Browsing Centres by Author "Crabtree, Andrew"
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Crabtree, Andrew (København, 2007)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Prahalad’s thesis is extremely vague, indeed it identifies seven versions. The paper then turns to examining the 12 major cross-country case studies that Prahalad uses as corroboration for his views. It argues that the evidence that Prahalad offers to support his claims fails to do so, or, proves to provide counter-examples. Furthermore, the case study approach that Prahalad uses is methodologically weak for the strong claims that he makes. Placing the argument in a broader perspective, it is argued that the bottom of the pyramid approach can do more harm than good if it, as Prahalad does, plays down factors which have been important to large scale poverty reduction in countries such as South Korea, China, India and Vietnam. After assessing the book on its own terms, the paper asks whether or not income poverty is the correct space in which to evaluate the impact of business activities. The concepts of income poverty, multidimensional poverty and capability deprivation are discussed and a notion of fundamental capability deprivations as being the relevant evaluative space is defended. It is argued while the Bottom of the Pyramid approach fares better on these criteria, but still leaves a lot to be desired. The eradication of deprivation requires more than self-interested firms. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6755 Files in this item: 1
wps-2007_no.1_andrew.crabtree.pdf (241.6Kb) -
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Abstract: China’s FDI to Africa has drawn much attention recently, partially because of the high profile China has given it, and partially because of the political and economic effects it is having on Africa. This paper begins by outlining the political context which is needed to understand Chinese outward FDI, namely the introduction of the "open door” policy and, more particularly, its policy towards Africa. The paper then goes on to give an overview of Chinese FDI in Africa. The paper then turns to ask the question: Is Chinese FDI developmental? To answer this question, it examines the notion of development and argues that much of the "western FDI” debate is severely limited in as far as it concentrates on income poverty and ignores other aspects of multidimensional poverty. After giving an overview of China’s involvement in Africa, the paper turns to four case studies of Chinese FDI, examining the developmental impacts on a variety of dimensions (as far as is possible) of different types of FDI in different regimes, namely resource seeking and manufacturing in Zambia, an infrastructure project in Botswana and construction/tourism in Sierra Leone. It warns against generalising from these cases, but suggests that the developmental effects so far have been limited. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6753 Files in this item: 1
wps-2008_no.9.pdf (167.5Kb)
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