Migration,development and inequality: Eastern Punjabi transnationalism

Abstract Drawing on original, ethnographic research in India and the UK, in this article we discuss the impact of transnational activity on the Doaba region of East Punjab, India. We argue that some recent studies have underplayed some of the less progressive consequences of Indian transnationalism. In particular, we contend that they have underestimated the extent of division between transnational migrants and Indian non‐migrants and downplayed the relationship between transnationalism and caste inequality. This empirical study of transnationalism, when placed in the context of the dynamic caste relations of East Punjab, supports those who contend that access to international migration is becoming an increasingly significant component of contemporary global social stratification, with the ‘broad’ transnational processes of capitalist globalization driving the ‘narrow’ transnationalism studied here. In this article, we question any straightforwardly progressive relationship between transnationalism and ‘development’ within East Punjab, and suggest that the arguments presented have a resonance beyond northwest India.     

The daughter‐in‐law questions remittances: changes in the gender of remittances among Indian migrants to Australia

In this article, I present a cross‐generational analysis of the gendered meanings and politics surrounding monetary remittances. Indian female migrants to Australia, who contribute significantly to household incomes, have recently started to question the sources and directions of remittances. This happens when the woman's earnings are sent, without consultation, to the husband's parents for luxuries, while the family in Australia is struggling. Women in paid work also want to send their earnings to their own parents, particularly if there is financial need. Remittances have become a testing ground for the traditional belief that the husband and his family own the money in the patrilineal marital household. It is possible to interpret male control of remittances without consultation as a form of financial abuse of the wife in the sending household. The article draws on two qualitative studies on five decades of Indian migration to Australia covering 203 people from 112 families.     

Information models: a precursor to software interoperability

This paper aims at investigating a new methodology to evaluate supply chain integration by applying the fuzzy sets theory. Fuzzy sets proved successful in environments similar to supply chain management in that they help to formalise human reasoning patterns and to develop high-performance expert systems in contexts where data are affected by uncertainty and/or vagueness: e.g. fuzzy sets have been already used in inventory planning, to improve organisational effectiveness, to perform suppliers’ evaluation etc. In particular, the study presented here deals with the ways to measure and achieve supply chain integration and it mainly focuses on the external integration (i.e. on the ability to leverage partnerships within the chain), clustered in two areas, i.e. the network design and the management policies. The new methodology has been applied to a case study which consists of a 3-stage supply chain belonging to the beauty and personal care industry. Results of the case-study indicate that the companies still have important edges for improvement towards a complete integration of their supply processes. In particular, the considered supply chain should prioritise the integration of technology-driven investments and in the distribution area.     

Religious transnationalism,development and the construction of religious boundaries: the case of the Dera Sachkhand Ballan and the Ravidass Dharm

In this article, I examine the general assumption that transnationalism is creating new divisions and iniquitous social hierarchies. For caste‐based religious centres like the Dera Sachkhand Ballan (DSB), which is engaged in modes of subaltern religiosity among Ravidassias, transnationalism can be a powerful agent of religious and social change. By nurturing transnational networks, especially in the United Kingdom, the DSB has now emerged as the main driver of Ravidassia identity in Punjab. The material support of overseas followers has made this achievement possible for religious and social institutions in Punjab, and has enabled overseas Ravidassias to demonstrate to higher castes a sense of collective achievement. Transnationalism is thus central to the process of differentiating between the followers of the DSB and Sikhism. It also provided critical support for the birth of a new religion in 2010, the Ravidass Dharm.     

WHO IS AFRAID OF THE FRIEDMAN RULE?

We explore the connection between optimal monetary policy and heterogeneity among agents in a standard monetary economy with two types of agents where the stationary distribution of money holdings is nondegenerate. Sans type-specific fiscal policy, we show that the zero-nominal-interest rate policy (the Friedman rule) does not maximize type-specific welfare; it may not maximize aggregate ex ante social welfare either. Indeed, one or, more surprisingly, both types may benefit if the central bank deviates from the Friedman rule. ( JEL E31, E51, E58)     

Human Rights in Global Business Ethics Codes

The last decade has witnessed renewed attempts to regulate the conduct of transnational corporations. One way to do this is via global ethics codes. This paper examines seven such codes (the Sullivan Principles, UN Center for Transnational Corporations’ Draft Code, OECD Guidelines, ILO's Tripartite Declaration, the Caux Round Table Principles for Business, Global Compact, and the United Nations Norms) to determine their coverage of human rights and concludes that if these initiatives succeed, particularly the more recent codes, transnational corporations may emerge as a major force in promoting human rights globally.     

Changes and Trends in Canadian Corporate Ethics Programs

This article reports and analyzes the findings of comprehensive surveys on ethics programs in Canada's largest corporations in 2002 and 2006. A usable response rate of 25 percent was obtained in the 2002 and 21.8 percent in the 2006 survey of the country's 500 largest corporations as identified by the National Post Business Magazine, which annually ranks Canadian corporations according to revenue. It was found that ethics programs have taken root in Canada's largest organizations and are now of strategic importance to these organizations. In 2006, a statistically significant increase was observed in the proportion of boards of directors involved in the establishment of codes of ethics. In a reflection of technological developments, a significant increase in the use of electronic communication of these codes was also observed in 2006. Almost all (96 percent in 2002 and 98 percent in 2006) of the respondents indicated that there were consequences for breaching their codes. In other aspects of ethics programs, it was found that the proportion of corporations having standing ethics committees rose significantly as did the prevalence of ethics audits and support for whistleblowers and whistleblowing. These measures are having a positive effect as 83.5 percent of respondents in 2006, up from 68 percent in 2002 (P≤ 0.01), saw their firms’ ethics codes improving profit. Overall, 89.7 percent of respondents in 2002 and 91.9 percent in 2006 saw their codes as having a positive impact on organizational policies.