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Higher education seems to be in a perpetual state of 'crisis'. The many hundreds of books and papers containing this specific, or other relevantly similar expressions, convey a sense of fear and angst. Yet, what are these various crises about, and which values and beliefs are seen as threatened or 'under attack'? This paper will provide an analysis of the 'crisis' literature and identify four major crisis themes – massification, marketisation, restitution and geopolitics, linked to their ideological basis and influences—including meritocracy, liberalism, restorative justice, and justice globalism. The second part of the paper analyses the massification crisis in Britain between the 1940s and the 1970s as a case example identifying how the principles of a meritocratic society played an influential role in the debate. It will be argued that the notion of 'universities in crisis' needs to be understood critically in terms of ideology and historically via the shifting and reshaping of such beliefs over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the role of shared meaning for organising Alternative Food Networks (AFNs). Extant research shows that organisational elements, such as rules, and hybridisation of conventional and alternative modes of food provisioning are important for AFN organisation. Yet, they might both enable and hinder the aims of AFNs. Complementing this body of research, the article investigates how AFN participants work out the appropriate kind of organisation for realising 'a promise of difference'. Introducing Zelizer's 'relational work', the article investigates how AFN participants foster a shared meaning of participating and thereby identify what practices are appropriate for its organisation. The analysis draws on extensive ethnographic materials from Swedish REKO‐rings (a direct marketing arrangement for local foods). The findings show how the REKO‐ring participants' relational work negotiates and establishes shared meaning; what practices are appropriate and inappropriate for organising decent food provisioning. The study contributes to extant research by showing the fundamental role of shared (and discordant) meaning for the organisation of market‐based alternatives to the current food system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The illegal trade in totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) is causing adverse social, ecological, and economic impacts. This illegal activity is accelerating the overexploitation of totoaba and pushing the critically endangered vaquita (Phocoena sinus) closer to extinction. Despite extensive efforts to recover vaquita populations, scant attention has been given to the totoaba trade as an independent issue. As a result, data on the totoaba trade are limited, which hampers robust analyses and development of effective interventions to reduce illegal harvesting. We used a previously developed framework specifically designed to examine dynamics of illegal markets and guide measures to mitigate illegal use of totoaba. This framework separates markets into 3 analytical levels: characterization of participating actors (e.g., fishers, intermediaries); examination of how actors interact within the market (e.g., organization of supply chains); and assessment of the overall market dynamics that result from these interactions (e.g., factors determining price and quantity). We reviewed existing literature (108 initial articles) and interviewed key market actors, academics, and nongovernmental organization experts (14) to obtain data for this framework. Our findings offer an overview of the totoaba illegal market operation, highlighting intervention points (e.g., customs agents) and areas where additional information is required to decrease information gaps (e.g., US local market). We describe the structure and complexity of this market, emphasizing the influential role of organized crime in shaping its dynamics (e.g., controlling prices paid to fishers and stockpiling). By providing a systematic and in‐depth understanding of the market operation, we aimed to establish a benchmark for effective interventions and future research aimed at reducing uncertainties. Our results provide a crucial step toward addressing this critical issue and can help facilitate development of effective strategies to combat the illegal totoaba trade and promote biodiversity conservation more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How are taste judgments made and shared? Drawing on fieldwork among Ceylon tea brokers and buyers, the industry's de facto tea tasters, this article offers an ethnographic account of aesthetic judgment in practice. I ask, what makes a tea good? Tea tasters' unanimous response amounted to a market relativism of sorts that shifted attention away from the tasted object: “It all depends on the market.” Following my informants' contention, I show how industry actors are able to enact a tentative resolution to the fundamental paradox inherent in the judgment of taste, namely, its ostensibly subjective nature and simultaneous claim to objectivity. “The market,” invoked time and again by tea tasters, and imagined as inherently objective, affords the seamless translation of taste judgments into prices, intelligible and shareable quantities, prompting a reimagining of taste as an economic fact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An overview of how macroeconomic shocks affect beef quality‐grade premiums and discounts in the U.S. fed cattle market is discussed. We review the shock transmission linkages along the beef industry supply chain and determine the economic implications for the finished cattle market. The analysis provides insight into how the fed cattle market responds to macroeconomic shocks. The economic implications of financial risk associated with the behavior of beef carcass quality‐grade premiums and discounts associated with the Great Recession and the COVID pandemic are contrasted and assessed. Data analysis indicates that macroeconomic shocks affect the quality‐grade premium pricing mechanism for finished cattle. The origins of the shock (aggregate demand versus aggregate supply) and government fiscal policy intervention determines how premium levels and premium volatility responds to a macroeconomic shock. Thus, beef carcass quality‐grade premiums are not only subject to industry idiosyncratic risk, such as swings in the seasonal demand for beef, but are also subject to systematic risk associated with business cycle fluctuations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continuous growth of the aquaculture industry implies increased demand for efficient sources of aquafeed, such as fishmeal. Pelagic fish are a desirable source of fishmeal due to their high nutritional content. Nevertheless, several pelagic stocks that have been exploited extensively for fishmeal production face ecological limits due to commercial exploitation, and the aquaculture industry is now seeking novel, efficient, and sustainable sources of aquafeed. The mesopelagic zone, an ecosystem with many scientific uncertainties, is being considered as a potential source for fishmeal, largely owing to the abundance of mesopelagic fish and their robust nutritional profile. However, both the ecological and economic viability of commercial exploitation of mesopelagic fish are not yet well understood. To understand the conditions that would make such an endeavor economically viable in the context of global fishmeal production systems, we use a bioeconomic model that assesses the economic consequences of including mesopelagic fish as a fishmeal source. Through simulations, we assess the economic implications of this hypothetical mesopelagic fishery on major pelagic fishmeal production systems. The mesopelagic fishery can be economically profitable for harvesters, and its addition to global fishmeal production reduces fishmeal market price, thus making it more accessible to aquaculture farmers and less profitable for pelagic fishers. While this may reduce fishing pressure on pelagic forage‐fish stocks, the implications of commercial exploitation of mesopelagic on key ecosystem services remain a concern. Recommendations for Resource Managers: The continuous growth of the aquaculture industry implies increased demand for efficient sources of aquafeed, such as fishmeal.Several pelagic stocks that have been exploited extensively for fishmeal production face ecological limits due to commercial exploitation, and the aquaculture industry is now seeking novel, efficient, and sustainable sources of aquafeed.The mesopelagic zone is being considered as a potential source for fishmeal. However, both the ecological and economic viability of commercial exploitation of mesopelagic fish are not yet well understood.We use a bioeconomic model to assess the economic consequences of including mesopelagic fish as a fishmeal source and the economic implications of this hypothetical fishery on major pelagic fishmeal production systems.The results show that mesopelagic fishery could be profitable for harvesters, and its addition to global fishmeal production would reduce fishmeal market price, thus making it more accessible to aquaculture farmers and less profitable for pelagic fishers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The engagement between markets and cultural hegemonies is shaped by the politics that promote or deny the emergence of fresh legitimations in response to the opportunities offered to consumers by new commodities. In the case of Islam and the assisted reproductive technology (ART) market, core cultural values concerning procreation, family and lineage come into direct conflict with the potential consumer demand generated by new ART technologies. Shaped by the character of multiple Islamic modernities and the authority structures of religion and state, it is the Shi'a–Sunni divide which most illuminates the politics of emergence driving the different Islamic responses to those cultural tensions. In Sunni states the hegemonic challenge of the ART commodity market is contained by the senior clerics, the traditional intellectuals of Islamic authority, often acting in concert with the state apparatus. In contrast, in Shi'a states the flexibility of its religious authority structures underpinned by the principles of ijtihad allows the formation of an alliance between traditional and medical organic intellectuals which facilitates the consumer choice of both ART commodities and legitimating values. However, what remains unresolved is the long‐term impact of that trasformismo on the stability of the social structures which the Shi'a moral economy serves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Directional change (DC) is an alternative to time series in recording transactions: it only records the transactions at which price changes to the opposite direction of the current trend by a threshold specified by the observer. DC can only be confirmed in hindsight: one does not know that direction has changed until it is confirmed by a later transaction. The transaction in which the price confirms a DC is called a DC confirmation point. DC nowcasting is an attempt to recognize DC before the DC confirmation point. Accurate DC nowcasting will benefit trading. In this paper, we propose a method for DC nowcasting. This method is entirely data driven: it is based on the historical distribution of DC‐related indicators. Empirical results suggest that DC nowcasting is possible, even under a naïve rule. This opens the door to a promising research direction on an important topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the dynamics of neoliberal agrarian restructuring within the Turkish sugar industry, focusing on the 2018 privatization of the Alpullu Sugar Factory. The analysis examines the transformative impact of market dependence and land commodification on relationship of farmers with the agricultural sector. Specifically, it focuses on two significant neoliberal shifts that have altered the dynamics of farming. First, the withdrawal of state support in agricultural markets prompted farmers to diversify their income streams, leading to a transition from sugar beet cultivation to alternative crops and contemplation of urban migration. Second, in the 2000s, farmers, grappling with declining agricultural revenues, increasingly relied on private bank credits as a means of financial security. This shift was propelled by changes in agricultural policy regulations and the dissolution of state‐sponsored credit systems. Employing a blend of qualitative and quantitative research methods, this study elucidated these complex transformations and their profound impact on agrarian livelihoods, land ownership shifts, production strategies and market relationships. The research revealed the complex interplay of social, economic and historical dynamics steering the trajectory of the Turkish sugar industry, providing valuable insights into neoliberal restructuring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human milk (HM) is a highly evolutionary selected, complex biofluid, which provides tailored nutrition, immune system support and developmental cues that are unique to each maternal–infant dyad. In the absence of maternal milk, the World Health Organisation recommends vulnerable infants should be fed with screened donor HM (DHM) from a HM bank (HMB) ideally embedded in local or regional lactation support services. However, demand for HM products has arisen from an increasing awareness of the developmental and health impacts of the early introduction of formula and a lack of prioritisation into government‐funded and nonprofit milk banking and innovation. This survey of global nonprofit milk bank leaders aimed to outline the trends, commonalities and differences between nonprofit and for‐profit HM banking, examine strategies regarding the marketing and placement of products to hospital and public customers and outline the key social, ethical and human rights concerns. The survey captured information from 59 milk bank leaders in 30 countries from every populated continent. In total, five companies are currently trading HM products with several early‐stage private milk companies (PMCs). Products tended to be more expensive from PMC than HMB, milk providers were financially remunerated and lactation support for milk providers and recipients was not a core function of PMCs. Current regulatory frameworks for HM vary widely, with the majority of countries lacking any framework, and most others placing HM within food legislation, which does not include the support and care of milk donors and recipient prioritisation. Regulation as a Medical Product of Human Origin was only in place to prevent the sale of HM in four countries; export and import of HM was banned in two countries. This paper discusses the safety and ethical concerns raised by the commodification of HM and the opportunities policymakers have globally and country‐level to limit the potential for exploitation and the undermining of breastfeeding. Key messages: The number and scope of human milk (HM) profit‐making companies is increasing globallyCurrent regulatory frameworks for HM vary widelyProducts offered by private milk companies (PMCs) are generally more expensive than from HM banksSome PMCs are adopting marketing practices traditionally associated with breast milk substitute companies.The health benefits of HM‐based fortifiers compared to bovine milk‐based fortifiers are unclear and may be marginal [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We ask how an increasing share of women or migrants in the workplace affects wages for different groups depending on market‐based or relational outcomes. Using data on nearly every French employee and workplace, we propose four theoretically informed outcomes. We do not find an increase in the share of women or migrants provokes a wage backlash but that these groups instead have some "power in numbers." Yet, most importantly, our results show demographic changes are conditioned by class position through a surplus appropriation mechanism. The share of women and the share of migrants in the professional and managerial class raise wages within this class especially for men and migrants in this class, respectively. We also find the entry of migrant workers puts downward pressure on worker wages—both natives and migrants. We offer an interpretation of these results based on the redistribution of labor costs when hiring employees like women and migrants who earn less on average. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We ask how an increasing share of women or migrants in the workplace affects wages for different groups depending on market‐based or relational outcomes. Using data on nearly every French employee and workplace, we propose four theoretically informed outcomes. We do not find an increase in the share of women or migrants provokes a wage backlash but that these groups instead have some "power in numbers." Yet, most importantly, our results show demographic changes are conditioned by class position through a surplus appropriation mechanism. The share of women and the share of migrants in the professional and managerial class raise wages within this class especially for men and migrants in this class, respectively. We also find the entry of migrant workers puts downward pressure on worker wages—both natives and migrants. We offer an interpretation of these results based on the redistribution of labor costs when hiring employees like women and migrants who earn less on average. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of commercial‐assisted suicide lives a marginal existence in the bioethical literature, despite its significant presence in popular culture. The practice of commercial‐assisted suicide (CAS) is defined as suicide assistance performed for a financial reward through a contractual agreement between a customer and a service‐provider, who does not necessarily need to be a medical professional. While CAS does indeed offer some potential solutions regarding the moral controversies surrounding physician‐assisted suicide (PAS), I defend the idea that adopting it as policy ultimately proves morally indefensible and practically inefficient. This is due to the fact that the commodification of a given good necessarily implies the creation of a market of said good; as such, what I propose in this paper is a moral and practical evaluation of a market of CAS. In order to do so, I first examine the arguments in favor of CAS as put forward by Roland Kipke, who argues that any liberal defense of PAS necessarily implies a defense of CAS. In the first section, I argue against this idea using the liberal values of autonomy and equality of opportunity. In the second section of the paper, I argue that a market of CAS would be gravely dysfunctional due to one particular characteristic of death, namely, that is not compensable ex post. I conclude by arguing that while the practice of CAS may not prove morally problematic, the inevitable market that it will create should it be legalized most certainly will. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent wide spreads between boxed beef cutout values and fed cattle prices have reignited beef cattle producers' long‐held concerns about price discovery. The recent concerns have led to policy proposals meant to increase negotiated trade volumes in the cash market. We determine how volume, day of the week, sex, grade, weight range, and other factors impact price ranges in the negotiated cash market. We find many factors, in addition to sales volume, can impact price ranges. The analysis provides insight into current policy proposals, and we discuss the need for more detailed data for precise answers to current policy questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents evidence of misallocation across households in rural Indian agriculture. I show that household demographics predict own farm labor demand for smallholder farmers but not non‐smallholder farmers. A simple model of labor allocation predicts a clear consequence of this duality: smallholder farmers will reallocate labor across plots less in response to price changes than non‐smallholders. Detailed household panel data confirms this theoretical prediction. Three additional facts suggest that a lack of off‐farm labor opportunities may be partly responsible for the behavior of smallholders, leading smallholders to over allocate labor to agricultural production. First, smallholders report fewer hours of involuntary unemployment when their own crop prices increase. Second, yield is substantially higher for smallholders on plots of the same size. Finally, estimated marginal revenue products of labor are consistently lower for smallholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective and sustainable interventions are necessary for long‐term improvement of food safety. This review provides a summary of food safety interventions evaluated in selected low‐ and middle‐income countries in Asia between 2000 and 2020. A systematic screening of published articles from PubMed and CabDirect databases was carried out with the aid of Rayyan QCRI software. A total of 25 studies were considered in the review. A 'before and after' study design was the most frequently used design (64%), while five studies (20%) used a randomized control trial (RCT) design. Interventions applied focused on training to improve knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) towards safe food (60%) or on specific technologies (40%). Nine of the 25 studies were specific on the value chain considered: cattle (1), poultry (1), pigs (4) and fish value chains (3). Except for one study, all interventions reported some level of success; 17 were rated as having a high level of success, defined differently across studies. However, there is a clear evidence gap for the efficacy and cost‐effectiveness of food safety interventions in market settings, both consumer‐ and vendor‐facing. A rigorous and standardized assessment of intervention effectiveness and sustainability is recommended, to not only identify areas of improvement, but also to ensure scaling of interventions with demonstrated evidence of success and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neo‐Aristotelian virtue ethics applied to work and business theory have received increasing attention due to Alasdair MacIntyre's philosophy. At the same time, this approach has been accused of being inapplicable, a romantic nostalgia for an ideal world far from the reality of today's markets. Moreover, the more this theory evolves, the bigger the gap seems to become, as if good work were at odds with its economic dimension. This paper aims to address this gap by explaining how MacIntyre's neo‐Aristotelianism conceives of the economic dimension of good work. In particular, we claim that it is consistent with MacIntyre's philosophy that said economic dimension of work can be defined in terms of excellence and virtue, particularly in accordance with the virtues of justice and unity of life. However, for these virtues of good work to be practicable, a reconsideration of market practices performed under the logic of giving and receiving is needed. Hence, defining and sustaining an economic dimension of good work in MacIntyre also depend on the possibility of market practices being defined as excellent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article puts into dialogue anthropological discussions on violence, infrastructures, food systems, and affect to argue for the importance of understanding the role of affective responses in shaping not only subjectivities or experiences of individuals but also the networks, infrastructures, and institutions in which they participate. Set in contemporary Mexico, where concern about criminal violence has become increasingly widespread, the article analyzes ethnographically how different actors in Mexico City's wholesale food market narrate and respond to contexts of violence. It argues that a cluster of affects born out of a sense of insecurity—fear, uncertainty, distrust—come to shape people's everyday (im)mobilities and that these shifting mobilities and arrangements are in fact constitutive of Mexico City's food system. Attention to the affective dimensions of infrastructure entails humanizing the study of material circulation, placing sensations, perceptions, and experiences front and center. This can help to illuminate how infrastructures that appear to be stable and continuous in fact experience internal transformations and rearrangements in new political, economic, and social contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a general consensus that the UK needs strong public equity markets. To help to ensure Britain is well‐positioned on this front, the Financial Conduct Authority reformed the London Stock Exchange's listing regime in 2021 to foster initial public offerings (IPOs). This article outlines and evaluates these IPO‐related reforms, assessing their potential to resuscitate the UK's public equity markets. The article puts the IPO‐related reforms into context by considering whether the fostering of strong equity markets is a sensible policy goal and by assessing what laws governing publicly traded companies can contribute to this endeavour. The article acknowledges that the specific IPO reforms may increase IPO activity but concludes that concerns about strong public markets will continue to exist. This is because the reforms do not address stock market exits or the 'over'‐regulation of public companies which discourages reliance on equity markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses ways of approaching the law from a comparative perspective. First, a comparative law study may focus on the socio-political context that led to the elaboration of similarities or differences in the protection of rights. In this respect, a study of comparative law is by definition an interdisciplinary study. It involves studying the social context which led to the emergence of legal rule.

The article discusses ways of approaching the law from a comparative perspective. First, a comparative law study may focus on the socio-political context that led to the elaboration of similarities or differences in the protection of rights. In this respect, a study of comparative law is by definition an interdisciplinary study. It involves studying the social context which led to the emergence of legal rules, understood as a subcategory of social rules that regulate human interaction.

The article discusses the various ways of approaching the law from a comparative perspective. First, a comparative law study may focus on the socio-political context that led to the elaboration of similarities or differences in the protection of rights. In this respect, a study of comparative law is by definition an interdisciplinary study. It involves studying the social context which led to the emergence of legal rules, understood as a subcategory of social rules.

This article combines ethnographic fieldwork in Cape Coast's Kotokuraba Market with theories of 'the right to the city' and historical literature on gender and space in West Africa to highlight the connections between women's food labour and the social production of market space in Ghana. In identifying two critical moments from Ghana's history that exemplify the influence of economic policy on the gender arrangement of the marketplace, this article argues that although women have historically dominated Ghana's public marketplaces, their 'right to the city' – the collective and individual rights to determine the form and function of market space – remains out of reach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Markets are increasingly used by governments to deliver social services, underpinned by the belief that they can drive efficiency and quality. These 'quasi‐markets' require on‐going management to ensure they meet policy goals, and address issues of market inequity. This has seen debates emerge around 'market stewardship' and 'market shaping' that center on how best to manage markets toward optimal policy outcomes. At present, there is a significant gap in both literature and practice with regard to what types of actions are most effective for market stewardship. In this article, we outline a framework that helps diagnose different quasi‐market problems. We delineate two dimensions of public service quasi‐markets—sufficiency and diversity—using the example of a disability personalization market to show how this framework can unpack different types of quasi‐market states. Lastly, we outline the types of interventions that might be adopted to help deal with ineffective quasi‐markets. Evidence for Practice: Market mechanisms are increasing being used by governments around the world to drive innovation and efficacies.Increasingly it is being recognized that these markets need intervention in order to meet policy goals.This paper provides a framework for conceptualizing types of market problems, and offers solutions for the scenarios outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses autonomy as a set of practices that result in the production and reproduction of resources that allow for self‐organization. We define autonomy as a social construct that refers to the self‐organizing capacity of people, communities, and movements. Such capacity assumes both resources and agency. In that vein, our conceptualisation implies that autonomy is a relational concept: It can only emerge when and where struggles that aim at going beyond dependency (i.e., nonautonomy) concretely exist. Autonomy is three‐pronged, involving a set of goal‐oriented activities, a distantiation from capital, and the agency of social actors. Intertwined with these levels are peasant movements that have the capacity to develop and implement a political agenda that is not overshadowed and/or dictated by external influences. The paper illustrates this intertwining with the case of the Circuito (O Circuito), a Brazilian peasant movement that has constructed and operates an extended farmers' market and which simultaneously transforms farming practices. The Circuit is the outcome of collective action and shows the potential of multilevel performance of several actors engaged in concerted actions. In the conclusion, we suggest that the Circuit represents autonomy based on commonly pooled resources as well representing a countermovement to the destructive dynamics of food empires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines why an aboveground pink economy has emerged in mainland China, where equal rights for gay people are repressed and public attitudes toward homosexuality are overwhelmingly negative. Drawing on interviews, supplemented with a minimal amount of media data, this article demonstrates that in China there was a group of gay people wishing to fulfill needs mainstream businesses disregard and that such consumer needs necessitate China's pink sector. More importantly, the state set the stage for the nascent sector to emerge: Government policies triggered a surge in funding resources and technology infrastructure upgrades that laid the material foundations for pink entrepreneurship. Despite being born in an institutional void, pink ventures employed legitimizing strategies to hedge against risk and uncertainty, thereby consolidating this new market. China's pink economy developed independently of the influence of the gay movement and even expanded, as never before, at the low ebb of the movement. This research gives credence to the notion that an aboveground pink economy could precede political rights but, unlike American scholarship, questions a similar causal relationship between the two in the Chinese context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, unconventional oil and gas (UOG) production has elicited strong public response. As production occurs amid residential and commercial spaces, environmental, social, economic, regulatory, and mental health impacts have been documented across locations. Some community groups have mobilized against this activity, whereas others have not. We examine how and why UOG production becomes normalized despite its disruptions and risks. Through years of fieldwork, we have observed limited organized mobilization. Even activists express hesitation to demand transformative changes or complete stoppage of UOG production. Yet the drivers of these dynamics need to be better understood. We argue that these passive "sites of acceptance" emerge through a two‐part influence of neoliberalism. First, a mosaic of ideas and policy measures privileging deregulation and free markets manifests itself in a unique discourse we call collective neoliberalism. Second, neoliberalism as a system of governance creates a fractured, devolved regulatory environment ripe for regulatory capture and lacking sufficient resources. This, in turn, can discourage local efforts to limit or regulate UOG production as regulators seem unresponsive, poorly resourced, or tacitly more supportive of industry than the public. We use ethnographic data collected amid dense, widespread UOG production in Colorado to illustrate these patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The developing discourse around social investment and impact investing makes strong claims regarding the possibility of both furthering one's own interests while simultaneously acting for the benefit of others—"doing good and doing well". Such claims are central to UK‐ and US‐centric attempts to reform capitalism in the face of multiple global crises. This article uses Foucault's writing on (neo)liberal governmentality to analyze a particular manifestation of the logic of "doing good and doing well": the attempt to build a market for social investment in the UK between 2010 and 2016, a project closely related to the development of the broader impact investment movement. Building on a close reading of Foucault's writing on the role of self‐interest, it is argued that two incompatible versions of social investment are present within the development of the market: one (the "innovative version") that assumes purpose and profit are fully compatible, and one (the "principled version") that assumes it is important to maintain a boundary between them. The relevance of these findings and the approach used is discussed in relation to the social studies of market, and ongoing efforts to develop a critique of "doing good and doing well". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review literature demonstrating that soil zinc (Zn) and selenium (Se) deficiencies drive human Zn and Se status in some developing contexts, largely through reducing local crop Zn and Se concentration. We then illustrate that in Malawi, human Se status is higher on calcareous soils (the only soils growing high‐Se crops) and close to lakes (which hold Se‐rich fish). We also show that human Se status is predicted by the soil type surrounding and lake proximity of one's nearest market. This makes sense, since Malawians depend heavily on crops from market, particularly during lean season when Se status was measured. Related Content: Agricultural support and contaminated spillovers: The effects of agricultural water pollution on adult health in China [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines why an aboveground pink economy has emerged in mainland China, where equal rights for gay people are repressed and public attitudes toward homosexuality are overwhelmingly negative. Drawing on interviews, supplemented with a minimal amount of media data, this article demonstrates that in China there was a group of gay people wishing to fulfill needs mainstream businesses disregard and that such consumer needs necessitate China's pink sector. More importantly, the state set the stage for the nascent sector to emerge: Government policies triggered a surge in funding resources and technology infrastructure upgrades that laid the material foundations for pink entrepreneurship. Despite being born in an institutional void, pink ventures employed legitimizing strategies to hedge against risk and uncertainty, thereby consolidating this new market. China's pink economy developed independently of the influence of the gay movement and even expanded, as never before, at the low ebb of the movement. This research gives credence to the notion that an aboveground pink economy could precede political rights but, unlike American scholarship, questions a similar causal relationship between the two in the Chinese context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, unconventional oil and gas (UOG) production has elicited strong public response. As production occurs amid residential and commercial spaces, environmental, social, economic, regulatory, and mental health impacts have been documented across locations. Some community groups have mobilized against this activity, whereas others have not. We examine how and why UOG production becomes normalized despite its disruptions and risks. Through years of fieldwork, we have observed limited organized mobilization. Even activists express hesitation to demand transformative changes or complete stoppage of UOG production. Yet the drivers of these dynamics need to be better understood. We argue that these passive "sites of acceptance" emerge through a two‐part influence of neoliberalism. First, a mosaic of ideas and policy measures privileging deregulation and free markets manifests itself in a unique discourse we call collective neoliberalism. Second, neoliberalism as a system of governance creates a fractured, devolved regulatory environment ripe for regulatory capture and lacking sufficient resources. This, in turn, can discourage local efforts to limit or regulate UOG production as regulators seem unresponsive, poorly resourced, or tacitly more supportive of industry than the public. We use ethnographic data collected amid dense, widespread UOG production in Colorado to illustrate these patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obtaining a good credit rating is an important financial goal for governments since good credit yields lower interest rates and signals fiscal responsibility. But what does a government's quest for better credit mean for the wellbeing of its residents? Although good credit gives governments access to cheaper borrowing to invest in socially beneficial services and infrastructure, working to obtain good credit may lead governments to act in ways that appease bondholders but are unfavorable to its residents. Using the case of state government credit ratings from 1996 to 2012, we demonstrate that increases in state credit ratings are associated with higher economic insecurity for a state's population, net of political and economic controls, as well as state and year fixed effects. We argue these findings illustrate that despite the economic rewards, good credit becomes detrimental once we consider the potential tradeoffs relative to other socially and economically meaningful relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on relations between China and the Middle East. Topics include launching the Belt and Road Initiative [BRI] with the long-term vision of conquering the markets, exporting the industrial surplus capacity, and securing access to critical resources and trade routes; and engaging in the future of the region in economic diversification away from energy production, education, and human capital.

Knowledge of the shared resources—or commons—that aquaculture systems rely on, and the appropriate rule and norm systems to govern them—or institutions—is far behind other natural resource use sectors. In this article, we provide a conceptual framework for identifying the social and environmental commons creating collective action problems for aquaculture governance. Collective action problems, or social dilemmas, create problems for governing shared resources because the typical strategies for individual use (maximisation; free riding) are often divergent from broader group interests (e.g. fair contributions; sustainable use). This framework helps identify two types of collective action problems in aquaculture: first‐order (direct use and provision of commons) and second‐order (provision, maintenance and adaptation of institutions to govern commons). First‐order aquaculture commons with governance challenges include water quality, water quantity, physical space, inputs, genetic diversity, mitigating infectious disease, earth and climate stability, infrastructure, knowledge and money. Second‐order institutions govern the use of first‐order commons. These include rule and norm systems that structure property rights and markets, aiming to better align individual behaviour and collective interests (e.g. sustainability goals) through governance. However, which combination of institutions will fit best is likely to be unique to context, where aquaculture has important differences from capture fisheries and agriculture. We provide four case examples applying our conceptual framework to identify existing aquaculture commons, institutions and governance challenges in Peru (mariculture), the Philippines (earthen ponds), Nepal (raceways) and Denmark (recirculation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obtaining a good credit rating is an important financial goal for governments since good credit yields lower interest rates and signals fiscal responsibility. But what does a government's quest for better credit mean for the wellbeing of its residents? Although good credit gives governments access to cheaper borrowing to invest in socially beneficial services and infrastructure, working to obtain good credit may lead governments to act in ways that appease bondholders but are unfavorable to its residents. Using the case of state government credit ratings from 1996 to 2012, we demonstrate that increases in state credit ratings are associated with higher economic insecurity for a state's population, net of political and economic controls, as well as state and year fixed effects. We argue these findings illustrate that despite the economic rewards, good credit becomes detrimental once we consider the potential tradeoffs relative to other socially and economically meaningful relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the argument that states work in and through markets to actively balance competing interests and manage contradictions and disequilibrium. I focus on four processes reshaping Australia's electricity governance in the last two decades, namely deregulation, (de)centralisation, decarbonisation, and digitalisation, and show the ubiquity of state spatial strategies to govern through markets. I establish the historical legacy of subnational state‐led development in Australian electricity, then examine how recent deregulatory processes have resulted in new modes of state power exercised through the creation and taming of markets. My claims are that subnational governments continue to exercise authoritative power under Australian federalism and that new networks of techno‐managerial market governance remain subject to hierarchical state power. The purchase of key electricity assets has become a strategy for exercising state influence in and through the market. Political and spatial economic geographies of Australian energy continue to shape the struggles over energy futures, requiring attention to place, scale, territory, and network. The socio‐spatial dimensions of state strategies reveal complex and vacillating modes of state power. State action is characterised by a lack of coordination rather than unification at different scales, and the capacity to execute state projects is complicated by discursive and agential politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To describe (i) self‐reported changes in drug use and (ii) trends in price, perceived availability, and perceived purity of illicit drugs, among people who regularly use ecstasy/ 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and other illicit stimulants in Australia following COVID‐19 and associated restrictions. Design Annual interviews with cross‐sectional sentinel samples conducted face‐to‐face in 2016–19 and via video conferencing or telephone in 2020. Data were collected via an interviewer‐administered structured questionnaire. Setting: Australian capital cities. Participants: Australians aged 16 years or older who used ecstasy/MDMA and other illicit stimulants on a monthly or more frequent basis and resided in a capital city, recruited via social media and word‐of‐mouth (n ~ 800 each year). Measurements: Key outcome measures were self‐reported illicit drug market indicators (price, purity and availability) and, in 2020 only, perceived change in drug use (including alcohol and tobacco) since March 2020 and reasons for this change. Findings For most drugs, participants reported either no change or a reduction in their use since COVID‐19 restrictions were introduced. Ecstasy/MDMA was the drug most frequently cited as reduced in use (n = 552, 70% of those reporting recent use), mainly due to reduced opportunities for socialization. While market indicators were largely stable across most drugs, the odds of perceiving MDMA capsules as 'high' in purity decreased compared with 2016–19 [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.53–0.99], as did perceiving them as 'easy' to obtain (aOR = 0.42, CI = 0.26–0.67). The odds of perceiving cocaine and methamphetamine crystal as 'easy' to obtain also decreased (aOR = 0.67, CI = 0.46–0.96 and aOR = 0.12, CI = 0.04–0.41, respectively). Conclusions: After COVID‐19‐related restrictions were introduced in Australia, use of ecstasy/MDMA, related stimulants and other licit and illicit drugs mainly appeared to remain stable or decrease, primarily due to impediments to socialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies investigating deep decarbonization of bulk electric power systems and wholesale electricity markets have not sufficiently explored how future grid pathways could affect the grid's vulnerability to hydrometeorological uncertainty on multiple timescales. Here, we employ a grid operations model and a large synthetic weather ensemble to "stress test" a range of future grid pathways for the U.S. West Coast developed by ReEDS, a well‐known capacity planning model. Our results show that gradual changes in the underlying capacity mix from 2020 to 2050 can cause significant "re‐ranking" of weather years in terms of annual wholesale electricity prices (with "good" years becoming bad, and vice versa). Nonetheless, we find the highest and lowest ranking price years in terms of average electricity price remain mostly tied to extremes in hydropower availability (streamflow) and load (summer temperatures), with the strongest sensitivities related to drought. Seasonal dynamics seen today involving spring snowmelt and hot, dry summers remain well‐defined out to 2050. In California, future supply shortfalls in our model are concentrated in the evening and occur mostly during periods of high temperature anomalies in late summer months and in late winter; in the Pacific Northwest, supply shortfalls are much more strongly tied to negative streamflow anomalies. Under our more robust sampling of stationary hydrometeorological uncertainty, we also find that the ratio of dis‐patchable thermal (i.e., natural gas) capacity to wind and solar required to ensure grid reliability can differ significantly from values reported by ReEDS. Plain Language Summary: In this study we model how increased adoption of wind power, solar power, batteries and electric vehicles could alter the U.S. West Coast grid's exposure to weather uncertainty. Our results show that as the mix of technologies used on the grid changes from 2020 to 2050, it will cause a "re‐ranking" of weather years (with "good" years capable of becoming "bad" and vice versa). For example, years with low wind speeds generally become more concerning (marked by comparatively high prices) as installed wind power increases. Nonetheless, the highest and lowest price years remain most strongly tied to extremes in hydropower availability (streamflow) and electricity demand (summer air temperatures) even out to 2050. In California, supply shortfalls are concentrated in the evening during periods of anomalously high temperatures in late summer and late winter; in the Pacific Northwest, supply shortfalls are most strongly tied to negative streamflow anomalies. By subjecting various decarbonization scenarios to weather uncertainty, we also find that the amount of "firm" (natural gas) capacity needed to ensure reliability can differ significantly from values reported in a widely used capacity expansion model. Key Points: Changing capacity mixes cause "re‐ranking" of weather years in terms of annual priceNonetheless, the highest and lowest price years remain tied to extremes in hydropower production and loadCapacity expansion models may misrepresent firm capacity needed under weather uncertainty [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States (U.S.) West Coast power system is strongly influenced by variability and extremes in air temperatures (which drive electricity demand) and streamflows (which control hydropower availability). As hydroclimate changes across the West Coast, a combination of forces may work in tandem to make its bulk power system more vulnerable to physical reliability issues and market price shocks. In particular, a warmer climate is expected to increase summer cooling (electricity) demands and shift the average timing of peak streamflow (hydropower production) away from summer to the spring and winter, depriving power systems of hydropower when it is needed the most. Here, we investigate how climate change could alter interregional electricity market dynamics on the West Coast, including the potential for hydroclimatic changes in one region (e.g., Pacific Northwest (PNW)) to "spill over" and cause price and reliability risks in another (e.g., California). We find that the most salient hydroclimatic risks for the PNW power system are changes in streamflow, while risks for the California system are driven primarily by changes in summer air temperatures, especially extreme heat events that increase peak system demand. Altered timing and amounts of hydropower production in the PNW do alter summer power deliveries into California but show relatively modest potential to impact prices and reliability there. Instead, our results suggest future extreme heat in California could exert a stronger influence on prices and reliability in the PNW, especially if California continues to rely on its northern neighbor for imported power to meet higher summer demands. Plain Language Summary: Electric power systems are already strongly influenced by extreme weather, and climate change could make this problem worse. In this study, we explore how long‐term shifts in water availability and higher air temperatures could impact supply and demand for electricity in the West Coast region of the United States, and how interactions between two interconnected parts of the West Coast grid (the Pacific Northwest and California) could change as well. We focus on measuring impacts to the grid in terms of reliability (frequency of electricity shortfalls, or blackouts) and wholesale electricity prices. We find that shifts in water availability are likely to be the strongest influence on the Pacific Northwest, while increases in air temperatures are likely to be the strongest influence in California. We hypothesized that altered water availability in the Pacific Northwest could impact California too, through reduced summer deliveries of hydropower. However, our evidence points to future excessive heat in California as the major regional influence, which "pulls" more electricity from the Pacific Northwest, causing price and reliability impacts. Key Points: The U.S. West Coast power system is vulnerable to altered streamflow patterns and air temperature increases caused by climate changeRegional power systems are most sensitive to altered streamflows in the Pacific Northwest and air temperature changes in California, respectivelyResults show that climate‐related impacts in one regional power system can spill over to others in complex ways [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical and experimental literature have provided mixed insights on the ability of financial markets to perfectly aggregate private information into asset prices. We conduct an experiment designed to benchmark information aggregation in markets. In our lab experiment, we randomly assign subjects to different institutional environments, either a market or a Becker–DeGroot–Marschak mechanism. We find evidence that market interaction is worse for information aggregation. The difference between the two environments is driven by price‐insensitive traders who seem unable to learn from market prices. Price‐sensitive traders, by contrast, learn equally well in both environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness and outcomes of management are expected to improve when people are informed, engaged and influential in governance and management procedures. The social‐ecological and demographic contexts should, however, influence an individual's perceptions and willingness to engage and access appreciable benefits from management. To evaluate how engagement, procedures and perceived outcomes varied with geographic and social‐ecological context, we asked 1582 heads‐of‐households in 38 fishing villages in four tropical countries to evaluate the benefits of their local fisheries management. Responses to 10 collective action, social performance and management procedure questions fell along three response axes, namely (a) the potential benefits of management, (b) resource status and the reliability of yields and (c) the respondents' ability to influence management decisions. Respondents were most positive about the organization of the existing management systems but more sceptical about their ability to influence decision‐making and subsequent yields and resource status. More frequent negative opinions increased with urbanization (distance to cities and population density), which could arise from challenges of group cohesion, local control and subsequent management efficacy. Consequently, we argue that some common rural, decentralized, or collective fisheries management systems are inappropriate for engaging participation in urban contexts. Across all locations, there is a need to increase participation with management decisions and actions, and to transparently evaluate and respond to resource and yield outcomes. Crafting recommendations appropriate for urban contexts will be increasingly relevant as urbanization and commercialized fisheries expand in tropical countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing significance of temporary urban initiatives—like community gardens, markets, festivals and artistic ventures—raises questions about their role in the public life and "publicness" of cities. In dialogue with normative and alternative literature on public space, we examine how temporary urbanism is implicated in the production of publicness. Through examining the Auckland Night Markets in New Zealand, we discuss how these events produce publicness through (a) the people that attend them and their experiences, (b) control practices and (c) their spatial configuration. Our discussion lends support to emerging accounts of public space and publicness as pluralistic and dynamic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In evaluating the contributions to this issue, this chapter questions the predictable co‐occurrence of cities with markets and states, a long‐held position in western social theory. However, an extreme relativism is also flawed, and the projection of anti‐capitalist fantasies on past, other peoples have equally distorted interpretations of the archaeological record and blinded researchers to the reality of market economies in societies including the Maya. Ultimately, the power of the comparative method entails more than the identification of commonalities between different market traditions. It can also serve to illuminate how market economics were embedded in distinct cultural, ideological, and material worlds. Calculating self‐interest, supply‐and‐demand, and impersonal exchange do not operate according to a single behavioral logic but are shaped by ideologies of identity and desire specific to distinct regimes of value. Therefore, attention to the cultural and spatial context of economic transactions—in the original spirit of Polanyi—remains indispensable to interpreting how markets may have shaped historically particular constructions of personhood, community, inequality, place, and the ontological status of commodities. In the end, I argue that archaeologists also need to investigate the political affordances of markets as specific urban places and not simply as epiphenomena to a priori political or economic institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public branding is a new governance strategy in the public sector. Local governments, for instance, use brands to attract target groups to the city, such companies, tourists, or citizens. But how do target groups actually value this governance strategy? This article zooms in on the purpose of branding, as perceived by companies as a target group in a branding campaign. Q methodology is used to study the subjective viewpoints of 33 company owners in a neighborhood in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, that was branded as the Rotterdam Makers District. The analysis reveals that company owners prefer a transparent branding process in which they are recognized as coproducers of the brand and can add their story to the brand message that is conveyed to target audiences. These findings add to the resonating call in the literature to make more use of governance theories in the field of branding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying and implementing successful strategies to conserve nature is a central goal of environmental practitioners. Conservation tools increasingly have an economic rationale to them, expanding the array of means available to trigger environmental actions. Missing is a comprehensive list of economic and financial instruments for conservation practitioners that highlights their current applicability, context, and relative success. To address this gap, we assembled such a list and surveyed units of The Nature Conservancy, a global conservation organization, to understand how these instruments are being used in varied contexts. We find that the majority of respondents have used economic or financial instruments, with the most common types being markets and price premiums, investments and funds, and payments for ecosystem services. A variety of factors influence the choice of instruments, including stakeholder interests, experience, and replication possibilities. Institutional constraints act as a significant barrier to implementation. These findings identify and offer insights on an expanded set of instruments that the non‐profit conservation sector can use, replicate, and develop to meet conservation goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: While public and civil sector nutrition interventions in low‐ and middle‐income countries have demonstrated positive impacts on nutritional status, micronutrient deficiency remains persistent and severe. Accordingly, there is much debate about the viability of market‐based strategies directed at reducing micronutrient deficiencies among the poor, particularly concerning the role businesses can take. Purpose: This article explores the potential for both large and micro/small businesses to engage in markets for nutrient‐dense foods. It examines the challenges businesses face in establishing and maintaining sustainable business models and whether these businesses can achieve the scale required to achieve substantive impacts on the nutrition of the poor. Methodology: This article presents a comprehensive literature review and in‐depth case studies of market‐based initiatives directed at enhancing the access of the poor to nutrient‐dense foods. The case studies involved analysis of secondary data and interviews with stakeholders, including value chain actors, civil society organizations, government officials, etc. Findings: All bottom of the pyramid (BOP) businesses face considerable challenges in the context of markets for nutrient‐dense foods directed at the poor that relate to the difficulties faced in presenting a viable value proposition to consumers and in distributing products to the places where the poor reside, while achieving sustainable scale. Importantly, the results indicate a critical role for micro/small businesses in promoting the consumption of nutrient‐dense foods by the poor. Policy implications: The findings raise important questions over the role and focus of public support to businesses looking to enter and/or expand in markets for nutrient‐dense foods directed at the poor, and especially with respect to micro/small businesses as opposed to large/multinational corporations. Originality: The article presents the first comparative analysis of market‐based strategies of micro/small to large businesses directed at reducing micronutrient deficiencies in the poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cattle producers and markets faced massive disruptions due to COVID‐19 in both supply and demand for cattle and beef. Restaurant and food service shutdowns affected beef demand. Closures and slowdowns of beef processors caused a logjam of live cattle in the supply chain. The resulting effects on cattle producers at all levels were lower prices and abnormal cattle flows, but the magnitudes of those effects were not homogenous across size and type of cattle. In this article, we detail how the COVID‐19 pandemic has affected cattle markets and cattle producers across the different sectors. We also discuss policy responses and considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study presents a game‐theoretic model in which a potential entrant platform expands a new business to compete with an incumbent platform. Findings: The results indicate that the potential entrant platform will never increase the market awareness of its new business beyond a threshold value, even if it is cost‐free. In addition, the profit of the incumbent platform may be even greater when facing competition. Furthermore, the optimal pricing of the potential entrant platform depends on the network effects. Conclusion and managerial implications: In order to compete with the incumbent platform, the potential entrant platform needs to increase its market awareness rationally, and the incumbent platform may accommodate the entry of a potential entrant under certain conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many emerging economies incumbent firms often use dubious means to deter entry of other firms. We analyze this scenario in a three‐stage game of entry deterrence. The incumbent has incomplete information about the entrant's costs but can increase this cost by resorting to unfair means (e.g. bribing a politician who harms the entrant). We completely characterize the optimal bribe and show that this depends on the "fairness index" and the "differentiation" parameter. We also show that zero bribes need not maximize welfare and market quality. Our results seem to be compatible with anecdotal evidence from emerging economies such as India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]