http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/7704 2013-06-20T10:37:35Z http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/79317 Strengthening informal supply chains : the case of recycling in Bandung, Indonesia Tuori, Michael A. (Michael Aaron) A large degree of economic activity in developing countries operates unregulated and unreported in what has become known as the informal economy. Within the informal economy, a large number of individuals work in waste picking and recycling. In Indonesia, up to 70% of all employment is within the informal economy. In Bandung, the nation's third largest city, there are estimated to be more than 3000 individuals working in the informal recycling sector as waste pickers and middlemen. The informal recycling supply chain begins with waste pickers that collect waste materials from homes, businesses, streets, waste transfer sites, and landfills. These materials are then sold through a series of middlemen before reaching the factories that reuse them as inputs to production. Traditionally, academics, policy makers, and advocacy groups have focused their attention on waste pickers, while dismissing recycling middlemen as being exploitative. However, in the case of Bandung, the middlemen industry has a great deal of heterogeneity in terms of earnings and vulnerability. Middlemen also add value to supply chain by providing needed capital and transportation. Using the case of recycling in Bandung, this thesis argues in favor of policies that take into consideration all actors within an informal supply chain. In order to design effective policies, policy makers should have a clear understanding of the supply chain dynamics as well as the roles that each actor in the system serves. This thesis purposes an evaluation tool to aid policy makers in assessing informal supply chains on aspects of both efficiency and social conditions. The application of this tool is then demonstrated in the design of several policy recommendations for enhancing informal recycling activities in Bandung. Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; and, (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2012.; Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 114-118). 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/79205 The economics of US greenhouse gas emissions reduction policy : assessing distributional effects across households and the 50 United States using a recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model Look, Wesley Allen The political economy of US climate policy has revolved around state- and district- level distributional economics, and to a lesser extent household-level distribution questions. Many politicians and analysts have suggested that state- and district-level climate policy costs (and their distribution) are a function of local carbon intensity and commensurate electricity price sensitivity. However, other studies have suggested that what is most important in determining costs is the means by which revenues from a price on carbon are allocated. This is one of the first studies to analyze these questions simultaneously across all 50 United States, household income classes and a timeframe that reflects most recent policy proposals (2015 - 2050). I use a recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to estimate the economic effects of a US "cap-and-dividend" policy, by simulating the implementation of the Carbon Limits and Energy for America's Renewal (CLEAR) Act, a bill proposed by Senators Cantwell (D-WA) and Collins (R-ME) in 2009. I find that while carbon intensity and electricity prices are indeed important in determining compliance costs in some states, they are only part of the story. My results suggest that revenue allocation mechanisms and new investment trends related to the switch to low-carbon infrastructure are more influential than incumbent carbon intensity or electricity price impacts in determining the distribution of state-level policy costs. These findings suggest that the current debate in the United States legislature over climate policy, and the constellation of both supporters and dissenters, is based upon an incomplete set of assumptions that must be revisited. Finally, please note that this study does not claim to comprehensively model the CLEAR Act,. nor does it incorporate a number of important data and assumptions, including: the latest data on natural gas resources and prices, the price effects on coal of EPA greenhouse gas and mercury regulations, the most recent trends in renewable energy pricing. Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2013.; Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 60-62). 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/79204 Development for whom? : an analysis of a rural intervention and its interaction with agricultural policies Winicki, Paula This thesis examines the means and ends of development by addressing two main questions: 1) How does the Colombian state's neoliberal understanding of development affect the socio economic conditions of small farmers? And 2) How do nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that embrace the neoliberal approach to development interact with local communities in their land struggles? To explore these questions, this thesis focuses on a rural intervention by the organization Entrepreneurial Rural Development (ERD), in the Afro-Colombian correginiento of Las Marías (pseudonyms). I focus on this area because it embodies the contradictions in Colombia's agricultural policies: while government-supported programs such as ERD aim to ignite the social and economic development of small farmers, operating concurrently neoliberal policies curtail it. I first analyze how the ERD depoliticized its intervention, and how at the same time its activities have led to the emergence of new leadership in the community. Moreover, I investigate how socio political conditions within the community have significantly limited the success of the ERD's intended process of shaping the peasants with whom they work as small entrepreneurs. I also consider the extent to which the technologically and culturally oriented approach to the community's issues espoused by many of the organization's workers limited their understanding of the farmers' (already) entrepreneurial behavior. Micro-level interventions such as ERD cannot be studied in isolation. Rather, they need to be set in the context of the macro policies that either hinder or encourage the development of small farmers. In a country such as Colombia, which exhibits highly concentrated land ownership and wealth, I argue that neoliberal restructuring and the forms it has taken in the government's agricultural policies have shown a class bias toward large farmers. This bias has led to exclusionary growth, which undercut both access to land and employment for small farmers. The thesis concludes by outlining reforms to address these structural challenges. Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2013.; Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-79). 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/79203 Accommodate street vendors during the urban development process : with two empirical cases of Zhu Lian (ZL), and Guan Dong (GD) public markets in Hsinchu City, Taiwan Weng, Chia Yang Every day, the recurring scene of conflict between street vendors and municipal authorities can be found in virtually every major city around the world. Through licensing, zoning, or relocating, municipal governments devise numerous laws and ordinances to control street vendors in the urban environment. Unfortunately, aggressive regulatory approaches rarely can solve the problems at stake and street vendor management remains a vexing conundrum for many local governments in the developing countries. This paper uses the Taiwanese city of Hsinchu to analyze the reasons why the Hsinchu municipal government was able to successfully relocate street vendors into a thriving public market in one instance (the Zhu Lian market) while unable to replicate this success in another instance (the Guan Dong market). The review of literature illustrates that street vendor relocating processes face three major barriers: (1) ill-conceived location; (2) bureaucratic conformity; and (3) customer base loss. In these two cases, the street vendors shared similar geographical contexts and were both relocated in situ. However, only the ZL vendors managed to overcome other relocation barriers and create a successful market, the GD vendors failed. Field work was carried out in Hsinchu city Taiwan to find out the factors contributing to the success/failure of these two relocation processes. The conclusion shows street vendor organizations play a crucial role during the relocation process. They bond street vendors together and bridge diverse interests, establish their own social norms and etiquette. On the other hand, even though street vendor organizations may serve an efficient solution to address the relocation puzzle, the paper also points out the potential pitfalls of relying on strong vendor organizations in managing street vendors in the city. Under some circumstances, strong street vendor leaders may undermine the city government's administrative authority, and reconfigure the political structure of the city. Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2013.; Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-142). 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z