THE ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSIONS OF STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMMES: MISSING LINKS TO SUSTAINING DEVELOPMENT

The implementation of structural adjustment programmes has not paid sufficient attention to the environmental effects of prescribed reforms. Agriculture is often the largest sector contributing significantly to the generation of export revenue and the gross domestic product in many adjusting countries, including Ghana. Structural adjustments in this sector aim at removing constraints to productivity. In Ghana, these reforms include producer price increases, market liberalisation and exchange rate reforms. This paper examines the environmental effects of raised farmgate prices for cocoa and cotton cultivation. It argues that these policies have encouraged agricultural extensification, particularly given the main type of farming (slash and burn agriculture) practised in Ghana. Environmental degradation is occurring in many areas. Furthermore, cuts in public expenditure and the institution of cost-recovery schemes for previously subsidised services such as rural water supply may reduce farmers’ disposable incomes and their ability to pay for these services. Consumption of unsafe water exposes farmers to preventable water and hygiene related diseases which, given the high cost of medical services, may worsen poverty and further encourage agricultural extensification.     

Neoliberal Globalisation, "Exotic" Agro-exports, and Local Change in the Pacific Islands: A Study of the Fijian Kava Sector

The economically vulnerable and geographically isolated states and territories of the Pacific Islands find themselves increasingly powerless to resist the recent accelerated diffusion of globalisation and the economic options that this entails. Neoliberal policy has arrived in the ocean region later than elsewhere in the tropical world and in the developing world in general. However, it now almost exclusively frames regional and state policy agendas, and is profoundly restructuring economies and societies across the region. Agriculture, by far the leading economic sector in Pacific Island countries, has been targeted specifically for reform. The cultivation of non-traditional agricultural exports has formed the centrepiece of the evolving strategy. As well as "staple" exports such as sugar, copra, and taro going to non-traditional markets, "exotic" niche products are being developed for export to high income markets in Europe, Asia and North America. A major example of such a product is kava – a "traditional" crop used in the preparation of a ceremonial and/or social drink. Psycho- and physiological properties have been identified in the plant by the pharmaceutical industry that is marketing a range of kava products. Produced widely across the Pacific, Fiji is the major export source. This paper traces the evolution of globalisation in the Pacific Islands, placing the current wave of neoliberalism in its historical context. It goes on to outline the evolution of the Fijian kava export sector, and investigates some of the local socio-economic impacts of recent market growth. Given the evidence presented in this study, the paper asks if the power relations evolving under contemporary neoliberal globalisation are likely to be any different from those that existed during colonial globalisation.     

RICE PRODUCER‐PROCESSOR NETWORKS IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE*

ABSTRACT. Pressured by structural adjustment loan conditions, Côte d'Ivoire reduced state support for rice production and processing during the 1990s. In this article we examine how various actors in the rice commodity chain adapted to the macroeconomic reforms. Following a brief history of the rice sector, we present the results of fieldwork based on interviews conducted in 2002 of farmers, millers, traders, and workers in the state extension service and nongovernmental organizations. We found that, in the absence of state supports for farmers, private millers became the focal point of regional producer‐processor rice networks. The four networks identified became the sole source of domestic commercial rice when the state removed subsidies for fertilizer and modern seeds, privatized extension, and liberalized prices and imports. To increase their role in the national rice supply, the rice networks may need support through microlending and a focus on niche markets.     

CHALLENGES TO FAMILY FARMING IN CHINA*

ABSTRACT. China's agricultural sector requires reforms to assure farmers and consumers of fair prices while protecting the environment and permitting sustainable growth in the coming years. The affluent eastern province of Jiangsu is an appropriate site in which to explore the effects of agricultural reforms on rural households and, in turn, the effects of these households on the environment. We compare two surveys (1987 and 1996), of 100 households each, of farmers in Huaiyin and Huai'an Counties, Jiangsu Province. Indicated are chronically low economic returns on grain, moderate returns for livestock, and the highest returns for vegetables. Unfortunately, the production of livestock and vegetables requires more farm chemicals, inorganic fertilizers, and placement of field plastic‐all of which are associated with greater environmental problems.     

ECONOMIC REFORMS AND SOCIALIST CITY STRUCTURE: A CASE STUDY OF GUANGZHOU,CHINA

This paper examines the impact of the 1978 economic reforms on the socialist nature of the Chinese city, using Guangzhou, one of the most open cities in China, as a case study. Despite a reorientation of Guangzhou's role as a trade center and port, labor is still predominantly engaged in the secondary sector with a strong emphasis on heavy industry. Tertiary activities have only recently attained an equivalent level of importance during the early Communist period and exhibit a noticeable dearth of the more advanced forms of tertiary activities, such as finance, insurance, and real estate. The spatial structure of the city of Guangzhou has developed according to a State-approved Master Plan with socialist influences and has evolved into three interdependent linear clusters separated by agricultural land and linked by west-east-running highways and railroads. Residential differentiation is based on occupation types which are related to the land use in the city. The city planners continue to practice the socialist method of planning, including standardization, city-size control, and application of the neighborhood unit concept. The economic system of the city is still firmly based on public (state sector) production. Guangzhou exhibits the characteristics of a city in transition from a planned system to a market-oriented economy and highlights the political-ideological conflicts of urban development in post-reform China.     

Rationalising Hospital Services: Reflections on Hospital Restructuring and its Impacts in New Zealand

This paper investigates recent patterns of hospital restructuring in New Zealand and discusses the extent to which emerging forms of governance and changes in hospital provision conform to Jessop's (1994) idea of the ‘hollowed out’ state. The paper places the 1993 reforms within their historical context and examines processes of decentralisation, downsizing, privatisation and cost shifting within the hospital sector. It concludes with a discussion of some of the implications of hospital restructuring for regions, communities and their medical care providers and lays out some of the key questions which should rank high on the geographical research agenda.     

Context and contingency: the coffee crisis for conventional small-scale coffee farmers in Brazil

Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America and the world's leading producer and exporter of coffee. Smallholders are the predominant producers of Brazilian coffee and have been significantly impacted by post-ISI (import substitution industrialisation) neoliberal reforms that swept the nation's agricultural sector beginning in the 1980s. These reforms stimulated increased coffee production while simultaneously diminishing state interventions, including agricultural subsidies, farmer credits, research and development programmes, extension services, and rural development initiatives. These changes were closely followed by major restructuring of the global coffee market and the elimination of international coffee export quotas. Our research joins a growing body of recent literature exploring how changes related to market liberalisation and globalisation affect localities and regions where producers supply coffee for conventional markets. Through a case study, we describe the impacts of neoliberal globalisation on the lives, livelihoods, and environment of small-scale coffee producers in Minas Gerais, Brazil. We explore how neoliberal reform, reflected in the specific historical, geographical, and environmental context of Brazilian coffee production, has resulted in the increased marginalisation of small-scale farmers, the degradation of soils, and overall rural decline.     

Manpower, institution and the growth of knowledge economy in Shanghai

1 The Concept: About Knowledge EconomyIn general terms, all kinds of productions have knowledge with them, either western or eastern, past or present. In production process, people use knowledge to choose suitable materials, to develop processing technologies, fashion and styles to meet the needs of customers and, after all, to make profits (or sometimes to make for "public good"). In order to cut the cost to the possibly lowest level, people also use knowledge to choose suitable places and,…     

Meeting the urban challenge? Urban agriculture and food security in post-conflict Freetown,Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone has recently emerged from a long period of political instability and is ranked among the world's poorest countries. During the decade-long civil war of the 1990s, widespread forced out-migration left much of the countryside abandoned, as rural residents fled to the safety of the capital city, Freetown. Consequently, food production became severely dislocated and, in the post-conflict era, the state of the agricultural sector has become a major concern to governmental and non-governmental development agencies. Focussing on the question of urban food security in Freetown, this paper examines the incidence, dynamics and significance of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) among households, at a crucial point in Sierra Leone's post-conflict reconstruction phase. Drawing on recent field-based data, the paper contributes to the growing debate concerning how urban planning and development might be reconciled with the promotion of an ‘enabling environment’ in which UPA is encouraged and supported. It is argued that in the case of Freetown, a detailed evaluation of UPA is urgently needed to determine how agricultural activities can fit in with urban structure, urban problems and the livelihoods of a wide range of actors in and around the city. The paper concludes that not only is UPA a vital element in ensuring household food security, but it could potentially play a fundamental role in safeguarding the urban food continuum and promoting sustainable urbanization in the post-conflict period and beyond.     

全球化背景下国家乡村政策演变与乡村地方重组及其不确定性的理论分析

全球化是推动乡村地方重组的重要因素,但国家政策深刻影响乡村地方参与全球化的过程与景观。立足已有研究,围绕“全球化-国家乡村政策-乡村地方重组”之间的关联,通过梳理全球化与中国乡村政策演化的互动关系,分析乡村政策的地方实施过程,总结乡村地方工业化、休闲旅游化和农业现代化等典型重组类型及其面临的不确定性。认为早期农村改革耦合全球化引致的城镇化进程,解决了农村温饱和人口“过密化”问题,推动部分乡村工业化,参与国际分工;持续的深化改革与地方动员,加快了先进技术和生产要素的应用,促进了农业规模化与专业化,并嵌入国际市场;乡村旅游的兴起,促进部分乡村复兴和国际元素的进入。农业收益的增长与稳定、老年农民有序退出以及新业态的就业容量将是乡村振兴的潜在制约因素。     

Neoliberalism, environmentalism, and agricultural restructuring in Morocco

Neoliberal restructuring in Morocco has been taking place for over twenty years. Beginning with a decade of structural adjustment, from the early 1980s to the early 1990s, parts of the public sector have been privatized, state services such as health care and education reduced, tariffs lowered and exports heavily promoted. In the dryland agricultural areas, a declensionist colonial environmental narrative has been appropriated to help justify and implement the neoliberal goals of land privatization and the intensification of agricultural production in the name of environmental protection. This paper contributes to areas of growing interest for geographers through an analysis of the underexplored relationship between neoliberalism and environmentalism, in the form of questionable environmental narratives, in Morocco. Land degradation in the dryland agricultural areas of Morocco is commonly blamed on overgrazing by local pastoralists despite existing documentation that suggests instead that ploughing of marginal lands and over-irrigation are the primary drivers of land degradation in the region. The deployment of this colonial environmental narrative of 'native improvidence' has facilitated an expansion of state power over collective rangelands under neoliberalism at the same time that government involvement has decreased in other sectors. The effects of neoliberalism in Morocco have been complex and thus the paper argues that current neoliberal reforms such as the Morocco–US free trade agreement need to be scrutinized carefully to prevent a further exacerbation of poverty as well as to prevent further land degradation in these areas.     

Index to Volume 64

China's coal industry has been plagued by fragmentation among thousands of producers, low productivity, environmental damage, and high accident rates. Coal-industry reforms have sought a “strategic westward movement” through which to achieve resource consolidation under larger firms and upgraded production in northern and western China. This article examines Ordos Municipality and Yulin Municipality to assess the role of differently scaled political and economic processes that have driven a regional coal boom. It finds that the regional coal boom in north-central China discloses persistent difficulties in controlling producers and modernizing the sector.     

Agribusiness and farmers in Mexico: the importance of contractual relations

In recent decades contract farming as a mechanism that integrates and subordinates agricultural production to export oriented agribusiness has expanded in Third World countries. In Mexico contract farming dominates the production of horticultural crops for processing and export. It is also used for barley and to grow some varieties of wheat for Cargill . The contract farming labour agreement represents an institution that links local and global processes where agribusiness is the key actor that integrates local farmers to national and world markets. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the implications of contract farming for productive relations by examining its impact upon farmers and firms. The study found that despite the disadvantages of contract farming for growers, and the disproportional risks born by producers, they enter into contract farming labour agreements because they lack alternatives for financing, technical assistance and access to markets. The experience of contract farming in Mexico and several Third World countries shows that its growth is related to the implementation of neo-liberal policies that are accompanied by the withdrawal of state support and regulation of agricultural production. In this context, contract farming represents a livelihood strategy for many Mexican growers.     

THE URBAN LABOR MARKET IN MEXICO: GLOBAL CHANGE,INFORMALITY, AND SOCIAL POLARIZATION

In this study I argue that Mexico's integration into the global economy has increased the dependent nature of its capitalist development and has resulted in the weakening of organized labor and growth of the informal sector. Neoliberal policies in Mexico have accentuated the disparities between the formal and informal sectors and between highly paid skilled workers and those working in unskilled and poorly paid occupations. New forms of geographic dispersion and agglomeration of economic activities contribute to the reproduction of differentiated labor markets in various regions and cities. This is particularly true in those areas most affected by the global economy, such as the major metropolitan areas and the northern regions of the country.

The main changes in the urban labor market associated with economic restructuring in Mexico during the 1980s are analyzed. The paper makes three main points: (1) the ability of the formal sector and especially industry to absorb labor has declined, and there is a clear trend toward a tertiarization of the economy; (2) the informal sector has experienced rapid growth, particularly in small firms and other less productive economic activities; and (3) the occupational structure displays more marginal employment and signs of polarization between the proportions of jobs with the highest and lowest levels of skill.     

Circuits of capital and industrial restructuring: adjustment in the australian clothing industry

Patterns and processes of industrial restructuring in the Australian clothing industry are examined, utilising a ‘circuits of capital’ approach in which the interrelationships between labour markets, labour processes and product markets are emphasised. Changes in product markets (where import competition is intensifying under the trade liberalisation policies of the Hawke government and where an increasingly concentrated retail sector has accrued enormous bargaining power in its dealings with clothing manufacturers) and changes in labour markets (where competition for the industry's traditional inner urban labour supply has intensified considerably) are argued to have provided the driving force behind the process of clothing industry adjustment. This process of adjustment has been characterised by: (i) increased use of outworking, which enables clothing manufacturers to reduce production costs and provides a means for new sources of home‐based labour within the urban labour market to be tapped; and (ii) the evolution of a spatial division of labour, as some of the labour‐intensive components of the industry have been relocated to non‐urban sites where a stable and plentiful labour supply is available. In contrast to experiences in Europe and the United States, there is little evidence in Australia at the present time of significant technical change nor of specialisation in the high quality/high fashion niche of the garment market.     

Examining regulatory reform for bus operations in Latin America

Governments in Latin American cities are pursuing regulatory reforms to address the negative externalities of informal public transportation service providers. This is achieved by regulatory actions that work to consolidate many small operators competing “in the market” into fewer larger companies competing “for the market.” This reform addresses problems in the previous phase of the regulatory cycle, but requires a larger role for public authorities. The cities of Bogotá, Santiago and Mexico City took different approaches and have achieved different levels of formalization. Under these cities’ new regulatory regimes, bus companies have consolidated and public authorities now rely on renegotiation of contracts instead of open rebidding. However, industry formalization increases costs, requiring public subsidy or higher fares, and puts financial pressure on the public sector. These results imply a continued instability in the regulatory cycle; without increased public sector capacity, it is possible that large, entrenched operators and increasing costs will create a new market opening for informal service.     

Overseas market development: a strategy for Australian renewable energy industries

In this paper, we look at the relationship between the development of domestic and overseas markets for Australian renewable energy. It is argued that encouraging the promotion of Australian renewable energy technology in overseas markets could be a practical strategy for developing the Australian renewable energy industry. Also, it is reasoned, Australian foreign aid and trade organisations could play an important role in assisting the Australian renewable energy industry via overseas market research, technology transfer, and human resource and institutional development programs. We suggest that further research and development cooperation between Australian renewable energy companies and research institutes would be beneficial, especially in exploring potential overseas markets. We also recommend that joint ventures between renewable energy industry partners in Australia and developing countries be used to promote growth in Australian renewable energy exports and, ultimately, in developing Australia's renewable energy industries.     

Crisis, coincidences and strategic market behaviour: the internationalization of Indonesian clothing brand-owners

Despite the fact that most Indonesian brand-owners continue to emphasize their marketing activities in the domestic market, several brand-owners have started to export clothing under their own label. This has been particularly the result of the economic crisis in the late 1990s, which affected companies serving the domestic market. Companies were trying to compensate for the loss of sales on the domestic market by redirecting their marketing activities to foreign countries. This export strategy has been driven largely by the sole aim to survive. However, in addition to these export activities, some companies have rather sophisticated, long-standing business relations to their distributors in overseas markets. This paper explores these export activities in the context of the global commodity chain framework.     

基于产业集群的上海LED产业发展研究

产业集群是空间上的一种集聚现象,是带动地方积极发展的一种重要方式。基于产业集群理论,结合实际调研资料,作者对上海LED产业进行了系统的分析和研究。作者认为：上海的LED产业集群已经形成,并呈轮轴式形态;上海的LED企业大多集中在近郊的开发区内,且集群效应显著。在集群的发育过程中,上海的LED产业集群还存在着产业价值链各环节发育不平衡、创新能力不足等问题。应该优化上海LED产业结构、合理资源配置,积极学习国外先进技术、鼓励产业创新。     

深圳市入境旅游客源地竞争态变化趋势研究

深圳市入境旅游得到了快速的发展,但是一直缺乏相关研究。本文采用了市场竞争态模型对深圳市主要入境旅游客源地进行分析,总结出主要客源地的市场竞争态,继而针对不同的市场态势采取不同的发展策略。并针对该模型存在的不足,使用一元回归预测方法进行弥补,由此得出深圳市不同的市场态势及相应的旅游发展策略。