The kinetic energy in wind is converted into mechanical power in specialized propeller-driven turbines mounted on towers. A generator inside the turbine converts the mechanical power into electricity. Utility-scale wind turbines range in size from 100 kilowatts to as large as several megawatts. Turbines can be built on land or offshore and are grouped into 'wind farms' that provide bulk power to the electrical grid. Smaller turbines are used for homes, telecommunications dishes, and water pumping, sometimes in connection with diesel generators, batteries, and photovoltaic systems.

Despite widespread agreement among economists that labor-intensive manufacturing has contributed mightily to rapid development in China and other fast-growing economies, most developing countries have had little success in raising the share of manufacturing in production, employment, or exports. Tales from the Development Frontier recounts efforts to establish light manufacturing clusters in several Asian and African countries, looking in particular at China.

Indonesia produces more palm oil and consumes more palm oil per capita than any country in the world. This article examines the processes through which Indonesia has promoted palm-oil consumption and some of the consequences of that promotion. Partial equilibrium modelling shows that Indonesia's remarkable increase in palm-oil consumption since 1985 is not largely attributable to population and income growth. Instead, much of this consumption growth has resulted from substitution away from coconut oil, facilitated by government policies on technology, pricing, distribution, and trade.

Using a panel survey, this paper investigates how food price increases in Pakistan in 2008–2010 affect children’s school enrollment and labor. The causal identification relies on the geographical variations in food (wheat) price. The results show that the negative impacts of food price increase on school enrollment differ by gender, economic status and the presence of siblings.

It is clear that climate change involves changes in temperature and precipitation and, therefore, directly affects land productivity. However, this is not the only channel for climatic change to affect agro-systems. Biodiversity is also subject to climatic change. The present paper illustrates a unique attempt to economically assess the potential effects of climate change induced impacts of biodiversity on the agricultural sector in terms of changes in land productivity, changes in agricultural output and, ultimately, changes in national GDPs.

As Indonesia heads to the polls in 2014, its economy is slowing. The end of the commodities boom and the global return to more normal monetary policy has exposed some weaknesses. Exchange-rate depreciation has absorbed some of the adjustment; but structural rigidities are still likely to limit the expansion of non-commodity sectors, and the increased fuel-subsidy bill for imported oil is putting pressure on the current account and the budget. The immediate focus is on demand-side consolidation to manage inflation and the current account deficit.

The water resources of the atolls of the Republic of the Maldives are under continual threat from climatic and anthropogenic stresses, such as changing rainfall patterns, sea-level rise, and contamination from human activities and climatic events. Groundwater, a historically important resource of the island communities of the Maldives, is particularly affected due to the fragile nature of the freshwater lens on small atoll islands.

The author provides a briefing on cost-benefit analyses (CBA) for disaster risk reduction (DRR), stating that the most cost-effective forms of DRR investment tend to be non-structural approaches, such as land use planning, warning systems, and household-level changes. These are often backed by structural measures, making full separation difficult. Barriers to enacting DRR savings occur because political capital is rarely gained from implementing DRR, except in cases where it is visible and tangible and might not even be the most effective DRR approach.

This research explores the activities of community institutions in achieving sustainable forest management (SFM) and sustained forest cover. Three institutions representing the administrative, economic, and social/traditional institutions were identified. The institutions had 30 forest management activities and satisfied about 66% of SFM Criteria and Indicators. A loss of 122 ha of forest cover was estimated over the last 30 yr, attributed to conversion of forests to built-up areas.

The new scenario framework facilitates the coupling of multiple socioeconomic reference pathways with climate model products using the representative concentration pathways. This will allow for improved assessment of climate impacts, adaptation and mitigation. Assumptions about climate policy play a major role in linking socioeconomic futures with forcing and climate outcomes. The paper presents the concept of shared climate policy assumptions as an important element of the new scenario framework.

Most studies that incorporate spatial effects use a very limited number of spatial variables in the growth model, e.g. growth spillovers or infrastructure impacts of neighbouring regions. This article innovates on previous work in spatial econometrics by differentiating among spatial contributions to economic development; e.g. infrastructure, capital, human capital, land and labour.

African countries confront vast economic, social, and environmental challenges. Although urban issues bear upon many of these challenges, they have remained a secondary priority for governments and the international community. The growing gap between infrastructure and services already built and those needed demands a drastic change in the scale of urban financing. This book aims to begin that reexamination. It offers a broad methodological perspective and several operational avenues to bolster and modernize the financing that cities urgently require.