Effects Of Structural Adjustment Research Articles

Structural regulation of Mn-based Prussian blue induced by zinc-substitution for enhanced sodium storage performance

Mn-based Prussian blue (NMF) is a prospective choice for sodium-ion battery cathode materials because of its high theoretical specific capacity, high charge/discharge voltage plateau, cheap raw materials and eco-friendly. However, it undergoes serious capacity fading during cycling owing to the unstable Jahn-Teller distortion caused by the oxidation of Mn2+ to Mn3+. In this work, the structural regulation of NMF is achieved through zinc substitution, and the effect of structural adjustment caused by zinc substitution on the sodium storage properties of NMF is studied in detail. The experimental results verify that NZMF still maintain cubic structure with high content of sodium, less [Fe(CN)6] vacancies and low level of crystal water. Moreover, the four coordination of Zn-N is lower than six coordination of Mn-N, confining the nucleus growth, thereby reducing the powders size of NZMF. The smaller powder size of NZMF with higher surface area results in shortened sodium ion diffusion path and accelerated the charge transfer. In addition, the electrochemically inactive zinc plays a pillar role in maintaining its structural stability. Consequently, NZMF reveals better rate capacity and cycling stability than original NMF. In particular, its capacity can be maintained at 68.6 mAh g−1 under a high current density of 1600 mA/g, and the capacity retention is 76.5% at 800 mA/g after 1000 cycles. This work provides a new insight to improve the structural stability of Prussian blue.

Nigerian Writings (Fragments)

This collection of texts is drawn from the Silvia Federici Papers, recently donated to the Feminist Theory Archives at the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women. The works presented here date from Federici’s teaching work in Nigeria from 1984 to 1987 and include subsequent scholarship and activism as a member of the Committee for Academic Freedom in Africa in the early 1990s. Consisting of journal entries, short articles, and drafts, the writings provide first-hand accounts of the effects of structural adjustment and military government repression on Nigeria’s economy, environment, and education system with emphasis on the accompanying repression of women. A final draft article from circa 1993 unfolds a broad critique of an international capitalist discourse on structural adjustment in Africa and Latin America. A brief introduction by Arlen Austin contextualizes these works in relation to Federici’s oeuvre and the history they address.

An Exploration of the Effects of Structural Adjustment and BRICS Engagement on Development in Zimbabwe Over the Periods 1991–1995 and 2009–2013

ABSTRACTThere are new avenues for development assistance emerging within the twenty-first century. Such prospects have in some cases liberated or increased the ability of African developing economies from the crippling debt associated with more traditional forms of conditional donor aid. As such, the structural adjustment programmes furthered by the Washington Consensus are rapidly losing ground within sub-Saharan Africa. Nations such as Zimbabwe who have often been criticised by Bretton Woods institutions and have had sanctions placed against them by the said institutions. Through comparing these interactions in two distinct time periods (1991–1995 and 2009–2013), the paper shows that the emergent intensified engagement with BRICS has in fact produced more desirable effects, such as growing industry, an improved health care system and better fiscal management. Given the findings mentioned above, the emergence of BRICS intensified engagement poses a threat to neo-liberal imperialism.

Анализ влияния структурной перестройки промотора гена NOS3 на продукцию вазоактивных эндотелиальных факторов

Анализ влияния структурной перестройки промотора гена NOS3 на продукцию вазоактивных эндотелиальных факторов

Fiscal Policy and Urban and Rural Residents’ Marginal Propensity to Consume

Based on the optimal consumption decisions of representative households and the relationship between their decisions and fiscal policy, we evaluate the impact of China’s fiscal policy on urban and rural residents’ marginal propensity to consume. The result shows that since 1998 marginal propensity to consume has decreased by more than 20 percent, and the decrease is not only due to income distribution, economic development level, expectations, consumption structure and other factors, but also closely related to the application of fiscal policy. Among these factors, the overall impact of unanticipated fiscal policy shocks is significant and negative. The policy option of using unforeseen increases in tax revenue as a financing instrument greatly diminishes the positive effects of structural adjustment. Therefore, to increase household consumption, it is necessary not only to raise residents’ capacity for consumption by increasing fiscal revenue but also to stabilize consumer expectations and promote the marginal propensity to consume through adjusting fiscal revenue and expenditure policies.

Working to Survive: Africans Coping and Organizing in Crumbling Economies

Deborah Fahy Bryceson, ed. How Africa Works: Occupational Change, Identity and Morality. Bourton on Dunsmore, U.K.: Practical Action Publishing, 2010. v+ 299 pp. Bibliography by Chapter. Index. $39.95. Paper. Ilda Lindell, ed. Africa's Informal Workers: Collective Agency, Alliances and Transnational Organizing in Urban Africa. London: Zed Books & Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, 2010. viii +238 pp. Bibliography. Index. No price reported. Paper. These two collections address the travails of working in Africa, and both depict die difficult circumstances in which is conducted - especially the corrupt, uninformed, indifferent, or destructive effects of neocolonialism, neoliberalism, and the activities of individual states. As Deborah Bryceson states, households necessitate, communities motivate, markets incentivize and states regulate occupational pursuits of individuals (22), and her compilation considers issues of from a number of points of view and in several country settings. Lindell 's collection is much more focused, and is integrated by its center of attention upon the organization of workers in die informal economy of African cities. My reading of the two books led to somewhat different assessments. I reacted to Bryceson's collection with mixed feelings. On the one hand, the case studies included are all first-rate; with one or two exceptions, they are thoughtful and thorough. At the same time, I felt as if I were in a time warp, in that the chapters related to a period over a decade in die past. It's as if they had been on a shelf gathering dust for ten years. In many ways the economic devastation, the neoliberal programs of the IFIs (though now with a new and soothing vocabulary), and the largely corrupt states continue. However, conditions affecting the case studies from Nigeria, Kenya, Guinea-Bissau, Cameroon, Tanzania, South Africa, DRC, and the continent in general have altered. For example, China has entered the scene, neoliberalism has advanced, globalization is growing, urbanward migration is mounting, and so on; the datedness matters, because the surrounding context has changed. Bryceson has produced numerous vital publications, but this, unfortunately, is not one of them. There is very litde that is novel here in the discussions of SAPs, migration to African cities, economic difficulty, and interfering governments. The empirical investigations are set in the 1990s, and the references (with very few exceptions) are to publications up to the same period. The underlying theme is that relates to social identity, empathy, and trust. As Bryceson writes, people seek self-esteem and a sense of social worth through work (5). Yes, but that's not innovative, it's well known. Even the conceptual basis for the organization of the studies into tiiree groups is not explained, nor is it evident to this reader. However, several individual studies, though dated, are worthy ventures. In chapter 8 Ilda Lindell queries the linkages among work, social networks, and identity formation among die disadvantaged workers in the informal economy of Bissau (the capital of Guinea-Bissau). She concludes that urban informal workers invest in a variety of social networks and make use of multiple identities in order to survive in the contemporary environment (161). In a study that is neady contextualized within the literature on unions in Africa and the history of plantation labor in Ndu, Piet Konings (chapter 12) considers trade union identity among plantation workers in Cameroon and the effects of structural adjustment at a subnational level. The corporation running the plantation eventually became bankrupt, aided by the weak national economy, cheap imports, and massive embezzlement. In Sweet and Sour (chapter 9), Marjorie Mbilinyi investigates how women have gained in economic power through increased labor force participation and innovative earning ventures. …

Democracy’s Friend or Foe? The Effects of Recent IMF Conditional Lending in Latin America

Structural adjustment is commonly prescribed as a condition for receiving loans from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, but the effects of structural adjustment and conditionality are controversial. While much research has been devoted to examining the economic effects of conditional lending, far fewer studies have looked at the political consequences. How do conditional lending agreements affect democracy? Does the number of required reforms or the type of reform play a role? Neoliberal theory suggests that improved economic conditions will result from structural adjustment, and over time this should lead to higher levels of democracy. Conversely, democratic practices may decline in the presence of conditionality as the government reduces civil liberties in an attempt to quell the social unrest that results from structural adjustment. Using a sample of Latin American countries from 1998 to 2003, this article analyzes the effects of both the number and type of required conditions on democracy and finds that while the presence of an IMF loan itself does not affect democracy, loan with a high number of required reforms have a deleterious effect on democratic practices. Further, these effects are conditional upon the type of reform required in the loan. This suggests that IMF efforts to consider the political consequences of reforms when negotiating loans have not been entirely successful and that the number and type of conditional requirements should be carefully considered before their inclusion in a loan agreement.

Directions of Change in Rural Egypt

This volume based on recent field-work by distinguished specialists includes information on the changing economic situation in the countryside, particularly after the 'owners and tenants' law of 1992. Along with the effects of structural adjustment on agriculture, marketing, and rural life, several chapters address the declining trend of rural Egyptians to emigrate. Other chapters examine changes in consumption patterns and health, various rural social processes and the 'new lands' being reclaimed in Egypt's desert areas, representations of the rural population in the media and in statistics, and their own changing self-image. What emerges is a picture of a rural Egypt that is full of life, dramatically evolving, and treading a delicate line between progress and impoverishment. Although nothing is typical of rural Egypt, these papers provide a revealing account of the struggles and rewards that characterize the Egyptian countryside today.

Analysis of Non-conventional Indicators of Gender Relations: Evidence from Pakistan

Since 1980 many developing countries have adopted two major macroeconomic strategies: Stabilisation and Structural Adjustment. A generally held view regarding the impact of these macroeconomic strategies is that it led to unemployment, low investment, decline in real wages, capital flight, rise in inequality and poverty. All these resulted in deterioration in living conditions of the poor in the short run.1 In some cases, the long run benefits, if any, of these programmes are sacrificed due to the high social costs in the short run. A number of studies, examining the impact of the observed macroeconomic impact of the Structural Adjustment Policies (StAP), report mixed impact on women. For example, on the one hand, Khan (1999) found an increasing trend in feminisation of agricultural labour2, and feminisation of poverty3 while Brown (1992), on the other hand, reports employment as a key factor in determining women’s empowerment and argues that some aspects of economic reforms hold for improvement in the long-run. The argument is based on the assumption that greater economic role for women offers protection and that employment itself mitigates against domestic violence. However, the overall effect of structural adjustment is difficult to measure as it varies across countries, across sectors, and across individuals within a household.

Two complimentary and integrated land uses of the western High Atlas Mountains, Morocco: the potential for sustainable rural livelihoods

This paper examines the status of traditional agriculture in two areas of Azilal province in the Atlas Mountains, seeking to identify what is needed to counter any breakdown in livelihood strategies and improve the quality of life enjoyed by the farmers. Irrigated terrace agriculture is an important part of livelihood strategies in the areas studied and has the potential to be more productive and sustainable. In some areas it is reported to be endangered by socioeconomic changes and highland land degradation caused by excessive shifting cultivation, sheep and goat grazing, and charcoal production. Field visits made during summer 1998 to establish the condition of irrigated terrace and runoff agriculture and the factors affecting it showed that in at least one of the villages supportive social capital has ensured that challenges are being met and beneficial innovations are being made. Considerable variation in success was evident from community to community, with some farmers maintaining adequate lifestyles and innovating, while in other communities prospects are less promising. The effects of structural adjustment have clearly been felt and may also have triggered some of the highland degradation and difficulties, which clearly threaten some irrigated terrace agriculture and other livelihood practices.

Report from Nicaragua: midwifery and structural adjustment

A brief review of recent Nicaraguan political history and its impact on health care is presented. Interviews with midwives, nurses, and physicians are reported to illustrate the current health situation in Nicaragua. The effects of structural adjustment and foreign debt repayment on health in Nicaragua are discussed.

Social welfare effects of structural adjustment in Trinidad and Tobago

Social welfare effects of structural adjustment in Trinidad and Tobago

Global Corporate Policy for Financing Health Services in the Third World: The Structural Adjustment Crisis

Western nations and international financiers are usually the donors for most of the Third World countries. International funds allocated for development projects in these nations are under control of such groups, in which global corporate policy, bureaucracy, and neo-liberalization play a major role. International financiers also bias the socio-political, environmental, local administration, and even public health policy of the poor nations. Financial packages are usually sanctioned, distributed, and reimbursed under strict terms and conditions that Third World nations must heed and agree to with the fundamental commitment to change accordingly. Obviously, these terms and conditions are complicated for local governmental authorities. In most of the implementation phase of a project supported by foreign loan/aid, the efficient features of their own or the donors may be reflected, while the proposal and prospects for the actual benefits are left to the local populace. Cutting government spending and neglecting the benefits to poor people, global capitalism maintains corporate policy that may also focus on the goals of profit making instead of public benefit. As such, enhancing privatization, structural adjustments have been devised by the international financiers in many sectors. The reason is that private sectors must necessarily comply with the market dynamics of free choice and with the belief that it could be more efficient and equitable than the local government's action. It is thus important that healthcare professionals, government officials, and others solicit their opinions about international policy on privatization programs through a range of cost-benefit analyses. In order to identify and evaluate the negative effects of structural adjustment, this article comments on international policy for financing health services in the Third World.

The Effects of Structural Adjustment on Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Lowland Bolivia

Bolivia's structural adjustment policies, initiated in 1985, increased poverty among certain groups, but this did not lead to widespread migration to the agricultural frontier. Nor did adjustment greatly affect the average area planted in annual crops by small lowland farmers. Structural adjustment contributed to large-scale forest clearing for soybean production for export and, to a lesser extent, forest degradation by lumber companies. The economic benefits generated by soybean and timber expansion may have outweighed the environmental costs, but alternative policies might have reduced those costs and improved the distribution of the benefits.

The Effects of Structural Adjustment on the Educational Status of African Women: Zimbabwe

The Effects of Structural Adjustment on the Educational Status of African Women: Zimbabwe

The effect of structural adjustment on the Nigerian agricultural export sector

The effect of structural adjustment on the Nigerian agricultural export sector

The effect of structural adjustment on the Nigerian agricultural export sector

The paper investigates the eAects of the trade and foreign exchange manage- ment policies of the structural adjustment programme (SAP) on the Nigerian agri- cultural export sector. Protection rates and the incidence parameter are used to evaluate the policy outcomes over the 1970-92 period. Our analysis indicates that the protection of import-competing sectors has not been eliminated and that it results in the taxation of all exportables, with the largest proportion of such taxes borne by agricultural export- ables. The inability of the SAP policy instruments to achieve their objectives was partly because of failure to maintain consistent policies and partly due to a weak approach to implementation of some policies. #1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The effect of structural adjustment on the Nigerian agricultural export sector

The effect of structural adjustment on the Nigerian agricultural export sector

Beyond Structural Adjustment: State and Market in a Rural Tanzanian Village

Depending on who you listen to, structural adjustment has led to either rapid economic growth or a decline in living standards within Africa. And while in different places both circumstances are probably true, neither scenario describes what I have seen in rural Tanzanian villages since 1984. Despite the predictions about the effects of structural adjustment, my impression is that life goes on with only marginal changes in the daily economic activity of villagers. Economically, things are a little better on some fronts: the clothing is nicer, there are a few more bicycles, etc., but the changes are not dramatic; the daily economic activity is still hoe-based agriculture. It is also unclear whether such incremental improvements would not have occurred given any other macro-economic policy. Indeed in such villages, past macro-economic policies including Ujamaa socialism, market capitalism or even mercantile colonialism can also be correlated with one economic improvement or the other. But as with these past cases, unraveling the relationship between correlation and causation is a tricky business. This paper does this for structural adjustment policies in a single village. This is done by comparing economic activity and relationships in 1985, before structural adjustment policies were adopted, and in 1995-6, well after the policies had had a chance to take effect.

‘To seek happiness’: development in a West African village in the Era of democratisation

This article examines what democracy means to a people who have no direct word for it in their own language. It sets one village's experience of Guine‐Bissau's first multi‐party elections in the historic context of the struggle for independence, the failures of the one‐party state, the difficulties caused by structural adjustment. It sets this experience against theories of democracy as an ideal or as sets of formal arrangements and argues that whilst the latter may have been successfully implemented, democracy will be poorly rooted unless it leads to palpable socio‐economic progress. There are still many problems to be overcome, not least with the lack of resources available to the state, before this is likely to be achieved. This article follows others by Rudebeck: ‘Kandjadja, Guinea‐Bissau, 1976–1986: Observations on the Political Economy of an African village’ (ROAPENo. 41) and ‘The Effects of Structural Adjustment in Kandjadja, Guinea‐Bissau’ (ROAPENo. 49) ‐ which have sought to understand the impact of wider politcal and economic forces on this one village over time. This article is a continuation of that story.