Search

The rise of Brazil, Russia, India, and China will shape global resource use, the location of market demand and international institutions and interdependencies in the decade to come. In this paper we argue that an understanding of the historical and institutional context of the BRICs, and the potential shift towards a multi-polar world is important for developing curricula and content in international business courses in the future. Implications for international business theory and teaching are discussed. (Contains 4 tables.)

As documented in this special issue, all over the world hard choices must be made in education, government, business, and medicine. Intelligence tests, used intelligently and with appropriate ethical safeguards, are one tool of many that help make hard choices work out well, or at least better than the next-best alternative (Kaufman, Raiford, & Coalson, 2016). The reliability of intelligence tests is far from perfect. Complaining about IQ tests is the privilege of those who have them. It is probably no accident that intelligence tests were invented in France, not long after a series of reforms from 1881 to 1901 made education free and compulsory for all children (Harrigan, 2001). It is likewise probably not an accident that intelligence testing was then adopted most enthusiastically in the world's wealthiest countries in the midst of similar attempts to raise educational standards. Among the countries featured in this special issue, Greece, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States achieved near-universal education decades ago; Brazil, India, Mexico, Oman, and Peru have done so only within the last 15 years. Once a government takes on the responsibility of educating all of its citizens and then successfully achieves near-universal school attendance, it is confronted with the magnitude of population-wide individual differences in academic aptitude. The most pressing concern has to do with vulnerable children with intellectual disabilities. It is true that every child can learn, but not every child learns best in regular education. In this commentary, the author addresses the relation between universal education and the need for intelligence testing. The article goes on to compare U.S. developments in intelligence testing with those in Oman, Greece, India, Japan, Brazil, Peru, and the Netherlands. It concludes with three themes that emerged among the articles in this issue.

This paper analyses the student decision-making model for international postgraduate (PG) students with a concentration on consumer service marketing principles. Using a grounded theory approach and exploratory techniques (focus groups), it investigates qualitatively why the UK is the destination choice, the rationale for the programme of study and the feelings of these students as they have progressed throughout the whole of the service consumption period. The longitudinal study incorporated focus groups with a sample size of 35 MBA students with each participant contributing four times over an eighteen months period and seven sets of focus groups were held making a total of 28 focus group sessions. Results found that uncertainty and shock in the initial periods were followed by more positive experiences later in the consumption process. Being a PG student can be challenging as tutors presume there is a prior awareness of the UK Higher Education learning environment and this was certainly not the case. Consequently students had felt intimidated earlier on but as the consumption process progressed and they started to experience their modules and learn, their confidence grew, because they had found their voice.

Existing literatures have discussed both ethical issues in visual research with young people, and the problems associated with applying 'universal' ethical guidelines across varied cultural contexts. There has been little consideration, however, of specific issues raised in projects where visual research is being conducted with young people simultaneously in multiple national contexts. This paper contributes to knowledge in this area. We reflect on our experiences of planning and conducting the International CYCLES project involving photo elicitation with young people in Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK. While some issues such as varying access to technology for taking and sharing photos and diverse cultural sensitivities around the use of photography were anticipated in advance, others were more unexpected. Balancing the need for methods to be appropriate, ethical and feasible within each setting with the desire for sufficient consistency across the project is challenging. We argue that an 'ethics in context' approach and an attitude of 'methodological immaturity' is critical in international visual research projects with young people.

International cooperation and collaborations played an important role in the economic and educational development of several countries. In the 1950s and 1960s external aid was an important modality to establish cooperation between countries, especially between developing and developed countries. Cross-border activities in higher education used to take place mostly through cooperation projects and academic exchange programmes. The political returns to aid declined during the post-cold war period. Therefore, incentives to extend aid declined and markets and trade became more accepted modes of cooperation and collaboration in all sectors including education. International collaborations of today are very often motivated by economic incentives and are mediated through markets. The franchising and twinning arrangements, establishment of branch campuses, and promotion of cross-border student mobility are examples of market-based collaborative efforts in higher education. This paper discusses Indian cooperation and collaborations with foreign institutions focusing also on such efforts among the BRICS countries. It argues that the collaboration efforts among the BRICS countries may be more influenced by government-to-government efforts than mediated by markets. The paper shows that the BRICS countries at present are more engaged in cooperation and collaborations in higher education with developed countries. Collaborations among the BRICS countries are rather limited and are still at the nascent stages. Therefore, government initiatives and public action are needed at this stage to promote cooperation and expand collaboration in higher education among BRICS countries.

Growth is a concept of particular interest for economic discourse. This paper sets out to explore a small corpus of economic growth, which consists of articles from "The Economist". The corpus software used in this study is a web-based tool Wmatrix, an automatic tagging software able to assign semantic field (domain) tags, and to permit the extraction of key words and key semantic domains by applying the keyness calculation to tag frequency lists. The results show that at 99% confidence (or p < 0.01), the cut-off of 6.63 (log likelihood value) indicates that there are 1051 positive keywords (including multiword expressions) and 80 key semantic domains generated from the corpus. It is evident that BRICs or the emerging economies/markets, in particular China and India, are a big concern regarding economic growth over the past years. A number of examples of possible ways forward in teaching methodology are presented.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the possibilities and potential barriers on the path of internationalization of the educational services market through development of the system of remote education. Design/methodology/approach: In order to determine the influence of development of the system of remote education on the process of internationalization of the educational services market, the authors use the method of regression analysis. A regression curve is built, containing the model of paired linear regression and the value of determination coefficient. The research object is the market of higher educational services -- as it is subject to internationalization and distribution of remote education. The research is performed based on the 2017 data by the example of countries from various regions of the world that show different rates and levels of socio-economic development but that achieved the largest success in development of the system of remote education -- the USA, the UK, Brazil, China, South Korea, Italy, Germany, India, Malaysia, Australia, South Africa and Russia. Due to the absence of the official international statistics on the issue of internationalization of the educational services market, the proprietary method is used for determining its level. Findings: It is concluded that remote education has a slight influence on the process of internationalization of the educational services market in the countries of the world, though it has large potential in the sphere of stimulation of internationalization of the educational services market, as it allows providing educational services of equal quality and equal cost for domestic and foreign students. Originality/value: The developed and presented model of managing the development of the remote education system of a modern university in the interests of stimulating internationalization of the educational services market allows overcoming these barriers and opening the existing potential of remote education in the sphere of stimulation of internationalization of the educational services market.

Purpose: Considerable debate since the global financial crisis has been evident concerning the role of business schools. This article aims to outline the authors' research on their role. Design/methodology/approach: The paper begins with an overview of the significant literature highlighting the current debates impacting on business schools and their leaders. From this the authors argue that the most significant challenge is the role business schools should play in the resolution of urgent global issues. The paper then details and analyses the research and provides recommendations. Findings: The main finding from the research was that the leaders of participating business schools did not convey the impression that steering business toward helping humanity achieve a sustainable future and tackling urgent global issues was seen by them as one of their main current or future roles. Research limitations/implications: Funding constraints and the desire to make a timely contribution to the debate mean that this research is limited in scale. It is therefore viewed as a scoping study, paving the way for more detailed investigation and analysis, and recommendations for further research are provided. Originality/value: The authors argue that, rather than make the same mistakes as the West, BRIC economies and related business school leaders should be looking for an alternative strategy that would lead to a just, sustainable and fulfilling human presence on the planet. The authors also suggest that Type 1 European business schools are well advised to focus their limited resources locally but should be aware of global issues and bear them in mind in their actions. (Contains 2 tables.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to systematically examine and draw attention to the potential benefits of solar power generation for access to and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) aimed at sustainable development in emerging economies. Design/methodology/approach: Electricity plays a crucial role in the development and use of ICT and in the process of striving to achieve sustainable development in emerging economies. It has been shown that electrical energy is intrinsically linked to economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainable development. An extensive analysis of the major contribution of solar electricity in various sectors such as economic, social and environmental benefits is provided. The paper concludes with a discussion on current status of solar electricity in major emerging economies, their planning policies and strategies for promoting solar power generation for increased access to ICT by people and sustainable development of society. Findings: The demand for electricity in residential, commercial and industrial sectors in developing countries (emerging economies) is likely to increase, both as a result of increase in population and expanding industrialization. It remains amongst others, a growing challenge for these nations to obtain and put in place reliable and secured electricity supplies, for accessing ICT and to work towards achieving sustainability. The important issues that must be considered and addressed for the successful implementation of solar electricity programs for sustainability and wellbeing in developing nations are pointed out. Practical implications: The paper shows that the problems of lack of qualified solar technicians and established Photovoltaic (PV) markets and business modes, renewable (solar) energy education have to be addressed. Other issues include appreciation of solar electricity as one of the major energy component, lowering initial cost of the PV technology, availability of finance mechanisms for customers, import tax exemption and regarding electricity as one of the basic needs like food, shelter and clothing. Overhaul of existing systems needs to take place in order to provide the means to deal with some of these issues. Originality/value: Availability of power remains crucial for development in emerging markets. Solar electricity is of major interest for the energy sector in developing or emerging economies because it offers the possibility of generating renewable electricity using sunlight: a resource that is widely and freely available in most, if not all, developing countries. This paper raises awareness about this in a unique way and identifies problems faced by the sectors. To address some of these challenges without compromising the goal of sustainability and development, it is important that low carbon emitting electrical energy sources such as solar electricity are given high priorities by policy makers, industries and research and development institutions in emerging countries. Some innovative suggestions are provided for achieving this. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

The paper examines if there has been an increase in the attention paid to social and environmental issues (SEI) in accounting curricula. Using schools participating in the Aspen Institute's Beyond Grey Pinstripes (BGP) program, we measure the increase in the number of accounting courses incorporating SEI across the biennial application years of 2005, 2007 and 2009. We also examine the percentage of SEI coverage in accounting courses between 2007 and 2009. Our findings suggest that there was not an appreciable increase in the number of accounting courses dealing with SEI between 2005 and 2007, but that the increase was significant during the period from 2007 to 2009. Further, the increase over the four-year period from 2005 to 2009 was also significant. In addition, there is a significant increase in the percentage of SEI coverage in accounting courses between 2007 and 2009. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Many arguments in favour of school voucher programs are based upon libertarian free agency principles. Viewed at the organizational level, allowing persons to exercise choice in education would seem to offer incentives for all educational organizations within that framework to improve overall product quality and thus more effectively obtain the education good for both individual and society. However, analysis from the transcending institutional level shows that "supra"-organizational forces will progressively reduce choice and quality as both private and public organizations relinquish their distinctive curricula and philosophies as a "de facto" requirement for participation within the broader educational institution or "market". Acknowledging the costs of, and designing policy to maintain, particular information are both essential to effectively producing the education good within a competitive institutional structure. (Contains 1 note.)

This paper aims to map the landscape of higher education transformation in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations while exploring the status of BRICS nations in some of the global university rankings and analysing their potential to give new meaning to notions such as excellent and world-class universities. The study provides different theoretical perspectives about global university ranking and about the notion of "world-class/excellence." Based on the literature exploration, the gathered data from some of the global university ranking agencies and the critical reflections from purposefully selected respondents, it is considered that the quest for world-class universities is articulated in several public policy documents of BRICS nations. While some attempts to achieve this quest vary (e.g. from China's strong effort to India's least effort), BRICS nations, like many other nations, seem to evolve towards this ambition, as universities have become the centre point of the development agenda. The ability of BRICS nations to provide new meaning to "world-class/excellence" notions, although not clear, cannot be disputed given the indications that the BRICS bloc is emerging as an alternative economic force and the role higher education is playing in this emergence.

The industrial revolution can be termed as the catalyst of human growth. The establishment of various industries has been detrimental to the meteoric rise of any commodity, product or service across the world. Industries fuel the economy of countries and form the main constituent of their GDP. Industries not only generate the production of the market ready material but also generate the employment for the citizens of the country, which drives multiple factors of any country progress. In order to keep the industries thriving, we need commendable industrial engineers who have not only the skills of a technician but also as a manager to run the plant successful. Indian Government initiative "Make in India" to establish the industries in India, will not be successful without the capable Industrial Engineers. This paper focuses on the engineering education structure of India with regard to Industrial Engineering from diploma level to post doctoral level and assesses how our education system is incubating future industrial engineers. We have made some suggestions why this engineering discipline should be offered as a regular engineering discipline in India and highlighted the contribution of the Indian government to this discipline. We have given a brief view on the comparative status of industrial engineering with other countries and provided the suggestions to improve the industrial engineering education in India. Thus, Industrial Engineering plays a pivotal role in the field of engineering for the proper development of industries in any nation. Indian government's initiatives in laying the framework of the industries for those commodities, which India is purchasing from the other parts of the world since independence is praiseworthy. These production plants across the country will see the advantage in the manufacturing and production engineering. Present scenario of industrial engineering education seems in its premature stages in India. With a mere number of colleges offering this stream in undergraduate studies leaves a chasm to be filled promptly in near future. Although the platform set in India regarding industries at present gives a kick start for employment and research opportunities in Industrial Engineering.

Purpose: This study aims to find evidence of the HEdPERF scale use for measuring the perceived service quality from the perspective of students in higher education institutions (HEIs) worldwide. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic review of the literature was conducted to find evidence of the scale use in articles published between January 2005 and May 2017, according to databases Emerald, SciELO, Scopus, Web of Science, and Wiley Online Library. The articles were searched on the databases on Jun 17, 2017 and at the end of the selection of articles, were kept 12 distinct documents. Findings: The articles found pointed towards classic SERVQUAL and SERVPERF scales as being well substantiated for measuring perceived service quality. The HEdPERF scale was applied in articles about perceived service quality in HEI in studies in Brazil, China, Croatia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Sri Lanka and Turkey. Originality/value: The paper attempts to gather some articles on the measurement of service quality in higher education institutions, by the HEdPERF scale use. This study indicates that SERVPERF scale can also be an appropriate model to measure service quality in HEI context, that is, it is not yet possible to defend a single instrument as a standard for this purpose.

International students have continued to be the focus of simplistic stereotyping in media discourse where they are frequently identified as one of the forces behind declining academic standards in Australian universities. Their English language skills, in particular, have continued to be the focus of debate both in the mainstream media and in higher education research and policy. It is argued in this paper, however, that such debates do not sufficiently acknowledge the moral and affective complexity of the so-called "English problem" amongst international students in Australian universities. Drawing from an analysis of small group interviews with international students, domestic students and university staff, the beliefs and experiences of various parties about the English language skills of international students are examined. A key finding from this analysis is that the English language skills of international students, and their concomitant interactions with others, can be the object of both complaints and troubles talk. These complaints or troubles can be either ratified or resisted by those participants. The difficulties international students may experience in using English thus have complex moral and affective consequences. The way in which the so-called English problem in Australian universities is generally couched as one of objective, measurable deficiency on the part of international students arguably neglects the moral and affective complexity of the difficulties facing international students. This neglect leads, in turn, to an impoverished understanding of the English language capabilities of international students.

Purpose: This paper aims to describe, explain and evaluate a graduate education program that provides international project experiences and builds competencies related to collaborative problem-solving, cultural capacity to work globally and sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative analysis of survey data from 28 students supplemented by observation and interviews conducted before, during and after a multi-week project and a ten-day trip to China in 2014. Supplemental data and contextual information were provided by a series of related projects and trips led by the authors in other cultural contexts including Brazil, China, India, South Africa and Turkey. Findings: Six pedagogic practices were perceived as effective by students and generate learning outcomes desired by faculty: authentic problems, learning cycles, shared inquiry, transdisciplinarity, exploration and engagement. Practical implications: The pedagogy was effective, especially the engagement pedagogy in which students interviewed peers, professionals, residents and others in China. Originality/value: These learning outcomes and pedagogies have been studied before, but not in this particular combination or as applied to a mix of business, non-governmental organization and government mid-career professionals seeking professional development in leadership for sustainable development.

Most governments around the world are fostering innovation and entrepreneurial systems with a prominent role for venture capital (VC) support policies. However, the debate about the role and impact of VC support policies is still focused on the countries of the Global North. In this context, this paper seeks to describe and analyse the role that the state has played in the emergence and development of the VC industry in India and Brazil, two of the biggest economies of the Global South. We adopt a systemic and evolutionary perspective under the general context of a renewed role for the state in financing innovation. We offer interesting questions and implications to discuss the challenges, scale and impact that could be expected from VC industry support policies in the Global South countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because higher education serves both public and private interests, the way it is conceived and financed is contested politically, appearing in different forms in different societies. What is public and private in education is a political--social construct, subject to various political forces, primarily interpreted through the prism of the state. Mediated through the state, this construct can change over time as the economic and social context of higher education changes. In this paper, we analyze through the state's financing of higher education how it changes as a public/private good and the forces that impinge on states to influence such changes. To illustrate our arguments, we discuss trends in higher education financing in the BRIC countries--Brazil, Russia, India, and China. We show that in addition to increased privatization of higher education financing, BRIC states are increasingly differentiating the financing of elite and non-elite institutions.

Developing nations including Bangladesh are significantly lagging behind the millennium development target due to the lack of science, technology and engineering education. Bangladesh as a least developing country has only 44 engineers per million people. Its technological education and gross domestic product growth are not collinear. Although limited progress was made in humanities, basic sciences, agriculture and medical sciences, a vast gap is left in technical and engineering education. This paper describes the present condition of engineering education in the country and explores ways to improve engineering education in order to meet the national as well as global skills demand. (Contains 3 tables and 7 figures.)

The Aplusix system has been designed for helping students to learn algebra. Its capacity to tell the students whether their calculations are correct or not, to provide families of exercises of a chosen level, and to give scores after tests allows this system to be used in the regular functioning of the class. Its capacity to record the students' actions and to replay the students' work is a valuable feature for the researcher in mathematics education. In this paper, we describe four experiments conducted in four different countries with different goals: remediation piloted by researchers in Italy; remediation integrated in the regular functioning of classes in Brazil, collaborative learning in India, and learning and use during the entire school year in France. (Contains 4 tables and 5 figures.)

In this paper, a model is set forth relating (a) overall life satisfaction of children to children's values and (b) children's values to parents' values. Using confirmatory factor analysis models three dimensions of values (materialistic values, capacities and knowledge values and interpersonal relationship values) consistently emerged in 5 countries (Brazil, South Africa, Norway, Spain and India) for both parents and children. There was a considerable amount of missing data, mainly because the parent's questionnaire was often not returned. Full information maximum likelihood estimators with missing data were thus used. Multiple-group analyses were next performed to assess factor invariance of the three value dimensions across the live countries for both parents and children. This implies testing the equality of factor loadings and intercepts across groups. This equality is required to ensure that factors have the same interpretation in all groups, which is necessary when comparing any aspect of the factor distribution across groups. The only two countries for which the interpretation of value dimensions was invariant for both parents and children were Brazil and Spain. The results of other countries could thus not be compared. Multiple-group structural equation models revealed that both parents and children scored higher on most values in Brazil than in Spain. In both countries, each child value dimension was only significantly predicted by the same value dimension of the parents. R-squares were in the 4-12% range and slightly higher in Brazil. The only value dimension that had some effect on overall life satisfaction was capacities and knowledge, which was so in both countries.

This paper aimed to analyze how Brazil and India faced the challenge of a large amount of personal information being exchanged, stored, and analyzed. The relevance lies in the fact that data protection and privacy were concepts discussed almost everywhere in the world since the era of Big Data highlighted the challenge of protecting these fundamental rights. Therefore, the research problem was to analyze to what extent these countries effectively faced the challenge presented. The methodology used was exploratory and hypothetical-deductive. As a result, it was identified that the rights to privacy and personal data were not absolute and had to be balanced with other social interests, such as public security, law enforcement, and freedom of expression. It was concluded that inspired by international standards on the subject, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union, both countries had legislative protection over these rights and a framework to address them. The legislation provided fundamental principles, but only time will show their effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This group of articles discusses a variety of studies related to social security and retirement benefits. These studies are related to both developing and developed nations and are also concerned with studying work conditions and government role in administering a democratic social security system. (SSH)

This series of articles presents a variety of studies related to employment opportunities for the disabled, stimulating economy and employment, and new job creation. These studies are related to both developed and developing countries and are also concerned with the international division of labor. (SSH)

This series of articles cites a variety of sources and synthesizes a number of studies on the working conditions and the welfare of workers from several countries. (SSH)

Inequality refers to the extent to which income is evenly distributed across a population (IMF, 2022). The World Inequality Report (WIR, 2022) reveals the latest trends in global income inequality. It shows that the richest 10% of the global population currently earns 52% of global income, while the poorest half of the population takes 8.5% of it. In emerging market economies, indications are that income inequality is rising; sometimes accompanied by accelerating economic growth. Reports reveal that Brazil's six richest individuals command the same wealth associated with the poorest 50% of the population, or about 100 million people. The World Inequality Report (2021) reveals India as a poor and unequal country, with the bottom half of the population earning only 13% of the nation's income, while the top 10% controls 57% by 2021. In South Africa, the IMF (2020) acknowledges that the nation's inequality has remained at high levels, perhaps the highest in the world. This is characterized by a highly skewed income distribution pattern, with the top 20% of the population controlling 68% of national income. These developments hold grave implications for emerging markets, particularly their ability to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The main objective of this paper is to explore income inequality in emerging market economies, with a multi-country study of Brazil, India and South Africa. The methodological approach to the study involves both qualitative and quantitative analytical techniques. It relies on secondary data in publications from various sources, complemented by interviews of stakeholders in the study areas. Findings reveal the income inequality is undermining economic growth and development in emerging markets, fueling conflicts and triggering migration in some countries. The paper presents recommendations, underpinned by progressive taxation, social safety nets, gender equality, development of social services, and leveraging economic and financial incentives for labour-intensive industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the consequences of the hugely successful expansion of South-South Cooperation since the new millennium. For all the achievements, variations and change over the 1950s-late 1990s, 'SSC 1.0' was characterised by relative neglect within the 'international' development community, and by many orthodox and critical scholars. In the chronological schema of the paper, 'SSC 2.0' refers to the period of remarkable expansion from the early 2000s to the present. The emergence of 'SSC 3.0', I suggest, is currently revealed by a discernible set of shifts driven in large part by the expansionary successes of SSC 2.0, as well as other turns in the global political economy. Three contemporary trends are identified: cooperation narratives that are increasingly 'muscular', nationalistic and pragmatic; difficulties sustaining claims to 'non-interference' in partner countries; and the further erosion of ideational and operational distinctiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the role of the BASIC countries — Brazil, South Africa, India, and China — in UN climate change negotiations. The paper explores the formation and evolution of the group, and focuses on how the four major developing countries of China, India, Brazil, and South Africa have coordinated their positions and acted jointly to achieve an agreed outcome with other players in the recent UN Climate Change Conferences in Copenhagen and Cancun, based on an analysis of their country profiles and negotiation positions on a wide range of climate issues. The paper argues that the emergence of the BASIC Group is a reflection of the ongoing power shift from EU–US agreement to BASIC–US compromise in UN climate negotiations since the early 1990s. The rise of BASIC also has its roots in recent global market dynamics and further reflects the power transformation in the economic dimension of the international system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade India and Brazil implemented waste policy reforms to tackle the constraints of their waste management. This study compares those reforms using the methodological framework proposed by Wilson where waste policy evolves through a series of subsequent stages, depending on two aspects: local circumstances; and stakeholders' groups. The current research is exploratory in its scope, adopting this method to describe, compare and evaluate both Indian and Brazilian cases, and also verifying how the model performs when applied to developing countries. The paper confirms Wilson's conclusions, and adds a perception that in developing economies a special local circumstance is to be considered the point of departure, that is, the particular starting point of Wilson's evolution. In addition, the research concludes that participation of diverse stakeholder groups throughout the political process is fundamental, and could be key to overcoming the risks of policy setbacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fast-growing developing countries have emerged as an important destination and source of trade, investments and technology. Furthermore, trade between developing countries has grown rapidly over the last decades, and is becoming more diversified, where exchange includes from primary commodities to manufactures and high-end services. The aim of the special issue is to look at these dynamics and how the leading developing countries have turn into growth engines and technology drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we discuss relationship between export diversity and economic performance, focusing on Brazil, China, India and South Africa (BCIS). Using time data on exports over the period 1962–2000 and Applied General Equilibrium (AGE) models for each country, we note the similarities as well as differences in the patterns of diversification in these countries. We find evidence of a U-shape relationship between per capita income and export specialization in at least China and South Africa, and given that the results from Granger causality testing are inconclusive and not robust with regards to export diversification measures, some preliminary evidence from the results suggest that export diversification Granger causes GDP per capita in Brazil, China and South Africa, but not in India, where it is rather GDP per capita changes that are driving export diversification. From AGE modeling we find that South Africa differs from the other economies in that it is the only case where export diversification has an unambiguously positive impact on economic development while in contrast in Brazil, China and India, it is rather export specialization that is preferred. We show that the manner in which export diversification is obtained may be important: if it is obtained with less of a reduction in traditional exports, the impacts are better (less negative). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the national and transnational character of mobilization against GM crops in India, South Africa and Brazil in the ten-year period to 2005. By examining the contexts and practices of mobilization across the three countries, and in particular the complex, often fraught, local and global connections, the paper examines the diverse mobilizations that have occurred. The paper argues that to understand these processes, particular national political and economic contexts must be appreciated, alongside how the GM debates articulate with other foci for activism and the complex and often fragile nature of alliances that make up activist networks. The paper shows how the debate about GM crops has become a much wider one: about the future of agriculture and small-scale farmers, about corporate control and property rights and about the rules of global trade. In sum, a debate not just about the pros and cons of a particular set of technologies, but about politics and values and the future of agrarian society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing has been one of the defining issues of our times. Enabling strategies were implemented to address the housing challenges over the past decade with limited success. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of government-led large-scale programmes to provide low-income housing. New networks of collaborations have created new rules and shifted boundaries to achieve scale. In India, Pradhanmantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) aims to build 20 million new units by 2022. Likewise in Brazil, Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV) was launched to deliver millions of affordable homes. This paper argues that the emergence of state-led housing means the value of enabling has not been supplanted but supplemented, as the shift does not herald the end of enabling strategy but a renewed commitment to the expansion of enabling principles where the state is an active agent. The state-led housing development is creating and formalising new areas of market engagement, and is far less radical and transformative than is assumed. State housing programmes such as MCMV and PMAY are inevitability highly profitable transactions, advantageous to the economy and housing markets and come at a point when profiteering and resource-extracting neoliberalism is at its zenith. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Green Revolution is often seen as epitomising the dawn of scientific and technological advancement and modernity in the agricultural sector across developing countries, a process that unfolded from the 1940s through to the 1980s. Despite the time that has elapsed, this episode of the past continues to resonate today, and still shapes the institutions and practices of agricultural science and technology. In Brazil, China, and India, narratives of science-led agricultural transformations portray that period in glorifying terms—entailing pressing national imperatives, unprecedented achievements, and heroic individuals or organizations. These "epic narratives" draw on the past to produce meaning and empower the actors that deploy them. Epic narratives are reproduced over time and perpetuate a conviction about the heroic power of science and technology in agricultural development. By crafting history and cultivating a sense of scientific nationalism, exceptionalism, and heritage, these epic narratives sustain power-knowledge relations in agricultural science and technology, which are underpinned by a hegemonic modernization paradigm. Unravelling the processes of assemblage and reproduction of epic narratives helps us make sense of how science and technology actors draw on their subjective representations of the past to assert their position in the field at present. This includes making claims about their credentials to envision and deliver sustainable solutions for agriculture into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing dispute between the United States of America and China finds a main area of competition around 5G, which will enable a substantial improvement in the capacity for vehicle auto-guidance, remote operations, robotics, artificial intelligence and other dual-use applications. While 5G is still emerging, the global shaping of the network infrastructure, regulations, patents and standards involves the Global South. It is an eminently global dispute for markets, but also for national security, which has gained a central place on the foreign policy agenda of most of the countries around the globe. In this context, the objective of this text is to analyze the emergent conditions of 5G in two of the main countries of the Global South, India and Brazil, within the dispute between the US and China. Through the contextualization of this dispute and its implications in India and Brazil, we seek to extract a series of preliminary reflections for other countries of the Global South. Thus, this paper contributes to a key area understanding the emergent conditions of a new phase of the mobile telecommunications paradigm developing two main cases still unexplored systematically by the literature in Spanish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to contribute to our understanding of unfree labour in the contemporary global economy, the processes by which it is generated, and its connections with poverty and vulnerability. I challenge dominant ‘residual’ views of unfree labour as either external to global economic activity or occurring solely within small-scale, localized or non-market contexts. Instead, I contend that unfree labour needs to be understood in ‘relational’ terms as a particular form of ‘adverse incorporation’ in the global economy. This form of adverse incorporation is constituted through the circular interaction between, on the one hand, the functioning of the global productive economy and associated labour markets, and, on the other, the social relations of poverty which give rise to vulnerability and to unfree labour. I draw throughout on original empirical research conducted on ‘slave labour’ in Brazilian agriculture and child labour in the Delhi garments sector. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper analyses the patterns of export productivity and trade specialization profiles in Brazil, China, India and South Africa, and in other economic groupings and regions. Various measures of trade specialization and a time varying export productivity indicator are estimated using highly disaggregated export data. The findings reveal that there are important differences in the export productivity and specialisation patterns across countries and regions. Export productivity-and export sophistication-are in line to that of wealthier and more advance economies. The results further confirm the importance of not just the volume of exports, but the type of specialisation patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on interviews with Indian and Brazilian farmers’ rights activists, lawyers, agronomists and plant breeders, this article aims at better understanding how farmers’ rights are protected on paper and implemented on the ground in these two countries. Brazil and India offer important case studies because they are biologically megadiverse countries, and because small farmers represent an important segment of the rural economy. In this article, I show that India has adopted an ownership approach to farmers’ rights, while Brazil leans towards a stewardship approach. Based on an examination of the progress made in enforcing these rights, I further argue that the stewardship model adopted by Brazil is more conducive to the realization of farmers’ rights, and I explore why this is the case. Finally, I show how farmers’ rights provisions in the Brazilian and Indian legislations represent fragile gains that could be curtailed by several bills currently under discussion in the field of seed and plant variety protection. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]