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ABSTRACTThe return of refugees and displaced persons has been a strong priority in the international commitment to reverse "ethnic cleansing" in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the war. Return and reintegration of refugees as a durable solution in profoundly changed and uncertain conditions are rarely unproblematic, and in Bosnia the sustainability of such returns, especially minority returns, remains of great concern. This article examines the strategies of return which Bosnian refugees adopt given such uncertainties, and points to the transnational space in which they occur. The return strategies described are of different duration, often take place outside of established policies and programmes, and are based on the need to keep options open in different places. While policies have tended to define refugee return as a single and definitive move to the country or place of origin, the transnational perspective suggests that return be better conceptualized as a dynamic and open‐ended process, one which may extend over long periods of time, involving mobility between places and active links to people and resources in the country of asylum. Transnational strategies also include the many refugees abroad who hold on to their repossessed houses in Bosnia and visit regularly, some of them for longer periods and in preparation for returning permanently at a later date. In such a transnational dynamic, refugees and returnees are not always clear‐cut categories, as both may move between and combine resources at both ends. The transnational perspective also throws into question notions of "home" as something bound to one particular locality or national community. If home is not just a place or a physical structure, but also a site of social relations and cultural meanings, it may well extend to several places, each one of which may hold its own particular sets of relations and meanings to those concerned. This transnational dimension of home is thus a challenge to notions of "repatriation" or "return" in the simplistic mode. Instead, as this paper shows, the reconstructed home may be translocal, where each locality becomes part of a new home. Rethinking return of refugees in terms of transnational mobility and belonging also suggests new ways of conceptualizing the potential for reconstruction of a large refugee population abroad. How policies and assistance programmes may capitalize on the skills and continued transnational engagements, not least of the many young Bosnians now acquiring higher education abroad, has yet to be developed.

El Ministerio de Minas y Energía aprobó la comercialización de biogasolina en Colombia a partir del día 1.º de noviembre de 2005. La biogasolina (gasohol o mezcla E10) es una mezcla que contiene 90% de gasolina y 10% de etanol en volumen. El etanol se origina a partir de la fermentación natural, luego de extraer los jugos de cultivos como la caña de azúcar, el maíz, el trigo o la yuca. Tanto el Gobierno nacional como los productores interesados han manifestado que la biogasolina se presenta como una alternativa para reducir los efectos negativos sobre el medio ambiente que producen las grandes ciudades debido a la quema de combustibles fósiles en el sector del transporte. Sin embargo, en la literatura científica especializada la evidencia de efectos ambientales favorables por el uso de gasolina oxigenada con un 10% de etanol es escasa. Por el contrario, hay gran controversia a nivel mundial acerca del uso de este combustible modificado. En este trabajo se hace una extensa revisión científica en la que se muestra que la mezcla etanol-gasolina presenta cuestionables beneficios ambientales ya que puede incrementar la producción de contaminantes altamente tóxicos y smog fotoquímico, ofrece pocos beneficios en cuanto a reducciones de gases de efecto invernadero y sostenibilidad ambiental, además de incrementar el riesgo de la contaminación de las aguas subterráneas. ; Colombian government is currently promoting the commercialization and use of biogasoline in the country; this process started on November 1, 2005. Biogasoline (gasohol or E10 blend) is an ethanol-gasoline blend with 10 v/v % of ethanol. Ethanol is being produced by fermentation of sugarcane, maize, wheat or cassava crops. Both the government and the ethanol manufacturers have defended the potential of biogasoline in reducing the environmental deleterious effects that result from the use of fossil fuels in the transportation sector. However, there is scarce evidence in the scientific literature of favorable environmental impacts due to the use of gasoline oxygenated with 10 v/v % ethanol. Moreover, there is a worldwide controversy about using this type of modified fuel. A detailed scientific review showing the questionable environmental benefits of ethanol-gasoline blends is presented in this work. Potential release of highly toxic pollutants, contribution to the formation of photochemical smog and greenhouse gases, environmental sustainability, and groundwater pollution risk issues resulting from the deployment of E10 fuels are widely discussed.

This paper deals with contemporary planning projects that are correlated with community-university partnerships. It studies the ways in which the socio-spatial and national conflict in Belgium in the '60 led to an innovative resolution which is correlated with planning projects (the transformation of rural space) and a new form of contemporary 'new cities'. The main subject of work is the new city named Louvain-la-neuve that was created in order to accomodate the French-speaking university of Leuven after the linguistic conflict of 1968 and the social problem of the difficulties of the coexistence of two different nationalities. Through this project of the city in question, which was mobilized by the administration of the university (UniversitéCatholique de Louvain), the French-speaking Belgian government also aimed in the creation of a new pole of development in the French-speaking region (Wallonie) which would force the development of the whole region and would restore the French-speaking community in the limelight (as it was in an earlier time). More specifically, the research surveys the characteristics of the project according to some parameters: b) the role of the university in the planning processes c) the way that education consists the motivating force of a city and creates agglomeration economies d) and the planning theory in practice and the knowledge of university in planning matters, e)the results of the project in the national and regional economy in the local society and in the sustainability of the city. The local research including living in the area for several months took place in the year 2001 and the main research was made between September 2003 and August 2004 and the analysis of the data followed. The research was based on the local research as well as in two structured interviews with two off the main staff of both the French and Dutch-speaking administration committee of the university of Leuven, visual and photographical survey and group discussions with the local population permanent and temporary, and collection of all possible planning and policy documents as well as surveys concerning the project and the city. The outcome of the research shows the way in which the well-known Belgian national problem resulted in a partnership between the community and the university and in the creation of a new contemporary city that in our days tries to survive and ameliorate its environment through the knowledge-theory and the resources that the university can continuously ensure for the city's development. The research has shown a new innovative approach of the Belgian planning processes that is deeply correlated to a socio-political problem.

"The present lack of a comprehensive framework for sovereign debt restructuring not only generates significant costs but also endangers the stability of the international financial system. In addition, collective action problems involved in the restructuring of sovereign bonds place an obstacle to an orderly and rapid restructuring. The case of Argentina presents a good example for difficulties of a sovereign - but also private-sector stakeholders - may face in the absence of an orderly debt-restructuring mechanism. This paper outlines a possible approach for a new International Debt Framework (IDF) that represents a middle ground between a legally binding insolvency procedure and a voluntary code of conduct. A comprehensive restructuring mechanism could be successful only if it were certain that it would meet with intergovernemental support and leadership on the part of both developed and developing countries. Since the Group of 20 (G20) meetings of finance ministers from developed and developing countries have proved to be a successful forum for analyzing and dealing with instabilities of the international financial system, we propose the G20 as the forum to initiate the establishment of the IDF. With a view to ensuring predictability for international creditors, our proposal also includes a general set of principles similar to those contained in the recent proposal for a code of conduct made by leading sovereign issuers of international bonds and leading private creditors. The IDF should have two functions: crisis prevention and crisis resolution. Permanent debtor-creditor dialogues and transparency and information on emerging-market debt markets are necessary to prevent crises. Under the new IDF this would be ensured throug the creation of a permanent IDF secretariat. All stakeholders would be entitled to nominate members for the secretariat. What is needed to resolve the situation of a financially distressed sovereign is faciliation of an orderly debt-restructuring mechanism. An IDF-Commission (IDFC) would assume this function; it would be made up of representatives from the sovereign debtor, private creditors, multilateral lenders, and sovereign creditors. In contrast to the International Monetary Fund's proposal for Sovereign Debt Resturucturing Mechanism (SDRM), the underlying framework for the IDF would not be statutory. According to the proposal, the IDF Commission would aim for a coherent and comprehensive debt restructuring, propose the amount of financial support required, and outline the economic adjustment path that could guarantee long-term debt sustainability." (author's abstract)

Some of the world's largest remaining populations of dugongs and marine turtles occur in Australia, and six of the world's seven species of marine turtle are found in these waters. Australian populations of dugongs and marine turtle species are under pressure from a wide range of human-related threats. All of these species are classified as threatened, either internationally, nationally or both. As such they are protected under Commonwealth, State and Northern Territory legislation. The opportunity to utilise these animals for commercial tourism comes with the responsibility to ensure that their use is not only sustainable in and of itself, but that such tourism also contributes actively to the conservation of the animals and the habitats on which they depend. The consultation and involvement of all stakeholder groups in the development and management of marine wildlife tourism is vital to ensuring its sustainability. For coastal Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) societies the sea and coast are part of their traditional estates, for which they have inherited cultural rights of ownership and responsibilities for their management. Best Practice management of dugong and marine turtle tourism must therefore include recognition of this fundamental relationship between Indigenous people and their sea country. Best Practice Guidelines are presented within this Code of Practice to assist managers, tour operators and Traditional Owners engage with each other in a process of equitable negotiation, to ensure sustainable outcomes from the planning and management of dugong and marine turtle tourism in Australia. This Code of Practice consists of three parts: 1. PART 1 addresses the broader issues for the sustainable management of dugong and turtle tourism, with specific recommendations for implementation by local councils, protected area and wildlife managers and tour operators, with implications for Traditional Owners, researchers, conservation NGO's, local community members and other stakeholders. 2. PART 2 contains the Best Practice Guidelines for Engaging with Indigenous Traditional Owners in the Planning and Management of Dugong and Turtle Tourism. 3. PART 3 contains specific Codes of Conduct for tours operating in dugong and marine turtle habitat, and for specific types of interactions with these animals (i.e. aircraft, beach-based, vessel-based and in-water interactions). The provisions in these Codes of Conduct should be followed not just by dedicated dugong/turtle commercial tourism operators, but also by all users of beaches and coastal waters of northern Australia, wherever dugongs or marine turtles occur.

The term transition is a key term of the fourth national environmental policy plan (NMP4, 2001), which put forward transition management (Rotmans et al, 2000) as a new policy approach for dealing with persistent and highly complex societal problems such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, overexploitation of resources and health risks related to the use of dangerous, non-natural substances. The NMP4 selected the energy supply, mobility, agriculture and the use of biodiversity and natural resources as priorities for developing transition management activities. The Ministry of Economic Affairs (holding responsibility over energy and innovation policy) has since the NMP4 been the leading actor in the so-called 'energy-transition'. Several activities have been undertaken, based on the basic principles underlying transition management; long term visions as framework for short-term action, a multi-actor approach and a focus on learning and experiments. The approach has stimulated the involvement of a large number of stakeholders and led to the developments of shared visions, ambitions and strategies, experiments and projects. Besides, the approach itself has generated questions regarding regular policies, for example innovation and technology policies, and led to debates on policy integration and barriers in existing regulations. This discussion has been actively picked up by the Ministry and governmental advisory boards for energy and environment (Energieraad and VROM-raad 2004). It is an example of policy learning in which it was believed that sustainability requires some fundamental changes in functional systems, which in turn require policy-innovation. In this paper we will look at why the Ministry was interested in fostering an energy transition (where we will see that economic reasons, notably the willingness to create green energy business, was an important consideration). The paper will describe the policies and stakeholder process, which will be assessed from a transition management perspective. This means that the paper uses the multi-level, multi-phase transition management framework (Loorbach 2004b) to evaluate the energy-transition approach as developed by the ministry of Economic Affairs, in terms of content (what types of visions and experiments are developed?) and in terms of process (what kind of actors are involved, what instruments are used?). Special attention will be given to the nature of the policies developed and their difference with and implications for 'regular' policies. We will compare the difference with past policies and the changes in the system of governance. The paper will also seek to answer a more speculative issue: What are the prospects of the Dutch approach to achieve a transition and a flourishing sustainable energy business?

El trabajo de investigación consta, como su denominación lo indica, de un argumento metodológico: el turismo como actividad sostenible. Su estudio se centrará en las ofertas medioambientales del patrimonio natural y cultural, tradicionales y algunas nuevas para el recurso amenidad y en la elaboración de un proyecto de plan de ordenamiento territorial del mismo y su manejo. La base para esto está dada por estudios de aptitud, impacto, ponderación, encuestas a la comunidad involucrada, planificación de educación medioambiental no formal, etc. La oferta se concretará, además, en el diseño y elaboración de guías y cartelerías específicas para los circuitos, incluyendo, en aquellos que sea posible, materiales audio táctiles. Los objetivos generales propuestos son: Evaluar la aptitud de los ecogeosistemas mendocinos frente al turismo como una actividad económica sostenible. - Elaborar un plan de ordenamiento territorial y manejo de la actividad sostenible económica y ecológicamente- Evaluar la aptitud de los ecogeosistemas mendocinos frente al turismo como una actividad económica sostenible.- Elaborar un plan de ordenamiento territorial y manejo de la actividad sostenible económica y ecológicamente. Como hipótesis: -El turismo como recurso fundamental para la provincia de Mendoza debe concebirse desde la concepción del desarrollo sostenible. - Mendoza posee una oferta importante para que se concrete un turismo sostenible siempre y cuando se realice un adecuado manejo del recurso.- La ausencia de estudios con enfoque holístico es un conflicto y constituye un obstáculo para que la toma de decisión sea más efectiva a escala provincial. ; The aim of this investigation is tourism, as a sustainable activity. It will be focused on the environmental offering of our natural and cultural patrimony and also, in the performance ordinance and management based on aptitude, impact, pondered studies, also inquiries to community, non formal planning and environmental education of a territorial planning. The offering will be concreted by means of the designing and elaboration of guides and posters for touristy circuits, including audio tactile material, whenever it's necessary. The general objectives proposed are to evaluate the aptitude of mendocinian ecogeosystems for tourism as economic and ecologic sustainable activities, to elaborate tourism territorial arrangement in an economic and ecologic sustainability. The hypothesis is that: tourism as a principal source of Mendoza province must be conceived as a sustainable development. Mendoza has very important natural and cultural offering to develop a sustainable tourism, but only if it is properly controlled by the government. The absence of investigation with a holistic scope, in this field, produces negative consequences when decisions are taken.

The European Forecasting Network (EFN) is a research group of European institutions, founded in 2001 under the auspices of the European Commission. ; • In 2005 the upswing of the world economy slows down to moderate growth. Expansion dynamics are high in most emerging market economies and close to potential in the US; however, high commodity prices, in particular for crude oil, continue to dampen world economic growth. Moreover, China gives weaker impulses for world trade due to the restrictive measures of Chinese economic policy. • Rising interest rates and more cautious household spending behaviour will stabilise the current account deficit in the US at the end of 2005. As a result, the chances are good that the recent appreciation of the dollar versus the euro will last. Our forecast is an exchange rate of 1.27 for 2005 and 1.24 for 2006. • Despite quite favourable financial conditions, business investment will only gradually gain momentum in the euro area. In 2005, the y-o-y rates are positive, but show a slight downward trend. Acceleration is expected not before 2006. Private consumption will modestly increase. Consumers in the euro area appear to be cautious in view of the budget problems in many member states, as well as of sustainability problems affecting pay-as-you-go pension and health insurance systems, and the weak performance of national labour markets. • Since the first quarter of national accounts data indicated only a slow acceleration in the euro area, this outlook is a bit more cautious than the one published by the EFN in March. Also, oil prices are again on record levels, and economic sentiment indicators point to a reduction of economic growth in growth in 2005. • Due to the pressure of international oil prices, our inflation forecasts for the euro area have been revised upwards to 2.1% in 2005 in spite of a significant improvement in goods core inflation. In view of this figure, we continue to forecast that the European Central Bank is unlikely to change its reference interest rate until mid-2006. For this year we expect an inflation rate of about 2.0%. • The forecast is also slightly more pessimistic than some others, possibly due to our strictly econometrically based approach, with models not taking into account the recent structural reforms in some member countries. We think that the positive effects of these reforms will not materialise in a short period of time but rather gradually over the coming years. Neither is the burden of political turbulence inside the euro area on economic sentiment captured by these models.

Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) alone only contribute to a limited share of world cotton production, but when added to production from Froncophone Africa Countries (FAC) their share of world exports is very significant, globally ranking second after the USA with 75% of the exported volume, Existing figures, albeit incomplete, provide evidence that FAC's cotton is among the most competitive in the world. This achievement is further noteworthy since the FAC's production does not benefit from any subsidy, while positive socio and economic impacts associated with cotton production have been emphasized by numerous academic works. The maintenance of, if not increasing, subsidy support to cotton production in many cottonproducing countries is challenging the sustainability of cotton in SSA, Correction of this current iniquifous situation needs to be contemplated through international negotiations the outcomes of which remain uncertain. In addition internal efforts must be implemented with a view of further increases in productivity arid competitiveness. This paper explores progress and challenges in making productivity gains at the field level based on data obtained from surveys implemented in Mali, Benin and Mozambique, representing countries with different backgrounds in cotton crop intensification. Compared to World average, yields currently achieved in SSA countries rank from above average to low and this range of the yield distribution is related to input use, the level of which is often for below the one encountered in many other cotton producing countries. However yields obtained by the best farmers can be for above the World overage and may be close to the best ones under rainfed conditions, The gap between the best former yield level and the overage yields in SSA countries is an indicator of the potential margins within which progress could be made in making productivity gains under the existing production techniques. Significant productivity gain is possible from existing techniques, as well as with provision of adapted complementary practices. It is nevertheless hard to associate the observed yield gap with particular cultural practices or to prioritize the practices to correct this gap. The notion of managing yield expectations in connection with the management of technical patterns is introduced. Reasons and constraints to non-optimal implementation of technical practices like plant population, thinning, timely use of fertilizers arid accurate spread of chemicals are identified. Prospects of conventional or new technologies in alleviating constraints to help move forward further productivity gains are outlined. Under the different institutional frames of SSA cotton sectors, the extent research implementation can play in helping to increase productivity is discussed.

Canada's restrictions on the role of private health insurance for publicly insured physician and hospital services are unique among countries with universal, publicly funded health care systems. Pressure is mounting in Canada, however to loosen these restrictions and create a parallel system of private finance. Advocates argue that creation of a parallel system of private finance will ensure the sustainability of the public system (by reducing public cost pressures), improve access to the public system (e.g. by reducing wait times), and improve quality in the public system (through competition). Opponents of parallel private finance argue that it will create "two-tiered" medicine, increase costs, compromise equity and reduce quality and access to publicly financed health care as those with the financial means (and often the strongest voice) exit to private insurance. Australia provides a particularly promising case study for Canada regarding the dynamics of parallel systems of public and private finance. This paper examines Australia's experience with parallel finance for inpatient hospital services to provide insight regarding: (a) the effectiveness of a parallel system of private finance in reducing costs and wait times in the public system; (b) risk selection between the parallel public and private insurance sectors; (c) the financial redistribution associated with the introduction and maintenance of a parallel system of finance; and (d) the dynamics of the broader political economy associated with parallel systems of finance. Australia's experience provides a number of lessons for Canada, including: (1) the potential for cost savings through introduction or expansion of a parallel private sector is very limited; (2) the introduction or expansion of a parallel private finance is unlikely to reduce wait times in the publicly financed system; (3) there is no simple way to regulate private insurers to pursue public objectives; (4) it is impossible to create an independent, isolated parallel system of private finance – interactions between the public and private insurance sectors are complex and unavoidable; (5) quality plays a key role in driving the dynamics between the public and privately financed sectors; and (6) it is essential to articulate clear policy objectives for health care financing and to design public and private roles consistent with these objectives. Our overall conclusion is that the Australian experience provides a cautionary tale regarding the risks, costs and benefits of a parallel system of health care finance.

This study assesses the social, economical, ecological, political, legal, and institutional implications of options related to 'resettlement', 'boundary change', and 'enclave' delineation for each of the five park villages.The study finds that attempting to resettle all the villages from the Korup National Park (KNP) may not be realistic or achievable. At the same time, the present status quo proves not being tenable. Bareka-Batanga is the village the most clearly prepared to resettle, and the least costly too. If the Bakoko group of villages cannot be resettled, it will need a comprehensive development conservation plan within a 'sustainable livelihood option' here named 'enclave option. Three options exist for Erat and its twin village Ekon I: resettlement, with the financial cost scenarios particularly high; maintaining them where they are presently, that implies the much lower short-term financial cost; changing of the park's boundary.The economic analysis finds that under the original assumptions of the Korup project, resettling the villages remains a preferred option for long-term economic benefits. But slight changes into these assumptions significantly reduce forecasted benefits. By contrast, in the short term, the financial costs of resettlement are much higher than other options. The ecological assessment finds that people in the KNP are traditional forest-farmers, with almost 1/12th of the park already domesticated. At the same time, these communities depend vitally on the whole range of environmental services provided by the primary forest. In contrast, the study does not find evidence that hunting, fishing, or gathering by park villagers constitutes, as such, a threat to the sustainability of the wildlife or the ecosystems. The sociological analysis finds that communities' perceptions of the KNP are dominated by the sentiment that they have been deceived and abandoned. Parts of these communities would still like to be resettled, other want to stop all talks of resettlement and just 'divide' up the forest between them and the Korup project. Legal alternatives to the resettlement such as degazettment of part of the KNP to allow for certain villages to stay where they are while exercising freely their activities; the adaptation of the management plan, with the justification that such enclaves fall within the fundamental objectives of the management of the park; and a special regulatory amendment, by Decree of the Prime Minister or by ordinance of the President of the Republic with regulatory power.

This discussion paper is a brief summary of a number of intellectual endeavours undertaken in 2001. First and foremost, it is an attempt to progress a research collaboration between the author-a social scientist based at the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research-and a number of biological scientists based at the Australian Research Council ARC Key Centre for Tropical Wildlife Management at the Northern Territory University. It is hoped that it also further progresses our joint collaboration with an Indigenous organisation, the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation in central Arnhem Land. The broad aim of this wider collaboration is to generate creative ideas about new development futures for Aboriginal people living on Aboriginal land. The paper seeks to broaden the notion of the economy and development to include the customary economy. A number of other issues are discussed in the process, some in a very cursory and exploratory way. These include the debate about Indigenous development encapsulated in extreme ideological positions taken by so-called 'progressives' and 'conservatives', as well as more conventional debates about the shortcomings of notions of development that are embedded in the market mentality and have limited analytical capacity for considering cross-cultural and sustainability issues. There is a linked debate about land rights and native title and whether the restitution of property rights (in land and species) to Indigenous groups will have a positive (or negative) future development impact. The paper begins by outlining the economic development problem that is faced by Indigenous people living on Aboriginal land in remote and regional Australia. It then describes the hybrid economy, made up of market, state and customary components, that is a distinctive feature of such situations, and argues that a big part of the development problem is that this type of economy is poorly understood-by politicians, policy makers and Indigenous people and their representative organisations alike. Consequently, important Indigenous contributions remain unquantified and unrecognised in mainstream calculations of economic worth. This shortcoming is generated in large measure by inadequate analytical approaches that fail to ask how development based on market engagement be delivered to communities that are extremely remote from markets, in both locational and cultural terms. A proper understanding of the hybrid economy requires a hybrid analytical and intellectual framework that combines science, social sciences and Indigenous knowledge systems. The paper argues for such a framework, and concludes by providing a few examples of how this different approach might enhance greater sustainable development on Aboriginal land in the twenty-first century.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) was initiated as a policy principle in literature in the early 1990's in Europe and over the last decade, this concept has transformed into numerous legislative proposals and mandates in 16 countries across the globe. EPR requires the manufacturer or "producer" of the product to take financial responsibility for a product's post-consumer stage---after the product is no longer useful. EPR forces producers to manage the life-cycle sustainability of their manufactured products, with a particular emphasis on strategies of recovery and recycling as opposed to the disposal of products. This dissertation presents two novel techniques that have not been previously addressed in literature. Both techniques have been developed to aid manufacturers and policy makers with the evaluation and implementation of sustainable practices for EPR. The first area of research demonstrates a methodology for evaluating product remanufacturability. Product Remanufacturability is defined in this research as the degree to which a retired or worn product can be rebuilt economically as opposed to demanufacturing parts for retirement. The purpose of developing the methodology is twofold: (1) to explore the economic feasibility of remanufacturing versus demanufacturing the product at its end-of-life, and (2) to gauge possible environmental benefits that result from remanufacturing. This methodology also provides a technique to evaluate remanufacturing uncertainty and its impact on economical and environmental metrics of remanufacturing. The second area of research focuses on the recently ratified EPR policy called "The European Union's (EU) Directive on End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs)". This section of research presents an innovative mathematical model that allows producers and policy makers the ability to evaluate the current legislative policy requirements of the EU Directive with respect to ELV management. This analysis tool allows a manufacturer to evaluate, test and optimize the economics of demanufacturing ELVs within the requirements of the newly mandated ELV Directive. The results of the study provide insight into the future problems and opportunities that will be brought forth by the new Directive. Both areas of research have been developed through collaborating with industry partners.Dept. of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2002 .J64. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 63-04, Section: B, page: 2012. Adviser: Michael H. Wang. Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2002.

Canada?s restrictions on the role of private health insurance for publicly insured physician and hospital services are unique among countries with universal, publicly funded health care systems. Pressure is mounting in Canada, however, to loosen these restrictions and create a parallel system of private finance. Advocates argue that creation of a parallel system of private finance will ensure the sustainability of the public system (by reducing public cost pressures), improve access to the public system (e.g., by reducing wait times), and improve quality in the public system (through competition). Opponents of parallel private finance argue that it will create ?two-tiered? medicine, increase costs, compromise equity and reduce quality and access to publicly financed health care as those with the financial means (and often the strongest voice) exit to private insurance. Australia provides a particularly promising case study for Canada regarding the dynamics of parallel systems of public and private finance. This paper examines Australia's experience with parallel finance for inpatient hospital services to provide insight regarding: (a) the effectiveness of a parallel system of private finance in reducing costs and wait times in the public system; (b) risk selection between the parallel public and private insurance sectors; (c) the financial redistribution associated with the introduction and maintenance of a parallel system of finance; and (d) the dynamics of the broader political economy associated with parallel systems of finance. Australia's experience provides a number of lessons for Canada, including: (1) the potential for cost savings through introduction or expansion of a parallel private sector is very limited; (2) the introduction or expansion of a parallel private finance is unlikely to reduce wait times in the publicly financed system; (3) there is no simple way to regulate private insurers to pursue public objectives; (4) it is impossible to create an independent, isolated parallel system of private finance -- interactions between the public and private insurance sectors are complex and unavoidable; (5) quality plays a key role in driving the dynamics between the public and privately financed sectors; and (6) it is essential to articulate clear policy objectives for health care financing and to design public and private roles consistent with these objectives. Our overall conclusion is that the Australian experience provides a cautionary tale regarding the risks, costs and benefits of a parallel private system of health care finance.

Die gesellschaftlichen Veränderungen, die einhergehen mit sinkenden Arbeitnehmereinkommen, Massenarbeitslosigkeit sowie einer wachsenden Anzahl von Alleinerziehenden, führen dazu, daß ein erheblicher Anteil der Bevölkerung dauerhaft oder zeitweise von Armut betroffen ist. Von Armut betroffene Menschen sind in ihrer materiellen Lebenssituation und ihrem Zugang zu Konsum, ihren Handlungsspielräumen sowie ihren sozialen und kulturellen Möglichkeiten erheblich eingeschränkt. Parallel zu diesen gesellschaftlichen Veränderungen sind wir mit der fortschreitenden Zerstörung unserer Umwelt konfrontiert, die eine Veränderung der Wirtschafts- und Lebensweise notwendig macht. So wird seit dem Umweltgipfel in Rio 1992 das Konzept der "nachhaltigen Entwicklung" debattiert. Das in diesem Rahmen entwickelte Leitbild, das sich an die Konsumenten richtet, beruht auf Selbstbegrenzung, Konsumverzicht und Steigerung des immateriellen Wohlstands, was in dem Slogan "Gut leben statt viel haben" zum Ausdruck gebracht wird. Armut begünstigt Selbstbegrenzung und Konsumverzicht notwendigerweise aufgrund materieller Knappheit. Dies könnte aus umweltpolitischer Sicht den Schluß nahelegen, daß zunehmende Armut sich positiv auf die ökologische Entwicklung auswirkt. Diese Schlußfolgerung ist jedoch nicht zutreffend. Anhand von diversen praktischen Beispielen aus den einzelnen Lebensbereichen läßt sich belegen, daß Armutsbedingungen überwiegend hinderlich und nicht förderlich für ökologisches Verhalten sind. "Nachhaltige Entwicklung" setzt eine ausreichende existenzielle Absicherung voraus, auch wenn sich in Ansätzen durch materielle Knappheit und erwerbsarbeitsfreie Zeit alternative nachhaltige Lebensstile entwickeln. Die unterschiedlichen Perspektiven führen auch auf gesellschaftspolitischer Ebene zu zahlreichen Konfliktlinien zwischen der sozialpolitischen Forderung nach mehr materieller Absicherung und Wohlstandssteigerung für arme Menschen und dem ökologischen Postulat des "weniger ist mehr". Dennoch zeigen sich bei näherer Betrachtung durchaus Berührungspunkte. ; Social changes that are marked by decreasing wages, increasing unemployment as well as a growing number of single parents, have resulted in an ever rising percentage of the population living in temporary or permanent poverty. Poor people are experiencing significant restrictions in their material situation and their scope of action along with limited social and cultural possibilities. At the same time there has been a debate on the concept of sustainability since the Environmental Summit in Rio in 1992. Within this discourse the emerging model is directed towards the consumer and relies on self containment and abstention, which is signified in the slogan: "Live good rather than own much". Poverty necessarily furthers humble and abstaining ways of life through material shortages. This might suggest that increasing poverty positively influences ecological development, an assumption unfounded, as may be shown in an analysis of various areas of life. Ecologically sound behaviour requires sufficient existential security. Conditions of poverty are by and large preventing and not furthering sustainable development, although there may be alternative and ecological concepts of life developing out of a period of unemployment or material restriction. There are a variety of conflicts between the socio-political demand for a better material subsistence and increase of prosperity for poor people on the one hand and the ecological motto of "less is more" on the other. Nonetheless there are points of contact between the differing social perspectives if one cares to take an in depth look.