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A Global Case‐Study Framework Applied to Water Supply and Sanitation
Author(s) -
Duchin Faye
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of industrial ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.377
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1530-9290
pISSN - 1088-1980
DOI - 10.1111/jiec.12462
Subject(s) - interdependence , sanitation , conceptual framework , sustainability , framing (construction) , computer science , global strategy , supply chain , scenario analysis , management science , process management , business , economics , political science , engineering , marketing , sociology , ecology , social science , structural engineering , finance , environmental engineering , law , biology
Summary One goal of the local‐to‐global research program is to explore ways to reduce, if not reverse, threats to sustainability through analysis using mathematical models applied to shared databases. This article describes a global case‐study framework for reconciling top‐down with bottom‐up approaches so they are mutually reinforcing for identifying and evaluating the effectiveness of different scenarios describing potential future actions. A strategic selection of cases makes it possible to distinguish and represent concrete characteristics of both common and atypical situations, whereas a global model is needed to provide an integrating conceptual framework based on a theory of consumption, production, and international exchanges that captures interdependencies among activities across regions. I discuss how the results of global analyses can be useful for framing case‐study questions and selecting cases, whereas the cases, in turn, identify concerns of specific stakeholders and provide detailed information, including technical data, to supplement economic databases with their accounting origins. I describe ways to enhance collaborations between top‐down and bottom‐up researchers, using global, multiregional input‐output databases to play a mediating role, while avoiding rigidities of premature closure and incorporating diverse perspectives. Responding to the high‐priority global challenge of vastly expanding effective sanitation services in developing countries is used to illustrate these ideas.