Recognition of Laborers as Citizens: First Worker Democracy versus Liberal Capitalist Democracy

This article presents an analyses of democracy and capitalism from the point of view of Political Marxism, particularly Ellen Meiksins Wood. It distinguishes between two conceptions of democracy: the ancient Athenian democracy which conferred a civic status on subordinate classes, creating the unique social class, the peasant-citizen and contemporary elitist liberal capitalist democracy. Consequently it shows that the former was first and only workers democracy in history. Further it compares these two democracies and their influence on economy, particularly class relations and issues of exploitation. It finishes by presentation of limits of modern democracy and proposes possible solution.

Economic, Cultural and Religious Determinants of Perceived Level of Political Corruption

Political corruption has received increasing attention in the recent literature as it leads to crises in both industrialized and developing countries. This study examines the level of corruption and for this purpose this study tries to find out the question of what determines political corruption. Foreign aid, the world policy index, GDP per worker, democracy, British colony, religion, women in the parliament, ethnolinguistic fractionalization, and the number of years of schooling are used as explanatory variables. The ordinary least squares (OLS) and a parsimonious specification is used in order to identify the insignificant variables which will be dropped sequentially from the first setup, so as to arrive at a final specification. Yet, the core variables are kept, which were the number of years of democratic government (Durable), and the percentage of population with Protestant religious affiliation (Prot), and enthnolinguistic fractionalization (Etf), from the first specification to the last one and those core variables have a significant effect in determining the perceived level of corruption.

EXCHANGE RATE MISALIGNMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: EVIDENCE FROM PAKISTAN'S RECENT FLOAT

The paper empirically evaluates growth effects of real exchange rate misalignments in Pakistan for the flexible exchange rate period (1983Q1 to 2005Q4). First, real exchange rate misalignment is calculated as the deviation of the actual real exchange rate from its equilibrium value. It is found that the actual real exchange rate in Pakistan remained undervalued. Second, using the GMM estimation technique, it is found that undervaluation of the Pak-rupee has improved output growth in Pakistan and this result is robust to alternative growth equation specifications. The results also stress the role of other factors in determining output growth rate; particularly, capital per worker, democracy, corruption, human capital and deeper financial markets have the theoretical predicted signs and are statistically significant.

The Challenges Facing the South African Labour Movement

There is a growing body of literature on the role and impact of unions in the developing world, and on their ability to mobilize members against a background of neo-liberal reforms. The South African trade union movement represents a source of inspiration to organized labour worldwide, but has faced many challenges over the years. This article engages with debates on union solidarity and worker democracy, and draws on the findings of a nationwide survey of members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) to explore the extent of fragmentation according to gender, age, skill level and ethnicity. The survey reveals regular participation in union affairs, democratic accountability, participation in collective action, and a strong commitment to the labour movement, but variation in levels of engagement between categories of union members indicates significant implications for union policy and practice.