This article sets the scene for a special issue on why frugal innovations are increasingly important for development research. While the top-down business and management literature on frugal... Show moreThis article sets the scene for a special issue on why frugal innovations are increasingly important for development research. While the top-down business and management literature on frugal innovation has claimed developmental relevance, we give at least equal importance to much longer-standing bottom-up development studies discourses on grass-root innovation, bricolage, and livelihood strategies. We argue that we need both literatures for a better understanding of how frugal innovations relate to development. Accordingly, we position the articles in this special issue in the frugal innovation and development debate. Finally, we discuss the relevance of a frugal innovation lens in how two major global trends are impacting upon global development opportunities: the global diffusion of 3rd and 4th Industrial Revolution digital technologies and global population dynamics. We consider these two trends to be major entries for future research on frugal innovation and development.Résumé: Cet article pose le décor pour un numéro spécial sur les raisons pour lesquelles les innovations frugales sont de plus en plus importantes pour la recherche sur le développement. Tandis que la littérature “top-down” du monde des affaires et de la gestion au sujet de l’innovation frugale a revendiqué une pertinence dans le monde du développement, nous donnons au moins autant d’importance aux messages bien plus anciens, portés par les études “bottom-up “sur le développement, à propos d’innovation à base communautaire, de bricolage et de stratégies de subsistance. Par conséquent, nous placerons les articles de ce numéro spécial dans le débat sur l’innovation frugale et le développement. Nous soutiendrons que nous avons besoin des deux littératures pour mieux comprendre comment les innovations frugales sont liées au développement. En outre, nous discuterons brièvement de la pertinence d’adopter une perspective d’innovation frugale dans l’analyse de la façon dont deux grandes tendances mondiales impactent les opportunités de développement international : la diffusion mondiale des technologies de la 3ème et 4ème révolution industrielle et la dynamique démographique mondiale. Nous considérions ces deux tendances comme thèmes majeurs pour de futures recherches en matière de innovations frugales et développement. Show less
Knorringa, P.; Pesa, I.; Leliveld, A.H.M.; Beers, C. van 2016
Frugal innovation aims to bring products, services and systems within the reach of billions of poor and emerging middle-class consumers. Through significantly cutting costs while safeguarding user... Show moreFrugal innovation aims to bring products, services and systems within the reach of billions of poor and emerging middle-class consumers. Through significantly cutting costs while safeguarding user value, frugal innovation opens opportunities for new business models and may well disrupt innovation processes in entire economies. The debate on the developmental implications of frugal innovation is ideologically polarized. Whereas advocates suggest a business view of ‘win-win’ in which companies can earn profits while simultaneously alleviating poverty, critics argue that frugal innovation will merely exacerbate capitalist exploitation and inequality. In this contribution we argue that an empirical approach is needed to assess where and when frugal innovation is more likely to enhance inclusive development. Show less
Many African countries have experienced sustained economic growth, but few have achieved the type of structural change, driven by rising productivity, that has transformed mass living standards in... Show moreMany African countries have experienced sustained economic growth, but few have achieved the type of structural change, driven by rising productivity, that has transformed mass living standards in parts of Asia. In the Developmental Regimes in Africa Synthesis Report, editor David Booth examines how DRA research has shed new light on how developmental regimes might emerge and be sustained in Africa in the 21st century. He outlines a concept with defining features at three levels: policy content, especially regarding agriculture; policy process, especially the ability to arrive at appropriate policies through iterative and adaptive problem-solving; and a type of political settlement that frees policy-making from the usual constraints. Among the other authors are the ASC's Ton Dietz and André Leliveld, with a contribution on the Agricultural 'pockets of effectiveness' in Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda since 2000. Show less
Vlaminck, Z.; Dekker, M.; Leliveld, A.H.M.; Oberst, U. 2014
When discussing development issues in Africa, it is not sufficient to simply stress the ubiquity of failure, malnutrition, disease, predatory states and war, one also has to recognize that... Show moreWhen discussing development issues in Africa, it is not sufficient to simply stress the ubiquity of failure, malnutrition, disease, predatory states and war, one also has to recognize that important aspects in the lives of millions of ordinary people have been transformed over the last five decades. The contributions in this book are rooted in extensive empirical research, some at a local, regional and/or national level in different African countries (Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa and Uganda), while others take a pan-African view. All, however, offer insight from different analytical perspectives into the heterogeneity of poverty and development processes in Sub-Saharan African and confront the ideas, concepts and assumptions that lie behind pro-poor policies. The volume also encourages policy makers to choose realistic policy prescriptions in an attempt to move people out of poverty. Show less
Confronted with high unemployment figures and widespread poverty among the black population, one of the priorities of the first postapartheid government of South Africa has been to combat poverty... Show moreConfronted with high unemployment figures and widespread poverty among the black population, one of the priorities of the first postapartheid government of South Africa has been to combat poverty among its population by enlarging employment opportunities. It is generally accepted that this policy will have a large impact on the number of foreigners called to work in South Africa. By taking Swaziland, where data were collected in 1990, as a case study, this article investigates the impact on the capacity of Swazi rural households to survive, if the possibility for international labour migration should become constrained. The paper first investigates whether common socioeconomic characteristics can be identified among homesteads whose survival is threatened. Next, it investigates the possibilities and constraints for returning migrants to find employment in Swaziland. In the final section, conclusions are presented on the prospects of Swazi rural households to survive without migrant labour to South Africa. The main finding is that in the short run relatively 'young' households, with few working members and a weak economic position in the local rural economy, are among the most vulnerable. In the long run the survival of most Swazi households with migrants in South Africa is at stake. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum Show less
As labour migration to South Africa is a pronounced feature of Swazi society, its impact on Swazi society is substantial. This paper examines what labour migration means to the social security... Show moreAs labour migration to South Africa is a pronounced feature of Swazi society, its impact on Swazi society is substantial. This paper examines what labour migration means to the social security role of the Swazi rural homestead. By discussing the relationship between labour migration and the conditions which determine whether or not a social group can act as a solidarity group (viz. the size of a social group, its composition, its durability, its capacity to raise means, and the existence of a 'normative insurance'), the author estimates the impact of labour migration on the rural homestead in its capacity as a solidarity group. For this purpose he compares a group of homesteads with migrants in South Africa and a group of homesteads without. Data are derived from a 1990 survey among 115 rural homesteads situated on Swazi Nation Land. The author shows that the impact of labour migration differs according to the type of homestead. As a solidarity group, homesteads in the establishment and expansion stage are far more affected by labour migration than homesteads in other stages of the developmental cycle (viz. consolidation, fission, decline). Show less
This study, which is based on field research carried out in Swaziland from October 1989 to December 1990, starts with an introductory chapter followed by three theoretical chapters on social... Show moreThis study, which is based on field research carried out in Swaziland from October 1989 to December 1990, starts with an introductory chapter followed by three theoretical chapters on social security in developing countries. The content of these chapters is illustrated with an extensive case study of Swaziland. Ch. 5 gives a brief profile of the Kingdom of Swaziland. Ch. 6 analyses the Swazi rural homestead, which is considered as one of the most important social security mechanisms in the country. In ch. 7 and 8 other important 'informal' social security mechanisms in the rural areas of Swaziland are discussed, such as kinship relations, neighbourliness, associations, and chiefdom. In ch. 9 the actual operation of these social security mechanisms is further illustrated by analysing their role for the Swazi individual, in particular in the event of three major contingencies: old age, illness and death. The final chapter summarizes the findings of the study. Show less
This paper examines how the labour migration of Swazi homestead members to South Africa affects the homestead as a solidarity group. After an introduction in which he discusses the conditions... Show moreThis paper examines how the labour migration of Swazi homestead members to South Africa affects the homestead as a solidarity group. After an introduction in which he discusses the conditions which make a group a solidarity group and their applicability to the Swazi homestead, the author analyses the impact of migrant labour on the size and composition of the Swazi homestead, its durability and stability, its economic position, and on the principle of reciprocity, particularly with respect to the distribution of remittances. The study is based on data derived from a survey carried out in 1990 among 195 homesteads in Swaziland. On balance, the impact of labour migration on the Swazi homestead as a solidarity group seems to be negative. Show less
This paper discusses the concept of social security and criticizes the ILO definition of the concept as too limited to analyse non-Western social security systems. It develops an alternative... Show moreThis paper discusses the concept of social security and criticizes the ILO definition of the concept as too limited to analyse non-Western social security systems. It develops an alternative definition which includes, firstly, the protection by society of individuals or social groups against a fall in their standards of living as a result of temporary adversities, and, secondly, the promotion by society of the standards of living of those individuals or groups that are below an acceptable minimum level. This wider definition is justified by arguing that social security is a universal necessity. The paper further discusses principles and forms of social security systems, methods of redistribution, and determinants of social security systems. Show less
This paper gives an outline for a research project to study the historical and actual functioning of the so-called traditional social security system in Swaziland and its relationship with... Show moreThis paper gives an outline for a research project to study the historical and actual functioning of the so-called traditional social security system in Swaziland and its relationship with processes of socioeconomic differentiation and nuclearization. The traditional social security system is defined here as the set of traditional institutions that is based on a principle of economic solidarity. This system provides, by the transfer of factors of production, goods and money, a subsistence base to those who could otherwise not reach subsistence level because of old age, invalidity, sickness, death, unemployment, maternity, lack of factors of production, employment injury and pregnancy. In this way it ensures the survival of the homestead. This set of institutions functions between economic units (households) within a homestead or between households of different homesteads. In most cases the institutions are based on kin relationships, although some are based on alliance, on friendship or on systems of mutual help. The first chapter deals with processes of change and traditional structures in sub-Saharan Africa: a Marxist interpretation. In chapter 2 the case of Swaziland is described. Show less
