The central aim of this thesis is to explore the key structural, organisational and locational trends within an innovative, fast growing and strategically important producer service sector in the UK, the computer services industry. The thesis has five more specific objectives; firstly, to examine the ongoing internationalisation processes in this sector; secondly, to profile the spatial, structural and occupational structure of the UK industry in the context of these processes; thirdly, and most importantly, to explore the factors behind the uneven development pattern in this sector (London and the South East accounted for 59 per cent of employment in 1993); fourthly to contribute to the theoretical understanding of uneven development in contemporary economies; and finally, to consider the policy implications of the growth dynamics of the sector. The research is based on three main tranches of fieldwork. Firstly, 17 interviews with managers and officials in the Irish software industry provide a case study of the highly internationalised nature of the package software industry. Secondly, nine interviews with representatives of the top suppliers in the UK industry illustrate how these dominant firms are restructuring both spatially and functionally to meet the needs of the developing, international market. Thirdly, the results of a structured interview survey of 173 firms spread across four counties (Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Cheshire, Tyne & Wear) are presented to illustrate the regional variations within the industry's structure, new firm formation process and linkages that both underpin, and reflect the uneven development pattern in the sector. The analysis concludes that the dominance of the Greater South East in this industry is largely unassailable; based upon the historic growth of the industry, the region has long since achieved the critical mass to create many new firms which then reinforce the dominance, supported by the availability of labour, an acceptable living environment, and proximity to a large, high-order, regional market. The investment and restructuring strategies of key foreign-owned multinationals are also a key contributor to the South-East's primacy.

This thesis has a dual theme a) to make a contribution to the promotion of the geographical approach in the field of transportation and b) to make a contribution to the development of transportation in Saudi Arabia. After an examination of the historical evolution of transport in Saudi Arabia detailed analytical surveys have been undertaken on the present development of transportation with especial emphasis on road transport which forms the backbone of the transportation services in the country. Chapter one is a short introduction to get the reader acquainted with the relevant aspects of the geography of Saudi Arabia as well as with the scope approach and objectives of the study. Chapter Two is a study of the history of transport in Saudi Arabia from the very early times until the first half of the present century. Chapters Three Four and Five deal with the development of the modern road network and its association with socio-economic and other geographical factors. Chapters Six and Seven examine the motor vehicle stock and road traffic whilst Chapter Eight is a study of air traffic. In Chapter Nine three problems of under-utilization in road traffic were discussed whilst in Chapter Ten the impact of transport development on settlements and social changes were investigated and analysed. Chapter Eleven ends this analytical survey with a study of the cost and pricing of road transport. In Chapter Twelve the Ideal-Typical Sequence Model of transport development in underdeveloped countries was applied to Saudi Arabia the Sudan and some other Middle Eastern countries and certain modifications were suggested to make the model of more general application. The final chapter deals with the problems and prospects of transport development in Saudi Arabia drawing the broad lines of a general strategy for future transport development.

The focus of this thesis is on the role of handicraft production in rural development in Northern Thailand, exploring how handicrafts evolve over time in the context of a modernising economy. This links with on-going debates on community-based development theory, including those related to rural industrialisation, rural-urban relations and biases, indigenous knowledge, rural poverty and livelihoods. The thesis seeks to return to an issue which was a popular area of investigation in the 1970s, namely the role of small-scale industries in rural development. Rural spaces have always contained an element of non-farm activities, often classified as ‘handicraft production’. Two villages in Chiang Mai province in Northern Thailand have been selected for study in order to assess the roles of handicrafts in rural development. One selected case study village is Baan Ton Pao, which is engaged in saa (mulberry) paper making. The other selected village is Baan Muang Kung, where handicraft production is based on pottery making. Through an empirical study of these two villages, Baan Ton Pao and Baan Muang Kung, this thesis shows that handicrafts have significant potential for promoting rural industrialisation and supporting rural development, especially through the One Tambon One Product programme. Handicrafts are, therefore, contributing to rural poverty alleviation through employment and income generation, and through generating economic growth rooted in the countryside, separate from efforts directed at agriculture and farming. However, it is also important to understand how this very effort is also creating new inequalities in the countryside and, arguably, new populations of poor people. The study is important because it has been argued – as noted above – that handicrafts have significant potential for promoting rural industries and supporting rural development and rural livelihoods – and yet this has rarely been studied in any great detail. The conceptual frameworks are impressive; the empirical support remains thin. This thesis contributes in a significant way to debates about rural development and particularly handicrafts in Thailand and beyond.

Changes in the spatial organisation of capitalist production internationally over the last four decades have had profound impacts in the clothing industry. The strategies adopted by entrepreneurs to face economic instability and stagnation have systematically affected workers, mostly by a deep labour flexibilisation. In several cities, a return to the widespread use of the sweatshop system can be witnessed; in some others, such systems have indeed emerged. Today, sweatshops are a structural feature of the industry. This research aims at analysing the changes that the fashion industry has undergone during the last four decades and its consequences over working conditions. In addition, I address the question of what does the return of the sweatshop tell us about neoliberalism. Two main types of sweatshops are identified: ‘international sweatshops’ (mostly large factories located in Export Economic Zones, also called ‘maquilas’) and ‘local sweatshops’ (small inner-city workshops located in proximity to the markets). Only the second type isemphasised in here, and two case studies were conducted: the City Buenos Aires and the Province of Prato (Tuscany). The results reveal that in both cities informal economy, human trafficking, and child and forced labour are counterparts of the glamorous fashion businesses. The role of the state in regulating political economic shifts that have led to the sweatshop crisis, is addressed as well. Against the belief of its ‘demise’ I argue that the state has had a major role in engineering the mechanisms allowing a fierce redistribution of wealth away from labour, which encompasses state terrorism as well. In sum, the shift in the balance of power between capital and labour, and the changes operated in the role of the state during the latest four decades, are found to be major causes for ‘the return of the sweatshop’. In the clothing industry, these changes have led to a situation which portrays with clarity the inequalities to which Neoliberalism has led – albeit to varied extents and through different mechanisms according to the spatio-temporal contexts – all around the world.

The thesis is a collection of three empirical essays on growth, inflation and income inequality. The first essay examines the relationship between inflation level, inflation volatility and economic growth for 92 countries for the period 1982 - 2007 using the system GMM estimator. By this approach I am able to deal with the problems of endogeneity and collinearity among the variables. The results suggest that both inflation level and volatility negatively affect economic growth. Surprisingly, their effect on economic growth is very small. Panel VAR approach further certifies these findings. The results also confirm that even in the absence of inflation volatility, inflation level reduces economic growth. The second essay investigates whether political instability leads to volatile inflation using a panel of 49 African countries and 35 countries from the rest of the world for the period 1985-2009. This study uses novel measures of political instability, particularly the state failure index and state fragility index, and a novel measure of inflation volatility constructed as the conditional variance of inflation estimated from the GARCH (1,1) model. Adopting the system-GMM estimator the study documents a significant positive effect of political instability on inflation volatility. This effect is more pronounced and robust in Africa than in the rest of the world. Chapter 4 examines the moderating effect of inflation on the financial development-income inequality nexus. Using a panel data of 60 countries over the period 1980-2009 and applying a two-step GMM estimator the study finds that financial development reduces income inequality. Nevertheless, the gains from financial development are offset by inflation. The results are robust to different measures of financial development, different estimators and sample sizes.

The main purpose of this study is to identify, describe and explain the movement of store sheep and store cattle between farms in Scotland., Emphasis is placed on present-day movements, but the explanation of these inevitably involves an examination of their antecedents. The largest part of the study is devoted to an analysis of the movements of store sheep, both because the movements of sheep are more complicated than those for cattle and more information was available on them. The approach taken for both types of stores is to determine the main lines or patterns of movement and then to explain them. In each case, too, the distribution of breeds is examined, then the movement of stores for breeding and finally the movement of stores for feeding. Data obtained from livestock auction markets were the main source used for identifying the movements and personal interviews and agricultural publications provided most of the information for explaining them. Objectives of a more directly practical nature were pursued in addition to the main purpose, including an evaluation of the suitability of direct farm-to-farm transfers as compared with those via markets and the estimation of inter-regional movements, according to regions used by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland. Summaries of the main features of movement are given at the end of most chapters and in the conclusion aspects of the movement which could be usefully investigated in more detail are suggested.

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