Large-scale land concessions often generate a planning blight effect, which here refers to the uncertainty and deleterious effects on the social fabric and economic activities in targeted areas once a land allocation decision is made, or once negotiations between government and prospective investors have begun.

UNESCO: Madiodio Niasse on the risks associated with large-scale foreign land aquisitions | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Now, with a dwindling tax base and growing worries about the social effects of wrenching economic dislocation, it is allowed to spend more than it earns on job-creation schemes and infrastructure.

ECONOMIST: The Thai slump

So, in contrast to the devastating domino effects of the global economic meltdown in 2008, in these cases social media is being used to demonstrate that our connectedness and interdependence within a global community can also be a force for good.

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