Fur trapping, for generations the chief source of income for native people in northern Canada, has seriously declined in recent years. An outstanding exception is the community of Sachs Harbour, Banks Island, N. W. T., where several thousand white fox pelts are harvested annually by 15 to 20 trappers. The thesis analyzes two topics: the cultural ecology of the colonization of Banks Island as a trapping frontier, and the economic geography of trapping and hunting there. Its purposes are to investigate the ecological, economic and social basis of trapping, to understand trapping as an adaptive strategy in particular historical circumstances, and to analyze it as a viable resource system. The study is based on 14 months of field research in the Western Arctic, chiefly at Sachs Harbour, N.W.T. The primary research method was participant observation, although most quantitative data were obtained through semi-formal interviews. Archival research provided additional historical information and statistics. The relative success of the various groups of settlers was strongly related to their previous orientation to white fox trapping, and hence to their place of origin within the Western Arctic. The development of inland trapping was critical to the successful exploitation of the Island, and despite subsequent centralization of settlement, the trappers have expanded their resource hinterland. This is in contrast to developments in other parts of the north. The ecology of the Arctic fox on Banks Island is discussed, and a means of measuring areal exploitation in trapping is devised. The relationship between effort inputs and trapping success are examined. The number of trap checks is the input factor most strongly correlated with the number of foxes caught, with the number of traps set showing the second best correlation. Tentative predictor equations for trapping success are derived for various levels of fox abundance within the population cycle, and for the cycle as a whole. Quantitative analyses of seal, caribou, polar bear and other types of hunting show how these activities are integrated with the total resource system, and provide data for comparison with other Arctic regions. Methods are developed for the calculation of production costs of fur pelts and animal foods (and hence the profitability of trapping and hunting), as well as for the calculation of income in kind. The discussion includes the role of marketing, credit and savings. In conclusion, the resource system on Banks Island is discussed in terms of its ecologic, economic, and social viability - both in relation to the future of trapping on Banks Island itself and to the possibility of this system as a generic type being instituted elsewhere. There is no evidence of overharvesting of any major biological resources on Banks Island, and the number of trappers and the spatial arrangement of their activities appear to be optimal. Trapping provides a good standard of living on Banks Island, and reasonable stability of income seems assured. The Banks Island resource system would thus be ecologically stable and economically viable in other parts of the Arctic with similar resources. Social forces however make such a development unlikely. Social values and occupational aspirations are rapidly changing, especially among young people, and trapping is increasingly devalued as a life style despite its economic potential. The difficulties of recruiting young trappers at Sachs Harbour are noted, and the trapping system is seen as one of decreasing social acceptability all across the north. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

In the valley of Tehuacán Mexico, the Calipam sugar central is bringing about the socio-economic development of small, individually unviable properties within its tributary area. The economic dominance by the sugar central of its tributary area results in its ability to control and direct changes in the economy of that area. The valley of Tehuacán is a dry, densely populated area, with a great number of very small agricultural land holdings. One major problem of the area is that individually these properties are too small to achieve an economy of scale of production. Within the tributary area of the Calipam sugar central, however, it appears that a large number of small sugar cane producing farms are undergoing socio-economic development. It is then important to examine why this is taking place, and what is the part of the sugar central in this socio-economic development. The topic for this study first came to the attention of this writer during a research season in Mexico in 1967. During summer of 1968 this writer spent a research period in the valley of Tehuacán. At that time, through access to the records of the Calipam central, and through individual investigation of the cane system of the valley, including a sample of some ten percent of the peasant farmers of the cane area of the valley, a considerable amount of verbal evidence and documentary material was obtained. Furthermore, through research into statistical sources and records in numerous government ministries in Mexico City, Oaxaca, Puebla, and Tehuacán, it has been possible to obtain a reasonable picture of the role of the sugar central in the valley of Tehuacán. From the data collected, it has become possible to assess in some detail the abilities and opportunities for the central to act as an agency for the socio-economic betterment of its tributary area. Moreover it has become possible to show some of the environmental, economic and institutional constraints which cause the central to act in a manner which benefits not only the central itself, but also the small farmers of its tributary area. It was found that, in the case of the Calipam central, although the principal motivation for the actions of the central were those of economic self-interest, the central acted as an economic stimulus for the small farms which were associated with its cane sugar production system. As well, largely due to the legal contracts and constraints upon the actions of the central, credit programmes and social programmes were provided for the small farmers of the cane system. These programmes acted both as incentives to produce cane for the central, and as programmes of benefit to the well-being of the small farmer. Although the nature of controls, and the exercise of power by the central are closely parallel to the traditional hacienda system or the classic plantation type, the most important difference is that the small producer receives direct benefit from the system. The central, properly controlled, can then be seen as a developmental, rather than an exploitive system. The success of the Calipam central in the valley of Tehuacán suggests that the central system may be useful as an agency for socio-economic development of other regions where realities of population pressures or tenure laws prevent the achievement of economies of scale on the present small agricultural units. The success of the central system is to a large extent predicated on a mutually beneficial relationship between the peasant and the central, as part of a cash crop production system. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Part I covers the historical development of practices and policy in the forestry sector of the Ghana economy. The introduction of forestry into a country that had just settled down to agriculture reveals the struggle between commercial and subsistence agriculture on the one hand, and commercial forestry on the other. The application of a policy that does not take full cognizance of local land ownership externalities heightened the conflict between the two major forms of land use. The analysis in this thesis shows that land reforms are required if enough land is to be put under forestry, and if soil conservation practices are to be adopted by farmers. Foundations on which classical forestry is built and principles of perpetual forestry as advocated by FAO and Commonweath Forestry Conferences are examined and criticized. Economic forces are recognized as determinants of the permanence of forests. The importance of the agricultural sector in the development of the industrial sector of the country is stressed. The role of the Ghana Cocoa Marketing Board and the Ghana Timber Marketing Board is criticized. It is concluded that both boards should allow market forces to determine economic values for agricultural and forest products; and that farmers' earnings should be appropriated by them in the first instance to allow for a rise in agricultural earnings which alone can create effective demand locally for forest products. Part II covers current practices in the forestry sector. Conduct of research, problems of industrialization in the light of existing tariff walls raised by the rich markets of the developed countries as well as the problems associated with an underdeveloped, low income economy, are surveyed. It is shown that the economy requires to be pushed forward on all fronts: research; skills; capital formation and markets, if effective industrialization of the forestry sector is to be undertaken. While the concept of maximum sustained yield has been rejected, the thesis does not unconditionally accept the objective of maximizing net gains from forest lands. The thesis accepts that forest policy has to be subordinated to the national economic policy objective of maximizing the national product per capita. Integrating national development and forestry plans ensures that the welfare of the people of Ghana can be maximized. The 'taungya' system of agric-silviculture has been analyzed and criticized. In its place plantation forestry aimed at creating man-made blocks of forests of commercial value is recommended. Integrated utilization of forest raw materials has been noted as leading to the maximization of the contribution of the forestry sector to the national economy. To ensure supplies of raw material to local mills, a Log Export Control Committee has been suggested. Finally, the thesis criticizes the practice whereby forest policy formulation is undertaken by the Forestry Department alone. The urgency of economic development, and the need for subordinating forest policy to national economic policy as well as integrating the two policies, require that, in addition to the forest service, other bodies with interests in the forests should be represented. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

In the first part of the thesis, historical analysis shows that agents of cultural contact - the trading company and mission churches - focussed the activities of native Eskimo and Indian peoples upon the Mackenzie Delta. Centrifugal forces exerted by whaling in the Beaufort Sea and the Klondike Gold Rush were short-lived and resulted in the more rapid acculturation of native peoples involved in them who eventually drifted back towards the Mackenzie Delta. The intensification of trapping after 1920 and the growth of a pattern of settlements confirmed the importance of the Mackenzie Delta in the ecological regimes of Eskimos, Indians and the white trappers who migrated there at this time, and favoured the emergence of a Delta Community. In the second part of the thesis, an objective hierarchical grouping procedure is used to identify characteristic groups of trappers in terms of the species they trap. Groups specializing in more distant species associated with each settlement virtually disappeared between 1931 and 1951 and the spring muskrat harvest in the Mackenzie Delta became the dominant activity of most trappers. In 1950, trapping camps were evenly distributed throughout the Mackenzie Delta and the take of muskrat generally greater in the northeast. After the building of the new planned settlement of Inuvik the numbers of trapping camps diminished and the regional trend of the muskrat harvest shifted as the takes in the vincinity [sic] of the new town decreased. For the mid-sixties, a grouping procedure used to dichotomize "serious" and "part-time" trappers shows that a large proportion of the latter maintained trapping camps. Analysis of employment in Inuvik also shows a divided commitment to land and town. High income and high status jobs were occupied predominantly by white transient workers since they required skills and levels of educational achievement possessed by few native people. Though native people of Metis origin showed some success in employment, most Eskimos and Indians occupied more menial jobs. A comparison of employment in government and non-government sectors indicates that native involvement in the latter was growing, many native people in both sectors shifted jobs frequently, or between jobs and land-based activities. The town economy like the land economy showed signs of adaptation to the dual allegiance felt by native people to land and town. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Local B.C. communities facing hardship in the context of global restructuring and reduced demand for primary resource commodities, have increasingly turned to community based economic development (CBED) to strengthen their local economies. These community based strategies differ from place to place but essentially aim to expand the local economy through socially and culturally desirable development, utilizing local resources, and under some form of local control. However there are numerous obstacles to undertaking CBED, one of which is a lack of financing. Credit unions are community based financial institutions which would appear to be likely participants in a process of community based economic development. They possess significant financial resources, and share with CBED a common philosophy of economic self-help, and an orientation towards the local community. The potential for credit union participation in community based economic development is the subject of this thesis. A three part methodology was followed with particular reference to major aspects of the issue. First, a review of the local economic development literature pointed to the importance of financing, management advice and local capacity to develop in the CBED process. The experience of CBED organizations in obtaining assistance from chartered banks and federal government programs such as Local Employment Assistance Development (LEAD) demonstrates that there are significant gaps in support. An alternative such as the credit union is needed. The credit union system was examined to determine if indeed this community based cooperative financial institution holds some promise to assist CBED, and what factors presently act to constrain such participation. There are two fundamental obstacles to credit union participation in CBED. Firstly, there is a lack of will on the part of credit unions to become involved in CBED based on declining member commitment to credit union philosophy. Secondly, credit unions are presently unable to reconcile high levels of risk inherent in lending for CBED with their non-profit structure. Educating credit unions as to the potential benefits arising from CBED may heighten their interest in participating in CBED and there are mechanisms the credit union can employ to reduce risk. Furthermore, credit unions can play some important non-financial roles in support of CBED, which a local orientation and cooperative decision-making framework can enhance. The empirical portion of the research documented the CBED initiatives of Nanaimo District Credit Union and Vancouver City Savings Credit Union. It demonstrated firstly, that there is interest among individual credit unions within the credit union system to participate in CBED, at least in an incremental way; secondly, that credit unions have tended to follow a marginal business development strategy in support of CBED in their respective communities; and thirdly, there are a number of alternative roles, strategies and institutional arrangements for doing so. Based on this review of the major issues and the experience of two credit unions currently participating in CBED, it appears that credit unions do hold some potential an alternative source of community capital and expertise for community based economic development, but at present appear to lack the philosophical basis for doing so, and furthermore, face some constraints to pursuing a financial role in CBED. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The role of industries and firms in propelling urban economic growth and change is an important issue in urban economic research and policy. A framework for identifying propulsive industries in advanced metropolitan economies is proposed. A propulsive industry is a set of firms, producing substitutable goods or services, which significantly influences urban economic growth and change. The framework examines the opportunities and limits in identifying propulsive industries using existing concepts and data from urban, regional and industrial economic research. Initially, industry characteristics propelling urban economic growth and change are described. These characteristics fall into two categories: propulsive mechanisms which directly stimulate urban income and employment growth; and economic factors which cause propulsive mechanisms to change over time. The analysis shows how nine characteristics can be turned into criteria for identifying local propulsive industries: industry size, growth performance, average employee earnings, occupational profile, multiplier performance, export orientation, vulnerability to import penetration of domestic markets, and sensitivity to economic recession and expansion. Two additional industry characteristics are rejected as criteria for identifying propulsive industries because of inadequate quantitative measures (innovation intensity, and match of occupational demand with local unemployment). A third, industry concentration, is rejected because, of uncertainty in the propulsive relationship with urban economic growth and change. The efficacy of using available data for identifying propulsive industries in metropolitan Vancouver, British Columbia is examined. Data are available for five out of the nine proposed criteria: industry size, net employment growth, average weekly wages, and sensitivity to economic recession and expansion. A provisional ranking of propulsive industries using these five criteria shows the dominant role of services in the metropolitan Vancouver economy. Finally, findings on the opportunities and limits for identifying local propulsive industries and implications for urban economic policy are discussed. The nine proposed criteria provide a more comprehensive and analytical approach for identifying propulsive industries than methods presently used by local economic policymakers. Available data are, however, inadequate for identifying propulsive industries in metropolitan Vancouver. Information on local propulsive industries can be used to set priorities among an increasingly complex and diverse array of urban economic growth programs; evaluate the efficacy of implemented programs; and monitor and evaluate changes in urban economic structure. Metropolitan governments could provide a vital forum for economic research and policy initiatives involving the identification and support of local propulsive industries. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Canada is more accurately described as an independent imperialist country than a relatively dependent or foreign-dominated country. This conclusion is reached by examining recent empirical evidence on the extent of inward and outward foreign investment, ownership links between large financial corporations and large industrial corporations, and the size and composition of manufacturing production and trade. In each of these areas, the differences between Canada and other members of the G7 group of countries are not large enough to justify placing Canada in a different political-economic status than these core imperialist countries. An historical context for the debate over Canada's current status is provided by archival research on how socialists in the 1920s addressed similar issues. Imperialist status means that social and economic problems in Canada are more rooted in Canadian capitalism and less in foreign capitalism than is generally assumed by left-nationalist Canadian political economy. Given Canada's imperialist status, labour and social movements in Canada should not support Canadian nationalism, e.g., oppose 'free' trade and globalization on this basis. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this study is to show there is no special economic or general development theory tailor-made for West Africa. Maybe, when all general theories are valid, some are more valid than others. The recent emergence of "development theories" from academics in the "Third and Fourth World" countries is both an expression of serious doubts with orthodox development theories, as well as a serious search for self-assertion. These attempts to devise an appropriate theoretical concept geared towards the interpretation and analysis of the development process in these regions are, at bottom, also a response to the dynamics of economic and social change. The growing awareness of these views reflects the extent to which these processes of change are at work. As we shall soon observe, the attempts by the various orthodox authors of development theories to diagnose the underlying causes of development, the link with the world systems and the proposed future strategies, have very little in common. Take, for example, the economic system of the sixteenth century that generated modern industrial capitalism. This system was made up of three interdependent parts: a developed core in Western Europe, a partially developed semiperiphery in southern and eastern Europe, and an underdeveloped periphery of the rest of the world. From this, one can see, with some persuasion, that the dynamic of capitalism (or of a fully developed market economy) is based on the structural imbalance created by integrating the West Africa economies at different levels of development in what Prof. Wallerstein called a "world-system." There are probably few who would quarrel with this part of the formulation - although its neglect as a serious theory of economic development by economists, is, to this author, certainly one of the more interesting occurrences in modern history. The question that is open to debate is the degree to which this imbalance (in West Africa) tends toward permanence - the degree to which "underdevelopment" develops along with development to become a relatively stable economic adjustment. None of the development theories reviewed in the thesis has sufficient time depth to assess the question of permanence with empirical data, nor do they attempt to do so. Instead, the problem is tackled as follows. The nonindustrial nations of the world have not developed because they have failed the preconditions for it - a market mentality, local economic differentiation, "modern" socio-cultural institutions receptive to economic development (entrepreneurship). But none of these holds in the indigeneous societies of West Africa where there is no lack of entrepreneurship and little in the way of social and cultural impediments to growth. The most common alternative explanation is that the "surplus" necessary to endogenous growth is being drained in export-import trade with the developed systems. This thesis explores the dimensions of development in the economies like those of West Africa which are in a period of drastic change and dissatisfaction with the conventional paradigms. Structurally, this study has been divided into five chapters. The introductory chapter defines the uniqueness of the West African case. This uniqueness arises from uncensured acceptance of Western norms and models and reliance on growth - through capital-intensive imported technology. Coupled with this is also the idea of measuring the successes (if any) and the failures with the yardsticks accepted and applicable in the West, Chapter two will review the general literature in development (Dualism, Strategical, Foreign Trade, Sociological and Psychological, and Marxist theories) and then prescribe an indigenous model, Self-Reliance, as an alternative to the reviewed theories. Chapter three examines the physical environment and economy of the region. Chapter four deals with the acceptance or rejection of the hypothesis that is, when all general theories are valid, some are more valid than others and Chapter five deals with the policy implications and conclusions. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Unknown

One of the most pressing problems of developing countries is their economic and political dependence on the major global powers, which is thought to impose severe constraints on the ability of LDCs to pursue autonomous development. This thesis explicates and examines one strategy to reduce dependence, as it is developed and pursued by the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore). The elements of this strategy are diversification of economic relations and restructuring of memberships in international organizations. Policies leading to diversification in the areas of international trade and foreign direct investment are described, and evaluated through statistical analysis of trade and investment flows for the period 1967 to 1978. The evolution of ASEAN is examined, particularly as it bears on economic issues. Patterns of memberships in global and regional international organizations and transnational associations are examined for evidence of a greater capacity for collective behavior on the part of the ASEAN members. The study concludes that there has been modest progress toward reducing the structural basis of dependence, although there are numerous limitations to diversification. The ASEAN members remain dependent, but less so. Their strategy may offer an alternative to other collective self-reliance strategies pursued by Third World nations. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

Past migration studies have tended to concentrate on either, the characteristics of migrants, the correlates that 'explain' migration flows, or the monetary gains which accrue to migrants but, despite a growing interest in the field of Social Impact Assessment, there has been little empirical analysis of the relative performance of migrants and non-migrants in areas experiencing economic expansion. The few relevant case studies which have been done examine historically stagnant areas that have managed to attract a new economic activity. They generally compare a single aspect of migrant/non-migrant performance (usually income) and use data that has limited information on important socio-economic variables. Hence, the available information on the relative performance of migrants and non-migrants is sparse and fragmentary. The thesis improves the level of understanding of the outcomes and implications of in-migration. It achieves this by comparing not only the relative mean wage incomes but also the demands for social services and the occupational distributions/unemployment rates of migrants who entered B.C. between 1966-1971 with those of longer term provincial residents (indigenes). The analysis uses bivariate tables to examine data derived from a one per cent sample of the 1971 provincial population, the whole sample is used in the study of the dependency ratios while the male household head subgroup was selected for the examination of the relative income and employment performance of migrants and non-migrants. The analysis can be divided into two main streams. First, the examination of areas in which some previous work had been done. In this stream the analysis revealed that higher incomes among younger in-migrants, which have been found in previous studies and which are evident in the data examined in the thesis, cease to exist when level of education is held constant. Indigenes were found to have mean wage incomes that were predominantly higher than or equal to those of comparable in-migrants. while inter-national in-migrants had incomes that were substantially below those of indigenes and interprovincial in-migrants. At the same time it was found that the indigenous population had a lower proportion of its population employed in service related industries than in-migrants. This is the reverse of the situation in historically stagnant areas attracting new activities. In addition, with the exception of international migrants, the migrant flow did not consistently have a larger proportion of its population in high skill occupations than indigenes. Once again, this result is in contrast to previous findings. The second group of findings is in areas where previous work is minimal or non-existent. I In these areas, in-migrants were found: to have a lower ratio of dependents per income earner than the indigenous population, to be employed in a broad range of occupations rather than concentrated in a few, and to import a large amount of human capital acquired in other jurisdictions. Yet the unemployment rate of the indigenous male household head population was found to be approximately three per cent. The findings lead to three general conclusions relating to in-migration to B.C. during the 1966-1971 period: 1. in terms of the factors studied, in-migration over the period was beneficial to the province. 2. there are only a few subgroups of the indigenous population studied that did not perform as well as in-migrants in the expanding provincial economy. Furthermore, these groups include only a small per centage of the total indigenous population examined. 3. among male household heads there is no substantial support for the conventional wisdom that in-migrants fill a large number of jobs needed by the indigenous population. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate