CiteULike: tapiocante's library [282 articles]

Complexity thinking and evolutionary economic geography

Ron Martin — 2008-05-30T12:30:54-00:00

J Econ Geogr, Vol. 7, No. 5. (1 September 2007), pp. 573-601.

Thus far, most of the work towards the construction of an evolutionary economic geography has drawn upon a particular version of evolutionary economics, namely the Nelson-Winter framework, which blends Darwinian concepts and metaphors (especially variety, selection, novelty and inheritance) and elements of a behavioural theory of the firm. Much less attention has been directed to an alternative conception based on complexity theory, yet in recent years complexity theory has increasingly been concerned with the general attributes of evolutionary natural and social systems. In this article we explore the idea of the economic landscape as a complex adaptive system. We identify several key notions of what is being called the new complexity economics', and examine whether and in what ways these can be used to help inform an evolutionary perspective for understanding the uneven development and adaptive transformation of the economic landscape. 10.1093/jeg/lbm019

Creating the future: The use and misuse of scenarios

Michel Godet — 2006-12-28T17:04:52-00:00

Long Range Planning, Vol. 29, No. 2. (April 1996), pp. 164-171.

Facing dramatic changes, organizations do not only have to be reactive and pre-active, but also pro-active, thus linking anticipation and action. To transform anticipation into action through appropriation, scenarios should follow four conditions: relevance, consistence, likelihood and transparency. For that purpose, the use of simple formal tools like structural analysis, actors' strategy analysis, morphological methods or probability analysis, illustrated with a case study on the steel and iron industry, is useful to avoid entertainment and to explore all possible scenarios.

Breaking Walls, Building Bridges: Expanding the Presence and Relevance of Rural Sociology

J Beaulieu — 2005-03-12T19:25:10-00:00

Rural Sociology, Vol. 70, No. 1. (January 2005), pp. 1-27.

Rural Sociology at the Crossroads

Krannich — 2008-02-15T13:17:07-00:00

Rural Sociology, Vol. 73, No. 1. (March 2008), pp. 1-21.

How multilevel structures affect environmental policy in industrialized countries

Sonja Walti — 2007-10-25T12:47:06-00:00

European Journal of Political Research, Vol. 43, No. 4. (2004), pp. 599-634.

Abstract. Extensive decentralization and devolution efforts among industrialized nations throughout the 1980s and 1990s call for a closer look at the effect these trends have on public policy. This article investigates the impact of these trends on the environmental performance of industrialized countries. There are two competing hypotheses as to how federalism and other multilevel governance structures affect the environmental performance of countries. The first stresses that the resulting institutional fragmentation and regulatory unpredictability is detrimental to the protection of the environment. An alternative hypothesis emphasizes that multilevel systems fare better regarding environmental performance because they can effectively respond to local needs and encourage innovation at the sub-national level. Based on OECD air pollution data, the study finds that multilevel structures affect the way in which important determinants of environmental performance work. Thus, corporatist accommodation structures, which are known to enhance environmental policy, do so primarily in multi-tiered systems. A high level of economic development, on the other hand, which has also been shown to contribute to environmental performance, does so mainly in countries that are characterized by weak multilevel structures. The article discusses theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

Emerging Patterns of Governance in the English Regions: The Role of Regional Assemblies

Graham Pearce — 2007-10-25T12:45:41-00:00

Regional Studies, Vol. 41, No. 5. (2007), pp. 699-712.

Pearce G. and Ayres S. (2007) Emerging patterns of governance in the English regions: the role of Regional Assemblies, Regional Studies 41, 699–712. The case for elected English regional government outside London has lost momentum, but the machinery of regional governance continues to expand. This paper explores the significance of this process through an examination of the evolution of Regional Assemblies. Each has progressed differently, but all Assemblies lack political legitimacy and resources and have struggled to mobilize influence in Whitehall and their regions. Although contributing to greater coherence in regional governance, their future is uncertain and there is a need to assess systematically what tasks Assemblies should perform, and why, and the resources required for their delivery. Pearce G. et Ayres S. (2007) L'évolution de la notion de gouvernance dans les régions d'Angleterre: le rôle des Assemblées régionales, Regional Studies 41, 699–712. Les arguments en faveur du gouvernement régional en dehors de Londres ont perdu de leurs lettres de noblesse, mais le système de gouvernance régionale ne cesse de se développer. En examinant l'évolution des Assemblées régionales, cet article cherche à étudier l'importance de ce processus. Chacune des Assemblées s'est développée de façon différente, mais toutes les Assemblées manquent de la légitimité politique et des ressources, et ont éprouvé des difficultés à trouver du soutien auprès de Whitehall et de leur région. Bien qu'elles aient apporté une cohérence accrue à la gouvernance régionale, l'avenir reste incertain et on le croit nécessaire d'évaluer systématiquement les rôles que devraient jouer les Assemblées, et pourquoi, et les ressources qu'il faut pour les remplir. Gouvernement régional en Angleterre; Régionalisation; Assemblées régionales; Travail à plusieurs niveaux Pearce G. und Ayres S. (2007) Bildung von Mustern des Regierungswesens in den englischen Regionen: die Rolle der Regionalversammlungen, Regional Studies 41, 699–712. Die Initiative für eine gewählte englische Regionalvertretung außerhalb Londons hat an Schwung verloren, doch gleichzeitig breitet sich die Maschinerie des regionalen Regierungswesens weiter aus. In diesem Beitrag wird die Bedeutung dieses Prozesses durch eine Untersuchung der Entwicklung der Regionalversammlungen erörtert. Jede Regionalversammlung hat sich unterschiedlich weiterentwickelt, doch allen fehlt es an politischer Legitimation und an Ressourcen; ebenso haben alle Schwierigkeiten, in der britischen Zentralregierung und ihren jeweiligen Regionen an Einfluss zu gewinnen. Die Regionalversammlungen tragen zwar zu einer größeren Kohärenz im regionalen Regierungswesen bei, doch ihre Zukunft ist ungewiss. Es ist nötig, systematisch zu untersuchen, welche Arbeiten die Versammlungen aus welchen Gründen verrichten sollten und welche Ressourcen hierfür erforderlich sind. Englische Regionalregierung; Dezentralisierung; Regionalversammlungen; Arbeit auf mehreren Ebenen Pearce G. y Ayres S. (2007) Modelos emergentes de gobernanza en las regiones inglesas: El papel de las Asambleas Regionales, Regional Studies 41, 699–712. La oportunidad de un gobierno regional inglés elegido fuera de Londres ha perdido fuerza pero la maquinaria de la gobernanza regional sigue expandiéndose. En este ensayo estudiamos la importancia de este proceso examinando el desarrollo de las Asambleas Regionales. Aunque cada Asamblea ha progresado de modo diferente todas carecen de recursos y legitimidad política y han tenido dificultades para movilizar influencias en el Gobierno y sus regiones. Si bien contribuyen a una mayor coherencia en la gobernanza regional, su futuro es incierto por ello es necesario evaluar sistemáticamente qué tareas deberían desempeñar las Asambleas y por qué, y qué recursos son necesarios para cumplir tales tareas. Gobierno regional inglés; Transferencia de competencias; Asambleas regionales; Trabajo de varios niveles

Cooperative forms of governance: Problems of democratic accountability in complex environments

Yannis Papadopoulos — 2007-10-25T12:42:01-00:00

European Journal of Political Research, Vol. 42, No. 4. (2003), pp. 473-501.

Abstract. Various schools of research in public policy (the literature on 'governance' and its continental counterparts) are converging to focus on the growth of policy styles based on cooperation and partnership in networks, instead of on vertical control by the state. This article focuses on issues of democratic accountability and responsiveness with these governance arrangements. It argues that until recently the legitimacy of governance networks was not at the forefront of theoretical developments, even though the 'democratic deficit' of governance is problematic both for normative and for pragmatic reasons. There is now increased sensitivity to this problem, but the remedies presented in the literature are unsatisfactory, and critiques of governance presuppose a somewhat idealised image of representative democracy in terms of accountability or responsiveness of decision-makers. They also fail to offer adequate solutions to some of the central legitimacy problems of policy-making in complex societies.

Explaining the unexpected: efficiency and effectiveness in European decision-making

Jürgen Neyer — 2007-10-25T12:39:45-00:00

Journal of European Public Policy, Vol. 11, No. 1. (2004), pp. 19-38.

The legal output of the EU can easily be compared to an average nation-state and surely surpasses that of any other international organization. Although the EU has neither become a state-like entity nor possesses any powers to coerce member states into compliance, its rules are almost always respected. The EU's comparatively good record in terms of efficiency and effectiveness can be understood as the product of an institutional structure that transforms strategic interaction into deliberative problem-solving. Understood as such, the EU resembles a new type of political order which gives evidence that centralized coercion is anything but necessary for a good policy performance.

Multilevel governance and organizational performance: Investigating the political-bureaucratic labyrinth

Kenneth Meier — 2007-10-25T12:37:53-00:00

Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Vol. 23, No. 1. (2004), pp. 31-47.

Research on governance has extensively explored the complex interactions of governmental, nongovernmental, andfor-profit entities in the execution of public policy. It has consistently failed, however, to modelempirically the joint effects of political and bureaucratic actors in governance systems. To address this issue, atheory of multilevel governance built upon the foundation of representative bureaucracy was developed and tested.Results from an analysis of Texas school districts suggest that Latinos at all levels of the governance system,political and managerial, influence representation at other levels. Findings also indicate that Latinos at eachlevel of governance have positive effects, directly and indirectly, on outcomes for Latino students. The influenceof both political and managerial actors at times extends beyond the immediately adjoining level; the effectsof such actors cascade through the governance system. The results show that a priority for systematic researchshould be the identification of approaches and settings for examining the multilevel aspect of governance. ©2004 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.

Policy learning in Europe: the open method of co-ordination and laboratory federalism

Wolfgang Kerber — 2007-10-25T12:29:13-00:00

Journal of European Public Policy, Vol. 14, No. 2. (2007), pp. 227-247.

This paper analyses the potential of the open method of co-ordination (OMC) and of laboratory federalism for policy innovation and learning in a multi-level system of jurisdictions. Our analysis shows that both can be seen as institutions that establish processes of generating and spreading new knowledge about appropriate public policies. However, the respective learning mechanisms are very different: in laboratory federalism learning takes place through a purely non-centralized process of experimentation with different new policies. In comparison, the OMC relies on a benchmarking process carried out on a higher-level jurisdiction from which, in a rather centralized way, policy recommendations are derived. In both cases, serious learning problems resulting from limited transferability of experiences gained with policies and from lacking or distorting incentives arise. We find that to fully use their potential the OMC should become an integral part of laboratory federalism, thus supporting the smooth working of yardstick, interjurisdictional and regulatory competition.

Managing diversity in a system of multi-level governance: the open method of co-ordination in innovation policy

Robert Kaiser — 2007-10-25T12:27:09-00:00

Journal of European Public Policy, Vol. 11, No. 2. (2004), pp. 249-266.

This article explains why open policy co-ordination has not yet gone very far in innovation policy. We claim that the multi-level character of innovation policies and the diversity of national innovation systems are major stumbling blocks to applying the OMC in this policy area. So far, these two peculiarities of innovation policies prevented ‘vertical policy co-ordination’ and ‘horizontal policy learning’, which have both been heralded as the main goals of applying the OMC. Acknowledging these features of innovation policies, this article argues that the OMC is only likely to constitute a valuable mode of governance if national and regional specificities are carefully taken into account, if actors at each territorial level are considered during the entire policy process, and if qualitative benchmark indicators are developed which consider the diversities of national innovation systems and regional idiosyncrasies. We explore our argument with respect to Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Multilevel Governance and Business Interests in the European Union

Rainer Eising — 2007-10-25T12:03:44-00:00

Governance, Vol. 17, No. 2. (2004), pp. 211-245.

The article analyzes how business interests responded to European integration. It draws on survey data of eight hundred German, French, British, and European Union (EU) trade associations as well as thirty-four large firms. The argument is that the multilevel governance approach to European integration captures the realities of EU interest intermediation better than neofunctionalism and intergovernmentalism. The article suggests that the strategies of interest organizations depend mainly on their location in the EU multilevel system and on their governance capacities. I distinguish two kinds of governance capacities: negotiation capacities and organizational resources. The analysis proceeds in the following steps: After outlining the three theories of European integration and presenting their implications for interest groups, a brief overview of the relative importance for interest organizations of EU and national institutions over time is provided. Then, cluster analysis techniques serve to identify types of interest groups according to their lobbying strategies in the multilevel system: niche organizations, occasional players, traditionalists, EU players, and multilevel players are distinguished. The composition of these clusters and the characteristics of their members support the multilevel governance approach and indicate that multilevel players have greater governance capacities than organizations in the other clusters.

The EU 'partnership principle': still a sustainable governance device across multiple administrative arenas?

Michael Bauer — 2007-10-25T11:51:50-00:00

Public Administration, Vol. 80, No. 4. (2002), pp. 769-789.

This article analyses the 'partnership principle' - which is of particular importance for multilevel governance interpretations of European integration - as it evolved in EU regional policy-making. After sketching in the crucial analytical lines of the current debate on 'partnership' on the example of the implementation of the EU structural policy in Germany, I examine how it functions. A closer look at two important sub-fields of 'partnership' - 'societal participation' and 'policy evaluation' - reveals that theoretical expectations regarding its transforming potential, in terms of pitting supranational and subnational actors against central state authority and thereby circumventing the latter, have not materialized. On the contrary, recently rising resentment and out-and-out conflict between the European Commission and regional authorities so far point to theoretically unexpected limitations of 'partnership', calling into question whether it is an appropriate and sustainable inter-administrative co-ordination device - at least when viewed from the perspective of the EU multilevel governance thesis. In the light of the reported insights into the practice of 'partnership', this 'new mode of EU governance' thus needs to be reassessed.

Economic Voting and Multilevel Governance: A Comparative Individual-Level Analysis

Cameron Anderson — 2006-03-29T04:36:05-00:00

American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 50, No. 2. (April 2006), pp. 449-463.

The Future of Sovereignty in Multilevel Governance Europe - A Constructivist Reading

Tanja Aalberts — 2007-10-25T11:45:57-00:00

JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 42, No. 1. (2004), pp. 23-46.

Abstract Multilevel governance presents a depiction of contemporary structures in EU Europe as consisting of overlapping authorities and competing competencies. By focusing on emerging non-anarchical structures in the international system, hence moving beyond the conventional hierarchy/anarchy dichotomy to distinguish domestic and international arenas, this seems a radical transformation of the familiar Westphalian system and to undermine state sovereignty. Paradoxically, however, the principle of sovereignty proves to be resilient despite its alleged empirical decline. This article argues that social constructivism can explain the paradox, by considering sovereign statehood as a process-dependent institutional fact, and by showing that multilevel governance can feed into this process.

Governance (Key Concepts)

Anne Kjaer — 2006-05-22T23:24:56-00:00

(09 February 2004)

Governance is an easy-to read introduction to an increasingly important concept in political science. It provides a clear overview of how the concept has been used in the sub-fields of public administration and public policy, international relations, European studies and comparative politics.There is no universally accepted and agreed definition of 'governance'. It remains an elusive theory, defined and conceptualized in various ways. In this book, Anne Mette Kjaer guides the reader through the key theoretical debates which have given rise to distinct interpretations of governance. Drawing on a wide range of empirical examples to illustrate her arguments, the author explores how governance has been used in different ways to describe political changes in the modern world. She goes on to weigh up the pros and cons of governance as an analytical term, and concludes with a discussion of the World Bank's role as an international organization which aims to promote 'good governance' in poor countries across the globe.This is the first textbook to offer a systematic assessment of current debates around the concept of governance. It will be a valuable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students of politics, international relations and public policy.

Institutions and Economic Development: Growth and Governance in Less-Developed and Post-Socialist Countries (The Johns Hopkins Studies in Development)

2007-10-24T10:38:22-00:00

(29 May 1997)

The puzzles of economic development and post-communist transitions, according to Christopher Clague and his colleagues, can be illuminated by a serious economic analysis of institutions. Economic performance is strongly dependent on the economic policies selected and on the manner in which these policies are implemented by government agencies. Performance is also affected by property rights and contract enforcement mechanisms in the business community and by patterns of participation in community organizations. These and other institutional arrangements are analyzed in this book under the rubric of the New Institutional Economics. Christopher Clague brings together a distinguished group of economists and political scientists to address the determinants and consequences of international differences in economic and political institutions.After reviewing the intellectual landscape of the New Institutional Economics and other contributions, the authors present new evidence that international differences in property rights and contract enforcement help to explain differences in income, investment, and growth. Additional topics include the effects of democratic political institutions on economic performance, the determinants of success or failure in community organization, the institutional challenges facing formerly communist societies, and the use of the economics of information to improve government administrative performance. The book will be of interest to both scholars and development practitioners.Contributors include economists Christopher Clague, Robert Klitgaard, Peter Murrell, Mancur Olson, Vernon Ruttan, and Vito Tanzi, and political scientists Stephan Haggard, Margaret Levi, and Elinor Ostrom.

Institutional Change for Sustainable Development

Robin Connor — 2007-02-01T02:49:08-00:00

(28 January 2004)

It is clear that the transition to ecologically sustainable patterns of development requires significant institutional change, yet we face a paradox. Although institutions are the primary means of driving reform, they are themselves a root cause of unsustainable development and a barrier to positive change. This volume moves beyond the current debate by advancing our understanding of the nature of institutional change, the features of more appropriate institutional settings, and the manner in which change can be enabled. Institutional Change for Sustainable Development presents a flexible, accessible, yet robust conceptual framework for comprehending institutional dimensions of sustainability, emphasizing the complexity of institutional systems, and highlighting the interdependence between policy learning and institutional change. This framework is applied and developed through the analysis of five significant arenas of institutional and policy change: environmental policy in the EU; New Zealand's landmark Resource Management Act; strategic environmental assessment; emerging National Councils for Sustainable Development; and transformative property rights instruments. From these explorations, key principles for institutional change are identified, including the institutional accommodation of a sustainability discourse, the interdependence of normative and institutional change; reiteration and learning; integration in policy and practice; subsidiarity; and legal change. Institutional Change for Sustainable Development will be of interest to researchers, policymakers and practitioners concerned with sustainability, resource management and environmental policy.

THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY. A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge

Peter Berger — 2007-10-24T10:24:19-00:00

(1999)

Generative Social Science: Studies in Agent-Based Computational Modeling (Princeton Studies in Complexity)

Joshua Epstein — 2007-10-08T11:57:29-00:00

(08 January 2007)

Agent-based computational modeling is changing the face of social science. In Generative Social Science, Joshua Epstein argues that this powerful, novel technique permits the social sciences to meet a fundamentally new standard of explanation, in which one "grows" the phenomenon of interest in an artificial society of interacting agents: heterogeneous, boundedly rational actors, represented as mathematical or software objects. After elaborating this notion of generative explanation in a pair of overarching foundational chapters, Epstein illustrates it with examples chosen from such far-flung fields as archaeology, civil conflict, the evolution of norms, epidemiology, retirement economics, spatial games, and organizational adaptation. In elegant chapter preludes, he explains how these widely diverse modeling studies support his sweeping case for generative explanation. This book represents a powerful consolidation of Epstein's interdisciplinary research activities in the decade since the publication of his and Robert Axtell's landmark volume, Growing Artificial Societies. Beautifully illustrated, Generative Social Science includes a CD that contains animated movies of core model runs, and programs allowing users to easily change assumptions and explore models, making it an invaluable text for courses in modeling at all levels.

The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies

Scott Page — 2007-03-15T16:19:26-00:00

(15 January 2007)

In this landmark book, Scott Page redefines the way we understand ourselves in relation to one another. The Difference is about how we think in groups--and how our collective wisdom exceeds the sum of its parts. Why can teams of people find better solutions than brilliant individuals working alone? And why are the best group decisions and predictions those that draw upon the very qualities that make each of us unique? The answers lie in diversity--not what we look like outside, but what we look like within, our distinct tools and abilities.The Difference reveals that progress and innovation may depend less on lone thinkers with enormous IQs than on diverse people working together and capitalizing on their individuality. Page shows how groups that display a range of perspectives outperform groups of like-minded experts. Diversity yields superior outcomes, and Page proves it using his own cutting-edge research. Moving beyond the politics that cloud standard debates about diversity, he explains why difference beats out homogeneity, whether you're talking about citizens in a democracy or scientists in the laboratory. He examines practical ways to apply diversity's logic to a host of problems, and along the way offers fascinating and surprising examples, from the redesign of the Chicago "El" to the truth about where we store our ketchup.Page changes the way we understand diversity--how to harness its untapped potential, how to understand and avoid its traps, and how we can leverage our differences for the benefit of all.

Social Emergence: Societies As Complex Systems

Keith Sawyer — 2007-10-23T08:28:09-00:00

(28 November 2005)

Sociologists have long believed that psychology alone can't explain what happens when people work together in complex modern societies. In contrast, most psychologists and economists believe that we can explain much about social life with an accurate theory of how individuals make choices and act on them. R. Keith Sawyer argues, however, that societies are complex dynamical systems, and that the best way to resolve these debates is by developing the concept of emergence, paying attention to multiple levels of analysis--individuals, interactions, and groups--with a dynamic focus on how social group phenomena emerge from communication processes among individual members.

Complex Adaptive Systems: An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life (Princeton Studies in Complexity)

John Miller — 2007-10-08T11:54:56-00:00

(05 March 2007)

This book provides the first clear, comprehensive, and accessible account of complex adaptive social systems, by two of the field's leading authorities. Such systems--whether political parties, stock markets, or ant colonies--present some of the most intriguing theoretical and practical challenges confronting the social sciences. Engagingly written, and balancing technical detail with intuitive explanations, Complex Adaptive Systems focuses on the key tools and ideas that have emerged in the field since the mid-1990s, as well as the techniques needed to investigate such systems. It provides a detailed introduction to concepts such as emergence, self-organized criticality, automata, networks, diversity, adaptation, and feedback. It also demonstrates how complex adaptive systems can be explored using methods ranging from mathematics to computational models of adaptive agents. John Miller and Scott Page show how to combine ideas from economics, political science, biology, physics, and computer science to illuminate topics in organization, adaptation, decentralization, and robustness. They also demonstrate how the usual extremes used in modeling can be fruitfully transcended.

The Economy As an Evolving Complex System, III: Current Perspectives and Future Directions (Santa Fe Institute Studies on the Sciences of Complexity)

Lawrence Blume — 2007-10-23T08:21:47-00:00

(26 September 2005)

Derived from the 2001 Santa Fe Institute Conference, "The Economy as an Evolving Complex System III," represents scholarship from the leading figures in th area of economics and complexity. The subject, a perennial centerpiece of the SFI program of studies has gained a wide range of followers for its methods of employing empirical evidence in the development of analytical economic theories. Accordingly, the chapters in this volume addresses a wide variety of issues in the fields of economics and complexity, accessing eclectic techniques from many disciplines, provided that they shed light on the economic problem. Dedicated to Kenneth Arrow on his 80th birthday, this volume honors his many contributions to the Institute. SFI-style economics is regarded as having had an important impact in introducing a new approach to economic analysis.

Understanding Institutional Diversity

Elinor Ostrom — 2005-09-22T19:23:13-00:00

(01 October 2005)

The analysis of how institutions are formed, how they operate and change, and how they influence behavior in society has become a major subject of inquiry in politics, sociology, and economics. A leader in applying game theory to the understanding of institutional analysis, Elinor Ostrom provides in this book a coherent method for undertaking the analysis of diverse economic, political, and social institutions. Understanding Institutional Diversity explains the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, which enables a scholar to choose the most relevant level of interaction for a particular question. This framework examines the arena within which interactions occur, the rules employed by participants to order relationships, the attributes of a biophysical world that structures and is structured by interactions, and the attributes of a community in which a particular arena is placed. The book explains and illustrates how to use the IAD in the context of both field and experimental studies. Concentrating primarily on the rules aspect of the IAD framework, it provides empirical evidence about the diversity of rules, the calculation process used by participants in changing rules, and the design principles that characterize robust, self-organized resource governance institutions.

Increasing Returns and Path Dependence in the Economy (Economics, Cognition, and Society)

Brian Arthur — 2007-10-23T08:16:55-00:00

(15 December 1994)

<div>Pioneering work on an important new approach to economics. </div>

The Economy as an Complex Evolving System II (Santa Fe Institute Studies in the Sciences of Complexity Lecture Notes)

Brian Arthur — 2007-10-23T08:15:59-00:00

(01 January 1997)

The Economy as an Evolving System II will fascinate economists of all types.

The Economy As an Evolving Complex System (Santa Fe Institute Studies in the Sciences of Complexity Proceedings)

Philip Anderson — 2005-11-21T18:58:20-00:00

(12 January 1989)

The Rise and Decline of Nations: Economic Growth, Stagflation, and Social Rigidities

Mancur Olson — 2007-10-23T08:13:55-00:00

(10 September 1984)

The contribution of research to community development

Alan Barr — 2005-09-30T08:50:17-00:00

Community Development Journal, Vol. 40, No. 4. (October 2005), pp. 453-458.

Can the Design of Community-Driven Development Reduce the Risk of Elite Capture? Evidence from Indonesia

2007-10-22T13:13:05-00:00

World Development, Vol. 35, No. 8. (2007), pp. 1359-1375.

Community-driven development (CDD) projects have motivated both large amounts of funding from international development agencies and a number of general critiques centering on the potential susceptibility of decentralized projects to local elite capture. Drawing on case analysis and surveys fielded in 250 Indonesian sub-districts, this paper subjects the design logic of a CDD project to close empirical testing. Results suggest that while CDD projects can help create spaces for a broader range of elite and non-elite community leaders to emerge, elite control of project decision making is pervasive. However, its effects can be influenced by project-initiated accountability arrangements, such as democratic leadership selection.

Participatory development, complicity and desire

Ilan Kapoor — 2007-10-22T13:05:50-00:00

Third World Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 8. (2005), pp. 1203-1220.

This article is an attempt at rethinking participatory development (pd) in terms of empire, undertaking a postcolonial and psychoanalytic reading. Postcolonialism helps point out that our discursive constructions of the Third World say more about us than the Third World; while psychoanalysis helps uncover the desires we invest in the Other. Thus, to the question, ‘why do neo-imperial and inegalitarian relationships pervade pd?’, the article answers, ‘because even as pd promotes the Other's empowerment, it hinges crucially on our complicity and desire’; and ‘because disavowing such complicity and desire is a technology of power’. The argument, in other words, is that complicity and desire are written into pd, making it prone to an exclusionary, Western-centric and inegalitarian politics. The article concludes with possibilities for confronting our complicities and desires through pd's radicalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ambiguity of participation: a qualified defence of participatory development

Trevor Parfitt — 2007-10-22T13:01:26-00:00

Thrid World Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 3. (2004), pp. 537-555.

This paper examines some of the critiques addressed to participatory development by critics such as Cooke and Kothari. It argues that criticisms of participation's theoretical coherence and of its lapse into a routinised praxis largely arise from an unavoidable ambiguity that is inherent in the concept of participation, this being the means/end ambiguity. Participation must function as a means because any development project must produce some outputs (therefore participation is seen as a means to achieve such outputs), but it must also function as an end inasmuch as empowerment is viewed as a necessary outcome. This ambiguity becomes contradictory when emphasis is laid on participation as a means at the expense of participation as an end. The article proposes ways of re-emphasising the element of empowerment so that participation may function as an emancipatory strategy.

Evaluating participatory development: tyranny, power and (re)politicisation

Glyn Williams — 2007-10-22T12:53:14-00:00

Third World Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 3. (2004), pp. 557-578.

Ever since participation entered mainstream development discourse, critics have attacked it as form of political control. If development is indeed an 'anti-politics machine' (Ferguson, 1994), the claim is that participation provides a remarkably efficient means of greasing its wheels. But do participatory practices and discourse necessarily represent the de-politicisation of development? This paper aims to provide an answer in two distinct ways. First, it examines the 'de-politicisation' critique, arguing that, while participation may indeed be a form of 'subjection', its consequences are not predetermined and its subjects are never completely controlled. Second, it investigates participatory development's ability to open up new spaces for political action, arguing that celebrations of 'individual liberation' and critiques of 'subjection to the system' both over-simplify participation's power effects. To re-politicise participation, empowerment must be re-imagined as an open-end and ongoing process of engagement with political struggles at a range of spatial scales.

Pragmatism, Bourdieu, and collective emotions in contentious politics

Mustafa Emirbayer — 2007-10-22T12:47:35-00:00

Theory and Society, Vol. 34, No. 5-6. (2005), pp. 469-518.

We aim to show how collective emotions can be incorporated into the study of episodes of political contention. In a critical vein, we systematically explore the weaknesses in extant models of collective action, showing what has been lost through a neglect or faulty conceptualization of collective emotional configurations. We structure this discussion in terms of a review of several “pernicious postulates” in the literature, assumptions that have been held, we argue, by classical social-movement theorists and by social-structural and cultural critics alike. In a reconstructive vein, however, we also lay out the foundations of a more satisfactory theoretical framework. We take each succeeding critique of a pernicious postulate as the occasion for more positive theory-building. Drawing upon the work of the classical American pragmatists–especially Peirce, Dewey, and Mead–as well as aspects of Bourdieu's sociology, we construct, step by step, the foundations of a more adequate theorization of social movements and collective action. Accordingly, the negative and positive threads of our discussion are woven closely together: the dismantling of pernicious postulates and the development of a more useful analytical strategy.

Empowerment to participate: a case study of participation by indian sex workers in HIV prevention

Flora Cornish — 2007-10-22T12:42:15-00:00

Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 16, No. 4. (2006), pp. 301-315.

The popularity of ?participation? and ?empowerment? in international development discourse is not matched by sophisticated conceptualisation of these terms. Critics have argued that their vagueness allows ?participation? and ?empowerment? to be used indiscriminately to describe interventions which vary from tokenism to genuine devolving of power to the community. This paper suggests that conceptualising empowerment and participation simply in terms of a scale of ?more or less? participation or ?more or less? empowerment does not capture the qualitatively different forms of empowerment that are necessary for different activities. Instead, the paper conceptualises participation in terms of concrete domains of action in which people may be empowered to take part. An ethnographic case study of a participatory HIV prevention project run by sex workers in Kolkata illustrates the argument. Four domains of activity in which sex workers may participate are distinguished: (1) participating in accessing project services; (2) participating in providing project services; (3) participating in shaping project workers' activity; (4) participating in defining project goals. To be empowered to participate in each domain depends upon a different set of resources. Asking the question ?empowerment to do what?? of health promotion projects is proposed as a way of facilitating appropriate project design. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

From Responsiveness to Collaboration: Governance, Citizens, and the Next Generation of Public Administration

Eran Vigoda — 2007-10-19T14:18:27-00:00

Public Administration Review, Vol. 62, No. 5. (2002), pp. 527-540.

The evolution of the New Public Management movement has increased pressure on state bureaucracies to become more responsive to citizens as clients. Without a doubt, this is an important advance in contemporary public administration, which finds itself struggling in an ultradynamic marketplace. However, together with such a welcome change in theory building and in practical culture reconstruction, modern societies still confront a growth in citizens' passivism; they tend to favor the easy chair of the customer over the sweat and turmoil of participatory involvement. This article has two primary goals: First to establish a theoretically and empirically grounded criticism of the current state of new managerialism, which obscures the significance of citizen action and participation through overstressing the (important) idea of responsiveness. Second, the article proposes some guidelines for the future development of the discipline. This progress is toward enhanced collaboration and partnership among governance and public administration agencies, citizens, and other social players such as the media, academia, and the private and third sectors. The article concludes that, despite the fact that citizens are formal “owners” of the state, ownership will remain a symbolic banner for the governance and public administration-citizen relationship in a representative democracy. The alternative interaction of movement between responsiveness and collaboration is more realistic for the years ahead.

Participatory Development: From Epistemological Reversals to Active Citizenship

Giles Mohan — 2007-07-16T08:07:14-00:00

Geography Compass, Vol. 1, No. 4. (2007), pp. 779-796.

Abstract The past decade has witnessed the ubiquity of participation in governance across the globe, involving efforts to bring more marginalised people into the decision-making processes that affect them. At one level, there is an apparent consensus around the need to reconnect citizens with the policy process, which has seen experiments in different forms of direct democracy. Common to these experiments is changing epistemologies in terms of knowing what marginalised people feel and need. This article charts the rise of participatory governance and offers a critique of the epistemological assumptions that underpin it. A key critique is that changing epistemologies, by themselves, are no guarantee of more meaningful participation so that concerted institutional change is also needed. I argue that for participation to become more transformatory we need to see it as a form of citizenship in which political processes are institutionalised and people can hold others to account. This revitalised citizenship agenda is also spatialised in that peoples understandings of the world and the political channels available to them are locally differentiated and contingent. The conclusion is a call for more geographically sensitive empirical research on the unfolding of new forms of participation.

Relocating Participation within a Radical Politics of Development

Sam Hickey — 2005-05-14T15:31:35-00:00

Development and Change, Vol. 36, No. 2. (March 2005), pp. 237-262.

Separated by common ground? Bringing (post)development and (post)colonialism together

N Simo — 2006-03-10T05:51:25-00:00

The Geographical Journal, Vol. 172, No. 1. (March 2006), pp. 10-21.

Whose Modernity? Indigenous Modernities and Land Claims after Apartheid

Steven Robins — 2007-10-19T14:01:06-00:00

Development and Change, Vol. 34, No. 2. (2003), pp. 265-286.

Abstract This article questions some of the key assumptions of post-development and anti-development critics such as Arturo Escobar and Wolfgang Sachs, who tend to prescribe a puritanical and principled rejection of 'exogenous development' that does not necessarily reflect the needs and desires of the beneficiaries of development. Drawing on fieldwork research on land claims in Northern Cape and Northern Provinces (South Africa), the author argues that these beneficiaries tend to deploy hybrid and highly selective and situational responses to development interventions. These hybrid responses can be regarded as indigenous modernities. Development packages are resisted, embraced, reshaped or accommodated depending on the specific content and context. The author also questions James Ferguson's conclusion that depoliticizing development discourses inevitably buttresses bureaucratic state power. Rather, the fieldwork findings suggest that state-led development is often an extremely risky business that can undermine the legitimacy and authority of governments. In addition, in many parts of the developing world, it is the retreat of the neo-liberal state, rather than 'the tyranny of development', that poses the most serious threat to household livelihood strategies and economic survival. The case studies discussed here suggest that responses to development are usually neither wholesale endorsements nor radical rejections of modernity. Even when resisting and subverting development ideas and practices, people do not generally do so on the basis of either radical populist politics or in defence of pristine and authentic local cultural traditions.

Difficult but Not Impossible: The ANC's Decentralization Strategy in South Africa

George Niksic — 2007-10-19T13:59:04-00:00

Development and Change, Vol. 35, No. 2. (2004), pp. 353-374.

Abstract As the neo-liberal project has spread across the globe, decentralization has been a key component of it. In South Africa, the neo-liberal macro-economic strategy of the African National Congress (ANC) involves support for fiscal and administrative decentralization partly as a way to bring the private sector into basic service delivery and supposedly to make local government more efficient and effective. However, the ANC also sees decentralization as a way to empower the historically disadvantaged black population. Community-based public-private partnerships have been one of the chief initiatives in this regard. In the metropolitan municipality of Port Elizabeth, small black contracting companies have been hired and trained to dispose of waste, construct roads and build houses. While not free of tensions and problems, this approach to decentralization has fostered a form of democratic development. This article uses examples from the Port Elizabeth experience to test and reflect upon a number of issues which are raised in the literature on decentralization.

Partnerships between local governments and community-based organisations: exploring the scope for synergy

Anirudh Krishna — 2007-10-19T13:55:49-00:00

Public Administration and Development, Vol. 23, No. 4. (2003), pp. 361-371.

The utility of both local governments and community-based organisations can be considerably enhanced when these agencies work in partnership with one another. Different roles will be played by local governments and community organisations in different types of partnership arrangements. Distinguishing among these roles helps allocate responsibilities better among the partner agencies, and it is also helpful for scheduling implementation, devising appropriate capacity building programmes and designing suitable accountability mechanisms. An analytical framework to help with these tasks is developed and presented in this article. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Public policy management councils in Brazil: how far does institutionalised participation reach?

J Barth — 2007-10-19T13:54:20-00:00

Public Administration and Development, Vol. 26, No. 3. (2006), pp. 253-263.

During the past two decades, Brazil has experienced a wide range of new participatory management instruments. One of the most important are the so called public policy management councils, composed of governmental and non-governmental members, which have been implemented mainly in social sectors in order to discuss and develop public policies as well as to decide on the allocation of public funds. The practice shows that several structural factors still limit the potential of such a form of institutionalised participation. The most innovative result is without doubt the contribution towards transforming political culture, a prerequisite for the success of the ongoing democratisation process in most of the Latin American countries. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

New Democratic Spaces at the Grassroots? Popular Participation in Latin American Local Governments

Gerd Schonwalder — 2007-10-19T13:51:05-00:00

Development and Change, Vol. 28, No. 4. (1997), pp. 753-770.

This article sounds a note of caution with regard to the idea that political decentralization and increased popular participation, notably at the local level, could help consolidate fragile democratic regimes, and render their institutions both more efficient and more responsive to their constituents. Taking a review of two major strands of the decentralization literature as its starting point, the article shows that political decentralization often runs into bureaucratic obstacles and politically motivated resistance from local and other elites, and that locally based popular movements are frequently co-opted by other actors for their own ends. The author develops an 'inventory' of possible courses of action for locally based popular movements, arguing that their democratic potential may be best realized not by withdrawing from the institutional space altogether, but by taking advantage of existing possibilities to participate, while maximizing their influence and minimizing the risk of co-optation by striking alliances with a variety of other actors.

Good Enough Governance: Poverty Reduction and Reform in Developing Countries

Merilee Grindle — 2007-10-19T10:38:39-00:00

Governance, Vol. 17, No. 4. (2004), pp. 525-548.

The good governance agenda is unrealistically long and growing longer over time. Among the multitude of governance reforms that "must be done" to encourage development and reduce poverty, there is little guidance about what's essential and what's not, what should come first and what should follow, what can be achieved in the short term and what can only be achieved over the longer term, what is feasible and what is not. If more attention is given to sorting out these questions, "good enough governance" may become a more realistic goal for many countries faced with the goal of reducing poverty. Working toward good enough governance means accepting a more nuanced understanding of the evolution of institutions and government capabilities; being explicit about trade-offs and priorities in a world in which all good things cannot be pursued at once; learning about what's working rather than focusing solely on governance gaps; taking the role of government in poverty alleviation seriously; and grounding action in the contextual realities of each country.

Inequality and Deliberative Development: Revisiting Bolivia's Experience with the PRSP

Kevin Morrison — 2007-10-19T10:29:19-00:00

Development Policy Review, Vol. 25, No. 6. (2007), pp. 721-740.

The deliberative-development approach to policy-making has gained popularity in both academic and policy circles. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the requirements necessary for deliberation to have beneficial effects on policy, some of which are detailed in this article, in particular the need for equality among deliberators. The article examines Bolivia's 2000 National Dialogue and demonstrates the effects of inequality - not between elites and non-elites, but between groups within civil society - on the legitimacy of the outcome. Its findings have important implications for the design of deliberative-development institutions.

Empiricism in ecological economics: a perspective from complex systems theory

Jesus Ramos-Martin — 2007-10-01T18:34:29-00:00

Ecological Economics, Vol. 46, No. 3. (October 2003), pp. 387-398.

Economies are open complex adaptive systems far from thermodynamic equilibrium, and neo-classical environmental economics seems not to be the best way to describe the behaviour of such systems. Standard econometric analysis (i.e. time series) takes a deterministic and predictive approach, which encourages the search for predictive policy to ‘correct’ environmental problems. Rather, it seems that, because of the characteristics of economic systems, an ex-post analysis is more appropriate, which describes the emergence of such systems’ properties, and which sees policy as a social steering mechanism. With this background, some of the recent empirical work published in the field of ecological economics that follows the approach defended here is presented. Finally, the conclusion is reached that a predictive use of econometrics (i.e. time series analysis) in ecological economics should be limited to cases in which uncertainty decreases, which is not the normal situation when analysing the evolution of economic systems. However, that does not mean we should not use empirical analysis. On the contrary, this is to be encouraged, but from a structural and ex-post point of view.

The epistemology of complex systems

Kenneth Boulding — 2007-10-01T18:32:44-00:00

European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 30, No. 2. (June 1987), pp. 110-116.

The human knowledge structure is acquired by a very complex process of learning. ‘Folk knowledge’, acquired in ordinary daily life, may be distinguished from ‘Scholarly knowledge’. Folk knowledge has images which range from about 105 to 10−5 of the human size; scholarly knowledge produces images which range from about 1020 to 10−20 of the human size. Knowledge results from the interaction of internal and external messages. Internal messages produce perceptions of identities—propositions which cannot be untrue, and also perceptions of ‘near-identities’—propositions which have a high probability of being true. Beyond these are the empirical propositions, derived from ordered observation of the records of the past and the present, and from experiment. These are always subjet both to error, and the reduction of error. Each field of knowledge has to find its appropriate method, depending on the nature of the system about which knowledge is sought. These systems may be classified as predictable (with stable parameters) and partially predictable (systems involving information, or subject to parametric change.) It is a mistake to transfer methods appropriate in one field to another, where they may be inappropriate.

Adapting the Capability Approach to Explain the Effects of Participatory Development Programs: Case Studies from India and Morocco

Sony Pellissery — 2007-09-21T15:38:14-00:00

Journal of Human Development, Vol. 8, No. 2. (2007), pp. 283-302.

This paper attempts to explore the linkages between democracy, participation, and inequality. It does so by situating the role of ‘public scrutiny and debate’ in Sen's work. It then draws on the literature on ‘deliberative democracy’ to show the linkages between requirements for (ideal, democratic) political participation and typologies of participation that have emerged in the development context. It finally links this discussion to concepts of power and inequality. Three case studies help to illustrate the use of this analytical framework. The Employment Guarantee Scheme case study from the Indian state of Maharashtra illustrates the effects of ‘participation for material incentives’ built on both ‘hidden’ and ‘invisible power’ structures. The Moroccan case study shows the potential for participatory approaches to deepen existing inequalities when certain pre-conditions for participation are not fulfilled, leading to ‘hidden power’ domination. The Kerala case study is an example for political participation that is built on ‘visible’ power strategies. Hence, this paper attempts to contribute to the discussion on the intended and unintended effects of participatory schemes by developing and applying a more comprehensive analytical framework.