Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

[Review Of The Book Employment And Development: A New Review Of Evidence, By David Turnham], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] I first encountered David Turnham’s work after majoring in labor economics in undergraduate and graduate school and spending a year in Nairobi studying and modeling the labor market there. The atmosphere in Kenya was crackling with intellectual excitement: John Harris and Michael Todaro had just showed how the solution to urban unemployment might be rural development, George Johnson had demonstrated that earnings function analysis ‘worked’ despite doubts about the quality of developing country data and the applicability of developed country concepts, Dharam Ghai was developing the basic human needs approach to development, and Joe Stiglitz was formulating efficiency wage …

Employment, Income Distribution And Economic Growth In Seven Small Open Economies, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Resurgent interest has been manifested among development economists in trickle-down, i.e., the view that the more rapid the rate of economic growth, the more rapid the improvement in employment and income distribution. Throughout this paper, the term ‘income distribution’ will refer to the location and dispersion of the pattern of incomes, i.e., to ‘absolute incomes and poverty’ and to ‘relative income inequality’. Empirical evidence supports trickle-down in some cases, but the evidence is contrary to trickle-down in others.

These data indicate:

1. A high rate of economic growth is neither necessary nor sufficient for inequality to decline.
2. A high rate …

Income Distribution And Economic Growth, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Who benefits how much from economic growth and why? This question is fundamental to today’s development economics. This chapter reviews some of the major lessons learned and major directions for future research in the study of income distribution and economic development.

Aid, Growth And Jobs, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

Various development objectives are worthy, but one objective merits special attention: reducing the scourge of absolute economic misery in the world. This study focuses on an important but relatively underemphasized approach to poverty reduction: helping the poor earn more in the labour market for the work they do, so that they can buy the goods and services they need to move up out of poverty. The core of the study is divided into three sections: defining the global poverty challenge and the world’s employment problem, presenting policy options for improving employment outcomes for the poor, and suggesting ways of choosing …

Decomposing Ldc Inequality, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] At the present time, there is great interest among development economists in the problem of economic inequality in less developed countries (LDCs). Studies of the determinants of inequality follow either of two general approaches. The more traditional approach is associated with names like Kuznets (1963), Chenery and associates (1960, 1968, 1975), Adelman and Morris (1973), Ahluwalia (1976) and Chiswick (1971). These studies share a common methodology, consisting basically of looking at a cross-section of countries, and (1) measuring the degree of inequality in each, (2) measuring other characteristics of each country (e.g., level of GNP, its rate of growth, …

Private Returns And Social Equity In The Financing Of Higher Education, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] A widespread phenomenon in developing countries has been the rapid growth of schools and institutions of higher learning resulting in a so-called ‘education explosion’. One possible explanation for the education explosion is that education is a profitable personal investment, as evidenced by high private rates of return. The high private returns are translated into demands on politicians for additional schooling spaces. To gain or maintain public favour, each politician uses his influence to try to increase the number of schools in his constituency. By this chain of events, growth of educational systems might be anticipated as long as private …

Changes In Poverty And Inequality In Developing Countries, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

This paper presents new data on poverty, inequality, and growth in those developing countries of the world for which the requisite statistics are available. Economic growth is found generally but not always to reduce poverty. Growth, however, is found to have very little to do with income inequality. Thus the "economic laws" linking the rate of growth and the distribution of benefits receive only very tenuous empirical support here.

App Newsletter 3, Riccardo Pelizzo

Riccardo Pelizzo

third issue of the APP newsletter where we discuss the results of the Nigerian elections, the consequences of falling oil price, and the costs of instability

Work Groups And Teams In Organizations: Review Update, Steve W. J. Kozlowski, Bradford S. Bell

Bradford S Bell

This review chapter examines the literature on work team effectiveness. To begin, we consider their nature, define them, and identify four critical conceptual issues—context, workflow, levels, and time—that serve as review themes and discuss the multitude of forms that teams may assume. We then shift attention to the heart of the review, examining key aspects of the creation, development, operation, and management of work teams. To accomplish objectives of breadth and integration, we adopt a lifecycle perspective to organize the review. Topics involved in the team lifecycle include: (1) team composition; (2) team formation, socialization, and development; (3) …

Development And Validation Of An Australian Video Speed Test (Avst), Jennifer Ann Algie, John R. Rossiter

John Rossiter

Anti-speeding educational campaigns (in television commercials, print ads, and outdoor ads, mostly) are constantly being tried but it is difficult to determine which ads are effective in reducing speed. A promising solution to this problem is to use a behavioural simulation such as the Video Speed Test, the VST (Horswill and McKenna, 1999). The driving simulation test involves getting drivers to view video excerpts of a person driving a vehicle in real driving situations. The drivers then are asked to estimate the speed that they would use in the same situations, that is, how many kilometres/hour slower or faster they …

The Role Of Interpersonal Communication In The Development Of Client Trust And Closeness In A Sme Professional Services Context, Les Kirchmajer, Paul Patterson

Laszlo Kirchmajer

This study develops and tests a model of effective interpersonal communication as an antecedent to client trust and closeness amongst small to medium enterprise (SJ\1E) professional services providerspersonal fmancial planners. A new multidimensional scale for interpersonal communications is developed and tested, resulting in the identification of three dimensions : Communications clarity (5 items),Social communications (4 items), and Information provision (7 items). Client trust is investigated also as a multidimensional construct with credibility trust and benevolence trust being the two dimensions used. Closeness is investigated as a unidimensional construct. The results suggest that there is a positive relationship between communications clarity …

The Development Of An Industry Specific Performance Measurement Model For Service Organisations Within The Small Business Sector, Vicki Baard, Edmund W. Watts

Ted Watts

The role of small business, as part of the value adding chain in any economy, should never be understated. In Australia small business represents 96% of all private sector business, accounts for 47% of all private sector employment and the majority fail within three to five years of establishment. Despite this contribution the small business sector, and in particular the service sector component, appear to be underrepresented in the development of specific performance measurement models, which, within the academic and professional literature appear to focus on their larger firm counterparts. Given the unique position of small business service organisations the …

The Institutional Legacy And The Development Of An Australian National Innovation System, Simon Ville

Simon Ville

Institutions are the rules of the game that help to shape the long-term historical development of societies. They mediate human interaction and can be more or less formal (or tangible) in nature ranging from systems of government to common modes of behaviour. Most formal institutions can be distinguished as economic, social, political or cultural in nature although such distinctions are more difficult to make for informal institutions. What is certain is the pervasive impact of all types of institutions on a country’s multifaceted development. Thus, economic performance may be shaped as much by a nation’s legal system as by its …

The Influence Of Infrastructural Trust On Electronic Commerce Development In Indonesia, Mira Kartiwi, Robert C. Macgregor

Dr Mira Kartiwi

The advent of E-commerce opens an opportunity for fostering an environment that promotes the globa/isation of markets throughout the world, especially those in developing countries /ike Indonesia. The importance of trust as a key facilitator of E-commerce is increasingly being recognized in academic and practitioner communities. However, empirical research in this area has been overwhelmed by contradictory conceptions of the trust construct, while inadequate attention is paid to the influence of trust constructs on E-commerce development in different cultural environments and settings. It is, therefore, the aim of this paper to address the gap by providing an exploratory study on …

The Development Of A User Self-Help Knowledge Management System For Help Desk: Deployment Of Knowledge Management Approach And Software Agent Technology, Kar Yin Leung, Sim K. Lau

Dr Sim Kim Lau

Most help desks have admitted their call volume has increased in the past decade while “help unavailable when needed” is the major reason for service delivery failure and user dissatisfaction. The habit of calling help desk for simple problems has prompted the investigation of transferring part of first-level troubleshooting duty from help desk to user. This research proposes the development of user self-help knowledge management system that allows user to solve simple and routine technical enquiries. The proposed approach incorporates software agent to allow autonomous handling of enquiries so that the most appropriate solution and user communication can be facilitated.

Development Of A Web-Based Student Enquiry System: Integration Of Ontology And Cbr, Sim K. Lau, Seung Hwan Kang

Dr Sim Kim Lau

This paper discusses the development o f a web-based student enquiry system using techniques in case-based reasoning combined with advances in ontology. The system functions as an online enquiry front-desk to allow prospective students to fin d out if they are eligible for admission to a post-graduate course in an Australian University. Ontology is applied in the system to ensure explicit specifications of concept and definition of terminology can be achieved in the web-based system. The system applies case-based reasoning technique to handle the query.

The Effects Of Structure, Communication And Trust Between Marketing And R&D During New Product Development, Elias Kyriazis, Graham Massey

Elias Kyriazis

The ability to effectively manage cross-functional working relationships (CFRs) during innovation is a key success factor in developing successful new products. However, empirical evidence suggests that CFRs during new product development are often problematic, resulting in extremely poor relations between managers, and the development of unsuccessful new products. This paper adds to our existing knowledge on the Marketing/R&D CFR by examining the effects of structural factors, communication behaviours, and interpersonal trust on the dependent variable perceived relationship effectiveness. Our findings reveal that trust has potent positive, direct effects on this CFR. Further, bidirectional communication and quality of communication also have …

A Campus Portal Development Methodology To Match Stakeholder Activity, Tharitpong Fuangvut, Helen M. Hasan

Helen Hasan

Although introduced less than seven years ago, a Campus Portal (CP) can be considered as an emerging technological innovation within higher education institutions. A large number have already adopted the concept and are currently implementing some type of portal to extend the services of their Web site and information systems to support the activities of institutional stakeholders, especially students. There is some literature recommending sets of characteristics and functionality for successful CPs, in particular personalisation and customisation. However there is a lack of evidence on which aspects of core attributes lead to the failure of a portal to satisfy user …

Migrant Remittances, Financial Sector Development And The Government Ownership Of Banks, Arusha V. Cooray

Arusha Cooray

This study investigates the influence of migrant remittances on twodimensions of the financial sector, namely, size and efficiency. Evidence suggests thatmigrant remittances contribute to increasing the size and efficiency of the financialsector. The study, in addition, examines the impact of remittances on financial sectorsize and efficiency through the government ownership of banks channel. While theresults suggest that remittances lead to larger increases in financial sector size incountries in which the government ownership of banks is lower and increases inefficiency in countries in which the government ownership of banks is higher, thegovernment is found to play an important role in promoting …

Paths Of Corporate Development: Directions And Methods Of Growth, Simon Ville

Simon Ville

In Scale and Scope Chandler explained the typical directions of growth followed by large scale American corporations who sustained their industry leadership. I This involved phases of horizontal and vertical integration to capture economies of scale and throughput, followed by product diversification in response to new scientific research, and internationalization to exploit their competitive advantages in foreign markets. This has not been a universal experience of all countries; successful British firms, for example, have been less vertically integrated and Japanese firms were for long reluctant to expand overseas. Typical methods of growth - internal expansion, mergers, and interfirm ventures - …

Agrarian Reform And Philippine Political Development, Frede G. Moreno, Susana Evangelista Leones

Frede G Moreno

Landownership problem and control of resources remains as a political development issue in the Philippines. Agrarian reform is a necessary condition for agricultural modernization and rural industrialization and the fundamental mooring for global competition. Agrarian Reform has contributed to improvement of the socio-economic conditions of landless farmers and political development of the Philippines in terms of engaging the landless in the process of policy making and distribution of large private landholdings to the landless. Modalities giving peasants a stake in society such as decisive role in agrarian legislations, engaging them in dialogue to resolve agrarian cases, presenting manifesto pinpointing their …

[Review Of The Book Beneath The Miracle: Labor Subordination In The New Asian Industrialism], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Have workers in the newly industrializing countries (NIC's) of Asia benefited from the rapid economic growth in their economies? In this important book, Frederic Deyo contends that "beneath the miracle" of economic growth is the "extreme political subordination and exclusion of workers" in the economic development of Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. He sees the inability of East Asian workers to "influence the political and economic decisions that have shaped their lives" as the "dark underside" of Asian economic growth. The main body of the book is an examination of why this subordination has taken place.

[Review Of The Book Technology Choice And Employment Generation By Multinational Corporations In Developing Countries], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] The present volume, by addressing technology choice and employment in multinational enterprises (MNEs), adds to our understanding of the determinants of demand for labor in developing countries. The book synthesizes results from case studies of MNEs in Singapore, Nigeria, Brazil, India, and Kenya, and it does so in such a way that the main conclusions can easily be identified.

[Review Of The Book Studies Of Urban Labour Market Behaviour In Developing Areas], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] In the 1970s social scientists from all disciplines became aware that an understanding of how labor markets function is central to determining who benefits from economic growth. Only a few researchers concerned with the economic development of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, however, have examined labor markets in any serious way. Hence, a compendium entitled Studies of Urban Labour Market Behavior in Developing Areas is particularly welcome.

[Review Of The Book Bridging The Gap: Four Newly Industrialising Countries And The Changing International Division Of Labour], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] The central focus of this book is the labor force in the context of structural change. Its title, "Bridging the Gap," signifies a concern with drawing the NICs closer to the developed world. The author, a senior economist and staff member of the International Labour Organisation, argues that "the experience of these four NICs also holds lessons for OECD countries, as it deals with such now universal issues as the role of government in the promotion of new ventures; how new growth areas can be identified; how foreign investors are attracted; and what the costs and benefits of government …

Who Benefits From Economic Development? Reply, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Before the appearance of my 1977 paper in this Review, it was widely thought that the income distribution worsened during the economic growth which took place in Brazil during the 1960's. My paper demonstrated that the familiar data, when analyzed from an absolute perspective, could show that the poor had benefited from growth. I found that the entire income distribution shifted, benefiting every income class; that the proportion of the economically active population with incomes below the poverty level (as defined by Brazilian standards) declined during the decade; that those who remained poor were less poor than before in …

Educational Progress And Economic Development, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Many development agencies seek to channel economic assistance to those less-developed countries (LDCs) and activities that will help the poor to achieve a better life (this phraseology is from the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act as amended in 1975). Education is an important indicator of countries' performance. This chapter examines the suitability of alternative education indicators as guides for planning and evaluating countries' progress and commitment toward increasing the participation of the poor in development.

Assessing Progress Toward Greater Equality Of Income Distribution, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Income distribution is only one indicator of economic well-being useful in gauging improvements in the economic position of the poor; change in income distribution, appropriately conceived and measured, is as good a criterion as any for assessing progress toward the alleviation of poverty. Income is intimately bound up with a family's command over economic resources. Rising modern-sector employment or reduced infant mortality might be suggestive of improvements in the economic position of the poor; gains in real income among low-income groups provide direct evidence that poverty is being alleviated. This chapter answers the following questions: What are the strengths …

Education And Income Distribution In Developing Countries: A Review Of The Literature, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] This paper is a survey of the available literature on education and income distribution in developing countries. Education may affect the distribution of income in a variety of ways: by raising the level of income; by changing, for better or worse, the dispersion of income; by opening up new opportunities for the children of the poor and thereby serving as a vehicle for social mobility and/or, by limiting participation to the children of the well-to-do, transmitting intergenerational inequality; by offering greater access to favored segments of the population (boys, city-dwellers, certain racial groups); by rewarding differently the education received …

Growth And Distribution In The Market Economies Of East Asia, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

This is a review and comparison of seven books dealing with income distribution and economic development focusing on the countries of East Asia. The books reviewed are: Irma Adelman and Sherman Robinson, Income Distribution Policy in Developing Countries. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979. Edward K. Y. Chen, Hyper-Growth in Asian Economies: A Comparative Study of Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1979. John C. H. Fei, Gustav Ranis, and Shirley W. Y. Kuo, Growth with Equity: The Taiwan Case. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980. Walter Galenson, ed., Economic Growth and Structural Change …