M.A. (Development Studies) / With the ever-increasing rate of urbanisation, developing countries are faced with a new problem - that is, the decline in the urban environment and living conditions. This scenario is likely to further deteriorate due to unprecedented levels of population growth and rural-urban and international migration. The employment-carrying capacity of urban areas is eroded by these trends, resulting in an influx of labour, which cannot be absorbed by the formal sector. As a way of circumventing poverty, the urban unemployed population resort to informal activities for survival, regardless of the legal consequences. The literature on the informal sector is very controversial. This is partly because the nature of the sector itself is contradictory and defies precise definition. More importantly, various analysts and policy-makers approach the informal sector with different expectations. These different expectations of the informal sector are, in turn, related to the preconceived points of view of the analysts as to what constitutes the proper dynamics of the informal sector and what the role of the sector is in alleviating urban poverty. Central to the views on the role of the informal sector in urban poverty alleviation have been the concerns of governments of developing countries on whether to support it or control its activities. The realisation by governments of the need for expansion of the informal sector has resulted in their intervention in this sector by means of regulations, programmes and frameworks to define how the business activities should be carried out. Interventions in the informal sector have resulted in a distortion of the production structure in favour of the formal sector. On the other hand, the very nature of informality and its inherent characteristics stimulate profitability for the hawkers (peddlers) or the small business entrepreneurs. The formalisation of the informal sector eradicates the economic dynamics, which necessitate the viability of the activities being undertaken. The consequences have been the further impoverishment of the small-scale entrepreneurs...

This thesis examines the impact of shock therapy on the Polish economy, and within it, on the motor vehicle industry. It is argued that shock therapy has not proved satisfactory as a theory of economic transformation. The following reasons are provided:- ● Shock therapy fails to provide an adequate explanation of the collapse of the command economy. Its emphasis on problems being largely monetary, rather than structural, is misguided, as this leads to the erroneous conclusion that with a strong monetary and fiscal shock, increases in utility will ensue, despite a fall in real income. ● The above may partially explain why shock therapy has failed to satisfactorily predict the outcome of the reform programmes. The assumption of post-reform growth rates following the path of a "J-Curve" has not been borne in reality. The forecasts of various improvements after the first year of the Balcerowicz Programme in Poland were, with the exception of exports, highly inaccurate. By the end of 1993 (after four years of reforms), only one indicator (inflation) registered an improvement over the respective pre-reform level. There was, therefore, no "delayed positive response". It is argued that the major reason for the failure of shock therapy reforms is that the theory largely neglects the significance of market failures. In particular, sufficient consideration has not been given to the problems of information gaps, absence of capital markets, structural rigidities, investment coordination and high levels of risk and uncertainty, all of which constrain the ability of agents to effectively respond to a liberalised economic regime. The role of careful government intervention - to attempt to remedy market failures - has been undervalued. Failure to take appropriate measures with respect to market failures most important in transforming economies has led to unnecessary costs. The case study on the motor vehicle industry provided evidence that shock therapy's policy for microeconomic restructuring - trade liberalisation in conjunction with privatisation and FBI - has not proved successful, with the notable, but unusual exception of FSM. The severe recession, in combination with strong important competition, led to a slump in sales, output, and underutilisation of capacity; leading productivity to decline from already very low levels. With respect to enterprise restructuring, it was found that this was either slow, or largely neglected in all the main determinants of plant productivity considered, i.e., work organisation, high tech capabilities, supplier network, and the Just-in-time system. In regard to management-labour relations, it was found that both parties viewed these as having improved. However, severe "macro" problems frequently override the purportedly better relations at the micro level, so that considerable friction remains - which occasionally spill over into major disputes that act against the restructuring process. The industry has experienced a severe contraction in capacity utilisation and employment - a fact that is very much at odds with the government's wish to preserve the bulk of the industry. It is concluded that an industrial policy for the motor sector would have been more appropriate than the policy that has hitherto been used.

published_or_final_version / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts

by Pierre Daigneault. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-130). / List of Abbreviations --- p.i / List of Figures --- p.i / INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter1 --- Historical and Administrative Background --- p.7 / Historical background --- p.7 / Administrative Profile (1980) --- p.18 / Summary --- p.20 / Chapter Chapter2 --- Hainan Administrative District Commisionner's Office --- p.23 / The Embryo of the New Strategy --- p.24 / The Integrated Scientific Investigation --- p.28 / "Responses from Provincial, Central and Local Leaders" --- p.38 / The Core of Hainan development strategy --- p.44 / "Centralization, Integration and Administrative Changes" --- p.50 / Summary --- p.52 / Chapter Chapter3 --- Hainan Regional People's Government --- p.57 / "The Car Incident, 1984-85" --- p.57 / "Period of Reeva1uation, 1985-87" --- p.65 / Summary --- p.89 / Chapter Chapter4 --- Hainan Province People's Government --- p.92 / "Setting up the Provincial Government, 1988" --- p.92 / The Spring of 1989 --- p.98 / The Summer of 1989 --- p.109 / The Fal1 of 1989 --- p.112 / Summary --- p.115 / Conclusion --- p.119 / Bibliography --- p.126

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Taking the structuralist approach as a starting point, this dissertation constructs a computable general equilibrium model for India using the social accounting matrix framework and along the lines of Lance Taylor's modelling of developing countries. The model is used to test the structuralist theories on the effects of a devaluation. The dissertation extends the testing of these models in two respects. First, by organizing the data in the form of traded and non-traded goods it studies the macroeconomic responses at a greater level of disaggregation than has been attempted earlier. Second, by constructing social accounting matrices for three time periods and using these to simulate the model, it examines the robustness of the predictions of the structuralist theories. The results indicate that the outcome of a devaluation depends on the structure of the economy and on the extent of the elasticity of exports, thus, generally supporting the structuralist theories.

Social cash transfers (SCTs) are part of social protection instruments aimed at reducing poverty and vulnerability. SCTs are among the most evaluated social protection interventions. Most designs and much of the current evidence give limited attention to effects of SCTs on social capital. Greater attention has been devoted to economic and human capital outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore and analyse the effects of Zimbabwe’s Harmonised Social Cash Transfer (HSCT) on social capital in a rural and a peri-urban settlement. To achieve this, the study first identified and analysed design and operational features of the HSCT. The analysis drew from the perspectives and experiences of beneficiaries and other stakeholders. The study was based on a mixed methods design. The theoretical framework was informed by social capital and social network theories. The results confirm and in other cases contradict findings from previous research, and there are areas where new insights were found. The results indicate that HSCT’s features particularly targeting and selection methods, complementary services and the payment method have effects on social capital. Additionally, findings indicate that the HSCT affected a diverse set of social relations with positive effects on bonding and linking social capital. There are positive psychosocial effects, limited evidence on bridging social capital, and inconclusive results on collective action. The HSCT seems to strengthen trust between beneficiaries but has negative effects on social relations between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries. Social networks created through the HSCT are exclusionary. There were isolated cases of domestic violence in some households. The HSCT has unintended effects particularly the exclusion of some beneficiary households from access to other benefits; women’s empowerment; and social and economic risks to beneficiaries. Evidence from this study confirms that unconditional cash transfers go well beyond their primary goal of consumption smoothing, and have positive and negative effects on social capital. This provides a strong case for the design and implementation of SCTs to embed explicit objectives and strategies that promote the strengthening of social capital. There is greater need for collaborative efforts between economists, sociologists and anthropologists in the design and analysis of SCTs. / Development Studies / D. Phil. (Development Studies)