From Financialization to Vulture Developmentalism

Author(s):  
Daniel Haberly

This chapter dissects the potential and limitations of South-North strategic sovereign wealth fund (SWF) investment as a tool for catalyzing technological upgrading in the developing world. After an overview of the problems posed by financialized, neoliberal globalization for conventional development policy tools, and how states are seeking to overcome these limitations through the use of strategic SWFs, there follows a model of the political-economic factors conditioning the ability of developing countries to use South-North strategic SWF investment to promote technology transfer in the reverse direction. This model describes the politics of SWF-led development in terms of not only the “double bottom line” of SWF-owning state political and financial interests, but also a second double-bottom line encompassing the political and financial interests of multiple host economy actors. A case study of Abu Dhabi shows how this has simultaneously enabled and constrained state attempts to use South-North strategic SWF-investment to accelerate domestic economic development.

Author(s):  
Xiaorong Gu

This essay explores the theory of intersectionality in the study of youths’ lives and social inequality in the Global South. It begins with an overview of the concept of intersectionality and its wide applications in social sciences, followed by a proposal for regrounding the concept in the political economic systems in particular contexts (without assuming the universality of capitalist social relations in Northern societies), rather than positional identities. These systems lay material foundations, shaping the multiple forms of deprivation and precarity in which Southern youth are embedded. A case study of rural migrant youths’ ‘mobility trap’ in urban China is used to illustrate how layers of social institutions and structures in the country’s transition to a mixed economy intersect to influence migrant youths’ aspirations and life chances. The essay concludes with ruminations on the theoretical and social implications of the political-economy-grounded intersectionality approach for youth studies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fábio Santino Bussmann

Esse artigo analisa o poder explicativo da Teoria da Autonomia de Hélio Jaguaribe em relação aos momentos indubitavelmente autônomos da Política Externa Brasileira (PEB). Isso foi feito mediante o estudo de caso, em forma de teste de teoria, da Política Externa Independente (PEI) do governo Jânio Quadros, que é representativa desses momentos. O estudo de caso foi realizado por meio da análise de conteúdo no programa de pesquisa Nvivo. O argumento resultante da análise realizada é o de que a Teoria da Autonomia tem o potencial de explicar de forma mais precisa e estruturada os momentos de autonomia da PEB do que arranjos conceituais usados atualmente no estudo dos referidos momentos da PEB, já que a PEI, de forma representativa, evidencia objetivos referenciados a uma visão estrutural-hierárquica do cenário internacional, no campo político-econômico.Palavras-chave: Teoria da Autonomia, Política Externa Independente, Política Externa Brasileira.ABSTRACT:This article analyzes the explanatory power of Helio Jaguaribe's Theory of Autonomy in relation to the undoubtedly autonomous moments of Brazilian Foreign Policy (BFP). This was done through a case study, in the form of a theory test, of the Independent Foreign Policy (IFP) of the Jânio Quadros government, which is representative of these moments. The case study was conducted through content analysis in the Nvivo research program. The argument resulting from the analysis is that the Autonomy Theory has the potential to explain in a more precise and structured way the moments of autonomy of the BFP than the conceptual arrangements currently used in the study of the referred moments of the BFP, since the IFP, in a representative way, shows objectives referenced to a structural-hierarchical vision of the international scenario, in the political-economic field.Keywords: Autonomy Theory, Independent Foreign Policy, Brazilian Foreign Policy.Recebido em: 29 jan. 2019 | Aceito em: 03 dez. 2019. 


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Mares

ABSTRACTThis article examines how government policy affects the sustainability and inclusiveness of national development after the boom. The impact of the latest commodity boom (2003-2014) on the sustainability and inclusiveness of Latin American national development varies, but not by whether governments were ideologically left. I present the economic results of the commodity boom for the major Latin American countries, followed by the social results as measured by the reduction in poverty rates and income inequality. I examine potential countervailing economic factors that could mitigate the importance of the political economic determinants of the use of resource wealth. Finding the countervailing economic factors inadequate to explain the variation in social results, I propose that the political economy of linking resource wealth with economic and social outcomes is the key determinant. I conclude the paper with a discussion of current challenges post-commodity boom.Keywords: Commodity Boom; Poverty; Income Inequality. RESUMOEste artigo examina como a política do governo afeta a sustentabilidade e a inclusão do desenvolvimento nacional após o boom. O impacto do último boom das commodities (2003-2014) na sustentabilidade e inclusão do desenvolvimento nacional da América Latina varia, mas não pelo fato de os governos serem ideologicamente de esquerda. Apresento os resultados econômicos do boom das commodities para os principais países da América Latina, seguidos pelos resultados sociais medidos pela redução das taxas de pobreza e desigualdade de renda. Examino os possíveis fatores econômicos compensatórios que podem mitigar a importância dos determinantes político-econômicos do uso de recursos financeiros. Considerando os fatores econômicos compensadores inadequados para explicar a variação nos resultados sociais, proponho que a economia política de vincular os recursos financeiros a resultados econômicos e sociais seja o principal determinante. Concluo o artigo com uma discussão dos desafios atuais do pós boom das commodities.Palavras-chaves: Boom de Commodities; Pobreza; Desigualdade De Renda.


1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Porpora ◽  
Mah Hui Lim

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 913-929
Author(s):  
Inhye Heo

After the democratisation of South Korea in 1987, political discourse on ‘big government’ nearly disappeared, largely because it recalled past authoritarianism. Authoritarian states are highly likely to employ ‘big government’ – exerting policy influence over the distribution of private resources – to sustain their political power, and Korea’s authoritarian state was no exception. Thus, newly inaugurated President Moon Jae-in’s official implication that he would pursue big government is notable, because he claimed to represent pro-democracy groups that opposed both historical authoritarianism and the former president’s undemocratic governance. In this context, this study examines external and internal political-economic factors behind the revival of big government discourse in Korea. Results show that critical factors included the lack of pressure in the global capitalist market and the dominance of governmentalists over marketists in the political-economic discourse influencing the administration’s maintenance and expansion of its political foundation.


2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Vujnovic ◽  
Jane B. Singer ◽  
Steve Paulussen ◽  
Ari Heinonen ◽  
Zvi Reich ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 83-113
Author(s):  
Dick Hobbs

This chapter addresses ethnographies of criminal culture. It refers in particular to the fluctuating political economic context within which this academic tradition has functioned and its historical trajectory. It addresses criminal cultures of the industrial era, the ethnographic studies that chart the criminal cultures that emerged from post-industrial society, and the constraints imposed upon contemporary ethnographers by the neoliberal university. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the author’s long-term engagement in the field, and queries the relevance of the concept of criminal culture by referring to an ongoing case study that is informed by the political economy of post-industrial society rather than by the dead hand of criminological orthodoxy.


Author(s):  
Sabrina McCormick

Understanding the political economic drivers of energy planning in the Brazilian Amazon is critical since the forest is increasingly vulnerable to destruction and related, increased poverty. This chapter investigates how political economy affects biomass and hydroelectricity development in that region. It focuses on political economy as characterized by: (1) the needs and agenda of local communities, (2) economic interests and politics at the national level, and (3) international social actors and financial interests. Findings advance our understanding of the political economy of renewable energy by first, focusing on a critical global resource, and second, by implementing a multi-scalar framework that also considers impacts and drivers of climate change.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Pan ◽  
Le Chen ◽  
Wenting Zhan

PurposeThis paper explores the vocational training of construction workers in Guangdong Province of China and identifies its position in the global political-economic spectrum of skill formation.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews construction vocational education and training (VET) of major political economies to develop a theoretical framework that guides an in-depth case study of Guangdong. Document analysis, field trip observations, meetings and semi-structured interviews were combined to explore the political-economic environment, political stakeholders and quality assurance mechanisms of industrial training in Guangdong's construction sector. The findings were compared with construction VET of other economies reported in the literature.FindingsConstruction training in Guangdong is deeply rooted in the local history and culture, under strong dominance of the state, while continually evolves to respond to the fluid market and therefore can be conceptualised as “market-in-state”. The political stakeholders are embedded within the state to ensure that skills policies are implemented in-line with industry policies. The differences between the training of Guangdong and its foreign counterparts are attributed to their divergent political-economic models.Research limitations/implicationsAs the case study was undertaken only with Guangdong, the generalisability of its findings can be improved through future research within a broader context of multiple provinces of China through both qualitative and quantitative research approaches.Practical implicationsPlausible foreign VET approaches are likely adaptable to the Chinese context only when conducive political-economic environment could be enabled. The findings are useful for developing countries to learn from the VET experience of industrialised economies. Construction workers' training in Guangdong can be improved by strengthening labour regulation at lower subcontracting levels and ensuring the presence of industrial associations and unions for collective training supervision.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the field of construction engineering and management with a theoretical framework that guides empirical studies on the influence of the political-economic environment upon the ways political stakeholders develop and participate in construction VET. The exploration based on this framework revealed the position of the vocational training of construction workers in Guangdong in the global political-economic spectrum of skill formation.


2005 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert S. Kravchuk ◽  
Victor Chudowsky

This article explores the political, economic, and social forces underlying the east/west cleavage in the 1994 Ukrainian presidential and parliamentary elections. We demonstrate that economic factors—notably, variations in regional economic strength and changes in employment in the period preceding the elections—are stronger predictors of country-wide voting behavior and candidate support than ethnic and linguistic factors. The exceptions are the extreme eastern and western oblasts, where the analysis suggests the existence of significant differences in political culture.


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