Socio-economic Transformation Research Articles

In the frontier zone of market transition: Economic possibilities across the market/non-market divide

This paper engages with two important approaches theorising the co-existence and even close entanglement between the market and non-market to rethink the making of actually existing market economies. The first, that is, the diverse/community economies approach, underscores alternative relations and ethics to capitalism but often views community economies as external to market processes. A second approach on market frontiers rejects the idea of the non-market domain as a Utopian space but re-imagines it as a constituent part within capitalism, while powerful actors manage and utilise non-market differences to configure particular regimes of accumulation. However, it says relatively little about how the market/non-market divide is navigated and appropriated to suit the wellbeing of grassroots people and communities. This paper calls for a dialogue between the two approaches and argues that community economies provide important ‘background conditions of possibility’ for ordinary people to advance their needs, interests, and wellbeing by negotiating or traversing the market/non-market divide. Our empirical study investigates recent socioeconomic transformations in two villages, Lolong and Nyiru, located within the Potatso National Park, Yunnan Province, China. In both villages, local people keep alive communal norms of reciprocity and mutual support. The persistence of the non-marketised community economies is partly attributed to a state-capital coalition that outlaws grassroots participation in local tourism economy. Subsequently, villagers devise a number of tactics to penetrate the market realm and meet emerging lifestyle and consumer needs. Three of such tactics are discussed in this study.

Empowering Communities: A Socio-Economic Analysis of Self-Help Groups (SHGs)

Self-Help Groups (SHGs) serve as essential vehicles for community empowerment, particularly in regions facing socio-economic challenges. This study aims to provide a comprehensive socio-economic analysis of SHGs, shedding light on their pivotal role in community development. By amalgamating existing literature with empirical research, this investigation delves into how SHGs foster economic independence, social cohesion, and sustainable growth within communities. Through rigorous identification of research gaps and articulation of clear objectives, the study strives to deepen the understanding of SHGs' profound impact on marginalized communities. Findings underscore SHGs as catalysts for socio-economic transformation and pinpoint avenues for enhancing their effectiveness in fostering inclusive development. The insights gleaned from this study hold profound implications for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers, furnishing them with actionable strategies to bolster support for SHGs and magnify their impact on community empowerment. Advocating for a holistic approach to surmounting challenges confronting SHGs, such as limited access to financial services, governance issues, and gender disparities, this research underscores the power of innovation and collaboration in surmounting these hurdles. Ultimately, this study accentuates SHGs' potential to spearhead sustainable development and fortify the resilience of communities.

THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCE FOR STUDENT YOUTH IN THE CONDITIONS OF MARTIAL LAW

THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCE FOR STUDENT YOUTH IN THE CONDITIONS OF MARTIAL LAW

The Loud Silent Side of Single Parenthood in Europe: Health and Socio-Economic Circumstances from a Gender Perspective

AbstractLone parenthood is one of the multiple accepted family types that make up today’s societies. In Europe, 3.2% of total households were single adults with children in 2019. Understanding the socioeconomic and demographic transformations that have led to the relatively high rates of single-parent families have attracted the attention and concern of researchers and policy makers. This study contributes to the literature by exploring trends in and predictors of health outcomes, lifestyle factors (obesity, smoking and alcohol) and social support among single-parent families and cohabiting couples in 20 European countries. To do so, microdata from the European Health Interview Survey-EHIS (2013–2015 and 2018–2020) is used. Running multivariate logistic regressions, we estimate the impact of individual factors associated with single parents’ health status, lifestyle factors and social support, adjusting by demographic characteristics and stressors. Our analysis suggests that both single mothers and fathers are left behind in several respects compared to their couple counterparts: lower education levels, lower income and worse economic conditions, worse physical health, and poorer social support relationships. Differences in health status, lifestyle factors and social support between single and couple parents, both mothers and fathers could be associated with the unequal distribution of demographic and stress factors found in this article. Understanding these characteristics of single-parent families could enable the establishment of community-level interventions to mitigate the adverse effects of lone parenthood and their children.

From New to Indispensable: How the 2004 Enlargement Reshaped the EU’s Transformative Powers

This editorial introduces a thematic issue that examines the consequences of the accession of the Central and East European countries to the EU 20 years onward. The socioeconomic transformation of these countries in the pre-accession period was considered a remarkable success, that was attributed to the EU’s conditionality policy. However, in the post-accession period, when these countries gained full membership rights and began playing a more active political role, they started deviating from some EU norms and rules, against a backdrop of EU crises. This shift has been, notably, reflected in concerns about democratic backsliding and rule of law violations. Nonetheless, the contributions in this issue also underscore that these countries have internalized (both top-down and bottom-up) EU norms and rules to a much greater extent than the focus on conditionality would suggest. Moreover, since Russia invaded Ukraine, Central and East European countries have become entrepreneurs of EU policy and bolstered its transformative power. These findings indicate a need to focus not only on the fundamental shortcomings in these countries—as the attention conferred to the (lack of post-accession) conditionality suggests—but also to consider other factors, such as the quality of the EU’s governance and political system, policy learning, geopolitics, and member states’ domestic politics.

Effectiveness of Billion Trees Tsunami Afforestation Projects in restoration of forests in Pakistan

AbstractThe history of forest cover dynamics in Pakistan reveals an unsatisfactory environmental situation. In the past 5 decades, particularly during the period between 1990 and 2010, the country lost an average of 41,100 hectares of green cover with a deforestation rate of 1.6% per year. The factors behind that this high deforestation rate is numerous including socio-economic transformation after the major political change during the 1970s in the mountainous areas of Pakistan, demographic changes, accessibility improvements, and land use changes. Several social forestry campaigns have been launched over time to cope with this socioecological and environmental issue. However, most of them have not been very effective due to certain shortcomings. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the most recent and history’s biggest forest restoration program initiated by the government of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province called the Billion Trees Tsunami Afforestation Project (BTTAP). This project was announced in 2013 when a new political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, came into power. The study is focused on one of the main forest hubs of the country in the Hindukush Mountains spanning five districts. Forest cover in this study area decreased from 20 to 2% between 1990 and 2010. After the launch of the BTTAP, the forest cover increased considerably from 2 to 35% by the year 2021. This growth was achieved through planting new trees, banning forest cutting, practicing surveillance, and enhancing community participation. If the project continues and the protection measures are not suspended, it can play a historical role in forest restoration.

Suicide mortality rates in Japan before and beyond the COVID‐19 pandemic era

AbstractStatistical analyses from Japan reported increasing suicides in 2020, first in the world, proving the severity of the public health crisis during the COVID‐19 pandemic; however, so far, international suicides have not been shown to be objectively increasing at population level. Followed studies reported the existence of a substantial heterogeneity of suicides among subgroups and time‐lag impacts. Against public health crisis in Japan, policymakers, psychiatrists and public health personnel should prioritize improving suicide prevention programs following evidence‐based policymaking. Understanding how/what factors relate to the COVID‐19 pandemic and what other factors have shaped the increasing suicide numbers since 2020 through objectively well‐controlled/fine‐grained analyses of high‐quality longitudinal/cross‐sectional data at the individual, regional, and national levels is important for identifying the reasons for the recent trend. For this purpose, this study examined suicide statistics, statistical analysis methods, and their interpretations. Recent analyses suggest an increased suicide risk among females <50 years and males <30 years in 2020–2022. Notably, time‐series analyses revealed that adolescent suicides began increasing before the pandemic, while working‐age female suicides sharply increased synchronously with the pandemic outbreak. Causality analyses suggest that social issues facing Japan and recent global psychosocial and socioeconomic transformations are risk factors for suicide in high‐risk groups. Finally, this report demonstrates the importance of providing appropriate support based on an objective understanding of individuals who are at risk for suicide, without being bound by traditional established knowledges.

Exploring Socio-Economic Changes: Demographic Transitions of Syrian Christians in Kerala with special reference to Nordic Model

Abstract: The present study investigates socio-economic changes and demographic transitions of Syrian Christian community in Kerala with a special focus on Nordic Model, which is practised in Scandinavian nations. The theoretical framework draws from the Nordic Model, renowned for its emphasis on social welfare and economic prosperity to analyze its applicability and relevance to the Syrian Christian community in Kerala. This conceptual study delves into the socio-economic transformations occurring within the Syrian Christian community in Kerala with a focal point on demographic shifts, while drawing insights from the Nordic Model. Leveraging secondary databases and existing literature, the research endeavors to discern the intricate relationship between socio-economic variables and demographic trends among Syrian Christians. The conceptual framework integrates theoretical perspectives from sociology, economics, and demography to analyze how socio-economic factors intersect with religious and cultural norms, influencing demographic behaviors among Syrian Christians. Furthermore, this study endeavors to offer theoretical insights and methodological considerations for future empirical research on the topic. This study critically examining existing data and synthesizing relevant literature contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between socio-economic changes, religious identity, and demographic transitions among Syrian Christians in Kerala.

THE IMPACT OF INFLATION TARGETING ON ENSURING ECONOMIC STABILITY

The article provides an analysis of the dynamics of changes in the monetary policy of modern Ukraine. The importance of inflation targeting in the history of Ukraine is global and significant. At this stage, Ukraine uses a managed exchange rate flexibility regime, which is a direct descendant of the exchange rate targeting regime, but this solution is only temporary. In the future, it is the regime built on inflation that will play a key role in the development of a prosperous Ukraine, being the main policy of the National Bank of Ukraine, but the significance of this process is somewhat lost against the background of the country’s socio-economic transformations, which only emphasizes the significance of this analysis. The return to this regime must be gradual and with the rejection of the exchange rate fixation, even in a flexible form, which seems impossible today. Despite this, such a refusal is part of the central bank’s strategy, so it is extremely important to focus attention and analyze such a transition.

Suburbanization Processes in Sofia: Demographic, Socio-Economic and Spatial Transformation of the Agglomeration Area

The paper studies the agglomeration area of Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia. The territorial scope of the metropolitan agglomeration encompasses 7 (LAU 1) municipalities including Sofia, Bozhurishte, Elin Pelin, Gorna Malina, Kostinbrod, Slivnitsa and Svoge, and comprises 146 (LAU 2) individual settlements. The total area of Sofia agglomeration covers almost 3,550 km² (3.2% of national territory), while it had 1,359,270 inhabitants (almost 21% of national population) according to the last population census (7 September 2021). During the whole period between 2001 and 2021, Sofia agglomeration has grown in population by more than 95,000 people (7.6%). Bozhurishte, Kostinbrod and Elin Pelin, along with Sofia municipality itself, are the municipalities with the best demographic indicators within the agglomeration area. According to the typology of Webb, type 6 agglomeration settlements (migratory and natural decrease, natural > migratory) are predominant during the first subperiod (2001-2011), while type 8 (migratory increase compensates for natural decrease) has become the leading type in the second subperiod (2011-2021). Despite the increasing number of type 8 settlements, however, the population decline of Sofia city alone (19,361 people) exceeds more than twice the combined population growth of all type 8 settlements (8,929 people), and as a result – the total population number of the agglomeration declined during the second subperiod. In 2021, the GDP in Sofia agglomeration represented 43% of the national economy, while the GDP per capita in Sofia (BGN 38,891) was more than double of the national average. A significant number of the industrial sites are located in the neighbouring municipalities that fall within the agglomeration, with leading economic activities in manufacturing, transport and logistics. The distribution of FDI, however, is uneven: some 97% of them concentrated in Sofia municipality alone. Sofia agglomeration is distinguished by a relatively stable and balanced labour market, characterized by high economic activity and low unemployment rate compared to other agglomerations in the country. Together with the demographic processes, the increasing soil sealing is another evidence of the spatial expansion of suburbanization. The largest share of new soil sealing was observed in Sofia municipality itself (approximately 370 ha), followed by Elin Pelin (105 ha), Bozhurishte (46 ha) and Kostinbrod (32 ha). Based on the intensity of new constructions and population change, the so-called zone of active inbuence of the agglomeration core has been outlined. The zone is made up of settlements meeting two conditions: they have a high intensity of new constructions and they are type 8 or type 7 according to the typology of Webb in the period between 2011 and 2021. During the considered period, the northern, eastern, southern and western peripheries of the agglomeration area developed each in its own speciac way, with dieerent new construction intensity, morphological structure and inter-settlement spaces. Suburbanization processes observed in Sofia are generally comparable to those of other post-socialist European capitals in terms of historical legacies, demographic transformation, spatial dynamics, and land use shifts.

Empowering the disadvantaged: a perspective on Saudi Arabia’s low-skilled female workers

ABSTRACT For a Saudi woman living in times of rapid socioeconomic transformation, working in a low-paid job may feel both obligatory and shameful. This paper argues that Saudi women – torn between traditionalism and modernity – are deeply impacted, though in ambivalent ways, by the recent empowerment discourse. It examines how the corporate world adopts the empowerment narrative to promote progress, modernity, and openness at the expense of women’s needs, preferences, and values. Through interviews with a diverse cohort of 20 employed women aged 20–45 years, this study seeks to unravel the motivations that drive women to pursue work in a patriarchal society where the conventional role of men entails assuming financial responsibility for women. Through an exploration of the motivations underlying women’s decisions to work – a few of which are the desire for recognition, financial independence, and self-worth – this paper investigates issues of visibility, space, and social responsibility. These key issues emphasize the struggles encountered by working women in attaining empowerment, autonomy, and self-worth despite their participation in the labour market and their financial independence. By examining low-skilled sectors in which women struggle with challenging working conditions, this paper aims to give voice to disadvantaged women who, in the empowerment plans, are left unheard and their future obscured.

Calibrating the Parallax View: Understanding the Critical Moments of the Yugoslav Post-Socialist Turn

In this article, we seek to provide a new line of sight referring to specificities of the neoliberal turn in post-socialist societies and corresponding transformations of space. By employing the methodological approach that side-by-side explores two mutually exclusive strategies of analytical and empirical survey, we intend to tackle the question of irreducible antinomies pertinent to architectural research methodologies. Block 23 of the Central Zone of New Belgrade, designed by Branislav Karadžić, Božidar Janković, and Aleksandar Stjepanović (1968), has been widely recognised and aptly studied as one of the highlights of modern urban planning and design, conceived and realised in the period of late socialism in Belgrade (Serbia, former Yugoslavia). Featuring a notion of a “parallax gap,” we presume that the reading of Block 23 through two close yet clearly distinctive perspectives can bring a new scope of knowledge and point to the gap inscribed in the buildings themselves. The first point of view is empirical, centred on the notion of everyday life, and concerns the interpretation and use of space by its inhabitants. The second one is analytical, determined by the work of the architect and architectural theoretician, Branislav Milenković. We start from their point of contact and seek to find a shift in the diverging discursive positions producing a parallax gap. By way of architectural drawing, we explore and theorise new possibilities opened up by the actual buildings: interstitial, intermediary, transitional spaces, and spatial in-betweens. We hope to demonstrate the pursuit of both meticulously planned and dynamically conceived spaces open for the unpredictable was not only a way to respond to specific Yugoslav socio-political realities, but that it fostered the capacity of architecture to accommodate the future population and socio-economic transformations.

Assessment of the institutional trust level of students in modern Russian society in the context of global cultural and digital transformations

One of the key factors influencing the political development and stability of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as RF, Russia) is trust of citizens in political and social institutions. At the same time, youth is part of the Russian society with which the strategic prospects for progress of the country and vectors of socio-economic transformations are connected. The insufficient degree of confidence in the authorities will hinder effective implementation of societal development processes that also occur in socio-economic and institutional systems. The article presents the questionnaire results of students from Russian universities (N = 780 people) and colleges (N = 780 people) conducted in 2023; educational institutions are located in 41 subjects of the RF in all federal districts. The study revealed a relatively low level of trust of the Russian student youth to various government institutions, while the level of trust in regional authorities is lower than in fede ral ones. This is due to lack of awareness of young people about their activities. Additionally, most of the youth does not undertake a purposeful search and critical analysis of information, does not follow news about the work of authorities. It was also revealed that various network information spaces (social networks, regional digital Internet communities, official websites of government bodies and news portals) have a significant potential to increase institutional trust of students, since they cause the highest level of confidence.

‘There is no compulsion in marriage’. Divorce and gendered change in Afghanistan during the Islamic Republic

ABSTRACT With the Taliban takeover in August 2021, many both outside and inside Afghanistan voiced concern that the conditions of Afghan women would return to those of the 1990s, when the group was last in power. Yet the question of whether the intervening decades of Western-installed rule produced any meaningful improvements in women’s status remains highly contested. This article explores the subject of gendered change during the Islamic Republic (2001–2021) through the growing phenomenon of divorce. We suggest that the notable increase in court divorces during this period did represent a destabilization of the near absolute marital authority that many Afghan men felt to be invested in them by society at large. At the same time, we show that the increasing resolve of women to take marital grievances to court must be located not just in normative shifts, but also in specific socio-economic transformations, which had chipped away at the material underpinnings of marriage as conventionally understood and organized. Overall we find that there were important changes in women’s ability to access certain rights during the Islamic Republic and that the return of Taliban rule therefore is a dramatic setback also for Afghan women’s rights in marriage.

Adult education ecosystem: Terminological field and interdisciplinary thesaurus modelling

Introduction. The relevance of the study is provoked by the rapid expansion of the educational environment, the emergence of new actors and educational service providers, which indicate changes in the institutional landscape of adult education and the development of educational ecosystems. Both in the world and in Russia, there is a growing demand for bridging the qualification gap and retraining a significant part of adults. Therefore, a comprehensive study of continuing adult education, including formal and informal education, that is inseparable from the demands of the platform economy, is becoming extremely important. There is a tendency to transform the idea of an educational ecosystem for lifelong adult learning into a well-thought-out educational policy. However, the problem is that the scientific and methodological substantiation of the ecosystem approach and the subsequent development of managerial work to develop the quality of human capital education are impossible without a unified terminological language of description.Aim. The article is aimed at theoretical substantiation of the terminological field and interdisciplinary thesaurus modelling of the adult education ecosystem.Methodology and research methods. The methodological basis is framed by evolutionary, systematic and interdisciplinary approaches to analyse adult education with regard to complex socio-economic and digital transformations. Using theoretical methods, such as critical, conceptual, comparative, thematic content analysis of Russian and foreign publications, the authors described the categorical field of the problem under investigation.Results. The authors have found that the conceptual and terminological field of the adult education ecosystem is shaped at the intersection of four disciplinary areas (ecology, economy, education, digital technologies). Based on the results, the authors identified the concepts and categories that reveal the processes in adult education; and proposed the idea of an interdisciplinary thesaurus and its conceptual model. Using the developed thesaurus, the authors gave a theoretical explanation for new phenomena and processes in adult education, carried out comparative analysis of the ecosystem with the traditional system of adult education. The authors define the adult education ecosystem as an open multidimensional self-regulating educational environment, where different types of education (formal, informal, corporate training) integrate via modern digital tools, providing symbiosis and co-evolution of participants, new patterns of links aimed at making a valuable offer for learners.Scientific novelty. For the first time, the idea and model of the interdisciplinary thesaurus have been proposed to describe transformation processes in adult education; the concept of “adult education ecosystem” has been revealed; the peculiarities of the adult education ecosystem in comparison with the traditional education system have been identified. The adult education ecosystem is explained as a theoretical construct, a socio-economic phenomenon and a management paradigm.Practical significance. The proposed thesaurus provides a unified description language that is in demand in pedagogical, managerial and scientific discourses. This is of particular importance for practitioners, designers of educational programmes, methodologists, managers, providers of various educational forms in the context of reforming the national adult education system, synchronising supply and demand in the labour market, developing tools for regulation and support of lifelong learning.

Just transition out of coal-fired power: Policy lessons from Australia's automotive sector closure

Nearly three-quarters of Australia's electricity generation is coal-dependent with fossil fuel-led electricity contributing to over a third of Australia's CO2 emissions. Climate change imperatives are calling for permanent shifts to these patterns, leading to early closure announcements of several coal-fired power plants across the country. Although the pace and scale of the energy transition are unprecedented, the closure of large-scale industries is not uncommon. The most recent closure in Australia's industrial past that remains vivid in the nation's collective memory was the end of nearly 70 years of automotive manufacturing.Drawing on expert consultations, and applying just transitions and transition management thinking, this paper identifies four key insights from the auto sector closure experience. These offer compelling pointers to guide socio-economic transformations in frontline regions that are likely to face challenging, often deeply personal, impacts resulting from the closure of coal-fired power stations over the coming decades.

Reconstructing Rural Settlements Based on Investigation of Consolidation Potential: Mechanisms and Paths

Rural settlement consolidation (RSC) is an important tool for improving rural habitat environments, and the potential evaluation of RSC is the premise for rural settlement planning. This paper identified the potential sources of RSC in different reconstruction modes and built an influencing factor system for RSC. We analyzed the spatial differentiation patterns of the theoretical potential and the realistic potential, and we identified the factors influencing the potential realization based on an empirical investigation in China. Influenced by multiple constraints, the potential transition from theoretical to realistic was spatially differentiated and showed a spatial agglomeration at the village level. Rural depopulation had a direct impact on the theoretical potential of RSC, while the distance to the downtown, rural population, per capita GDP, and production and living conditions played an important role in the realistic potential. Particularly, rural settlement basic conditions, rural population, and arable land resources profoundly affected farmer exit willingness and the potential transition from theoretical to realistic. Four optimization paths for rural settlement reconstruction linking to land use policies were proposed, which could provide valuable information for rural settlement planning in socioeconomic transformation regions.

Empowering Women through Microfinance: a Journey of Economic Reform

This study examines how microfinance interventions impact political, social, psychological, and economic empowerment and disempowerment. Disempowerment in the political, social, psychological, and economic spheres sometimes results in prejudice against women in society. As a result, the microfinance scheme for those living in rural areas emerged, concentrating on women as agents of social change. Consequently, several research that used a very broad definition of women empowerment and were published in journals with peer review were left out. To eliminate any uncertainty in the theoretical and empirical foundation, this study's examination of women's empowerment through microfinance is grounded in a comprehensive literature survey. A thorough literature review forms the basis of this study's analysis of women's empowerment via microfinance to ensure completeness in the empirical and theoretical underpinnings. According to the literature, finance as an example has not brought about the necessary socio-economic transformation and has even had negative effects in certain circumstances. However, this study demonstrates that the program for microfinance empowers women and lessens societal inequities to some level.

The Role of Stakeholder Collaboration in Civic Wealth Creation in Pakistan: A Social Entrepreneurial Perspective

The contemporary global landscape is marked by unprecedented challenges, necessitating sustained endeavors toward fostering a sustainable future. In response, a plethora of conceptual frameworks have emerged, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals delineated in 2015. Among these emergent frameworks, civic wealth creation has garnered attention for its perceived efficacy in addressing multifaceted social, economic, and communal challenges, thereby fostering enhanced community well-being. Central to the civic wealth creation paradigm is the recognition of stakeholder collaboration as indispensable for the effective resolution of collective issues. This framework underscores the imperative of concerted collaboration among diverse stakeholders, including enterprises, regimes of support, and beneficiaries, in the pursuit of generating civic wealth. Social enterprises, positioned as hybrid organizations adept at navigating the nexus between economic and social imperatives, assume a pivotal role in facilitating stakeholder collaboration and engendering civic wealth. Against this backdrop, this study delves into the mechanisms through which social enterprises in Pakistan collaborate with diverse stakeholders to engender civic wealth, thereby contributing to the scholarly discourse on sustainable development and socio-economic transformation.

The Impact of Driving Law Reforms on Women’s Employment in Saudi Arabia: An Analytical Study

This paper examines the significant socio-economic transformation following the 2018 driving law reforms in Saudi Arabia, focusing on the impact on women’s employment. By integrating quantitative employment data with qualitative interviews from Saudi women, the study uncovers the multifaceted effects of these reforms on gender norms, labor market participation, and economic diversification efforts under Vision 2030. The findings highlight a notable increase in women’s workforce engagement and discuss the broader implications for societal attitudes towards gender roles.