Rural Tourism and Inclusive Development in Port St. Johns - South Africa

The purpose of this study was to explore ways of achieving an inclusive approach to tourism development in rural communities. Although tourism has generally been recommended as a means of orchestrating development in rural communities, achieving this laudable goal has often been illusive due to the fragmented approach adopted by tourism stakeholders. An exploratory quantitative research approach was adopted by using a structured survey instrument to generate 307 valid responses from community members in Port St. John in the Eastern Cape Province (ECP) of South Africa. Results obtained reveal similarities and some differences based on demographic characteristics with regards to the benefits of rural tourism to the community. Importantly, the study illuminates the fragmented way in which residents perceive tourism benefits, both from a gender perspective and personal benefit versus community dichotomy. The paper discusses policy as well as practical local economic development implications.

Multinationals, Capital Export, and the Inclusive Development Debate in Developing Countries: The Nigerian Insight

In this paper, we employed a blend of multiple and historical case study design, and a mix of institutional, behavioral, resource-based, and multinational theories, to examine the nature of multinational companies’ (MNC) engagements in local economic development and capital export practices in an African context. Evidence from our Nigerian case analysis (FrieslandCampina, Nigerian Breweries Plc. and Dangote Cement) confirms the proposition that, faced with a similar degree of uncertainty and constrained institutional environment and laying claims to differing sources of competitive advantage, both local and foreign MNCs would repatriate profits and limit exposures to local value chains (LVCs) mainly as a strategy for mitigating country risks and preserving corporate value. Such limited exposures detach MNCs, especially the foreign ones, from the LVCs, and by doing so push them to deeper reliance on the global value chains (GVCs). Linking local businesses to the GVCs is central in the inclusive development (ID) debate essentially because it allows for the redistribution of economic benefits, helps in building a complementary (rather than competitive) relationship between MNCs and local businesses, and facilitates local businesses’ access to international markets. We, therefore, recommend that in pursuit of the inclusive and sustainable development projects in Africa, industrial policies need to be tailored toward stabilizing the policy environment, protecting investments from risk of expropriation, and incentivizing MNCs’ participation in the LVCs.

The Development of the Concept of Social Capital

Social capital is assumed as an alternative form of other modalities. Theoretically, there is a debate about social capital leading to social relations. The debate relates to the conceptualization of social capital as concrete capital where individuals or groups are able to utilize social relations including values, social networks and trust to obtain economic benefits and social benefits. Using a qualitative approach with a literature study method, this article aims to explain social capital as a theoretical concept. The presentation of the study shows that there is a relationship between social capital and inclusiveness and community empowerment, especially in the context of sustainable inclusive development. This article concludes that the concept of social capital serves as a useful framework for successful development and policy formulation.

Adaptation to the impacts of climate change from the perspective of the city of Recife master plan

Defining measures for climate change adaptation is a complex task given the existence of social, environmental, and economic demands, particularly in cities with poor urban infrastructure. As a result of analyzing the revision process of the Recife Master Plan, it is possible to observe that a reduction in the social and environmental vulnerabilities has implied carrying out more consistent studies, which may entail the implementation of structuring measures, and that environmental sustainability requires multilevel governance, with policy reforms on a global, regional and local scale, difficult to implement in the short term, although necessary for refocusing climate policies and for overcoming the inability to provide resources for a tailored adaptation infrastructure. The path to building a resilient city that provides a safer environment for the future depends on an inclusive development model, which enables the population to improve urban conditions and minimize the impacts brought about by extreme weather events.

Digital Financial Knowledge and Behavior of Generation Z in Indonesia

The Indonesian Population Census 2020 reported that the majority of Indonesia's population is in the productive age group and dominated by Generation Z (27.94%). As the generation that currently dominates the population, Generation Z's characteristics are important to learn. They are the future. Generation Z has the potency to accelerate Indonesia's financial inclusion through digitalization because they are adaptable to technology. Responding to the survey results which put Generation Z in Indonesia in the first rank for the levels of happiness and religious awareness, a survey was conducted for Islamic financial technology literacy to find out how they face challenges as well as opportunities in digital era to be in line with religious values and may accelerate financial inclusion. The great potential of Generation Z for technology as well as religious awareness in turn will support financial inclusion towards inclusive development in Indonesia. Hence, this chapter will describe the survey results of digital financial knowledge and behavior of Generation Z in Indonesia.

The Turkmen-style economic development

The resource-rich and state-led Turkmen economy has grown very fast since the beginning of the twenty-first century. The authorities have produced a number of various programmes and strategies aimed at improving the standard of living of the citizens and achieving sustainable and inclusive development. Officially, nearly 80% of the national budget in Turkmenistan has been annually allocated for social needs. However, instead of creating opportunities and improving access to these opportunities for the citizens, the authoritarian government chose income redistribution and social spending. The paper identifies key features of the economic development in Turkmenistan and was written base on a critical analysis of state-controlled and independent news websites. The main feature of the Turkmen-style economic development is the growing deprivation of ordinary people. Poor citizens are getting poorer while the president’s relatives and patronage networks are getting richer. Huge gaps between the rural and urban population and tribal divisions have been observed in the country. Moreover, the Soviet-style work holidays continue. Despite significant improvements in infrastructure, provision for education and health care still remains poor in Turkmenistan. The government expenditure for social needs means investment in infrastructure, not human capital.

Competitiveness of EU Member States Regarding the Implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy Assumptions

The Europe 2020 Strategy occupies a prominent place in the European Union's (EU) cohesion policy as a long-term programme for social and economic advancement. The main objective of the strategy is to implement the idea of smart, sustainable and inclusive development. An important priority implemented by EU countries in the context of implementing the assumptions of the Europe 2020 strategy is smart growth, i.e., the development of an economy based on knowledge and innovation. This requires significant spending on research and development and the use of mechanisms that enable the rapid transfer of theoretical knowledge into economic practice. The Europe 2020 strategy has set new targets for increasing competitiveness and accelerating the development of EU regions and countries. For all regions, including the economically weakest ones, the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy goals has been an important stimulus for the development and increase in competitiveness of EU regions. The decade just ending justifies carrying out assessments that must be intricately linked to the analysis of indicators set by the European Commission within the framework of the strategy's three priorities, i.e., smart, sustainable and inclusive development. The aim of the article is to assess the degree of implementation of the assumptions of the Europe 2020 Strategy in EU Member States. With the use of a synthetic indicator calculated using a multidimensional comparative analysis based on the Hellwig method, a ranking of EU countries, in terms of implementing the Europe 2020 Strategy assumptions, was established. The main indicators proposed by Eurostat for monitoring the Europe 2020 Strategy were applied for the assessment. As a result of the conducted research, conclusions were formulated regarding the importance of the Europe 2020 Strategy in the implementation of the cohesion policy principles in EU Member States. The research results show that the countries that have achieved the best results in the implementation of the assumptions of the Europe 2020 Strategy are also leaders in the ranking of competitiveness taking GDP per capita into account published by the European Commission.

Living wage for workers in conditions of industrial development in Vietnam

The living wage is defined by researchers as the salary that workers receive during normal working hours, which is enough to maintain a decent standard of living for themselves and their families. Therefore, it is different from the concept of minimum wage being applied as a basis for paying wages to workers today. Vietnam's minimum wage is calculated as the minimum to escape poverty, but not the minimum wage to ensure a decent minimum living in a developed economy. The minimum level to escape poverty is often applied in the condition that the country prioritizes economic development, but in the current period, the minimum wage must be a living wage to realize inclusive and inclusive development. leave behind. In the condition that Vietnam has become a middle-income country, the minimum wage Vietnam needs to aim for must be a living minimum wage. Therefore, this article analyzes the basis of paying a living wage for workers in Vietnam in the context of changing the economic model from the traditional to the industrial development model in Vietnam today.

Post-pandemic scenarios and design strategies for public spaces transformation

Almost two years later of a pandemic condition, one thing is sure: the pandemic will change permanently the world and its systems. Nowadays, the reflection on public space is crucial within a more sustainable and inclusive development at urban scale, amplified also by the ongoing experience of the pandemic that still presents. Public space is a real opportunity to test new urban and social models, thus becoming a principal catalyst for positive changes in the entire urban context. It is therefore necessary to re-establish a relationship between the public space and its inhabitants, providing a system of proximity by highlighting the human and non-human dimensions and consequently connecting services, relationships, and opportunities. Acting in public space is the first step in the development of innovative urban transformations, generated by collaborative phenomena working in the collective interest. The use of participatory practices within the design processes favors the reconnection between people and territory, generating a shared sense of belonging that leads to taking care of one's own places. The reversibility of the intervention and its adaptability are key characteristics that allow experimenting with new ways of experiencing public spaces and responding to unforeseen experiences, thus accommodating the inevitable changes in society. This scientific contribution aims to set forward distinctive points of view on the planning strategies implemented in the pandemic and post-pandemic period to achieve intelligent transformations on a small and large urban scale with an impact from short to long-term; hence shaping the future cities.