Business Commons^™

Solidarity Economy Lawyering, Renee Hatcher

Renee Hatcher

Cuba’S Historical Tryst With Economic Development And Future Pathways, Babu P. George, Tony L. Henthorne, Maximiliano E. Korstanje Prof

Babu George

Cooperation Chicago: Building Chicago's Worker Cooperative Ecosystem, Renee Hatcher

Renee Hatcher

No abstract provided.

Developing A Holistic Approach For Tackling Undeclared Work: Background Paper, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

The Informal Sector As A Path To Expanding Opportunities, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Two Paths To The High Road: The Dynamics Of Coalition Building In Seattle And Buffalo, Ian Greer, Barbara Byrd, Lou Jean Fleron

Ian Greer

[Excerpt] Labor-community coalitions are not a new concept. Unions approach such coalitions now, as in the past, as one way to enhance their bargaining power with an employer. Such coalitions are temporary and often issue-based. In recent years, however, some local labor movements have begun to look at coalitions in a broader way – as a means of improving their public image and building power in the political arena. This broad-based approach requires the development of coalitions for the longer run, not just for temporary expediency. This paper develops the notion of a high road social infrastructure as a way …

Changing Labor Market Conditions And Economic Development In Hong Kong, The Republic Of Korea, Singapore, And Taiwan, China, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

In the newly industrializing economies (NIEs) of Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan (China), the entire working population has benefited from labor market institutions. The East Asian NIEs attained and maintained generally full employment, improved their job mixes, raised real earnings, and lowered their rates of poverty. This article reaches two principal conclusions. First, labor market conditions continued to improve in all four economies in the 1980s at rates remarkably similar to their rates of aggregate economic growth. Second, labor market repression was not a major factor in the growth experiences of these economies in the 1980s. …

The Impact Of Marginal Business Taxes On State Manufacturing, Richard Funderburg, Timothy Bartik, Alan Peters, Peter Fisher

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of State And Local Taxes On Economic Development: A Review Of Recent Research, Timothy Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.

L’Emploi Informel Dans Les Économies Développées Et En Développement: Quelles Perspectives, Quelles Interventions?, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Tourism, Development And Poverty Reduction In Guizhou And Yunnan, John A. Donaldson

John Donaldson

How did the differing strategies adopted to develop tourism in Guizhou and Yunnan affect patterns of economic development and poverty reduction? The answer is paradoxical. Both provincial governments incorporated tourism as part of their overall development strategies, but their tourism sites were distributed and structured strikingly differently. In Yunnan, although tourism contributed to rapid economic growth, it did not reduce rural poverty as much as might be expected from a large rural-based industry. By contrast, Guizhou's relatively small-scale tourism industry, although not contributing significantly to growth, was distributed largely in poor areas and was structured to allow poor people to …

Examining The Use Of Focus Groups In Economic Development Initiatives, Oscar T. Mcknight, Ronald Paugh, Brian Nestor, Shawn Yambor

Oscar T McKnight Ph.D.

City officials often use focus groups in economic development. However, findings indicate that group dynamics can threaten validity when seeking consensus. Data suggest a strong rebound effect for participants to return to their earlier pre-focus group assessment beliefs. Introduced is the ‘BUCKS’ Planning Model for facilitating city economic development initiatives.

Oportunidades De Desarrollo Productivo De La Población De Afectación Prioritaria En La Operación Estratégica Fontibón – Aeropuerto Eldorado – Engativá, Iván A. Rojas V

Iván Rojas V

The book analyzes the case of Operation Strategic Fontibón - Eldorado Airport - Engativa (OEFAE) and the implications on the urban economy of the city and potential opportunities for productive development for the population affected by the project in 2010 in Bogotá DC. El libro analiza el caso de la Operación Estrategica Fontibón - Aeropuerto ElDorado - Engativa (OEFAE) y las implicaciones sobre la economía urbana de la ciudad y las posibles oportunidades de desarrollo productivo para la población afectada por el proyecto en el 2010 en la ciudad de Bogotá DC.

Maestros To Multipliers: Exploring The Evolution Of Public Sector Innovation Intermediation And Governance (A Case Study Of Greater Manchester, 2003-2011), Martin Wain

Martin Wain

There has been a trend within the last decade, observable to economic development practitioners, for innovation becoming increasingly integrated into and central to mainstream economic development. To date it can be seen across all areas of economic development, including factors of competitiveness and competitive advantage, to the attraction and retention of talent. Arguably, this extends the policy recommendations and implications of innovation from competitiveness and growth to the perceived dynamicity and attractiveness of a locale to potential inward investors and upwardly mobile entrepreneurs.

This dissertation explores the evolution of innovation policy, through design and implementation, over a nine-year period. The …

Explaining The Persistence Of The Informal Economy In Central And Eastern Europe: Some Lessons From Moscow, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

To evaluate critically the competing explanations for the persistence of the informal economy that variously represent this sphere as a residue, by-product, alternative and/or complement to the formal economy, this paper reports a survey of livelihood practices in 313 Moscow households. The finding is that the majority of households primarily depend on informal work to secure their livelihood and that although each and every theorisation is wholly valid with regard to particular types of informal work and/or specific population groups, no one articulation fully captures the diverse nature and multiple meanings of the informal economy in contemporary Moscow. The paper …

Theorizing The Self-Service Economy: A Case Study Of Do-It-Yourself (Diy) Activity, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Recently, it has become increasingly recognised that self-servicing is a growing rather than declining phenomenon. To explain this, a range of competing theories have emerged which variously portray those engaged in self-servicing either as rational economic actors, dupes, seekers of self-identity, or simply doing so out of necessity or choice. This paper evaluates critically the validity of these rival explanations. To do this, the extent of, and reasons for, self-servicing in the domestic realm is empirically evaluated through an internet survey of 5,500 people living in the city of Sheffield in England. This resulted in 418 valid responses (a 7.6 …

From Market Hegemony To Diverse Economies: Evaluating The Plurality Of Labour Practices In Ukraine, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Drawing inspiration from a burgeoning corpus of scholars who have begun to question the narrative of impending market hegemony, this paper seeks to further advance this emergent ‘diverse economies’ literature by constructing a conceptual framework for representing the multiple labour practices in economies. Transcending the simplistic market/non-market dichotomy, this conceptualises multiple kinds of labour existing along a spectrum from market-oriented to non-market oriented practices, which is cross-cut by another spectrum ranging from wholly monetised to wholly non-monetised practices. The resultant portrayal of a plurality of labour practices that seamlessly merge into each other is then applied to understanding the types …

A Primer For Economic Development Directors And Other Social Entrepreneurs: Using 'Cash' As A Management Practice, Oscar T. Mcknight, Ronald Paugh, Aaron Mcknight, Melinda Belden

Oscar T McKnight Ph.D.

City and community oficials are responsible for developing and sustaining economic growth. This research focuses on Best Practices Cities - those with current and predicted economic growth above the national average - and the specific management practices that are responsible for such growth. The CASH model is presented to assist city planners and other social entrepreneurs in their economic development initiatives.

Beyond Competing Theories Of The Hidden Economy, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Purpose – This paper aims to evaluate critically the validity of rival theorisations of the hidden economy that variously read this sphere as a leftover from a previous era, a by-product of a new emergent form of capitalism, a complement to formal employment or an alternative to the formal economy. Until now, the common tendency among economic theorists has been to either universally privilege one theorisation over others, or to represent each theory as valid in different places. Design/methodology/approach – To evaluate their validity to the city of Moscow, a survey is reported involving 313 face-to-face interviews with inhabitants conducted …

The Illusion Of Capitalism In Contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case Study Of The Gambia, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Purpose – This paper aims to evaluate critically the meta-narrative that there is no alternative to capitalism. Building upon an emerging body of post-structuralist thought that has begun deconstructing this discourse in relation to western economies and post-Soviet societies, this paper further extends this critique to Sub-Saharan Africa by investigating the degree to which people in the Gambia rely on the capitalist market economy for their livelihood. Reporting the results of 80 household face-to-face interviews (involving over 500 people), the finding is that only a small minority of households in contemporary Gambian society rely on the formal market economy alone …

Rethinking The Nature Of Community Economies: Some Lessons From Post-Soviet Ukraine, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

This paper contributes to a small but growing body of thought that has questioned the hegemony of capitalism by revealing the persistence of multifarious economic practices in everyday community economies. To further advance this school of thought, first, a conceptual framework is developed to map the diverse economic practices used by communities and second, this is applied through a survey of 600 households in Ukraine. The outcome is to reveal that just as multifarious economic practices prevailed under state socialism, the same applies in societies in transition to capitalism, suggesting that there are alternative futures for community economies beyond market …

Women Entrepreneurs In The Indian Informal Sector, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Purpose – Studies on women entrepreneurs either view women through a structuralist lens, as marginalised populations engaged in low-quality work, or through a neo-liberal lens, as engaged in relatively higher quality endeavour more as a rational choice. The aim of this paper is to evaluate critically these explanations in relation to women entrepreneurs in the informal sector in India. Design/methodology/approach – To evaluate the contrasting explanations of structuralist and new liberal approaches, questionnaire surveys were conducted in two phases, namely 2007 and 2010, over a period of several months. The sample design was stratified random and the sample was taken …

Strengthening Greater Manchester's Economic Base Through Science, Innovation And Research And Development: Report Of Panel, Manchester Developmental Panel

Martin Wain

This report offers the findings and conclusions of the Developmental Panel, which visited Greater Manchester at the invitation of the Commission for the New Economy and the Northern Way. The Panel’s goal was to inform thinking about how Greater Manchester can strengthen its economic base through science, innovation, and research and development in a context of economic and structural change. The Panel visited Manchester on February 23rd and 24th, 2011, meeting with representatives of public, private, university, community and other organisations engaged in innovation, business, and economic development in Greater Manchester. The Panel is grateful for the time and co-operation …

Re-Theorizing The Informal Economy In Western Nations: Some Lessons From Rural England, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

Spatial Variations In The Character Of Off-The-Books Entrepreneurship: Lessons From A Study Of Contrasting Districts In Moscow, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Although there is growing recognition that many entrepreneurs start-up trading partially or wholly off-the-books, few have evaluated whether the character of this hidden enterprise culture varies spatially. To begin to do so, this paper evaluates whether and how the nature of off-the-books entrepreneurship differs across an affluent, mixed and deprived district of Moscow. Drawing upon 313 face-to-face interviews, the finding is that wholly legitimate enterprises represent just the tip of the iceberg in Moscow. Beneath the surface in all the districts is a large hidden enterprise culture. However, off-the-books entrepreneurship in the affluent district is comprised more of registered businesses …

Entrepreneurship And The Informal Economy: An Overview, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

In recent decades, the field of entrepreneurship studies has become increasingly interested in the relationship between entrepreneurship and the informal economy. This paper reviews this burgeoning sub-field of entrepreneurship studies that recognizes how entrepreneurs do not always conduct their business affairs wholly by the rulebook. Evaluating this rapidly growing body of literature, it reviews the findings regarding the preponderance of entrepreneurs to engage in the informal economy, the nature of such informal entrepreneurship, the characteristics of informal entrepreneurs and the motives underpinning participation in such endeavor, along with the competing theories that have sought to explain engagement in this type …

Joining Up The Fight Against Undeclared Work In Europe, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Report to the European Commission on the feasibility of creating a platform for cooperation between labour inspectorates and other relevant monitoring and enforcement bodies, to prevent and fight undeclared work

Explaining The Off-The-Books Enterprise Culture Of Ukraine: Reluctant Or Willing Entrepreneurship?, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

In recent years, there has been a growing realisation that beyond the realm of legitimate entrepreneurship is a large hidden enterprise culture composed of entrepreneurs conducting some or all of their trade off-the-books. Until now, however, few have evaluated how many entrepreneurs start-up their ventures trading off-the-books and why they do so. Reporting face-to-face interviews conducted in Ukraine during 2005-06 with 331 entrepreneurs, the finding is not only that the vast majority (90%) operate partially or wholly off-the-books but also that they are not all driven by necessity and as a last resort and survival strategy into entrepreneurship. Revealing how …

A Public Lecture: Labour Markets And Economic Development, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] I want to put forward three propositions to you based on decades of work in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. First, economic development can be (but need not be) a win-win-win situation - for businesses, for individuals and groups of individuals, and for governments and non- governmental organisations (NGOs). Second, the labour market can (but need not) serve as an effective mechanism for contributing to economic growth and for transmitting the gains from economic growth. And third, in both of these areas, whether a country experiences the more favorable set of outcomes or the less favorable ones reflects a) …

Re-Visioning The Future Of Work: Towards A New Mindset, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.