摘要:

ABSTRACTThe state‐system of Africa is still essentially the one created by the colonial powers and passed on intact at independence. But the political economy of these states — the substance of political life within fixed territorial boundaries — is changing very profoundly as a result of the breakdown of the style of government of recent decades and the decline of economies based on the export of primary commodities. The political economy which is emerging, still within the same territorial boundaries, is best understood by reference to Africa's history over a long p

ISSN:0012-155X    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-7660.1996.tb00577.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACTThe evolutionary theory of land rights can be considered the dominant framework of analysis used by mainstream economists to assess the land tenure situation in developing countries, and to make predictions about its evolution. A central tenet of this theoryis that under the joint impact of increasing population pressure and market integration, land rights spontaneously evolve towards rising individualization and that this evolutioneventually leads rightsholders to press for the creation of duly formalized private property rights — a demand to which the state will have an incentive to respond. This article looks critically at the relevance of the evolutionary theory of land rights as currently applied to Sub‐Saharan Africa. In particular, the question of whether the establishmentof private property rights is an advisable structural reform in the present circumstancesis examined, in the light of evidence accumulated so far. It will be argued that most of the beneficial effects usually ascribed to such a reform are grossly over‐estimated and that, given its high cost, it is generally advisable to look for more appropriate solutions that rely on existing informal mechanisms at community

ISSN:0012-155X    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-7660.1996.tb00578.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACTMuch of our present day perception of African agriculture is still indirectly based on the coloured accounts of the early explorers and administrators. It involves an often very static conception of ‘traditional’ African agriculture. Not only does this fail to dojustice to the rich and dynamic history of African agriculture, it has also led to an inappropriate research and development paradigm which treats African agriculture as a disrupted equilibrial system that needs readjustment to return to an equilibrial and productivestate. A diachronic study of African agricultural history reveals that many of our preconceptions of African society and agriculture are invalid: agriculturists are not inert, but respond in innovative and dynamic ways to the perturbations of their natural and socialenvironment. It appears that their survival is not so much dependent on the establishmentof a fine‐tuned equilibrium, but rather on the dynamic responses to these external disturbances. It is very likely that the agro‐ecosystems in large parts of Africa function mainly as non‐equilibrial (unstable), but nevertheless persistent systems. This has importantimplications for development interventions and agricultural research. It requires a shiftfrom a synchronic approach to a diachronic approach that is firmly based on an understaning of

ISSN:0012-155X    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-7660.1996.tb00579.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACTThe debate on the agrarian problem in developing countries has alternated between a stress on the necessity for land reforms and an emphasis on the introduction of productivity‐enhancing technology, leading to a trickle‐down effect. In the Indian state of West Bengal, the former strategy has been pursued since the mid‐1970s. Most observers agree that this approach has stimulated a ‘virtuous circle’, leading to higher production, a decrease in poverty and in polarization, and a perceptible improvement of the human development index. This article addresses the causality sequence, namely, whether land reform or irrigation has acted as the kick‐start mechanism to these improvements. The irrigation figures are not impressive, either in comparison with the outlay in other Indian states, or in terms of crop coverage. The explanation for activation of a virtuous circle may therefore be found in land reform, at least if land reform is considered and implemented in its comprehensive meaning: intervention in the relations of production, the forces of production and the broad social and political

ISSN:0012-155X    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-7660.1996.tb00580.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACTIt seems to be widely accepted that China's interior development during the Maoist period was based on ‘equality’ considerations, which narrowed Chinese regional disparities. By contrast, the recent coastal development during Deng's reform era has been coined as ‘uneven’ and ‘undesirable’, because it has created tremendous inequalities across the country. However, the findings of this study suggest that the question may not be that simple. This article examines the spatial disparities of economic development in China between 1953 and 1992, focusing on a time‐series comparison between the development policies of Mao and Deng, their outcomes and the resulting changes. By using provincial and regional economic and investment data, the article elaborates why Mao's interior development did not lead to a more equitable outcome than Deng's uneven strategy of’ east coastal development’. The findings provide an insight into some of the unexpected outcomes of more than forty years of socialist development, in the realm of economic gro

ISSN:0012-155X    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-7660.1996.tb00581.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:0012-155X    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-7660.1996.tb00582.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Book reviewed in this article:Jeffrey James,Consumption and Development.Wolfgang Lute (ed.),The Future Population of the World: What Can We Assume Today?Bishwapriya Sanyal,Cooperative Autonomy: The Dialectic of State‐NGOs Relationship in Developing Countries.Philippe Sands (ed.)Greening International Law.Valerie Barzetti and Yanina Rovinski (eds),Towards a Green Central America: Integrating Conservation and Development.Sheldon Annis and contributors,Poverty, Natural Resources and Public Policy in Central America.Janet Henshall Momsen (ed.),Women and Change in the Caribbean: A Pan Caribbean Perspective.Maria Mies and Vandana Shiva,Ecofeminism.Ellen R. Judd,Gender and Power in Rural North China.Hans‐Dieter Evers and Heiko Schrader (eds),The Moral Economy of Trade: Ethnicity and Developing Markets.Ken Young,Islamic Peasants and the State: The 1908 Anti‐Tax Rebellion in West Sumatra.Abdolali Lahsaeizadeh,Contemporary Rural Iran.Peter Berman and M. E. Khan (eds).Paying for India's Health Care.Howard Barnum and Joseph Kutzin,Public Hospitals in Developing Countries: Resource Use, Cost, Financing.Sirimal Abeyratne,Anti‐Export Bias in the ‘Export‐Oriented’ Economy of Sri Lanka.R. Kaplinsky with A. Posthuma,Easternisation: The Spread of Japanese Management Techniques to Developing Countries.Gay W. SeidmanManufacturing Militance. Workers' Movements in Brazil and South Africa, 1970–1985.R. F. Watters,Poverty and Peasantry in Peru's Southern

ISSN:0012-155X    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-7660.1996.tb00583.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Environment and Agriculture. Rethinking Development Issues for the 2lst Century. Morrilton, ARJohn Abbot,Politics and Poverty: A Critique of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.Sanjiv Misra,India's Textile Sector: A Policy Analysis.Ippei Yamazawa and Fu‐Chen Lo (eds),Evolution of Asia‐Pacific Economies, International Trade and Investment.Kuala Lumpur:John W. Longworth and Gregory J. Williamson,China's Pastoral Region. Sheep and Wool, Minority Nationalities, Rangeland Degradation and Sustainable Development.L. E. Visser (ed.),Halmahera and Bey

ISSN:0012-155X    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-7660.1996.tb00584.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:0012-155X    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-7660.1996.tb00585.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY