payments also lowers output prices, which reduces the profitability of commodity production; thereby partially offsetting the additional revenues from direct payments. The higher agricultural output brought about by direct payments causes higher levels of environmentally damaging greenhouse‐gas emissions, nutrient surpluses and pesticide use. The higher greenhouse‐gas emissions for the EU are, to some extent, moderated by lower emissions in the rest of the world. Nevertheless, the net effect of direct payments is higher global emissions of greenhouse gases. The environmental impacts of higher nutrient surpluses and pesticide inputs are less conclusive, since these depend also on spatial factors, i.e., where the emissions occur. Although EU‐scale and regional emissions are higher due to direct payments, agricultural production is less intensive generally, on account of the lower output prices. Analysing the net effects of these two opposing forces requires additional biophysical modelling at relevant spatial scales, such as watersheds or landscapes, which is beyond the scope of this study. Pillar I direct payments generate a significant transfer of income to farmers and land owners who are not necessarily farmers; 40 billion euro annually. Of this transfer a substantial proportion goes to farmers in relatively productive regions and, further, to a minority of farmers that need them least. In relatively productive regions payments are not needed for continued agricultural production and preservation of farmland, but instead rather fuel higher land and rental prices, which hampers structural change. On the contrary, the need for support is greatest in marginal regions, because some form of payment to marginal land is needed to avoid its abandonment and the loss of associated public goods. Finally, the direct payments even come at the cost of lower market returns for farmers due to slower structural change (smaller and less competitive farms) and lower output prices (due to greater EU output). On the other hand the lower output prices lead to somewhat lower food prices, but at the greater cost of financing the direct payments. Our main conclusion is that Pillar I direct payments are generating serious goal conflicts due to spatial variability in conditions across the EU. On the one hand these payments are contributing to the provisioning of public goods by preserving marginal agricultural land. On the other hand they are hampering agricultural development, primarily in relatively productive regions. Payments to relatively productive land that would be farmed any way not only inflate land values (capitalisation) but also slow structural change, which are both likely to hinder agricultural development and hence the competitiveness of the EU on the global market. The direct payments also increase environmental pressure; by subsidising land use generally and the associated production, they are incapable of controlling environmentally damaging emissions, which is also in conflict with broad CAP objectives. The goal conflict arises because direct payments are universal, a payment principal that does not consider spatial variability in the EU and the associated trade‐offs in regard to development and environmental effectiveness. Our analysis considered two alternative policy instruments that have the potential to curb the identified goal conflicts associated with direct payments, by applying the Polluter Pays and Provider (of public goods) Gets Principles at appropriate spatial scales. Replacing direct payments with a payment targeted on marginal land (and associated public goods) prevents land abandonment at a lower cost, by avoiding payments to relatively productive land that is farmed in any case. This also allows surviving farms in regions with relatively productive land to compensate for lost direct payments through expansion and associated scale economies, as well as higher output prices. This instrument therefore finances the provisioning of public goods without adverse effects on development and the efficiency of agricultural production. The EU‐wide tax on mineral fertiliser demonstrates that this instrument has the potential to reduce nutrient surpluses. Since direct payments cause higher levels of polluting emissions, policy instruments targeting emissions at relevant spatial scales are needed to achieve cost‐effective abatement. Overall we find that Pillar I direct payments are not addressing the diversity of challenges facing European agriculture. In fact our quantitative analysis indicates that the potential for the current system to meet these challenges is seriously impaired by goal conflicts and spatial variability across the EU. A better policy requires that instruments are targeted on desired outcomes and designed according to sound principles, specifically the Polluter Pays and Provider Gets Principles. These principles would ensure that farmers are provided with appropriate incentives to i) generate public goods that otherwise would be underprovided; ii) mitigate environmentally damaging emissions at the lowest possible cost to society; and iii) continually strive to improve environmental performance. Such instruments are also fairer and promote a more competitive or viable agricultural sector by not obstructing structural change and hence agricultural development.