After the MDGs: From Social Development to Technoenterprise in Tanzania

Abstract

This article explores how a development paradigm changes in Tanzania as the social sector concerns of the Millennium Development Goal era are practically and politically superseded by a commitment to private sector-driven structural transformation. Changes in the content and orientation of development do not occur as a result of evaluating what kinds of interventions are effective. They are the outcome of concerted efforts of paradigm reconstruction in which the role of development knowledge is pivotal. The process of policy shift entails a reorganisation of the architectures established to support the previous aid regime, including altering the roles of development knowledge producers and civil society organisations. New political relations between business interests and development actors support the increased influence of philanthropic foundations in determining the development agenda, which is sustained by new configurations of development knowledge. These shifts have important political implications for the kinds of policies considered developmental and the extent to which development orthodoxies can be contested.     

A Recipe for Change: Reclamation of Indigenous Food Sovereignty in O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation for Decolonization,Resource Sharing,and Cultural Restoration

Abstract

O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation (OPCN), an Indigenous community in northern Manitoba, Canada, was flooded and forced to relocate from ancestral lands to a nearby settlement under such circumstances. Regaining strength from their inherent cultural values grounded in their relationship with the land, OPCN eventually formed a community-based food program called Ithinto Mechisowin (IMP) (‘food from the land’). This article uses OPCN's concept of resource (wechihituwin) and decolonization (pasekonekewin) to present a nuanced understanding of Indigenous food systems in Canada. We argue that the ways in which IMP inspires reconnection with land, thereby improving access to culturally appropriate healthy food, are steps forward in strengthening Indigenous food sovereignty.     

A poverty-inequality trade off?

The idea that developing countries face a trade off between poverty and inequality has had considerable influence on thinking about development policy. The experience of developing countries in the 1990s does not, however, reveal any sign of a systematic trade off between measures of absolute poverty and relative inequality. Indeed, falling inequality tends to come with falling poverty incidence. And rising inequality appears more likely to be putting a brake on poverty reduction than to be facilitating it. However, there is evidence of a trade off for absolute inequality, suggesting that those who want a lower absolute gap between the rich and the poor must in general be willing to see lower absolute levels of living for poor people.Martin Ravallion: These are the views of the author, and need not reflect those of the World Bank or any affiliated organization.     

贫困代际传递理论述评

贫困代际传递理论是一个在西方具有较大影响的贫困理论流派.主要有要素短缺论、智力低下论、贫困文化论、环境成因论、素质贫困论、功能贫困论、社会排斥论、能力贫困论等观点.     

论中国女性写作话语权的嬗变

女性写作话语权,是女性人权和文化权的象征,自封建社会以来,在人类话语权中,男性始终处于主导地位。随着时代的变迁,女性写作的话语权也在嬗变,由“五四”时期的单一追求平等、自由、尊严到今天的多元化、立体化表达。     

通过法律见识贫穷——一个研究纲要

消除贫富差距、使社会的全体成员都能享受发展成果是构建和谐社会的内在要求,揭示贫穷与当今社会的法律制度、法治社会所应该体现的正义和自由之间的关系,就成为我们的首要任务。我们需要重新检讨限制穷人权利、导致贫穷的不合理的法律制度,将正义与自由作为解决贫穷问题制度变革的价值基础。     

21世纪以来中国反贫困的新特点

消除贫困是现代社会必须面对的一个重要课题。我国虽然是世界反贫困事业的积极实践者,并在世界反贫困历史上取得了巨大的历史性成就,但消除贫困的任务仍相当艰巨。进入21世纪以来,中国的贫困问题从衡量标准、致贫因素、结构类型、演变趋势等各方面又出现了许多新的特点。     

Comparing poverty and deprivation dynamics: Issues of reliability and validity

In this paper we seek to establish if earlier findings relating to the relationship between income poverty persistence and deprivation persistence could be due to a failure to take measurement error into account. To address this question, we apply a model of dynamics incorporating structural and error components. Our analysis shows a general similarity between latent poverty and deprivation dynamics. In both cases we substantially over-estimate the probability of exiting from poverty or deprivation. We observe a striking similarity across dimensions for both observed and latent outcomes. In both cases levels of poverty and deprivation persistence are higher for the latent case. However, there is no evidence that earlier results relating to the differences in the determinants of poverty and deprivation persistence are a consequence of differential patterns of reliability. Taking measurement error into account seems more likely to accentuate rather than diminish the contrasts highlighted by earlier research. Since longitudinal differences relating to poverty and deprivation cannot be accounted for by measurement error, it seems that we must accept that we are confronted with issues relating to validity rather than reliability. Even where we measure these dimensions over reasonable periods of time and allow for measurement error, they continue to tap relatively distinct phenomenon. Thus, if measures of persistent poverty are to constitute an important component of EU social indicators, a strong case can be made for including parallel measures of deprivation persistence and continuing to explore the relationship between them.     

Poverty among households with children: a comparative study of Norway and Germany

The purpose of this study was to compare poverty among lone parent households and couple households with children in Norway and Germany. The study applied three different measurement strategies: income poverty, material deprivation and reception of social assistance. We found that income poverty and material deprivation rates are higher in Germany than in Norway and are also higher for lone parents than for couples with children. Our analysis of the reception of social assistance shows a different pattern in which both Norwegian and German lone parents frequently receive social assistance. The results show that the different dimensions of poverty are not independent of one another, nor do they wholly overlap. Household characteristic variables, factors influencing labour market status and educational levels also seem to influence the risk of experiencing poverty.     

关于带动北京周边贫困地区发展问题研究

在北京周边地区存在着一条贫困发生率高、经济结构水平低、发展效率低的环京贫困带。在分析该贫困地区的发展现状、形成原因及其对北京经济社会发展影响的基础上,本文提出了带动这一地区发展的基本思想、指导原则和政策建议,并进一步探讨了“十一五”期间北京在这一方面的具体措施。