Research in the Department of Development Sociology
The Department of Development Sociology conducts theoretical and applied research, teaching, and outreach on the causes, dynamics, and consequences of social, cultural, political and economic change. Our location in a land grant university demands that our scholarship be responsible to both disciplinary concerns and to the social issues of particular interest to a public university. Our applied research and related outreach program is driven by a strong commitment to public sociology that is reflected in a diverse range of research and outreach activities serving communities in New York and around the world. To view some our faculty's diverse research programs, click here or select the Faculty Research Projects button on the sidebar.
Recent Articles by Development Sociology Faculty
Philip McMichael and Ian Scoones, Guest Editors - special issue on Biofuels, Land and Agrarian Change, Journal of Peasant Studies 37, 4 (2010). Jun Borras, Philip McMichael and Ian Scoones. 2010. "The politics of biofuels, land and agrarian change: editors' introduction," The Journal of Peasant Studies, 37(4): 575-592.
Philip McMichael. 2010. "Agrofuels in the food regime," The Journal of Peasant Studies, 37(4): 609-629.
Abstract. The biofuels rush represents the continued externalisation of capitalism's costs, through the distraction of green fuel. This essay argues that the agrarian question has been posed as a distinctive problematic across the three so-called 'food regimes' associated with high colonialism, developmentalism, and neoliberalism – and that the third form of the agrarian question is revealing most visibly the contradictions of the commodification of food and fuel crops. These contradictions are clearest in their developmental (and climatic) effects in biofuel expansion at the expense of human habitats and ecologies; as well as in reducing ecological processes to a price metric to facilitate carbon trading, but revealing the incommensurabilities of carbon flows and, therefore, the shortcomings of market environmentalism as a proponent of greening accumulation with biofuels. Keywords: metabolic rift; ecology; capitalism; farming practice; epistemic rift; agroecosystem; knowledge.
Glasgow, N. and D.L. Brown. 2010. "Qu'elle est devenue grise, ma vallee." Alternatives Internationales 48: 31-32.
No Abstract available. (Synopsis of chapter from Brown, D.L. and N. Glasgow, Rural Retirement Migration, Springer, 2009 for French publication that focuses on international politics, economy and society.)
Thomas A. Hirschl and Mark R. Rank. "Homeownership Across the American Life Course: Estimating the Racial Divide." Race and Social Problems, published online: 26 August 2010.
Abstract: Homeownership has historically been viewed as a fundamental piece of the American dream, with up to 67% of households owning their home as of 2010. Yet, it has also been demonstrated that nonwhites are less likely to own a home and that the value of their homes is much less than that for whites, even when social class is taken into account. This paper explores the overall life-course patterns of homeownership and the importance of racial differences in understanding those dynamics. Based upon a life table methodology, we examine the homeownership patterns for individuals between the ages of 25–55 using 36 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Our findings indicate that although the vast majority of nonwhites will eventually become homeowners, there is nevertheless a significant racial divide in the patterns of homeownership. Nonwhites are less likely than whites to become homeowners, are more likely to purchase their first home at a later age, are less likely to have acquired as much equity in their home, and are less likely to own their home outright. The implications of these findings are discussed within the overall context of racial stratification in America.
Douglas T. Gurak and Mary M. Kritz. "Elderly Asian and Hispanic Foreign- and Native-Born Living Arrangements: Accounting for Differences." Research on Aging, 32, 5 (September 2010): 567-594.
Abstract: This study examines the relative importance of demographic, resource, and assimilation statuses in explaining the living arrangements of foreign- and native-born Asian and Hispanic elders from 11 origins in 2000 and accounting for why these groups have higher levels of extended living than native-born Whites. Drawing on the 2000 Public Use Microdata 5% Sample (PUMS) files and using logistic regression, the findings show that demographic characteristics are the major determinants of elderly extended living, followed by resource availability, assimilation, and group origin. Assimilation, on the other hand, is the major determinant of group differences between native White and Asian and Hispanic elders. While findings provide support for assimilation theory, the persistence of differentials across Asian and Hispanic groups after controlling for model covariates, and modest increases in extended living for most native-born Asian and Hispanic groups as well as native Whites in the 1990s underscores the enduring nature of ethnic diversity in living arrangements.
Frank W. Young and Kenneth Robinson. "A Regional Ecological Analysis of South Carolina." Online, Social Indicators Research at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/60mk2844m4t7k3n8/.
Abstract: This study of the counties of South Carolina introduces a limited purpose, modifiable technology that is designed to reproduce the rapid discovery strategy of the natural sciences. It uses factor analysis to identify types of communities and the threats they face, and evaluates their success in dealing with these by comparisons based on age-adjusted mortality rates. The factor analysis of mostly census indicators generated an Urbanization factor along with two measures of the interaction with the environment, Growth and Poverty. Growth was expected to predict mortality negatively while Poverty should predict positively. Regression analysis confirms both predictions but only for each race. That is, Growth predicted lower mortality, but only for African-Americans. Poverty predicted higher mortality, but only for whites. These and other puzzling findings are explored, illustrating the "rapid discovery" technology that is the central feature of this paper.
Mindi Schneider and Philip McMichael. 'Deepening, and repairing, the metabolic rift,' The Journal of Peasant Studies, 37, 3 (2010): 461-84.
Abstract: This paper critically assesses the metabolic rift as a social, ecological, and historical concept describing the disruption of natural cycles and processes and ruptures in material human-nature relations under capitalism. As a social concept, the metabolic rift presumes that metabolism is understood in relation to the labour process. This conception, however, privileges the organisation of labour to the exclusion of the practice of labour, which we argue challenges its utility for analysing contemporary socio-environmental crises. As an ecological concept, the metabolic rift is based on outmoded understandings of (agro) ecosystems and inadequately describes relations and interactions between labour and ecological processes. Historically, the metabolic rift is integral to debates about the definitions and relations of capitalism, industrialism, and modernity as historical concepts. At the same time, it gives rise to an epistemic rift, insofar as the separation of the natural and social worlds comes to be expressed in social thought and critical theory, which have one-sidedly focused on the social. We argue that a reunification of the social and the ecological, in historical practice and in historical thought, is the key to repairing the metabolic rift, both conceptually and practically. The food sovereignty movement in this respect is exemplary.
Philip McMichael, "Development, modernity and the new agrarian question," in Global, Multiple and Postcolonial Modernities, eds, Manuela Boatca and Wilfred Spohn (Rainer Hamp Verlag, 2010).
Abstract: This paper critiques the conventional conception of the agrarian question and argues for a revision in the way the "agrarian question" is traditionally understood. The role played by agrarian movements, especially transnational agrarian movements such as the Vía Campesina, is underscored.
Gilbert W. Gillespie, Jr. and Sue Ellen Johnson. "Success in Farm Start-Ups in the Northeastern United States," in Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, v. 1, no. 1, August 2010.
Abstract: On one hand, food system analysts have been concerned about many topics: the rising age of farm operators, declining farm numbers, lack of adoption of practices and systems supporting greater ecological sustainability, and interest in increased food production for local markets. On the other hand, many energetic and enthusiastic people express interest in farming and producing more community-based food. Many of these people also claim values related to sustainability.
Van De Valk, L. J. & Trochim, W. M. (2010). "Identifying Constructs in Leadership Development," Academic Exchange Quarterly, 14(2), 93-99.
Abstract: Leadership scholars have not always done a good job of contextualizing their theories, and leadership development practitioners have rarely done an adequate job of explicating the theoretical constructs on which their programs are based. This article describes a case study of identifying underlying theoretical concepts for a specific leadership development program, using a research method (Concept Mapping) that is ideally suited to addressing these concerns.
Swindal, Megan G. Ideology and social position in Poland: The determinants of voting for the Right, 1991-2005. Social Science Quarterly, forthcoming March 2011, 92(1).
Abstract: The far Right's rise to power in Poland in 2005 left many observers curious about the relationship between conditions of rising inequality, recent EU accession, and the changing resonance of right-wing ideology. This study analyzes Polish voting patterns over the 1991-2005 period in order to determine the effects of ideological and social-structural variables on political behavior in a post-socialist context. Methods: The study employs bivariate analysis to assess the persistence or novelty of associations between conservative ideologies and right-wing voting throughout a period of macro-structural change. The data are drawn from the Polish General Social Survey. Results: The analysis indicates that by 2001, three ideological factors became newly correlated with voting for the Right: religious traditionalism, anti-Communism, and free market values. Structurally, Poles with more years of education were the new base of party support by 2001. Conclusions: Contrary to expectations, post-socialism's economic "losers"—those with less education, less income, the unemployed—were not more likely to turn to the Right. Middle-class interests began to have greater political influence by the end of this period, a conclusion that seems supported by more recent election outcomes.
Philip McMichael. 2010. "Agrofuels in the food regime," The Journal of Peasant Studies, 37(4): 609-629.
Abstract. The biofuels rush represents the continued externalisation of capitalism's costs, through the distraction of green fuel. This essay argues that the agrarian question has been posed as a distinctive problematic across the three so-called 'food regimes' associated with high colonialism, developmentalism, and neoliberalism – and that the third form of the agrarian question is revealing most visibly the contradictions of the commodification of food and fuel crops. These contradictions are clearest in their developmental (and climatic) effects in biofuel expansion at the expense of human habitats and ecologies; as well as in reducing ecological processes to a price metric to facilitate carbon trading, but revealing the incommensurabilities of carbon flows and, therefore, the shortcomings of market environmentalism as a proponent of greening accumulation with biofuels. Keywords: metabolic rift; ecology; capitalism; farming practice; epistemic rift; agroecosystem; knowledge.
Glasgow, N. and D.L. Brown. 2010. "Qu'elle est devenue grise, ma vallee." Alternatives Internationales 48: 31-32.
No Abstract available. (Synopsis of chapter from Brown, D.L. and N. Glasgow, Rural Retirement Migration, Springer, 2009 for French publication that focuses on international politics, economy and society.)
Thomas A. Hirschl and Mark R. Rank. "Homeownership Across the American Life Course: Estimating the Racial Divide." Race and Social Problems, published online: 26 August 2010.
Abstract: Homeownership has historically been viewed as a fundamental piece of the American dream, with up to 67% of households owning their home as of 2010. Yet, it has also been demonstrated that nonwhites are less likely to own a home and that the value of their homes is much less than that for whites, even when social class is taken into account. This paper explores the overall life-course patterns of homeownership and the importance of racial differences in understanding those dynamics. Based upon a life table methodology, we examine the homeownership patterns for individuals between the ages of 25–55 using 36 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Our findings indicate that although the vast majority of nonwhites will eventually become homeowners, there is nevertheless a significant racial divide in the patterns of homeownership. Nonwhites are less likely than whites to become homeowners, are more likely to purchase their first home at a later age, are less likely to have acquired as much equity in their home, and are less likely to own their home outright. The implications of these findings are discussed within the overall context of racial stratification in America.
Douglas T. Gurak and Mary M. Kritz. "Elderly Asian and Hispanic Foreign- and Native-Born Living Arrangements: Accounting for Differences." Research on Aging, 32, 5 (September 2010): 567-594.
Abstract: This study examines the relative importance of demographic, resource, and assimilation statuses in explaining the living arrangements of foreign- and native-born Asian and Hispanic elders from 11 origins in 2000 and accounting for why these groups have higher levels of extended living than native-born Whites. Drawing on the 2000 Public Use Microdata 5% Sample (PUMS) files and using logistic regression, the findings show that demographic characteristics are the major determinants of elderly extended living, followed by resource availability, assimilation, and group origin. Assimilation, on the other hand, is the major determinant of group differences between native White and Asian and Hispanic elders. While findings provide support for assimilation theory, the persistence of differentials across Asian and Hispanic groups after controlling for model covariates, and modest increases in extended living for most native-born Asian and Hispanic groups as well as native Whites in the 1990s underscores the enduring nature of ethnic diversity in living arrangements.
Frank W. Young and Kenneth Robinson. "A Regional Ecological Analysis of South Carolina." Online, Social Indicators Research at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/60mk2844m4t7k3n8/.
Abstract: This study of the counties of South Carolina introduces a limited purpose, modifiable technology that is designed to reproduce the rapid discovery strategy of the natural sciences. It uses factor analysis to identify types of communities and the threats they face, and evaluates their success in dealing with these by comparisons based on age-adjusted mortality rates. The factor analysis of mostly census indicators generated an Urbanization factor along with two measures of the interaction with the environment, Growth and Poverty. Growth was expected to predict mortality negatively while Poverty should predict positively. Regression analysis confirms both predictions but only for each race. That is, Growth predicted lower mortality, but only for African-Americans. Poverty predicted higher mortality, but only for whites. These and other puzzling findings are explored, illustrating the "rapid discovery" technology that is the central feature of this paper.
Mindi Schneider and Philip McMichael. 'Deepening, and repairing, the metabolic rift,' The Journal of Peasant Studies, 37, 3 (2010): 461-84.
Abstract: This paper critically assesses the metabolic rift as a social, ecological, and historical concept describing the disruption of natural cycles and processes and ruptures in material human-nature relations under capitalism. As a social concept, the metabolic rift presumes that metabolism is understood in relation to the labour process. This conception, however, privileges the organisation of labour to the exclusion of the practice of labour, which we argue challenges its utility for analysing contemporary socio-environmental crises. As an ecological concept, the metabolic rift is based on outmoded understandings of (agro) ecosystems and inadequately describes relations and interactions between labour and ecological processes. Historically, the metabolic rift is integral to debates about the definitions and relations of capitalism, industrialism, and modernity as historical concepts. At the same time, it gives rise to an epistemic rift, insofar as the separation of the natural and social worlds comes to be expressed in social thought and critical theory, which have one-sidedly focused on the social. We argue that a reunification of the social and the ecological, in historical practice and in historical thought, is the key to repairing the metabolic rift, both conceptually and practically. The food sovereignty movement in this respect is exemplary.
Philip McMichael, "Development, modernity and the new agrarian question," in Global, Multiple and Postcolonial Modernities, eds, Manuela Boatca and Wilfred Spohn (Rainer Hamp Verlag, 2010).
Abstract: This paper critiques the conventional conception of the agrarian question and argues for a revision in the way the "agrarian question" is traditionally understood. The role played by agrarian movements, especially transnational agrarian movements such as the Vía Campesina, is underscored.
Gilbert W. Gillespie, Jr. and Sue Ellen Johnson. "Success in Farm Start-Ups in the Northeastern United States," in Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, v. 1, no. 1, August 2010.
Abstract: On one hand, food system analysts have been concerned about many topics: the rising age of farm operators, declining farm numbers, lack of adoption of practices and systems supporting greater ecological sustainability, and interest in increased food production for local markets. On the other hand, many energetic and enthusiastic people express interest in farming and producing more community-based food. Many of these people also claim values related to sustainability.
Van De Valk, L. J. & Trochim, W. M. (2010). "Identifying Constructs in Leadership Development," Academic Exchange Quarterly, 14(2), 93-99.
Abstract: Leadership scholars have not always done a good job of contextualizing their theories, and leadership development practitioners have rarely done an adequate job of explicating the theoretical constructs on which their programs are based. This article describes a case study of identifying underlying theoretical concepts for a specific leadership development program, using a research method (Concept Mapping) that is ideally suited to addressing these concerns.
Swindal, Megan G. Ideology and social position in Poland: The determinants of voting for the Right, 1991-2005. Social Science Quarterly, forthcoming March 2011, 92(1).
Abstract: The far Right's rise to power in Poland in 2005 left many observers curious about the relationship between conditions of rising inequality, recent EU accession, and the changing resonance of right-wing ideology. This study analyzes Polish voting patterns over the 1991-2005 period in order to determine the effects of ideological and social-structural variables on political behavior in a post-socialist context. Methods: The study employs bivariate analysis to assess the persistence or novelty of associations between conservative ideologies and right-wing voting throughout a period of macro-structural change. The data are drawn from the Polish General Social Survey. Results: The analysis indicates that by 2001, three ideological factors became newly correlated with voting for the Right: religious traditionalism, anti-Communism, and free market values. Structurally, Poles with more years of education were the new base of party support by 2001. Conclusions: Contrary to expectations, post-socialism's economic "losers"—those with less education, less income, the unemployed—were not more likely to turn to the Right. Middle-class interests began to have greater political influence by the end of this period, a conclusion that seems supported by more recent election outcomes.
Featured Publications
Population Change and Rural Society (The Springer Series on Demographic Methods and Population Analysis)
This book contains the latest research on social and economic trends occurring in rural America.
Challenges for Rural America in the 21st Century: Rural Studies Series of the Rural Sociological Society
The twentieth century was one of profound transformation in rural America.
Rural Retirement Migration
This book examines the migration of older persons to rural retirement destinations in the United States.
Handbook of Environment and Society
The Handbook of Environment and Society focuses on the interactions between people, societies and economies, and the state of nature and the environment.
Saving Forests, Protecting People? Environmental Conservation in Central America - Series: Globalization and the Environment
Tropical forest conservation is attracting widespread public interest and helping to shape the ways in which environmental scientists and other groups approach global environmental issues.
Contested Development: Critical Struggles for Social Change
At a time when the development promise is increasingly in question, with dwindling social gains, the vision of modernity is losing its legitimacy and coherence. This moment is observable through the lens of critical struggles of those who experience disempowerment, displacement and development contradictions.
In this book, case studies serve as an effective means of teaching key concepts and theories in the sociology of development. This collection of cases, all original and never previously published and with framing essays by Phillip McMichael, has been written with this purpose in mind.