World system theory posits that core nations control global production processes through their ec... more World system theory posits that core nations control global production processes through their economic and political-military strength, while countries at the periphery remain technologically underdeveloped and operate from a position of dependency. Rapid changes such as population growth and rural encroachment have spurred environmental degradation in the intermediary semi-periphery countries. The effects of world system structure on national deforestation were investigated in a quantitative, cross-national analysis of data from 60 core, semi-peripheral, and peripheral countries. This analysis revealed that rural population growth has had a deleterious effect on forestation throughout the world system. However, the impact of general population growth has been negative only in non-core countries. As hypothesized, forest exports have resulted in ecologic devastation in the periphery of the world system, but have exerted a favorable effect for core countries where reforestation progr...
Major world agencies have identified a serious contemporary food insecurity problem, and sound ev... more Major world agencies have identified a serious contemporary food insecurity problem, and sound even louder alarms that by the year 2050 around one billion people will be “food insecure.” The solution proposed by the World Bank in a 2012 Report is that the world grow significantly more food. Eyes certainly are on the us to remediate this problem by growing more livestock. Is “more food” the answer? This study uses World Bank data and path/structural equation modeling to determine the veracity of this position versus another. It is counter argued that food distribution and waste prevent food from reaching substantial segments of the world’s population. That is, the poor and dependent are unable to gain access to food that is privateered by governance systems that permit rulers and the wealthy to access food, and set food prices at unreachable levels for the poorest of the poor and, sometimes, even the middle class. Further, wages are set below the level needed to purchase basic food s...
Within world-systems research there is an overwhelming tendency to treat nation-states as homogen... more Within world-systems research there is an overwhelming tendency to treat nation-states as homogenous wholes. With some notable exceptions, this approach downplays the existence and operation of core-periphery relations on the sub-national level and the resultant inequality between different regions of nation-states. This study uses various complementary literatures in an integrative fashion to address this lacuna within the world-systems approach. We argue that uneven geographical development within core nations can at least partially be explained by the historical appropriation of natural capital; a universal process in which site-specific geographic factors and the larger political-economic context of the world-system interact, over time, to produce linked regions of relative accumulation and deprivation. To demonstrate the utility of this approach, we examine eastern North Carolina’s history as the principal producer of naval stores for Great Britain’s navy during Britain’s ascension toward hegemonic status in the world-system during the eighteenth century. We highlight how those initial extractive activities functioned as a “de-generative sector,” hindering the region’s overall development. We argue generally for a synthetic approach to development theory and corresponding empirical examinations of modern and historical inequalities.
World system theory posits that core nations control global production processes through their ec... more World system theory posits that core nations control global production processes through their economic and political-military strength, while countries at the periphery remain technologically underdeveloped and operate from a position of dependency. Rapid changes such as population growth and rural encroachment have spurred environmental degradation in the intermediary semi-periphery countries. The effects of world system structure on national deforestation were investigated in a quantitative, cross-national analysis of data from 60 core, semi-peripheral, and peripheral countries. This analysis revealed that rural population growth has had a deleterious effect on forestation throughout the world system. However, the impact of general population growth has been negative only in non-core countries. As hypothesized, forest exports have resulted in ecologic devastation in the periphery of the world system, but have exerted a favorable effect for core countries where reforestation progr...
Major world agencies have identified a serious contemporary food insecurity problem, and sound ev... more Major world agencies have identified a serious contemporary food insecurity problem, and sound even louder alarms that by the year 2050 around one billion people will be “food insecure.” The solution proposed by the World Bank in a 2012 Report is that the world grow significantly more food. Eyes certainly are on the us to remediate this problem by growing more livestock. Is “more food” the answer? This study uses World Bank data and path/structural equation modeling to determine the veracity of this position versus another. It is counter argued that food distribution and waste prevent food from reaching substantial segments of the world’s population. That is, the poor and dependent are unable to gain access to food that is privateered by governance systems that permit rulers and the wealthy to access food, and set food prices at unreachable levels for the poorest of the poor and, sometimes, even the middle class. Further, wages are set below the level needed to purchase basic food s...
Within world-systems research there is an overwhelming tendency to treat nation-states as homogen... more Within world-systems research there is an overwhelming tendency to treat nation-states as homogenous wholes. With some notable exceptions, this approach downplays the existence and operation of core-periphery relations on the sub-national level and the resultant inequality between different regions of nation-states. This study uses various complementary literatures in an integrative fashion to address this lacuna within the world-systems approach. We argue that uneven geographical development within core nations can at least partially be explained by the historical appropriation of natural capital; a universal process in which site-specific geographic factors and the larger political-economic context of the world-system interact, over time, to produce linked regions of relative accumulation and deprivation. To demonstrate the utility of this approach, we examine eastern North Carolina’s history as the principal producer of naval stores for Great Britain’s navy during Britain’s ascension toward hegemonic status in the world-system during the eighteenth century. We highlight how those initial extractive activities functioned as a “de-generative sector,” hindering the region’s overall development. We argue generally for a synthetic approach to development theory and corresponding empirical examinations of modern and historical inequalities.
The dominant framework of neighborhood revitalization in the United States that emerged in the 19... more The dominant framework of neighborhood revitalization in the United States that emerged in the 1990s is the comprehensive community-building approach based on a "theory of change" model. This framework posits that to improve neighborhoods and the quality of life of residents, programmatic efforts are needed that are "resident-driven" and holistic in their focus. While these types of initiatives flourish, neighborhood revitalization often results in the displacement of low-income families and marginal return for existing residents. Why this occurs in the context of initiatives purporting to aid existing residents is underexamined in the evaluation literature. We argue that researchers engaged in documentation and evaluation of revitalization initiatives need a broader framework to examine heretofore marginalized issues. We use a "margin research" methodology to demonstrate how this alternative form provides a more expansive representation of revitalization activities and outcomes.
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Papers by Edward Kick