Scarcity amidst abundance? Reassessing the potential for cropland expansion in Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa is typically regarded as land abundant, and previous efforts to estimate the true extent of potentially available cropland (PAC) have largely affirmed this perception. Such efforts, however, have largely focused on production potential and have underemphasized economic profitability and other constraints to expansion. This paper re-estimates PAC for Africa in a more explicit economic framework that emphasizes the returns to agricultural production under a variety of assumptions, using recent geospatial data. Existing PAC estimates for Africa are shown to be highly sensitive to assumptions about land productivity and market access, and are moderately influenced by the use of alternative data sources. The region’s underutilized land resources are concentrated in relatively few countries, many of which are fragile states. Between one-half and two-thirds of the region’s surplus land is currently under forest cover; conversion of forests to cropland would entail major environmental costs. Most of the continent’s unexploited land resources are located far from input and output markets, limiting their economic attractiveness. In the long run, improvements in infrastructure and agricultural productivity and the growth of hinterland towns will enhance the economic returns to cropland expansion. In the short to medium term, however, the potential for profitable smallholder-based cropland expansion in most African countries is likely to be much more limited than it is typically perceived to be.     

What is the objective of professional licensing? Evidence from the US market for lawyers

According to public interest theory, professional licensing solves the lemon problem generated by asymmetric information. In contrast, the capture theory claims that licensing aims at increasing professional salaries by restricting supply. This paper shows that the two theories can be identified using data from one regulated profession and provides an empirical application to the US market for entry level lawyers. The empirical results support capture theory.     

High rural population density Africa – What are the growth requirements and who participates?

A large and increasing proportion of agricultural growth in Africa must come from continuous gains in land productivity in areas of high population density and hence with already relatively high yields. What that requires is analogous to the green revolution in Asia. Several features differentiate the African situation. Those include greater diversity in cropping pattern including a historically larger and more widespread tropical commodity export sector. The physical infrastructure in rural Africa is far inferior to that of most Asian countries. While the greater diversity of agriculture calls for a larger and more diverse institutional structure the reality is that the research systems, the ancillary education systems to spread innovation and the rural financial systems are generally greatly inferior to those of Asia at the beginning of the green revolution. Ethiopia’s record of a steady six to seven percent growth for agriculture and nearly halving of rural poverty demonstrates that with the right policies and investments a very poor country starting with poor physical and institutional infrastructure can bring a major contribution from agriculture growth to increased GDP and reduced poverty. As in Asia, the bulk of accelerated agricultural growth will come from small commercial farmers. They have sufficient farm income to reach or exceed the poverty level. Those are farms with, depending on the country, as little as 0.75 hectares to a few tens of hectares of land. They comprise up to half the rural population and produce on the order of 70–80 percent of agricultural output. They are in general not poor. The poor have inadequate land to reach the poverty level, initially with much underemployment, and with substantial non-farm employment. The primary driver of poverty reduction is the small commercial farmer spending on the order of half of increased income on nontradable, employment intensive goods and services from the rural non-farm sector.     

What is dark about the dark-side of business relationships?

Over the last decade or so, the term ‘dark-side’ in referring to business relationships has been increasingly used in academic discourse. Despite such a growth in the number of studies, relatively little critique has been offered among scholars. The fact that effectively managing the dark side of business relationships has potentially greater influence of contributing to inter-organizational success beyond more focus on the positive side necessitates an urgent critique surrounding ‘what is dark about the dark side of business relationships?’ Thus, we aim to provide an overview relating to the ‘dark side’ of business relationships in a quest to generate greater debate on the subject.     

What is the function of a figurine? Can the repertory grid technique tell?

Teaching design and product development at upper secondary school level in Sweden is a matter of interdisciplinary considerations. Education in product development, at this level, prepares students for further studies and career in engineering or industrial design. Knowledge of artefacts is an important element in the education. In coherence with the visual and rhetorical strategies characterising the knowledge field, students learn how to develop an idea to a final product. In this study twelve engineers and industrial designers, professionals representing the knowledge field of product development are studied regarding their interpretations of eight pre-selected artefacts. Data is collected and analysed using repertory grid technique. The aim of the study is to examine whether/what we can learn from the informants’ experiences and knowledge that is relevant to education in design and product development at upper secondary school level. Findings show that four of the artefacts appear to be carriers of attributes that reveal the interviewees’ definitions of the artefacts’ functional nature. From these findings it is shown that the interviewees’ definitions of concepts concerning aesthetics/decoration and function can be seen as cultural expressions. How the repertory grid technique is used in this particular study is thoroughly described and the results relevance for education is discussed.     

Proactive and politically skilled professionals: What is the relationship with affective occupational commitment?

The aim of this study is to extend research on employee affective commitment in three ways: (1) instead of organizational commitment the focus is on occupational commitment; (2) the role of proactive personality on affective occupational commitment is examined; and (3) occupational satisfaction is examined as a mediator and political skills as moderator in the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. Two connected studies, one in a hospital located in the private sector and one in a university located in the public sector, are carried out in Pakistan, drawing on a total sample of over 400 employees. The results show that proactive personality is positively related to affective occupational commitment, and that occupational satisfaction partly mediates the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. No effect is found for a moderator effect of political skills in the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. Political skills however moderate the relationship between proactive personality and affective organizational commitment.     

What lies behind socio-economic inequalities in obesity in Spain? A decomposition approach

The expansion of obesity stands as a major food related health concern arguably driven by a socio-economic vector. However, alongside its prevalence, still scant evidence has examined on the underlying factors that explain the emergence socio-economic inequalities in obesity. This paper makes use of evidence form Spain to empirically address the hypothesis of the existence of income-related inequalities in the probability of suffering obesity in Spain using data from 2003. Besides quantifying inequalities, we take advantage of a concentration index methodology that allows a decomposition of the cross-section explanatory factors. Our findings provide suggestive evidence of significant socio-economic inequalities in the probability of being obese in Spain. However, in decomposing such inequalities we find that education attainment and other demographic covariates appear to have a prominent influence. Hence, rather than the so-called pure “income effect”, we conclude that socio-economic inequalities in obesity result from the additional influence of other confounding – observed and unobserved-effects.     

A behavioral approach to strategy—what's the alternative?

The strategy field has generally been viewed as somewhat fragmented with the primary ‘fault line’ stemming from the divide between economic and behavioral approaches. It is argued here that this is a false divide as any but the most trivial problems require a behavioral act of representation prior to invoking a deductive, ‘rational’ approach. In this sense, all approaches are behavioral. Once we recognize rationality as a process, then the pragmatic question becomes which among the imperfect mechanisms to guide choice and behavior may be more or less preferred. Such a viewpoint not only serves to help span the chasm of behavioral and economic approaches, but it may also connect the applied normative frameworks and approaches within the field to more theoretically grounded approaches. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Power resources for disempowered workers? Re-conceptualizing the power and potential of consumers in app-based food delivery

Consumers play an integral role in the labor process of app-based food delivery services through their consumption behaviors and performance ratings of workers. Some therefore see them as a potential ally of workers, whereas others view them as beholden by capital. This quantitative study uses power resource theory and a Rasch model to appraise consumers' understandings and attitudes toward working conditions in this segment of the “gig” economy. Drawing on two surveys of 1820 Australian consumers, we find that consumers are a potential yet heterogenous coalitional power resource who may align with workers on certain entitlements like minimum wages.     

Commercialisation: A meta-approach for agricultural development among smallholder farmers in Africa?

This paper presents a critique of commercialising smallholder farming for agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. First it questions the validity of an overarching ‘metanarrative’ approach to development. Then it discusses the different types of knowledge, values and method and draws attention to the increasingly heterogeneous development policy context and also the heterogeneity among the smallholder ‘targets’ of agrifood policies.Second, a case study exemplifies this critique in the context of an existing multistakeholder strategy of commercialising the Zambian cassava sector. Although limited in scope, the primary research illustrates how a commercial supply response should not be assumed from within a rural sector more concerned with food security.The study casts doubt on the validity of a commercialising metanarrative. Rather, it endorses the need for a multidisciplinary understanding of the particular and local context which influences knowledge generation and development design, accounting for different value systems and perceptions of reality and smallholder farmer decision making within heterogeneous contexts.     

China’s Anti-Monopoly Law: What is the Welfare Standard?

China??s Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) sets forth the country??s antitrust enforcement policies. We investigate the welfare standard that the AML seeks to maximize by examining both its stated language and, via revealed preference, the antitrust actions taken by the Anti-Monopoly Enforcement Authority.     

China's information superhighway: What is it and who controls it?

This paper focuses on China's telecommunications sector from a national perspective, and summarizes the structure of the country's information superhighway. It then analyzes the changing regulatory and policy framework, and the competition among current and potential players in the market. This leads to a final discussion on the implications and likely outcome - who will control the superhighway in China.     

What is driving increases in dietary quality in the United States?

Over 1994–2010, adult dietary quality in the United States increased by 10 percent. We find a shift in consumption between at-home and away-from-home food played a relatively minor role as compared to changes in demographics and educational attainment. The two largest contributors we identify include an increased usage of nutritional information and a shift away from relying heavily on price, taste, storability and ease of preparation when shopping for food. Our findings suggest nutrition policy discussions could focus on further shifting attitudes/preferences towards healthier diets while allowing consumers to better extract nutrition information when making food choices.     

How can the EU climate targets be met? A combined analysis of technological and demand-side changes in food and agriculture

To meet the 2 °C climate target, deep cuts in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will be required for carbon dioxide from fossil fuels but, most likely, also for methane and nitrous oxide from agriculture and other sources. However, relatively little is known about the GHG mitigation potential in agriculture, in particular with respect to the combined effects of technological advancements and dietary changes. Here, we estimate the extent to which changes in technology and demand can reduce Swedish food-related GHG emissions necessary for meeting EU climate targets. This analysis is based on a detailed representation of the food and agriculture system, using 30 different food items.We find that food-related methane and nitrous oxide emissions can be reduced enough to meet the EU 2050 climate targets. Technologically, agriculture can improve in productivity and through implementation of specific mitigation measures. Under optimistic assumptions, these developments could cut current food-related methane and nitrous oxide emissions by nearly 50%. However, also dietary changes will almost certainly be necessary. Large reductions, by 50% or more, in ruminant meat (beef and mutton) consumption are, most likely, unavoidable if the EU targets are to be met. In contrast, continued high per-capita consumption of pork and poultry meat or dairy products might be accommodated within the climate targets. High dairy consumption, however, is only compatible with the targets if there are substantial advances in technology. Reducing food waste plays a minor role for meeting the climate targets, lowering emissions only by an additional 1–3%.     

A hybrid approach based on the variable neighborhood search and particle swarm optimization for parallel machine scheduling problems—A case study for solar cell industry

This paper studies a solar cell industry scheduling problem which is similar to the traditional hybrid flow shop scheduling (HFS). In a typical HFS with parallel machines problem, the allocation of machine resources for each order should be scheduled in advance and then the optimal multiprocessor task scheduling in each stage could be determined. However, the challenge in solar cell manufacturing is the number of machines can be dynamically adjusted to complete the job within the shortest possible time. Therefore, the paper addresses a multi-stage HFS scheduling problem with characteristics of parallel processing, dedicated machines, sequence-independent setup time, and sequence-dependent setup time. The objective is to schedule the job production sequence, number of sublots, and dynamically allocate sublots to parallel machines such that the makespan time is minimized. The problem is formulated as a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model. A hybrid approach based on the variable neighborhood search and particle swarm optimization (VNPSO) is developed to obtain the near-optimal solution. Preliminary computational study indicates that the developed VNPSO not only provides good quality solutions within a reasonable amount of time but also outperforms the classic branch and bound method and the current industry heuristic practiced by the case company.     

Who's going to provide the funding for high tech start‐ups? A model for the analysis of determinants with a fuzzy approach

The aim of this paper is to understand which factors influence the financial structure of Italian young, high‐tech, innovative firms, and to attempt to formulate a predictive model to determine the ideal financial strategy for a given entrepreneurial project. Venture capital is the most relevant form of financing for high‐technology start‐ups in the United States and is frequently cited as crucial in the technological leadership of the US economy. However, banks are also moving toward establishing a role in capital provision, making innovative offers to meet the financial needs of start‐ups, especially in bank‐centric countries such as Italy. Is it possible to build a robust and ordered set of determinants of the financial strategy of new technology‐based firms? Is it possible to gather them in a model that allows a rigorous analysis? Is it possible to summarize the analysis in a synthetic value of orientation to one or other form of financing? Through a systematic review of the literature and comparison between investors, we have taken the first step toward answering these questions. This work develops a methodology to solve the problem and builds a provisional fuzzy‐set based tool to permit the rationalization of the relevant information and effectively support the reduction of qualitative evaluation of complex phenomena into simple and measurable dimensions. The structure of the model is hierarchical but simple. We consider, as the first level of main determinants (sub‐dimensions), the figure of the entrepreneur, the nature of the project, the financial scenario, and the market characteristics. For each of these, we provide deep insights about their relation with finance. We have verified the value of this approach in the context of ten business cases, by matching the financial strategies undertaken by entrepreneurs and the obtainable conclusions with the fuzzy tool. However, the definition of a robust, predictive model requires more consistent empirical validation, which we intend to develop from this work.     

What Explains the Union Membership Gap between Migrants and Natives?

This article explores the differences in unionization rates between migrant and native‐born workers in 23 European countries. It explores whether individual characteristics or contextual factors explain the variation across countries in the degree of trade unions’ inclusion of migrant workers. The analyses show that individual characteristics cannot explain the variation in the difference between migrant and native unionization rates. Characteristics of the industrial relations regime in the country of destination, in particular the institutional embeddedness of trade unions, affect the likelihood that migrants join trade unions as compared to native workers.