Facing the Bullet? Non-Governmental Organisations’ (NGOs’) Responses to the Changing Aid Landscape in Ghana

There is growing evidence suggesting that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in lower-middle-income countries and emerging economies are facing challenges about their sustainability due to changing aid patterns for development. While the changing development context and the challenges posed to NGOs are increasingly receiving research attention, an understanding of how organisations are responding remains very limited. This article draws on 65 qualitative interviews and presents findings about how NGOs in Ghana, West Africa, are responding to the emerging concerns about their sustainability in the context of the changing aid landscape. Findings suggest that NGOs in Ghana are combining at least six main strategies to attain sustainability. We have categorised these as: (1) eggs-in-multiple-baskets; (2) cost-cutting; (3) strength-in-numbers; (4) security-under-partnership; (5) credibility-building; and (6) visibility-enhancing strategies.     

Labor immigration and long-run welfare in a growth model with heterogenous agents and endogenous labor supply

This paper examines the consequences of labor immigration in an OLG economy in which agents have an elastic labor supply and differ with respect to degrees of altruism and rates of time preference. It focuses on three substantive questions. First, how do immigrants influence the bequest motive of altruistic natives? Second, what impact do immigrants have on the labor supply of natives? Finally, how does immigration affect the long-run welfare of both altruistic and non altruistic natives? Received: 25 November 1999/Accepted: 07 April 2000     

Oppositional consciousness,cultural preservation,and everyday resistance on the Uyghur Internet

The Internet has potential as a tool for propagation of minority cultures and identities. As China is a multi-ethnic, multilingual society, people of varying cultural backgrounds and across the Chinese diaspora may be found participating in Chinese language sites. However, little attention has been paid to the separate online activity among any of China’s 55 officially recognized ethnic minority groups, such as the Uyghurs, especially in their native languages. In this paper, we consider in what ways digital media such as interactive online community forums (UY: munbar) may be used by one ethnic group, Uyghurs, as a means of mobilizing their community to preserve their culture and support their community. As the majority ethnic group within a region of China noted as among China’s most politically sensitive, Uyghur use of computer-mediated communication provides a rich source of study.     

PRICES,INFLATION, AND SMOKING ONSET: THE CASE OF ARGENTINA

This article examines the effect of tobacco prices on the decision to start smoking in Argentina. Argentina is an interesting case to explore given its high smoking rates, its recent experience with periods of very high and hyperinflation, and the mixed evidence of the effect of prices on smoking onset, particularly in low‐ and middle‐income countries. We used data from four cycles of two large national surveys conducted between 2005 and 2011 and discrete‐time hazard models. We found that tobacco prices had a statistically significant and fairly large impact on the hazard of smoking onset, and these findings were robust to alternative specifications. We also found that prices had little effect on the hazards of smoking onset during periods of hyper‐ and very high inflation, which provide some support for the notion that prices lose their informational role in such periods. Governments need to be cognizant that their most important policy tool to reduce tobacco use—taxes that increase real tobacco prices—is likely no longer effective during these times. (JEL C41, H20, I12, I18)     

L’économie de l’attention : entre protection des ressources cognitives et extraction de la valeur

This general survey of the economics of attention presents the major theoretical models for exploring the mechanisms for “allocating” attention in an economy where it is a scarce resource. Writers have emphasized various means for attracting attention: the recognition, relevance, style and power of the emitter of information. The economics of attention subjects parties on the Internet and in the electronic media to two apparently opposite rationales. The first seeks to protect the attention of users from an information overload and improve its allocation. The second seeks to capture, for firms, the attention of customers or audiences in order to make money from it. Reconciling these two approaches is a challenge for innovation and an asset for competing in the digital economy.     

Aid and Fiscal Deficits: Lessons from Uganda on the Implications for Macroeconomic Management and Fiscal Sustainability

This article contributes to the ongoing debate on the macroeconomic management of large aid inflows to low‐income countries by analysing lessons drawn from Uganda, where the fiscal deficit before grants, which was largely aid‐funded, doubled to over 12% of GDP in the early 2000s. It focuses on the implications of the widening fiscal deficit for monetary policy, the real exchange rate, debt sustainability and the vulnerability of the budget to fiscal shocks, and argues that large fiscal deficits, even when funded predominantly by aid, risk undermining macroeconomic objectives and long‐run fiscal sustainability.     

Alignment between Quality Enforcement Devices and Governance Structures in the Agro-food Vertical Chains

Using a Transaction Cost Economics framework, this paper studies how supply chain governance are aligned with the type of quality enforcement mechanisms used in transactions with consumers. Specifically we compare governance of supply chains when private brand assures quality to chains where official certification assures products’ quality for customers. To test our proposition, we conducted a set of 42 case studies in 3 agro-food sectors (processed meat, cheese, fruits and vegetable) from 7 European countries. We found that supply chain governance is closer to hierarchy-like modes of organization in cases where reputational capital is the main quality assurance device, whereas market-like governance is more prevalent in cases with public certification.     

Private Information and the ‘Information Function’: A Survey of Possible Uses

Under certain conditions private information can be a source of trade. Arbitrage for instance can occur as a result of the existence of private information. In this paper we want to explicitly model information. To do so we define an ‘information function’. This information function is a mathematical object, also known as a so called ‘wave function’. We use the definition of wave function as it is used in quantum mechanics and we attempt to show the usefulness of this wave function in an economic context. We attempt to answer the following questions. How does the information function relate to private information? How can we use the information function to define the ‘quantity’ of information? How can we use the information function in arbitrage-based option pricing? How can the information function be used in the formulation of a so called Universal Brownian motion?     

Maux du travail : dégradation, recomposition ou illusion ?

In recent years, the attention of French public opinion has been focused on the noxious effects of new ways of organizing work. Stress, “suffering”, burnout, psychosocial risks and suicides are topics that have brought experts, the media and politicians into action. What do the social sciences have to say about this? Among the several reactions presented, the principal contrast arises between those who analyze the ills of work as “social constructions” and those who see them as the implications of a trend toward intensifying job-related activities.     

A Systematic Review of African-Centered Therapeutic Interventions with Black American Adults

Clinical Social Work Journal - While substantial theoretical literature and growing evidence support the benefits of employing African-centered approaches with Black youth, research examining the...