Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Public Administration) / The significance of small, micro, and medium enterprises (SMEs) development cannot be overemphasized because it plays a considerable role in a nation's economy particularly in developing countries. SMEs' contributions include job creation, expanding the means of sustainable livelihoods and ensuring impartial distribution of wealth amongst citizens. This study evaluates monitoring and evaluation systems, policy and programmes of the Small Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to develop and transform the informal sector of the economy. The main purpose of the establishment of SMEDAN is to facilitate the promotion and development of a structured and effective small and medium enterprises sector that will provide informal employment for unemployed, and enhance sustainable livelihood and economic development in Nigeria. Unemployment and increased poverty levels are key challenges to the government of Nigeria, which has resulted in socio-economic and political unrest across the nation. Against the background of high unemployment rate, especially amongst the youth and the deteriorating fortunes of small and medium businesses in Nigeria, questions can be asked in relation to current initiatives and policies to support SME sector.

The European Union is the greatest donor of the world. Until 2002, the south African country Zimbabwe was a recipient of European development aid. Due to major disagreements over key issues, such as human rights and democratic principles, theEuropean Union has partially suspended official development cooperation in 2002. Zimbabwe has not longer fulfilled the criterions of Good Governance, which isdemanded by the European Union. In order to restore the respect for human rights and ademocratic way of governance, the EU has posed sanctions and resolutions. This study provides a study of the outcomes of these repressive measures. Have the sanctions led to a better governance performance in Zimbabwe? Before the terms Governance and Good Governance will be explained into detail, the first part of the thesis is spotting out the European Union as a normative actor.

Several studies suggest that the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in developing countries (DCs) can help such countries achieve national development goals - especially if accompanied by appropriate government policies designed to regulate and promote the use and the diffusion of ICTs in the national context. Over the past few years 'ICT policy' has thus become something worthy of academic attention, in particular in the ambit of ICT-for-development (ICT4D) literature. Scholarly studies on the subject have so far focused however primarily on policy content, and have often been prescriptive and/or evaluative in nature. Relatively less attention has been paid instead to the processes by which ICT policy is made in DCs - a lacuna reflected also in the relative scarcity, in the realm of ICT4D literature, of detailed theoretical frameworks with which to study ICT policymaking practice in DCs. This study intends to help fill this lacuna, by proposing an innovative framework for the analysis of ICT policy processes in DCs, and subjecting such a framework to a first 'proof of concept', through its application to a particular case (ICT policymaking in Uganda). In recognition of the importance of the cognitive aspects of policy practice, the framework proposed is interpretive in nature, and is organised around three 'movements', or steps: an analysis of the linguistic and non-linguistic constructs employed by policy actors to articulate discourse on ICT policymaking; an analysis of the key discourses around ICT policy constructed by policy actors in specific settings; and an analysis of the composition and the strength of the 'alliances', or coalitions, of actors that construct and propagate specific discourses in such settings. The ultimate purpose of this type of analysis is to understand how specific discourses on, or 'versions' of the ICT policy process gain particular purchase and acceptance in given national settings, thereby providing ICT policy actors with elements for reflection on the practices they are involved in. The framework proposed is particularly innovative in that integrates elements derived from mainstream political science and policy analysis literature - thus going some way in solidifying theorization in the ambit of ICT4D research. The study draws conclusions at two levels: at case level, findings indicate that Ugandan discourse around ICT policymaking appears to be constrained by the existence of a powerful, overall political discourse that defines ICT policy as necessarily 'participative'; at the level of theory and method, findings suggest that the framework proposed appears to be a viable and useful one for research on ICT policymaking practice in DCs.

MAdmin / Department of Public and Development Administration / This study focused on critical analysis of job creation strategies in the Makhado Local Municipality (MLM). Even though there are policies and strategies adopted by Local Economic Development (LED) in order to speed up the process of job creation, there are still many unemployed people with no potential job prospects in the area. There are quite a number of factors working against job creation which range from geographic and demographic dispositions, availability of industries within the area, and limited infrastructure that can help to fast track job creation. The researcher used descriptive research design for this study. The researcher followed a mixed methods approach in which quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used. The reason for using a mixed methods approach was to integrate both qualitative and quantitative research methods to enable them to complement each other, thereby adding value to the findings. The researcher used non-probability sampling and its sub-type purposive sampling to select the respondents for this study. Purposive sampling method provides a wide range of non-probability sampling techniques for the researcher to draw on. Data collection instruments which were used were interview questions and questionnaires. Statistical analysis and thematic analysis were used to analyse the data. The researcher followed the research ethics before conducting study. The following were the major findings of the study: • The study findings revealed that municipality fails to inform members of the public with regard to job creation strategies in any process of development. • The research study findings revealed that the municipalities should create positions instead of internships without getting employment after completion. • The study findings revealed that public participation encourages community members to be actively involved in the municipality projects and helps to create good relationship between communities and the municipality to improve basic service delivery. The following are the recommendations of the study: • The research study revealed that good working relationship between municipal officials and community members should be encouraged as it is vital in enhancing the provision of service in the communities. • The study recommended that the municipalities should create positions which are permanent. • The researcher recommends that openness between community structures and the municipality should be encouraged in order to bring development in the municipality. / NRF

The European Union (EU) is the world’s leading development donor, playing a pivotal role in shaping development norms. This paper aims to investigate the extent to which the EU has been effective in its external aid actorness towards global poverty eradication during the post-Cotonou negotiation period (2000-2020). The theoretical framework of Sjöstedt’s (1977) Actorness Theory  is constructed upon the premises of Social Constructivism. To operationalize “actorness”, Brattberg and Rhinard’s (2012) criteria of context, coherence, consistency, and  capability are utilized. The research triangulates the methods of Discourse Historical Analysis and Thematic Content Analysis to assess the EU’s nom-setting policy discourse. The analysis suggests that the Union scores highly in the context and capability criteria, as it is recognized as a legitimate development actor and possesses mechanisms to reach aid agreements, while lacks  coherence  and  consistency  due to inadequate policy implementation and commitment to McKee et al.’s (2020) Aid Quality Index. The thesis concludes that the EU’s aid effectiveness has decreased due to its actorness being increasingly linked to foreign policy considerations in response to emerging challenges in development cooperation. The research underlines the significance of analysing the empirical linkage between EU’s actorness and effectiveness for the field of International Relations.

Development cooperation is nowadays a highly discussed topic, especially in the context of its effectiveness. In the past years the European Union and the Organization for economic cooperation and development adopted several documents concerning aid effectiveness and possible ways of its improvement. The aim of this thesis is to find out, in the case of selected states (France, Sweden, and the Czech Republic), if they implement the commitments resulting from these documents into their national development policies and if they carry out their development cooperation in compliance with them. Since the commitments in this area overlap between the two organizations and both of them are trying to influence the states to fulfill their commitments, this thesis will also try to identify which of these organizations has a greater influence on the chosen states. Keywords EU development policy, Council Conclusions, Member States, OECD, aid effectiveness, financial commitments

The main topic of this thesis is the role of economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights in the Development Policy of the European Union (EU). The aim of the thesis is to find out through critical discourse analysis, whether the ESC rights are implemented as human rights or rather as goals. The theoretical framework consists of two approaches to the understanding of ESC rights. First, equal position of ESC rights and civil and political rights as human rights, all universal, indivisible and interconnected. This approach is represented by Amartya Sen. Second approach denying the ESC rights such an equal position because to their achievement, certain economic resources are needed, and those are not distributed equally in the world. Therefore, they are rather goals to be achieved than human rights. This approach is represented by Aryeh Neier. The outcome of this thesis is a different position of ESC rights and civil and political rights in the EU Development Policy, despite the EU being legally bound to equal promotion of all human rights by international law and its own official documents. Tools for human rights promotion under the policy are mainly focused on fulfilling civil and political rights. ESC rights are rather implemented as practical, complementary means to economic growth and poverty...

This thesis explores the role of Development policy as an alternative to the traditional public security focused strategies for tackling organised crime violence in Latin America and the Caribbean. To do so, it builds bridges between the academic literature of criminology and development. It examines the public experiences of insecurity in Mexico and the social impacts of a development initiative, the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme in two municipalities in Mexico. The thesis poses questions about the impacts of Development initiatives upon organised crime violence from the perspectives of those living within areas affected by violence. The CCT programmes seek to address poverty in the short and long-term and research has begun to explore the potential of these programmes to diminish violence and crime, almost exclusively from a quantitative research approach, whereas this study adopts a qualitative design. This research is based on data gathered through interviews, observations, and focus groups to examine the perspectives and experiences of current and former CCT recipients, CCT administrators, public security officials, members of the public, NGO leads, and ex-gang affiliated individuals. This micro-level qualitative methodology adopted in this research contrasts the almost exclusively macro-level, econometric evaluations which have dominated CCT and organised crime research. The findings demonstrated that respondents perceived CCTs as significant in reducing the propensity of young men participating in organised crime violence in their localities. The perspectives of participants in this study provided enough evidence to overturn a common narrative of ‘prevention doesn’t work’ and suggest that in each of the areas targeted by the study there is potential for a reduction of organised crime rooted in development initiatives according to respondents.

In developing countries like Ethiopia rural-urban migration affects development in both urban and rural areas. As such, this study aims at establishing the major causes and consequences of the movement of people from rural to urban areas. To achieve the objective 500 migrant household heads were selected randomly from three kebeles of the town. Both primary and secondary data were employed and were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The study revealed that migrants came to Woldiya in search of employment and to utilize urban services and education. Hence, the out flow of economically active people from the rural agricultural sector has a negative effect on production in the areas of origin and the receiving area now experiences problems such as a shortage of housing, unemployment, increasing cost of living, lack of access to social services, Therefore, to mitigate the problem of rural-urban migration is launching of integrated rural development policy / Geography / M.A. (Geography)

The rapid growth of the global economy in the last two decades has created a new economic reality in many municipalities in peripheral regions of Sweden. Having earlier relied on traditional industry as the source of employment, today municipalities in peripheral regions are struggling to survive in a completely changed economic landscape, with new conditions for development. The dismantling of trade barriers, accessibility of new markets for production, and faster and cheaper modes of communication and transportation have combined in changing the conditions for development. While historically peripheral regions have depended on manufacturing firms as a source of employment, indications today show that local and regional development is enhanced through the development of locally acquired relationships that promote knowledge creation and transmission. In the past, the Swedish government had put in place measures to promote a degree of regional parities. These included enticement schemes to industry and the relocation of public bodies. Faced with the global winds of change that have arisen in the last few decades, this approach is becoming unsustainable. The overall aim of this dissertation is to contribute to the research aimed at enhancing regional economic development and to increase the understanding of as well as give insights into local economic development processes aimed at meeting global challenges in a peripheral region. In it I explore the two interrelated questions of 1) what are the mechanisms influencing location of economic activities and industrial policy in peripheral regions? 2) How do these mechanisms manifest themselves in a peripheral region? In this study, three case studies of local development processes in the two municipalities of Ljusdal and Söderhamn, in the geographical region of Hälsingland are presented. The case studies are named the business case, the policy case and the hybrid case to reflect the mechanisms that induced them. / Den globala ekonomins snabba tillväxt under de senaste två decennierna har skapat en ny ekonomisk verklighet i många svenska periferiregioner. Från att tidigare ha kunnat förlita sig på traditionell industri som grund för sysselsättningen, så måste dessa regioner idag kämpa för sin överlevnad i ett mycket annorlunda ekonomiskt landskap, med nya förutsättningar för utveckling. Avvecklingen av handelshinder, tillgång till nya produktionsmarknader samt snabbare och billigare sätt att kommunicera och transportera har tillsammans förändrat förutsättningarna för utveckling. Historiskt sett har sysselsättningen i periferiregioner varit beroende av tillverkningsindustrin, men idag finns tecken som tyder på att den lokala och regionala utvecklingen förstärks av lokalt förvärvade relationer som stödjer skapande och överföring av kunskaper. Förr vidtog den svenska regeringen mått och steg för att befrämja regional jämlikhet. Till exempel skapade man lockmedel för industrin och förflyttade statliga verk. De senaste decenniernas globala förändringar gör dessa metoder otillräckliga. Det övergripande syftet med den här avhandlingen är att bidra till den forskning vars syfte är att gynna regional ekonomisk utveckling och att öka förståelsen av och ge insikt i lokala ekonomiska utvecklingsprocesser som försöker möta dagens globala utmaningar för periferiregioner. Följande två sammanhängande frågor utforskas: 1) Vilka mekanismer påverkarlokaliseringen av ekonomiska aktiviteter och industriell politik i periferiregioner? 2) Hur visar sig dessa mekanismer i lokala utvecklingsprocesser i en periferiregion?I den här avhandlingen presenteras tre fallstudier som beskriver lokala utvecklingsprocesser i de två kommunerna Ljusdal och Söderhamn, båda belägna i Hälsingland. För att reflektera demekanismer som framkallat dem, kallas de tre fallstudierna för företagsstudien, policystudien och hybridstudien. / QC 20100616