Beginning in 1260, the Mongol ruler Khubilai Khan embarked on the creation of a Chinese-style bureaucracy to govern his realm more effectively. At the same time, the court began to promulgate a salary code for its officials. Though both... more
Beginning in 1260, the Mongol ruler Khubilai Khan embarked on the creation of a Chinese-style bureaucracy to govern his realm more effectively. At the same time, the court began to promulgate a salary code for its officials. Though both processes were led in large part by Chinese scholar-officials, this group continually complained about the shortcomings of the salary code and its negative effects on the bureaucracy. By studying their writings on salaries and official government records, this article will demonstrate that the Chinese literati used their complaints about the salary code to level criticisms against flaws in the administration and to push for bureaucratic reform, and that the Yuan court was genuinely concerned about the salary problem and took measures to alleviate it. Yet the court never actually reformed, and this article will ultimately aim to show how the response to the issue of salaries reflected the Mongols’ desires to cling to the power and privilege that was afforded to them by a bureaucratic structure which preserved much of their traditional steppe institutions and values.
Although scholars tend to draw a line of confrontation between the conquerors Normans and the conquered Muslims and Greeks in the kingdom of Sicily, the actual relationship among these people was not so simple. In the kingdom there was a... more
Although scholars tend to draw a line of confrontation between the conquerors Normans and the conquered Muslims and Greeks in the kingdom of Sicily, the actual relationship among these people was not so simple. In the kingdom there was a relatively developed bureaucracy staffed by officials with varied cultural backgrounds. The kings and these bureaucrats took a stand against the aristocrats, who had solely Latin Christian backgrounds. In fact, the keynote of the political history of the kingdom was a process in which the kings together with bureaucrats held down the aristocrats and cities of the peninsula. The kings and bureaucrats, who had different cultural backgrounds but were highly educated and cultured, took a stand against aristocrats who were not well cultured but trained as warriors. However, this line of confrontation was visible only during the peacetime. During the wartime, a line of confrontation was drawn within aristocrats and cities that had military power. Aristocrats and cities were divided into a pro-king group and an anti-king one, and fought amongst each other, while bureaucrats were usually on the side of the kings. This suggests that even the mighty Norman kings supported by the bureaucrats were by no means absolute. The strong Norman kingship of Sicily was in fact only made possible by a delicate balance of power among aristocrats, cities, and bureaucrats.
A presente dissertação tem como objeto de pesquisa as políticas públicas de democratização do ensino criadas após a Constituição Federal de 1988. Com as teorias de direito e desenvolvimento e a educação superior como pano de fundo,... more
A presente dissertação tem como objeto de pesquisa as políticas públicas de democratização do ensino criadas após a Constituição Federal de 1988. Com as teorias de direito e desenvolvimento e a educação superior como pano de fundo, pretende-se relacionar aspectos do direito e políticas públicas sob o enfoque institucional, buscando compreender a realidade dos programas ProUni, Reuni, Fies e Lei de Cotas. Questiona-se, com base em uma metodologia jurídica das políticas públicas, como são construídos o programas para democratização do acesso ao ensino superior tendo em vista os planos macro, meso e microinstitucional como definido por Bucci e como funcionam as ações governamentais de inclusão nas instituições superiores de ensino público e privado. A pesquisa possibilitou constatar que faltam arranjos mesoinstitucionais que coordenem as políticas, tornando-as complementares e mais coerentes entre si, Não foram encontradas agregações institucionais exclusivas para as políticas de acesso ao ensino superior.
The thesis explores potential challenges and opportunities for blockchains and International Relations (IR). The thesis also explores how IR can help understand blockchains as new conceptual phenomena. The thesis broadly questions: what... more
The thesis explores potential challenges and opportunities for blockchains and International Relations (IR). The thesis also explores how IR can help understand blockchains as new conceptual phenomena. The thesis broadly questions: what do blockchains mean for IR? And, what does IR mean for blockchains? Institutions and power are taken to be significant for the exploration because they represent crucial IR concepts. Blockchains are explored as regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive institutions and as compulsory, institutional, structural, and productive power. Blockchains are argued to provide challenges and opportunities for discipline of IR and the practice of international relations. IR can understand blockchains through the concepts of institutions and power.
On the recent events at Macba. (This essay is part of series of texts that aim to reflect upon recent events at MACBA and the wider politics of art institutions that will be published here over the coming weeks.) In this age of global... more
On the recent events at Macba. (This essay is part of series of texts that aim to reflect upon recent events at MACBA and the wider politics of art institutions that will be published here over the coming weeks.) In this age of global neo-liberal redeployment, a redeployment that impacts on everything, including museums and schools, a much more refined analysis of institutions is required than the obsolete critical apparatus, inherited from the "institutional critique" of the 1970s. And that begins with an analysis of the institutional process itself which has always been postponed by previous generations, certain as they were that legal matters could only be a transparent mask of these same power relations ...
The term ‘inertia’ is often used to describe a kind of irrational resistance to change in individuals or institutions. Institutions, ideas and power structures appear to become entrenched over time, and may become ineffective or obsolete,... more
The term ‘inertia’ is often used to describe a kind of irrational resistance to change in individuals or institutions. Institutions, ideas and power structures appear to become entrenched over time, and may become ineffective or obsolete, even if they once played a legitimate or useful role. In this paper I argue that there is a common set of problems underlying the occurrence of resistance to change in individuals, social structures and the development of knowledge. Resistance to change is not always irrational or problematic; it is also necessary to allow stable personal identities and social structures to survive in a constantly changing world. I offer a historical and theoretical framework for the question of inertia. Finally, I argue that philosophy has often seen its task to be the critique of ossified, inert or obsolete ideas and social structures, but that it has neglected the positive dimension of resistance to change.
Global climate action plans risk resulting to climate maladaptation and shocks when prudent measures are inapt. Adaptation strategies require multidisciplinary approach from all sectors with periodic monitoring and evaluation which are... more
Global climate action plans risk resulting to climate maladaptation and shocks when prudent measures are inapt. Adaptation strategies require multidisciplinary approach from all sectors with periodic monitoring and evaluation which are carefully planned, locally adaptable and results-oriented. For decades, various governments, development practitioners and international organizations have made concerted efforts in tackling large scale climate events. These stern initiatives forms part of Millennium Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 13 meant to combat climate change. The increasing demand for frameworks that effectively monitor and examine the outcomes of these huge investments made by policy-makers across regions have enhanced the evaluation and monitoring of various climate change adaptation strategies. This study sought to assess the effectiveness and sustainability of initiated adaptation strategies. The study used descriptive statistics based on informants’ ...
Dissecting complex institutional webs and the roles they play (or should play) in development is an ongoing endeavor. To better understand the relationships between local and external institutions in small communities—specifically,... more
Dissecting complex institutional webs and the roles they play (or should play) in development is an ongoing endeavor. To better understand the relationships between local and external institutions in small communities—specifically, whether these two sets of institutions act as complements or substitutes—we analyze subjective assessments of organizations and development indicators in nine rural Costa Rican towns. We expect to find that attitudes toward both local and external institutions are positively related to perceptions of development indicators. While the regression model we present yields a relationship between the perceived strength of local institutions and development indicators, we fail to find such a relationship with the importance respondents place on the presence of external organizations in their community. The results of a second regression model suggest that individuals may link the importance of external institutions with the specific services they provide. We con...
Using panel data for the period 1989-2006 we revisit the empirics of economic growth in the context of the post-communist transition. We pay particular attention to the mechanisms of causation and to the potential endogeneity of the... more
Using panel data for the period 1989-2006 we revisit the empirics of economic growth in the context of the post-communist transition. We pay particular attention to the mechanisms of causation and to the potential endogeneity of the macroeconomic stability indicators considered to be important in the existing literature. Carefully employing a variety of econometric techniques we consistently find that macroeconomic instability is bad for economic growth. We find some evidence that institutions of governance are important for economic growth through their influence on the macroeconomic environment. That is, good institutions are conducive to macroeconomic stability which in turn positively impacts upon economic growth. We also find, in contrast with other work, that investments in education have had a strong positive impact on growth in transition while other 'standard' economic growth determinants remain less important. These findings are shown to be robust to a variety of e...
The distinctive contribution of sociological social psychology can be referred to as sociological miniaturism, a way of interpreting social processes and institutions that is microsociological more than it is psychological. We argue that... more
The distinctive contribution of sociological social psychology can be referred to as sociological miniaturism, a way of interpreting social processes and institutions that is microsociological more than it is psychological. We argue that social psychology of this variety permits the examination of large-scale social issues by means of investigation of small-scale social situations. The power of this approach to social life is that it permits recognition of the dense texture of everyday life, permits sociologists to understand more fully a substantive domain, and permits interpretive control. In the chapter we provide examples of this approach from two quite distinct theoretical orientations: symbolic interactionism and social exchange theory. We discuss the ways in which the study of two substantive topics, social power and collective identity, using these perspectives can be informed by closer collaboration between theorists within sociological social psychology. In the end it is o...
This paper analyzes the causes of the rise and the fall of the Algerian wine industry. It is hard to imagine in the twenty-first century global wine economy, but until about 50 years ago Algeria was the largest exporter of wine in the... more
This paper analyzes the causes of the rise and the fall of the Algerian wine industry. It is hard to imagine in the twenty-first century global wine economy, but until about 50 years ago Algeria was the largest exporter of wine in the world—and by a wide margin. Between 1880 and 1930 Algerian wine production grew dramatically. Equally spectacular was the decline of Algerian wine production: today, Algeria produces and exports little wine. There was an important bidirectional impact between developments in the Algerian wine sector and French regulations. French regulations had a major impact on the Algerian wine industry, and the growth of the Algerian wine industry triggered the introduction of important wine regulations in France at the beginning of the twentieth century and during the 1930s. Important elements of these regulations are still present in European wine policy today. (JEL Classifications: K23, L51, N44, N54, Q13)
THE INDUSTRIAL EVOLUTION OF HEALTHCARE It is a transformative fact today that most countries and their citizens draw on essential medicines and vaccines designed and manufactured and then traded across hundreds and often, thousands of... more
THE INDUSTRIAL EVOLUTION OF HEALTHCARE It is a transformative fact today that most countries and their citizens draw on essential medicines and vaccines designed and manufactured and then traded across hundreds and often, thousands of miles. Health technologies include both mature and innovative products, in some cases, entirely disrupting patient experiences, the medical profession, and the organization of industries. Several sub-sectors such as medicines, vaccines, diagnostic kits, medical devices, and surgical instruments are produced and governed within and across national boundaries. These technologies may be regulated for a range of health and safety reasons, and often through industrial policies. New economics for health focused on technological change and the evolutionary aspects of industrial organization in the health industry may therefore look different from health economics as we know it today.
Une partie de Rio de Janeiro est reconnue en 2012 comme patrimoine mondial de l’Unesco, en tant que paysage culturel. Les résultats d’une ethnographie institutionnelle permettent de saisir les modalités selon lesquelles la dimension... more
Une partie de Rio de Janeiro est reconnue en 2012 comme patrimoine mondial de l’Unesco, en tant que paysage culturel. Les résultats d’une ethnographie institutionnelle permettent de saisir les modalités selon lesquelles la dimension patrimoniale d’un paysage peut être mobilisée dans les régimes discursifs des institutions impliquées. Puis, l’analyse de ces énoncés permet d’esquisser les contours de l’imaginaire de ces experts quant à la figure du paysage. L’intérêt porté aux différentes versions de ce « paysage culturel » d’une institution à une autre et aux rapports de force qui leur sont sous-jacents, permet de comprendre quelles sont les diverses acceptions du patrimoine se façonnant sur et par rapport à un territoire en transformation et la plasticité de la notion de patrimoine comme construction sociale circulant à travers différentes aires culturelles.
This paper describes the situation in Indonesia. The three main objectives of the case study were: i) to clarify the organizational changes that Indonesia’s MOA has introduced to facilitate new functions related to agribusiness; ii) to... more
This paper describes the situation in Indonesia. The three main objectives of the case study were: i) to clarify the organizational changes that Indonesia’s MOA has introduced to facilitate new functions related to agribusiness; ii) to characterize the MOA’s agribusiness unit and describe its functional roles, key objectives, current priorities, and scope of service provision for agribusiness and agro-industries; and iii) to assess the unit’s capacities to fulfil its functions, the opportunities and threats it faces, and its institutional comparative advantage for the provision of services related to agribusiness and agro-industry development. The in-depth case study used two main sources of information: key informant interviews (KII) with a planned 25 respondents, of whom 17 were interviewed; and secondary data collection and review. Key informants included staff from the core agribusiness unit, partner organizations, support agencies, the private sector and a donor agency.
Convergence is more the exception than the rule in the development landscape. As a possible explanation, we posit development progeria: the phenomenon where a low-income country exhibits the industrial share dynamics of high-income mature... more
Convergence is more the exception than the rule in the development landscape. As a possible explanation, we posit development progeria: the phenomenon where a low-income country exhibits the industrial share dynamics of high-income mature economies where the Non-traded Goods Sector outgrows the Traded Goods Sector and the share of the non-traded goods sector outstrips the share of the traded goods sector. We argue that this seems to be the case of the Philippines in the last 25 years.
We then inquire into the drivers of this phenomenon. One possibility is the Rodrik hypothesis: that market and institutional distortions hamstring the Tradable goods sector more than they do the Non-tradable goods sector. The other possibility is the exchange rate policy being favorable or unfavorable to the Tradable goods sector. Using cross-country data for countries with per capita income of us$10,000 or less, we show that these two factors cannot be rejected as drivers of development progeria.
The authors develop and implement a method for measuring the frequency of changes in power among distinct leaders and ideologically distinct parties that is comparable across political systems. The authors find that more frequent... more
The authors develop and implement a method for measuring the frequency of changes in power among distinct leaders and ideologically distinct parties that is comparable across political systems. The authors find that more frequent alternation in power is associated with the emergence of better governance in post communist countries. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that firms seek durable
This paper reviews the recent (post-2000) literature which assesses the importance of institutions as a factor determining cross-country differences in growth rates or in the contemporary level of “prosperity”. It first sketches how... more
This paper reviews the recent (post-2000) literature which assesses the importance of institutions as a factor determining cross-country differences in growth rates or in the contemporary level of “prosperity”. It first sketches how institutional economics has evolved. It then examines critically the methods of analysis employed in the recent literature. The paper finds that this literature has made a major contribution to the analysis of the causes of economic growth but the relative importance of institutions as a determinant of long-run growth and prosperity is still a wide open question.
Despite the large amount of private and public resources spent on foreign education, there is no systematic evidence that foreign-educated individuals foster democracy in their home countries. Using a unique panel dataset on foreign... more
Despite the large amount of private and public resources spent on foreign education, there is no systematic evidence that foreign-educated individuals foster democracy in their home countries. Using a unique panel dataset on foreign students starting in the 1950s, I show that foreign-educated individuals promote democracy in their home country, but only if the foreign education is acquired in democratic countries. The results are robust to several estimation techniques, to different definitions of democracy, and to the inclusion of a variety of control variables, including democracy in trading partners, neighboring countries, level of income, and level and stock of education. (JEL D72, I21, O15, O17, P26)
The development of smallholder irrigation is a policy priority in Ethiopia, yet little consideration has been given to the role state interventions play in enabling or constraining effective self-governance in farmer-managed schemes. To... more
"Ein Archiv-Besuch der Jahre 1969, 1970, 1971 und die an die mitdenkenden Leser*innen übergebene Frage, was aus den damaligen Ansprüchen und Visionen [der Theaterschaffenden und anderer gesellschaftlicher Akteur*innen der BRD]... more
"Ein Archiv-Besuch der Jahre 1969, 1970, 1971 und die an die mitdenkenden Leser*innen übergebene Frage, was aus den damaligen Ansprüchen und Visionen [der Theaterschaffenden und anderer gesellschaftlicher Akteur*innen der BRD] eigentlich geworden ist." Recherche-Artikel für die Jubiläumszeitschrift der Dramaturgischen Gesellschaft 2016 "60 jahre dg!". Im Heft veröffentlichte Version ohne den Fragebogen für Theaterschaffende der Gegenwart ("Selbstüberprüfungsliste"), online: dramaturgische-gesellschaft.de
Currently, Botswana is one of high income economies in Africa. Since independence in 1966, the government has put emphasis on the development of human capital through education and skills development of the citizens. The country has... more
Currently, Botswana is one of high income economies in Africa. Since independence in 1966, the government has put emphasis on the development of human capital through education and skills development of the citizens. The country has dedicated much of the government funds to education to the extent possible while the contribution and payoffs of education expenditure have been limited. This study examines data from 1960-2013 and attempts to link GDP and education expenditure in a long run framework. It has been noted that member states of the United Nations are under pressure to achieve development goals and countries like Botswana need to estimate not only public spending requirements and the macroeconomic implications of financing them, but also the potential social and economic rewards associated with education. Estimations show that at least 40% of people in developing economies are illiterate and governments intend to leave no stone unturned in eliminating this problem. This study applies the Johansen cointegration test and Granger causality procedure to examine the long run affiliations of the variables. Astoundingly, for Botswana economy, there is no long run comovement between GDP and education expenditure for the period 1960-2013. It is advised to review the quality of education and the programmes offered by the local institutions. Jel code:
Relire Humboldt : quelles valeurs pour fonder une université ? in Les valeurs en éducation. Transmission, conservation, novation. (dir.) Jean-Michel Barreau, Xavier Riondet, PUN-Editions universitaires de Lorraine, 2019.
Z uwagi na złożoność problematyki związanej z transformacją środowiska międzynarodowego, badania cechują się wielowymiarowością. Wymóg ten spełniają badania interdyscyplinarne, których egzemplifikacją jest prezentowana naukowa publikacja... more
Z uwagi na złożoność problematyki związanej z transformacją środowiska międzynarodowego, badania cechują się wielowymiarowością. Wymóg ten spełniają badania interdyscyplinarne, których egzemplifikacją jest prezentowana naukowa publikacja wieloautorska, zawierająca wyniki badań naukowców reprezentujących różne dyscypliny nauko-we i podejmujących w rozdziałach swojego autorstwa problematykę z obszaru zainteresowania stosunków międzynarodowych, politologii, prawa, ekonomii, historii, kultury, filozofii, literaturoznawstwa oraz pedagogiki.
The aim of this paper is to develop some general Hayek's ideas on the European project. Hayek demonstrated and analyzed the presence of two types of social order-a spontaneous order and a built one. Spontaneous order is a feature of... more
The aim of this paper is to develop some general Hayek's ideas on the European project. Hayek demonstrated and analyzed the presence of two types of social order-a spontaneous order and a built one. Spontaneous order is a feature of society and economic development around a principle of human action coordinator. European project represents the spontaneous order through the founding principles of the four freedoms-free movement of persons, goods, services and capital. With many regulations, bureaucracy, this order is closer to the order constructed by that social engineering. Following Hayek's ideas I tried to emphasize some issues at European level and to achieve a correlation with the european reality and Hayekian theory.
The risk perceived by investors is crucial in the decision to invest, in particular when it concerns a foreign country. The risk associated to any (foreign) investment is a multi-faceted element given that it reflects many aspects that... more
The risk perceived by investors is crucial in the decision to invest, in particular when it concerns a foreign country. The risk associated to any (foreign) investment is a multi-faceted element given that it reflects many aspects that are relevant to (foreign) investors, such as the level of transparency, corruption, rule of law, governance, etc. In this paper we consider the level of economic freedom, as provided by the “Heritage Foundation”, for the most recent years, in order to analyse how is this measure of risk related to the inward foreign direct investment performance index, as provided by the UNCTAD. Given the subjectivity of risk an appropriate methodology consists on using fuzzy logic clustering, which is applied in the paper in order to verify how different the MENA region is from the set of EU-member states. The results show that economic freedom and inward FDI are positively associated, in particular in the cluster of countries that present a higher economic freedom. ...
Community based natural resource management (CBNRM) is perhaps the most important tool for driving community and rural development in southern Africa. The paper therefore analyses the CBNRM framework as a strategy for implementing... more
Community based natural resource management (CBNRM) is perhaps the most important tool for driving community and rural development in southern Africa. The paper therefore analyses the CBNRM framework as a strategy for implementing sustainable tourism and poverty alleviation initiatives in Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia. The article specifically underscores the importance of local-level participatory management and utilisation of natural resources in the region. Paying special attention to the previous researches that have been conducted in Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia, the methodological approach employed in the paper centres on critical discourse analysis and review of literatures to highlight the interface existing between CBNRM and rural (tourism) development. The analytical framework of the paper is thus rooted in the Common Property Resource (CPR) theory. Overall, the authors argue that tourism, poverty alleviation, rural development, and sustainable natural resource use are li...
Floods always occur in some cities located in coastal areas of Indonesia, including in Kemijen area of Semarang city. This study aimed to analyze the technical, institutional and community participation aspects in the management of... more
Floods always occur in some cities located in coastal areas of Indonesia, including in Kemijen area of Semarang city. This study aimed to analyze the technical, institutional and community participation aspects in the management of drainage system and the influence of BPP SIMA (the first water board in Indonesia) in handling of tidal flood. Primary data in this study were obtained through observation and interviews, while secondary data obtained through the study of documents and literature review. Research results showed that technical aspects of drainage management in Kemijen Semarang, still in refinement. Some of the complementary buildings of primary drainage management in Kemijen Semarang, still in refinement. Some of the complementary buildings of primary drainage network are still in development. In the institutional aspect, drainage management is still less than optimal because it is handled by department with a number of personnel were very inadequate. Community participation in flood management is still in the form of measures which have not been fully coordinated with the region, such as raising floor of house, access roads and pumping water elevation. BPP SIMA as water board that is responsible for providing information, training and socialization to the community in the management of drainage, is still not providing information, training and socialization to the community in the management of drainage, is still not optimal in forming a caring community environment.
Compost micro-entrepreneurship has been used as strategy to increase the incomes of poor and rural farming communities. Nevertheless, several difficulties can arise to sustain these small businesses. The conversion of organic material... more
Compost micro-entrepreneurship has been used as strategy to increase the incomes of poor and rural farming communities. Nevertheless, several difficulties can arise to sustain these small businesses. The conversion of organic material into compost requires labor, tools and infrastructure. Many poor and rural microenterprises cannot afford all of these inputs to sustain operations. Literature suggests that social capital and collective action can address challenges related to limited resources for communities and small businesses. Little research, however, has explored how coworker characteristics and their cooperative efforts affect the financial sustainability of compost micro-enterprises. The objective of this study was to unveil whether rural compost microenterprises use social capital and/or collective action to address various challenges related to natural and financial capital, and if so, in what manner. A multisite case study framework was implemented using participant observation to identify common challenges faced by compost microenterprises in Chimaltenanago, Guatemala. Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were conducted to determine if coworker characteristics (related to social capital) addressed these challenges, and if so, how. Four characteristics related to social capital emerged from a thematic analysis, including 1) raw material access based on coworker occupation, 2) overhead savings from human capital, 3) credit/market-entry granted from social networks, and 4) consumer trust gained from social capital/gender. It appears the investigation and development of compost microenterprises should be more cognizant of opportunities related to coworker characteristics, especially those related to social capital and collective action. As a result, management training can be integrated within entrepreneurship development to sustain urban and rural economies.
The literature on death expectation in ill old age is mostly medical. A social science standpoint (especially quantitative) is practically absent. However, whether families, social and healthcare services can anticipate, support and... more
The literature on death expectation in ill old age is mostly medical. A social science standpoint (especially quantitative) is practically absent. However, whether families, social and healthcare services can anticipate, support and prepare for the deaths of ill old adults is not reducible to the biomedical paradigm. Yet it is critical for end of life care (EOLC) policy. This study's aim is to investigate relatives' perception of death as unexpected in relation to both disease-related and care-related factors. Using the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing End-of-life Interviews Wave 6 this paper draws on probit regression analysis of unexpected (vs. expected) death in ill adults aged 50+. Findings are interpreted considering the containment of sudden death and the trajectories of dying in ill old age. The latter display overall visible decline preceding death. On this basis, EOLC literature and policy evidence death's uncertain timing as much as death's certain emergence in the horizon of expectation. Therefore, unexpected death in ill old age was interpreted as a failure to acknowledge dying, rather than the impossibility of discerning its approach. Very old age, dementia diagnoses and supported care environments were found to shape unexpected death.
