28th Jannuary 2015

 

The seminar will address issue related to conflicts and large-scale land acquisitions with contributions from:

 

Giorgia Giovannetti e Nadia Cuffaro, University of Firenze; University of Cassino

Large scale land acquisitions in developing countries: new evidence and development challenges

 

Tim Krieger, University of Freiburg

How Institutions Shape Land Deals: The Role of Corruption

 

Giuseppina Siciliano, Centre for Development, Environment and Policy (CeDEP), School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London

European transnational investments in agricultural land: drivers, dimension and geography

 

Nadia Cuffaro

> Bio

Nadia Cuffaro is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Cassino, Department of Economics and Law; former Economic Affairs Officer at the United Nations Department of International Economic and Social Affairs, New York; FAO consultant from 1994 to 2011. She holds a MSc in Agricultural Economics, University of Reading, UK and a Laurea cum laude in Statistics from the University of Roma La Sapienza. Her research interests include development economics, trade, agribusiness, population and development. Her work has been published in academic journals and presented in main international conferences. Publications include, Cuffaro, Giovannetti, Monni (Guest Editors) “Foreign Acquisitions of Land in Developing Countries. Risks, Opportunities and New Actors”, Special Issue of QA – Rivista dell’Associazione Rossi-Doria N. 2, 2013 ; Cuffaro N.  Population, Economic Growth and Agriculture in Less Developed Countries, Routledge, London and New York (2002)

 

Giorgia Givannetti

> Bio

Giorgia Giovannetti is full Professor of Economics at the University of Florence (since 2001), and Part time professor at the European University Institute and New York University, Florence. She has acted as Scientific Director of the European Report on Development in 2009 and 2010, Director of the Development research Area in the Global Governance Programme (2011-2013), Director of the Research Centre of the Italian Trade Institute (2005-2007). She has been advising the President of ICE (2004-2011), the Italian Treasury (2003-05) and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Trade (2002-05). She is scientific coordinator of the Fondazione Manlio Masi, member of the globalization team at OECD, fellow of the Foundation for International Development Study and Research- FERDI, (University of Auvergne at Clermont Ferrand) and Fondazione Luca D’Agliano (Turin) and of a Group for the Reform of the Rome Agencies of the Center for Global Development in Washington. She holds a PhD and an MPhil in Economics from Cambridge University, and a Laurea cum laude in Statistics from the University of Roma la Sapienza. In the past she has been fellow of Trinity College- Cambridge and lecturer (1990-1995) and visiting Professor in several universities (UPF, NYU, Hoover Institution, Universitat Torcuato de Tella). Her research interests include macroeconomics, political economy, international trade and development economics. Her work has been published in leading academic journals and presented in main international conferences. 

 

> Abstract

Large scale land acquisitions in developing countries: new evidence and development challenges

The seminar will  (i) Present a review of recent evidence on large scale land acquisitions in developing countries and of econometric analyses of their determinants, with a focus on Sub Saharan Africa;  (ii) Discuss the development challenges posed by FDI in land, focusing on: land concentration and business models in agriculture, institutional capacity building, role of corporate social responsibility

 

 

Kim Krieger

> Bio

Tim Krieger, b. 1972, is Wilfried Guth Professor of Constitutional Political Economy and Competition Policy at the University of Freiburg, Germany. He holds a Master’s degree in Quantitative Economics from the University of Kiel (2000) and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Munich (2004). His current research interests include: migration and education, globalization processes (e.g. large-scale land acquisitions by foreign investors), causes and consequences of terrorism. He has published in leading journals in both economics and political science, such as Journal of Public Economics, Journal of Conflict Resolution and Journal of Peace Research.

> Abstract

How Institutions Shape Land Deals: The Role of Corruption

Large-scale land acquisitions, or "land grabs", concentrate in developing countries which are also known for their corruption-friendly setting caused by a weak institutional framework. We argue that corrupt elites exploit this given institutional set-up to strike deals with international investors at the expense of the local population. Using panel data for 157 countries from 2000-2011, we provide evidence that these land deals indeed occur more often in countries with higher levels of corruption.

 

 

Giuseppina Siciliano

> Bio

Giuseppina Siciliano works as Research Fellow at the Centre for Development, Environment and Policy (CeDEP), School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Her main research focuses on the linkages between resource management and development, with extensive research experiences in China, Africa and South East Asia.

> Abstract

European transnational investments in agricultural land: drivers, dimension and geography

The research investigates the role that European countries play in the international acquisitions of agricultural land. The drivers of European investments, both outside and within European borders, are analysed looking at energy and agricultural policies, water and land scarcity, and the main scope, i.e biofuel, food or industrial use, of such investments in the main target countries. Results reveal that European land investments in agriculture are mostly driven by EU policies instead of scarcity of land and/or water resources.  Results also reveal that most of the countries targeted by EU land investments are developing countries with very low levels of development and abundance of water and land resources.

 

 

admission to the Seminar is free of charge, registration is required at: http://goo.gl/iDEU1p

a detailed programme of the seminar is enclosed.