Simon Crown, Steven F. Gatti, Matthias Feldman and Paul Landless
An update for firms located outside the European Union of the possible extra-territorial impact of certain provisions in the recast Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and…
Abstract
Purpose
An update for firms located outside the European Union of the possible extra-territorial impact of certain provisions in the recast Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (together referred to as “MiFID2”).
Design/methodology/approach
The focus is on the issues that are most likely to have an impact on non-EU firms, including buy/sell side financial institutions and private banks.
Findings
That the impact of MiFID2 will be felt far beyond the EU, particularly in relation to product governance, inducements and dealing commission, trading obligations, position limits for commodity derivatives and the new regime for accessing EU markets.
Practical implications
Non-EU firms need to assess their interaction with EU clients, counterparties and markets to identify the likely impact of MiFID2. Relevant interaction could include: manufacturing and distribution of financial instruments; the provision of investment research and dealing services to EU clients and trading in instruments which are admitted to trading on EU markets.
Originality/value
This article will be of interest to “third-country” firms, located outside the EU, but with a European connection, either in terms of European counterparties, investors or accessing European markets.
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Charles Geisler and Ben Currens
Recreancy is a concept that received William R. Freudenburg’s studied attention. Freudenburg moved beyond its conventional meaning – shirking duty – to a larger realm of…
Abstract
Recreancy is a concept that received William R. Freudenburg’s studied attention. Freudenburg moved beyond its conventional meaning – shirking duty – to a larger realm of irresponsibility by public actors who breach a societal trust they assume. This research focuses on the issue of “Peak Farmland,” a rendering of global carrying capacity that, we suggest, qualifies for what Freudenburg called “privileged discourse” and possibly recreancy. Scholars identified with dematerialized progress argue that finite farmland in the face of increasing population will improve human welfare and spare land for nature. This iconoclasm presents an arena for testing academic probity with respect to global food security. After an overview of past carrying capacity debates, we summarize the “Peak Farmland” position of the dematerialization school and suggest an important blind spot: the dematerialization of the global land base itself. Gathering the results of multiple studies on land loss, we offer evidence that the world’s warehouse of productive land is not just peaking but eroding on a grand scale. Ignoring this form of dematerialization while proclaiming nearly unlimited carrying capacity for Earth’s denizens strains the meaning of responsible scholarship.
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The cumulative effects of climate change exacerbate interruption of social-ecological system. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the consumption smoothing along…
Abstract
Purpose
The cumulative effects of climate change exacerbate interruption of social-ecological system. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the consumption smoothing along with other socioeconomic parameters of households affects the common pool resource base of a forest in an economic depression resulted from climate change triggered disasters.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is a field level study of Koyra sub-district in the Southwestern coastal region of Bangladesh. Several parameters namely climatic trends and events, damage pattern suffered by households, change in land ownership and occupation pattern and consumption dependency pattern were considered. Methods used for data collection were household questionnaire survey and focus group discussions in the study area.
Findings
Both the intensity and frequency of climate change led catastrophes are found higher in the study area resulting damage of assets and capital goods of households. The average annual disaster damage borne by per household is found US$177. Over the last two decades 8.21 per cent households become landless. During same time span more than 25 per cent households switched from cropping to other non-agricultural occupations and more than 26 per cent households depend on forest resource for their consumption smoothing.
Originality/value
The paper provides insights how climate change led disasters induce the households to depend on the resource from the mangrove forest Sundarbans for their livelihood earning as well as consumption smoothing.
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This paper examines the transformation of Syrian political economy from 1970 until 2005. I argue that Syria has undergone two important phases of political and economic…
Abstract
This paper examines the transformation of Syrian political economy from 1970 until 2005. I argue that Syria has undergone two important phases of political and economic transformation, from building a centralized state and economy in the early 1970s to embarking on the path of market economy in the early 1990s. With the logic of competitiveness guiding the direction of economic development, the socio-economic changes of the mid-1980s and after have corresponded with an important process of class and state formation. After a brief discussion of the current transition in Syria, the following sections of the paper attempt to provide a critical study of the different strategies for economic development. Section two examines the process of state and economic centralization of the 1970s and 1980s and highlights the contradictions of this period. Section three assesses the impact of economic liberalization through a study of competitiveness in the economic policies of the 1990s and 2000. The final section examines the economic and political impasse that Syria has been faced with. In conclusion, I argue that the current path of market economy as the strategy for capital accumulation has not resolved the socio-economic problems that Syria has faced in the last two decades. This strategy will continue to face contestation by marginalized groups such as factions of the Baath Party, landless peasants, workers and small producers as Syria becomes even more integrated into the regional and global economy.
Shahriar Rahman, Md Sayful Islam, Md Nyeem Hasan Khan and Md Touhiduzzaman
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the local-level initiatives through coastal afforestation, the natural and socio-economic context of the study area (Hatiya Upazila of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the local-level initiatives through coastal afforestation, the natural and socio-economic context of the study area (Hatiya Upazila of Noakhali District, Bangladesh) and the adaptation and DRR strategies generated through coastal afforestation in coastal Bangladesh.
Design/methodology/approach
Field observations, focus group discussions (FGDs), semi-structured interviews, and transects were accomplished in both the dry and wet season. Spatial database generated and land use mapping integrated social and technical investigation. Five FDG sessions with participants from different livelihood options (fishermen, farmers and social representatives) were organised and, on average, 15~18 participants participated in each participatory session.
Findings
Mangrove plantation can be used to access new land and create alternative livelihoods, which are important for local community adaptation and to reduce disaster risks. Mangrove plantations provide chances for new land management options to be developed for use in Bangladesh.
Research limitations/implications
This study was conducted only at the south-central coastal district of Bangladesh. Data collection to summarise all the socio-economic issues is limited.
Practical implications
This paper can be used for the integration of geospatial and social research techniques to understand the community approach to fight against climate change-induced impacts.
Originality/value
The research is solely conducted by the authors. The conducted approach is a blend of social and technical knowledge and techniques in generating community resilience at the south-central coast of Bangladesh.
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This paper aims to show that the meaning of development influencing the design of ICT for development (ICT4D) projects is important in deciding what purpose they will eventually…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to show that the meaning of development influencing the design of ICT for development (ICT4D) projects is important in deciding what purpose they will eventually serve.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a review of the literature on development and technology studies, the paper shows how different meanings of development guide technology usage and policy choice for land reforms. A case study of a land records computerization project in India is used to reinforce this claim.
Findings
By explaining alternative manifestations of interlinkages between development and technology, the paper demonstrates that the design choice, especially the content and service delivery model, for an ICT4D project gets influenced by the development context within which it is set.
Research limitations/implications
The focus of the paper has been restricted to a limited context of information and communication technology usage – to land reforms as a development objective, in a relatively better‐off province of India. Future research will include ICT4D projects in other domains and in different socio‐economic settings.
Practical implications
The findings will encourage ICT4D policy makers and project designers to broaden their perspectives of what constitutes development and explicitly acknowledge the importance of development contexts in influencing the outcomes of ICT4D projects.
Originality/value
Prior research in ICT4D has not looked explicitly at the influence of development contexts in informing technology design. The paper attempts to fill this gap by tracing design choices to the contexts of technology use created through alternative understanding of the objectives of development. This can be of help to researchers looking at issues of technology use for societal development and for policy makers and project designers entrusted with the choice of technology.
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Paul Thompson and Ian Tod
The inhabitants of the active floodplain of Bangladesh’s main rivers receive little government support to help them cope with floods and have developed their own strategies. Major…
Abstract
The inhabitants of the active floodplain of Bangladesh’s main rivers receive little government support to help them cope with floods and have developed their own strategies. Major flood projection works are not possible in these areas where floods and erosion annually affect many vulnerable people. Surveys of the impact of severe floods found that total losses and the dislocation to their lives is substantial. These loss data were used to assess the financial viability of small scale floodproofing measures, such as house raising and flood shelters, which are the preferences of these people. Such measures give better rates of return than embankment projects in mainland areas, provided that the location is not affected by erosion for four to eight years. A combination of resources, technical assistance and local hazard assessment is needed, and a government commitment to improve the living conditions of the inhabitants of the active floodplains.
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The Soviet experiment on socialism provides several distinguishablepolitico‐economic models. Employing dialectical methodology, examinesthe political economy of War Communism…
Abstract
The Soviet experiment on socialism provides several distinguishable politico‐economic models. Employing dialectical methodology, examines the political economy of War Communism (1917‐21) as an exemplar of the “Socialist Command Model”. Explores the economic, political and social forces that were responsible for the emergence of the model, its policies, programmes and consequences, and finally, the forces that made it obsolete for the subsequent stages of Soviet development.
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The northwestern region of Bangladesh has experienced drought more in recent years than earlier decades because of high rainfall variability accompanied by high temperature. As…
Abstract
The northwestern region of Bangladesh has experienced drought more in recent years than earlier decades because of high rainfall variability accompanied by high temperature. As Bangladesh is an agro-based country, agriculture and its dependent farmers’ livelihood face substantial impacts. To cope with drought, farmers of this region performed various adaptation measures by their own efforts along with institutional support. But these efforts and support are not sufficient enough for them to endure drought. Therefore, this chapter discloses how to measure drought-affected areas and identify action-oriented drought-adaptive practices of farmers that will enhance drought risk management policy and actions in northwestern Bangladesh.
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Disaster-resistant housing practices are widely promoted in developing countries as an integral component of climate adaptation efforts, particularly in rural hazard-prone areas…
Abstract
Purpose
Disaster-resistant housing practices are widely promoted in developing countries as an integral component of climate adaptation efforts, particularly in rural hazard-prone areas. However, how the prevailing housing practices are intertwined with rural livelihoods and how the external initiatives to promote disaster-resistant housing practices materialize in a contested marginalized space are key questions with social vulnerability implications that seldom receive adequate attention. This paper aims to explore these questions through case studies of two hazard-prone rural areas in Bangladesh.
Design/methodology/approach
The two study areas were selected considering the variation of risk patterns: one located in cyclone hazard-prone southern District of Noakhali and the other located in a flood hazard-prone area of Rajbari District. Existing housing practices in these two communities, their adoption of disaster-resistant housing options and their overall livelihood challenges were explored through questionnaire surveys, focus group discussions and transect walks.
Findings
As this study shows, safe housing practices are tertiary concerns for people living in those contested spaces after meeting livelihood challenges. Further, in the absence of formal land tenure, adaptation efforts that introduce disaster-resistant housing practices may fail to be effective.
Practical implications
The findings of this study demonstrate the need for a reorientation in the present approaches of climate adaptation (particularly, in case of housing practice) to make them more responsive to the adaptation challenges of socially vulnerable populations.
Originality/value
Most of the prior studies on disaster and rural housing have focused on the post-disaster housing recovery, but there is yet to have enough study that looked at households’ current housing strategies and, in particular, how land tenure and livelihood challenges influence their choices. This study fills this research gap and also provides evidence in support of considering the risk priority of marginalized vulnerable population while responding to the broader concerns of climate change.