Special Issue of Management Decision: Alleviating Poverty Through Trade
Guest Edited by: Rocky Dwyer and David Lamond
In his Preface to the United Nations World Economic and Social Survey 2006, the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, observed:
"Our world is richer than ever before, but it is also marked by enormous inequalities, both within and between countries. The average annual income of someone living in the world’s richest country, Luxembourg, is more than one hundred times larger than that of the average citizen of Sierra Leone, one of the world’s poorest. Such big differences in living standards should be a matter of great concern, because they reflect serious inequalities in life opportunities."
As academics, researchers, and business professionals, what can we do about this state of affairs? Can business contribute? Should it? How can we help those nations in need develop sustainable growth, and ensure their rewards are used appropriately? These are all questions that many have tried to answer, and few have succeeded. The authors featured in this special issue attempt to offer some alternative views on how business can contribute to the fight to make poverty history.
Management Decision, in conjunction with the International Trade Centre (ITC), will publish a special issue of selected papers from the ITC 2006 Executive Forum, together with a limited number of papers submitted independently for consideration for this issue. The special issue will appear under the title of "CSR: Making Trade Work for the Poor". It is scheduled for Volume 45, Issue 8 and will appear in September 2007, to coincide with the 2007 ITC Executive Forum, now called World Export Development Forum. This special issue is being Guest Edited by David Lamond and Rocky Dwyer. The International Trade Centre is the joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization for business aspects of trade development.
Contents
Managing the Linkage Between Export Development & Poverty Reduction: an Effective Framework
Skae, Owen and Barclay, Brian
In the world’s quest to eradicate poverty, the means to get there are not fully understood, nor the means to achieve them universally accepted. However, most would agree that the link between the trade and development in general and exports and poverty reduction in particular needs to be strengthened and its effects better understood.
Is South-South Trade the Answer to Bringing the Poor into the Export Process ?
Agatiello, Osvaldo
South-South trade expansion is a market-driven development – mostly resulting from the widespread operation of international supply chains of the South – that may be enhanced by government intervention but seldom spearheaded by it in the long run. Naturally, not all regions, countries, products and services fair equally within this context...
The “Great Game” evolves & opportunities beckon
Kidd, John B
The region we have defined as Central Asia is a relatively young artefact: its lands were the subject of “The Great Game”. Their states, especially Afghanistan, were like ping-pong balls passing from ownership by the Tsarist Russia Empire to the British Empire and back again. The discussions and frequent local invasions during the 19th century continued into the 20th century, and indeed even today the games apparently continue without much concern for the indigenous peoples...
Company and Society: The case of the ‘Caras Do Brasil’ (Faces of Brazil) Program as Leverage for Sustainable Development
Barin Cruz, Luciano, Pedrozo, Eugenio Avila, Quilici, Rosangela Bacima And Queiroz, Beatriz
Inspired by a framework about the insertion of sustainable development in business strategy proposed by Steurer et al, this article intends to describe the Caras do Brasil (Faces of Brazil) Program, highlighting its characteristics and how these can contribute to a new interpretation of the framework initially proposed.
Trade from the Ground Up: A Case Study of a Grass Roots NGO Using Agricultural Programs to Generate Economic Viability in Developing Countries.
Duke, Allison And Long, Charla
This study used Healing Hands International as an example of an NGO that has implemented a program to help impoverished communities move out of famine and poverty and into self-sustenance and economic viability. The HHI program starts from the ground up: agricultural training in survival gardening, which leads to small farm production, then to larger cooperatives.
Transaction Costs in Group Microcredit in India
Shankar, Savita
Existing literature indicates that transaction costs are a major contributor to high interest rates on microcredit loans. The purpose of the study is to examine the composition of transaction costs so as to be able to draw implications on how lending rates in microcredit could be reduced in a sustainable manner.
Measuring & Evaluating Progress: Some Thoughts on Fighting Poverty
Dwyer, R
The intention of this paper is to identify some current best practices and suggest a model with potential indicators, which could be utilized to measure incremental results and impacts in relation to human development issues that the authors contend is the essential next step if the power and resources of stakeholders are to be harnessed in the fight against poverty while enabling organizations to implement new ways of approaching measurement effectiveness and accountability in a strategic and comprehensive manner.
The South African poor white problem in the early 20th century: Lessons for poverty today
Fourie, Johan
There is little question that black poverty today is of a much greater magnitude and severity than white poverty at the start of the previous century. Although both periods of poverty received widespread political, social and economic attention, the poor white problem seems to have been mostly a case of an increase in relative poverty. This article offers three suggestions for South Africa to help reduce the levels of black poverty, and argues that an understanding of the factors that contributed to the alleviation of white poverty is of critical relevance for modern poverty strategies.
The Elephant in the Room: Gender and Export-Led Poverty Reduction
Thierry, Astrid Ruiz
The purpose of this paper is to explore the theoretical underpinnings and practical implications of gender-sensitizing trade strategies aimed at export-led poverty reduction, where capitalizing on market-oriented structures and optimizing existing resources become the drivers for making trade work efficiently and equitably.
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Management Decision was founded in 1963 at the time of the first wave of growth and development of business schools in the Western world, and has tracked thought on strategy, policy and decision making through that time. Considered by many to be the best publication in its field, Management Decision consistently offers thoughtful and provocative insights into current management practice. The journal has recently been accepted for inclusion in the Social Science Citation Index (ISI).
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