Opportunity in a New Era of Development

这个项目研究了一个新的外部经济发展赞助者以一种新的方向急剧增加的作用如何影响普通人的生活。将评估发展政策这一转变的机会和限制。本研究特别关注新的发展如何影响与人口特征相关的社会机会。因此，这个项目有助于实现发展的一个中心目标，即改善最贫穷地区个人的福利。研究结果将与发展实践、国家安全问题和经济竞争力相关。该项目还将提供独特而宝贵的教育机会，并加强欠发达的研究基础设施。本项目的数据将通过人种学观察和三个赞助发展项目的访谈来收集：一个水电大坝、一个工业园区和一个大型农业项目。这些实地站点代表了赞助项目的主要类别：基础设施项目、工业区和农业项目。在整个项目过程中，将进行为期六个月的人种学田野调查，重点是观察这些地点的日常社会互动。将对包括工人、政府官员和商界人士在内的广泛范围的线人进行约350次访谈。通过比较三个实地站点的社会动态，本项目将展示三种类型的赞助项目在普通人的收益和成本方面的差异。更广泛地说，这项研究将在新赞助的开发和长期的开发工作之间提供急需的比较。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project examines how the dramatically increasing role of a new external sponsor of economic development, with a novel orientation, affects the lives of ordinary people. The opportunities and limitations of this shift in development policy will be assessed. In particular, this research focuses on how the new development affects social opportunities related to demographic characteristics. This project, therefore, contributes to a central aim of development, namely the improved well-being of individuals in the poorest areas. Findings will have relevance for development practices, national security concerns, and economic competitiveness. The project also will offer unique and valuable educational opportunities and enhance an underdeveloped research infrastructure.Data for this project will be collected through ethnographic observation and interviews at three sponsored development projects: a hydroelectric dam, an industrial park, and a large-scale agricultural project. These field sites represent the main categories of sponsored projects: infrastructure projects, industrial zones, and agriculture projects. Six months of ethnographic fieldwork will be conducted over the course of the project and will focus on observing everyday social interactions at the sites. Approximately 350 interviews will be conducted with a wide range of informants, including workers, government officials, and business people. By comparing social dynamics across the three field sites, this project will show how the three types of sponsored projects differ with regard to benefits and costs for ordinary people. More broadly, this research will provide a much-needed comparison between the new sponsored development and long-standing development efforts.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.