Effects of Rural and Urban Population Dynamics and National Development on Deforestation in Less‐Developed Countries, 1990–2000*

While prior research and theorization establish connections between population growth and environmental degradation, there is a relative paucity of research on what particular aspects of population dynamics are most closely associated with specific types of degradation. Considering all less‐developed countries for which data are available, using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression we generate quantitative, cross‐national models for rates of deforestation in the last decade of the twentieth century. The opposite effects of rural and urban population dynamics are of particular concern. While both influence deforestation rates, the effects of rural population change tend to be more profound and more robust. We discuss these findings in light of theoretical work about circular migration and rural encroachment. In addition, we examine the impact of economic development on deforestation while controlling for political and social welfare variables. Findings suggest a trend toward rapidly increasing rates of deforestation in the least‐developed countries. We conclude with a discussion of how rural–urban population dynamics, in combination with other aspects of national development, affect the natural environment, particularly in light of an increasingly interconnected world economy.     

The “Hamburger Connection” as Ecologically Unequal Exchange: A Cross‐National Investigation of Beef Exports and Deforestation in Less‐Developed Countries

This study explores Norman Myers's concept of the “hamburger connection” as a form of ecologically unequal exchange, where more‐developed nations are able to transfer the environmental costs of beef consumption to less‐developed nations. I used ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to test whether deforestation in less‐developed nations is associated with the vertical flow of beef exports to more‐developed nations. An interaction term also examines whether this relationship is more pronounced in Latin American nations, as posited by Myers. The sample includes all nondesert, less‐developed nations for which there are available data across all indicators (N= 48). Overall, the results confirm the tested hypotheses. The findings also provide unique contextual support for ecologically unequal exchange theory by demonstrating that unequal trade relationships can operate at the level of a single commodity type.     

Rural Disadvantage and Malaria in Less‐Developed Nations: A Cross‐National Investigation of a Neglected Disease

Although often forgotten among people in affluent nations, malaria represents a leading global health concern in poor, rural countries. Malaria is traditionally thought of as a rural disease, given the close proximity of rural households to mosquito disease vectors. However, more insight is needed to investigate the larger social, economic, and environmental conditions that perhaps interact with rurality to explain why some nations continue to have high levels of prevalence of this preventable and eradicable parasitic infection. We employ structural equation modeling to efficiently test for both direct and indirect effects of rurality. The results demonstrate that rurality works in important indirect ways; although rurality has indirect links to malaria through export agriculture, health spending, and sociohealth resources, careful decomposition of the indirect effects illustrates that the indirect effects through heath spending and sociohealth resources are most important. Overall, the findings suggest that rural vulnerabilities to malaria are not inherent and can be largely addressed by increasing public health provisions among rural populations.     

Economic Dependence,Overurbanization, and Economic Growth: A Study of Less Developed Countries*

Excessively large and rapidly growing urban populations characterize social structural change in less-developed countries. This is in contrast to the developmental patterns which accompanied structural transformation in the presently rich, industrialized countries of the world. Many less-developed countries are thus said to be “overurbanized.” In this paper, quantitative cross-national data are brought to bear on the hypothesis that overurbanization has been fue1ed by the economic dependence to which these countries are, to varying degrees, subject. The hypothesis that the degree of overurbanization and changes therein inhibit economic growth is also examined. But the overurbanization question is often framed as a matter of the relative distribution of the labor force into service and manufacturing occupations. We herefore examine parallel hypotheses which define overurbanization in terms of the urban labor distribution. Constraints on the availability of labor force data, however, relegate these findings to a subordinate role. Panel regression analysis provides support for the proposition that dependence upon foreign capital leads to overurbanization (defined as either the urban/development relationship or in terms of labor structure imbalance). Furthermore, relative increases in overnrbanization are consistently accompanied by relative declines in per capita economic growth, though the effects of higher levels of overurbanization do not appear to impede economic growth.     

Recent Representations in Popular Environmental Discourse: Individualism,Wastefulness and the Global Economy*

À partir du concept de règie morale, on proc?ede à une déconstruction critique du récent discours environnemental axé sur l'individualisme et la gestion des déchets. Les sources analysées comprennent des emissions télévisées diffusées à la CBC telles que The Journal, Prime Time News et The Nature of Things ainsi que les programmes sco‐laires de l'Ontario. On soutient que, dans la compréhension populaire à l'égard de l'environnement, l'accent mis sur l'irres‐ponsabilite indi‐viduelle a été, de bien des façons, liéà des impératifs économiques, aux connaissances déterministes entourant l'économie mondiale ainsi qu'à la rationalité néolibérale. Par conséquent, de telles constructions contribueraient a créer un climat culturel, oú l'émergence d'un discours public critique remettant en cause les « réalités économiques » deviendrait moins probable. Making use of the concept of moral regulation, a critical deconstruction of the recent environmental discourse of individualism and waste is undertaken. Sources analysed include CBC's The Journal, Prime Time News and The Nature of Things, and Ontario curriculum guides. It is argued that the emergence in popular environmental understandings of a focus on individual irresponsibility was, in many ways, bound up with economic imperatives, deterministic understandings surrounding the global economy, and neoliberal rationality. As a result, such constructions are suggested to participate in a cultural climate where the emergence of critical public discourse that challenges “economic realities” becomes less likely.     

Disaster‐time Economy and an Economy of Morals: A Different Economic Order from the Market Economy under Globalization*

With the experience of two severe disasters (the Hanshin Awaji Earthquake disaster of 1995 and the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster of 2011), I wish to consider “subsistence” as human life, existence equaling the basic activities of life, an essential mutual act‐like existence economy. In this paper, I pursue a positive development of “disaster‐time economics” as a research object under the larger framework of the formation of a “moral economy,” as part of a critical process. In this paper, in order that a stricken area and society may aim at the realization of a new methodology about “creative revival” for newly developing independent research involving the state of the revival fund of a wide sense is carried out. Nevertheless, there is an overall understanding of who, in what areas, and using what methodology, has conducted research in the restoration and revival process, as well as the weak points that tend to hinder the process. There is no research on the rationality and function of public finance expenditures or national sources expenditures. Therefore, in this paper, the term “disaster‐time economy” is newly prepared. From this concept, many activities of the project, service, support, self‐efforts etc. of a social and private domain are grasped from a public sphere in connection with the process of maintenance/restoration under the disaster. The feature and subject point of the process are clarified. The market economy order that is going to be produced in this process does the basic work and determines the economic order for another self‐subsistence over life.     

Mexico's Political Future(s) in a Globalizing World Economy*

Dans cette étude, nous cherchons à démontrer que le devenir économique et politique du Mexique est étroitement liéà l'évolution du capitalisme mondial. Nous utilisons le concept de «réseaux ascen-dants>> pour analyser les processus qui se développent à l'échelle mondiale et nationale ainsi que leurs interactions. Notre objectif est précisément de théoriser sur ces interactions à l'échelle de l'État-nation et de décrire, en présentant plusieurs scénarios, les diverses façons dont le Mexique pourrait évoluer sur les plans économique et politique. Le Mexique s'intégrant de plus en plus au marché nord-américain, il est capital d'étudier la façon dont cette intégration va influer sur les processus à venir et sur les forces sociales susceptibles de lui faire prendre une direction plus souhaitable.
This paper proposes that the patterns of economic and political outcomes in Mexico are intimately related to global processes taking place in world capitalism. It develops a "bottom-up linkages" approach that takes into account both global and country-level processes and their interrelationships. The author's specific purpose is to theorize about the interaction of national and global processes on the political outcomes at the level of the nation-state, and to generate some future scenarios representing different combinations of more or less feasible political and economic outcomes in Mexico's future. Because Mexico is becoming increasingly integrated economically into North America, it is critical to specify the ways in which such integration affects such future processes, and to identify the social forces that might steer developments in more desirable directions.     

Environmental Inequity: An Analysis of Large‐Scale Hog Operations in 17 States, 1982–1997*

Abstract This study extends ideas of environmental equity to large‐scale hog operations. We investigate counties in 17 hog producing states to determine whether large‐scale hog operations are more likely to be sited and expanded in areas that have a disproportionate number of Black, Hispanic, and/or economically disadvantaged residents. The data for this work come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Bureau of Census. We discover evidence of racial inequity, but only in those states where large‐scale operations are being rapidly sited and expanded (i.e., Iowa, North Carolina, and Minnesota). There is no evidence of ethnic or economic inequality. We conclude that reductions in community quality of life attributable to large‐scale hog operations are more likely to be found in counties that are disproportionately Black than White if located in states that are expanding the number of large‐scale hog operations.     

Gender Differences in Pro‐Environmental Intentions: A Cross‐National Perspective on the Influence of Self‐Enhancement Values and Views on Technology*

While many studies have addressed the complex relationship between gender and environmental constructs, few have attempted to determine just how gender influences environmentalism. We argue that the interaction of gender with other sociocultural variables must be examined. Our study includes two of these variables: technological values and self‐enhancement values. Study results indicate that the effect of gender on environmental intentions is moderated by these two variables. This is established in a multicountry study of college students in the United States, Canada, and Germany. In examining willingness to change consumption behaviors, when controlling for self‐enhancement or technological values, the gender effect holds only when there are high scores for the other variable. When technological or self‐enhancement scores are low, men and women are equally willing to change their intentions. The gender by technology effect was moderated somewhat by country. Thus, gender alone does not function independently in its impact on respondents’ willingness to change consumption behaviors. The study results have implications for future research on the relationship between gender and environmentalism and for environmental education efforts.     

Privacy,Publicity, and Accountability of Self‐Presentation in an On‐Line Discussion Group*

Although the anonymous condition of on‐line interaction seems to provide space for the experiment of decentered, fluid, and multiple forms of identity, the disembodied on‐line identity often entails the fallout of accountability of self‐presentation. This article explores the nature of self‐presentation in cyberspace by conducting a case study of an on‐line discussion group. Specifically, it deals with the issue of disembodiment and accountability of on‐line identity in a close connection to the feature of the obliteration of the public/private boundary in the group. This study inquires into the following questions: “What techniques, if any, do members of the group employ to conceal their identity information?”; “Under what circumstances do members voluntarily disclose their identity information?”; “How do participants probe others’ identity cues and thus construct pattern knowledge about them?”; and “How should differences/similarities between on‐line self‐presentation and face‐to‐face identity styles be addressed?” In doing so, this article, on the one hand, tries to integrate the dynamics of participants’ active “identity probing” as an important interaction dimension to the study of on‐line self‐presentation that has so far heavily worked on the processes of identity concealment and self‐disclosure. On the other, referring to literatures on identity styles in off‐line settings, it addresses similarities of and differences between patterns of on‐line/off‐line self‐presentation.     

The Quebec Patronat: Proposing a Neo‐liberal Political Economy after All*

Les études récentes portant sur le patronat québécois avancent que ce dernier a modernisé son discours, passant du néolibéralisme à une concertation et à une coopération positive avec les syndicats et l'État. Ces études suggèrent que le patronat québécois est en train de développer une économie politique distincte du modèle libéral en vigueur ailleurs au Canada. Cet article analyse le discours du Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ) depuis sa création pour évaluer la pertinence de ces arguments. Il conclut que la vision stratégique du CPQ est restée néolibérale depuis le début des années 1980, ce qui suggére la nécessité de la prudence dans la formulation des arguments sur l'exceptionnalisme économique du Québec. Recent studies of the Quebec patronat argue that it has “modernized” its discourse, moving from neo‐liberalism to the embrace of positive‐sum concertation and co‐operation with unions and the State. These studies suggest Quebec's employers' associations are developing a different political economy than the liberal one found in the Rest of Canada. This article assesses these arguments using the discourse of the Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ) since its inception. It argues that the CPQ's strategic outlook has remained steadfastly neo‐liberal since the early 1980s, which suggests the need for caution in developing accounts of Quebec's economic exceptionalism.     

Marital Status,Gender, and Parents’ Psychological Well‐Being*

This study analyzes the associations between marital status, gender, and depressive symptoms among parents. The regression results indicate that married parents report fewer traditional depressive symptoms and lower rates of alcohol abuse than do single parents. Mothers and fathers also appear to be more likely to exhibit different depressive symptoms: Mothers are more likely than fathers to report traditional depressive symptoms and fathers are more likely to report the abuse of alcohol. Finally, we find evidence that indicators of parenting burdens such as economic strain, household labor, childcare, social support, and religious involvement mediate and moderate these relationships.     

Childrearing,Self‐Control,and Crime: Additional Evidence*

Gottfredson and Hirschi's model of caregiving to produce high self‐control is examined using survey data from a city population of adults. The data permit assessment of the predictive ability of all three elements of the regimen, separately and in com‐bination. While a combination of the elements of the specified model and some of the individual components prove to be statistically significant predictors of self‐control, the coefficients are only modest ones. In addition, the sequential model of crime production set forth by the theorists proves to be questionable. These findings add to an emerging body of research suggesting that self‐control may be dependent on things other than the childhood caregiving regimen identified in self‐control theory.     

State‐Society Relations in the Making of Canadian Immigration Policy during the Mulroney Era*

Des conceptions différentes de l'unité des fractions de classe sont à la base d'importantes divergences théoriques dans la sociologie de l'État. Ces conceptions sont examinées ici en fonction du rema‐niement de la politique fédérale des taux d'immigration sous le gouvernement conservateur du premier ministre Brian Mulroney. Fondée sur des documents, des entrevues et des déclarations publi‐ques, cette étude montre que, pour les syndicats aussi bien que pour les représentants du secteur privé, la politique des niveaux d'immigration était un sujet de peu d'importance sur lequel l'opinion était divisée pendant les années quatre‐vingt. Par conséquent, le poids de la sociétéétait faible lorsque des bureaucrates et des politiciens du gouvernement fédéral ont décidé de rompre le lien qui, depuis les années quarante, avait associé l'iinmigration au chômage. Competing theories in the sociology of the state turn on different assumptions about the unity of class fractions. This study examines these assumptions in light of changes in immigration levels management under the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney. Documents, interviews and public statements show immigration levels management was a subject of dissent and some disinterest among economic elites as well as organized labour during the 1980s. Federal bureaucrats and politicians therefore enjoyed a large margin of autonomy in disassociating the cycles of immigration and domestic unemployment.     

Post‐Marxist Trajectories: Diagnosis,Criticism, Utopia*

In this article, I examine the troublesome notion of “post‐Marxism.” First, I read post‐Marxism as an expression of the transformations entailed by our post‐1968 entry into what world‐systems thinkers call “an age of transition.” Second, drawing on Tormey and Townshend's work, I explore the thematic unity of post‐Marxism in terms of six problems posed to Marxism—the problems of history, revolutionary subjectivity, ethics, positivism, vanguardism, and democracy. Third, I suggest that, given the many questions raised by post‐Marxist efforts to go beyond these problems, and given the passing of the phase of what Holmes has called “happy globalization,” serious doubts are raised about the theoretical and utopian gains achieved by post‐Marxism and the distance we might want to travel from the suggestions offered by the Marxian tradition.     

欧洲发达国家的青年就业政策及启示

青年就业问题已经成为一个世界性的难题。进入后工业社会的欧洲发达国家,也不得不面对为数众多且日渐增长的青年失业群体的困扰。为解决这一难题,欧洲各发达国家在各自国内以及在欧盟框架下,从调控青年劳动力的需求、供给和就业信息传导等方面采取了多种措施,在一定范围内缓解了各国青年就业的压力,在实践中总体效果良好。这些措施对我们解决国内青年就业问题有着有益的启示。     

Pro‐family Organizations in Calgary, 1998: Beliefs,Interconnections and Allies*

Dans cet article, nous comparons les convictions des différents groupes pro‐famille de Calgary et nous préscntons la structure des liens qui unissent ces groupes. Les données, recueillies en 1998, proviennent de documents et d'entretiens semi‐structurés avec les chefs de file de ces groupes. Nous abordons ici trois problèmes de recherche. Tout d'abord, nous examinons la teneur des relations entre groupes pro‐famille et pro‐vie. Tous les groupes pro‐famille, même ceux qui se prononcent résolument contre l'avortement, se dis‐tinguent des groupes pro‐vie sur le plan tant organisational que politique. Ensuite, nous nous penchons sur le rôle des croyances chré‐tiennes au sein du mouvement. Nous affirmons que, bien que les groupes chrétiens aient été dominants en 1998, la promotion, de la famille hétérosexuelle nucléaire, et non les questions de doctrine, a été fondamentale pour le mouvement. Enfin, nous examinons si le mouvement s'est scindé entre socioconservateurs et centristes, les centristes étant peu représentatifs en 1998. En outre, l'un des groupes présentant un profil centriste, la National Foundation for Family Research and Education, a tout fait pour légitimer du point de vue scientifique les arguments moraux des socioconservateurs en faveur de la famille. En conclusion, nous soutenons que le mouvement pro‐famille à Calgary s'est éloigné de sa vocation initiale de contre‐mouvement antiféministe. Dans l'avenir, la popularité du mouvement pro‐famille au Canada dépendra peut‐être des valeurs postféministes qu'il affichera. This paper presents a comparative study of the beliefs of pro‐family organizations in Calgary and a structural mapping of organizational ties. Data were gathered in 1998 from documents and semi‐structured interviews with group leaders. Three research problems are addressed. The first concerns the closeness of the relationship between pro‐family and pro‐life groups. We find that all pro‐family groups, even those with strong anti‐abortion convictions, were organizationally and politically distinctive from pro‐life groups. The second problem considers the role of Christian beliefs in the movement. We ascertain that although Christian groups were dominant in 1998, promotion of the heterosexual nuclear family, not doctrinal issues, was fundamental to the movement. The third problem concerns whether the movement was bifurcated between social conservative and centrist segments. The centrist segment was quite weak in 1998. Furthermore, one of the groups with a centrist persona, the National Foundation for Family Research and Education, strove to supply scientific legitimation for social conservatives' moral claims about the family. In conclusion, the article argues that the pro‐family movement in Calgary has broken free of its initial phase as an anti‐feminist countermovement and suggests that the future popularity of pro‐family advocacy in Canada will be proportional to the degree that it is couched in a post‐feminist framework.     

Patterns of Informal Job Matching across the Life Course: Entry‐Level,Reentry‐Level,and Elite Non‐Searching*

The character and outcomes of informal job matching vary at different stages during people's lives. This is illustrated through an examination of non‐searchers—people who get their jobs without searching thanks to receiving unsolicited information about job openings. Examining data from the 1979 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, I identify three distinct patterns of non‐searching. Early in the work career, “entry‐level” non‐searchers acquire their first few jobs often while still in school. During the mid‐career, “reentry‐level” non‐searchers tend to be women with little work experience who have been out of the labor market taking care of family responsibilities. Finally, “elite” non‐searchers tend to be male, highly experienced in their field, with very short gaps between employment. All three lack an economic urgency to get a job, but only the elite non‐searchers match prevailing assumptions of non‐searchers as the best connected and most advantaged workers. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating a life course perspective into the study of informal job matching.