Beyond Mainstream Development: The Moral Economy Alternative

Calls for moral economy abound as evidence accumulates of growing social, ecological and racialized failings of mainstream development conceived as a Westerncentric/Eurocentric construct largely driven by the notion of 'economic growth' as basis of development. There is now a considerable and diverse literature on contradictions of the mainstream development, including questions of inequality, climate change vulnerability, white racism, modern slavery, child labor, terrorism, new nationalism, decline of multilateralism at post-Brexit Europe and more recently COVID-19 pandemic-which has exacerbated existing poverty and inequality in the Global South. Yet these growing concerns are neglected in mainstream development discourse. Importantly, the broader landscape within which climate change, modern slavery, white racism, ecological and human security is situated is increasingly changing bringing new challenges to the understanding and rational of mainstream development. In view of this context, this article makes a new contribution to the debate on the failures of the mainstream development in post-pandemic world order. Building on post development debate, it argues that there are several disconnects, tensions and contradictions between the economic growth model and more ethical and equitable treatment of development. It proffers a moral economy and what makes it an alternative model and draws new distinctions between development as economic growth, which inhibits an understanding of moral economy that can address more directly the underlying contradictions of mainstream development in an historically asymmetrical global system. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Forum for Development Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Potential mechanisms by which cash transfer programmes could improve the mental health and life chances of young people: A conceptual framework and lines of enquiry for research and policy

Mental health is inextricably linked to both poverty and future life chances such as education, skills, labour market attachment and social function. Poverty can lead to poorer mental health, which reduces opportunities and increases the risk of lifetime poverty. Cash transfer programmes are one of the most common strategies to reduce poverty and now reach substantial proportions of populations living in low- and middle-income countries. Because of their rapid expansion in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have recently gained even more importance. Recently, there have been suggestions that these cash transfers might improve youth mental health, disrupting the cycle of disadvantage at a critical period of life. Here, we present a conceptual framework describing potential mechanisms by which cash transfer programmes could improve the mental health and life chances of young people. Furthermore, we explore how theories from behavioural economics and cognitive psychology could be used to more specifically target these mechanisms and optimise the impact of cash transfers on youth mental health and life chances. Based on this, we identify several lines of enquiry and action for future research and policy.Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press.

Abhigrith: Central Adoption System

Over the years, the number of orphans in India have been increasing and the adoptions taking place have not seen significant growth in them. The current system provided by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (also known as CARA) is inefficient and backward. Due to this, the parents get frustrated and give up on the idea of adopting a child. With the recent introduction of COVID-19 pandemic, the problem has become more relevant. There are also various other issues such as child trafficking, illegal adoption, child labor, etc. that have come into the picture due the lack of security in the existing system. To solve this problem, there is a need to develop a system that will replace the current parent-centric process to a child-centric process. The system will be at a centralized location so that it is accessible to all the stakeholder. The system will enable the adoption procedure which will be faster and more responsive. © 2022 IEEE.

UNICEF Strategic Plan 2018-2021 Goal Area 2: Every Child Learns. Evidence and Gap Map Research Brief. Innocenti Research Brief 2022-05

This research brief is one of a series of six briefs, which provide an overview of available evidence shown in the Campbell-UNICEF Mega-Map of the effectiveness of interventions to improve child wellbeing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Five of the six briefs summarize evidence as mapped against the five Goal Areas of UNICEF's Strategic Plan 2018-2021, although it is anticipated that they will also be useful for others working in the child well-being space. The sixth brief maps the COVID-19-relevant studies. This brief provides an overview of the available evidence related to education. The purpose of the research brief is to: (1) Make potential users aware of the map and its contents, (2) Identify areas in which there is ample evidence to guide policy and practice, and so encourage policymakers and practitioners to use the map as a way to access rigorous studies of effectiveness,and (3) Identify gaps in the evidence base, and so encourage research commissioners to commission studies to fill these evidence gaps. [This brief is an update of the 2020 version. It was written with assistance from Yashika Kanojia.]

UNICEF Strategic Plan 2018-2021 Goal Area 3: Every Child Is Protected from Violence and Exploitation. Evidence and Gap Map Research Brief. Innocenti Research Brief 2022-06

This research brief is one of a series of six briefs, which provide an overview of available evidence shown in the Campbell-UNICEF Mega-Map of the effectiveness of interventions to improve child wellbeing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Five of the six briefs summarize evidence as mapped against the five Goal Areas of UNICEF's Strategic Plan 2018-2021, although it is anticipated that they will also be useful for others working in the child well-being space. The sixth brief maps the COVID-19-relevant studies. This brief provides an overview of the available evidence related to ensuring that every child is protected from violence and exploitation. The purpose of the research brief is to: (1) Make potential users aware of the map and its contents, (2) Identify areas in which there is ample evidence to guide policy and practice, and so encourage policymakers and practitioners to use the map as a way to access rigorous studies of effectiveness, and (3) Identify gaps in the evidence base, and so encourage research commissioners to commission studies to fill these evidence gaps. [This brief is an update of the 2020 version. It was written with assistance from Yashika Kanojia.]

Healthcare Sector and Anti-Competitive Practices in India

Health is the basic human right and an important indicator of the nations' commitment towards the health of its citizen and hence every country strives to increase the health standard and provide basic medical facility to all. This right to health is an outcome of various legal sanctions, both internationally and of countries specific. The right to health is enshrined as a basic human right internationally. The right to health is an inclusive right, extending not only to timely and appropriate health care, but also to the underlying determinants of health as per (Report of Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights). Though the Constitution of India does not expressly recognize the Right to Health as a fundamental right under Part III of the Constitution (Fundamental Rights), it is considered as an inseparable part of the Right to Life. Article 23. As a result, the child labour and human trafficking are prohibited in India. This article aims to analyse the impact of fast-changing lifestyle, habits, stress, COVID-19 pandemic and other factors on public health in India. It is more sensitized since last two years. Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.

The Effects of COVID-19 on gender, children, and household relationships in Tanzania

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted family routines, relationships, projects, and sociability giving rise to multiple outcomes threatening the health, income, social cohesion, and well-being of individuals and their families. This study aimed to qualitatively evaluate the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on gender and household relationships in Tanzania. Method(s): This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Dar es Salaam, Unguja and Pemba employing multi-stage exploratory sequential mixed-method study design. Data were collected through key informant interviews, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews. Participants were national, regional and district officials, community health volunteers, influential persons, traditional healers, traditional birth attendants, community members, community leaders and health workers. Information collected focused on the effect of COVID-19 control measures on gender, children, and household relationships. Result(s): Overall, the findings demonstrated a breadth of responses. Many families reported increased gender-based violence, children engaging in child labour, household conflicts due to economic hardship and strained family relationships. In contrast, some positive benefits were reported to include strengthened household relationships, as movement restriction provided ample time for family to stay together during the day. Parents had much time with their partners and children when COVID-19 control measures were in place. Conclusion(s): Although Tanzania implemented COVID-19 control measures without exercising total lockdown, the pandemic had substantial effects on gender-based violence and household relationships. The results call for the need for the government and other stakeholders to strengthen the social welfare interventions in response to epidemics and other emergencies.

COVID-19 lockdowns and children's health and well-being.

This paper studies the health and well-being of children during the COVID-19 lockdowns in a developing country context. Using surveys for low-income households in rural areas of Pakistan, we find that lockdowns are associated with worsened health and well-being of children. Exploring potential economic and noneconomic mechanisms behind this negative association, we find that children participating in the labor market due to extreme poverty suffer the worst impact from lockdowns. These results call for policies that target resources towards households where children's participation in the labor market is more likely since leaving vulnerable children behind will have a lasting economic impact for developing economies.

‘Child labour rampant in Bangladesh’s leather industry’

Researchers found children aged seven to 17 working 12 to 14 hours, six days a week in almost all processes along the leather supply chain – from animal slaughter and skinning to dyeing, waste disposal and manufacturing of leather products and by-products such as glue and meat. “The leather supply chain is highly complex as are the reasons why children engage in the most dangerous forms of labour,” says A.K.M. Maksud, the study’s lead author and executive director at Grambangla Unnayan Committee. Recommendations by Human Rights Watch to Bangladesh’s ministry of labour and employment include rigorously enforcing existing laws, prohibiting hazardous child labour in tanneries, with monitoring and unannounced site inspections, and issuing penalties against employers who violate the law.

The power of Jatra

Cracks that had appeared in the walls of the building before the industrial accident were ignored by the owners and the collapse resulted in the death of more than 1130 people. Through the words of the characters on stage, Bhattacharyya makes evident the imbalance in power between people who live in poverty and need the work to guarantee survival for themselves and their families, and the factory owners, who can set and break the rules. Bhattacharyya's play is ultimately a declaration of the power of art and storytelling as a way to promote change and fight injustice.

As cheap as humanly possible: why consumers care less about worker welfare

Purpose>Worker welfare and modern slavery within the fashion industry remain a key supply chain challenge for many retailers, consumers, governments and advocacy groups. Yet, despite publicised worker-welfare violations, many fashion retailers continue to post record sales and profits, indicating that consumer concern does not always translate at the cash register. Research has shown that worker welfare is a less salient area of concern for fashion consumers, and the aim of this research is to investigate the reasons why this may be the case.Design/methodology/approach>Due to the exploratory nature of the research, a qualitative methodology was deemed the most appropriate. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with Australian fast-fashion consumers to investigate the underlying reasons worker-welfare violations are less likely to elicit pro-social consumer behavioural change and are a less salient area of concern.Findings>This study found that consumers perceive worker-welfare concerns at both a proximal and cultural distance to themselves, and therefore struggle to connect with the issues associated with modern slavery. Additionally, there was an underlying social consensus that exploitative practices are an accepted part of the fast-fashion supply chain to ensure the continuation of low-cost clothing. Despite an underlying awareness of exploitative practices and acknowledgement that modern slavery is ethically wrong, other consumer values often influenced purchase behaviour and the level of concern expressed towards garment workers.Originality/value>This is the first study to apply psychological distance in a fast-fashion context to better understand consumer perceptions towards modern slavery. Responding to calls for further research into ethical consumption of apparel, this study develops an in-depth understanding of the reasons why worker welfare is a less salient area of concern for fast-fashion consumers. Extending on current literature, this study qualitatively investigates consumer sentiment towards worker welfare, identifying the greatest barriers to consumers' levels of concern. In addition to a theoretical contribution to the fashion, ethics and business literature, this article provides key insight to guide practice.

The Impact of Parental External Labour Migration on the Social Sustainability of the Next Generation in Developing Countries

Migration is a frequent phenomenon in the current European context. It is culturally differentiated according to every country, and it has a major role in the social sustainability of families and the next generation. This paper aimed to determine the impact of parents leaving to work abroad on the lives of their left-at-home children. This gives rise to a new phenomenon of “social orphans”. This research was carried out with the participation of eight adults who, during their childhood, had a parent who went to work abroad for a period of more than one month. The research tool used was the semi-structured interview guide. The research found that the main reason for parents leaving was the precarious financial situation of their families and their need to support their children (materially, educationally, and financially). The research results showed that the resulting greater financial stability did not guarantee that family ties would develop in a positive direction. More than half of the respondents reported a worsening of relationships with family members and experienced major psycho-emotional deprivation. The family has been negatively impacted in the social sustainability of the next generation.

Fear of Child Labour looms large among Children amid Pandemic

[...]with more than 15 months of school closure, coupled with loss of livelihood of parents and children losing one or both the parents to the pandemic them further to the brink of various sorts of vulnerabilities ranging from getting engaged into labour force at this tender age or falling prey to traffickers and thereby joining as child labour. A pandemic induced crisis requiring utmost attention of both public and the authorities has become essential, since many children have lost their parent or parents to the pandemic and are without care or protection. [...]a large number of children in India remain vulnerable, facing physical and psychological risks to a healthy development.

Unfree and at high risk: Understanding child labour and occupational risks from the viewpoint of those involved

Why do young workers suffer many times the injury rate of adults? We cannot answer this question without first understanding how children of poor families, such as those making bricks, become child laborers. We are learning that the process of transitioning into work starts early in life, at the same time as children are learning language, culture, religion, and morality. This lead to the development of a worldview that legitimizes child labor in the eyes of its victims, also tends to overlook or accept the health risks it entails. Yet emerging data indicate that, in addition to the excessive physical loads the children are expected to carry, there is the heavy psychological load of responsibility towards younger siblings and disabled family members. This load is not diminishing as child labour rates overall are increasing. Current research being undertaken with underprivileged communities in Pakistan is exploring potential points of intervention, for example, determining to what extent children are ‘socialized into work’ by their parents and siblings or alternatively by their own experiences and mistakes, as well as the factors which provide positive reinforcement. It seeks points of intervention from the regulatory angle as well. Why are basic health and safety laws so widely ignored? The upheaval of COVID 19 on top of a steady trend toward increased global production and communication are putting pressure on both young workers and those who employ them. Health professionals must document the effects of these changes on young workers’ health and design counter-measures that are adapted to local social environment.

Promoting a comprehensive approach in the agriculture sector and by agriculture stakeholders towards the elimination of hazardous work and child labour

The report “Child Labour: Global estimates 2020, trends and the road forward” show that 160 million children are engaged in child labour, of which 79 million are performing hazardous work. 70% of child labour remains in agriculture, mostly unpaid family work, in hazardous conditions. 2021 was the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour and 2022 will see the organization of the V Global Conference on Child Labour. The COVID-19 crisis is threatening to turn back the clock in terms of progress achieved. Addressing children’s exposure to pesticides and agrochemicals should be made a top priority. - By promoting and adapting to local contexts, easy-to-use awareness raising tools for behavioural changes at community level - By enhancing the capacity of agricultural communities to take action against hazardous child labour and hazardous pesticides - By educating young people and children on the environmental and health consequences of hazardous chemicals’ use in agriculture - By generating knowledge on chemicals and children’s exposure - By advocating at global level to make hazardous chid labour elimination and decent work for young people through safe farming practices a priority

Adaptive learning approaches for addressing hazardous child labour and reducing pesticide exposure

The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated vulnerabilities, social inequalities, especially in rural areas concerning certain groups. In rural areas, where the ‘informal sector’ is widespread, workers are poorly protected under labour law, personal protective equipment is scarce, and health care is limited. Pesticides are among the most serious risks to workers’ health and occupational exposure to hazardous pesticides occurs through different exposure routes. For this reason, the Rotterdam Convention Secretariat in FAO together with other teams such as the Child Labour in Agriculture Prevention team in FAO pay great attention to reduce exposure to hazardous pesticides for certain vulnerable groups, in particular women and children. Applying online tools for raising awareness and building capacities, technical assistance was provided to Parties to the Convention and other relevant stakeholders. Examples of activities are: • Development of two brochures on OSH, child labour reduction and pesticide exposure: o The technical note for agricultural stakeholders “Addressing hazardous child labour and reducing risks posed by hazardous pesticides” o The Information note and call for action “Eliminating hazardous child labour through safe and sustainable farming practices” • A series of capacity development regional webinars on vulnerable groups exposure to hazardous pesticides and human rights-based approach • Expanding interactive tools for engaging users • In the framework of the International Year against Child Labour in 2021, a course was organized in each region to address hazardous child labour and reduce pesticides’ risks.

Child Labor and the Role of the School

Covid-19 will aggravate the problem of child labor. The traditional policy to fight this problem has relied heavily on the role of the school. Empirical evidence shows that the benefits of basic education for poor families are very high. Yet, these high returns may be a statistical illusion when social and economic inequality prevail. In this case, while fighting inequality and enhancing social mobility, the emphasis should be put on the role of the school as provider of goods and services: on maintaining Conditional Cash Transfer programs. This is the more urgent when episodes like the Covid-19 pandemic force temporary school closures