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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 241-254).

This thesis presents theoretical work on armed group activity and empirical work on post-conflict recovery. In chapter two, I develop a general equilibrium model of violence to explain observed variation in coercive practices in conflict zones. Armed groups own land in the resource sector and allocate military resources between conflict and coercion, which assign de facto ownership over land and labour respectively. I find that coercion is higher if labour is scare relative to land, production is labour-intensive, or if one group is dominant relative to others. Furthermore, contrary to other studies, I find that coercion could decreases with price if military power is sufficiently decentralised, since conflict draws resources away from coercion. In chapter three, I evaluate a reconciliation program in post-conflict Sierra Leone. The program provides a forum for villagers to air war-time grievances, and also forges institutions designed to improve conflict resolution and build social capital. I find that respondents who received the intervention are more forgiving and are more charitable in their views of ex-combatants. Furthermore, conflict resolution improved and involvement in village groups and activities increased. However, psychological health---depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety---deteriorated. This study has direct implications for the design of transitional justice programs, as well as programs that aim to promote institutional change. In chapter four, I experimentally vary foreigner presence across behavioural games conducted in 60 communities in Sierra Leone, and assess its effect on standard measures of generosity. I find that foreigner presence substantially increases player contributions in dictator games, by an average of 19 per cent. Furthermore, the treatment effect is smaller for players who hold positions of authority; and subjects from villages with greater exposure to development aid give substantially less and are more inclined to believe that the behavioural games were conducted to test them for future aid. In chapter five, I use a model of repeated bargaining with one-sided asymmetric information to investigate the difficulties of reaching and sustaining power sharing agreements. I show that asymmetric information can explain the persistence of conflict, since learning slows down when there are future opportunities for bargaining.

No description available.

Exit, Voice and Political Change: Evidence from Swedish Mass Migration to the United States. During the Age of Mass Migration, 30 million Europeans immigrated to the United States. We study the long-term political effects of this large-scale migration episode on origin communities using detailed historical data from Sweden. To instrument for emigration, we exploit severe local frost shocks that sparked an initial wave of emigration, interacted with within-country travel costs. Because Swedish emigration was highly path dependent, the initial shocks strongly predict total emigration over 50 years. Our estimates show that emigration substantially increased membership in local labor organizations, the strongest political opposition groups at the time. Furthermore, emigration caused greater strike participation, and mobilized voter turnout and support for left-wing parties in national elections. Emigration also had formal political effects, as measured by welfare expenditures and adoption of inclusive political institutions. Together, our findings indicate that large-scale emigration can achieve long-lasting effects on the political equilibrium in origin communities. Mass Migration and Technological Innovation at the Origin. This essay studies the effects of migration on technological innovations in origin communities. Using historical data from Sweden, we find that large-scale emigration caused a long-run increase in patent innovations in origin municipalities. Our IV estimate shows that a ten percent increase in emigration entails a 7 percent increase in a muncipality’s number of patents. Weighting patents by a measure of their economic value, the positive effects are further increased. Discussing possible mechanisms, we suggest that low skilled labor scarcity may be an explanation for these results.  Richer (and Holier) Than Thou? The Impact of Relative Income Improvements on Demand for Redistribution. We use a tailor-made survey on a Swedish sample to investigate how individuals' relative income affects their demand for redistribution. We first document that a majority misperceive their position in the income distribution and believe that they are poorer, relative to others, than they actually are. We then inform a subsample about their true relative income, and find that individuals who are richer than they initially thought demand less redistribution. This result is driven by individuals with prior right-of-center political preferences who view taxes as distortive and believe that effort, rather than luck, drives individual economic success. Wealth, home ownership and mobility. Rent controls on housing have long been thought to reduce labor mobility and allocative efficiency. We study a policy that allowed renters to purchase their rent-controlled apartments at below market prices, and examine the effects of home ownership and wealth on mobility. Treated individuals have a substantially higher likelihood of moving to a new home in a given year. The effect corresponds to a 30 percent increase from the control group mean. The size of the wealth shock predicts lower mobility, while the positive average effect can be explained by tenants switching from the previous rent-controlled system to market-priced condominiums. By contrast, we do not find that the increase in residential mobility leads to a greater probability of moving to a new place of work.

A discourse submitted to the Faculty of Town and Regional Planning, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for Master or Science in Development Planning. / Development planning plays an important role in integrating the actions and behaviours of groups and individuals with the needs of the economy. and thus in ensuring the continued reproduction of capitalism. An understanding of the history of development planning in South Africa and in Southern Pinetown through the tools of regulation theory, shows how the apartheid "development planning process' for a limited amount of time, arguably favoured the needs of racially skewed capital by securing stability and control over an exploited, black workforce, Within the post apartheid era characterised by constant and unprecedented change, development planning needs to become impregnated within the fabric of society. The role for planners and the local state is therefore to impart a strategic planning mind set into the diverse forces and components, whose combined actions together create the urban form. / Andrew Chakane 2019

This thesis aims to ascertain the pivotal issues that are of most significance for economic development in regional Australia. To understand these issues, it is necessary to understand prevailing economic development theories which have been traditionally considered in a nation’s policymaking. A review of a wide range of theories revealed that no single theory or set of theories provides desired outcomes from the perspective of long-term economic development of a nation given its existing structure. Researchers and policymakers throughout the world are engaged in searching for suitable options, and the ‘regional economic development with local planning’ approach for regional policymaking has been identified as a suitable option for a developed nation. The tested hypothesis of this thesis indicates that to help accelerate a smooth long-term development process of regional Australia, a suitably designed local planning approach is necessary. Simultaneously, providing an improved coordination mechanism is vital. Establishing an independent regional institutional setup throughout regional Australia should be given greater consideration as a priority issue / Master of Commerce (Hons)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 50-53). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 50-53). Also available on the Internet.

Colombia occupies a prominent position among world coffee producers and exporters. The coffee sector has counted on the support of many institutions; however, this support was not sufficient to effectively face times of crisis for the past twenty years. Some farmers have therefore adopted new strategies such as the substitution or incorporation of new crops. The Caramanta Farmers Association implemented agroecological farms. This system has allowed farmers to diversify their activities and to obtain better trading conditions. This document aims to learn from the Caramanta experience and the comparisons of the conventional and the agroecological system of coffee crops. The research methodology combines bibliographical review and fieldwork. The first chapter introduces some theoretical frameworks on rural development. The second chapter starts the comparative exercise and describes the conventional system. The third chapter analyses the agroecological system. The concluding chapter highlights the importance of a territorial development strategy rather than a sectoral one.