The impacts of tourism investment on rural communities: Three case studies in South Africa

Significant research, both locally and internationally, has been undertaken on tourism development and its impacts on the empowerment of rural communities. This article analyses the extent to which three tourism projects in South Africa, namely the Makuleke tourism initiative, Umngazi River Bungalows and the commercialisation of Manyeleti Game Reserve, have improved the livelihoods of rural communities and contributed to rural economic development. The projects are analysed in terms of both their economic and non-economic benefits, as well as their contribution towards the attainment of certain key policy objectives of the South African government.     

Rural Women's Survivalist Livelihoods and State Interventions in Ga‐Ramogale Village,Limpopo Province

Abstract: Women constitute the majority of rural dwellers experiencing the worst effects of poverty while carrying the responsibility of securing a living for their households. Historically, rural women have practised a multiplicity of livelihoods that have always remained survivalist and less effective in generating cash income. However, well‐intended state interventions through Poverty Alleviation Programme (PAP) projects for women's empowerment have instead removed women from their practice of survivalist livelihoods without offering them the necessary enabling conditions to establish independent biographies for practice of ‘modern’ cash generating strategies. Based on a systematic sample of 177 households and interviews with women in Ga‐Ramogale, this article concludes that PAP projects have, rather than empowering women for sustainable participation in rural development, deepened their poverty and deprivation by enticing them away from the practice of livelihoods for which they had developed experience, skills and knowledge over years, and thereby effectively engendering increased reliance on dependency‐oriented livelihoods.     

Economic bargaining power and financial decision-making among married and cohabitant women in South Africa

Women’s economic empowerment remains an important global policy issue and their involvement in household decision-making is critical for development. This paper aims to elucidate a key feature of bargaining models of intra-household decision-making, namely the dynamics between women’s economic bargaining power and their financial decision-making power. The paper also documents trends and transitions in financial decision-making. Using balanced panel data from South Africa’s National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), the analysis finds that women who are married or living together remain economically disadvantaged compared to their male counterparts. Although gaining ground in terms of financial decision-making responsibility, women also remain disadvantaged compared to men in terms of financial decision-making power. Yet, employment opportunities significantly enhances women’s role in financial decision-making, thus arguing a case for continued efforts at women’s economic empowerment.     

喀斯特乡村旅游的社区参与与社区赋权

社区参与是喀斯特乡村旅游可持续发展的关键,社区参与的目的就要实现社区赋权。文章在对喀斯特乡村旅游及其社区参与、社区及社区参与的理论内涵进行分析的基础上,提出喀斯特乡村旅游的社区参与关键是要从经济、政治、心理和社会四个纬度上实现对喀斯特社区的赋权。     

Social exclusion and rural transport: Gender aspects of a road improvement project in Tshitwe,Northern Province

This article presents a case for a reorientation of the way in which rural transport needs are perceived, planned and provided for, with a view to improved targeting of interventions, particularly with regard to addressing the mobility and accessibility needs of rural women. In addition, it seeks to critically appraise the sustainability of poverty alleviation properties attributed to the labour-based road works, especially in respect of their impact on women. It also explores the role that non-motorised modes of transport could play in reducing the transport burden of the Tshitwe community.     

基于利益相关者理论的内生式乡村旅游发展研究

基于利益相关者理论的内生式乡村旅游发展是一种强调由当地利益相关者主导的发展模式,它需要各利益相关者的合作和参与,其关键是通过内部整合力量、社区动员、当地旅游资源和社会团体潜能开发、乡村特有文化保护、政府职能转变等,建立新型合作经济组织、完成社区组织建立和组织创新、构建内外各利益群体协调平台、增强个人和组织的权力、重构符合时代发展的乡村文化、建立利益相关者战略联盟伙伴关系、创新政府参与形式等等,最终形成由当地主导的利益相关者内生式乡村旅游发展模式,实现地区可持续发展和地方综合发展能力提高的目标。     

Development of the New Rural Cooperative Medical System in China

Based on a survey conducted by our research team at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the present paper reports on the development of China's new rural cooperative medical system set up in late 2002. The new rural cooperative medical system is different from the old system in that it is organized, guided and supported by the government but that rural residents voluntarily participate in its administration. It is financed by individuals, collectives and the government. The new cooperative medical system focuses on serious disease planning and mutual aid and fraternity between rural residents in health care. The results of our survey indicate that the new rural medical system has been successful up to now but that it also has some problems. China needs to pay more attention to overcoming the difficulties and challenges it faces in terms of future medical needs so that a mechanism for its sustainable development can be established.     

Development from below: Local Development Associations in the Yemen Arab Republic

The Local Development Associations (LDAs) of the Yemen Arab Republic illustrate how indigenous organizations led by local élites can promote participatory, widely beneficial rural development. LDAs reflect a tradition of community based self-help efforts. Today Yemen's six million people, from urban dwellers to those living in remote mountain areas, are served by nearly 200 LDAs. These associations are active in undertaking tasks the central government is not organized to perform. Supported primarily by their immediate constituencies and led by local notables, they build roads, schools, village water systems, and clinics. Over the past decade they have achieved dramatic development results and become important, nationally recognized institutions. This article documents the LDA movement. This example of succesfull local organization is particularly important because development experts often dismiss the potential of such movements on the ground that they are likely to be élite-dominated, probably to the detriment of the poorer members of the community. In describing the LDA movement, this article also consolidates for the first time the few published, frequently unavailable papers on Yemen's complex little-studied rural sector.     

The Empowerment Zone in Boston,Massachusetts 2000–2009: Lessons Learned for Neighborhood Revitalization

First adopted in 1993 at the federal level, the original purpose of Empowerment Zones was to encourage economic development strategies aimed at revitalizing distressed US urban neighborhoods. Such strategies across the country would include four broad goals: to generate economic opportunities for residents living in the empowerment zones; to create sustainable community development; to build broad participation among community-based partners; and to generate a strategic vision for change in the community. This paper examines Boston’s Empowerment Zone between 1999 and 2009. The author concludes that this initiative was successful in that it helped to revitalize some of the poorest neighborhood areas in this city. While the rate of poverty was not reduced between 2000 and 2009 inside Boston’s Empowerment Zone, there were some notable successes. These include the initiation and completion of major capital projects, including the first Black-owned hotel in New England over several decades; assisting small and neighborhood-based businesses, and helping to expand the capacity of local nonprofits in Boston’s distressed areas. These accomplishments increased the level and quality of economic activity in a part of Boston that was essentially overlooked before the initiation of the Empowerment Zone.     

The impact of microcredit on women's empowerment: evidence from China

The impact of microcredit on women's empowerment remains controversial, as documented in the microfinance literature. While some studies claim that microcredit helps women increase their income earning abilities, leading to greater power to overcome cultural asymmetries, others contend that small loans allocated to women are usually controlled by their spouses, which results in more severe subordination of women and leaves them more vulnerable to the patriarchy system within the household and/or at society level. This paper evaluates the empowerment impact of microcredit on rural women in China. Logistic regression is employed for empirical analysis and data are collected through a rural household survey. The results confirm that microcredit has a significant impact on five dimensions of women's empowerment, ranging from economic security to awareness of social/legal issues.     

地方政府主导是解决农民若干集居问题的关键

从目前各地农民集居建设的实施情况来看，存在两大难点：土地与资金。而如何解决好这两大难点，有序推进集居建设，是新农村建设中的一个重大课题。从文章的分析看，农民集居建设不仅具有私人产品的特征还具备公共产品的特性，属于准公共产品。因此，完全通过市场化的模式或由农民自行建设一般是不可行的，需要充分发挥政府尤其是地方政府的主导作用。而针对建房用地与资金两大因素的区别，地方政府要采取不同的施政方式。建房用地获取要以政府为导向，而资金筹集需要政府引导以及发挥市场机制。     

Integrated rural development programmes: A historical perspective

The pervasive poverty in rural areas has represented a continuing concern of national governments and development assistance agencies. One response to pervasive poverty has been the design of local institutions to enable rural communities to mobilize their own resources to generate growth and improve the quality of life. Programmes organized under the rubric of ‘community development’ were a major focus of development assistance during the 1950s and early 1960s. During the early 1970s concern about the distributional implications of economic growth again emerged as a major theme in development thought and development policy. This concern gave rise to two new development assistance approaches — ‘integrated rural development’ and ‘basic needs’ programmes. In this paper, I attempt to trace the development, accomplishments and limitations of the community development, integrated rural development and basic needs approaches.     

社会网络、分工网络与农户行为——以河南麦农新种子采纳时间为例

农户是中国农业经营的主体,农户的技术采纳行为对于推进我国农业技术进步及农业现代化进程具有决定性意义。文章阐明了社会网络通过塑造农民态度进而促进其技术采纳时间的作用机制以及存在异质性作用的情景,并基于河南麦农对新种子采纳时间的实证分析表明：以网络位置和互助水平为表征的社会网络对农户新种子早期采纳有显著促进作用,且农户的采纳态度发挥了部分中介作用。文章进一步引入分工网络,考察了其与社会网络的互动及对农户技术采纳时间的影响。文章的政策意义在于,推进农业发展方式转型必须重视乡村社会网络对于农业新技术快速采纳的积极作用,与此同时,在推广机制上应加大农业技术培训力度,在乡村治理中加强农户家庭生产决策中的女性话语权,理解农机服务外包可能存在的"双刃剑"作用,以此动员和激励农户对新技术的快速采纳。     

新疆兵团经济发展中的农村金融深化分析

资金短缺而需求旺盛是中国广大农村面,临的一个共同问题,对此现实情况,政府和学者们借鉴国外成功经验探索本国农村金融深化道路,并取得了一定成绩。新疆生产建设兵团根据自己的现实情况,循序渐进将金融资源推向农牧团场,帮助团场致富。文章试图就目前兵团农牧团场金融深化情况进行分析,提出建议,以使金融资源能够更好地为兵团农牧团场经济发展服务。     

基于农户感知的森林碳汇扶贫效应分析

伴随着集体林权制度改革的深化和森林碳汇项目时间的深入,项目实施区域农户在森林碳汇项目实施、持续发展中的主体作用日益突出。农户对实施森林碳汇项目开发的价值评判决定其行为态度,在实现应对气候变化与减贫双赢中起着关键性作用。文章借鉴感知价值理论构建了农户森林碳汇扶贫效应感知价值理论模型,基于典型民族地区抽样调查数据,运用结构方程模型实证检验了农户对森林碳汇项目开发扶贫效应感知价值与其支持项目后期运营意愿的关系。研究结果显示,（1）大规模造林再造林项目开发取得较为明显的扶贫效应,包括正面影响和负面影响。（2）农户对森林碳汇扶贫开发利大于弊的赞成率为72.56%,农户愿意支持森林碳汇项目后期运营的赞成率为69.82%,利大于弊的感知价值对农户支持项目后期运营的意愿具有显著正向作用。（3）感知利益和感知风险直接影响森林碳汇扶贫效应感知价值。其中,感知利益具有显著正向影响,影响程度依次为感知经济利益 > 感知社会利益 > 感知生态利益,农户对触及自身切身利益的森林碳汇扶贫开发经济利益感知最高,尤其是对森林碳汇项目开发对外来投资引入的最为敏感。感知风险具有显著负向影响,影响程度依次为感知情境风险 > 感知心理风险 > 感知经济风险,鉴于长期、大面积的林业生态建设衍生负面影响日趋扩大和农户对近期、客观风险感知的敏感性使得农户对情景风险的感知最为强烈。     

论公民游行示威权利的法律保障

游行示威是公民一种合法的表达自己内心诉求向政府提出自身意向的手段和方法.近年来,随着社会的发展以公民自我意识的觉醒,越来越多的民众认识到对自我权利保障的重要性,随着当今国际社会的发展,我国贫富差距加大,每民众,地区和群体都有自身相对独立的经济需求,而这种经济需求逐渐转化为政治诉求,许多针对中国本身的国际事件也触动了很多...     

A proposed institutional framework for successful rural development in less developed areas of Southern Africa∗

Whatever aspects of institutional change are important for successful rural development, political power will inevitably be a determining issue. A strong national planning and development organisation to facilitate co‐ordination between government departments, parastatal and other organisations is essential. Coupled with this is the need for a national policy for action, with supporting services and adequate financial support. Suggestions have been put forward for decentralised, co‐ordinated and effective administrative organisations at village, district and regional level, with particular emphasis laid on village‐level participation in rural development programmes.

There should be an autonomous institution for the promotion of input supplies and marketing, consistent government financing, rural infrastructure and rural service centres, all of which are essential for successful rural development. It is important that the activities of the private sector be co‐ordinated at various levels as part of the national rural development effort. A politically acceptable land tenure code with appropriate legislative and judicial support needs to be built in to a rural development strategy.

It is essential that there be appropriate co‐ordination of research and extension through proper institutional mechanisms, so that it becomes an integral part of rural development planning.     

Monitoring and evaluation of women's rural development extension services in South Africa

In South Africa, rural women's extension services are frequently based on the Western, middle-class ideology of a woman's place being in the private or domestic sphere of the home. Consequently, almost all extension services have a home economics feature which advocates the teaching of Western-type domestic skills, such as sewing, crocheting, knitting, cookery and child care, to name a few. The home economics extension services offered to rural women are inappropriate and ineffective in relation to women's triple role pertaining to reproductive, economic and community managing activities. Furthermore, most of the extension services are irrelevant to the real conditions of poverty prevailing in rural areas. Much of the planning of extension services is based on the needs of rural communities as decided by policy planners. Even where participatory approaches have been adopted, the monitoring and evaluation of progress made in achieving the objectives are often neglected. This article defines the concepts of monitoring and evaluation, explains their purposes in rural extension services, identifies suitable indicators for measuring sustainability of programmes, and highlights appropriate methods for collecting, handling and analysing data. In recognition of the inadequacies of and confusion in women's rural extension programmes, the article encourages reorientation of the processes used in monitoring and evaluating agricultural and rural development extension services in South Africa.     

Women and empowerment through the ‘economy of affection’ in KwaZulu‐Natal: Its significance for sustainable development

This article is an attempt to demonstrate how, in the absence of infrastructural requirements for development in the rural areas, the interpersonal relationships of women articulated through their households, kinship networks and community structures serve as indispensable mechanisms for their survival. These mechanisms are seen as part of an indigenous socio‐economic framework that is referred to here as the ‘economy of affection’. This framework is presented, through ethnographic data, as a means of facilitating moral, social and economic support among the indigent rural people in KwaZulu‐Natal. Taking cognisance of local organisational forms and resources is the best possible way to reconstruct South Africa's vast hinterland against the background of a history of development patterns, where rhetoric has played a more important role than actual substantive contributions to development of the rural poor, and where capital investments, technology and expertise of a post‐industrial nature are unlikely to spread.     

Rural centralized residences and the health of the acting heads of rural households: The case of China

The rural centralized residence (RCenR) has been adopting to promote rural development in 24 provinces in China. Acting heads of rural households are older and their health is worse than average rural residents. However, their health has greater externalities since they play a central role in families and in daily village operations. It is therefore important to investigate the causal effect of RCenR on the health of the acting heads, which remains econometrically underexplored. This study controls for cross-prefecture contiguous-villages group fixed effects and uses the expected once-off government housing subsidy as the instrumental variable to estimate the causal effect of RCenR on the health of acting heads. It is found that RCenR significantly improves acting heads' health through increased income, reduced strenuous agricultural activities, greater use of clean energy and clean water, as well as easier access to local medical services. These findings are important because they can guide developing countries to improve their rural development policies.