Sökformulär

Development research

Market-based and Rights-based Approaches to the Informal Economy : A comparative analysis of the policy implications

Upphovsperson: Vainio, Antti
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Urban Dynamics | Uppsala, Sweden
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Informal sector, Hidden economy, Government policy, Development research, Research methods, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
This Policy Dialogue compares two very different conceptions of the informal economy that are prominent internationally: a market-based approach and a rights-based approach. It reflects upon the policy implications of adopting one perspective or the other, and argues that the terms ‘entrepreneur’ and ‘worker’ are often ideologically charged rather than a reflection of the structural positions of the ‘informals’. The paper is critical of a market-based perspective and of the related notion of informal entrepreneurs, as these may lead to policy recommendations that undermine the already fragile livelihoods of many people. The ideas presented in this paper are part of a work in progress and are intended to promote further debate about sustainable policy-making aimed at enhancing the economic and social standing of vulnerable people in the informal economy.

Researching Africa : From individual efforts to structured programmes. The role of the Nordic Africa Institute

Upphovsperson: Ståhl, Michael
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala, Sweden
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Research centres, Research programmes, Research networks, Development research, SOCIAL SCIENCES
The Nordic Africa Institute started on a modest scale back in 1962by awarding three travel grants to young Nordic scholars with an interest in Africa. Fifty years later, the institute has become an internationally renowned centre of research, documentation, publishing and net-working. By coordinating coherent programmes spanning multiple researchers and several sub-topics NAI has helped to strengthen capacity among young academics in Nordic countries by providing travel grants for field research and an academic platform for communicating and discussing research findings. NAI has thus been a key catalyst in social science research on Africa. In this publication, Michael Ståhl contextualises, reviews and reflects on five innovative research programmes undertaken at NAI from the late 1980s into the 1990s. Through these thematic, collaborative programmes, NAI complemented its already established support for individual academic projects. In order to place the five programmes in larger context, brief accounts of the earlier research support provided by NAI are given as is an overview of the subsequent research profile and administration of NAI up to 2012.Michael Ståhl has had a lifelong academic and professional career in development issues. His research experience has been in rural development in Africa. He has held senior positions at universities and in the Swedish development cooperation community. From 2002 to 2010, he was the director of the International Foundation for Science.

Understanding poverty in Africa? : A navigation through disputed concepts, data and terrains

Upphovsperson: Hårsmar, Mats
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Globalization, Trade and Regional Integration | Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2010
Ämnesord: Economic conditions, poverty, Agricultural development, Poverty alleviation, Development research, Development theory, case studies, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Africa South of Sahara, Business and economics, Ekonomi
In any international comparison, sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the most pervasive poverty. The study of African societies requires the study of numerous dynamics, processes and situations with links to poverty issues. Recent methodological innovations hold that research into poverty should be multidimensional, dynamic and cross-disciplinary. But how can such research be undertaken? This volume comprises two separate articles. The first provides an overview of major conceptual positions on poverty. With the focus on theoretical and methodological issues, it argues that the epistemological and normative elements have not been sufficiently emphasised in the attempts to bring different disciplinary approaches together. Such elements constitute fundamental dividing lines in the poverty debate. However, the article goes on to argue that the capability approach has promising potential for bridging these divides.The second article is an empirical study of recent poverty developments in Tanzania and Burkina Faso. Common to both countries – one in East and the other in West Africa – is that a largely subsistence agricultural sector dominates their economies. The article combines quantitative and qualitative methods to show that regional differences in the structures of agricultural production may in large part explain variations in poverty.

Migration in sub-Saharan Africa

Upphovsperson: Adepoju, Aderanti
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2008
Ämnesord: International migration, Emigration, economic aspects, Migration policy, Development research, International cooperation, Brain drain, diaspora, Human trafficking, Africa South of Sahara, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
Africans arriving by rickety fishing boats to the Canary Islands, risking the passage across the Straits of Gibraltar or washed upon the Italian island of Lampedusa are familiar examples of therecent growth in migration from Africa to Europe. There is a darkside of migration in human trafficking, but the picture of a continenton the move also includes highly skilled professionals fromNigeria and Ghana who seek employment in universities and otherprofessions in South Africa. On the positive side migrant remittancesare a major source of income in many sub-Saharan Africancountries, helping to sustain the lives of poor home communities.A major challenge now facing sub-Saharan Africa is how to attractskilled emigrants back for national development.

Africa's development in the 21st century : Reshaping the research agenda

Upphovsperson: Cheru, Fantu
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2008
Ämnesord: Economic and social development, Sustainable development, regional integration, Partnership, international economic relations, Globalization, Development strategy, Governance, Democratization, Development research, Africa, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
As Africa enters the 21st century, it faces mounting challenges as well as new opportunities. Unlike in the 1980s and the 1990s, however, the conditions for Africa's sustained growth and development are more favourable today than ever before. As a result of economic reforms the overall growth has been in excess of 4.5 percent annually since the mid 1990s. There is greater consensus among Africans now than at any previous time on what needs to be done to accelerate growth, reduce poverty and promote sustainable development. The positive response of Africa's international partners enhances the prospects for sustaining the progress. Africa is also benefiting from a commodity boom and increased investment in infrastructure and the extractive industry sector. But many questions remain unanswered. The most pressing question is how Africa can best benefit from the rise of the Asian giants, China and India.