The participatory approach: Contradiction and co-option in Burkina Faso

“Participation” has become overwhelmingly popular in recent years without sufficient attention paid to its ambiguities. This paper critically examines participatory development, first by presenting an overview of types and degrees of participation and then through the analysis of a case study of a non-formal education project in Burkina Faso. The intention is to articulate the difficulties in implementing the “genuine” participation which is espoused at academic and policy levels by presenting a case in which different stakeholders employ participation to their advantage and the realities of the field act as barriers to participatory development.     

Quiet enjoyment in the National Parks of England and Wales: public understanding of the term and its influence on attitudes towards recreational activities

In response to concerns raised since the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 established the National Parks, the National Parks Review Panel (1991) recommended that the term ‘quiet enjoyment’ be included in the Environment Bill to clarify the wording of the second purpose for National Parks. During parliamentary debate the term was removed, and some have subsequently claimed that this weakened the Environment Act 1995. This article describes the outcomes of a survey to establish the nature of public understanding of the terms ‘quiet enjoyment’ and ‘quiet recreation’ and to identify the nature of incidents perceived as interfering with ‘quiet enjoyment’ and ‘quiet recreation’. The results indicate that the terms ‘quiet enjoyment’ and ‘quiet recreation’ hold different meanings for the public, with ‘quiet enjoyment’ being a broader and more emotive concept than ‘quiet recreation’. However, despite differences in meaning of the two terms, similar factors were reported as interfering with both ‘quiet enjoyment’ and ‘quiet recreation’. Respondents were also asked about the perceived acceptability of a range of activities within National Parks, and about their own involvement in those activities. Links were found between perceived compatibility of recreational activities with the terms ‘quiet enjoyment/quiet recreation’ and their acceptance in National Parks. Those surveyed viewed some restrictions on activities as necessary.     

Bank loans and the effects of monetary policy in China: VAR/VECM approach

In this paper, we test the differential effects of monetary policy shock on aspects of banks' balance sheets (deposits, loans, and securities) across bank categories (aggregate banks, state banks, and non-state banks) as well as on macroeconomic variables (output, consumer price index, exports, imports, and foreign exchange reserves). We do so by estimating VAR/VEC Models to uncover the transmission mechanisms of China's monetary policy. Also we identify the cointegrating vectors to establish the long-run relationship between these variables. By using monthly aggregate bank data and disaggregated data on bank and loan types from 1996 to 2006, our study suggests the existence of a bank lending channel, an interest rate channel and an asset price channel. Furthermore, we discuss and explore the distribution and growth effects of China's monetary policy on China's real economy. In addition, we investigate the effects of China's monetary policy on China's international trade. Finally, we identify the cointegrating vectors among these variables and set up VEC Models to uncover the long-run relationships that connect the indicators of monetary policy, bank balance sheet variables and the macroeconomic variables in China.     

Incentives and Female Entrepreneurial Activity: Evidence from Panel Firm Level Data

The goal of this paper is to investigate entrepreneurial activity and to analyze the incentives of female participation in the labor market. Female entrepreneurial activity is closely related to social and economic issues. They represent a driving force, active and effective members of economic, political, professional and managerial societies. On the other hand, they have families with serious maternal responsibilities and inelastic household obligations, roles which they are trying to balance effectively. To that reason, specific actions and carefully designed measures are essential in encouraging and promoting them to engage into entrepreneurial activity. To investigate the issue of entrepreneurial activity, personal characteristics and various motivation incentives are examined in order to determine the major factors that may influence female entrepreneurial spirit in Greece. Obtaining data from 1600 industrial firms located in the prefecture of Piraeus over the period 1999–2009, this study makes use of the panel methodology approach to provide evidence about the main determinants of female entrepreneurship. What is found is that a combination of pull and push motives and effective mentoring framework, in addition to a set of personal characteristics such as risk of failure, educational level, creativity, innovativeness, ambitiousness and marital status, seem important for the encouragement of women entrepreneurship in Greece to start up a new business. The implications seem very substantial for the formulation and implementation of effective support policies and measures for female entrepreneurs’ vital start up and early stage period.     

Identifying patterns of outward foreign direct investments: Some empirical evidence

This paper uses industry level panel data of all Austrian affiliates operating abroad during the period 1992–2005 to investigate the determinants of performance, as reflected by the number of affiliates, their productivity and returns on patents and licenses. The determinants of each performance indicator are found to be different. Moreover, the determinants vary further when the full dataset is disaggregated into manufacturing and service sectors.     

Sustainable Development and Corporate Performance: A Study Based on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index

While corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming a mainstream issue for many organizations, most of the research to date addresses CSR in large businesses rather than in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), because it is too often considered a prerogative of large businesses only. The role of SMEs in an increasingly dynamic context is now being questioned, including what factors might affect their socially responsible behaviour. The goal of this paper is to make a comparison of SME and large firm CSR strategies. Furthermore, size of the firm is analyzed as a factor that influences specific choices in the CSR field, and studied by means of a sample of 3,680 Italian firms. Based on a multi-stakeholder framework, the analysis provides evidence that large firms are more likely to identify relevant stakeholders and meet their requirements through specific and formal CSR strategies.     

Analytics of sovereign debt restructuring

This paper develops a simple theoretical model to analyse recent proposals on restructuring of sovereign bonds. We find that collective action clauses (CACs) inserted in bonds resolve the inefficiencies caused by intra-creditor coordination problems providing that all parties have complete information about each other's preferences. In such a world, statutory mechanisms, such as international bankruptcy courts, are unnecessary. This is no longer the case when the benefits from reaching a restructuring agreement are private information to the debtor and its creditors due to inefficiencies caused by the debtor-creditor bargaining problem.     

Reconciling Rules and Principles: An Ethics-Based Approach to Corporate Governance

In this paper, we consider the nature of recent corporate abuses both in the U.S. and in Europe, and how globalization has had an impact on amplifying their consequences. We discuss the rules-based and principles-based remedies that have been proposed in each region, respectively. With a focus on the U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOA), we examine the principles forwarded by this act, and how it addresses those principles with specific rules and governance mechanisms. Invoking Integrative Social Contracts Theory (ISCT), we conclude with a reconciliation of the principles and rules-based approaches to corporate governance as suggested by theory.     

The cheating culture: A global societal phenomenon

Today's future business leaders are confronted early in their academic careers with history-making events which have a profound impact on the global economic system. These students of business are being exposed to behaviors as they unfold and, as such, are possibly living in an age of the “cheating culture” whereby everybody cheats because everyone else does it. Business students from around the world completed a cheating culture scale as part of a much larger investigation examining college students’ attitudes toward capitalism and business ethics. Findings suggest that the cheating culture is not just a capitalistic phenomenon and that attitudinal differences are driven by gender, country corruption, and socioeconomic environment. Future business leaders worldwide, who are being shaped by news reports of scandal, are also being taught the fundamentals of operating in the business world. Unfortunately, they may be learning to inextricably combine the cheating culture with best business practices.