Does graduate human capital production increase local economic development? An instrumental variable approach

Using a survey on Italian graduates, we investigate whether universities' degree production affects the economic development of the regions where academic institutions are located. To deal with suspected endogeneity between human capital development and economic growth, we employ an instrumental variable approach, using a global lump sum transferred to each university as an instrument for human capital production. Once we control for the regional flow of mobile students and graduates, the findings reveal the beneficial effect of the university system on local economic development through the gain in human capital.     

IS SOCIAL CAPITAL USEFUL FOR EXPLAINING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN POLISH REGIONS?

The concept of social capital is widely perceived as a promising tool for explaining differences in economic development between countries and regions. According to this theory, weak links (bridging social capital) and social trust in an area favour its better access to other forms of capital, that is, economic and human capital. However, strong links (bonding social capital) may stifle creativity and entrepreneurship. Since the vast majority of research on the impact of social capital on economic development focuses on highly developed Western European countries, it seems particularly interesting to evaluate the usefulness of this approach when applied to post‐communist countries with their different experiences. The objective of this article is to identify the spatial variation of different forms of social capital in regions of Poland and then to test a hypothesis on the impact of this capital on regional economic development. The results demonstrate that despite the existing differences between regions there are no significant relationships between levels of social capital and economic development. This may be explained either by low social capital levels or by the overall degree of Polish economic development.     

Whose Wealth Is It Anyway? Mozambique's Outstanding Economic Growth with Worsening Rural Poverty

Despite rapid economic growth and massive inflows of aid, rural poverty in Mozambique is worsening. Agricultural production and productivity have not increased in the last decade. Use of chemical fertilizers and other modern technology is at a low level and decreasing. The present development model emphasizes that the role of government and donors is to provide human capital and infrastructure, while the private sector is responsible for economic development and ending poverty. The most recent national surveys confirm what is being seen elsewhere in Africa — that this non‐interventionist strategy does not raise agricultural productivity or reduce poverty. While 80 per cent of Mozambique's population is engaged in agriculture, this sector contributes only 20 per cent of GDP. This suggests that investments in agriculture are likely to generate pro‐poor growth, both to rural and urban dwellers. This policy failure is increasingly recognized, but donors and government have invested too much political capital in the current policy to change easily.     

地域人文环境下苏南小城镇发展演化研究

在当前全新的社会发展时期,小城镇进入一个快速发展阶段。然而,我国现在很多地方的小城镇建设过分强调硬环境的建设,而忽视了软环境即人文环境的改善。本文通过对苏南模式下小城镇发展演化过程进行回顾,分析苏南人文环境的转化。从本土文化、经济发展、政府管理、政策等三个方面揭示了其地域内本土文化伴随着社会经济的发展持续作用于小城镇本身,形成特定的动态开放型小城镇社会人文环境,保证了该地区小城镇的健康发展演化,指出人文环境是提升综合社会环境质量,带动经济发展和城市化进程加快的一个重要因素。     

Social Capital and Post‐Conflict Reconstruction in Burundi: The Limits of Community‐based Reconstruction

Using an examination of three NGO interventions in post‐conflict Burundi, this article questions community‐based reconstruction as a mechanism to rebuild social capital after conflicts, particularly when direct livelihood support is provided. The authors demonstrate a general shortcoming of the methodology employed in community‐based development (CBD), namely its focus on ‘technical procedural design’, which results in what may be termed ‘supply‐driven demand‐driven’ reconstruction. The findings suggest the need for a political economy perspective on social capital, which acknowledges that the effects on social capital are determined by the type of economic resource CBD gives access to. Through the use of a resource typology, the case studies show that the CBD methodology and the potential effects on social capital differ when applied to public and non‐strategic versus private and strategic resources. This has particular consequences for post‐conflict situations. A generalized application of CBD methodology to post‐conflict reconstruction programmes fails to take adequate account of the nature of the interventions and the challenges posed by the particular post‐conflict setting. The article therefore questions the current popular ‘social engineering’ approach to post‐conflict reconstruction.     

Post-Socialist Transition in Serbia and Its Unsustainable Path

Since the beginning of its post-socialist transition, Serbia has been going through a major political and economic crisis, thus isolated from the mainstream trends of the European integration and convergence. The country's comparative advantages and competitiveness have worsened in terms of two key aspects, that is, its structural qualities and its territorial capital. The economic recovery after the year 2000 assumed a form of “growth without development”, mostly based on poorly legitimized transition reforms, whereby Serbia's inherent unsustainable spatial development patterns have been perpetuated. Today, Serbia finds itself in the position of an economic, ecological and financial semi-colony of a few powerful international political, economic and financial actors, paralleled by the collapse of its strategic thinking, research and governance. Rather bleak development prospects for Serbia call for prompt further research on predictable development scenarios. Therefore, we have discussed the key issues in the current planning system and practice and analysed the basic elements of the prospective future using the scenario approach.     

Capitalizing on Women's Social Capital? Women‐Targeted Microfinance in Bolivia

Both social capital and microfinance are central to mainstream development interventions, and both are predicated on the need to recognize the importance of social factors in development. Microfinance institutions mobilize social capital in the form of a group guarantee, and aim to support the development of sustainable financial institutions and income generation. Women are targeted in part because of the effectiveness of their social capital as collateral. However, although social capital is assumed to support development and income generation, the precise dynamics involved in this are rarely explored. This article examines the construction of social capital and its relationship to income generation, based on a long‐term ethnographic study of village life in rural Bolivia and the microfinance institution operating there. The author examines the complexity and gendered contradictions implied in the way that social capital is generally viewed to support economic development. It is suggested that the way microfinance institutions use social capital to support sustainable financial institutions and income generation does not always reflect the way that women's networks support access to resources and ultimately, economic development.     

Human Capital in Low-Tech Manufacturing: The Geography of the Knowledge Economy in Denmark

Abstract

An essential feature associated with the rise of the knowledge economy has been the increasing focus on the importance of human capital as a precondition for economic growth. Human capital has been found to have a positive impact on the economic growth of high-tech industries, however, the influence of human capital on the development of low-tech industries is yet to be analysed. This paper provides such an examination of low-tech industries based on an analysis of employment data within manufacturing industries in Denmark in the period 1993–2006. The findings highlight, first, that human capital appears to be equally important for economic development in low-tech industries and, second, that the divide between the large urban regions, especially Copenhagen, and the rest of the country plays the primary role in explaining the geography of human capital. These findings stress the relevance of a broad conception of the knowledge economy which goes beyond high-tech industries.     

旅游地农户生计资本与社区可持续生计发展研究——以秦巴山区安康一区三县为例

在DFID可持续生计框架下,构建旅游地农户生计资本评价模型,测度其生计资本规模及结构变化,并分析乡村旅游社区发展对农户生计资本变化趋向的影响。研究发现：①秦巴山区乡村旅游地农户生计资本得到整体提升,农户生计呈现多元化发展趋势;②乡村旅游影响下的农户金融资本、物资资本、自然资本和人力资本均得到提升,社会资本则处于相对较低水平;通过二元Logistic回归分析,发现社区居民的旅游获利程度、社区参与旅游发展程度、社区旅游发展基础条件等对农户资本趋向好转与优化具有正向显著影响。     

Migration,Human Resource Transfers,and Development Contexts: A Logit Analysis of Venezuelan Data

This paper is concerned with the reciprocal relationship between migration and development in Third World settings. Using individual-level data for Venezuela, migration behavior is related to a person's age, educational attainment, gender, and characteristics of his/her place(s) of residence as an out-migrant, in-migrant, or stayer. Place characteristics are in terms of four groups based on employment patterns: the core, regional centers, resource frontiers, and traditional rural areas. Four questions are of concern. First, does development influence migration? All analyses indicate this is so. Second, does migration influence development? Findings are ambiguous in that places experiencing improvement in their mix of human capital lagged in the net number of persons obtained through migration whereas a gain in numbers was accompanied by deterioriation in human capital profiles. Third, was incipient polarization reversal occurring in Venezuela in the late 1960s, early 1970s? This paper departs from the usual approach by addressing this question in terms of human capital attributes instead of population aggregates. On this basis, polarization reversal is in evidence, particularly in regional centers. Finally, this study answers in the affirmative that places with different development characteristics generate migration streams differing in type, magnitude, explanation, and impact.     

THE IMPACT OF REMITTANCES ON REGIONAL CONSUMPTION AND INVESTMENT

This paper examines the effects of international remittances on regional economic development using spatial data from an original household survey carried out in the Republic of Moldova. I analyze remittance flows with a model that estimates regional (urban and rural) budget shares of consumption and investment expenditure categories for rural and urban households. An important contribution of the paper is that it analyzes the effect of remittances in the regions where spending takes place, which is not necessarily the same as the region where the households originating this spending reside. Using the multinomial logit approach, I control for potential selectivity and endogeneity biases of remittances. The results show that remittances lead to significantly increasing marginal productive investments in urban regions at the expense of rural regions. The fundamental finding of the study is that remittances influence the flight of productive capital out of rural areas into urban regions (a pattern similar to the crowding‐out effect of the Dutch Disease). The analysis carried out in this paper can be applied to other temporary income transfers and exogenous spending injected in the region that affect households' regional expenditure patterns.     

Territorially unequal rural development: the cases of the LEADER Initiative and the PRODER Programme in Andalusia (Spain)

This paper studies the territorial effects of the LEADER approach in Southern Europe, by analysing the region of Andalusia (Spain). Our research has revealed that, in many cases, projects were concentrated in the most dynamic, most populated areas, with a well-established business network with the financial and organizational capacity required to access European funding. In these areas, the economic leadership of the most dynamic municipalities has been reinforced at the expense of more depressed areas with little social capital and few businesses. These programmes have not, therefore, helped to mitigate territorial imbalances. In a minority of rural areas, however, this trend was not observed, which shows that although territorial inequality is a widespread problem in the practice of neo-endogenous rural development, it does not affect all areas to the same degree.     

Do more,with less: The realities of local government in rural Ontario

Over the past 30 years, the responsibilities, mandates, and activities of local governments in Ontario have undergone substantial transformations. Influenced by New Public Management, policy changes are characterized by marketization and managerialism resulting in downloading of responsibilities to local governments. This research examines the ebbs and flows of policy changes among different provincial governments since 1990 and the impacts of these policies on rural local governments in Ontario. Interviews were conducted with elected officials and senior staff in eight local governments to understand their realities. The findings demonstrate the continual policy changes led to the “do more, with less” approach currently faced by rural local governments—increased regulatory requirements, limited human and financial capacities, and small tax bases to support their activities. This experience, combined with limited fiscal levers, hinders the ability of rural local governments to address both new demands for infrastructure and existing infrastructure deficits, housing stock and affordability, and economic and workforce development strategies. The reality has necessitated local governments to seek alternative strategies to deliver programs and services through partnerships and collaboration.     

The neo-liberalization of strategic spatial planning and the overproduction of development in Celtic Tiger Ireland

This paper argues that the role of the planning system in the overproduction of development during Ireland’s Celtic Tiger needs to be analysed as instructive of contemporary neo-liberal transformations of strategic spatial planning. Leaning on a Foucauldian governmentality perspective, the genealogy of modern Irish planning practice is explored to elucidate how neo-liberal rationalities became embedded in institutional norms through consensus-driven partnership governance. The central premise is that the turn to ‘strategic spatial planning’, particularly with the publication of the National Spatial Strategy in 2002, was usefully exploited to mask the spatial politics of the ever-increasing need for the state to facilitate capital switching into built environment formation in order to maintain conditions of high economic growth. Using the empirical case study of housing development in the ‘Upper Shannon’ region and large-scale commercial development in County Meath, it is argued that this contributed to a destabilization of the planning system and an abandonment of basic planning principles. The paper concludes that, in the context of the new and deeply uneven economic geography of post-crisis Ireland, there is an urgent need for a repoliticized critique of normative interpretations of strategic spatial planning practice in order for more progressive practices to emerge.     

经济地理学中的农户研究

中国目前约有2/3的人口生活在农村,农村地区的发展成为中国区域发展中令人关注的大问题。然而,经济地理学在农区发展的研究中,存在一个明显的缺陷,既大多数研究均忽视了农区经济中最基本的单位-农户。文章分析了忽视农户对地理学研究的局限,论述了农户与农区的关系,评述了国内外的相关研究成果,提出在经济地理学的农户研究中,应加强农户发展环境研究、基于农户的农区发展模型研究、农户与地理环境相互作用研究、基于农户的农区发展战略研究。     

欠发达地区县域经济发展问题与对策研究——以苏北县域为例

江苏省区域经济发展极不平衡。目前,其境内客观上存在着南高、北低的经济梯度差距和苏南、苏中、苏北三大经济板块。本文在对苏北县域经济发展问题及成因作出分析的基础上,有针对性地提出了大力发展县域经济、加快苏北振兴的若干对策;同时,通过该案例研究,从理论与战略层面上探讨了欠发达地区的县域经济发展之路,以期为欠发达地区实现跨越式发展提供一定的参考。     

IS THERE A RURAL/URBAN EXPORT GAP?

ABSTRACT.  There is growing concern, particularly in policy circles, that rural manufacturing plants may be less likely to export than metro area plants, and that this may exacerbate the economic difficulties of rural America. A variety of reasons have been offered to expect this export gap, but little empirical work has been done. Using a database of all manufacturing establishments in seven southeastern states and the county and/or zip code-level characteristics of their environment, we find that rural plants are indeed somewhat less likely to export than their urban counterparts. Though there are several explanations for the existence of this gap, factors specific to the rural environment—lower levels of human capital and information externalities—are its largest source.     

Spatial Strategic Planning in the Stockholm Region—Discourses on the Space-economy and Growth Factors

This article analyses strategic spatial planning for city regions. The analysis uses a strategic development plan for a region as an example and is intended to contribute to discussion about the role of politics and the state in economic structures and processes. The objective was to define the types of discourses in the Stockholm plan. Norman Fairclough's (Analysing Discourse, New York, Routledge, 2003) methodological framework for analysing texts in social research was an important source of the study design. The analysis focused on assumptions in the text and the compatibility of these with different concepts of dynamic development and economic growth in city regions. These concepts were city as clusters, city as interconnection, city as milieu and city as symbol. Outcomes of the analysis showed that the strategic development plan for the Stockholm region stresses large-scale international economic activities and specialized cluster activities, but it marginalizes other activities. In the context of city regions comprising a multiplicity of actors and activities, such a one-sided approach may hinder broad economic development. A more nuanced representation of the urban economy in strategic planning is called for.     

西部开发的人力资本问题研究

发展理论的演进过程表明,人力资本的不断改善在欠发达地区经济发展中起着关键性作用。因此,在实施西部大开发中应把改善人力资本置于重要的地位予以重视。基于此,本文着重分析了西部地区人力资本面临的主要问题,以及为改善人力资本应采取的主要对策。     

我国中西部地区乡村城市化问题与对策探讨——以中西部地区第一个乡村城市化试点县市巩义为例

文章以我国中西部地区第一个国家级乡村城市化试点县市巩义为例,剖析了中西部地区乡村城市化的理论背景、制约因素以及面临的主要问题,并提出了促进乡村城市化的若干对策。