IEE Newsletter No. 25

IEE Publications

Read about new publications of our IEE members.

UA Ruhr Studies on Development and Global Governance

uar-studies-70 coverThe latest contribution to the UA Ruhr monograph series comes from Elkhan Richard Sadik-Zada. Based on his PhD thesis, his book provides new theoretical insights in the field of resource economics.
The book deals with the role of oil abundance in economic growth. The major theoretical contribution of the analysis is the transformation of the rentier state theory into the language of mathematical economics. The mathematical formalization of the rentier state theory enables a more sophisticated analytical tool for the assessment of the role of non-renewable resource revenues in economic growth and institutional dynamics. The embedding of the elements of a rentier state into the labour surplus economy framework leads to grave consequences as reflected in the quantitative part of the survey. The augmented labour surplus economy model shows that both the political economy and the purely economic causes of the resource curse can have similar effects on resource allocation in the affected nation. Hence, it is not possible to use econometric tools to compartmentalize the effects of the Dutch disease and those explanations based upon political economy. This is the reason why one can only estimate the total growth effects of oil revenues. Besides cross-country panel estimations, a case study of Azerbaijan provides additional insights into petroleum-based economic development. These international panel and country-specific estimations are partly based on the two sector model of economic growth. In the case of Azerbaijan, a vector error correction model, which is based upon the behavioral model of the equilibrium exchange rate, is applied to detect Dutch disease tendencies.
Elkhan Richard Sadik-Zada (2016): Oil Abundance and Economic Growth. UA Ruhr Studies on Development and Global Governance, Volume 70, Berlin: Logos Verlag - 174 pp. – 40 € - ISBN 978-3-8325-4342-6.

uar-studies-69 coverIEE Corresponding Member and current DAAD lecturer at the University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa, Stefan Buchholz, published a German-language book on HIV/AIDS stigmatization based on his in the UA Ruhr monograph series.
Stigma towards people living with HIV/AIDS is widely considered to be a fundamental roadblock in the fight against the disease. In South Africa, processes of stigmatization have reached dramatic levels in the past. People who made their HIV infection public have been socially excluded, harassed, assaulted, and even murdered by members of their communities. This dissertation focuses on the social-psychological root causes of stigmatizing attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Based on insights from social scientific theories and findings from previous studies, a survey instrument was developed to measure stigmatizing attitudes among more than 1.000 university students from the Cape Town Metropolitan Area. Furthermore, possible determining factors of HIV/AIDS-related stigma were assessed and investigated for their empirical relevance in explaining the phenomenon. In his analysis, Stefan Buchholz attached great value to explaining the applied research methods and presenting the empirical findings in a transparent and coherent manner.
Stefan Buchholz (2016): Dimensionen und Bestimmungsfaktoren der HIV/AIDS-bezogenen Stigmatisierung in der Republik Südafrika. Ergebnisse einer empirischen Untersuchung unter Studenten in der Metropolregion Kapstadt. UA Ruhr Studies on Development and Global Governance, Volume 69, Berlin: Logos Verlag – 522 pp. – 60,50 € - ISBN 978-3-8325-4302-0.

UA Ruhr Graduate Center Working Papers on Development and Global Governance

cover wp14 fusenigMADM graduate Mirjam Fusenig published a revised version of her excellent Master's thesis, from her graduation of the Master in Development Management programme as a UA-Ruhr Graduate Center Working Paper.
The paper traces why wine producers in the province of Western Cape in South Africa seek a Fairtrade certification. South Africa represents an interesting case as Fairtrade's engagement in South Africa is unique - it emerged from an initiative of local producers seeking the certification in 2003. Since then, the number of Fairtrade wine farms has steadily increased. The paper departs from the observation that the inclusion of hired labour plantations into Fairtrade certification has resulted in a vivid discussion amongst scholars, while research on the perspectives of management on hired labour plantations about Fairtrade remains limited. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to understand the motivation behind South African wine producers' pursuit of a Fairtrade certification. Having constructed a conceptual framework incorporating isomorphic drivers and legitimation strategies, the study drew on theoretical concepts mainly used to assess companies' motivation for social and environmental reporting. The overarching finding of the study supports scholars who claim that Fairtrade rests on the same market forces as conventional trade. The paper concludes that the tide in South Africa's wine industry has turned; initiated by local producers, but gradually being taken over by international retailers. The author considers it questionable whether such enforced standards can lead to a sustainable change within the industry.
Mirjam Fusenig (2016): Why do Wine Producers seek a Fairtrade Certification? Perspectives from the Western Cape, South Africa. UA Ruhr GC Working Papers on Development and Global Governance, Vol. 14 - 100 pp.

Journal Articles

Davison Muchadenyika from Zimbabwe, PhD candidate at the South African - German Centre for Development Research, published a new paper in a well-known development studies journal. The paper is based on research conducted during field research for his Master's thesis for the Bochum Programme of Development Management at the University of the Western Cape.
The paper challenges the widely held view that multi-donor trust funds (MDTFs) contribute to aid effectiveness. The author critically assesses the aid effectiveness of the Zimbabwe Multi-Donor Trust Fund and makes four key arguments. First, political relations between recipient and donor countries are vital in the functioning of MDTFs; second, the design of MDTFs affects the delivery and functioning of the trust fund; third, whilst the legitimacy of national governments in fragile states is often contested, targeting legitimate and credible institutions can offer tangible and life changing results; and fourth, MDTFs focusing on the recovery of key sectors such as water, sanitation and energy have direct impacts to economic recovery and people's lives.
Davison Muchadenyika (2016): Multi-donor Trust Funds and Fragile States: Assessing the Aid Effectiveness of the Zimbabwe Multi-donor Trust Fund. In: Journal of International Development, accessible as early view, DOI: 10.1002/jid.3237.

PhD IDS student Amr Khafagy published an article in an economics journal from Cambridge University Press.
The paper analyses the influence of political institutions on the development of financial cooperatives. It proposes a political economy theory where autocratic regimes deliberately oppose the development of a well-functioning financial cooperative sector to maintain their political influence and prevent the formation of strong pressure groups that can threaten the current political status quo and reduce the governing elites' economic benefits from underdeveloped and exclusive financial sectors. Using panel data from 65 developing countries from 1995–2014, the results show that democracy, political rights, and civil liberties promote financial cooperative development. These results are robust in controlling for endogeneity as well as other economic and institutional factors.
Amr Khafagy (2016): Political Institutions and Financial Cooperative Development. In: Journal of Institutional Economics (First View). https://doi.org/10.1017/S174413741600031X.

Book Contributions

Anne Siebert and former IEE member, Steven Engler co-authored an article on the ambiguity of the global food crisis in a German language book on scopes of construction as a cultural phenomenon.
The article reflects on the highly ambiguous phenomena of the global food crisis and focuses on its characteristics, challenges, as well as its time and regional relation. Following these different dimensions, further subcategories and their interplay are introduced which exemplify the difficulty of categorising 'one' single food crisis. More detailed definitions are required to define the complexity of the problem. For instance, while in many contexts the food crisis is closely linked to the existence of hunger, new developments such as increasing obesity rates are often neglected. Therefore, the food crisis cannot be considered the sole problem of developing countries. This contribution emphasises a multifaceted and critical understanding of the umbrella term 'food crisis' and its related aspects. The authors suggest a local perspective as part of the problem's solution. A case study of a South African community initiative, active in urban gardening, illustrates possible ways to overcome consequences of the food crisis on a local level and introduces aspects of a new sustainability.
Steven Engler; Anne Siebert (2016): Die Mehrdeutigkeit der globalen Ernährungskrise - Weg zu einer neuen Nachhaltigkeit am Beispiel der Stadt George, Südafrika (The Ambiguity oft he Global Food Crisis – Pathways to a new Sustainability exemplified by the City of George, South Africa). In: Nicolas Potysch; Matthias Bauer (eds.) (2016): Deutungsspielräume. Mehrdeutigkeit als kulturelles Phänomen (Scopes of Construction. Ambiguity as a cultural phenomenon). Frankfurt a.M.: Peter Lang, pp. 263-282.

Online Publications

Markus Kaltenborn published a commentary on financing of Social Protection Floors at the Social Protection and Human Rights website of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UN RISD), which features a series of commentaries from scholars on topical issues.
The contribution by Markus Kaltenborn describes how the goal of social protection floors has been taken up in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It delves into how the Addis Adaba Action Agenda, adopted at the 2015 Financing for Development Conference, or proposals such as the Global Fund for Social Protection, address the role of development financing to fund the implementation of social protection floors. In this regard, current discussions among development policy makers are exemplified by recent developments in Germany.
Markus Kaltenborn (2016): Beyond Addis: Financing Social Protection in the 2030 Agenda. UNRISD, Social Protection and Human Rights: http://socialprotection-humanrights.org/expertcom/4258/ (19 September 2016).

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