MacLachlan, Ian
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- ItemThe livestock transition, peri-urban agricultural land use and urbanization in China(2016-06-13) MacLachlan, IanRapid urbanization in China is embedded in a modernization process with profound implications for every aspect of its social development. Rising real incomes in urban areas have triggered a sea change in Chinese meat consumption with impacts on human health and obesity via the nutritional transition, on animal welfare and disease as China develops its livestock-handling and slaughter infrastructure, and on the environmental impact of growing numbers of food animals on the landscape. The urban transformation of both coastal China and the western interior is clearly polynuclear, creating a complex urban fringe with a lengthy interface between urban and agricultural land uses. There is enormous potential for residential-agricultural land use conflict in the dynamic rural-urban fringe within the administrative boundaries of expanding cities. Expanding cities encounter a growing peri-urban zone of large-scale intensive livestock feeding operations that are drawn to fast-growing urban markets. This exploratory paper is based on secondary source materials. The FAOSTAT database published by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations was used to provide global context. The National Household Survey of the National Bureau of Statistics of China as published in the China Statistical Yearbook is used to describe the growth of meat consumption in rural and urban areas. Meat production and livestock counts are broken out by province, SAR and shi to illustrate the rural-urban and coastal-interior dichotomies in a regionalized development process divided sharply by the Aihui-Tengchong Line. The principal achievement of this paper is the description of the magnitude and relative suddenness of China’s livestock transition as it is manifest in different regions. To show the significance of the livestock transition as a component of China’s urban transformation, the paper will conclude with an evaluation of the role of public policy on animal agriculture, the influence of the “dragon head” agribusiness companies over the livestock value-chain and the influence of the urbanization process on meat consumption and livestock production.
- ItemChanging livestock geographies and global meat consumption: what are the implications(University of Lethbridge, 2014) MacLachlan, IanExamines the local livestock industry and the effects of current global meat consumption trends on Canada’s economy
- ItemRegional diversification policy in Alberta(Alberta Association, Canadian Institute of Planners, 1992) MacLachlan, IanOn August 4, 1992 Western Diversification Canada (WD) celebrated its 5th birthday. This anniversary provides an excellent opportunity to examine WD's mandate and programs and to assess the allocation of funding under its various programs. This article opens with a framework for conceptualizing regional economic development policy in terms of sectoral diversification and spatial diversification. It then considers how the Economic Council of Canada's Western Transition (1984) contributed to WD's policy orientation. The circumstances surrounding the creation of WD, limitations of its initial program structure, and the principles underlying the newly created Western Diversification Program are described. The paper concludes with an analysis of WD approved projects in Alberta to highlight some of the trends in the regional and sectoral distribution of funding.
- ItemEconomic development and industrial employment: A thousand points of light?(Alberta Association, Canadian Institute of Planners, 1991) MacLachlan, IanThis paper disputes some of the empirical analysis on small firm job creation and argues that small enterprises are responsible for a relatively modest share of employment and employment growth at the national, provincial, and municipal levels. While the importance of small business should not be gainsaid, the traditional large firm sector is still a vital component in municipal economic growth and decline. The shortcomings of data on small enterprises are discussed to encourage a more skeptical interpretation of research findings on employment creation. Economic development strategy should include the attraction of new large enterprises and the needs of existing large employers must be addressed if the community economic base is to be sustained.
- ItemSubcontracting in Hokkaido's resource processing sectors(Center for Development Policy Studies, Hokkai-Gakuen University (Sapporo, Japan), 1992-02) MacLachlan, IanThe Japanese economic miracle has inspired considerable interest in the organization of the Japanese industrial system. One of the unique aspects of industrial capitalism in Japan is the vast array of contractual linkages articulating part-time and family businesses with multinational corporations. This paper begins with a brief definition of terms related to industrial subcontracting in Japan and then considers subcontracting in Hokkaido. While less pervasive than on the mainland, industrial subcontracting is a vital component in Hokkaido's space economy and it is found in every industrial sector. To explain the relations between small and large firms two conceptual models are introduced: dualism and flexible production. Data from primary and secondary sources are used to show that the dualism model is most germane to the resource processing industries of the Hokkaido region.