First published in 1961, this reissue examines the contemporary economic problems of Mauritius alongside those social problems which have a bearing on economic development. As a small and isolated economy, marked by a very rapid rate of contemporary population growth, by an extreme concentration on a single product, and by a great diversity of racial, religious and linguistic groups within the population, Mauritius is a representative microcosm of the economic problems of a large part of the developing world. The book considers the impact of a lower birth rate, emigration and economic development upon the economy of Mauritius, examining in detail the labour market, the prospects for agricultural and industrial development, the financial system and the education system.
First published in 1961, this reissue examines the contemporary economic problems of Mauritius alongside those social problems which have a bearing on economic development. As a small and isolated economy, marked by a very rapid rate of contemporary population growth, by an extreme concentration on a single product, and by a great diversity of racial, religious and linguistic groups within the population, Mauritius is a representative microcosm of the economic problems of a large part of the developing world. The book considers the impact of a lower birth rate, emigration and economic development upon the economy of Mauritius, examining in detail the labour market, the prospects for agricultural and industrial development, the financial system and the education system.
This valuable book summarizes recent research by experts from both the natural and social sciences on the effects of population growth on land use. It is a useful introduction to a field in which little quantitative research has been conducted and in which there is a great deal of public controversy. The book includes case studies of African, Asian, and Latin American countries that demonstrate the varied effects of population growth on land use. Several general chapters address the following timely questions: What is meant by land use change? Why are ecological research and population studies so different? What are the implications for sustainable growth in agricultural production? Although much work remains to be done in quantifying the causal connections between demographic and land use changes, this book provides important insights into those connections, and it should stimulate more work in this area.
A work of exceptional ambition by the founder of modern economic sociology, this first full account of Mark Granovetter’s ideas stresses that the economy is not a sphere separate from other human activities but is deeply embedded in social relations and subject to the same emotions, ideas, and constraints as religion, science, politics, or law.
Mauritius’s economic performance has been called “the Mauritian miracle” and the “success of Africa” (Romer, 1992; Frankel, 2010; Stiglitz, 2011), despite difficult initial conditions that led a Nobel Prize Winner in economics to predict stagnation (Meade, 1961). We use growth accounting to analyze the sources of past growth and project potential ranges of growth through 2033. Growth averaged 41⁄2 percent over the past 20 years. Our baseline suggests future growth rates around 31⁄4 percent, but growth could reach 4-5 percent with strong pro-active policies including (i) improving investment and savings rates; (ii) improving the efficiency of social spending and public enterprise reforms; (iii) investment in education and education reforms; (iii) labor market reforms; and (iv) further measures to reduce bottlenecks and increase productivity. With policies capable of generating 5 percent growth, Mauritius could reach high-income status in 2021, 4 years earlier than under the baseline.
The volume Environmental Change and African Societies contributes to current debates on global climate change from the perspectives of the social sciences and the humanities. It charts past and present environmental change in different African settings and also discusses policies and scenarios for the future. The first section, "Ideas", enquires into local perceptions of the environment, followed by contributions on historical cases of environmental change and state regulation. The section "Present" addresses decision-making and agenda-setting processes related to current representations and/or predicted effects of climate change. The section "Prospects" is concerned with contemporary African megatrends. The authors move across different scales of investigation, from locally-grounded ethnographic analyses to discussions on continental trends and international policy. Contributors are: Daniel Callo-Concha, Joy Clancy, Manfred Denich, Sara de Wit, Ton Dietz, Irit Eguavoen, Ben Fanstone, Ingo Haltermann, Laura Jeffrey, Emmanuel Kreike, Vimbai Kwashirai, James C. McCann, Bertrand F. Nero, Jonas Ø. Nielsen, Erick G. Tambo, Julia Tischler.
Using data from three household surveys, we review whether growth in Mauritius was inclusive and discuss the incidence of public expenditures and taxes. Generally, Mauritius enjoys an even income distribution and low rates of poverty. Nevertheless, over the 2000s, despite overall progress, the benefits of growth appear to have become more skewed. Employment income is the main contributor to inequality in Mauritius. Social protection expenditures reduce poverty and inequality, but could be better targeted, particularly for pensions. Income taxes are progressive, though given their small relative weight they have a negligible impact on income distribution. The VAT appears relatively progressive compared to other developing countries, although its impact on the overall distribution is also small. With better targeting of the sizable social spending, significant further progress in poverty alleviation could be achieved.
Seventeen in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2020 measures aspects of regulation affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity.
Maps capture data expressing the economic complexity of countries from Albania to Zimbabwe, offering current economic measures and as well as a guide to achieving prosperity Why do some countries grow and others do not? The authors of The Atlas of Economic Complexity offer readers an explanation based on "Economic Complexity," a measure of a society's productive knowledge. Prosperous societies are those that have the knowledge to make a larger variety of more complex products. The Atlas of Economic Complexity attempts to measure the amount of productive knowledge countries hold and how they can move to accumulate more of it by making more complex products. Through the graphical representation of the "Product Space," the authors are able to identify each country's "adjacent possible," or potential new products, making it easier to find paths to economic diversification and growth. In addition, they argue that a country's economic complexity and its position in the product space are better predictors of economic growth than many other well-known development indicators, including measures of competitiveness, governance, finance, and schooling. Using innovative visualizations, the book locates each country in the product space, provides complexity and growth potential rankings for 128 countries, and offers individual country pages with detailed information about a country's current capabilities and its diversification options. The maps and visualizations included in the Atlas can be used to find more viable paths to greater productive knowledge and prosperity.
'Drawing on the development of economic sociology over the past 40 years, this book brings together leading scholars to explore the relationship between social institutions on economic processes. Inspired in particular by the innovative and creative dimensions of Colin Crouch's work, they signpost directions for future research. It will be an important reader for international scholars exploring the unfolding dimensions of contemporary relations in economy and society.' Jacqueline O'Reilly, University of Brighton Business School, UK 'Improving our understanding of how economy and society interrelate in Europe is of paramount importance. The rigorous and thought-provoking analyses about the interaction between markets and the institutions of society contained in this book undoubtedly represent an excellent example of how this improvement can be achieved, especially in these times of crisis.' Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, London School of Economics, UK 'This book offers a refreshing account of the deep changes occurring over recent years in the relationship between economy and society in Europe. This is of course a classical theme since Max Weber's work, but the social institutions which shape economic performance have profoundly evolved, as have the analytical categories used to understand them. The contributions in this volume provide a broad and interesting perspective, dealing with issues as varied as industrial relations, welfare regimes, families and the labour market, universities, local governance and many others. In the wake of the financial crisis, the major theories on the role of such institutions are found partly unsatisfactory, as the boundaries between economy and society are constantly shifting. Everyone interested in improving our analytical tools to understand the direction of change in Europe should welcome this book.' Marino Regini, University of Milan, Italy While an economy is always 'embedded' in society, the relationship between the two is undergoing profound changes in Europe, resulting in widespread instability which is emphasised by the current crisis. This book analyses these changes, and in particular pressures of intensifying international competition, globalization and financialization within Europe. Combining the perspectives of economic sociology, political economy and political science, the expert contributors offer an in-depth, multidisciplinary insight to the functioning of a number of institutional arenas around which European economies and societies are organized. Areas explored include the state and public policy at European national and regional level, the welfare state, industrial relations systems, education systems and the family. This challenging and thought provoking book will be of great interest to a wide-ranging audience across a number of disciplines, including European studies, political science, comparative political economy, economic sociology, industrial relations and social policy.
