Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Italy – Economic conditions – Regional disparities'

What accounts for the differences in the economic performance across Italian regions in the post-Unification period? This thesis seeks to explain the regional patterns of economic development and industrialization in Italy in the period 1871-1911 by applying various Economic Geography models. The first part follows Overman and Puga (2002) and studies the distribution of industrial employment across regions. The aim is to test the effect of regional borders on the distribution of industrial employment. The existence of this border effect, tested through the use of provincial data, suggests that the Italian regions in this period represented meaningful economic entities. By testing the effect of pre-1861 borders we link this result to the persistence of pre-Unification institutional arrangements. The second part follows the methodology by Head and Mayer (2011) and investigates the relationship between economic performance and market access. Here market access is captured through market potential, a measure of the centrality of a region based on GDP and transport costs. The main result is that domestic market potential is a strong determinant of GDP per capita while all the formulations of market potential that include trading partners give more mixed results. The last part seeks to explain the location of industries in Italy in the period 1871–1911. The analytical framework takes into account both the Heckscher-Ohlin (H-O) theory on factor endowment and the New Economic Geography (NEG) theory on access to markets. The methodology used here is based on Midelfart-Knarvik et al. (2000). The location of industries, measured through employment per region per sector, is explained with interactions between characteristics of the regions and characteristics of the sectors, of both H-O and NEG-type. The main findings of this chapter are that endowments, and in particular human capital, were the driving force behind the first Italian industrialization while access to markets had a more limited effect.

Studies of the role of East-West trade in Soviet economic development often assume that Siberia and the Far East play an important role in trading relations, but few studies have examined the extent of that role and the relationship between trade and economic development within the region. This study addresses two interrelated questions: firstly, what is the role of Siberia and the Far East in trade with the West, and secondly, what is the role of East-West trade in Siberian development. Regional trade participation data are not available. The study therefore examines the composition of Soviet trade with the West and the industrial structure of the Siberian economy, in order to deduce the extent of regional participation in trade. Soviet exports to the West are dominated by natural resources, while imports from the West comprise machinery and equipment, manufactured goods and agricultural products. Analysis of the Siberian economy reveals a specialisation in the production and processing of natural resources. Estimates of export participation show that since the late 1970s the region has become the Soviet Union's most important source of foreign currency. Imports of Western technology are shown to play an important part in natural resource production and in the creation of Siberia's Territorial-Production Complexes. In many instances compensation agreements tie the use of imports to export production. Overall the value of Siberian exports exceeds the cost of imports of Western technology, so that the region generates a sizeable foreign currency surplus. In conclusion, a simple model of the trade and development process is presented which relates the pattern of foreign trade participation to the process of regional development. The impact of Western imports is felt mainly in the European core region where they provide additional resources to feed the population and renovate the industrial base; the impact of exports to the West is felt mainly in Siberia and the Far East where they increase demands for natural resource production. Thus, East-West trade serves to perpetuate the existing core-periphery pattern of Soviet regional development.
Arts, Faculty of
Geography, Department of
Graduate

The conventional theoretical and analytical debate surrounding contemporary African underdevelopment attempts to classify or label the impediments to development primarily within an internal-external dichotomy_ This thesis questions the internal-external approach in that it may limit the opportunity to examine the situation more in terms of a single process, blending the forces that hinder political and economic growth. The case of the Sudan illustrates this 'holistic' concept in that certain fundamental constraints wi thin the Sudan combined with specific external factors place severe limitations on both the economic and political development of the country. The tradi tional disunity and absence of a legitimate political authority within the Sudan, combined with the Sudan's inteqration into the world economic system, has created a situation that is detrimental to development. Rather than place the blame or responsibility for underdevelopment on any particular set of forces, t have examined how these forces have intertwined to create the present conditions in the Sudan, perhaps highlighting similar situations throughout other Third World nations as well.
Master of Arts

Thesis (MA (Political Science. International Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Southern Africa as a region requires a rallying point from where they can integrate and mobilize their resources in order to create a security community, which acts both as a deterrent to the outbreak of conflict and regional bloc to protect local industries from global forces. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) does not have the strong relationship which usually exists between states that share a common goal or interest. The study argues that the lack of leadership within the region accounts for the weak cooperative relationship that presently exists in Southern Africa. This study argues that regionalization does not come about unless the states in a particular region want it. It may come about through spontaneous or unintended convergence in terms of political regime, economic policy or security, but often one can identify a triggering political event which sets the process in motion. The study argues that the Development Corridors apparent in Southern Africa can act as the triggering event and have the promise to forge the most feasible cooperation amongst regional states. The phenomenon of Peace Parks rooted in the Spatial Development Initiatives, offer a unique type of regional integration embedded on traditional focal areas and Southern African Identity. This study intends to analyze the potential ability of regional hegemony to foster peace through development. The primary objective of this study consequently is to examine the role of regional hegemonies as tools for peace; using South Africa’s hegemony in Southern Africa as a case study. This study describes the importance of South Africa as a regional hegemon to lead the process of creating a peaceful co-existence in SADC. To achieve the research objectives the following questions have been formulated: What is South Africa’s role as a development partner in Southern Africa? The second research question asks how the political economy of regionalism is apparent in the Spatial Development Indicators (Development Corridors). Specifically what contribution could Spatial Development Initiatives make towards SADC’s regional integration objectives? The research questions provide an impression of major socio-political developments looming in the region and also seek to provide the required tools to analyze and understand what is going on in Southern Africa today.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suider-Afrikaanse streek het ’n definitiewe behoefte om ‘n sentrale punt te identifiseer waar beide integrasie kan plaasvind en hulpbronne gemobiliseer kan word om ’n veiligheids gemeenskap te skep. Dit kan as ’n definitiewe teenvoeter dien vir die onstaan van konflik en om plaaslike industrie te beskerm teen die soms negatiewe invloed van internasionale magte. Die Suider-Afrikaanse Ontwikkelings Gemeenskap (SAOG) het huidiglik nie ’n sterk verhouding wat tussen state met gemeenskaplike doelwitte en belange heers nie. Die kern argument van hierdie studie is dat die tekort aan leierskap binne die streek een van die hoofoorsake is vir die algemene swak samewerking wat tans bestaan in Suider-Afrika. Die studie argumenteer dat sogenaamde streeks/regionale integrasie nie tot stand kan kom tensy die state in ’n spesifieke streek ’n definitiewe behoefte daartoe het nie. Dit kan wel onstaan deur middel van ’n spontane samevloei van politieke regimes, ekonomiese beleid en veiligheid. Daar is soms egter ’n spesifieke gebeurtenis wat die proses laat onstaan. Die studie argumenteer dat die sogenaamde Ontwikkelings Deurgange (‘Development Corridors’) wat tans in Suider-Afrika ontwikkel as ’n moontlike vertrekpunt gesien kan word wat die beste kans bied om samewerking tussen state te bevorder. Die onstaan van Vredes Parke (‘Peace Parks’) gevestig binne die Ontwikkelings Deurgange, bied ’n unieke vorm van regionale integrasie in Suider-Afrika. Hierdie studie het ten doel om die potensiële moontlikheid van regionale hegemonie om vrede te bewerkstellig deur middel van ontwikkeling te ontleed. Die hoof doelwit van hierdie studie is om die rol van regionale hegemonie as instrument van vrede te ontleed. Die studie sal spesifiek die gevallestudie van Suid-Afrika se regionale hegemonie in Suider-Afrika ondersoek. Hierdie studie beskryf die belangrikheid van Suid-Afrika as ’n streeks moondheid om die leiding te neem om vreedsame samewerking binne die SAOG te bewerkstellig. Die volgende belangrike vrae is in hierdie studie gestel: Wat is Suid-Afrika se rol as ’n ontwikkelings-vennoot in Suider-Afrika? Die tweede vraag probeer vasstel tot watter mate die politieke ekonomie van regionale samewerking tans bestaan in die Omgewings Ontwikkelings Indikatore (die sogenaamde ‘Development Corridors’). Watter spesifieke bydraes kan hierdie inisiatiewe lewer om die SAOG se regionale integrasie doelwitte te bereik? Die vrae probeer ’n geheel indruk skep hoe die Omgewings-Ontwikkelings Inisiatiewe (‘Spatial Development Initiatives’) tans bydra om ’n beter begrip te skep van huidige verwikkelinge in Suider-Afrika.

Thesis (MA (Political Science. International Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.
Europe and Africa share a long history that is characterized both by oppression and development. The relationship between the European Union (EU) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries is a particularly important aspect of EU development cooperation policy. The developmental history between the EU and Africa started with the Yaoundé Conventions of 1963 and 1969, which were replaced by the Lomé Convention. Unfortunately, the favourable terms and preferential access for the ACP countries to Europe failed and the Lomé Convention was replaced by the Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA) in 2000. As a result of a WTO-waiver, the discriminatory non-reciprocal trade preferences, which were previously enjoyed under the Lomé Convention, continued until December 2007. The Cotonou Agreement points out that these trade preferences will be replaced by joint WTOcompatible Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). During the EPA negotiations, the EU preferred to negotiate on a regional basis instead of negotiating with the ACP as a whole or with individual countries. Consequently, Sub-Saharan Africa formed two negotiation groups; the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) EPA group and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) EPA group, represented by the five Southern African Customs Union (SACU) countries, together with Mozambique and Angola. Although Southern Africa is the region that leads the continent; from an economic perspective, the Southern African states show considerable disparities. Due to the economic differences between South Africa and the BLNS countries (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland), the interests of the individual SACU countries are diverse and often contradictory, which resulted in complicated EPA negotiations. However, maintaining a favourable long-term trading relationship with the EU is of great importance to the economic and political well-being of the SADC, since the EU is the main trading partner of most African countries. By December 2007, an interim EPA (IEPA) was initialled by the BLNS countries as a result of the pressure to fall back to the unfavourable Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). Due to the bilateral Trade Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA) that is in force between South Africa and the EU, South Africa was not negatively influenced by the expiry of the WTO-waiver. The EPA will have a negative impact on regional integration within SADC and will promote distinction within the regional economic communities. Duty free, quota free access was offered to the BLNS countries, but the EU did not extend this offer to South Africa because of the developmental status of the country and the pre-existing TDCA. Consequently, South Africa will be required to export at higher prices and will experience increased competition within the region. The downside of the removal of import tariffs for the BLNS countries is that government revenues will decrease, which might result in income losses and will accentuate poverty. The standstill-clause of the IEPA prevents the SACU countries from diversifying economically and from developing new industries. The Most- Favoured Nation clause primarily impacts negatively on South Africa, since it prevents South Africa from negotiating freely with other countries such as Brazil and China. Furthermore, the strict intellectual property rules of the IEPA undermine access to knowledge and hereby fail to support innovation. The content of a chapter on liberalization of services, that will be included in the full EPA, is still being negotiated. Liberalization of services might lead to more foreign investments in the BLNS countries, as a result of which the quality of services will increase, leading to better education, infrastructure and more job opportunities. However, foreign companies will gain power at the expense of African governments and companies. South Africa is the main supplier of services in the BLNS countries and will therefore be confronted with economic losses when the services sector is liberalized. From an economic nationalist perspective, the EU included numerous provisions in the IEPA that were not necessary for WTO compatibility. However, the EU is aware of the importance of trade agreements for the BLNS countries and found itself in the position to do so to fulfil its own interests. By making use of the expiry date of the WTO waiver; the IEPA was initialled by the BLNS countries within a relatively short period of time. South Africa, in its own national interests, opposed the provisions of the IEPA, which has led to the negotiations deadlock. Because of the economic power and negotiating tactics of the EU and the selfinterested attitude of South Africa in this respect, regional integration is undermined and the poorest countries are once again the worst off. Although Economic Partnership Agreements have to be established, the partnership-pillar is, in my opinion, hard to find.

China's phenomenal economic growth has coincided with a substantial increase in FDI inflows and hence led researchers, including the author, to believe that increased inflows of FDI into China has had important implications for the country's trade and economic development over the past decades. The objective of this thesis is to identify and investigate several key issues associated with inward FDI in the Chinese economy. These include the determinants of FDI inflows at the sectoral level, spillover effects of FDI on labour productivity and innovation, the causal linkage between FDI and China's bilateral trade with selected OECD countries, and the performance of foreign funded enterprises (FFEs) compared to the performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China. This thesis adds to the existing research on the role that FDI has played in recent growth of the Chinese economy by applying new as well as established techniques to China's regional and sectoral data. In particular, it integrates descriptive and empirical analysis to extend existing studies in several ways. First, analyses in the empirical chapters of this thesis are undertaken using data at the regional and sectoral level. Second, this thesis uses panel data from official sources for all empirical examinations. Last, whereas most existing studies have ignored the importance of unit-root issues when using panel data, and therefore possibly producing unreliable results, this thesis employs unit-root tests for all panel data analyses. The key findings in this thesis can be summarized in four points. First, at the sectoral level, for China as a whole, foreign investors are influenced by labour productivity, wage costs and innovation activities but not by the level of state ownership. For Guangdong province, foreign investors are concerned with labour productivity and wages as well as state ownership at sectoral level. However, the level of innovation does not play an important role in influencing inflows of FDI into Guangdong province at sectoral level. Second, the thesis found that FDI generates spillover effects on labour productivity in China although no spillover effects on the level of innovation were detected. At the regional level, it was concluded that the coastal and western regions experience a greater amount of spillover effects from FDI than do the municipal cities. Furthermore, the western region is the only region that experiences greater spillover effects from FDI on innovation than the municipal cities. Also, the spillover effects of FDI appear to be no different prior to or post-1997 when the Asian financial crises occurred. Third, a co-integrating relationship exists between FDI and total trade, FDI and exports, and FDI and imports in China. The thesis further concluded that bidirectional causality between FDI and trade variables exists in China in the long-run. However, short-run causality runs only from FDI to trade. Fourth, the thesis further shows that FFEs in China are more efficient than SOEs. Over time it is observed that SOEs and FFEs in the municipal cities and the coastal regions experienced greater productivity gains than those in the central and western regions during the sample period. It is also concluded that both SOEs and FFEs in the municipal cities have experienced more productivity growth than those in other regions with SOEs in the central region and FFEs in the western region experiencing the least productivity growth.

Thesis (MPhil (Political Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005.
Recent years have seen new ideologies and political factors being introduced into the Sudanese political landscape. The new war in Darfur has revealed that the traditional North-South conflict is not necessarily a religious war but rather a war that goes beyond religion and ethnicity. Several factors underpin the civil wars in Sudan; principally disputes over religion, identity, inequality, resources, governance, self-determination, autonomy and secession. The attempt is therefore to define the various actors, factors and issues underlying both the North-South conflict and the new war in Darfur, and to analyse and compare the differences and similarities between the two wars. Both the conflicts in Southern Sudan and in Darfur have their origin in the decay of the Sudanese state and in both cases did political marginalisation resulted in political exclusion. Another resemblance between the two wars is the acute identity crisis that resulted from the long history of stratification and discrimination. Both warring groups want to reassert their distinguishing characteristics in the respective conflicts where ‘Arab’ and ‘African’ have distinctive meanings and are used as racial, cultural, and political identities. The third similarity between the South and Darfur is the ethnic cleansing tactics and policies the Sudanese government has adopted. The differences between these two wars is that Southern Sudan has developed into a war over national resources while Darfur does not share the same strategic commodities. The second is secession. The South started as a secessionist war while neither of the rebel groups in Darfur have demanded any form of self-determination. Darfur has also seen relatively timely international attention compared to Southern Sudan. Comparing the two conflicts do reveal that neither religion nor race is at the heart of Sudan’s wars. Instead, the root of the insurgencies is largely founded upon culturally and regionally imposed economic and political marginalisation coupled with the politicization of ethnic identities. The challenge for Sudan will be to create a new consciousness of common identity and a new meaning of belonging that grants peace, dignity, development and fundamental human rights.

Près de deux décennies, après la libéralisation de l'économie tunisienne, les disparités régionales se sont fortement accentuées. Les amples écarts de développement entre les régions du littoral et de l'intérieur sont révélateurs d'une grande hétérogénéité en termes de niveaux de revenus, de croissance, de chômage, de répartition entre activités à forte et à faible productivités et de pauvreté. Si les régions du littoral font partie de l'axe de compétitivité et constituent le centre des branches phares de l'industrie tunisienne, les autres régions de l'intérieur disposent de moins de compétences stratégiques et affichent des performances moyennes, voire même faibles. Aucun processus de convergence régionale n'est enclenché. L'objet de la thèse est de quantifier et d'appréhender les impacts macroéconomiques et microéconomiques de sept réformes de politiques économiques susceptibles de réduire les disparités régionales, dans le cadre d'une approche macro-micro. Approche qui conduit inévitablement à privilégier un cadre d'analyse qui se compose de deux modèles reliés: un modèle d'équilibre général dynamique et multirégional et un modèle de micro simulation. L'implémentation de ces deux modèles a permis de réaliser un exercice de projection et un autre de simulation. Le premier exercice a étudié l'évolution future de l'économie tunisienne, en absence de toutes réformes économiques et/ou choc exogène. Les résultats montrent que le clivage littoral-intérieur devrait s'accentuer si des mesures de correction ne sont pas mises en œuvre. Les résultats de simulation suggèrent qu'une politique de libéralisation commerciale bénéficie plus aux régions du littoral. Pour stimuler la croissance des régions de l'intérieur, il est préférable d'entreprendre des politiques de discrimination positive qui visent à augmenter leurs niveaux d'investissements public et surtout privé. Par ailleurs, la réduction de l'écart de performance économique entre le littoral et l'intérieur du pays ne peut se faire rapidement qu'au moyen d'un changement technologique important dans les régions de l'intérieur. Tous les scénarios envisagés dans ce travail rejettent la nécessité d'un arbitrage entre croissance et pauvreté régionales et confirment donc les possibilités d'une croissance pro-pauvre.

Defence date: 24 November 1994
Examining Board: Prof. Albert Carreras (supervisor, European University Institute) ; Prof. Richard Griffiths (co-supervisor, European University Institute) ; Prof. Peter Hertner (European University Institute) ; Prof. Jeffrey Williamson (Harvard University) ; Prof. Vera Zamagni (University of Bologna)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digitised archive of EUI PhD theses completed between 2013 and 2017

Lau Lai Man.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-100).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Abstract --- p.i
Acknowledgements --- p.iii
Chapter Chapter One --- Introduction --- p.1
Chapter 1.1 --- Motivation and Issues --- p.1
Chapter 1.2 --- Contributions --- p.4
Chapter Chapter Two --- Overview of Guangdong --- p.6
Chapter 2.1 --- Geography --- p.7
Chapter 2.2 --- Openness --- p.9
Chapter 2.3 --- Fiscal Decentralization --- p.13
Chapter Chapter Three --- Literature Review --- p.18
Chapter 3.1 --- Literature on Economic Growth and Interregional Disparities --- p.18
Chapter 3.2 --- Literature on Inter-regional Disparities in China --- p.23
Chapter Chapter Four --- Methodology --- p.27
Chapter 4.1 --- Two concepts of convergence --- p.27
Chapter 4.2 --- Growth Equation --- p.33
Chapter Chapter Five --- Estimation Issues --- p.39
Chapter 5.1 --- Panel Data Estimation --- p.39
Chapter 5.2 --- Other Econometric Issues --- p.43
Chapter Chapter Six --- Estimation Results --- p.47
Chapter 6.1 --- σ-convergence --- p.47
Chapter 6.2 --- Unconditional β-Convergence --- p.49
Chapter 6.3 --- Estimation of the Growth Equation and Conditional β-Convergence --- p.50
Chapter 6.4 --- Summary and Interpretation of Major Findings --- p.58
Chapter 6.5 --- Guangdong's Intra-provincial Disparities in Light of the Empirical Results --- p.61
Chapter Chapter Seven --- Conclusion and Policy Implications --- p.64
Chapter 7.1 --- Summary of Salient Findings --- p.64
Chapter 7.2 --- Policy Implications --- p.65
Appendix I --- p.71
Appendix II --- p.73
Appendix III --- p.75
Tables --- p.78
Figures --- p.91
Bibliography --- p.96

M.A.
Many studies of regional disparity in South Africa have focused on rural and urban developmental inequality. This research essay sets out to create an exploratory understanding based on an in-depth analysis of South African provincial inequality. The analysis was done by examining the theories related to economic development and then by analysing current economic development. The purpose of this research is to determine the cause of the widening developmental gap among different provinces in South Africa. Case studies were used to examine the widening poverty gap in countries such as Indonesia, Canada and China within the context of their experiences of provincial developmental disparities. Budget allocation and programmes such as IDP and IDZ are discussed within the context of examining whether the SA provincial disparity is diverging or converging.

Kwan Wing Kai.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1996.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-93).
Abstract
Acknowledgment
Chapter Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1
Chapter 1.1 --- A Review of Recent Studies on the Productivity of Chines Economy --- p.3
Chapter 1.2 --- Aims of Study --- p.10
Chapter Chapter 2. --- The Sources of Productivity Growth --- p.16
Chapter 2.1 --- Degree of Government Intervention --- p.16
Chapter 2.2 --- Ownership Structure --- p.18
Chapter 2.3 --- Output Structure --- p.24
Chapter 2.4 --- Changes in Regional Development Strategy --- p.25
Chapter 2.4.1 --- Regional Development Strategy before1979 --- p.27
Chapter 2.4.2 --- Regional Development Strategy since1979 --- p.29
Chapter 2.4.3 --- The Impacts of Different Regional Strategies on Productivity Change --- p.31
Chapter Chapter 3. --- Theoretical Framework and Estimation Methods --- p.33
Chapter 3.1 --- Methed I: The Conventional Approach --- p.35
Chapter 3.2 --- Method II: Replacing the Variable of the Growth of Capital Stock by Investment-Output Ratio --- p.40
Chapter 3.3 --- Method III: Approximation of the Production Function by Taylor Expansion --- p.45
Chapter Chapter 4. --- Empirical Results of the Three Different Methods --- p.51
Chapter 4.1 --- Estimation Results of the Three Different Methods --- p.51
Chapter 4.2 --- Comparison of the Estimation Results of the Three Methods --- p.63
Chapter 4.3 --- An Assessment of Provincial Productivity Growth --- p.66
Chapter 4.4 --- Regional Productivity Difference since1979 --- p.75
Chapter Chapter 5. --- Conclusion --- p.82
References --- p.85
Appendix 1. List of the Abbreviations for Provinces --- p.94
Appendix 2. A Summary of Notations --- p.95
Appendix 3. Estimates of Provincial Capital Stock (1979-1992) --- p.97
Chapter A3.1 --- Initial value of Capital Stock --- p.98
Chapter A3.2 --- Net Increase of Capital Stock --- p.101
Chapter A3.3 --- Estimating the Annual Series of Capital Stock --- p.102
Appendix 4. The Process of Fiscal Decentralization and Deterioration of Regional Redistribution --- p.106
Chapter A4.1 --- The Process of Fiscal Decentralization --- p.106
Chapter A4.2 --- The deterioration of Regional Redistribution --- p.110
Appendix 5. Estimation Results of the Three Different Methods --- p.114

This study explores the growth experience of the small-island economies of the South Pacific, using Fiji and Tonga as case studies. The starting point is the traditional neoclassical growth-accounting framework but this is extended to capture the contributions of increases in factor inputs and factor productivity to economic growth. The growth contribution of improvements in the quality of labour is quantified and the relative contribution of net national saving and net capital inflows to domestic capital accumulation and economic growth are estimated. Most of the time-series data required for a sources of growth study are unavailable so that appropriate methodologies had to be developed to estimate annual series for the relevant variables. The conventional 'perpetual inventory method' for capital stock estimates is modified into a methodology that is deemed appropriate, theoretically sound and reasonably practical for generating the required series of aggregate net capital stock and fixed capital consumption. Fiji and Tonga, typically of the islands, experienced moderate growth in domestic output but whereas Tonga's growth in total factor productivity was positive, Fiji's was negative. In Fiji, the growth contribution of increases in capital stock was smaller than the contribution of increased labour, whereas in Tonga, the growth contribution of increases in capital stock was larger than the labour contribution. Net national saving contributed relatively more than net capital inflow to net investment, and thus to economic growth in Fiji; in Tonga the opposite was the case. Tonga’s domestic saving has long been negative, but the inflow of current transfers, especially private remittances, contributed to high national saving. Improvements in the quality of the labour force in the two economies were small. Educational improvements contributed more to improvements in the quality of the labour force and thus economic growth than improvements in health. The marginal product of capital is higher in Fiji than in Tonga and so was the average product of labour until 1985. Tonga has been more capital-intensive than Fiji since the 1970s. The trend of capital-labour ratios in Fiji showed a change from capital-intensive towards more labour-intensive production in the 1980s. The low and even negative growth of total factor productivity in the two island economies may be partly explained by the failure of economic policy to create an environment for efficient production. The two island economies were highly protected and regulated with Fiji attempting to become a centrally planned economy with industrialization behind tariff and non tariff barriers as its main objective. Entrepreneurs thus could not operate effectively. The two island economies both have the problems of smallness including exposure to similar severe external shocks and constraints. Their different economic performances tend to support the view that domestic economic policies are the main determinant of economic development.

Defence date: 21 November 2014
Examining Board: Professor Youssef Cassis, EUI and RSCAS (Supervisor); Professor Michelangelo Vasta, University of Siena (External Supervisor); Professor Giovanni Federico, University of Pisa; Professor Joan Roses, London Schools of Economics and Political Science.
This thesis sheds new light on the process of economic divergence that characterized Italy’s regions in the second half of the nineteenth century and the Interwar period. It shows that social capital had a limited impact on the regions’ economic fortune prior to the Great War. Further, only specific dimensions of social capital affected regional economic growth. Instead, the country’s regional inequalities grew large as a result of different endowments of human capital. In turn, human capital differences inherited from pre-unification states remained large as a result of public policy, which established a decentralized education system in 1859. This choice delayed convergence in primary schooling across regions, because of the tight connection between municipal fiscal capacity and the supply of schools and teachers. Centralized education, introduced with the Daneo-Credaro Reform in 1911, loosened this link and favoured regional convergence in human capital. Contrary to expectations, local institutional mechanisms did not play a large role in the growth of mass education: a detailed analysis of the determinants of primary schooling across Italy’s provinces in the years 1871 – 1911 confirms that local economic conditions influenced the development of human capital far more than political participation and access to local decision-making. These results cast doubt on recent interpretations of the socioeconomic divergence experienced by Italy’s regions. While further research is needed on the link between local institutions and the development of basic education, this work calls for a renewed focus on the way that central policy affected regional divergence and Italy’s overall economic development before the Second World War.

Zhu, Junlei.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 35-39).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1
Chapter 2. --- Literature Review : --- p.3
Chapter 3. --- Current Status of Public Education Investment in China --- p.6
Chapter 4. --- Conceptual Framework --- p.7
Chapter 5. --- Estimating Different Capital Stock --- p.11
Chapter 6. --- Data and Main Results --- p.18
Chapter 6.1 --- Data description --- p.18
Chapter 6.2 --- Estimation and Results --- p.20
Chapter 7. --- Efficiency Analysis and Policy Recommendation --- p.27
Chapter 8. --- Conclusion --- p.33
References --- p.35

The Philippines and Thailand are the two countries in the Southeast Asian region that share the most similar economic characteristics. In the 1950s and the 1960s, the growth performance of both countries was similar. However, in the 1970s, when both countries faced similar kinds of external shocks, growth performance began to differ. By the mid 1980s, comparative economic performance became clear: Thailand was growing at a rate of more than 10 per cent per year in real terms while the Philippines experienced a negative real growth rate. The adjustment in response to the changing external environment in Thailand also led to a favourable economic transformation. Many preconditions for take off were seen and the country was destined to become another member of the Newly Industrialised Economies (NIEs). On the other hand, the Philippine economy was still shaky and vulnerable to any shock that may arise. The question is why, despite the similarity in economic characteristics and exposure to the same kind of external shocks, Thailand has been able to perform relatively better than the Philippines? The difference in economic performance could be the result of differences in political and economic structure, the magnitude of external shocks, and policy adjustments in response to the shocks. This Thesis investigates how these three factors can help to explain the difference in economic performance between the two countries. The differences in economic structure and the magnitude of the shocks were found to be minimal. It was the difference in economic policy response to the external shocks that mattered and largely explains the relatively poor economic performance in the Philippines. Four approaches were used to investigate the differences in economic policy responses. The first is to use a simple macroeconomic model with one final good to analyse the effects of external shocks and how an economy can respond to them. The external shocks analysed were the volume of trade shock (a fall in export demand) and the oil terms of trade shocks (a rise in the relative prices of oil to home goods). Because the terms of trade shock may have different effects on different sectors in the economy, the Australian model of traded/non-traded goods is also applied. This explains the effect of the oil terms of trade shock (the relative prices of oil input to the final traded goods) on the real exchange rate (the relative prices of traded to non-traded goods) which affects the allocation of resources between the traded and non-traded sectors. These two approaches deal with the case of a fully anticipated shock, whether temporary or permanent. The third approach attempted to explain adjustments in the event that the shock is not anticipated, and so there could be a cost associated with the incorrect expectation. The model being used is a simple dynamic model with two periods of adjustment. The final approach is a decomposition of the current account and policy responses of a country. This approach was developed by Bela Balassa, EdmarBacha and Gerald Helleiner in the early 1980s. The approach was a rough and ready tool to analyse the effects of external shocks and domestic policy responses such as export promotion policy, import substitution policy, etc.. However, it did not have an explicit linkage between the changes in the current account and domestic macroeconomic response in terms of consumption, savings and investment. Therefore, this approach was reviewed and another decomposition method proposed. The essence of macroeconomic adjustment in response to external shocks is the skilful use of fiscal, monetary and exchange rate policies. The thesis also investigates the conduct of these policies and identifies the major differences in policy conduct that led to macroeconomic policy being a more effective instrument in Thailand than in the Philippines. The concluding chapter of the thesis also suggests some lessons for other developing countries to learn from the comparative study of the Philippines and Thailand in response to external shocks.

M.A.
The main purpose and objective of this study was to evaluate and determine the impact of regionalisation in Southern Africa on South Africa's developmental goals. With regionalisation coming to the fore as a contemporary reality of the international political economy and with the importance placed on the Reconstruction and Development Plan by the South African Government, the opportinity presented itself where the dynamic impact of regionalisation could be determined and evaluated in a meaningful and relevant manner. The major research concerning regionalisation in Southern Africa focuses on either the economic viability of integration in the Southern African region, or the form of integration which should be pursued. No single study has tried to determine the possible total impact of the process of regionalisation on a specific country. This study breaches this intellectual and academic impasse by doing a multi-leveled analysis of the impact of regionalisation on South Africa's developmental goals. The motivation for this is to lead to more specific research concerning all aspects involved for all countries concerned. The emphasis falls on the holistic nature of this topic - where spesific focus is placed on the complexity and diversity of the roleplayers involved as well as the determinants which influence them. The specific methodology used was to incorporate varied forms of data-gathering, ranging from interviews with major roleplayers to literature studies. The important fact to emphasize is that regionalisation itself must be seen as a complex structure, evolving to the needs and circumstances of the countries involved. This study shows emphatically that the orthodox theory of regionalisation can not be used in the context of developing countries. This theory is based on the experiences of the European industrialised countries. Their methods of analysis is inappropriate in developing countries. It is showed that project- and functional co-operation would suit the requirements and needs of the Southern African region far better in delivering the benefits accrued through regionalisation. Using this as premiss and focussing on the develomental goals of South Africa - the probable impact of regionalisation was determined and evaluated. The Reconstruction and Development Plan and the White Paper on the Reconstruction and Development Plan was used to identify South Africa's developmental goals. Intense research was done to estimate and determine the probable impact of regionalisation, as well as the policy issues it entails, on these goals. An effort was made to integrate each aspect and sector with other sectors and to highlight the complex nature of these interrelated issues. Only broad discussion and recommendations could be drawn. But these are sufficient to lead to futher studies on each specific aspect as well as giving a broad perspective on how South Africa's development goals will be influenced by the process of regionalisation. From this study the conclusion can be drawn that there will be costs involved for South Africa's participation in regional integration. But the benefits derived from project co-operation could make it worthwhile for South Africa to implement positive policy decisions towards further regionalisation. It is important to notice the intense complexity of each sector and the influence a change in one sector will have on all others. Careful consideration should be given before any action is taken. This serves as justification for the study on the grounds that more studies of this nature is necessary for regionalisation to expand in the region, and for Southern Africa to develop as a region. The other member-countries should conduct studies of a similar nature - and through this the most appropriate policy decisions could be taken to improve the well-being of all the people in this region.

Wong Kin.
Thesis submitted in: December 2005.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-58).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Abstract --- p.i
Acknowledgement --- p.iii
Chapter Chapter One - --- Introduction --- p.1
Chapter Chapter Two - --- Literature Review
Chapter 1. --- Convergence --- p.8
Chapter 2. --- Methodology Review on Regional Disparity of Service Employment --- p.13
Chapter 3. --- Regional Service Employment Convergence in Great Britain --- p.17
Chapter Chapter Three - --- Methodology --- p.21
Chapter Chapter Four - --- Empirical Results
Chapter 1 . --- Stationarity of Service Employment --- p.29
Chapter 2. --- Stochastic Convergence of Service Employment --- p.33
Chapter Chapter Five - --- Conclusion --- p.36
Appendix A --- p.41
Appendix B --- p.42
Appendix C --- p.43
Tables --- p.48
Bibliography --- p.55

A case study of China's Village Redevelopment Program (VRP, hereafter), this dissertation examines how VRP has been implemented in two counties in the provinces of Shandong and Anhui. It reveals that county governments can demonstrate a surprising degree of divergence and flexibility when implementing similar policies from above. Officials in Chenggu and Beian interpreted the policy and implemented it differently; and higher-level authorities played very different roles as supervisors and subsidy providers. Government-villager relations were also very different in the two counties. Yet, outcomes were ultimately the same. In both counties officials diverged significantly from the genuine goal of VRP to decrease rural economic inequalities, instead channeling government resources to those who already have and leaving the less developed behind. To reconcile the puzzle of different forms of implementation yet similar outcomes, this dissertation focuses on both the concept of local discretion and on the larger economic-political-social environment in which local officials operate and which shape local officials' "own" decision making and actions. Through the prism of VRP, the dissertation illuminates two pressures they face - local economic conditions on the one hand and a politics of command on the other- which have influenced and shaped the modes of implementation and outcomes in each of the counties. This case study of VRP shakes one of the most common conceptualizations of hierarchical relations in the Chinese political system, the commonly used paradigm of principal-agent relations.

Chu Kwok-chung.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1991.
Includes bibliographical references.
Abstract --- p.i
Acknowledgements --- p.ii
List of Illustrations --- p.v
List of Tables --- p.vii
List of Appendix --- p.ix
Chapter
Chapter 1. --- "INTRODUCTION: THE PROBLEMS, OBJECTIVE AND ITS SETTING" --- p.1
Chapter 1.1 --- Urbanization as a current subject of great concern --- p.1
Chapter 1.2 --- Urbanization Policies in China --- p.2
Chapter 1.3 --- Shift of social concern to social well-being (SWB) in national development --- p.5
Chapter 1.4 --- The problems --- p.6
Chapter 1.5 --- Objective of this study --- p.8
Chapter 1.6 --- The scope of the study --- p.9
Chapter 1.7 --- The organization of the remainder of the thesis --- p.9
Chapter 2. --- CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND --- p.11
Chapter 2.1 --- Definition of Spatial inequality --- p.11
Chapter 2.2 --- Types of spatial inequalities and different levels and units of analysis in China --- p.12
Chapter 2.3 --- Definition of Social Well-being --- p.16
Chapter 2.4 --- Ingredient of Social Well-being --- p.16
Chapter 2.5 --- The present selection of the ingredient of SWB --- p.18
Chapter 2.6 --- Characteristics of welfare goods allocation in China --- p.22
Chapter 2.7 --- Two approaches in measuring spatial inequalities of SWB --- p.25
Chapter 2.7.1 --- Single component approach --- p.26
Chapter 2.7.2 --- Integrated approach --- p.27
Chapter 3. --- RESEARCH DESIGN --- p.32
Chapter 3.1 --- Procedure of analysis --- p.32
Chapter 3.2 --- Assumptions and approximation --- p.34
Chapter 3.3 --- Techniques of analysis and Treatment of Data --- p.35
Chapter 3.3.1 --- Measuring spatial inequality via single variable --- p.35
Chapter 3.3.2 --- Establishing the composite index of SWB --- p.37
Chapter 3.3.3 --- Unit of analysis (UOA) and level of aggregation (LOA) --- p.41
Chapter 3.3.4 --- Analyzing the association between the composite index and some economic variables --- p.45
Chapter 4. --- SPATIAL INEQUALITY IN SEVERAL WELFARE INDICATORS OF CHINESE CITIES IN THE 1980s --- p.48
Chapter 4.1 --- Spatial inequality by single indicators --- p.48
Chapter 4.1.1 --- Income and Wealth --- p.48
Chapter 4.1.2 --- Living facilities --- p.63
Chapter 4.1.3 --- Education --- p.69
Chapter 4.1.4 --- Medical facilities --- p.72
Chapter 4.2 --- Summary --- p.76
Chapter 5. --- SPATIAL PATTERN OF SOCIAL WELL-BEING OF CHINESE CITIES IN THE 1980s --- p.78
Chapter 5.1 --- Spatial pattern of social well-being of individual citie --- p.78
Chapter 5.2 --- Results of different levels of aggregation of UOA --- p.105
Chapter 5.2.1 --- SWB by City-class level --- p.105
Chapter 5.2.2 --- SWB by provincial level --- p.107
Chapter 5.2.3 --- SWB by Economic regions level --- p.110
Chapter 5.3 --- Summary --- p.113
Chapter 6. --- POSSIBLE FACTORS AFFECTING INEQUALITY OF URBAN SWB AND IMPLICATIONS ON CHINA'S URBANIZATION POLICIES --- p.116
Chapter 6.1 --- Economic factors -- Influence of economic variables on urban SWB --- p.116
Chapter 6.2 --- Policy factor - the formation of the urban SWB pattern --- p.123
Chapter 6.2.1 --- Differentials of urban development due to biased priorities and conceptualization of cities --- p.124
Chapter 6.2.2 --- Urbanization policies -- population control polic --- p.132
Chapter 6.2.3 --- The population control policy and the welfare services provision --- p.139
Chapter 6.3 --- Examples -- the stories of two provincial capitals --- p.141
Chapter 6.3.1 --- Lanzhou --- p.142
Chapter 6.3.2 --- Kunming --- p.148
Chapter 6.4 --- Implication on China's urbanization policies --- p.151
Chapter 7. --- "SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH" --- p.158
Chapter 7.1 --- Summary of findings --- p.158
Chapter 7.2 --- Limitations of this study --- p.164
Chapter 7.3 --- Directions for further research --- p.167
Appendix
Bibliography

by Wong Kwok Choi.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1996.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-67).
Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1
Chapter 2. --- Rural Reforms in China after 1978 and the Regional Development of Rural Enterprises --- p.5
Chapter 2.1. --- Historical Background --- p.5
Chapter 2.2. --- China's Rural Enterprises and Regional Development --- p.9
Chapter 2.3. --- Description of the Regions Included in the Study --- p.13
Chapter 3. --- Rural Income Inequality in China after 1978: A Brief Literature Review --- p.21
Chapter 4. --- The Methodology and Data --- p.27
Chapter 4.1. --- The Generalized Entropy Measures --- p.27
Chapter 4.2. --- Inequality Decomposition by Factor Components --- p.29
Chapter 4.3. --- Extension of Shorrocks´ة Decomposition Rule --- p.33
Chapter 4.4. --- An Asymptotically Distribution-Free Test for Inequality Index and its Decomposed Components --- p.35
Chapter 4.5. --- The Data --- p.36
Chapter 5. --- Empirical Results and Policy Implications --- p.39
Chapter 5.1.a. --- "Rural Income Inequality Trends for Shanxi, Guangdong and Gansu Derived from County-Level Data" --- p.40
Chapter 5.l.b. --- "Factor Decomposition Analyses for Shanxi, Guangdong and Gansu Using County-Level Data" --- p.41
Chapter 5.1.c. --- "Between- and Within-Province Factor Decomposition Analysis Using Pooled County-Level Data for Shanxi, Guangdong and Gansu" --- p.47
Chapter 5.1.d. --- Between- and Within-County Factor Decomposition Analysis Using Township and Village Level Data for Shanxi --- p.49
Chapter 5.2. --- Discussion and Policy Implications --- p.53
Chapter 6. --- Summary --- p.58
REFERENCES --- p.63
APPENDIX
Chapter 1. --- Derivation of the Extended Shorrocks' Decomposition Rule --- p.68
Chapter 2. --- Derivation of the Asymptotic Distributions of Inequality Index and Its Decomposed Components --- p.69
Chapter 3. --- The Double Counting Problem of GVO and GVI --- p.84
Chapter 4. --- The Data Set --- p.87
TABLES
FIGURES

M. Tech. Business Administration
Provision of grants by financial institutions, government units and state owned agencies is of paramount importance in the development of entrepreneurs to the level of self-sustainability. Grants should be given on merit and also according to the needs of entrepreneurs; this can be established by means of feasibility studies done by entrepreneurs and effective funding models. Gert Sibande District is a municipality within the Mpumalanga Province which can be categorised as one of the areas that has previously disadvantaged individuals and most of the areas are rural, semi-rural and declared poverty pocket areas by the Provincial Government. This study was undertaken to analyse the impact of grants on the effective development of entrepreneurs and their sustainability in Gert Sibande District of Mpumalanga Province. The capability of the entrepreneurs and the roles of the support structures in addressing this problem were explored.

Poon Fung Ting.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-166).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.ii
ABSTRACT --- p.iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.vi
LIST OF TABLES --- p.ix
LIST OF FIGURES --- p.x
Chapter CHAPTER 1 --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1
Chapter 1.1 --- Research Questions --- p.1
Chapter 1.2 --- Research Objectives --- p.3
Chapter 1.3 --- Definitions --- p.4
Chapter 1.4 --- Research Design --- p.9
Chapter 1.5 --- Outline of the Thesis --- p.11
Chapter CHAPTER 2 --- BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY AND THE LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.13
Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.13
Chapter 2.2 --- Background of the Study --- p.15
Chapter 2.3 --- Literature Review --- p.28
Chapter 2.4 --- Summary --- p.38
Chapter CHAPTER 3 --- SPATIAL PATTERNS OF NON-HUKOU MIGRANTS IN THE PEARL RIVER DELTA --- p.41
Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.41
Chapter 3.2 --- Proportion of Non-hukou Migrants --- p.44
Chapter 3.3 --- Distribution of Migrants --- p.47
Chapter 3.4 --- Sources of Migrants --- p.50
Chapter 3.5 --- The PRD as a Destination --- p.56
Chapter 3.6 --- Gender Ratio of Non-hukou Migrants --- p.64
Chapter 3.7 --- Spatial Patterns and Correlation of Migration Indicators --- p.67
Chapter 3.8 --- Summary --- p.79
Chapter CHAPTER 4 --- ANALYZING THE DETERMINANTS OF NON-HUKOU POPULATION IN COUNTY-LEVEL AREAS --- p.83
Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.83
Chapter 4.2 --- Method --- p.84
Chapter 4.3 --- Variables --- p.86
Chapter 4.4 --- The Results --- p.90
Chapter 4.5 --- Summary --- p.102
Chapter CHAPTER 5 --- IMPACTS OF NON-HUKOU MIGRANTS AND THE POLICY RESPONSES --- p.104
Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.104
Chapter 5.2 --- The Trend of Non-hukou Migrants in PRD --- p.106
Chapter 5.3 --- Positive Impacts --- p.110
Chapter 5.4 --- Negative Impacts --- p.115
Chapter 5.5 --- Policy Responses --- p.121
Chapter 5.6 --- Summary --- p.139
Chapter CHAPTER 6 --- CONCLUSION --- p.142
Chapter 6.1 --- Non-hukou Migration in PRD --- p.142
Chapter 6.2 --- Policy Responses --- p.147
Chapter 6.3 --- Suggestions for Further Research --- p.150
REFERENCES --- p.152

对于转型期中国地方政府行为的研究，现有文献日益重视正式制度对官员行为的激励和约束作用：以GDP为标尺的相对绩效考核制度是改革开放后中国经济成功的决定因素，同时该正式制度也是地方政府忽视公共物品供给的重要原因。即使在考虑了正式制度及社会经济因素之后，本研究仍然观察到地方政府在公共物品供给水平上存在着显著的地区和时间差异。然而，对于此差异背后的决定因素，现有文献却考察不足。本文认为，非正式制度是造成该差异的原因。通过采用地区领导人籍贯作为非正式制度的代理并利用1990年至2010年的中国地级市数据，本研究系统检验了上述假设。本文发现，和来自外地的地方领导人相比，那些在其籍贯地任职的官员有更大的动力为本地区提供公共服务：本地籍贯的领导在基础教育、公共医疗和环境保护上的财政投入比重显著高于外地籍贯的领导。本研究同时发现，公共服务支出份额的增加是以基础设施建设支出的减少为代价的：本地籍贯官员对该项支出的投入比重显著低于外地籍贯官员。同时，利用省级数据及相同的模型设定，本文也发现非正式制度在省级行政单位依然发挥作用，但作用程度减弱。上述发现彰显出在一个正式制度主导的环境中，非正式制度依然发挥着显著的作用，并在一定程度上弥补了前者的不足。在实证发现的基础上，本研究又通过案例分析和访谈进一步考察了非正式制度发挥作用的机制。通过分析两个地级市的本地籍贯领导大力发展民生项目的行为以及普通民众对本地官员和外地官员的看法，本文详细说明了非正式制度对官员行为产生影响的机制，从而为实证分析揭示出的因果机制提供了证据。本研究认为，造成上述差异的原因在于：相比于外地官员，本地官员更多地被嵌入到当地的人际网络中，出于对本人及本家族在家乡声望的重视，他们会对民生项目有更多的投入。本文对非正式制度及两种制度互动的考察凸显出非民主国家内部官员行为丰富的制度动态。
Literature on local government behavior in transitional China has primarily examined the impact of formal institutions on the motivations of officials in promoting local economic growth. In particular, investigations focused on how the existing personnel management system provides a “yardstick competition among local officials and therefore guarantees the success of economic reform. Meanwhile, such formal institutions have similarly been studied for the crucial reason that local government ignores the provision of public goods. Nevertheless, even after controlling the influence of formal institutions and socio-economic factors, variations could still be observed on the level of efforts among local governments regarding the provision of public goods. However, these variations cannot be sufficiently explained by existing literature. This research, based on prefectural data in China in 1990-2010, aims to fill this gap through a systematic examination of the effects of informal institutions on local government behavior, especially the casual relationship between the hometown of officials and the provision of local public goods. This research, based on prefectural data in China in 19902010, aims to fill this gap by systematically examining the effects of informal institutions on local government behavior, especially the casual relationship between the hometown of officials and the provision of local public goods. This study finds that holding other variables equal, a native prefectural leader would significantly increase fiscal expenditure rates on basic education, public health, and environmental protection in his jurisdiction, compared with a leader with a different hometown. However, the increased expenditure on public goods impacts those on infrastructure construction, which tends to incur a lower expenditure rate from a local leader compared with that of an official from other prefectures. Meanwhile, using provincial data, this research determines that informal institutions influence the upper-level government, though the effects have weakened. These findings reveal that, in an environment dominated by formal institutions, informal institutions still influence the behavior of officials. In addition, to a certain extent, informal institutions could mitigate the negative effects of formal institutions on the behavior of officials. Based on empirical findings, I used two cases and several interviews with local people and officials to further investigate the mechanism of this influence from informal institutions. By analyzing the efforts of native leaders on promoting the provision of local public goods, I illustrate the mechanism on how the informal institution shapes the behavior of officials, thereby providing evidence for a casual causal relationship. I attribute such pattern to the constraints of local reputation imposed on native officials, who would be deeply embedded in local personnel networks and therefore focus on the evaluation from local people. Local reputation thus imposes additional constraints on the behavior of native officials, which serves as a kind of bottom-up accountability. By investigating the effects of informal institutions and the interaction of formal-informal institutions, this research would help deepen our understanding on the dynamics of institutions under nondemocratic regimes and enable more accurate predictions of political behavior.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
王芳.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-154).
Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Abstracts in Chinese and English.
Wang Fang.
Chapter 第1章 --- 引言 --- p.1
Chapter 第2章 --- 制度及官员行为：一个综述 --- p.10
Chapter 2.1 --- 制度 --- p.10
Chapter 2.1.1 --- 正式-非正式制度的划分标准 --- p.11
Chapter 2.1.2 --- 非正式制度发挥作用的机制 --- p.14
Chapter 2.2 --- 正式制度与官员行为 --- p.17
Chapter 2.2.1 --- 当代中国的人事管理制度 --- p.18
Chapter 2.2.2 --- 人事管理制度的影响 --- p.30
Chapter 2.2.3 --- 人事管理制度与公共物品供给 --- p.35
Chapter 2.3 --- 非正式制度与官员行为 --- p.37
Chapter 第3章 --- 地方政府公共物品供给 --- p.46
Chapter 3.1 --- 地方政府概况 --- p.46
Chapter 3.1.1 --- 各级政府的性质、地位和职能 --- p.47
Chapter 3.1.2 --- 地级市政府：历史沿革 --- p.51
Chapter 3.1.3 --- 地级市政府：决策过程 --- p.54
Chapter 3.2 --- 公共物品供给的法律规定及各级政府职责 --- p.62
Chapter 3.3 --- 经济学文献上的中国公共物品供给研究 --- p.72
Chapter 第4章 --- 籍贯：一个非正式制度 --- p.76
Chapter 4.1 --- 官员籍贯回避制度 --- p.76
Chapter 4.1.1 --- 帝制中国的避籍制度 --- p.77
Chapter 4.1.2 --- 当代中国的避籍制度 --- p.84
Chapter 4.2 --- 籍贯与官员行为 --- p.89
Chapter 第5章 --- 数据及实证分析 --- p.93
Chapter 5.1 --- 数据及模型 --- p.93
Chapter 5.2 --- 实证结果及讨论 --- p.103
Chapter 5.3 --- 非正式制度对省级政府行为的影响 --- p.109
Chapter 第6章 --- 因果机制：案例研究 --- p.114
Chapter 6.1 --- 案例分析 --- p.114
Chapter 6.1.1 --- 山东省东营市市委书记石军 --- p.115
Chapter 6.1.2 --- 甘肃省兰州市市委书记陈宝生 --- p.120
Chapter 6.2 --- 访谈资料 --- p.124
Chapter 6.2.1 --- 宁夏回族自治区固原市 --- p.125
Chapter 6.2.2 --- 江苏省南京市 --- p.127
Chapter 6.2.3 --- 内蒙古自治区兴安盟 --- p.129
Chapter 6.2.4 --- 浙江省绍兴市 --- p.131
Chapter 6.3 --- 本地籍贯的约束机制 --- p.133
Chapter 第7章 --- 结论 --- p.137
Chapter 7.1 --- 研究发现 --- p.137
Chapter 7.2 --- 本文贡献 --- p.139
附录 --- p.142
Chapter 附录一： --- 《党政领导干部任职回避暂行规定》 --- p.142
Chapter 附录二： --- 石军简历 --- p.144
Chapter 附录三： --- 陈宝生简历 --- p.145
参考文献 --- p.146
英文文献 --- p.146
中文文献 --- p.151
史书典籍 --- p.153
法律法规 --- p.153
媒体资源 --- p.154

Defence date: 8 October 1987
Examining board: Prof. Vincent Wright, Nuffield College ; Prof. Yves Morvan, University of Rennes ; Prof. Julien Savary, University of Toulouse ; Prof. Stephen Young, Strathclyde University
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digitised archive of EUI PhD theses completed between 2013 and 2017

Defence date: 23 October 2000
Examining Board: Adrienne Héritier, MPP-RdG, Bonn (supervisor) ; Jacques Ziller, EUI ; Michael Keating, EUI ; Les Metcalfe, EIPA, Maastricht
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digitised archive of EUI PhD theses completed between 2013 and 2017
How can we approach the Commission's role as co-manager of policy implementation? Why should we expect the Commission to be pulled into domestic policy execution and to accumulate something like an implementation management capacity? How should we conceptualise the Commission's linkage with post-decision management issues? Finally, how does the Commission's involvement in the application of EU policies, if any, significantly change everything? Such questions are answered in this study, which is concerned with what may be called the implementation management capacity of the European Commission. Simply put, this is the role the Commission plays in the implementation of large-scale European spending programmes. While it is true that the Commission's predominant prerogatives are to draft legislation and facilitate bargaining, it also has a role in post-decision policy management. This role is of increasing importance for the emerging governance of the European Union.