Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

No Taxation, No Representation: An Investigation Of The Relationship Between Natural Resources And Fiscal Decentralization, Andrew Balthrop, Mohammad Arzaghi

Andrew Balthrop

Effects Of Natural Resource Abundance On Institutions: Which, Where And When?, Luisa Blanco, Jeffrey Nugent, Graham Veenstra

Luisa Blanco

Much research has gone into the effects of oil and other natural resources on growth in which political institutions are often seen as the link between the two. Since institutions are difficult to measure and change very slowly over time, the analysis has largely been confined to cross-country comparisons, most frequently investigating the effects on levels of democracy. This paper builds on recent analyses of the effects of oil endowments, prices and exports on democracy to examine the effects on several different types of institutional change, making use of panel data on over 100 countries between 1975 and 2005 wherever …

Turning Water Into Wine: The Political Economy Of The Environment In Southern California's Wine Country, Jason Simms

Jason L Simms

This dissertation examines questions of water sustainability in contexts of wine production and state-led neoliberal development in the Temecula Valley, southern California, where wine tourism is at present being harnessed as an engine of economic growth. Natural and anthropogenic forces, such as global climate change, desertification, urban development, and the marketization and commodification of natural resources, affect the distribution and availability of water throughout the globe. As a result, the use of water, and associated political and environmental processes and consequences, in the production of global commodities, including wheat, citrus, and coffee, recently have come under increased scrutiny. Given wine's …

Uses Of Wild Plants In Ndumba, Eastern Highlands Province, Terence Hays

Terence Hays

For Papua New Guineans,l as well as for those who wish to understand them better, traiditional knowledge of the local natural environment is a priceless resource. In the face of increasing commitments to a cash economy, however, many communities are rapidly losing their awareness and appreciation of the rich animal and plant worlds which are immediately available to them. As Powell has recently observed (1976), the recorded information regarding traditional plant knowledge and uses has tended to be widely-scattered in the literature and relatively difficult to access, especially for those who stand to benefit the most from it. A recent …

Regulating Illicit Trade In Natural Resources: The Role Of Regional Actors In West Africa, Emmanuel Aning

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

This article explores the multiple efforts that have been initiated by regional actors in West Africa, mainly ECOWAS, to regulate the illicit trade in natural resources in the context of armed conflicts. It then examines the behaviour of 'spoilers' who are able to circumvent the sanctions regime and governments' domestic regulation. The paper argues that the characteristics and multiple dynamics of the armed conflicts in West Africa have created specific opportunities for economic activities in a thriving parallel economy through the 'illicit' trade in natural resources.