Development Studies

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/10564

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    The role of special economic zones in China's development : a research project in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1997) Xu, Yan
    Most economies of East and Southeast Asia have used export processing zones (EPZs) or special economic zones (SEZs) in their first stage of economic liberation programs. Many authors believed that these EPZs generally decreased welfare or had only a limited welfare-raising effect on the host country. However, by examining the role of SEZs in China's development, this study has concluded that China's SEZs have taken on a leading role in the process of economic reform, and have been important bridges over which foreign capital, technology, goods, management and ideas have crossed into the hinterland of China and over which the products of the hinterland have gained access to world markets. SEZs have been important economic laboratories in which some of the features of Western Capitalism could be tried out and when found appropriate to Chinese conditions, allowed to cross the bridge into the rest of China. They have also had a long-term effect on growth and development. This study has shown that changes in ideology and human capital development are more important than technology and capital because effective utilization of physical resources depends on human resources. This study has also shown that SEZs will continue to play the role of economic laboratories since inner China still features a centrally controlled and managed system and experiments with market mechanism are still at a very early stage.
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    Political and ethnic representation in Chinese local governance : analysis of the roles of the deputies of Leishan County People's Congress, Guizhou Province, China : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies, Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) Zheng, Yuanheng
    This thesis investigates the political and ethnic environment of local Chinese political actors and their representational dilemmas in the Miao-dominant area of Leishan County, Guizhou Province, China. The investigation is conducted via two research questions: how do the deputies of a Miao County People‘s Congress in China play their roles in representing the interests of the state towards the community, and how do they represent the interests of the community towards the state? The achievements of the deputies and the challenges they face in their dual representational roles are a focus of the analysis. The thesis provides insight into the governance and politics of a local government body dominated by an ethnic minority and the interplay of these dynamics with central government authorities presided over by Han Chinese. The representative structure of the Leishan County People‘s Congress (LCPC) and its deputy membership is explored to understand how the deputies enact their roles in promoting, intervening in and restructuring development projects as both agents of and remonstrators to the central state. Case studies of village governance and cultural tourism are used to illustrate how the LCPC deputies are both coordinators and negotiators in a polycentric local governance structure. The fieldwork was carried out in the ethnic area of Leishan County. Relevant data was collected through four interrelated research methods: focus groups, semi-structured individual interviews, purposive observation and document analysis. The quantification of pairwise ranking by the focus groups highlighted the achievements and challenges in the key functions required of the deputies. The data also led to two further areas for in-depth analysis: central local relations, and the political and ethnic representation of the deputies. The research found that when conflicts exist, political representation that favours the state prevails over community interests. At the same time, the deputies‘ representation of their ethnic communities is enhanced and augmented when they undertake to localise the national development policies and projects handed down by central authorities. Finally, the concept of polycentric governance enables a more precise understanding of the changing local governance systems in China among the diverse stakeholders present in the ethnic communities.
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    Evaluation of the potential of ecotourism to contribute to local sustainable development : a case study of Tengtou Village, China : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2008) Jiang, Jingjing
    In the last few decades, “ecotourism” has emerged as a much talked about topic that is frequently linked to the term “sustainable development”. Despite the fact that the definition of ecotourism has been expanded from primarily pristine nature-based areas to modified areas, relatively few studies have been devoted to evaluating the relationship between “ecotourism” and “sustainable development” in those destinations. To address this research need, this thesis attempts to analyse the potential of ecotourism as a strategy for sustainable development, where it does not depend only on nature-based opportunities. Relevant literature on the topics of ecotourism and sustainable development was examined to develop a framework to assess ecotourism in a case study area. The case study employed was Tengtou village, China, which is one of the earliest national eco-villages. Tengtou hosted 76,200 tourists in 2006. Data was collected using qualitative methods, which included semi-structured interviews, informal discussions, focus groups, participant observation and questionnaire surveys. The research revealed that ecotourism has brought a variety of favourable impacts, and the local people hold optimistic attitudes about ecotourism, which indicate the feasibility of the ecotourism industry and the comparative success it has achieved. On the other hand, the research also found several potentially adverse effects, which suggest that ecotourism does not yet make a full contribution to local sustainable development. This thesis concludes that effective regulation and sound planning play a significant role in enabling the sustainability of ecotourism. Meanwhile, the importance of local people’s active involvement at different levels of ecotourism development in ensuring ecotourism’s success, in the long term, was also revealed. This issue of local participation, strongly pushed in the international ecotourism literature, is not something which has characterised most ecotourism initiatives in China to date. Further, considering the increasing number of tourists, the management of tourists and the expansion of physical infrastructure need to be strengthened in the research area.