The paper starts from the theoretical perspective opened by the culturalist approach, that introduced the so-called break from the end of ’50s in cultural studies, and took into consideration the meaning of the concept popular culture not as opposite to that of elite culture or high culture,...

The study of poverty dynamics has been dominated by the quantitative analysis of panel datasets. These can identify patterns and correlates of economic and social mobility but have found it difficult to explain why these occur. This paper examines how qualitative research methods, and in...

Many studies have examined Keyfitz’s population momentum, a special case of inertia in long-term population size resulting from demographic transition to the stationary population growth rate. Yet, population inertia can be produced by any demographic perturbation (i.e., not just perturbations...

We analyze the extent and effects of job-related persecution under communist regimes in the Czech Republic and Poland using a representative sample of individuals aged 50+ from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Retrospective information collected in the SHARELIFE interview...

This paper reports on the first qualitative research study of women’s life histories in an investigation of their participation and progress in the labor force of the United Arab Emirates. Data were collected through interviews with 18 female participants. The sample represents a cross section...

This paper uses five life histories from three locations in Zimbabwe?one peri-urban, one urban and one rural?to provide a window on current processes of impoverishment and adverse coping. Each case and location highlight key aspects of Zimbabwe?s recent economic and political turmoil. Together...

The paper draws from ongoing research that aims to genuinely combine qualitative and quantitative (`Q-Squared`) research methodologies to further our understanding of poverty dynamics in Uganda. Using existing nationally representative panel data we use the same sampling frame and extend the...

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This (revised) study seeks to examine the rise, expansion, and ultimate decline of the Italian wool-based textile industries over a period of six centuries (from ca. 1100 to ca. 1730). An international trade model combining transaction costs and comparative advantage is employed to explain the...