 |  |  |
 |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
| Past Themes and Topics
Full text of all articles in this issue is available at Project Muse What is the Informal Economy, Anyway? The meaning of the term "informal economy" has become broader, and more vague, with each additional reference to it by policymakers. James Thomas breaks down the various definitions. Dead Capital and the Poor Arguably the most important question in economics is why most of the world's countries remain poor. Using data mainly from Egypt, Hernando de Soto offers his answer: the culprit is the lack of formal property rights, which prevents the poor from access to capital. Integrating the Informal Sector in the Modernization Process ILO Director for the Americas Víctor Tokman affirms that ending informality is not only a question of eliminating bureaucratic hurdles, also it implies a cultural change on the part of informal enterpreneurs. The Missing Parts of Microfinance: Services for Consumption and Insurance While microfinance has been hailed as the solution to the informal sector's lack of access to loans, Tim Nourse argues that its emphasis on productive credit only partially meets entrepreneurs' financial needs. Women and Informality: a Global Picture, the Global Movement Women are over-represented in the informal sector worldwide. Martha Chen analyzes the implications for poverty reduction and growth. Black, Grey, and Other Markets: Comparisons Myanmar and North Korea: Informality in Asia's Pariah States Whatever the political differences between the Burmese and North Korean governments, the author finds that isolation and repression breed the same responses. Africa's Informal Economies: Thirty Years On Africa, the continent where the term informal economy was coined three decades ago, remains a laboratory for the study of the complex interaction between formality and informality. When Home-Based Workers Raise Their Voices: An Indian Perspective While globalization seems to increase outsourced home-base work, it also facilitates the establishment of networks of workers engaged in global collective action. Evaluating the Formalization of Work Thesis: Evidence from France Through their study of the French economy, the authors dispute the notion that informal work disappears as economies become more advanced. Informality Knows No Borders? Perspectives from El Paso-Juárez The quintessential free traders are informal workers who disregard border regulations, says Kathleen Staudt. Informality is a step ahead of sovereignty at the U.S.-Mexico border. "Here to Work": Undocumented Immigration in the United States and Europe Undocumented immigration has fueled the informal economies of the developed world for years. Michael Samers compares the U.S. and European attempts to cope with the newest tide. Approaching Humanitarian Intervention Strategically: The Case of Somalia Eight years after Bush deployed troops to Somalia, the failed intervention haunts U.S. military planners. The United States should learn from its mistakes in Somalia and plan accordingly. The New Lobbying: Interest Groups, Governments, and the WTO in Seattle The international media have played up the role of protest in derailing the November 1999 WTO ministerial in Seattle. The author argues that simple conflicts of interest among negotiators both inside and outside the Convention Center were more important in the talks' collapse. A New Foreign Policy for Africa? The U.S. Foreign Policy Trajectory on Africa The author describes how caution, and a healthy dose of neglect, have defined the U.S. approach toward African issues for the last half-century. Some high points can be teased out of this record, though, and they suggest how policy could be shaped in the future. Supporting Sovereignty in Africa The former secretary of state for African affairs argues that, before the United States can give away other attention to Africa, it must concentrate on ending the continent's wars. A New Approach to Sovereignty in Africa The author declares the need to move beyond conflict resolution. In particular, the United States needs to stop taking Africa's borders for granted. A Realist's Minimal U.S. Policy Toward Africa There is no need for a general Africa policy, the author declares. Instead, the United States should deal with African nations like it deals with any others: as individual entities. U.S.- Africa Policy as Conflict Management The United States can have an African policy on the cheap, the former assistant secretary for African affairs argues. All it needs to do is act when faced with obvious, looming disasters. U.S.- Africa Policy as Human Rights Instead of applying band-aids to every humanitarian crisis, the United States should develop broadly applicable principles based on the promotion of human rights, the author says. The United States and Africa: Beyond the Clinton Administration Arguing for a return to ideas, the author writes that no amount of "lessons learned" will be enough for Africa if the United States does not build a larger, coherent foreign policy. Book Reviews Hernando de Soto's Mysteries While Efraín Gonzales de Olarte credits Hernando de Soto for having placed informality on the radar screens of policymakers, in reviewing his latest book, The Mystery of Capital, he affirms that De Soto's answer to the challenges it poses is more ideological than practical. Dissenting Views on the State, Multinationals, and Developing Countries Two recent books offering conflicting views on the industrialization process in Brazil provoke Glauco Arbix to reflect on the complex and often abrupt relations between national industry, multinationals, and the state. The First Global War The Seven Years' War was not merely a precursor to the War of American Independence, but a titanic struggle between two great imperial powers, according to Fred Anderson's Crucible of War, reviewed here by Quentin Hodgson. Requiems for UNSCOM Four recent books by insiders offer clues on the collapse of UNSCOM's arms control mission in Iraq. Michael Deaver thinks that they miss the significance of its mandate. Re-Assessing U.S.- China Policy David Lampton's Same Beds, Different Dreams not only investigates the evolving relationship between these two countries, but also, as U.S. Senator Max Baucus discusses, examines lessons for policymakers that should not be ignored. Film Reviews Drug War Blues As the United States escalates its international offensive against drugs, journalist Frank Smyth takes a critical look at Drug Wars, a PBS documentary and NPR program that says that treatment works. Disorder and Regression in the Land of the Future The Brazilian film Cronicamente Inviável makes misery so palpable that the audience cannot but feel the pungency of the many social ills that plague the country, says Karen Backstein in her review. |
