Mapping the Bonanza: Geographies of Mining Investment in an Era of Neoliberal Reform*

Geographic analyses of how national policies of economic liberalization influence global patterns of economic activity often draw their conclusions from studies of the paradigmatic sectors of manufacturing and, to a lesser extent, services. There is, by contrast, relatively little work examining how neoliberal policy reforms in the developing world may be driving changes in the geography of primary sector (i.e., extractive) activities at the global scale. This article presents and analyzes new data on direct investment in the international mining industry. It reports methods and results from a research project to systematically map and evaluate changes in the commodity mix and geographical spread of mining‐related investment in the world economy since 1990. It confirms and quantifies what was hitherto anecdotal evidence of a geographic shift in investment during the 1990s away from mature targets toward a small number of “rising stars” in the developing world, following the adoption in many countries of neoliberal economic policies from the mid‐1980s onward. However, the findings challenge conventional interpretations of this shift as an investment “bonanza” in the periphery and highlight how recent investment trends are highly specific in geographical scope, concentrated within a few commodities, and how the allocation of investment between established and emerging targets is variable over both time and space.     

Agricultural liberalization,cotton markets and buyers’ relations in Zimbabwe, 2001–2008

The paper examines the relations between seed cotton buyers in Zimbabwe's deregulated cotton sector. It draws upon interviews with officials from cotton companies to expose the disagreements and lack of cooperation among them over side marketing of contracted seed cotton and in maintaining common industry standards. In this context, the paper discusses cotton sector reforms spearheaded by some industry stakeholders aimed to address problems in the cotton sector. Despite the companies’ official agreement to the draft reforms of 2004, there were simmering tensions and disputes that strained relations among them. The government's unwillingness to intervene and provide coordination exacerbated problems in the cotton sector. Further, the paper highlights the contradictions in neo‐liberal reforms that seek to promote competitive agricultural markets, and argue against state intervention and strong regulation of markets. It argues that there is a need to reconceptualize the role of the state in some predatory and developing countries that liberalized agricultural markets because of the multiple and uneven effects of the lack of regulation and absence of institutions in the private sector.     

全球贸易自由化对中国和世界经济的影响

全球贸易自由化是当前和未来世界经济发展不可避免的趋势,2001年开始的多哈回合贸易自由化多边谈判和最近刚刚取消的“多种纤维协定”（MFA）将在全球贸易自由化进程中发挥重要的作用。本研究的目的是通过一些案例分析,揭示贸易自由化对中国和世界经济的影响。采用全球贸易模型,我们分析了MFA和在多哈回合初期欧盟、美国和凯恩斯集团分别提出的贸易自由化提案。研究结果表明,虽然取消MFA对一些国家纺织部门带来冲击,但它极大地促进了大多数国家经济的发展,改善了全球福利;多哈谈判过程中提出的各种贸易自由化提案都在不同程度上促进世界经济的发展,但其影响大小依次为凯恩斯提案、美国提案和欧盟提案;贸易自由化对经济的影响在不同部门和不同国家间存在显著差别;更大程度的贸易自由化不但符合全球共同利益,也符合中国国家利益;中国在推动全球贸易自由化过程中应发挥更积极和更大的作用。     

全球化背景下的区域可持续发展问题探讨

世界经济进入全球化时代的两个突出特征就是贸易自由化和生产国际化，贸易自由化在许多方面与可持续发展的目标相背离，国际贸易依赖于化石能源的支持，并倾向于将成本外部化来获得比较优势，贸易自由化促进了经济流量的增加，有加速自然资本消耗的倾向；通过自由贸易可以暂时缓解区域发展的资源压力。但会因此而导致局部问题的扩大化。生产国际化过程促进了国际贸易并加速国际资本流动，加深了地球资源环境压力；跨国公司在全球化生产过程中追逐成本外部化，并通过在海外生产基地传播了大量生产-大量消费-大量废弃的线性模式，对全球生态系统恶化负有责任；跨国公司以追求利润最大化为目标，对东道国区域经济的带动能力是有限的，在分析全球化背景下的区域可持续障碍因素基础上。本文最后指出了全球化背景下的我国可持续发展的战略思考方向。     

Japanese ratification of the Kyoto Protocol

Abstract

This paper discusses Japan's quantitative Kyoto target in the context of the country's socio-economic and political background and its desire to express international leadership. Japan's initial negotiating target was developed as a compromise between domestic industrial considerations and its international ambitions, and was strengthened further under the pressures to achieve success at Kyoto.

The original projections relied heavily upon nuclear expansion that will not be realized. Though economic stagnation has helped emissions to decline from their mid-1990s peak, it has also reduced the attention devoted to climate change and the willingness to bear costs, and Japan's commitment remains daunting. Japanese bureaucrats and diplomats are called to work closer together and in an integrated manner in order to develop a new, more realistic policy package for achieving their target. This report analyses various scenarios for additional policies for Japan, including fuel switching, carbon taxation and emissions trading, and concludes that the introduction of gas in the context of energy market liberalization is a key possibility. It also considers the sink and the nuclear energy issues both of high importance for the country.     

The transition from the Soviet system to a market economy as a cause of instability in the Estonian coastal fisheries sector

This study analyzes how overall changes in political and economic life during the last decade have affected the Estonian coastal fishery of the Baltic Sea. At the beginning of the nineties, the opportunity to export fish to the European market emerged. Opening of this new market resulted in rapidly increasing pressure on fish stocks. Some of the most important coastal fishery resources were over-fished because of high export market demand coupled with insufficient resource management and ineffective control and enforcement mechanisms. The costs associated with fishery have grown much more than the first-buyer prices. Additionally, dynamic development of the Estonian economy has resulted in substantial increases in earnings in other economic sectors and therefore the relative wealth of fishermen has steadily declined. This has resulted in increasing social problems. In conclusion, countries in transition may encounter serious difficulties in the fisheries sector, arising from privatization and economic reforms, which may affect the fisheries even years after the establishment of new ruling principles.     

The role of resistance in a retail production network: Protests against supermarkets in India

In many developing economies, a partial or full liberalization of the retail trade has encouraged the establishment of supermarkets. This innovation and the consequent shifts in market share can evoke protest from a spectrum of traditional and small‐scale retailers, wholesalers, farmers and market workers whose organized resistance can influence the investment policies and decisions of governments and corporations. Yet, so far, resistance is rarely considered in global production networks analysis. The paper uses the case of the ongoing resistance and protest against the entry of modern supermarket operations in cities in India to show how such resistance and protest groups have influenced retail investors and public opinion, and gained collective power. In the Indian democracy, these mobilizations have developed a strong enough political influence in certain geographic regions to curtail the operations of transnational corporations and induce shifts in corporate expansion strategies.     

尺度重构视角下的经济全球化研究

全球化的“时空压缩”特征降低了要素流动的空间成本,而为组织和协调跨国经济活动而出现的跨国公司与国际组织,导致象征权利范畴的领土边界对经济、文化和政治的影响力不断削弱,进而引发了极端全球主义式的“地理终结”论调。人文地理学者结合全球化的特征,通过改变尺度结构,明确了全球尺度涉及的主体与内容,凸显出地域单元的意义,避免了全球尺度的抽象理解,从而反驳了地理终结论,形成了两个关键认识：①尺度建构不一定建立在相对性的基础上并构成垂直体系,基于关系建构的全球尺度更契合不同主体和空间联系日趋紧密的特征;②全球化与地方化过程是并存的。全球化并不意味着尺度的垂直叠加,而是全球与地方之间的复杂联系。这两个关键认识为人文地理学参与全球化研究形成了独特的视角：一方面,学者们运用立体网络思维,以关键主体与空间为节点、以关系为纽带,实现“超越边界”式的分析;另一方面,全球化与地方化并存的理念也促使城市与区域发展研究从单纯强调区域差异转向探讨区域内外相互作用,为城市与区域治理提供了新思路。     

Competitive Productivism and Australia's Emerging ‘Alternative’ Agri-food Networks: producing for farmers' markets in Victoria and beyond

This paper advances the theoretical argument for moving beyond the conventional/alternative divide in the analysis of emerging ‘alternative’ agri-food networks (AAFNs). In order to understand how ‘place’, ‘nature’ and ‘quality’-based food networks emerge and develop, we argue that careful attention needs to be paid to the way in which specific political-economic environments shape the options available to farmers and consumers. Australia's ‘competitive productivism’ is the outcome of an export-oriented economy and a neoliberal political orientation, and this environment affects the development of AAFNs in various ways. Most notably, a case study of farmers that sell at farmers' markets in the State of Victoria shows that the competitive-productivist policies pursued by Australian governments entice some farmers who participate in AAFNs to develop their ideas into higher output businesses tailored to compete in emerging export markets. Other farmers deliberately choose to keep marketing through alternative channels despite competitive-productivist pressures to expand. These findings demonstrate the centrality to the experience of AAFN participants of negotiating productivist pressures, adding nuances to the story of the complex relations between AAFNs and conventional supply chains.