This thesis explores a selection of the ways in which an era of high mineral commodity prices - commonly dubbed the 'super-cycle' of the 2000s - is reshaping the map of global commodity markets. It pursues this agenda through three research aims: (1) to recast the relationship between geophysical resource supply, prices, and markets; (2) to examine some of the institutions that channel and benefit from resource wealth; and (3) to 'open the black box' of the commodity price formation process. The thesis pursues this agenda through four substantive papers, each with its own set of research objectives and findings, and primarily uses the example of phosphate as a vehicle for discussion. The first half of the thesis focuses on the production side of commodity markets. It begins by exploring the multidimensional nature of the concept of resource scarcity, both in its geophysical and socioeconomic aspects, by interrogating a prominent inherited conception of natural resource scarcity: 'peak' natural resources, specifically peak phosphorus discourses (chapter 3). The thesis then carries on the research agenda suggested by this initial study by conducting a field research-based case study of the little-known Moroccan state-owned phosphate mining and fertilizer company, OCP Group (chapter 4). It explores the particular type of principal-agent problem in generating and distributing national resource wealth that national extractive companies (NECs) such as OCP face. The second substantive half of the thesis is concerned with global commodity trading and price formation. It constructs an 'anatomy' of global phosphate markets in order to shed light on the phosphate price formation process (chapter 5). Based on this investigation, the thesis argues that despite the opacity of the processes by which phosphate is priced, an apparent lack of a 'benchmark' or reference price is not necessarily as problematic as market theorists might assume. Finally, the thesis takes a macro-level perspective of the relationship between finance and physical commodity trade by examining the role of financial trading in the governance of commodity markets (chapter 6). Overall the thesis distils the following findings. To begin with, a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the concept of resource scarcity puts short-term price movements as indicators of resource availability into perspective while revealing an unforeseen degree of complexity, as well as certain 'blind spots', in the geopolitical and institutional aspects of resource supply and trading. Second, the power of two particular, less-researched types of institutions that channel and benefit from resource wealth - names, national extractive companies and financial investors - is both less great and different in nature than is commonly assumed. Third, for institutional as well as geographic reasons that are specific to different types of commodities, the commodity price formation process is even further from the joint ideals of market transparency and liquidity than is commonly assumed. Finally, insofar as commodity production and trade can be conceived as part of the 'real economy', it cannot succumb to what is widely feared as the hegemony of 'financial logic'.

Because of their vital role that private companies play in the global economy, it is important to understand the issues they face and how to overcome them. One issue they face to a greater extent is resource scarcity, such as financing, employees, stakeholders, knowledge, and technology, which causes issues and affects their ability to grow. Overall, this thesis seeks to contribute to the existing body of knowledge in entrepreneurship by providing insights into the factors that drive the success of entrepreneurial firms. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how private firms can survive in a resource-scarce environment by highlighting factors beneficial to their continued growth. To meet the purpose, an inductive approach using semi-structured interviews and a thematic analysis were used in order to come to a conclusion. It is concluded that firms must find effective strategies to allocate their resources to get the most use out of them and embrace innovation and technology, as well as to have close relationships with their stakeholders, as they can be of great help both during easy and hard times.

Master of Arts / Department of Political Science / Emizet N. Kisangani / This study is an effort to shed some light on the causes of civil war. The literature on civil war onset has been framed under three main perspectives: cultural, political and economic approaches. Recent studies, however, tend to narrow the debate and posit explanations for civil war as either greed-motivated or grievance-motivated. This study replicates one of the most prominent econometric models on civil war, the Collier and Hoeffler model (CH), and further validated their economic interpretation of civil war as greed-motivated. Their argument is that greed-led behavior is motivated by an abundance of valuable resources. However, Collier and Hoeffler overlooked one critical element: scarce resources also contribute to discontent and violent protests. This study suggests that the CH model should include resource scarcity to avoid omitting variable bias.

Thesis advisor: Brian Gareau / In the past causation theories concerning conflict have centered upon differences between civilizations, ethnicities, religions, and several other dividing social factors. While such factors can increase the likelihood of conflict, this paper discusses the effects of environmental degradation and resource scarcity on conflict in sub-Saharan Africa, with a specific focus on the effects of climate change. Sustainable development practices, especially the use of renewable energy technologies, are identified as potential tools with which to mitigate conflict stemming from the effects of climate change, and current energy initiatives in Tanzania and Kenya are discussed. New energy initiatives in sub- Saharan Africa must look to the future of energy development; they cannot attempt to reproduce the status quo. This paper seeks to qualify why the Occidental world has a stake in the future of sub-Saharan Africa and proposes that developed nations give financial assistance to communities in sub-Saharan Africa so that they may invest in sustainable development. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: International Studies Honors Program. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: International Studies.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Hotel, Restaurant, Institution Management and Dietetics / SooCheong Jang / Deborah D. Canter / In the last few decades, franchising has become a part of everyday life in the United States. Many firms in a variety of industries have adopted franchising as a method of doing business. Despite the importance of franchising, the literature on why firms initially choose to franchise and how franchising affects financial performance has been scant (Combs et al., 2004; Watson et al., 2005). The purposes of this study were 1) to examine how well agency theory, resource scarcity theory, risk-sharing theory, and specific knowledge theory justify the franchising decision, 2) to investigate whether franchising affects restaurant firms' market value and profitability, and 3) to investigate the relationship between the ownership mix, combination of franchised and company-owned outlets, and financial performance. For the statistical analysis, the data were collected from the Standard and Poor's COMPUSTAT database, Bond's Franchise Guide and 10 K reports. A logistic regression model was developed to identify a set of variables that best differentiated firms engaged in franchise contracts from those that were not. The statistical results indicated that: 1) Young and growing firms used franchise more to increase the flow of resources. This result supported resource scarcity theory. 2) The degree of geographic dispersion and involvement in foreign countries increased the probability of a firm's decision to franchise. These results supported agency theory. 3) The decrease of specific knowledge requirements increased the franchising probability. This result supported specific knowledge theory. T-tests and multivariate regression models were used to test how franchising affects firms' financial performance. The findings indicated that 1) franchised firms had better financial performance than non-franchised firms, 2) the relationship between ownership mix and financial performance was curvilinear and the inverted U-shaped relationship suggested the existence of optimal ownership mix that can maximize a firm's financial performance, and 3) ownership mix not only directly affected a firm's intangible assets, but also indirectly affected a firm's intangible assets through advertising. This study found that a purely company owned or a purely franchised chain did not produce the best financial performance. Restaurant companies could use both company-owned and franchised units to leverage the strengths of one another, which will yield a better overall financial performance than if either structure was to operate alone.

The issue of natural resource scarcity has so far been addressed in the literature on the basis of various measures such as the unit cost of production, the relative market price, and the shadow price of a resource. Although it has been recognized that there exists some kind of jointness (sometimes inseparable) between an extractible resource and its surrounding environment, none of the measures, either theoretically or empirically, have included this concern. In order to extract and use a natural resource (e.g., coal) the environment (air, water, etc.) must also be used as a repository of the discharged wastes (e.g., sulphur oxides, nitrous oxides, particulates, etc.) . Moreover, if there is a mandated level of the environmental resource (e. g., clean air) that has to be maintained, then certain additional costs must be borne by society (firms utilizing the resource). Thus, in evaluating the scarcity of an extractible resource, the relative position of the environmental resource also must be evaluated. The present study has incorporated such jointness in the evaluation of the measure of resource scarcity. The theoretical model has been developed in an optimal control framework. It has been analytically shown that this new measure of resource scarcity would indicate a different trend compared to earlier ones. The measure of resource scarcity developed in this study captures previous measures as special cases. In an uncertain world, when the impacts of use of an extractible resource on the environment is not known the stock size of the environmental resource becomes uncertain. It has been analytically shown that in a situation of uncertain environmental stock the scarcity indicator would indicate a relatively slower extraction compared to that of a deterministic world. Empirical investigations in this study suggest that coal in use might be becoming relatively scarce if one considers the use of it in the electricity industry as the major use, compared to a situation where no environmental concerns are in effect.

This study applies a qualitative approach in examining the stakeholder perspectives on the causes and impacts of, and responses to, the farmer-pastoralist conflicts. The study is primarily a response to the broader stakeholder concerns surrounding the farmer-pastoralist conflicts in the Kilosa district of Tanzania. The interdisciplinary approach and, more importantly, the environmental security and political ecology theories, were used for conflict analysis in a bid to determine the gaps in the existing body of the literature. Specifically, the study aimed at determining: first, the causes of the conflicts in question driven by the growing concern around the increasing land conflicts between farmers and pastoralists in the district; second, the impacts of the conflicts and respective implications to the causes and conflict management mechanisms; third, the relevance of the conflict management mechanisms in place. The study adopted a case study design drawing from a range of qualitative methods involving semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis for collecting and analysing the stakeholder perspectives obtained from the field. The study then reveals that farmer-pastoralist conflicts in Kilosa district are mainly grounded in the broader domestic and external socio-political forces. The escalation into violence, however, depends mostly on resource scarcity driven by climate change manifesting as drought. In this regard, the lone environmental scarcity-conflict nexus is found to be less significant in causing farmer-pastoralist conflicts in Kilosa, a finding underpinning the political ecology’s structural influence. The study finds that the use of multistakeholder bricolage institutions is more relevant for addressing these conflicts in Kilosa district. / Commonwealth Scholarship Commission

Climate change presents a wide range of concerns that can jeopardize international security. Among those concerns are neo-Malthusian worries of diminishing natural resources. Predictive models suggest that rainfall and temperature anomalies have the potential to reduce water basins, crop production, increase land degradation among other perils that threaten human security. This concern is particularly true in sub-Saharan Africa given the region’s strong dependence on rain-fed agriculture. Despite strong claims from various world leaders and scientists of a direct climate-conflict nexus, little empirical evidence has been devoted to find a systematic causal pathway of this kind. What is more, the literature not explored the relationship between climate change and low-intensity forms of social unrest. Therefore, contrary to most of the literature that explores a direct climate-conflict relationship, this dissertation contributes to the literature along two lines. First, it explores the relationship between climate change and socio-political unrest. Second, rather than simply assume a direct relationship between climate shocks and conflict, this dissertation examines: a) the effects of climate change on food scarcity, and the impact of that scarcity, in turn, on the likelihood of social unrest and conflict, and b) the effects of climate change on land degradation, that the impact of that degradation, in turn, on the frequency of communal violence.

Recently, it has been recognized that climate change will result in conflict only in combination with certain conditions. However, most studies have focused on short-term climate hazards and not long-term climate change. Therefore, this thesis aims to answer the question: under what conditions do climate change and not climate hazards result in conflict? A fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) is conducted to answer the question. Stemming from theory, it is hypothesized that a conflict outcome will occur only when both long-term climate change (defined as temperature increase) and high vulnerability are present. High vulnerability is measured as low socioeconomic development, high agricultural dependency, low state capacity, and previous episode of conflict. The solution shows climate change, weak state, and previous conflict is sufficient for the outcome. This is argued to support the theoretical argument and is in line with expectations. However, the coverage is limited, and the solution’s robustness is weaker than hoped. Nevertheless, long-term climate change has the potential to lead to conflict when combined with societal-level vulnerability.

Thesis (MA (Political Science))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change is conclusive that climate change will lead to scarcity of the basic resources that sustain life for people around the world – fresh water supplies, food production and land for habitation and cultivation. It is argued that environmental scarcity leads to migration which in turn results in conflict in the receiving area as competition over resources develops. Based on the main theories relating to resource scarcity and conflict, the purpose of this study is to examine the link between climate change and human security. The relevance of this research is the fact that the Stern Review concludes that climate change poses a serious threat to the world and that Africa will be one of the hardest hit continents. Africa is already vulnerable to climate variability and has the least capacity to respond, and this study aims to establish the impacts of resource scarcity on human security in South Africa. The theoretical approach addresses the much debated concept of ‘human security’ as it has developed since the end of the Cold War and the analysis is based on the main conflict theories that maintain that competition over access to scarce resources is one of the root causes of violent conflict. The research design for this study is of an empirical nature with the units of analysis being states, physical events and processes and the resulting human actions. It is a descriptive analysis, interpreting the impact of climate change on scarce resources and the resulting propensity for conflict. Much of the violence against migrants has been the result of varying degrees of xenophobia amongst all racial groups in South Africa. This study proposes the hypothesis that migration results in increased competition over scarce resources in receiving areas, which as a result of xenophobia leads to conflict. Based on the theoretical arguments put forward, the paper aims to determine what policy options for adaptation, mitigation and governance would be most likely to reduce the harmful impacts of climate change on vulnerable regions and groups of people in South Africa and neighbouring countries in order to contain migration and lessen the likelihood of violent conflict. Having identified xenophobia as a spark that could ignite violent inter-group conflict it would be useful to gain some theoretical insight into reducing group prejudice and attaining group cooperation through inter-group contact. It is apparent that there is no single theoretical approach that can be applied to gain a better insight into the complex link between resource scarcity and conflict. The different theories are mutually compatible and each theoretical perspective contributes a partial elaboration to and additional insights into the climate change/conflict hypothesis. There is possibly room for a new theoretical approach to gain a better understanding of the complexity and the uncertainties that are inherent in the study of a mechanism as complex as climate change. South Africa has the responsibility to use its global political influence to promote a shared understanding of responsible behaviour across all societies. Active participation will enable South Africa to guide global negotiations towards outcomes that will lessen the impact of climate change on the most vulnerable countries and populations. In conclusion, possible policies and actions are identified that could support these objectives. Without urgent, appropriate intervention climate change will undermine any efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and a crippled African continent will be a threat to world security.