Country examples Flashcards
(11 cards)
Aceh
Topic: Resilience and Post-Disaster Economics
Key Concepts: Resilience, foreign aid, peace dividends, governance.
Detailed Summary:
Resilience on the Beach: Highlights the determination of survivors, like Suryandi, who rebuilt businesses despite losing everything in the 2004 tsunami.
The Story of Aceh: The tsunami caused immense destruction, killing over 170,000 people and wiping out entire communities. Aceh became a case study for rebuilding in extreme adversity.
Shaking the Foundations: Explores how GDP became the standard measure of economic strength and discusses the limitations of such measures in post-disaster scenarios.
The Aid Boom: A massive influx of international aid helped rebuild Aceh. Villages reflected the unique architectural styles of donor nations, showing how aid can shape recovery.
The Peace Dividend: A 2005 peace agreement ended decades of conflict between the Acehnese rebels and the Indonesian government, allowing resources to be allocated to development rather than war.
A Tale of Two Women: Women played crucial roles in rebuilding, but the increasing imposition of conservative Islamic laws limited their participation in public life.
Memorable Insight: Successful recovery after disasters depends on community resilience, external support, and peace-building measures.
Problem:
The 2004 tsunami devastated Aceh, killing over 170,000 people and destroying infrastructure, homes, and livelihoods.
Years of conflict prior to the tsunami left the region politically unstable and economically fragile.
Solution:
International Aid: A massive influx of global aid provided housing, infrastructure, and immediate economic relief.
Peace Agreement: The 2005 peace accord between Acehnese rebels and the Indonesian government stabilized the region, allowing for long-term recovery.
Community Resilience: Acehnese people rebuilt homes and businesses, demonstrating remarkable adaptability and strength.
Zaatari
Topic: Refugee Economies and Informal Markets
Key Concepts: Informal markets, survival economies, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Detailed Summary:
Survival City: Zaatari, one of the largest Syrian refugee camps, began as a place for survival but quickly developed into a functioning city. Once basic needs (food, shelter) were met, refugees created higher-level economies to fulfill needs for esteem and self-actualization (Maslow’s hierarchy).
Shopping by Numbers: Refugees received electronic debit cards from the World Food Programme (WFP), giving them the freedom to buy what they needed instead of receiving fixed rations. Markets and shops emerged, transforming Zaatari into a vibrant, albeit informal, economy. Entrepreneurs opened barber shops, bakeries, and phone repair stores, reflecting human adaptability and economic creativity.
Memorable Insight: Refugees can create thriving informal economies when given autonomy and resources.
Problem:
Refugees in Zaatari faced limited access to income, resources, and autonomy while depending on aid for survival.
Informal economies were unregulated, risking exploitation and inequality.
Solution:
Electronic Debit Cards: Introduced by the World Food Programme, these cards allowed refugees to purchase food and essentials, fostering dignity and choice.
Emerging Markets: Refugees created thriving informal markets (e.g., shops, services), showcasing entrepreneurial resilience and partially meeting their needs.
Louisiana
Topic: Informal Economies and Resource Allocation
Key Concepts: Shadow economies, barter systems, economic incentives.
Detailed Summary:
Alone with My Thoughts: Angola Prison (Louisiana State Penitentiary) operates as an isolated society with its own economic systems. The chapter explores how economies emerge under extreme constraint.
Prison Economics 101: Prisoners trade goods like coffee, cigarettes, and ramen noodles to meet unfulfilled needs, creating a barter-based informal economy.
Slave Farming: Angola’s history as a slave plantation reveals how systemic inequality shaped the region’s economy.
The Price of Freedom: Prison wages are shockingly low, forcing prisoners to rely on informal economies for basic necessities.
Parallel Prison Economies: The prison has two economies: one driven by contraband (like drugs) and another by essential goods.
Real Gentlemen: Skills learned in the informal prison economy, like barbering, can help prisoners reintegrate into society.
Memorable Insight: Even in the most constrained environments, economies adapt to human needs.
Problem:
Prisoners at Angola faced severe restrictions on access to resources and extremely low wages, forcing them to rely on illicit means to meet basic needs.
Historical exploitation and the continuation of systemic inequality (e.g., forced labor) compounded the economic challenges.
Solution:
Barter Economy: Prisoners created informal economies using goods like coffee and cigarettes as currency, meeting needs the formal system failed to address.
Skill Building: Informal trades, such as barbering, equipped inmates with marketable skills for reintegration post-release.
Darien
Topic: Resource Economies and Development Challenges
Key Concepts: Resource management, isolation, infrastructure.
Detailed Summary:
Alone in the Gap: The Darien Gap, a dense rainforest between Panama and Colombia, has abundant resources but no stable economy due to isolation and lack of infrastructure.
The Worries of High Office: Officials fear that building infrastructure, like the Pan-American Highway, could lead to deforestation, displacement of indigenous communities, and increased drug trafficking.
Closing Time: Towns like Yaviza remain impoverished and disconnected, limiting economic opportunities.
Village Flux: Indigenous Embera communities attempt to manage their resources sustainably, following Elinor Ostrom’s principles for common-pool resource management.
Life and Limb: Harsh environmental conditions, including deadly wildlife, make economic activity challenging.
Deadly Darien: Unregulated logging and resource extraction lead to environmental degradation and displacement.
Memorable Insight: Natural resources alone cannot guarantee development without governance and infrastructure.
Problem:
The Darien Gap’s isolation, lack of infrastructure, and environmental risks hinder economic development despite abundant natural resources.
Unregulated logging and resource extraction caused deforestation and harmed indigenous communities.
Solution:
Sustainable Resource Management: Indigenous Embera communities applied Elinor Ostrom’s principles, managing resources collectively to prevent overexploitation.
Environmental Policies: Officials prioritized environmental protection, opposing destructive infrastructure projects like extending the Pan-American Highway.
Kinshasa
Topic: Corruption and Informal Markets
Key Concepts: Informal economies, governance, taxation.
Detailed Summary:
Failure Squared: Despite vast resources, Kinshasa suffers from widespread poverty due to corruption and mismanagement.
The Top Man’s Son: The elite thrive while the majority struggle, highlighting stark inequality.
The Tax Pyramid: An opaque and exploitative tax system discourages formal business activity.
The Real Economy: The informal economy provides essential goods and services, compensating for a dysfunctional formal economy.
Pose: Residents project wealth and success through outward appearances, reflecting aspirations in the face of hardship.
Memorable Insight: Corruption and inequality undermine resource-rich economies, driving reliance on informal markets.
Problem:
Rampant corruption and a burdensome tax system crippled formal businesses, leaving residents reliant on a dysfunctional informal economy.
Vast wealth inequality exacerbated social tensions, with a small elite thriving while the majority struggled.
Solution:
Informal Economy: The informal sector filled gaps in goods and services, allowing residents to navigate a failing formal economy.
Grassroots Adaptation: Community-led initiatives and entrepreneurial activities provided essential economic stability.
Glasgow
Topic: Deindustrialization and Social Capital
Key Concepts: Structural change, negative externalities.
Detailed Summary:
Ship Shape: Glasgow thrived as a shipbuilding hub but became dependent on a single industry.
The Rise and Fall of Tenements: Tenement housing fostered social capital, but economic decline eroded these communities.
The Shipyard Effect: The collapse of shipbuilding led to mass unemployment, loss of skills, and deteriorating social cohesion.
Memorable Insight: Overdependence on a single industry can devastate economies when structural shifts occur.
Problem:
The collapse of Glasgow’s shipbuilding industry in the 20th century led to mass unemployment, loss of skills, and deteriorating social cohesion.
Negative externalities from deindustrialization included urban decay, poverty, and declining mental health.
Solution:
Urban Renewal Programs: Investments in infrastructure and housing aimed to rebuild communities and attract new industries.
Skill Transition: Some policies promoted retraining programs to help displaced workers adapt to new job markets.
Akita
Topic: Demographics and Economic Adaptation
Key Concepts: Aging populations, rural depopulation.
Detailed Summary:
Silver City: Akita, Japan, faces shrinking workforces and rising healthcare costs due to aging demographics.
The Game Changes: Intergenerational housing and innovative elderly care models are emerging as solutions.
Domestic Bliss Turns Sour: Rural depopulation leads to the closure of schools and essential services.
A Room with a View: Elderly residents stay active and engaged, demonstrating successful aging.
Memorable Insight: Aging populations require innovative social and economic adaptations.
Topic: Demographics and Economic Adaptation
Problem:
Japan’s aging population in regions like Akita led to a shrinking workforce, rising healthcare costs, and rural depopulation.
A lack of younger residents resulted in the closure of schools, shops, and essential services.
Solution:
Intergenerational Housing: Encouraged communal living to support elderly care and strengthen social bonds.
Elderly Engagement Programs: Promoted active lifestyles and community involvement among the aging population to maintain social and economic participation.
Tallinn
Topic: Technology and Governance
Key Concepts: E-governance, trust, digitization.
Detailed Summary:
A Digital Dawn: Tallinn leads in digital governance, integrating technology into daily life.
Trust Me, I’m Estonian: High trust in government and digital systems fosters efficiency and transparency.
Digital Shadows: Challenges like privacy concerns and the digital divide must be addressed.
Memorable Insight: Trust and governance are critical for leveraging digital innovation.
Problem:
Transitioning to a fully digital economy raised concerns about privacy, data security, and digital inequality.
Early post-Soviet infrastructure challenges hindered rapid development.
Solution:
E-Governance: Estonia embraced digital systems for government services, increasing efficiency and transparency.
Building Trust: Cultural emphasis on trust and effective digital solutions gained public support, enabling widespread adoption.
Santiago
Topic: Inequality and Education
Key Concepts: Free-market policies, inequality, social mobility.
Detailed Summary:
Invisible Santiago: Stark economic divides separate wealthy and marginalized communities.
Dictating the Free Market: Free-market reforms under Pinochet led to growth but deepened inequality.
Educational Warfare: Segregated education perpetuates inequality, with quality determined by wealth.
Graduate Tax: High costs of privatized higher education limit social mobility.
Memorable Insight: Free markets can drive growth but often exacerbate inequality without social safeguards.
Topic: Inequality and Education
Problem:
Free-market reforms under Pinochet drove economic growth but widened inequality, leaving marginalized communities with poor access to education and services.
High costs of privatized higher education limited social mobility.
Solution:
Targeted Reforms: Social movements pushed for changes to improve access to education and reduce wealth disparities.
Gradual Redistribution: Policymakers began addressing inequalities through subsidies and investments in public services.
