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Newsletter, Riccardo Pelizzo

riccardo pelizzo

first issue of the African Politics and Policy Newsletter

Oil Wealth, Resource Curse And Development: Any Lessons For Ghana?, Felix Kumah-Abiwu, Edward Brenya, James Agbodzakey

Felix Kumah-Abiwu

Ghana’s new status as an oil-producing country has invigorated the scholarly debate on the resource curse theory, which assumes that countries with vast natural resource wealth like oil, diamond and gold are likely to experience slow economic growth and development as compared to countries with scarce natural resources. Although the development literature is well endowed with cases of countries with huge natural resources that have experienced slow economic growth, the literature is also clear on few other countries with enormous natural resources that continue to experience high economic growth due to strong political institutions and democratic practices. Norway and Botswana …

Good Enough Governance Wie Kommt Der Südsudan Zu Tragfähiger Staatlichkeit Und Funktionierender Verwaltung?, Marcus Schaper

Marcus Schaper

Sicherheit und staatlicher Aufbau werden heute bei der Stabilisierung und Friedenssicherung fragiler Staaten immer zusammen gedacht. Im Südsudan steht das nächste große Staatsaufbauprojekt an, von dem für die Sicherheitslage in der volatilen Region am Horn von Afrika viel abhängt.

Bisher haben westliche Staatsaufbaustrategien den westlichen demokratischen Nationalstaat und seine Verwaltung zum Vorbild genommen, um Unterstützung beim Aufbau ähnlicher Strukturen zu leisten, zuletzt im Irak und in Afghanistan. Die Ergebnisse dieser Strategien sind sehr durchwachsen. Kritiker führen an, dass die schlechte Performanz an mangelnder Berücksichtigung der Bedürfnisse und vorhandener Governance-Strukturen in den Zielländern liegt.

In der Forschung werden mit hybrid political …

Linking Development And Innovation: What Does Technological Change Bring To The Society?, Evgeny A. Klochikhin

Evgeny A. Klochikhin

Recently, there has been a popular trend in academic research for paying more attention to ‘pro-poor’ policies and theoretical studies. This tradition has emerged from a broader understanding of development that includes not only economic but also social and political dimensions. Meanwhile, innovation researchers are still considering development as mere economic growth without much focus on the social impacts of technological change. This article recognizes that, despite these fundamental differences, the concepts of innovation and development have much in common and are, in fact, positively connected and mutually beneficial. This assumption has some important implications for the innovation and development …

Of Reverie And Emplacement: Spatial Imaginings And Tourism Encounters In Nepal Himalaya, Francis Khek Gee Lim

Francis Khek Gee Lim

No abstract provided.

Empirical Analysis Of Poverty And Inequality In West Virginia, Hector Addison

Hector Addison

Poverty and income inequality have attracted a lot of attention in recent literature and policy discussions. Using Ordinary Least Squares and Two stage least squares and cross sectional data for all counties in West Virginia, this study examines the determinants of poverty and income inequality and possibility of simultaneous relationship between them. Findings indicate there is a weak simultaneous relationship and income inequality is declining among aged 65 and above. Education, seen as social equalizer does not provide any evidence in reducing income inequality in West Virginia but as more and more women take up headship in families, poverty and …

Timbuktu: A Lesson In Underdevelopment, Riccardo Pelizzo

riccardo pelizzo

Th e purpose of the present paper is to investigate Timbuktu’s economic decline in the three centuries elapsed between 1526, when Leo Africanus reached the Mysterious City, and 1830, when the fi rst European explorers arrived in Timbuktu. It is argued that Timbuktu’s decline was neither an accident nor the result of inevitable natural conditions. Timbuktu’s decay was the product of historical and social forces. Specifi cally, it is argued that Timbuktu lost power and prestige because its market decayed. However, it is also suggested that no single factor can account individually for this event. Th e crisis of Timbuktu’s …

Tonga: Rural Employment And Development, Piyasiri Wickramasekara

PIYASIRI WICKRAMASEKARA

The report first highlights the nature of the rural employment problem In Tonga in the early 1990s. It goes on to discuss important Issues affecting the rural and agricultural sectors. The study further reviews the institutional machinery for rural development and makes a number of recommendations for an employment-oriented rural development strategy.