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Article
Publication date: 18 February 2009

Georg Caspary

The purpose of this paper is to compare the stringency of different types of public financing institutions' safeguard mechanisms in the financing of large dams in developing

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to compare the stringency of different types of public financing institutions' safeguard mechanisms in the financing of large dams in developing countries. It seeks to do so by examining: the institutional strategies and policies currently in place in a set of key public financing institutions; and project‐level case studies of dams financed by these institutions and the stringency with which existing policies are applied by the key financing institutions. It aims then to cite the key factors determining why the “safeguard‐performance” between these types of financing institutions differs and what the implications are for leaders working to effect improvements in these areas.

Design/methodology/approach

The study compares the safeguard mechanisms of two types of financing institutions by applying a set of benchmark criteria to both existing strategy and policy documents and to the actual application of those policies at the project level, through correspondence, interviews, and site visits.

Findings

The study argues that leaders may make a difference on improving the sustainability performance gap in the financing of large dams – with more difficulty in those cases where the current gap is mainly to be explained by “systemic” factors; and arguably with more ease in cases where the current gap is caused mostly by other factors.

Research limitations/implications

The study leads to the above findings for the case of public financing institutions and large infrastructure projects (with a focus on dams). To make for greater generalisability of the findings, future research should complement this work by focusing on private financing institutions and on the financing of other types of projects.

Practical implications

Large infrastructure projects have massive social and environmental impacts, and public financial institutions have a large stake in determining the sustainability (or otherwise) of these projects. The paper seeks to help make large infrastructure investments more sustainable by providing guidance to leaders as to where and how sustainability aspects could best be integrated in financing decisions for these projects.

Originality/value

The value added lies in helping leaders define where sustainability efforts in large infrastructure finance are warranted – and where, conversely, they represent largely wasted efforts.

Details

Corporate Governance: The international journal of business in society, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-0701

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Article
Publication date: 17 October 2008

Georg Caspary

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the relative uses of decision tools for secondary risks of capital projects.

947

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the relative uses of decision tools for secondary risks of capital projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is a comparison of traditional limited approaches (notably EIA) versus emerging more complex approaches at assessing secondary risks.

Findings

In many context, notably in the case of large capital projects, the new and more complex tools are necessary. However, they also apply higher costs and should therefore be applied selectively.

Research limitations/implications

One research limitation is that experience with some of the tools being discussed, notably MCDA, is still somewhat limited.

Practical implications

The key practical implication is greater use of the most appropriate decision tool for secondary risks in each new individual large capital project.

Originality/value

Comparison of risk assessment tools has so far largely focused on risk assessment for primary risks. The present article extends this to an assessment of the relative merits of secondary risks.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 46 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

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Article
Publication date: 25 January 2008

Georg Caspary

This paper seeks to examine ways in which political opposition to market‐oriented reforms in emerging markets can be challenged.

1188

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to examine ways in which political opposition to market‐oriented reforms in emerging markets can be challenged.

Design/methodology/approach

An in‐depth study of two industrial sectors is undertaken – natural resource industries and infrastructure since both these sectors are closely related to poverty alleviation in developing countries. The paper is based on a two‐year discussion and review process the OECD organized among its member countries (mostly aid agencies that had been involved in fiscal reform in developing countries) in collaboration with the IMF, the World Bank, and experts and government representatives from China, India and South Africa between 2003 and 2005.

Findings

A series of findings related to government policy in the face of opposition to economic reforms include an emphasis on consultation, local ownership and pragmatism.

Originality/value

This paper offers clear guidance on government reforms in emerging markets based on specific analysis of key sectors.

Details

International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-8809

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 25 January 2008

Yusaf H. Akbar

431

Abstract

Details

International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-8809

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Article
Publication date: 18 February 2009

Ellen Van Velsor

The purpose of this Guest editorial is to introduce a much needed special issue on leadership and sustainability/CSR, and to provide a road‐map for readers as to focus and

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this Guest editorial is to introduce a much needed special issue on leadership and sustainability/CSR, and to provide a road‐map for readers as to focus and content. And, last but not least, it seeks to present an opportunity for the Guest editor to thank the many kind people who gave of their time to review the many papers submitted for this special issue. If it were not for their help and wisdom, the project would not have been possible.

Design/methodology/approach

The Guest editorial begins by reviewing some of the key issues facing leaders in organizations operating in a context of both serious global social problems and looming environmental crises.

Findings

It was found that, while books and articles focusing on CSR abound, there is very little that addresses the leadership aspect, and even less that is based on sound empirical research.

Originality/value

The introduction provides a brief overview of the articles contained in the special issue and a summary of what each contributes to the field.

Details

Corporate Governance: The international journal of business in society, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-0701

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 17 October 2008

656

Abstract

Details

Management Decision, vol. 46 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

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Book part
Publication date: 15 October 2019

Harald Hagemann

In his bestselling The Worldly Philosophers, Robert Heilbroner puts the focus on the visions and analyses of the great economic thinkers from Adam Smith to Joseph A. Schumpeter…

Abstract

In his bestselling The Worldly Philosophers, Robert Heilbroner puts the focus on the visions and analyses of the great economic thinkers from Adam Smith to Joseph A. Schumpeter. Worldly philosophy is considered as a child of capitalism and worldly philosophers as system-builders addressing the long-run development of the economy and the society. This implies viewing the economy as historically and institutionally situated demanding a more interdisciplinary perspective and embedding economics in the social sciences. The article compares the work of Heilbroner and Adolph Lowe who was Heilbroner’s main mentor. The focus is on their reflections on Smith and Schumpeter. Heilbroner considered Smith as the first worldly philosopher of whose Wealth of Nations a German translation was published already in 1776 in Stuttgart, Lowe’s native city. Lowe’s early work on business cycles was strongly inspired by Marx and Schumpeter’s emphasis on the role of capital accumulation and technical progress as well as Schumpeter’s distinction between statics and dynamics. Lowe was forced to emigrate from Nazi Germany in spring 1933, only half a year after Schumpeter’s move to Harvard where Heilbroner studied in the late 1930s when Schumpeter enjoyed making provocative statements on the Great Depression which was still not yet overcome.

Details

Including a Symposium on Robert Heilbroner at 100
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-869-7

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Book part
Publication date: 8 May 2004

Rick Kuhn

Henryk Grossman was the first person to systematically explore Marx’s explanation of capitalist crises in terms of the tendency for the rate of profit to fall and to place it in…

Abstract

Henryk Grossman was the first person to systematically explore Marx’s explanation of capitalist crises in terms of the tendency for the rate of profit to fall and to place it in the context of the distinction between use and exchange value. His “The Law of Accumulation and Breakdown of the Capitalist System” remains an important reference point in the Marxist literature on economic crises. That literature has been plagued by distortions of Grossman’s position which derive from early hostile reviews of his book. These accused Grossman of a mechanical approach to the end of capitalism and of neglecting factors which boost profit rates. Grossman, in fact, contributed a complementary economic element to the recovery of Marxism undertaken by Lenin (particularly in the area of Marxist politics) and Lukács (in philosophy). In both published and unpublished work, Grossman also dealt with and even anticipated criticisms of his methodology and treatment of countertendencies to the tendency for the rate of profit to fall. Far from being mechanical, his economic analysis can still assist the struggle for working class self-emancipation.

Details

Neoliberalism in Crisis, Accumulation, and Rosa Luxemburg's Legacy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76231-098-2

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Book part
Publication date: 30 October 2009

Gil Richard Musolf

This chapter in honor of Bernard N. Meltzer briefly reflects on what are the basic assumptions, foundational issues, and seminal concepts of symbolic interactionism (SI), a topic…

Abstract

This chapter in honor of Bernard N. Meltzer briefly reflects on what are the basic assumptions, foundational issues, and seminal concepts of symbolic interactionism (SI), a topic that Bernie and I discussed for nearly two decades. It reviews those concerns, but makes no attempt to survey the many varieties of SI. I center the rise of SI as one response to the nature-nurture controversy between 1870 and 1940. SI's response to that controversy emphasized the interaction of structure and agency through which humans are constructed by society as they are in the process of constructing it. A number of concerns defines the essentials of SI: behaviorism versus minded behavior; antideterminism, structure, and agency; chance and emergence: ontological and methodological implications; selves, language, and role-taking; and symbols, meaning, and transformation. I conclude with a comment on Meltzer's role in developing Central Michigan University as a regional center of SI.

Details

Studies in Symbolic Interaction
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-785-7

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 April 2020

Niki A. Rust, Emilia Noel Ptak, Morten Graversgaard, Sara Iversen, Mark S. Reed, Jasper R. de Vries, Julie Ingram, Jane Mills, Rosmarie K. Neumann, Chris Kjeldsen, Melanie Muro and Tommy Dalgaard

Soil quality is in decline in many parts of the world, in part due to the intensification of agricultural practices. Whilst economic instruments and regulations can help…

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Abstract

Soil quality is in decline in many parts of the world, in part due to the intensification of agricultural practices. Whilst economic instruments and regulations can help incentivise uptake of more sustainable soil management practices, they rarely motivate long-term behavior change when used alone. There has been increasing attention towards the complex social factors that affect uptake of sustainable soil management practices. To understand why some communities try these practices whilst others do not, we undertook a narrative review to understand how social capital influences adoption in developed nations. We found that the four components of social capital – trust, norms, connectedness and power – can all influence the decision of farmers to change their soil management. Specifically, information flows more effectively across trusted, diverse networks where social norms exist to encourage innovation. Uptake is more limited in homogenous, close-knit farming communities that do not have many links with non-farmers and where there is a strong social norm to adhere to the status quo. Power can enhance or inhibit uptake depending on its characteristics. Future research, policy and practice should consider whether a lack of social capital could hinder uptake of new practices and, if so, which aspects of social capital could be developed to increase adoption of sustainable soil management practices. Enabling diverse, collaborative groups (including farmers, advisers and government officials) to work constructively together could help build social capital, where they can co-define, -develop and -enact measures to sustainably manage soils.

Details

Emerald Open Research, vol. 1 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-3952

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