Far beyond the Gulf: the implications of warfare for Asian labour migration

The implications of the Gulf War are assessed for the countries in Asia that send labor migrants to the Middle East. "This paper seeks to examine the effects of...the loss of remittances (and related issues, including return migration), primarily in terms of the long-term implications of the War for the future of contract labour migration in the Asian region...."     

Employment and Socio-spatial Relations in Australia's Cultural Economy

This paper examines the significance and contribution of Australian 'creative' industry activities in light of recent debates on the emergence of the 'cultural economy of cities'. First, census employment data and business location counts are used to illustrate patterns of metropolitan primacy and concentration in the cultural industries both across states and in Sydney. Second, the specificities of the locations of cultural production, and the links between cultural industry activities and wider urban-regional change are explored in more detail. A set of observations of urban-regional change is used to demonstrate how the notion of 'cultural economy' should include complex interactions between the material activities of consumers and producers, and the discursive worlds of image makers and place marketers. Urban renewal, housing market pressures and intra-regional migration all mediate Australian experiences of the 'cultural economy'. Such interactions, in addition to key quantitative data on employment and business activity, suggest important policy considerations.     

Fiji’s fisheries: their contribution to development and their future

The industrial fisheries of Fiji have had mixed fortunes. The fresh fish export industry has grown rapidly in importance so that fisheries is now the third most valuable export industry; its positive effect on the economy is mainly in the increase in the purchase of goods and services, such as air freight. The present ‘hands off’ policy by government in the fresh fish export industry should continue until the industry matures. In the longer run, ad valorem royalties should be considered as a mean of capturing resource rents. The government-owned export cannery has been in financial decline, and the maintenance of the social benefits of regional employment generated by the cannery has come at a high cost to government coffers. The future of the cannery, now leased to a private operator, is clouded by the uncertainty of the continuity of concessional access to European markets beyond the year 2000. The main task faced by government is the management of fisheries and fish stocks. The management of the inshore fisheries — vital to the needs of a large proportion of the population — needs additional resources. The capability for management of the industrial fisheries, necessary to maximise long term public benefits, would be enhanced by full cost recovery through a user pays policy. This article is based on a paper presented to the Fiji Update seminar, held at the National Centre for Development Studies, the Australian National University, Canberra, on 19 June 1998. The author wishes to thank Mr Krishna Swamy, Senior Fisheries Officer in the Fiji Fisheries Division, and Mr Grahame Southwick, Managing Director of the Fiji Fish Company Ltd, for their generous provision of information for the preparation of this paper; and Mr Joeli Veitayaki, Coordinator of the Ocean Resources Management Programme, University of the South Pacific, for helpful comments. Any errors or omissions are the author’s responsibility, however.     

Towards a theory of targeting

A representative economic model is used to analyze local policies to reestablish full employment. It addresses three types of barriers: 1. Rigid wages, 2. Occupational (or industrial) immobility, and 3. Geographic immobility. These factors are considered in the framework of three types of policies: 1. Laissez-faire, 2. Narrowly targeted employment incentives, and 3. Broadly targeted incentives. The paper concludes that the usefulness of the abstract model will depends upon the ability of local development officials to combine the implications of the model with information about the local economic development narrative. In turn, the narrative depends upon an in-depth local knowledge of history, institutions, practices and personalities.     

Globalising initiatives for gender equality and poverty reduction: Exploring ‘failure’ with reference to education and work among urban youth in The Gambia and Ghana

This paper focuses on what observers have perceived to be a failure of development leading to a ‘crisis of youth’ as increasing numbers of young people find it more difficult to gain education, access to health, a job and meet standard of living aspirations. For some, a possible escape is offered by migration to Europe, the United States or Australia, often illegally. For those remaining behind, however, international development agencies offer a ‘globalisation of solutions’ to employment, gender inequality and poverty through the millennium development goals and the programmes to attain them. In this paper we do not take the failures of development at face value but look at local contexts to present a more complex picture of the relation between education, work and social life. Based on fieldwork conducted in urban areas of The Gambia and Ghana, we argue that rather than education as a catch-all solution we need to give more attention to the costs incurred by and for young people in pursuing education and training, to the operation of and actual opportunities in labour markets, and to patterns of gender socialisation which give women limited scope to exercise agency. This paper explores key gender dimensions of work and education among low-income urban youth noting that despite on-going efforts to increase young women’s enrolment in schools and access to employment, gender inequalities have been far from eradicated. Our field interviews reveal how social expectations that women should perform the bulk of reproductive labour in their youth as well as in adulthood and constraints placed on young women’s personal freedom in respect of their social relationships reduce time dedicated to education and establish fewer contacts relevant to securing paid employment. The result is for men to end up with more educational qualifications, more skills, and higher-paying jobs, even if unemployment among young people in general remains a major problem.     

Using longitudinal employer dynamics (LED) data for the analysis of Memphis Aerotropolis,Tennessee

We used Longitudinal Employer Dynamics (LED) data for the analysis of the local workforce and job markets in Shelby County, Tennessee, which includes the city of Memphis. Memphis has earned the unique reputation in the US as America's Aerotropolis. However, the model has not yet received full attention by the urban geography community. This study analyzes the Memphis Aerotropolis (MA) defined as an economic hub extending outward from the Memphis International Airport into a surrounding area that specializes in transportation and warehousing. Our findings reveal polycentric pattern of employment which we grouped into centers, subcenters, and clusters. To understand industrial specialization of job areas, we used location quotient analysis. The area around the airport is consistent with the “Aerotropolis” concept, and attracts both jobs (it is the largest job concentration in the region) and housing. The area also has a greater share of higher-paying jobs, however female and minority workers benefit less than white male workers. This study contributes to the body of research on the spatial aspects of racial, gender, and paying/earning characteristics of both jobs and workers of a current-day metropolis. Availability of the LED data enables easy replication of the analysis of the local job and labor structure elsewhere within the United States.     

中国现阶段产业结构的地域差异研究

研究了我国省级行政单位和东、中、西部地区的产业结构(就业结构和产值结构),并与全国和国际比较.结果表明,全国各省(直辖市、自治区)产业结构呈多样化特征;②全国各省(直辖市、自治区)就业结构的基本形式为"一三二"型,产值结构的基本形式为"二三一"型,表明产业结构不尽合理,从就业结构与产值结构的产投比看,第二产业效益相对为优,而农业效益低下;从东、中、西部地区的产业结构看,无论就业结构还是产值结构都与全国各省(市、区)产业结构的基本形式相一致,与发达的资本主义国家(美国、日本)相比差距明显,产业结构亟待升级.     

“We will go side-by-side with you.” Labour union engagement with Aboriginal peoples in Canada

The inclusion of new groups of workers has been an important component of union renewal efforts. Several unions in Canada have begun to dedicate significant resources to better organize and represent Aboriginal workers. Drawing on interviews with union activists, organizers and representatives from two national public sector unions in Canada, we present an overview of union strategies to engage with Aboriginal peoples. Results suggest that understanding the distinct territorial context of Aboriginal peoples’ relationships to work and unions has been necessary to the success of these union strategies. This approach begins by drawing connections between Aboriginal peoples’ present-day relationships to work and their prior occupancy of, and dispossession from, lands and resources. Because of the geographical specificity of how the colonial experience affected Aboriginal peoples’ relationships to work and unions, unions have had to adopt non-normative approaches to their engagements with Aboriginal peoples. In workplaces where settlers were dominant, addressing racism in the workplace and gaining support for initiatives to hire and train Aboriginal workers were important. Alternatively, in Aboriginal workplaces, organizing was a priority. Here questions of union legitimacy have taken precedence and the focus of unions has been on partnership building. Most importantly, however, engagement with Aboriginal peoples has brought attention to the colonial practices within unions and helped to foster growing Aboriginal voice within the labour movement.     

国际气候治理中的公正转型议题：概念辨析与治理进展

国际气候治理中的公正转型议题涉及就业、关乎民生,是各国都很关注的政策领域之一,因此也被视为是支持应对气候变化的一种重要社会机制。近年来,国际社会积极推动建设气候治理公正转型制度体系,各国也在所制定的国家应对气候变化战略和规划中越来越多地提出与公正转型和就业相关的目标与措施。公正转型议题在国际气候治理进程中主流化的趋势给中国参与和引领全球气候治理带来了新的机遇与挑战。中国应加强关于该问题的基础性研究;在国内应对气候变化的行动中充分考虑该问题,保障受影响就业群体获得社会公正对待;总结具体实践经验;在政策领域协调上做好新的布局;积极参与《联合国气候变化框架公约》下公正转型治理体系的构建中。     

The effectiveness of the ISM Code: A qualitative enquiry

Studies conducted to determine the efficacy of the ISM Code in the past include investigations of the trends of accident numbers and insurance claims and users' perceptions. None of these, however, could produce a definitive conclusion. This is because both the use of safety outcome as well as the use of perception have inherent problems and are not reliable. This paper takes a different approach. It draws on wider research on management of workplace health and safety to ascertain whether or not employment and social conditions that support effective implementation of self-regulation are present in the maritime context. The findings reveal a considerable disparity between managers' and seafarers' understanding of the use of the Code resulting in a wide gap between its intended purpose and practice. The analysis shows that the critical factor is the lack of seafarers' participation in management of workplace health and safety. The underlying causal factors for such lack of participation were located in seafarers' poor employment condition and low-trust relationship with their managers.