| CODE | SOC5025 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Economy and Society | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Sociology | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will explore the many ways in which economic and market processes interact with social structures and institutions, with particular attention to the social impact of economic policies and projects on society and community. The study-unit explores dominant economic discourses, technologies and practices that currently shape the design and assessments of policies and projects, and offers a broader view of impact assessment by drawing on SIA principles and methodologies. Students will be acquainted with some of the issues and consequences of policies and projects on the social and economic context in which they are implemented: on sustainable livelihoods and livelihood strategies, economic units and economic capital, economic sectors, economic migration, local inflation, inequality and poverty, gentrification, displacement and resettlement. Emphasis will also be made on the benefits which may accrue from such projects, and how these may be enhanced via social investment, local procurement, and local content. The study-unit draws on several case studies in the Global South and the Global North, and on insights derived from first-hand experience in designing, implementing and managing a project or policy, as well as the carrying out of SIAs around the economic sphere. Study-Unit Aims: - Introduce students to the ways in which economic processes and interventions interact with social structures, institutions and communities; - Provide a broader view of what an impact assessment involves in the design, implementation and management of policies and projects in the economic field; - Acquaint students with recurrent issues surrounding plans, projects and policies, and the social and economic context in which they are enacted. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify the various modalities of economic projects, plans and policies; - Identify the potential benefits and adverse impacts of economic projects on society and community; - Review international and local case studies of economic projects and SIAs; - Identify and illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of local content policies. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify the various modalities of economic projects, plans and policies; - Identify the potential benefits and adverse impacts of economic projects on society and community; - Review international and local case studies of economic projects and SIAs; - Identify and illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of local content policies. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Beckert, J., 2016. Imagined Futures: Fictional Expectations and Capitalist Dynamics. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. - Esteves, A.M. and Vanclay, F., 2009. Social Development Needs Analysis as a tool for SIA to guide corporate-community investment: Applications in the minerals industry. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 29(2), pp.137–145. doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2008.08.004. - Esteves, A.M., Brereton, D., Samson, D. & Barclay, M.A, 2010. Procuring from SMEs in Local Communities: A Good Practice Guide for the Australian Mining, Oil and Gas Sectors. Brisbane: Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, Sustainable Minerals Institute, University of Queensland. Supplementary Readings: - Beckert, J. & Bronk, R., 2018. Uncertain Futures: Imaginaries, Narratives, and Calculation in the Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. - Chapple, K., 2017. Income inequality and urban displacement: the new gentrification. New Labor Forum, 26(1), pp. 84-93. https://doi.org/10.1177/1095796016682018 - Cotula, L., Vermeulen, S., Leonard, R., Keeley, J., 2009. Land grab or development opportunity?: Agricultural investment and international land deals in Africa. IIED/FAO/IFAD, London, Rome. ISBN: 978-1-84369-741-1 - de Wet, C. (ed.), 2005. Development-Induced Displacement: Problems, Policies and People. Berghahn Books, Oxford and London. ISBN 1-84545-095-7. - Esteves, A.M. & Barclay, M.A., 2011. Enhancing the benefits of local content: Integrating social and economic impact assessment into procurement strategies. Impact Assessment & Project Appraisal, 29(3), pp. 205-215. http://dx.doi.org/10.3152/146155111X12959673796128 - Esteves, A.M. & Ivanova, G., 2015. Using Social and Economic Impact Assessment to guide local supplier development initiatives, in Karlsson, C., Andersson, M. & Norman, T. (eds) Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Economic Geography. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp.571-596. - Joyce, S., Sairinen, R. and Vanclay, F., 2018. Using social impact assessment to achieve better outcomes for communities and mining companies. In Lodhia, S. K (ed.) Mining and Sustainable Development. Routledge, pp. 65-86. - Zoomers,A., 2010. Globalisation and the foreignisation of space: seven processes driving the current global land grab, The Journal of Peasant Studies, 37(2), pp. 429-447, DOI: 10.1080/03066151003595325 |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-requisite Qualifications: Same for Masters in Social Impact Assessment | ||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Dylan Cassar Daniel Gravino |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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