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WORKSHOP 13
1. Masudur Rahman
Titel: Small is beautiful, and bountiful: Microcredit, macro economy and politics of
development in Bangladesh.
Abstract:
Microcredit has been one of the most favored aid policy in the last three decades. Its success,
especially that of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, has led to a renewed interest in aid policies
and served as an inspiration for many researchers. Yet, some recent studies put its
performances and conceptual foundations under critical scrutiny. Policy makers have
expressed doubt about the role of microcredit in economic development and termed it a
debt-trap. There is a new concern about its worth in terms of depth, breadth and scope. This
paper addresses these issues. It presents a preliminary interpretation of findings of a study
carried out in Bangladesh during December 2010- June 2011. The findings suggest that the
concept and the practices microcredit are not a panacea for macroeconomic growth but it
made real contributions to the welfare of the poorest of the poor through providing possible
means by which they gained control of their economic life. This achievement, in turn, exerted
pressure for social change that included education, empowerment, participation etc. These
positive impacts are however not welcomed by some groups in society. Various political
interests look upon economically independent poorer people as a threat. Many Islamists are
strongly opposed to efforts to make women economically self-sufficient. The major challenge
to microcredit is how and to what extent it can withstand the resistance from political
interest groups as well as from the academic milieu. The concepts and practices of
microcredit can be used as mechanisms for the effective involvement and participation of
unused human capital. In development theory and research the social dimension of human
capital, economic activities and growth are recognized. This recognition has inspired recent
approaches to development, the microcredit model is one application. Development theories
and policy makers increasingly rely on the idea of social capital without relating it to the
broader structures of power relations. Theoretical discussion should include a reassessment
of the concept of social capital. The concept should be oriented to broader power structures,
which remained neglected in existing studies. The paper concludes by bringing these insights
to bear on possibilities for designing microcredit programs that would engage young
educated, but unemployed, men and women in income generating activities.
Key words: Bangladesh, Embeddedness, Grameen Bank, Microcredit, Networks, Power
Structure, Social Capital,
2. Laurids S. Lauridsen
Titel: Workshop on developmental governance
Abstract:
During three decades the international financial institutions, most bilateral donors and many
national elites were governed by a strong orthodox belief in the virtues of economic
globalisation, competitive markets, good governance, and institutional therapy. However, neoliberal disasters in both developing countries (e.g. Argentina) and the developed world (e.g. the
present financial crisis), as well as the economic boom in fairly non-liberal countries have (re)opened the space for more heterodox views on developmental institutions and economic
transformation. From this perspective policies, institutions and politics do matter for successful
economic transformation but they are not necessarily “good” (i.e. market-friendly) and ‘all good
things do not necessarily come together’. The notion of developmental governance refers to a
situation in which both the institutional arrangements and the political processes are aimed at
economic growth and transformation as a means of catching-up with the advanced capitalist
countries and of improving the living conditions of the inhabitants.
Taiwan normally appears on the list of successful development countries. It is one of the
famous four Asian NICs and is one of the few cases of “growth with equity”. The country is a
leading exporter in a range product groups including PCs and computer peripherals. Taiwan also
transformed its political system from authoritarian to democratic rule. Against this background
the task is the present paper is to give an account of the role of the state (policy, institutions
and politics) in the economic transformation in Taiwan and based on that advance our
understanding of developmental governance. The core question is therefore: What was the role
of state – policy, institutions and politics - in the dynamics of economic transformation in
Taiwan, and how can that inform a developmental governance approach to economic
development?
3. Kristen Nordhaug:
Titel: The political economy of growth with inequality in China
Abstract:
China’s economic growth since the onset of its market economy reforms in 1978/79 has
resulted in the largest process of poverty eradication in human history. This development
takes place with considerable government involvement as seen previously in non-socialist
East-Asian developmental states. However, unlike “growth with equity” in capitalist East Asia,
Chinese market socialist developmentalism is rather a case of “growth with inequality”. The
paper discusses current efforts by the central government to promote greater equality and to
expand consumption in response to social unrest and problems associated with China’s
reliance on investment and exports for its growth. It is argued that implementation of these
policies is impeded by institutions, power relations and divisions. The vested interest of local
governments prevents effective enforcement of many reform measures. Lower-class
initiatives from below are restricted by China’s “cellularized” political authoritarianism.
China’s hukou system of differentiated citizenship based on (inherited) urban or rural
settlement further divide lower classes and reinforces inequalities.
4. Pascal Doh
Titel: The University in the ‘innovation System’ for poverty reduction in developing countries:
The Case of Cameroon
Abstract
This paper is an outgrowth of a doctoral dissertation being completed on Higher Education
and Poverty Reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Case of Cameroon. Prior to the research, it
had been identified that early in the last decade (of 2000), only three African countries
highlighted the use of their higher education as the major driver in their Poverty Reduction
Strategy Papers. This move provided an important motivation to undertake the study as it
was seen as being timely and consistent with recent paradigms whereby socio-economic
development nowadays is highly dependent on knowledge, thus granting a new impetus to
knowledge organisation, one of which is higher education. The thrust of the study was to
examine the perceptions of the policymakers and actors on the use of higher education in
poverty reduction. The study focussed on the recent transformation processes for the higher
education in its recent mission as leading actor of the strategies. Cameroon was chosen as the
country study. Given that higher education institutions are expected nowadays to operate in
a more open environment to which their transformations obey, it was necessary to look for a
system framework and the National Innovation System (NIS) was found appropriate. This
paper shall present part of the result that focus on the use of the NIS.
Observably, the Nordic countries are generally identified with the use of the NIS, with Finland
having been one of the first countries in the world to adopt it as an instrument for governing
and planning its economic development policies. Unfortunately, this NIS has not been
sufficiently diffused into developing countries. In most cases, the university is seldom
presented as a major player whereas, as opposed to developed countries with alternative
knowledge institutions, the university remains the major institution for the transition of
developing countries to knowledge-based society. Also, although the NIS studies and policies
acknowledge the context-specificity of innovations, they have seldom focussed on poverty
specific-context that characterise socio-economic development policies of developing
countries. Similarly studies about the role of universities in the innovation system has been
subjected to a fait accompli from those of national innovation policies which stem from
economic theory about growth and seldom focus on their distributional effects like poverty
and social exclusion. Again it must be said that only the Nordic countries have the
frameworks as to how national innovation policies are carried along with social inclusion.
Finally, although the respondents in the study foresee their focus on growth as a main
strategy, it is postulated that the adoption of a Community Innovation System, can
complement and lead to direct contact between the universities and the poor rural
communities. This enables them to tackle poverty issues more easily and thereby reducing
some of the hurdles and slowness of having to go through growth.
Keywords: System, Innovation, Growth, Socio-economic development, universities, Developing
Countries, Poverty Reduction.
5. Prof. Govinda P. Acharya PhD
Title: A Perceptual Survey of Opinion Leaders on Actors’ Relationships, Issues and Implications of
Trade Unions and Industrial Relations: A Transitional Nepalese Perspective
Industrial relations system, anywhere, is primarily concerned with the triangular
and harmonious relationships between employer, employee and the society
represented by the government. Whatever manifestation evolved to express the
subject it stood as major aspect of industrial governance that affects the national
economy. A good industrial relations system thus acts as an indicator of economic
progress and social development of a country. This pa per aimed at analyzing the
trends regarding the emerging relations of actors of industrial relations system
along with the upcoming issues and the impounded implications thereafter in the
transitional phase facing Nepalese economy. With regard to this, the focus has been
levied on making a perceptual survey of opinion leaders so as to understand the
dimensions of areas of issues concerning trade unions and industrial relations in
Nepal. Based on this understanding, the focus of the paper was to highlight the
contemporary issues and persisting relationships between actors forming industrial
relations systems. In addition, the paper also attempted to forward ways for future
direction to build a harmonious relationships amongst the stakeholders of industrial
relations system to ensure good industrial governance.
This study included opinion leaders comprising of trade union leaders (16), practicing
managers (11), law makers, lawyers and academics (11), officials of Federation of
Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (8), and labor related government
officials (8). They were interviewed on the basis of a checklist. The checklist consisted
of forty statements all positively stated and dealing with dimensions like worker union relations, union-management relations, union-government relations, and
trade unions and industrial relations. Responses were collected on a five point scale
similar to that of Likert's scale that indicates the respondent’s preference.
Key words: Harmonious relationship, Opinion leaders, Industrial relations system,
Governance and actors of industrial relation system