Transfomation of the Agro-food Sector: Lessons from the Caribbean

1998 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 414-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Andreatta
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Vegetative Cover ◽  
Health Food ◽  
Food Sector ◽  
The Caribbean

As we approach the twenty-first century, concepts of "health food and "healthy food" remain paramount in American culture. Yet, what lessons have we learned? Transformation of the agro-food sector serves to demonstrate that we as consumers and social scientists need to expand our understanding of "health food" or "healthy food" to include production practices, local knowledge and technology, the political and economic milieu in which production and distribution are sustained, as well as their impact on humans and the biophysical environment. This article examines transformation of the agro-food sector in the Caribbean and its connections to the European Union and the United States markets from this perspective. In addition, this article examines the transformation of longstanding cash crops, such as sugar cane and bananas, to other food commodities. Political ecology is used to examine the agro-food sector to understand more clearly the relationship among food producers, local governments, transnational corporations, international policy makers and regional and extra-regional markets vis-à-vis the linkages they maintain. Specific attention is given to the Windward Islands where the increase in cultivated acreage and the associated loss of vegetative cover is futhering a downward spiral of environmental degradation. In the past not only has the natural environment suffered, local human populations have paid the price physically and economically.

Integration and Political Representation in a Multicultural City: The Case of Frankfurt am Main

1998 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 42-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett Klopp
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Frankfurt Am Main ◽  
European Culture ◽  
Manuel Castells

Cities have long been the destination of those on the move. Migrationand especially immigration always raise issues of inclusion andexclusion, of rights and obligations, and of the meaning of membershipand citizenship. The particular form and content of thesedebates vary, just as host countries, national and local governments,and immigrant populations vary. Over the past few decades, patternsof immigration have begun to shift away from classical immigrationcountries (the United States, Canada, Australia) toward the democraciesof the European Union. “In this troubled world, WesternEurope has in fact, become a fragile island of prosperity, peace,democracy, culture, science, welfare and civil rights,” according tourban sociologist, Manuel Castells. “However, the selfish reflex oftrying to preserve this heaven by erecting walls against the rest ofthe world may undermine the very fundamentals of European cultureand democratic civilization, since the exclusion of the other isnot separable from the suppression of civil liberties and a mobilizationagainst alien cultures.”

GENDER MOTIVES OF MEXICAN ENTREPRENEURS IN TWO LARGE URBAN SETTINGS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (03) ◽  
pp. 1650020
Author(s):  
YVES ROBICHAUD ◽  
JEAN-CHARLES CACHON ◽  
JOSÉ BARRAGÁN CODINA ◽  
MARIO CÉSAR DAVILA AGUIRRE ◽  
ALFONSO LOPEZ LIRA ARJONA
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Emerging Countries ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Urban Centers ◽  
Knowing That ◽  
Start Up

The need for an income is cited by several studies as a primary motive for both formal and informal business start-up activities found in emerging countries. Conversely, entrepreneurs from developed countries enjoying more favorable economic conditions (such as the United States, Canada, or the European Union) are mainly motivated by intrinsic motives. Given the extant literature, it appeared important to determine which motivators were at play in larger Mexican urban centers, where economic conditions seemed to have become similar to those of Canada and the United States. No significant differences were observed between the motives of female as compared to male entrepreneurs from urban Mexico because a majority went into business primarily for economic reasons rather than for intrinsic motives. Knowing that Mexican entrepreneurs are mostly motivated by economic goals should help local governments in designing policies aimed at fostering and facilitating entrepreneurship.

Book Reviews

1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 111-173
Author(s):  
Redactie KITLV
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Puerto Rican ◽  
The United States ◽  
Agrarian Change ◽  
University Of Minnesota ◽  
Indian Culture ◽  
Good Neighbor Policy ◽  
Black America ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Good Neighbor

-Michael D. Olien, Edmund T. Gordon, Disparate Diasporas: Identity and politics in an African-Nicaraguan community.Austin: University of Texas Press, 1998. xiv + 330 pp.-Donald Cosentino, Margarite Fernández Olmos ,Sacred possessions: Vodou, Santería, Obeah, and the Caribbean. New Brunswick NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1997. viii + 312 pp., Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert (eds)-John P. Homiak, Lorna McDaniel, The big drum ritual of Carriacou: Praisesongs in rememory of flight. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1998. xiv + 198 pp.-Julian Gerstin, Gerdès Fleurant, Dancing spirits: Rhythms and rituals of Haitian Vodun, the Rada Rite. Westport CT: Greenwood, 1996. xvi + 240 pp.-Rose-Marie Chierici, Alex Stepick, Pride against Prejudice: Haitians in the United States. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1998. x + 134 pp.-Rose-Marie Chierici, Flore Zéphir, Haitian immigrants in Black America: A sociological and sociolinguistic portrait. Westport CT: Bergin & Garvey, 1996. xvi + 180 pp.-Luis Martínez-Fernández, Rosalie Schwartz, Pleasure Island: Tourism and temptation in Cuba. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1997. xxiv + 239 pp.-Jorge L. Giovannetti, My footsteps in Baraguá. Script and direction by Gloria Rolando. VHS, 53 minutes. Havana: Mundo Latino, 1996.-Gert Oostindie, Mona Rosendahl, Inside the revolution: Everyday life in socialist Cuba. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1997. x + 194 pp.-Frank Argote-Freyre, Lisa Brock ,Between race and empire: African-Americans and Cubans before the Cuban revolution. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1998. xii + 298 pp., Digna Castañeda Fuertes (eds)-José E. Cruz, Frances Negrón-Muntaner ,Puerto Rican Jam: Rethinking colonialism and nationalism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997. x + 303 pp., Ramón Grosfoguel (eds)-Helen I. Safa, Félix V. Matos Rodríguez ,Puerto Rican Women's history: New perspectives. Armonk NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1998. x + 262 pp., Linda C. Delgado (eds)-Arlene Torres, Jean P. Peterman, Telling their stories: Puerto Rican Women and abortion. Boulder CO: Westview Press, 1996. ix + 112 pp.-Trevor W. Purcell, Philip Sherlock ,The story of the Jamaican People. Kingston: Ian Randle; Princeton: Markus Wiener, 1998. xii + 434 pp., Hazel Bennett (eds)-Howard Fergus, Donald Harman Akenson, If the Irish ran the world: Montserrat, 1630-1730. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1997. xii + 273 pp.-John S. Brierley, Lawrence S. Grossman, The political ecology of bananas: Contract farming, peasants, and agrarian change in the Eastern Caribbean. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998. xx + 268 pp.-Mindie Lazarus-Black, Jeannine M. Purdy, Common law and colonised peoples: Studies in Trinidad and Western Australia. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate Dartmouth, 1997. xii + 309.-Stephen Slemon, Barbara Lalla, Defining Jamaican fiction: Marronage and the discourse of survival. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1996. xi + 224 pp.-Stephen Slemon, Renu Juneja, Caribbean transactions: West Indian culture in literature.-Sue N. Greene, Richard F. Patteson, Caribbean Passages: A critical perspective on new fiction from the West Indies. Boulder CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998. ix + 187 pp.-Harold Munneke, Ivelaw L. Griffith ,Democracy and human rights in the Caribbean. Boulder CO: Westview Press, 1997. vii + 278 pp., Betty N. Sedoc-Dahlberg (eds)-Francisco E. Thoumi, Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith, Drugs and security in the Caribbean: Sovereignty under seige. University Park: Penn State University Press, 1997. xx + 295 pp.-Michiel Baud, Eric Paul Roorda, The dictator next door: The good neighbor policy and the Trujillo regime in the Dominican republic, 1930-1945. Durham NC: Duke University Press, 1998. xii + 337 pp.-Peter Mason, Wim Klooster, The Dutch in the Americas 1600-1800. Providence RI: The John Carter Brown Library, 1997. xviii + 101 pp.-David R. Watters, Aad H. Versteeg ,The archaeology of Aruba: The Tanki Flip site. Oranjestad; Archaeological Museum Aruba, 1997. 518 pp., Stéphen Rostain (eds)

scholarly journals Global Journey to Post-Pandemic Normalcy and Revival

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (Spring/Summer) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Andrzej Sankowski
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The World ◽  
The Caribbean

After a year of COVID-19, countries, societies, and individuals are longing for normalcy and beginning to consider what life will be like post-pandemic. Efforts and experiences of countries in the European Union, Asia, Asia-Pacific, Australia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States are examined as they face challenges to end the pandemic and prepare for the post-pandemic reality. What will be the post-pandemic "new normalcy"? What changes caused by the pandemic are permanent in societies and the world? What are the necessary reforms that have to take place as part of normalcy? Reflections on the impacts of vaccinations, herd immunity, societal improvements and reorganizations, trends, and actions in the post-COVID-19 world are discussed.

The European Union, Latin America, and the Caribbean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Gratius
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
The United States ◽  
Development Cooperation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
The Eu

Since 1957, the European Union (EU) has been a constant and reliable partner of Latin America, on the one hand, and the Caribbean, on the other. It still offers a unique model of idealist interregionalism based on the promotion of its own integration model, combined with limited economic interests, soft power and, more recently, shared global visions such as sustainable development, Compared with the two bigger external actors, the United States and China, the EU is a normative actor that complements and sometimes counterbalances (in the cases of Brazil, Cuba, and Mexico) relations with the dominant power. Although, in relative terms, trade exchanges have declined since the 1990s, Latin America and the EU share a solid network of multilevel and contractual relations integrated by political dialogue, development cooperation, and investment flows. The EU signed free trade agreements plus (dialogue and cooperation) with Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, the Caribbean, and Central America. In June 2019 finalized a twenty year process of free trade negotiations between the EU and MERCOSUR. Once in force and approved by EU institutions and the four South American states, the EU-MERCOSUR association agreement will reactivate trade exchange grounded on economic, political, social and cultural cooperation between state and non-state actors. Nonetheless, it remains unclear if the 32 states involved in the mixed agreement (European Commission’s exclusive trade competences plus EU member states) will approve the deal in a foreseeable future.

scholarly journals Latin American regionalism and trade agreements with the European Union: experiences and approaches

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 413-425
Author(s):  
Violetta M. Tayar
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Latin American ◽  
The United States ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Interregional Trade ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Latin American Countries ◽  
The Eu

The article deals with the issues of trade cooperation between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC). The characteristics of interregional trade are presented, and trade interaction between the EU and the subregional blocks of the LAC is analyzed. The author shows that Latin American regionalism predetermines the EU's approaches to trade and economic cooperation with LAC. Despite the fact that Latin American integration format differs from the European model, the EU countries manage to maintain trade and economic relations with subregional associations and particular Latin American countries, despite the growing competition in this region from the United States and China.

How Should Standards Be Set and Met?: On the Allocation of Regulatory Power in a Federal System

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
C.-Y. Cynthia Lin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
The United States ◽  
Federal System ◽  
State Governments ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Regulatory Structure ◽  
Or Education ◽  
Incomplete Contracting

Abstract Regulation often takes the form of a standard that can be met through the implementation of any of a number of different policies. This paper examines how the authority to set the standard and the authority to choose the combination of policies to meet the standard should be allocated between a central government and local governments. In the context of the United States, for example, should standards regarding such public goods as the environment or education be set and implemented by the federal government, by individual state governments, or by both? Because decisions about setting and/or meeting the standard can be non-contractible, an incomplete contracting approach is used. A central finding is that "conjoint federalism" (the central government sets the standard while the local governments meet the standard), which is the regulatory structure often used in federations such as the United States and the European Union, can be the least efficient form, while a reverse form of delegation, in which local governments choose their own individual standards which the central government then decides how to collectively meet, can be the most efficient.

The Rise of Anchor Institutions and the Threat to Community Health: Protecting Community Wealth, Building Community Power

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence T. Brown ◽  
Ashley Bachelder ◽  
Marisela B. Gomez ◽  
Alicia Sherrell ◽  
Imani Bryan
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Anchor Institutions ◽  
Health Related Research ◽  
Research Parks ◽  
Wealth Building

Academic institutions are increasingly playing pivotal roles in economic development and community redevelopment in cities around the United States. Many are functioning in the role of anchor institutions and building technology, biotechnology, or research parks to facilitate biomedical research. In the process, universities often partner with local governments, implementing policies that displace entire communities and families, thereby inducing a type of trauma that researcher Mindy Thompson Fullilove has termed “root shock.” We argue that displacement is a threat to public health and explore the ethical implications of university-led displacement on public health research, especially the inclusion of vulnerable populations into health-related research. We further explicate how the legal system has sanctioned the exercise of eminent domain by private entities such as universities and developers.Strategies that communities have employed in order to counter such threats are highlighted and recommended for communities that may be under the threat of university-led displacement. We also offer a critical look at the three dominant assumptions underlying university-sponsored development: that research parks are engines of economic development, that deconcentrating poverty via displacement is effective, and that poverty is simply the lack of economic or financial means. Understanding these fallacies will help communities under the threat of university-sponsored displacement to protect community wealth, build power, and improve health.

DEVELOPMENT TRENDS AND PROSPECTS OF ECONOMIC AND TRADE COOPERATION BETWEEN CHINA AND UKRAINE

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 (6) ◽  
pp. 3-12
Author(s):  
Zhang DONGYANG ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Bilateral Trade ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Cooperation ◽  
Free Trade Zone ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Economic Downturn ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
The Eu

The status and prospects of development of trade and economic relations between Ukraine and China are considered. It is proved that bilateral cooperation in the trade and economic sphere has made significant progress. In 2012–2017, China was the second largest trading partner of Ukraine after Russia. However, the problem of imbalance in imports and exports between Ukraine and China has not yet been resolved. In addition, the scale and number of projects in which Ukraine attracts Chinese investment is much less than investments from European countries and the United States. It is justified that trade and economic cooperation between Ukraine and China is at a new historical stage. On the one hand, Ukraine signed the Association Agreement with the European Union, and on January 1, 2016, the rules of the free trade zone between Ukraine and the EU entered into force. This helps to accelerate the integration of Ukrainian economy into European one. On the other hand, the global economic downturn requires the introduction of innovations in the model of cooperation. The Chinese initiative “One belt is one way” is one of the variants of the innovation model of cooperation. Its significance is to unite the Asia-Pacific region with the EU in order to join the Eurasian Economic Union, create a new space and opportunities for development and achieve prosperity with the Eurasian countries. All this forms unprecedented opportunities for development of bilateral economic and trade relations. It seems that to fully open the potential of Ukrainian economy and expand bilateral trade and economic cooperation, it is necessary to take into account such proposals as the establishment of the Sino-Ukrainian industrial park, the promotion of cooperation in the field of electronic commerce, the formation of the Sino-Ukrainian free trade zone and enhanced interaction within multilateral mechanisms (for example, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the interaction of China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe in the 16 + 1 format).

Local Histories/Global Designs

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter D. Mignolo
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Central America ◽  
Postcolonial Studies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Philosophy Of History ◽  
South Central ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Border Thinking ◽  
East West

This book is an extended argument about the “coloniality” of power. In a shrinking world where sharp dichotomies, such as East/West and developing/developed, blur and shift, this book points to the inadequacy of current practices in the social sciences and area studies. It explores the crucial notion of “colonial difference” in the study of the modern colonial world and traces the emergence of an epistemic shift, which the book calls “border thinking.” Further, the book expands the horizons of those debates already under way in postcolonial studies of Asia and Africa by dwelling on the genealogy of thoughts of South/Central America, the Caribbean, and Latino/as in the United States. The book's concept of “border gnosis,” or sensing and knowing by dwelling in imperial/colonial borderlands, counters the tendency of occidentalist perspectives to manage, and thus limit, understanding. A new preface discusses this book as a dialogue with Hegel's Philosophy of History.

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