This exploratory study assessed attitudes and perceptions of smallholder farmers towards agricultural technologies in Kakamega County, Kenya. Through a mixed-methods sequential design, the study evaluated the key variables predicting farmer adoption of agricultural innovations. While social sciences provide a clear human-driven pattern explaining the process of choices and behaviors regarding technology use, there is still little clarity on the influences of adoption decisions among smallholder farmers in rural Kenya. Using the diffusion of innovations theory, the study explored the attitudes and perceptions of smallholder farmers toward technology adoption in seven sub-counties of Kakamega County (Lurambi, Ikolomani, Shinyalu, Mumias East (Shianda), Malava Butere, and Khwisero). The study design utilized a quantitative survey of 245 smallholder heads of households, followed by focus group discussions to further probe attitudes, values and practices that could influence technology adoption. The survey questionnaire tested two hypotheses: (H1) socio-demographic characteristics are related to agricultural technology adoption; and, (H2) farmer access to extension services was related to agricultural technology adoption. A binary logistic regression model was used to quantitatively estimate socio-demographic variables presumed to influence the adoption of agricultural innovations. Subsequently, four informal focus group discussions of 28 discussants was conducted across representative sub-counties (Lurambi, Shianda, Malava and Ikolomani), to elicit an in-depth understanding of farmers’ perspectives on technology adoption. The focus group participants included farmers recruited from among survey participants. The qualitative research instrument sought to answer three questions, (RQ1) what are farmer attitudes and perceptions towards agricultural technologies; (RQ2) what socio-cultural values influence farmers’ choice of agricultural technologies; and, (RQ3) what sources do farmers use for obtaining information on agricultural technology? Quantitative results included a principal component analysis (PCA) in which 14 attitudes questions were reduced to five conceptual clusters. These clusters included: challenges in accessing modern agricultural technologies (explained 19.09% of the total variance); effectiveness of agricultural technologies (11.88%); enjoyment of agricultural technologies (10.02%); social influence in use of technology (9.47%); and experience with agricultural technologies (8.13%). A logistic regression model indicated that independently age (.07), education (.10), and off-farm income (.08) were significantly associated with adoption of technology at the 90% confidence level when controlling for all other variables in the model. However, agricultural extension (.42) was not a significant predictor of agricultural technology adoption in this model. Qualitative results provided rich insights which enhanced findings from the survey data. Key insights in the thematic analysis included: farmers’ ambivalence about agricultural technologies; lack of trust in agricultural agents; low levels of agricultural technology knowledge; extension services as the main source of information dissemination to farmers; predominance of gender in determining agricultural technology adoption; and gender inequity in agricultural decision-making. In conclusion, the study results suggested that a mixed-methods approach was valuable in probing the nuances of farmers’ perceptions of agricultural extension and technology adoption among smallholder farmers. The results supported the following recommendations: the agricultural extension efforts could be more effectively structured in order to support the dissemination of agricultural information; the issue of gender should be adequately addressed by engaging male and female in collaborative agricultural efforts to help break the barrier of gender inequity; and future research would benefit from disaggregating public and private extension services as a more robust method for determining their individual effects in the promotion of agricultural innovations among smallholder farmers.

Genom att kritiskt granska de två Malmöstadsdelarna Augustenborg och Sege Park, som har utgett sig för och planeras att bli förebilder för hållbar stadsutveckling, studeras inslag av en nerväxt-inspirerad utveckling bort från ekonomisk tillväxt. Detta görs genom en fallstudie där områdenas strategiska hållbarhetsarbete studeras genom att observera inslag av två utvalda begrepp, kollaborativekonomi (KE) och lokal självförsörjning (LSF). Dessa begrepp kommer från framtidsscenarier i rapporten Framtider bortom BNP-tillväxt av Hagbert et al.( 2018) i forskningsprogrammet Bortom BNP-tillväxt: Scenarier för hållbart samhällsbyggande som är formulerade att uppnå ett hållbart tillstånd inom Donut-ekonomin (Raworth 2012) i Sverige 2050. Det empiriska materialet utgörs av fem semistrukturerade kvalitativa informantintervjuer, offentligt tillgängliga dokument från Malmö Stad som hållbarhetsstrategi och planprogram för Sege Park samt en antologi över Augustenborgs utveckling. Den analytiska metoden består av en systematiserande kvalitativ textanalys som utformats med utgångspunkt i uppsatsens teoretiska diskussion och ramverk. Tidigare forskning tar upp olika förhållningssätt till operationaliseringen av nerväxtlogiker på stadsdelsnivå. Den teoretiska diskussionen går igenom olika perspektiv kring nerväxtlogiker, relationen mellan tillväxt och stadsutveckling samt det rådande stadsplaneringsparadigmets relation till hållbar stadsutveckling. Det teoretiska ramverket presenterar de två begreppen kollaborativ ekonomi och lokal självförsörjning som används för att utröna inslag av en utveckling bort från ekonomisk tillväxt. Studiens empiriska framställning visar att många inslag av kollaborativ ekonomi och lokal självförsörjning är närvarande, men överlappar med rådande tillväxtbaserade stadsplaneringsparadigm och det är tveksamt i vilken utsträckning dessa inslag faktiskt bidrar till minskade resursflöden och en utveckling bort från ekonomisk tillväxt. Studiens diskussion tar upp svårigheterna med att tillämpa en stadsplanering inspirerad av nerväxtlogiker inom rådande lagstiftning, som hindrar en utveckling bort från tillväxt. Ansatsen att använda framtidsscenarier för studier av en samtida verklighet kan ifrågasättas och har genererat en viss svårighet bland annat i relation till skillnaden som uppstår mellan framtidsscenariernas radikalitet och dagens socio-ekonomiska komplexa situation. / Through a critical examination of two neighbourhoods of Malmö, Augustenborg and Sege Park degrowth-inspired elements of a development away from economic growth are being studied. These specific neighbourhoods are selected since they have served and are being planned to serve as models of sustainable urban neighbourhoods. The neighbourhoods are being studied through a case study of strategic sustainable measures through the observation of two selected concepts, Collaborative Economy (KE) and Local Self-sufficiency (LSF). These concepts originate from the future scenarios in the report Futures Beyond GDP Growth (Hagbert et al., 2018) in the research program Beyond GDP Growth: Scenarios for sustainable building and planning formulated to reach a sustainable condition within the Doughnut-economy (Raworth, 2012) in Sweden 2050. The empirical material are five semi-structured qualitative informant interviews, publicly accessible documents from Malmö municipality as sustainability strategy, district planning program as well as an anthology of the neighbourhood Augustengorg’s development history. The analytical method is a systemising qualitative text analysis designed from the study’s theoretical discussion and framework. Earlier research addresses different approaches to operationalisation of degrowth on a neighbourhood level.The theoretical discussion examines different perspectives concerning degrowth, the relation between economic growth and urban development as well as the relation of the prevailing growth based urban planning paradigm to sustainable urban development. The theoretical framework discusses the two concepts Collaborative Economy and Local Self-sufficiency which are being used to examine the presence of a development away from economic growth. The empirical representation shows that several elements of Collaborative Economy and Local Self-sufficiency are present, but coexists with the contemporary prevailing growth based urban planning paradigm, and it is uncertain to which extent these elements actually contribute to diminish the flows of resources and contribute to a development away from economic growth. The discussion examines the difficulties applying urban planning inspired by the logic of degrowth within prevailing legislation preventing a development away from economic growth. The attempt to use scenarios of an alternative future for studies of a contemporary reality can be questioned. It has generated a certain amount of difficulty in relation to the apparent difference between the radicality in the scenarios and the complexity of the socio-economical situation of today.

No description available.

The return of Māori land to a productive role in the New Economy entails the innovation and diffusion of technologies relevant to the sustainable development of this land. Sustainable development requires substantive changes to current land and resource use to mitigate environmental degradation and contribute to ecological and sociological resilience. Such innovation is emerging in 'New Economic Space' where concerns for cultural resilience have arisen as political-economic strategies of the New Economy converge within a global economic space. New Economic Space comprises policy, technology and institutional innovations that attempt to influence economic activity, thus directly engaging with local 'place-based' expressions of geohistorically unique knowledge and identity. This thesis approaches contemporary Māori development from three perspectives. First, by viewing the changing links between ecosystems and communities as examples of innovation diffusion, the evolution of relevant policies, technologies and institutions can be examined for their impact upon Māori resilience. Second, such innovation diffusion can be described as a form of regional development, acknowledging the integral role of traditional territories in Māori identity and culture as well as the distinct legislative and governance contexts by which this land is developed. Third, by incorporating the geohistorical uniqueness of Māori ideas, values and beliefs, standard concepts of political-economy can be reformulated to show an explicit cultural economy – Māori Traditional Economic Space – in which Māori horticulturalists participate in parallel with the New Economy. Two methods are used in the analysis of the participation by Māori horticulturalists in New Economic Space. Fuzzy set/Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fs/QCA) allows the rigorous investigation of small-N studies of limited diversity for their partial membership in nominated sets. This thesis uses fs/QCA to organise theoretical and substantive knowledge of each case study to score its membership in agri-food networks, Māori institutions and post-production strategies, allowing the identification of causal configurations that lead to greater resilience for Māori growers and their communities. The second method is Actor-Network Theory (ANT) that incorporates elements of nature and society, showing the extensive and dynamic entwinement that exists between the two. ANT describes the enrolment of diverse 'actants' by a range of eco-social institutions and the subsequent translation of the resulting assemblages into resilience strategies. The results of this research first show a 'System of Provision' (SOP) in which Māori development strategies converge with non-Māori attempts to expand research and marketing programmes. These programmes seek to implement added-value strategies in supplying novel horticultural products within New Economic Space; parallel 'cultural logics' ensure food is supplied to traditional Māori institutions according to the cultural logics of Māori. In addition to this finding, results also show that the participation of Māori growers in New Economic Space can paradoxically lead to an expansion of the Traditional Economic Space of Māori. This expansion is not simply contingent upon configurations of policy, technology, and institutional innovations that originate in New Economic Space but is directed by Māori cultural logics, located in Māori territories but seeking innovations from an amorphous universal 'core'. The interface between the global New Economy and the localities of a Māori cultural economy is defined by the 'interrogation' of these innovations, and innovators, through eco-cultural institutions in their diffusion to and from Māori land, Māori resources and Māori people. Within the boundaries of this interrogation border resides a malleable assemblage of actants, enrolled by Māori as components of resilience strategies, which can lead to the endurance of Māori culture.

Wik, Wik-Way and Kugu people (Wik people) in Aurukun Shire on Cape York Peninsula (CYP) are among the most socio-economically disadvantaged groups in Australia. While Wik people are presently reliant on government work for welfare programs for income, elders have a vision of economic independence and self-reliance. The large area of native Darwin stringybark (Eucalyptus tetrodonta) forest on traditional Wik land is a potential engine for economic development, which could provide meaningful employment, and contribute to other Wik socio-economic objectives, including facilitating population decentralisation and consolidation of cultural obligations to manage country through provision of on country employment, reducing welfare dependency and expenditure on timber purchases from outside CYP, and increasing income and skill levels in the community. A large proportion of the higher-quality timber resource on traditional Wik land is situated on bauxite mining leases and the current practice is to clear, windrow and burn this timber prior to commencement of mining. A Wik native forest timber industry could make use of this wasted high-quality timber resource. The objectives of this thesis were to: determine the property rights of Wik people to the timber resource on their traditional land; assess whether forestry operations in Darwin stringybark forests in the study area are likely to be financially viable; and generate a suite of optimal timber utilisation strategies for Wik people, subject to cultural, ecological and economic constraints. This required economic research in the areas of indigenous property rights, private and social costs and benefits of forestry, timber markets, and evaluation and application of economic analysis techniques for appraisal of forestry development opportunities. A social cost-benefit analysis of the privately optimal timber utilisation policies has also been performed to support the decision-making of government policy-makers. This research project was a demanding and complex undertaking, not least because the research was being performed in a unique and diverse indigenous cultural environment where there is a need to respect cultural and research ethics protocols, where formal participatory research methods are inappropriate and where gatekeepers are particularly zealous about ‘protecting’ Wik people from ‘outsiders’. In addition, the property rights of Wik people to timber resources had never previously been analysed methodically, timber inventory and timber market information was lacking for CYP, and there are difficulties in transferring parameter estimates from the industrial hardwood timber industry of Australia to culturally appropriate indigenous operations on CYP. A critical research step was to develop a rapport with Wik people and gain an insight into their forestry objectives, through a number of visits to Aurukun Shire and informal discussions with elders on country. The property rights of Wik people to timber resources have been assessed by reviewing Federal and State Government legislation, court rulings, regional development policies and the Queensland Code of Practice for Native Forest Timber Production on State-owned lands. A timber inventory was conducted over 580,000 ha of Darwin stringybark forest, individual-tree volume and taper models were developed, and a geographical information system was used in estimation of harvestable timber volume and its spatial distribution. To facilitate information transfer to Wik people, expertise was gained in the use of forest visualisation software to pictorially display timber inventory data. A review of literature and discussions with experts identified technically feasible timber processing opportunities for CYP timbers. An informal telephone and in-person survey of 46 businesses, local councils and government agencies in north and south Queensland and the Northern Territory provided market information about CYP timbers. Concepts of a culturally appropriate working week and culturally appropriate rate of production were developed to assist the estimation of cost structures for a Wik timber industry, based on cost estimates for non-indigenous Australian hardwood forestry enterprises that had been obtained from discussion with forestry experts and ‘grey literature’. Generation and evaluation of a suite of privately optimal timber utilisation strategies for Wik people has been supported by the development of a mixed-integer goal programming (GP) model using the GAMS software package. The social analysis of the privately optimal strategies has been performed by adjusting private net present values (NPV) estimated by the GP model with shadow prices and transfer payments. In particular, a carbon model has been developed to estimate the value of carbon emitted by the Wik timber industry. The GP model analysis suggests that a Wik timber industry can generate a positive financial NPV if seed funding of at least $0.5 M is available. In general, privately optimal forestry strategies for Wik people generated by the GP model utilise relatively low-technology equipment, including portable sawmills and air-drying sheds, and produce undressed timber products such as structural timber. This contrasts strongly with Wik visions of an industry selling mostly unprocessed logs or woodchips and non-indigenous representatives of Wik people favouring the manufacture of high-value strip-flooring and furniture. The social analysis of privately optimal timber utilisation strategies reveals that social NPVs are much higher than financial NPVs, even when accounting for the costs of ecosystem services foregone by logging native forest. The establishment of a culturally appropriate Wik timber industry can be expected to generate net social benefits for Australia.

Wik, Wik-Way and Kugu people (Wik people) in Aurukun Shire on Cape York Peninsula (CYP) are among the most socio-economically disadvantaged groups in Australia. While Wik people are presently reliant on government work for welfare programs for income, elders have a vision of economic independence and self-reliance. The large area of native Darwin stringybark (Eucalyptus tetrodonta) forest on traditional Wik land is a potential engine for economic development, which could provide meaningful employment, and contribute to other Wik socio-economic objectives, including facilitating population decentralisation and consolidation of cultural obligations to manage country through provision of on country employment, reducing welfare dependency and expenditure on timber purchases from outside CYP, and increasing income and skill levels in the community. A large proportion of the higher-quality timber resource on traditional Wik land is situated on bauxite mining leases and the current practice is to clear, windrow and burn this timber prior to commencement of mining. A Wik native forest timber industry could make use of this wasted high-quality timber resource. The objectives of this thesis were to: determine the property rights of Wik people to the timber resource on their traditional land; assess whether forestry operations in Darwin stringybark forests in the study area are likely to be financially viable; and generate a suite of optimal timber utilisation strategies for Wik people, subject to cultural, ecological and economic constraints. This required economic research in the areas of indigenous property rights, private and social costs and benefits of forestry, timber markets, and evaluation and application of economic analysis techniques for appraisal of forestry development opportunities. A social cost-benefit analysis of the privately optimal timber utilisation policies has also been performed to support the decision-making of government policy-makers. This research project was a demanding and complex undertaking, not least because the research was being performed in a unique and diverse indigenous cultural environment where there is a need to respect cultural and research ethics protocols, where formal participatory research methods are inappropriate and where gatekeepers are particularly zealous about ‘protecting’ Wik people from ‘outsiders’. In addition, the property rights of Wik people to timber resources had never previously been analysed methodically, timber inventory and timber market information was lacking for CYP, and there are difficulties in transferring parameter estimates from the industrial hardwood timber industry of Australia to culturally appropriate indigenous operations on CYP. A critical research step was to develop a rapport with Wik people and gain an insight into their forestry objectives, through a number of visits to Aurukun Shire and informal discussions with elders on country. The property rights of Wik people to timber resources have been assessed by reviewing Federal and State Government legislation, court rulings, regional development policies and the Queensland Code of Practice for Native Forest Timber Production on State-owned lands. A timber inventory was conducted over 580,000 ha of Darwin stringybark forest, individual-tree volume and taper models were developed, and a geographical information system was used in estimation of harvestable timber volume and its spatial distribution. To facilitate information transfer to Wik people, expertise was gained in the use of forest visualisation software to pictorially display timber inventory data. A review of literature and discussions with experts identified technically feasible timber processing opportunities for CYP timbers. An informal telephone and in-person survey of 46 businesses, local councils and government agencies in north and south Queensland and the Northern Territory provided market information about CYP timbers. Concepts of a culturally appropriate working week and culturally appropriate rate of production were developed to assist the estimation of cost structures for a Wik timber industry, based on cost estimates for non-indigenous Australian hardwood forestry enterprises that had been obtained from discussion with forestry experts and ‘grey literature’. Generation and evaluation of a suite of privately optimal timber utilisation strategies for Wik people has been supported by the development of a mixed-integer goal programming (GP) model using the GAMS software package. The social analysis of the privately optimal strategies has been performed by adjusting private net present values (NPV) estimated by the GP model with shadow prices and transfer payments. In particular, a carbon model has been developed to estimate the value of carbon emitted by the Wik timber industry. The GP model analysis suggests that a Wik timber industry can generate a positive financial NPV if seed funding of at least $0.5 M is available. In general, privately optimal forestry strategies for Wik people generated by the GP model utilise relatively low-technology equipment, including portable sawmills and air-drying sheds, and produce undressed timber products such as structural timber. This contrasts strongly with Wik visions of an industry selling mostly unprocessed logs or woodchips and non-indigenous representatives of Wik people favouring the manufacture of high-value strip-flooring and furniture. The social analysis of privately optimal timber utilisation strategies reveals that social NPVs are much higher than financial NPVs, even when accounting for the costs of ecosystem services foregone by logging native forest. The establishment of a culturally appropriate Wik timber industry can be expected to generate net social benefits for Australia.

Nano silver has positive effects on the growth and development of in vitro plants. In this study, shoots of in vitro banana with 1 cm in length were cut off the tip which was cultured in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 30 g.L-1 sucrose, 15% coconut water (v/v), 5 mg. L-1 6-Benzyladenine (BA), 8 g.L-1 agar and nano silver (1, 3, 5, 7 ppm). After twenty days cultured, shoots in the medium supplemented with 1 ppm nano silver have grown well with 8.4 times multiplication and total chlorophyll content (2.05 mg.g-1), three-fold higher than in the control experiment. All new shoot samples were cultivated in a new medium with same component and supplemented with 1 mg.L-1 active charcoal to study root formation. The results showed that the best medium for root development was the one with 3 ppm nano silver. In this treatment, the height of shoots, number of leaves, number of roots, root length, fresh weight, dry weight and total chlorophyll content were 2.90 cm, 4.40 leaves per explant, 7.10 roots per explant, 7.7 cm per explant, 1.47 g per explant, 0.136 g and 3.17 mg.g-1, respectively. In vitro healthy seedlings with equal size were grown in nurseries. Different concentrations of nano silver (5, 10, 15 ppm) were sprayed on once a week. After 30 days, the highest quality result was observed at concentration 5 ppm with shoot of 4.86 cm in length, 5.20 leaves per shoot, 4.60 roots per explant, root of 4.87 cm in length and 3.07 g per explant in fresh weight. / Nano bạc có tác động tích cực lên quá trình sinh trưởng và phát triển của một số loài thực vật nuôi cấy in vitro. Trong nghiên cứu này, chồi non in vitro có chiều cao 1 cm đã cắt bỏ đỉnh được nuôi cấy trên môi trường MS có bổ sung 30 g/L đường, 15% nước dừa (v/v), 5 mg/L BA, 8 g/L agar và nano bạc ở nồng độ 1, 3, 5, 7 ppm. Sau 20 ngày nuôi cấy, mẫu cấy phát triển tốt trên môi trường bổ sung nano bạc nồng độ 1 ppm với hệ số nhân chồi 8,4 lần, hàm lượng chlorophyll tổng số đạt 2,05 mg/g, cao gấp ba lần so với mẫu đối chứng. Mẫu cấy được chuyền sang môi trường mới có thành phần tương tự và bổ sung thêm 1 mg/L than hoạt tính để khảo sát sự tạo rễ. Kết quả cho thấy mẫu cấy trên môi trường có nồng độ nano bạc 3 ppm phát triển tốt nhất với chiều cao cây 2,90 cm/mẫu; số lá 4,40/ mẫu; số rễ 7,10/ mẫu; chiều dài rễ 7,7 cm/mẫu; khối lượng tươi 1,47 g/mẫu, khối lượng khô 0,136 g/mẫu và hàm lượng chlorophyll tổng đạt 3,17 mg/g. Những cây con in vitro phát triển tốt được trồng ngoài vườn ươm. Các dung dịch nano bạc có nồng độ 5, 10, 15 ppm được dùng để phun lên cây 1 lần/tuần. Sau 30 ngày, kết quả cao nhất ghi nhận ở dung dịch có nồng độ 5 ppm với chiều cao chồi đạt 4,86 cm, 5,20 lá/chồi, 4,60 rễ/mẫu, chiều dài rễ đạt 4,87 cm và khối lượng tươi đạt 3,07 g/mẫu.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:48:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Adelmo Magalhaes de Franca.pdf: 2077527 bytes, checksum: 89bf46c98b38d6c82f89ff0ade453f8d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-10-04 / The main goal of this work was to propose means to the sustentable economic development and growth of the Vale do Ribeira region. At this way, the work in question was based on empiric researches that resulted on the analysis of the main economic, socials, politics and environment problems, experienced by the municipal districts located at Vale do Ribeira, more specifically, the ones that belong to Registro Administrative Region. It has chosen the defense of the growth and the sustentable development, keeping the environment preservation as the principal mean for jobs and gains generation, associated to others economic activities with less environment impact and, at the same time, searching the competitive advantages and the positives externalizes of the region, such as the carbon kidnap, considering the difficulties and the environment obstructions to the installation of industries on the region. The work has concluded by the necessity of the formation of a new human capital, capable to create proper economic and politic conditions and enough to modify the economic and social situation on the Vale do Ribeira Region, through the strengthening of the Vale do Ribeira Social and Economic Development Fund - FVR, aiming the attraction of new investments routed to the agribusiness, tourism or environment / O principal objetivo deste trabalho foi propor alternativas para o crescimento e desenvolvimento econômico sustentável do Vale do Ribeira. Neste sentido, o trabalho em questão se valeu de pesquisas empíricas, que resultaram na análise dos principais problemas econômicos, sociais, políticos e de meio ambiente, vividos pelos municípios localizados na região, mais especificamente, os que pertencem à Região Administrativa de Registro. Optou-se pela defesa do crescimento e desenvolvimento sustentável, mantendo a preservação do meio ambiente como alternativa principal para a geração de emprego e de renda, associada a outras atividades econômicas com menor impacto ambiental e, ao mesmo tempo, explorando-se as vantagens competitivas e as externalidades positivas da região, entre elas o seqüestro de carbono, considerando-se as dificuldades e os impedimentos ambientais para a instalação de indústrias na região. O trabalho concluiu pela necessidade da formação de um novo capital humano, capaz de criar condições políticas e econômicas próprias e suficientes para modificar o quadro social e econômico da região, via fortalecimento do Fundo de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social do Vale do Ribeira - FVR, visando à atração de investimentos voltados ao agronegócios, turismo ou meio ambiente

Geographical indications (GIs) are one form of protective labelling used to indicate the origin of food and alcohol products. The role of protected geographical indicators as a promising sustainable rural development tool is the basis for this research. The protection of geographical indications is a rather controversial subject and much research is still required for both sides of the debate. The research method employed for this study is qualitative critical social science. Two Case studies are used to investigate the benefits brought to rural areas through the protection of GIs. The case studies include the GIs Jersey Royal and Welsh Lamb both from the United Kingdom a member of the European Union (the EU is in favour of extended protection of GIs for all agro-food products under the 1994 WTO/TRIPS agreement on geographical indications). Twenty-five indepth interviews were conducted for this study the duration of the interviews was approximately one hour. The study identifies predominantly indirect links between GIs and sustainable rural development, through economic and social benefits bought to rural areas by the GIs investigated - less of a connection was found to ecological elements. No considerable cost for GI protection was discovered. This finding suggests that GIs are worthwhile for implementation in New Zealand as a rural development tool.

Organizzata in tre saggi, questa tesi si pone l’obiettivo di consentire una migliore comprensione del legame tra crescita e istituzioni, e dei meccanismi attraverso cui gli assetti istituzionali possono condizionare i sentieri economici. Riconoscendo, sulla base di considerazioni storiche, il potere esemplificativo delle ex Repubbliche Socialiste Sovietiche e della loro comune esperienza passata, questo lavoro fornisce, da un lato, una struttura empirica di riferimento per esaminare l’impatto sulla performance economica di un insieme di istituzioni, concretamente legate al funzionamento dell’attività economica; dall’altro, approfondisce lo studio degli effetti e delle determinanti delle azioni di policy. Il primo saggio offre una disamina della letteratura riguardante il legame crescita e istituzioni, fornendo un quadro esaustivo degli sviluppi teorici ed empirici, e illustra diversi aspetti che possono essere concepiti come obiettivi per la ricerca futura; il secondo, attraverso la costruzione di un modello statico e di un modello dinamico, quantifica l’impatto delle istituzioni economiche sui sentieri di crescita di questi paesi, impiegando e analizzando numerose tecniche di stima; il terzo saggio formula diverse specificazioni e affronta il tema rilevante del ruolo degli interventi di policy sullo sviluppo economico e dell’effetto delle istituzioni politiche su comportamenti e decisioni del governo. / Organized in three essays, this thesis aims at achieving a better understanding of the link between growth and institutions, and of the mechanisms through which the institutional arrangements affect the economic paths. Exploiting the past common experience of the Former Soviet Union economies, this work provides an empirical framework to examine the impact on the economic performance of a set of institutions concretely related to the “functioning” of the economic activity and offers a first attempt to include in this research program the study of the consequences of the government actions. The first essay offers a thorough review of the literature researching on the link between economic growth and institutions, and elucidates several issues that deserve further attention; the second develops a static and a dynamic approach to assess, using multiple estimation techniques, the impact of a set of economic institutions on the growth paths of these countries; the third essay, through several formal specifications, deals with the relevant issue of the role of policy measures and of the effect of the political institutions on the governments behaviour.