School of People Environment and Planning

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    Profiles and dynamics of the urban informal sector in Indonesia : a study of pedagang kakilima in Bandung : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2002) Suharto, Edi
    This study analyses the ways in which the trajectory of development in Indonesia affects the poor who work in the urban informal sector. Situated in the context of Bandung, the third largest city in Indonesia, this study targets street traders, pedagang kakilima, to pursue three areas of inquiry: the economics of the street enterprises; human development of the traders; and coping strategies of the households. The data cover the period of economic crisis, notably between 1997 and 1999. This allows the study to emphasise how the crisis - along with the processes of capitalist industrialisation and urbanisation - affected the activities and lives of street traders and how they coped with the problems they faced. This study has seen that the current economic crisis in Indonesia, following the advent of structural changes of the 1970s and 1980s, has been followed by the prevalence of employment shifts from the formal to informal sector. At the macro level, the informal sector continues to cater for a majority of total employment in the Indonesian economy and thereby sustains livelihoods, especially of the low-income households. The data on the economics of pedagang kakilima show that profiles of the small and informal enterprises are distinctively different from those of larger and formal businesses. Although a few of the street traders demonstrate characteristics of successful merchants, most of their features still exhibit vulnerability These include volatile incomes, insecure premises, limited economic resources, inadequate technology for advancement, and lack of access to formal financial services. These limitations are generally typical of small-scale production and were already in existence prior to the crisis. On the basis of human development indicators, the findings suggest that there is no automatic link between street trading and poverty, but equally there is no such link belween street trading and prosperity. The widespread economic crisis detrimentally affected pedagang kakilima, especially their economic capital. Reduced consumer demand and price rises, for example, were widely found to diminish income earnings in street trading during the period of recession. With specific reference to human capital, however, it is clear that the crisis had not yet had a detrimental effect on their access to education, health, and housing facilities. Information about coping strategies adopted by street trader households reveals that the urban informal sector is dynamic. Instead of being passive and static, pedagang kakilima make every effort to succeed in the city during economic hardship and try as best as they can to curtail the effect of the crisis. Those participating in this street trading, including men, women and children, prove to be active and creative in the ways they manage and manipulate a threatening situation in both enterprise and household settings. This study ultimately suggests that together with the existing conventional approach, the holistic framework drawn from the human development and coping strategy perspectives can be combined and developed to shape thinking and actions concerning the urban informal sector. This combination will enable research and policy to become more sensitive to the needs and reality of urban development in Indonesia that more often than not neglects the reality of its human, social, and cultural fabrics.
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    The effect of migration on development in Tuvalu : a case study of PAC migrants and their families : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2009) Simati, Sunema Pie
    International migration and development have been traditionally treated as separate policy portfolios; however, today the two are increasingly viewed as interlinked. While the development status of a country could determine migration flows, migration can, in turn, contribute positively to national development, including economic, social and cultural progress. Consequently, if migration is not well managed, it can pose development challenges to a country’s development and progress. Therefore, partnership through greater networking between countries of origin and destination is needed to fully utilise the development potential of migration. For Tuvalu, migration has remained a vital ingredient for economic development and more importantly, the welfare of its people. The implementation of New Zealand’s Pacific Access Category (PAC) scheme in 2002 offered for the first time a formal migration opportunity for permanent or long-term migration of Tuvaluans. The PAC scheme allows 75 Tuvaluans per year to apply for permanent residence to work and live in New Zealand, provided they meet the scheme’s conditions. The goal of this research is to investigate, more than five years after PAC’s implementation, the ways in which long-term migration of Tuvaluans, through the PAC scheme, has benefited Tuvalu. To give a broader perspective on the issues explored in this study, the views of Tuvaluan leaders, as significant players in traditional Tuvaluan society, are included, in addition to the perspective of migrants’ families in Tuvalu and the migrants themselves in New Zealand. Combining transnationalist and developmental approaches as a theoretical framework, this thesis explores how Tuvalu’s mobile and immobile populations, through articulation of transnationalism, enhance family welfare, and grassroots and national development. The eight weeks’ fieldwork in Tuvalu and Auckland demonstrated that the physical separation of Tuvaluans from one another through migration does not limit the richness of the interactions and connections between them. In fact, the existence of active networking between island community groups and other Tuvaluan associations in Auckland and in Tuvalu strengthens the Tuvaluan culture both abroad and at home, thus ensuring strong family and community coherence. Maintaining transnational networks and practices is identified as of great significance to grassroots and community-based development in Tuvalu. However, the benefits of long-term migration can only be sustained as long as island loyalty, or loto fenua, and family kinship stays intact across borders, and networking amongst families, communities and church remains active.
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    Organic agriculture: an empowering development strategy for small-scale farmers? A Cambodian case study : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2008) Beban, Alice
    This thesis explores claims that organic agriculture may be an empowering development strategy by investigating the impacts of conversion to organic farming systems on the lives of small-scale farmers in Cambodia. The thesis interrogates the diverse uses and abuses of the term =empowerment‘ in development rhetoric and argues for an empowerment model that is derived from farmers‘ self-defined concepts of development. This model was used to conduct a qualitative case study involving semistructured interviews and focus groups with members of organics initiatives in seven diverse Cambodian communities. Results indicate that many farmers in all communities felt that their most important objective was not only to achieve food security, but to be able to grow sufficient rice to feed their family. Farmers joined the organics initiatives primarily to improve their health and reduce the cost of farming inputs. As a result of joining the initiatives, all farmers (including both certified and non-certified organic farmers) felt they had improved their health and food security. Most farmers also increased incomes, created stronger family and community ties and felt they had more control over their livelihoods. These benefits were not, however, distributed equally amongst individuals or communities. Very poor and isolated farmers could not generally access benefits. The three main factors that determined the impact of the organics initiatives on farmer empowerment were identified as: the individual‘s level of resources, the strength of the farmer group, and the policies and values of the supporting organisation. The implications for future initiatives are, firstly, the tremendous potential for farmers and wider rural communities to benefit from organic agriculture as a development strategy. However, this study also shows that if organics is to be viable for low-resource people, it may be necessary to promote both resources and techniques in organics initiatives. Also, a focus on building strong relationships both within the farmers group and linkages with local and wider stakeholders may enhance long-term sustainability of organics initiatives.