Alternative strategies for redistribution in urban renewal

The theme of this congress is the redistribution of available resources to improve urban living conditions for the underprivileged and so provide more equal opportunities in urban life. In the past, much of the resources for redistribution were made available through growth in the economy. Currently, however strong the policies, this kind of redistribution has become more difficult as the developed world has moved from economic growth to economic stagnation, resulting in fewer resources available in the public or private sectors for redistribution. These difficulties are exacerbated when particular countries adopt vigorous restrictions of the money supply, monetarism, to pursue economic goals, such as combatting inflation, which of itself damps down rather than stimulates growth.How then is the redistribution of resources to be pursued in order to advance urban living conditions for the underprivileged? The answer to this question starts from the recognition of the obvious: that distribution of product (from any activity) is a consequence not only of “how much’ but also of how the resources for the activity are in fact employed. Using a national contractor with mobile labour for new house building will result in a different distribution from using local people with local materials.Similarly, there are many different approaches to tackling urban and community renewal, as is clear from a review of practice around the world since World War I. This paper will be looking for a pattern in the variety of approaches, and for a possible trend in the changes that have taken place in such approaches over the past 30 years.These changes have been put into a sharp focus in one small country (Israel) through the national programme of Project Renewal, which has been described in another paper in this congress.¹ Here it will be argued that the Israeli programme had telescoped into 3 years a sequence of change which has been evolving for the past 30 years in USA, the UK and other countries in Europe.This paper will indicate one approach which seems to be emerging from that process of change and which was employed in the town of Ashkelon in Israel. It is based on the better utilisation at the local level for the underprivileged of such resources that are available. Better utilisation is not regarded simply as deriving from a more efficient use of such resources through the use of economic calculus by central administration but rather through the involvement of the local community and individuals in a similar process to that which takes place where adaptation and mobility are self-generated.That is not to say that government resources become altogether unnecessary. But, instead of using them to top up the ever present shortfalls, they are used as a catalyst to introduce regeneration.Thus we believe a more effective redistribution of benefits can be achieved even with a lesser allocation of resources, provided they are properly used.But the approach in Ashkelon of itself is not the important question for this Conference. It is rather: has the approach a more general application, as a way of tackling renewal and a strategy for redistribution?My conclusion on this question is presented in the second part of the paper which provides a tentative overview of what has been happening in urban renewal since World War II in Europe and the USA. There I show the changing focus of renewal by reference to five strands which are found to a greater or lesser extent in any renewal programme: the physical, social and economic content of the programme, and the political and public participation driving forces behind them. From this tentative overview come two tentative conclusions: that the varying approaches in Israel to renewal in the past 3 years have reflected the variety in approaches over the past 30 years in the USA and UK, and that the trend in these approaches does encourage the notion that the Ashkelon approach has wider relevance as a model for regeneration strategies.The review of changing approaches to renewal suggests that regeneration is not simply a response to the current economic situation in the western world, but a culmination of a long standing trend, and one that should be used even at times of economic prosperity.     

Multidimensional Assessment of Poverty Alleviation in a Developing Country: A Case Study on Economic Interventions

Donors increasingly expect international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) to prove that the organizations' economic development interventions alleviate poverty. Currently, many INGOs search for new methods to meet this demand by focusing on the expectations of donors rather than those of beneficiaries. We analyze the benefit of qualitative, context‐specific methods and ask the question: What can an economic development intervention contribute to poverty alleviation from the perspective of the beneficiaries? In our case study, a negative economic valuation was not automatically a reason to evaluate the economic intervention as a failure. Assessment thus cannot be reduced to economic impacts. Also, qualitative approaches can add beneficiary‐oriented data in a context in which accountability mainly focuses on donors. This beneficiary orientation likely leads to better accountability negotiations with donors. Three hypotheses introduce these results.     

The Indian Diaspora in Africa: The Commodification of Hindu Rashtra

A new approach to India’s diaspora has taken place within the wider context of the adoption, in 1991, of a neoliberal economic policy framework. In recent years, Indian private business enterprises have led the way in Africa and this has had an important impact on the state’s conceptualization of the diaspora. New Delhi’s elites actively seek to embrace an objectified ‘globalization’ as a means to benefit powerful externally oriented fractions and the diaspora’s value is measured in its contribution to this project. There has been a determined attempt to commodify the diaspora to serve particular Indian economic interests. However, the current government’s Hindu chauvinism makes the very question of what constitutes a genuine Indian rather narrow. Two factors thus dominate current policy: commodification and categorization. The diaspora in South Africa is discussed as an example where these dynamics can be acutely observed.     

Making connections: Global Production Networks and World City Networks

This article offers a sympathetic critique of recent attempts to forge a dialogue between Global Commodity Chain (GCC) and World City Network (WCN) approaches to global economic change. While broadly supportive of the endeavour, we make three observations about this ongoing project. First, we question the utility of emphasizing the common roots of these approaches in World Systems Theory given that both have subsequently moved into new epistemological terrain and, additionally, that the language of core and periphery seems ever less pertinent to global economic realities. Second, we seek to highlight the potential dangers of essentializing the global system as one that is primarily shaped by certain kinds of connections – namely the intra-firm relationships of advanced producer service firms – between certain kinds of cities – namely the leading tiers of global cities. Third, we point to the need to expand the interpretations of relationality within global networks to include a wider variety of actors, particularly beyond the corporate realm, and to explore the dynamic power relations between those actors. We also discuss the methodological challenges of expanding the purview of research in this way. This commentary has been stimulated by the articles in the special issue of Global Networks on 'World City Networks and Global Commodity Chains'.     

The use of risk in understanding financial decisions and institutional uncertainty

The idea that rationality and emotional factors are involved in financial decisions is well accepted in many economic approaches and in organisation theory. This paper compares specific relevant arguments in behavioural finance and sociology. The aim is to show the implications of these different analyses for the financial sector. The question is whether behavioural finance emphasises the concept of risk more than uncertainty. The paper suggests that cognitive and emotional factors are usefully examined in light of approaches from both behavioural finance and sociology. The first looks at individuals primarily, the second at structural (policy and market) factors. I argue that the latter influence organisational choices of different time orientations towards the future. In exploring the potential of this approach, the paper poses three organisational decision models, that take uncertainty and its relevant social institutions into account, while acknowledging that time preferences and discounting by individuals are well-explored in behavioural economic frameworks.     

Toward a social psychology of survey methodology: An application of the approach and directions for the future

Survey methodology is a relatively new academic discipline focused on understanding sources of survey errors. As an interdisciplinary field, survey methodology borrows theoretical approaches from other disciplines and applies them to understand how survey respondents answer questions. One field in particular, cognitive psychology, has played a central role in the development of survey methodology. The cognitive approach has focused researchers' attentions on the sources of error at each stage of the cognitive process respondents use to answer a survey question: comprehension of the question, recollection of relevant information, estimation and judgment, and reporting an answer. Although this focus on the cognitive response process has been positive and fruitful, potentially strong social and interactional influences on the response process have been underinvestigated and undertheorized. Thus, this essay argues for a revitalized research program in the sociological social psychology of survey methodology, given its rich body of theory and research. The current strengths of social psychological and interactional approaches are highlighted, focusing primarily on recent work using identity theory to understand social desirability biases. Finally, potentially fruitful future directions for research are proposed, matching sociological social psychological theories to the survey errors upon which they may shed light.     

Inquiry-based learning: A socially just approach to higher education

Higher education’s potential to transform social and economic status and improve society, underlies increasing demands to improve access. But simply increasing access is not sufficient—it is important to ask whether our prevailing pedagogical approaches facilitate an effective and socially just higher education system. In other words, are traditional pedagogical approaches used in universities today truly accessible to the broader student population entering university? The current paper argues that the majority of pedagogies remain rooted in traditional approaches that favor those who benefit from continuous education from primary through to tertiary education. Such approaches rely heavily on incremental credentialism and are neither truly accessible nor socially just. Most introductory courses in universities require prior knowledge and “expect” students to be enculturated into a particular type of learning: as such, students with different levels of preparation, who come from different backgrounds, may be excluded from full participation. In addition, the rising costs of tuition fees and textbooks, and access to technology create inequities that reinforce socially-based discrimination higher education. The paper reports on the impact of implementing a specifically designed course, using closed-loop, reiterative problem-based learning, to create learning paradigms that focus on a more socially just approach for students entering university: these courses do not demand specific prior knowledge, foster difficult ways of thinking, and focus on developing research skills through access to library resources. Finally, the paper reports on students’ expectations about higher education and underscores the importance of re-thinking at least the first-year experience for students.     

Paradigms for analysis of social institutions: A case for sociological institutionalism

This paper makes a case for sociological institutionalism, particularly its Veblenian variant or connection. This is attempted against a background of the surge of renewed interest in analyzing institutions within modern social science, especially economics and sociology. This is indicated by the emergence of the new institutional economics as the (modified) neoclassical approach to institutions and the revival of economic sociology with its conception of the institutional embeddedness of the economy, respectively. Still, many pertinent differences between economic and sociological institutionalism are overlooked or minimized in the current literature. By exploring such differences, the paper helps span a gap in the literature in which comparative analyses of economic and sociological approaches to institutions are rare.     

EU economic governance and austerity: Exploring recent perspectives

This paper presents some of the main theoretical approaches which examine changes in the EU economic governance system during the current crisis. We review standard approaches of EU studies (neo‐functionalism, liberal inter‐governmentalism, and historical institutionalism), Marxist–regulationist political economists, and Bourdieusian sociologists. The paper illustrates how scholars utilize given intellectual tools to understand ongoing trends of political and institutional change. We suggest that Bourdieusian sociologists may be in a relatively better position to interpret governance reforms and this is briefly illustrated by looking at some empirical observations from researching the effect of EU economic governance reform on the management of public assets in Greece.     

Rationalities and Images Underlying Labour Migration from Bangladesh to Malaysia

Most studies of temporary labour migration use economic models or examine the economic rationales of migrants to explain why people are moving. Although in migration research new approaches and perspectives have been introduced lately, temporary labour migration, especially in the global South, is still defined primarily as purely economic in nature. This article concentrates on the migrants and their rationalities for migrating, their networks as well as their perceptions and interpretations of the situation they are confronted with abroad to argue that concentrating solely on economic aspects means to lose sight of the tremendous role images and myths about migration in general and receiving countries in particular do play. Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia, who have contributed to the remarkable economic success of the country during the last decades, are in the focus. The construction of the images and the role networks play within these processes will be analysed using data gathered from field research in both settings. Of special interest in this context is the construction of a Muslim brotherhood between the countries for an understanding of the migration flows. This article intends to broaden the current discussions on temporary labour migration by analysing not only the different motives and rationalities but relating them to the constructed images in the new spaces that temporary labour migration has constituted. This important link is missing so far in studies on this global phenomenon.     

Scale direction effects in agree/disagree and item-specific questions: a comparison of question formats

The effect of the response scale direction on response behavior is a well-known phenomenon in survey research. While there are several approaches to explaining how such response order effects occur, the literature reports mixed evidence. Furthermore, different question formats seem to vary in their susceptibility to these effects. We therefore investigate the occurrence of response order effects in Agree/Disagree (A/D) and Item-Specific (IS) questions. We conducted an experiment among n = 930 students in which we varied the scale direction (decremental vs. incremental) within A/D and IS questions and asked respondents to evaluate the questionnaires. The results reveal response order effects within the A/D but not within the IS question format. Furthermore, respondent’s evaluations suggest that completion of the IS questionnaires requires more consideration than the completion of the A/D questionnaires. Altogether, our findings indicate that IS questions are more robust against response order effects than A/D questions.     

Probabilistic cost-effectiveness analysis of HIV prevention. Comparing a Bayesian approach with traditional deterministic sensitivity analysis

In cost-effectiveness analysis, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio is used to measure economic efficiency of a new intervention, relative to an existing one. However, costs and effects are seldom known with certainty. Uncertainty arises from two main sources: uncertainty regarding correct values of intervention-related parameters and uncertainty associated with sampling variation. Recently, attention has focused on Bayesian techniques for quantifying uncertainty. We computed the Bayesian-based 95% credible interval estimates of the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of several related HIV prevention interventions and compared these results with univariate sensitivity analyses. The conclusions were comparable, even though the probabilistic technique provided additional information.     

Learning How to Make Life Swing

How do we explain the contradiction between the centrality of African-American culture in the U.S. and the simultaneous marginality of African-American people in contemporary American society? Pursuing an answer to this question through my ethnographic work on the Lindy Hop led to a radical rethinking of current approaches to cultural appropriation. This article serves as an intervention into ethnographic research on race and ethnicity by synthesizing Wacquant's carnal sociology with his call for the formation of an analytical theory of racial domination. This synthesis, in which theory and method work reciprocally, offers a new model for undertaking research in the areas of race and ethnicity by which we are able to differentiate and dissect the material and symbolic mechanisms that generate racial domination in particular historical contexts.     

Regulation of technology adoption when individuals pursue multiple utility

Should regulatory approaches to technology adoption in U.S. agriculture be command and control in character, or use economic incentives? This paper addresses this question while testing the “I and We” multiple utility model and suggesting socioeconomic theory as a conceptual framework. Results show that one perhaps cannot understand farmer response to regulation without considering norms. Introducing the “We-utility” notion into the standard “I-utility” model adds explanatory power. Government's regulatory role needs to be shifted to first providing the impetus for action and then to helping in the evolution of norms, no matter which approach is used. The proposed socioeconomic theory goes beyond standard microeconomics by including both the idea of norms and that of positive freedoms, and thus introducing ethical considerations into economic analysis.     

Peruvian Grassroots Organizations in Times of Violence and Peace. Between Economic Solidarity,Participatory Democracy,and Feminism

The new millennium has meant a new start for Peruvian society. After decades of political violence, economic crisis, and an internal war, democracy was restored, and economic growth resumed. The many grassroots organizations that had been established to address the economic and political crisis seem to have lost their initial raison d’être. Still, they have remained in operation to this very day. In this article, we analyze the history and continued presence of two types of urban grassroots organizations: the communal kitchens and the victim-survivor organizations. Our leading question is: what is the present-day rationale sustaining these grassroots organizations that originated as responses to the political and economic turmoil from the previous decades? As we will argue, insight into the values of economic solidarity, participatory democracy, and gender equality is important to better understand the organization’s continuity. They shed light on the organizations’ changing roles and diverging meanings that their members attribute to them. Nowadays, members see the organizations as a platform for self-expression.     

The business ecosystem concept in innovation policy context: building a conceptual framework

The aim of this conceptual paper is to explore the business ecosystem concept in innovation policy context, and question whether it has something new to bring to the innovation policy field compared to previous theoretical discussions. A comparative study was conducted where three widely utilized policy approaches were examined together with the business ecosystem concept. The ecosystem concept differs from the three approaches, for example, in its evolving around innovation, and its self-organizing and self-renewing nature. This paper sets a conceptual basis for further empirical research concerning the innovation policy implications of the business ecosystem concept.     

Making worlds: epistemological, ontological and political dimensions of technoscience

This paper outlines some of the new epistemological and ontological assumptions of contemporary technoscience thereby reframing the question of an epochal break. Important aspects are the question of a new techno-rationality, but also the constitution of a ‘New World Order Inc.’, with its new ‘politics of life itself’, the reconfiguration of categories such as race, class and gender in technoscience, as well as the amalgamation of everyday life, technoscience and culture. Given the difficulties of ‘proving’ a new episteme (or even epoch), I change perspective by reflecting on the epistemological vantage point from which the interpretation of technoscience as a new episteme or epoch becomes (im)plausible—confronting traditional approaches of philosophy and history of science and technology assessment (TA) with interventional approaches, such as postcolonial and feminist cultural studies of technoscience.     

Successes,Failures and Prospects for the Common Transport Policy

The paper reviews the development of the Common Transport Policy from a historical perspective and assesses its successes and failures as measured by its direct outputs, i.e. the regulatory, economic and other measures established to achieve its objectives. Despite significant progress with regard to the removal of barriers to competition either through positive regulation - the harmonization of social and technical standards - or through negative regulation - the liberalization and harmonization of the criteria for market access - several problems remain and solutions are outstanding with regard to the main challenges posed by sustainable mobility, namely environmental protection and social cohesion. In relevant action areas the Common Transport Policy is reluctant about following through as strict a regime of policy formulation and implementation as that adopted with regard to market-access-related regulations since 1985. The main reason, the authors argue, has to do with the implications of this for national sovereignty and for subsidiarity as currently interpreted. In the absence of a suitable regulatory framework the approach taken is that of negotiation and incremental improvement. Whether this is appropriate to the challenges faced remains an open question.     

Neither ‘family’ nor ‘corporate’ farming: Australian tomato growers as farm family entrepreneurs

For the past two decades there has been much debate about the future of family farming. The basic question on which this debate has turned is whether current pressures on family farm systems should be understood as symptomatic of a terminal condition, in which farmers are replaced progressively by corporate ownership; or whether family farms will persist as a social formation, albeit increasingly subsumed by off-farm interests. Using evidence from the Australian processing tomato sector, this article documents the changing social and economic formation of ‘family farming’. We argue that in this industry, the appropriate way to describe farmers is through the deployment of that a new category of farming; farm family entrepreneurs. This phrase is coined to describe the situation where family units remain at the social and economic heart of farm ownership and operation, but in the context where they relate to their land-based assets through legal and financial structures characteristic of the wider economy. As this article explores, this formation seems to represent an accommodating modus operandi for farm units within neo-liberal agricultural governance. Nevertheless, however, this duality of family-based structures and capitalist entrepreneurialism inevitably provokes a series of tensions, whose resolution requires a variety of organizational strategies to be put in place.