Between Desk and Field: Rethinking the History of Knowledge Production in International Rural Development, 1960s–1970s

Bibliography

This research was designed to review improvements of efficiency of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) as a way to facilitate decision-making on project priority in international rural development in the following ways; to apply an AHP method; to discover issues that might arise in the research preparation, conduct, and analysis; and ultimately to expand a practical use of AHP in recipient countries. The survey questioned residents of the Dadeldhura district in Far-Western Region of Nepal, on the assumption that one donor country has a plan to implement projects for rural development in a community. This research collected 104 questionnaires. 55 questionnaires with a Consistency Ratio (CR) greater than 0.2 were excluded and 49 questionnaires were accepted for AHP analysis. The rejection rate reached 52.9%. The results of AHP analysis showed that residents considered Number of Beneficiaries the first priority in terms of Criteria. They selected Education as the first priority project that most reflected their opinion. The top three priority projects were Education, Public Health/Hygiene/Sanitation, and Income Generation. Although the AHP method can be a useful tool in deciding project priority, some problems were revealed during the process of preparing and carrying out a survey. By addressing these problems and improving on its application, the AHP method can be expected to contribute to the academic field of international rural development and to allow for a more accurate selection of projects that fully reflect residents’ needs at the early stages of implementation in rural communities of recipient countries.

Bibliography

Through analysis of the development path and phase characteristics of the typical rural area in the developed country, including East Asian model of Japan and South Korea, Western European model of Germany and Netherlands, the paper points that the former is based on a big gap between urban and rural development, and the latter is based on the balance of urban and rural development, but the final building level are to achieve the international leading goal. In contrast, it appears China's beautiful countryside of Anji county and Green agricultural base of Xianju county in Zhejing province. Finally, it sums up the dynamic mechanism of domestic and international rural development, including the industrial system, infrastructure, ecology environment and local culture.

The Adoption of International Labor Standards Conventions:Who, When, and Why? Nancy H. Chau and Ravi Kanbur In the empirical literature on labor standards and economic performance, the adoption of international labor standards is measured by the ratification of International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions and is treated as an exogenous variable that explains labor costs, growth, exports, or inward foreign direct investment. For example, OECD attempts to relate aggregate and labor intensive exports to the ratification of ILO conventions.1 No relationship is found, which is interpreted by some as suggesting that there are no economic costs to the adoption of labor standards. But Mah, who also investigates the role of labor standards on export performance, finds a negative association between the ratification of certain "core" ILO conventions and performance.2 Rodrik tries to explain manufacturing labor costs and finds that the number of conventions ratified is statistically significant.3 Palley finds a positive association between economic growth and the ratification of the Freedom of Association Convention.4 But Rama argues that the number of ILO conventions ratified is not significant as a determinant of growth performance in Latin America.5 Throughout this empirical literature, therefore, the ratification of ILO conventions is assumed to provide information on labor standards adopted and [End Page 113] implemented in a country. This paper's object is to investigate the determinants of ratification directly and, indirectly, the determinants of labor standards. It presents an empirical analysis of the time patterns and determinants of ratification. Despite the relative lack of emphasis on enforcement and punishments associated with these conventions, we find evidence suggesting a process of self-selection and matching in which the probability of ratification depends on country characteristics. For example, we find that peer effects are in play. For some conventions the probability of ratification depends on how many other countries in a peer group have already ratified that convention. Click for larger view View full resolution Table 1. Core ILO Conventions and Dates of Entry into Force The following section of this paper introduces the ILO core conventions that are the focus of interest, presents basic data on their ratification, and begins the discussion on basic time patterns in ratification. Next, the paper develops an analytical framework for the empirical analysis by considering the ratification decision and its determinants. This is followed by econometric results and a conclusion. ILO Core Conventions: Who Ratifies and When ILO conventions are international treaties, subject to ratification by member states. There are now more than 180 conventions on a wide array of subjects. But the ILO itself has established a set of core labor standards. These standards are laid out in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work under four main headings, as shown in table 1.6 These constitute the eight fundamental conventions of the ILO. [End Page 114] However, the decision to ratify any of these conventions remains the right of each member nation, and it reflects willingness on the part of the ratifying country to enact legislation, and put in place mechanisms that facilitate implementation in practice. On the part of the ILO, three types of mechanisms are in place to ensure compliance. First, systems of supervision are in place to improve transparency and to oversee compliance.7 A second component of ILO activities that facilitates improvements of labor standards takes the form of technical assistance and financial support, especially for the poorest countries. Finally, in cases of violation where recommendations are not responded to, Article 33 of the ILO constitution provides that the ILO Governing Body may recommend "action as it may deem wise and expedient to secure compliance therewith" against the violating country. These mechanisms outline the extent to which there may be explicit costs and benefits associated with ratifying ILO conventions. But what is repeatedly stressed in policy and popular writings is that sanctions against noncomplying members have very rarely been invoked. And it is generally agreed that the ILO lacks "teeth" to enforce implementation of conventions that have been ratified.8 Allegations have also been raised regarding the ILO supervisory system.9 In particular, as measures against violating countries are typically based either on complaints by...

International rural development and rural sociology.

Introduction

Charles W. Bergquist (1942–2020)

Reports that emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) experienced a decline in informality over two decades before the COVID-19 pandemic. Output informality declined most in East Asia and Pacific and South Asia, while employment informality fell most in the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet the incidence of informality remains high in all regions. In South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, pervasive informality has associated with low human capital and large agricultural sectors. In Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa, heavy regulatory and tax burdens and weak institutions have proven important factors. In addition, legacies of the transition from central planning to market economies and disruptions related to conflict remain important. In East Asia and Pacific, employment informality associates with lagging social protection in cities following large-scale rural-to-urban migration. A balanced policy mix tailored to economy-specific circumstances can help mitigate the adverse effects of informality.

The price of food has become very volatile in recent years for a variety of reasons, including a strengthened connection between the prices of agricultural commodities and other commodities such as oil and metals, more volatile production due to more frequent droughts and floods, and a rising demand for biofuels. Understanding the determinants of agricultural commodity prices and the connections between prices has become a high priority for academics and applied economists who are interested in agricultural marketing and trade, policy analysis and international rural development. This book builds on the various theories of commodity price relationships in competitive markets over space, time and form. It also builds on the various theories of commodity price relationships in markets that are non-competitive because processing firms exploit market power, private information distorts commodity bidding, and bargaining is required to establish prices when the marketing transaction involves a single seller and buyer. Each chapter features a spreadsheet model to analyze a particular real-world case study or plausible scenario, and issues considered include: the reasons for commodity price differences across regions the connection between the release of information and the rapid adjustment in a network of commodity prices the specific linkage between energy and food prices bidding strategies by large exporters who compete in import tenders The simulation results that are obtained from the spreadsheet models reveal many important features of commodity prices. The models are also well suited for additional "what if" analysis such as examining how the pattern of trade in agricultural commodities may change if shipping becomes more expensive because of substantial increase in the world price of oil. Model building and the analysis of the simulation results is a highly effective way to develop critical thinking skills and to view agricultural commodity prices in a rigorous and unique way. This is an ideal resource for economics students looking to gain develop skills in the areas of Agricultural Marketing, Commodity Price Analysis, Models of Commodity Markets, Quantitative Methods and Commodity Futures Markets.

LABOR HISTORY SYMPOSIUM

International organizations are considered to be central actors on the stage of world politics. They are not simply passive collections of rules or structures through which others act. Rather, they are considered to be active agents of global change. International organizations are often the actors to whom we defer when it comes to defining meanings, norms of good behaviour, the nature of social actors, and categories of legitimate social action in the world. The article has an interdisciplinary approach to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and its Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent countries. The approaches of international relations and international law helps explain the power the ILO exercises in national and world politics. These insights are illustrated by exploring why state agents comply with norms promoted by the regime of ILO Convention No. 169. The article briefly introduces the historical approach of the ILO to indigenous issues and the complexity related to the concept of indigenousness; the highly relevant debate when states are considering the ratification of the Convention and even when implementing it. The Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) in the ILO structure is the most central body guiding the States to normative and political changes in their domestic practices. It is argued that the Committee is using its authority and power through the normative regime and its supervisory mechanisms, and therefore is also interpreting the Convention. The system as a whole has effects on traditional state sovereignty and the demands of indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination. The research questions focuses also on the compliance, implementation and effectiveness of international Conventions. The article has a Nordic approach with comparison to different approaches related to Article 1 dealing with the subjects/objects of the Convention and also different land right situations (Articles 13‐19) especially in Latin America.

Everything in our legislations that shields and protects the rights of the workers is due solely to Geneva; this is the conclusion that must be reached by anybody who reads the laws of our countries retrospectively, and who observes that everything in them that is salutary, humane, just and equitable is derived from Geneva; and it is to Geneva that we must turn, with praise and gratitude for all that America owes her.2 At the Second Conference of American States Members of the International Labour Organization (ILO), which took place in Cuba in 1939, the Mexican delegate Isidro Fabela felt inspired to pay tribute to ‘Geneva’ and the ILO. Was this a case of sheer diplomatic politeness? Didn’t the Mexican constitution of 1917 guarantee the eight-hour day, the right to organize unions and to strike before the ILO was even established? Moreover, Fabela’s statement contrasts with other assessments of Latin America’s relation with the ILO: contemporaries as well as historians who have assessed Latin American participation at conferences and the number of ratifications of ILO Conventions often concluded that the ILO did not have much of an impact in Latin America before the 1950s.3 This chapter aims to reconcile these contrasting views and proposes a complex pattern of interaction between Latin American reformers and international organizations.KeywordsMinimum WageLatin American CountryInternational Labour OrganizationPrice ControlFood PolicyThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Using archival sources, the authors study strategic and organizational change in the International Labour Organization (ILO) over the last twenty years. They focus specifically on the ILO's efforts to incorporate certain elements of the “new governance” model into its policies and organizational practices, which include the shift from standards expressed as detailed legal norms to “soft law”; the active involvement of civil society organizations other than trade unions and employer associations in regulatory activities; and the introduction of quantitative indicators of compliance with labor standards. They argue that the efforts of the ILO leadership have been waylaid by the organization's corporatist structure, which gives employer associations and trade unions veto power over policy developments at a time in which these actors are increasingly unable to agree on concrete policy measures. Finally, the authors ask whether this corporatist structure accurately reflects the ILO's self-defined mission: providing “decent work for all.”

Health and development are two intimately linked concepts that are often labeled as “global health.” International development has a transformative effect on the health landscapes in the Global South (referring to the division of countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia that are in processes of development). Despite the close relationship between the two fields, in practice there is very little concern or connection between development practitioners and health practitioners. This tangential relationship results from a lack of specific attention to the social and environmental determinants of health in the Global South. The tendency for development to see economics first, and for health workers to see the absence of illness first, has created a fractured approach to meeting the health needs of the global poor, which has unfortunately contributed to the failure to meet the millennium development goals in their entirety. Greater attention to the dynamics of place is needed by both development and health practitioners to address the structural determinants of health in the twenty‐first century.