Growth and Development Commons^™

A Case Study Analysis Of A Regional Food System: The Sustainable Agriculture Consortium For Historically Disadvantaged Farmers Program, Tasha M. Hargrove, Walter A. Hill, John Brown, Miles Robinson, Iris Cole-Crosby, Elizabeth Myles, Billy Lawton, Karla Martin

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

The Sustainable Agriculture Consortium for Historically Disadvantaged Farmers Program (SACH) was designed to carry out an experiment by five 1890 Land-Grant Universities in partnership with five farmer based cooperatives in five states to assess marketing fruits and vegetables to Walmart from a regional perspective. Using the Consortium as a case study, this study assessed the Consortium within the framework of implementation evaluation; data were collected using semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The study answered questions such as, what did the Consortium do, and what were some of the accomplishments of the Consortium? The farmers were able to: negotiate price points; …

Three African Futures, John Page

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Africa has experienced a remarkable turn-around in economic performance since 1995. It grew at around 4.6 percent per year during the first decade of the 21st century, and the region boasts three of the world’s ten fastest-growing countries. Cheerleaders as diverse as the Economist and the World Bank have branded Africa the developing world’s next “frontier market”. But beneath the headlines lie some disturbing realities. Africa is not creating enough good jobs – those capable of paying decent wages and providing opportunities to develop skills – and it is not reducing poverty at the same rate as other parts of …

Quick Facts About South Omaha, Office Of Latino/Latin American Studies (Ollas)

Latino/Latin American Studies Other Publications

Quick facts about South Omaha, produced by OLLAS for the Midwest Sociological Society (MSS) Annual Meetings, which took place at the Hilton Omaha, Thursday, April 3 - Saturday, April 5. The MSS hosted a tour of South Omaha on Saturday, April 5 from 9:30-11:00am.

Hope Vi-Old Colony: An Evaluation, Center For Social Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Center for Social Policy (CSP) is continuing its ongoing evaluation role with HOPE VI, a federally funded program operated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. HOPE VI allows public housing authorities to apply for funding to redevelop severely distressed housing developments. The Old Colony development is currently the most physically distressed site in the Boston Housing Authority’s federal portfolio, with aged systems and infrastructure and high annual energy and water costs. This project began in January 2014.

The Post-Industrial And The Urban Village: A Study Of Land And Space In Beijing’S Caochangdi Art District, Ke Li

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Arts districts have traditionally been associated with industrial areas that have been reconstructed to fit post-industrial economies. From Tate Modern in the U.K. to 798 in Beijing, abandoned factories have been refitted into cultural clusters. Yet, there is a research gap when concerning arts district in less traditional spaces. This study examines how this framework applies in Beijing’s Caochangdi art district, aiming to understand how place-specific factors influence the development of an arts district and what Western gentrification theory looks like in a Chinese light. During the month of May 2014, I conducted twenty interviews, including nine with members of …

Explaining And Fixing The 'Weak Governance Curse' In Resource-Rich Least Developed Countries, Patrícia G. Ferreira, Landry Signé

Southern African Journal of Policy and Development

There is a resource boom in the least developed countries, including those in Southern Africa. In order to translate their resource wealth into positive development outcomes in the long run, these countries need to have strong domestic governance systems. Yet, governance indicators in resource-rich LDCs have stagnated or deteriorated in the last decades. We use a new institutional analysis with a focus on path dependence theory to argue that these countries are caught in a “weak governance curse”. Besides having inherited dysfunctional governance paths from past critical junctures, rent-seeking behavior associated with resource rents constitutes a major contemporary political economy …

Review Of Morten Jerven, Poor Numbers: How We Are Misled By African Development Statistics And What To Do About It, Marja Hinfelaar, Caesar Cheelo

Southern African Journal of Policy and Development

No abstract provided.

Environmental Impacts Of The Battery Cage Industry Depicted Through Sculpture, Amber Kraus

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the planet’s population increases, so does the demand for mass-produced food products. The result of the increase in demand has been the rapid development of the factory farming industry. A prominent component of the factory farmed by-product industry is the battery cage egg-farming scheme, which has cultivated immense amounts of ecological damage to the hens and environment involved. The damage studied includes: air and water pollution, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and fossil fuel use. The environmental damage is prevalent throughout the Australian state of New South Wales, and the public must be informed.

The visual arts were utilized as the …

Analyzing The Dynamics Of The Artisan Fishing Industry And Lapsset Port In Lamu, Kenya, Valerie Rodden

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The LAPSSET project has the potential to severely impact the artisan fishing industry in Lamu. Through the provision of a perception focused survey and a few one on one interviews with artisan fishermen and key stakeholders in the industry, this study creates a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between the fishing industry and the LAPSSET project. The fishermen of Lamu are most concerned about the lack of communication concerning the port’s activities and the blocking of fishing areas during port construction and operation. In general, there is a great sense of fear surrounding the port and the future of …

Population, Progeny And Power: Analyzing Population Growth, Family Planning And The Factors That Contribute To High Child Bearing Rates In Kizanda Village, Tanzania, Jade Enright

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The population growth rate is reaching an astounding level in Tanzania and Eastern Africa. It is applying increasing pressure on things like social services, land availability, job opportunities, conservation and localized resources. This study looks at the perceptions of both men and women surrounding social and environmental factors contributing to the high population growth rate. It looks more specifically at factors including childbearing, birth control methods and their effectiveness, and how the birth rate correlates with changing quality of life. This study was conducted in Kizanda Village in the West Usambara Mountains of Northern Tanzania, a region following the trend …

Powering Rural Transformation: Solar Pv In Rural Uganda., Matt Piggins

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The intent of this study was to understand the role that solar PV plays in the process of rural electrification, what barriers exist in the PV market, and how the Rural Electrification Agency is bringing down those barriers. Moreover, I sought to understand solar PV’s development impact in rural areas and how people in rural regions of Uganda are using the technology, especially those at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Additionally, I sought to understand if PV is a financially viable option for the rural poor or if it is only obtainable by the rural upper and middle class. …

Cultivating Rice In Import Dependent Cameroon: A Case Study Of The Successes And Challenges Facing Rice Farmers In Santchou, Cameroon, Kim Horwitz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Cameroon is qualified as an import dependent country, meaning it relies on imported food to feed its population. Specifically, Cameroon imports over 80% of its rice consumption, spending 145 billion French CFA on rice imports yearly. But, Cameroon has sufficient untapped arable land and a large enough agriculturally centered population to produce adequate rice quantities to meet demand without relying on imports. This paper examines the challenges facing rice farmers in Cameroon in the context of import dependence and why local farmers cannot currently produce enough rice to meet local demand, focusing on the experience of the rice farming community …

Tabasará Libre: A Case Study Of Development And Indigenous Rights, Katharine Evans

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since the 1960s, indigenous groups in Panama have been fighting to maintain their land and ways of life against the growing threat and reality of national development. This study uses the Barro Blanco Hydroelectric Power Project as a case study to examine the consequences of development and the ultimate role that development plays in indigenous marginalization and assimilation. Data was collected through interview, participatory observation, and outside research over the course of a three week period. Findings include the role the government, legislation, and the public have played in this fight.

Window To The Unbanked: The Potential Of Mobile Money As A Means Of Saving In Uganda, Allison Ryder

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The meaning of poverty is more than just merely the shortage of money. It is the lack of access to the instruments and means through which the poor could improve their lives. Many people lack appropriate means to manage their finances, which limits their economic potential and renders them vulnerable to exogenous shocks. Increasing financial inclusion to those without access contributes to poverty reduction by providing people with means to manage their finances. This study was conducted through a month long internship at the Bank of Uganda following with a short trip to Gulu, northern Uganda. The objective of this …

Capital Markets For Community Development Lenders: Q & A., Michael E. Swack

Economics

No abstract provided.

Banking Sector Reform In Ethiopia, Admassu Bezabeh, Asayehgn Desta

Collected Faculty Scholarship

The fragile and inefficient state-dominated banking sector that existed in Ethiopia during the military government (1974-1991) was a major hindrance to economic growth. Since it took power in 1991, the current government has implemented a number of reforms. For instance, in 1994, the government legalized domestic private investment in the banking industry. In addition, it restructured the two development banks as commercial banks, and introduced a new Banking and Monetary Proclamation that gave more autonomy and further clarified the National Bank of Ethiopia’s activities as the regulator and supervisor of the banking sector. Although these measures have led to marginal …

Issue Brief: Asset Management For Stormwater, New England Environmental Finance Center, Sustainable Communities Learning Network

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Asset management is a strategic approach to maintaining and sustaining infrastructure in order to meet the needs of the community at the lowest overall life cycle cost. This approach helps communities know how and where to prioritize limited funds in order to achieve the greatest benefit. Often applied to drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, this method is well suited to managing any assets, including stormwater systems.

This issue brief is intended to introduce local governments to the asset management process and to show how it can be applied in managing stormwater assets. It was adapted from an appendix written by …

Economic Voting, Sociotropic Vs. Checkbook: Cases From Greece And Germany, Matthew Coen-Tuff

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Economic voting, the theory that when the economy is good the party in control gains support and when the economy is bad the party in power suffers. This is a simplistic definition and economic voting is so much more. In this paper I seek to prove how economic voting can be broken down into two categories, sociotropic and checkbook. I do this by looking at two countries in very different situation. Greece is a country going through economic turmoil and is constantly changing which party is in control of the government. It has been suffering especially hard from a debt …

A Laplace Stochastic Frontier Model, William C. Horrace, Christopher F. Parmeter

Center for Policy Research

We propose a Laplace stochastic frontier model as an alternative to the traditional model with normal errors. An interesting feature of the Laplace model is that the distribution of inefficiency conditional on the composed error is constant for positive values of the composed error, but varies for negative values. Therefore, it may be ideally suited for analyzing industries with many forms on or close to the efficient frontier. A simulation study suggests that the model performs well relative to the normal-exponential model when the two-sided error is misspecified. A brief application to US Airlines is provided.

La Coexistencia De Dos Agriculturas En Argentina Una Mirada A La Vida De Una Granja Familiar: ¿Cómo Sobrevivir Al Lado De Las Grandes Empresas?, Camille Sanchez De La Vega

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Desde los primeros años del siglo XX, el desarrollo de Argentina como país estaba coincidió con el desarrollo de la industria agrícola. Hoy, Argentina es famosa por su papel en el mercado global como exportadora de bienes naturales. No solamente es un país con uno de los niveles más altos de alimentos transgénicos, sino que tiene el título del mayor exportador de producción orgánica en América Latina. Con los dos tipos de agricultura —exitosos pero contradictorios— con un enfoque hacia la exportación, quería entender como esta coexistencia está reflejada en el mercado interno para los bienes naturales.

A través de …