This paper studies the political economy of fertility. Specifically, I argue that fertility may be a strategic choice for ethnic groups engaged in redistributive conflict. I first present a simple conflict model where high fertility is optimal for each ethnic group if and only if the economy's ethnic diversity is high, institutions are weak, or both. I then test the model in a cross-national dataset. Consistent with the theory, I find that economies where the product of ethnic diversity and a measure of institutional weakness is high have increased fertility rates. I conclude that fertility may depend on political factors. Adapted from the source document.
Although today's richest countries tend to have long histories of secure private property rights, legal-titling projects do little to improve the economic and political well-being of those in the developing world. This book employs a historical narrative based on secondary literature, fieldwork across thirty villages, and a nationally representative survey to explore how private property institutions develop, how they are maintained, and their relationship to the state and state-building within the context of Afghanistan. In this predominantly rural society, citizens cannot rely on the state to enforce their claims to ownership. Instead, they rely on community-based land registration, which has a long and stable history and is often more effective at protecting private property rights than state registration. In addition to contributing significantly to the literature on Afghanistan, this book makes a valuable contribution to the literature on property rights and state governance from the new institutional economics perspective.
Tying together cultural history, legal history, and institutional economics, The Laws and Economics of Confucianism: Kinship and Property in Pre-Industrial China and England offers a novel argument as to why Chinese and English pre-industrial economic development went down different paths. The dominance of Neo-Confucian social hierarchies in Late Imperial and Republican China, under which advanced age and generational seniority were the primary determinants of sociopolitical status, allowed many poor but senior individuals to possess status and political authority highly disproportionate to their wealth. In comparison, landed wealth was a fairly strict prerequisite for high status and authority in the far more 'individualist' society of early modern England, essentially excluding low-income individuals from secular positions of prestige and leadership. Zhang argues that this social difference had major consequences for property institutions and agricultural production
This Occasional Paper examines experiences of linking farmers to markets, in order to reach some tentative conclusions regarding success factors. It mainly considers examples of linkages promoted by outside organizations such as NGOs. Issues discussed include the choice of markets, the capacity of the linking organizations, and the relationship between the private sector, NGOs and farmers. Linking farmers to new markets invariably involves farmers organizing into formal or informal groups. Experiences with group organization are reviewed, as is the question of finance. Problems faced by farmers in maintaining linkages are examined and sustainability and scaling-up of linkage activities considered. A check-list of issues to address when planning market linkages is provided as an annex. The paper also considers the enabling environment that governments must provide if linking farmers to markets is to prove successful. ; Available in SANREM office, FS
This paper begins with the question "What is special about those institutions that bring about sustainability"? In an attempt to answer this, I use the Institutions of Sustainability (IoS) framework, which structures sustainability analytically according to four main categories, namely: transactions, actors, institutions and governance structures. I then argue that sustainability has to do with balancing two sorts of costs an actor may face while being constrained by institutions. One is the costs from the integrative effects of institutions on his individual decision making. The other is the costs from the segregative effect of institutions. In this way, sustainability can be understood as societies' compromise between institutions that integrate individual actors' decisions in a wider system, holding them fully responsible for more or less all of the effects of their choices and those institutions that partly free individual decision makers from parts of such responsibilities. If a governance problem is characterized by a high degree of "decomposability", segregative rules may be sufficient. The more a governance problem is characterized by complexity due to low modularity and high functional interdependencies, the more accurate integrative rules may be. The paper concludes by identifying "sustainability area of institutional embedding" as a regulative idea in understanding sustainability.
We provide an overview of empirical evidence on the determinants of terrorism, in particular focusing on the origins and targets of transnational terrorism. We also assemble several broad theoretical families that relate terrorism to, e.g., economic, political and institutional and demographic factors. We provide a critical discussion of the existing empirical evidence and refer to a number of areas of future research before describing some modest policy implications. Adapted from the source document.
Background Population ageing is a major public health concern globally as older people with disabilities or suffering from chronic diseases are expected to live longer. The demographic shift in Hong Kong is particularly pronounced and increasing resources on elderly healthcare will add substantially to the government's financial burden. Research has shown the importance of better understanding the healthcare challenges posed by an ageing population in order to promote informed choice, align policy with need, and deliver effective, efficient and sustainable health services. Objectives This dissertation explores the circumstances and factors that influence a household's decision to place an elderly person in a care home. It considers the decision-making process in the contexts of the interactions and negotiations that take place within and between household members; a key objective is to examine the extent to which the elderly are themselves participants in this decision-making process. Description of the sample The researcher interviewed a total of nine Hong Kong Chinese residents from two private nursing homes. They were between 63 and 92 years of age at the time of the interview and had been residing in a care home for an average of 2.5 years. Methods This is a qualitative research study in which primary data were gathered through face-to-face, semi-structured interviews. The research focused on subjects with high-functional status. An inductive approach to thematic analysis was adopted. Results The majority of the subjects had been admitted to hospital as a result of an acute health incident. They were subsequently transferred to the care home directly from the hospital. The subjects drew a direct link between the health incident and their placement in the care home. It became apparent in the course of the interviews, however, that other contextual factors had played an important role in the decision-making process, determining how the subjects themselves retrospectively rationalized their relocations. Over the course of data analysis, family relations, assumed gender roles, perceptions of self-identity, and practical constraints were identified as themes that impacted upon the decision-making process in relation to placement decision within a household setting. The findings suggested the degree to which the broader context of the subjects' past life experiences permeated the decision-making process. It also underscored the importance of the roles and responsibilities assumed by the elderly. Conclusion By examining how the elderly themselves discuss their experiences and justify their choices, the study sheds light on the cultural assumptions, conventions and traditions that shape how subjects perceive norms of behaviour, expectations and responsibilities. Future studies might extend the scope of research further to incorporate the views of household members, who are also potential caregivers. Given that the subjects were admitted to care homes after an acute health episode, which resulted in hospitalization, it would also be worth exploring alternative options in relation to the discharge arrangements for elderly persons. This study would also benefit from further research into the comprehensive long-term care system in Hong Kong, including the provision of services, long-term housing, healthcare choices, and the financing of long-term care. ; published_or_final_version ; Public Health ; Master ; Master of Public Health
El comportamiento electoral de los votantes y las exitosas estrategias electorales en algunos resonantes ejemplos recientes, han generado perplejidad sobre los efectos e influencias que las tecnologías digitales pueden generar en los procesos de participación y representación política.El big data; los filtros y elecciones por dispositivos de algoritmos a través de los cuales se accede a la avalancha de información existente en la red; el avance sobre la privacidad e intimidad de estos dispositivos para la obtención de los datos que construyen el big data, a través de la propia huella digital que los usuarios proveen;; los efectos de fragmentación, interseccionalidades y polarización;; los Catch Each Party; el fenómeno de Cambridge Analytica. ¿Cómo se relacionan estas novedades tecnológicas con los institutos de participación, representación y los procesos electorales? ; Voters' electoral behavior and some resounding recent examples' successful electoral strategies have caused perplexity over the effects and influences that digital technologies can generate in the processes of political participation and representation.The big data; the filters and choices by algorithm devices through which the avalanche of information existing in the network is accessed; the progress on the privacy and intimacy of these devices in gathering the information that builds big data through the personal fingerprint that users provide; the effects of fragmentation, intersectionalities and polarization; the Catch-Each Parties; the Cambridge Analytica phenomenon. How do these technological developments relate to the participation, representation and electoral processes?
This paper aims at explaining the importance of the democracy stance as compared to the efficiency stance in order to deal with complexity in biodiversity conservation. While the efficiency stance refers to the realm of relatively simple systems, individual rationality, and instrumental values, the complexity stance transcends these boundaries into the realm of complex systems, social rationality and intrinsic values. We argue that the task of biodiversity conservation is impossible to achieve in economically efficient ways, because (a) it is impossible to come to a (fully informed) complete account of all values, not only because it is costly but also because (b) moral values are involved which (by their nature) exclude themselves from being accounted for, and (c) biodiversity conservation can be regarded as an end in itself instead of only a means towards an end. The point we raise is, that in order to cope with biodiversity conservation we need to apply valuation methods which are from the complexity stance, take better account of intrinsic values and feelings, as well as consider social rationality. Economic valuation methods are themselves 'value articulating institutions' and as biodiversity conservation confronts us with the complexity of social-ecological systems, the choice of the 'value articulating institutions' needs to consider their ability to capture instrumental and intrinsic values of biodiversity. We demonstrate a method, based on cybernetics, which is able to take into account the issues raised.
The theory of social choice has recently benefited much from advances within the power index approach in game theory. One may start from the classical Wicksell framework of a unanimity regime & proceed to state the advantages of deviations from his model. A case can be stated for quantitative voting using some majority voting scheme, as it empowers the choice participants, also providing for blocking power. The power distinctions generated from the power index framework may be applied to the institutional evolution of the Council of Ministers with the EC or EU. It allows one to state in a concise manner the comparative advantages & disadvantages of alternative regimes for the European Community or Union. Tables, Figures, Appendixes, References. Adapted from the source document.
This article explores how the quality of institutions influences the strategic choice of agents in the pulp and paper production system based on the forest plantation sector. In order to proceed with the study, we employ the Economic Analysis of Property Rights (Barzel, 1982, 1989, 2002) as foundation, and test the proposition: in federative states where the institutional environment is fragile and therefore the State has a high cost to enforce property rights, private mechanisms stand out in the protection of propertyrights. According to Dixit (2009, p. 8), "if the government does not pro tect property rights, at least not as well as owners require, many private arrangements arise to satisfy the owners' needs". The analysis of three business cases of companies with plantations in more than one federative unit revealed the broad range of private mechanisms in place to cope with insecure land rights. In addition to countrywide strategies, in the federative units where government fails to be a good property rights steward, we found geographically specific initiatives being used. Another finding was the identification of variables that are able to evaluate the quality of institutions and employed in the companies´ decision-making process for the selection of land rights protection strategies. Findings altogether are empirical evidence of how the quality of institutions influences the strategic choice of land rights protection in the forest plantationsector in Brazil.
We study the process of asylum legislation and its impact on refugees. The preliminary chapter presents the history of refugee flows and asylum policies, the reasons for migration and the philosophical stakes of the subject. The second chapter studies the influence of asylum policies on refugee flows. We analyse the impact of different types of asylum law restrictions on decisions of refugees choosing their country of destination and whether to apply for asylum. The use of traffickers indirectly influences the size of the immigration flows and the number of asylum claims. The third chapter describes the choice of the level of asylum standard chosen by different levels of government. This choice is made as a result of the expected result of a standard on refugee flows. Chapter four compares different institutional choices for asylum legislation in the European Union. Taking objectives concerning illegal immigration into account, it compares the level of standards that would be adopted by national governments, by the Council of the European Parliament, and in co-decision. The fifth chapter studies the structure of grants given Member states by the European Refugee Fund (ERF). The ERF grants both fixed funds and subsidies that complement project funding. Taking transaction costs into consideration, we study the impact of different grant structures on spending on refugees. ; Nous étudions le processus de création de droit d'asile et son impact sur les réfugiés. Le chapitre préliminaire présente l'histoire des flux de réfugiés et du droit d'asile, la recherche sur les raisons de migration ainsi que les enjeux du sujet. Le deuxième chapitre a pour objet l'influence du droit d'asile sur les flux d'immigration de réfugiés. Nous analysons l'impact des restrictions des différents types de mesure du droit d'asile sur les décisions des réfugiés en terme d'émigration et de demande d'asile. A travers les passeurs, un impact indirect influence la taille des flux et le nombre de demandes. Le troisième chapitre décrit le choix ...
We study the process of asylum legislation and its impact on refugees. The preliminary chapter presents the history of refugee flows and asylum policies, the reasons for migration and the philosophical stakes of the subject. The second chapter studies the influence of asylum policies on refugee flows. We analyse the impact of different types of asylum law restrictions on decisions of refugees choosing their country of destination and whether to apply for asylum. The use of traffickers indirectly influences the size of the immigration flows and the number of asylum claims. The third chapter describes the choice of the level of asylum standard chosen by different levels of government. This choice is made as a result of the expected result of a standard on refugee flows. Chapter four compares different institutional choices for asylum legislation in the European Union. Taking objectives concerning illegal immigration into account, it compares the level of standards that would be adopted by national governments, by the Council of the European Parliament, and in co-decision. The fifth chapter studies the structure of grants given Member states by the European Refugee Fund (ERF). The ERF grants both fixed funds and subsidies that complement project funding. Taking transaction costs into consideration, we study the impact of different grant structures on spending on refugees. ; Nous étudions le processus de création de droit d'asile et son impact sur les réfugiés. Le chapitre préliminaire présente l'histoire des flux de réfugiés et du droit d'asile, la recherche sur les raisons de migration ainsi que les enjeux du sujet. Le deuxième chapitre a pour objet l'influence du droit d'asile sur les flux d'immigration de réfugiés. Nous analysons l'impact des restrictions des différents types de mesure du droit d'asile sur les décisions des réfugiés en terme d'émigration et de demande d'asile. A travers les passeurs, un impact indirect influence la taille des flux et le nombre de demandes. Le troisième chapitre décrit le choix ...