Patents and trademarks in pharmaceuticals

While the role of patents and trademarks in reinforcing the market power of TNCs operating in the pharmaceutical industry is beyond doubt, the possibilities of reducing such market power through public policies dealing with industrial property in developing countries are less clear. Evidence on policies aimed at eliminating or weakening patent rights, and/or at promoting the use of generic names instead of trademarks for pharmaceuticals is examined. It is concluded that these policies are a necessary but not a sufficient condition for modifying the current market structure of the pharmaceutical industry in developing countries.     

Foreign trademarks in developing countries

Foreign trademarks are used in some cases to cover imported goods and generally products made in the host countries by foreign manufacturing subsidiaries and licensees. This industrial property right is a major source of market power for those subsidiaries making consumer goods. Domestic enterprises making similar goods must either accept a reduced share of the market or must enter into trademark license agreements. But even in those cases, although licensees of foreign-owned trademarks receive a current profit out of the licence, they cannot enjoy the result of the goodwill development.Although the advertising expenditures are borne by the consumers of the developing countries, the accrual in goodwill is for the benefit of non-resident owners of this intangible asset. These private benefits — mostly appropriated by the foreign trademark owner — can be considered as net social costs to the recipient country.     

The need to establish a policy restricting the use of foreign trademarks in developing countries: The case of Mexico

The paper shows some of the negative effects of the use of foreign trademarks in the developing countries, taking into account the experience in Mexico. It also refers to the enactment of the new Law on Inventions and Trademarks as a response to the problems arising from that use. It contains statistical data concerning the licensing agreements registered in the Mexican Registry for the Transfer of Technology, which demonstrate the importance of the use of foreign trademarks, its cost and the type of restrictive business clauses that those agreements include.     

Trademarks in Nigeria

Nigerian trademarks reflect the basic principles of market economy, embodied in the Paris Convention of 1883, which had the effect of integrating the underdeveloped economies in those of the developed capitalist countries. Emphasis is laid on the protection of private property rather than of consumers or the national interest at large. While attempts are being made to deal with some of the worst aspects of trademarks, the mixed economy philosophy is likely for a very long time to lead to both psychological and economic dependency as well as cultural distortion. Greater government participation and correct political orientation are imperative if trademarks are essentially to serve basic local needs.     

Investing in development: Lessons of World Bank experience∗

This article comes from a book entitled Investing in Development: Lessons of World Bank Experience. The book was written by Warren C Baum and Stokes M Tolbert with the participation of a number of other World Bank staff members and several consultants. It is intended primarily as a guide for officials and others in developing countries concerned with managing the use of investment resources. It seeks to synthesize and make accessible in one place some of the principal lessons learned by the Bank in financing development in its member countries. The book is not focused on the Bank's own procedures. Instead, it has the much broader purpose of providing guidance to developing countries in the areas of national investment planning and budgeting, sector analysis and management, and the selection, preparation, and implementation of their whole portfolio of investment projects, regardless of the source of financing. Over the years, the Bank has published a wide selection of materials on various aspects of its work. But this is the first time it has sought to portray in one volume the full scope of the investment process. We present here the book's final chapter, which briefly summarizes the highlights of the Bank's experience.     

FOREIGN BANTU WORKERS IN SOUTH AFRICA: THEIR PRESENT POSITION IN THE ECONOMY

It is not possible to compile accurate statistics about the size, origin, distribution, earnings, remittances and similar measurable aspects of the foreign Bantu labour force in South Africa. From the foregoing discussion it will be obvious that such data are most unlikely to become available in the foreseeable future. There is, however, a growing need for reasonably reliable information concerning economic interrelationships in Southern Africa. The only way to arrive at a workable basis for informed studies of labour matters in the regional context, appears to be the one followed here. By compiling, and fully documenting, as much of the accessible and relevant data as possible into comprehensive and intrinsically consistent tables, the present article can, it is hoped, serve as a convenient starting point for further, more detailed investigations. Briefly, the principal figures derived in the foregoing may be recapitulated. The total number of foreign workers in the Republic in 1964 can be put at roughly half a million men, almost 300,000 (59 per cent.) of them in mining, about 140,000 (29 per cent.) in agriculture, and about 60,000 (12 per cent.) in other employment. In these sectors, they constitute roughly 53, 14, and under 4 per cent. respectively of all Bantu employed there. Approximately 45 per cent. of all foreign workers come from the former High Commission Territories (Basotho accounting for about 60 per cent of this group), about 30 per cent. from Moçambique, 18 per cent. from Rhodesia, Zambia and Malawi together, and the remaining 7 per cent. from South West Africa, Angola, Tanzania and other territories. The total annual earnings of foreigners can be put at R133.4 million (R82.3 million cash and R51.1 million in kind), out of which cash and goods to a total value of R23.9 million (R17.7 million cash and R6.2 million worth of goods) are estimated to be remitted to the countries of origin. About 40 per cent. of the total population of Southern Africa, more than 80 per cent. of its White inhabitants, and approximately two-thirds of the region's wage-earning opportunities for Bantu are to be found in the Republic. Apart from the remittances of migrant workers, the labour supplying countries derive substantial benefits, though of course to a varying degree, from the movement of their nationals to the Republic. These are: 1. the absorption of surplus population into the Bantu groups of the Republic; 2. the fact that at any given moment, a large number of people are living off the resources of another country instead of pressing on inadequate resources at home; 3. the financial benefits from the administrative activities of the recruiting organizations; and 4. the instruction in various subjects imparted to employees on the mines and elsewhere, and generally the knowledge and skills brought back by migrants to their home countries. (The social and economic drawbacks of the migrant labour system cannot be ignored but an evaluation of this system falls outside the scope of this study. It must be recognized that intra-regional labour movements are inextricably bound up with the economic life of Southern Africa. It can, rightly, be pointed out that the abundant supply of foreigners to mining and agriculture in the Republic tends to depress the earnings of indigenous Bantu in these sectors. It is, however, prima facie, open to serious doubt whether drastic reductions in the number of foreign workers is the best way to promote the economic well-being of the local Bantu population. From the standpoint of the labour exporting countries, it is naturally regrettable that their nationals are mostly confined to the less well paying sectors of the South African economy. On the other hand, and in view of the undeveloped state of their economies, they have every reason to welcome such employment opportunities as there may be in the Republic. The newly independent states of the region are earnestly striving to develop their potentialities. By supplying (or releasing) scarce resources, labour migration to the Republic contributes materially, and in the case of Lesotho and Botswana even decisively, towards the attainment of higher levels of living throughout the region. The Republic's neighbours would suffer most if political passion or animosity towards South Africa were to disrupt the present network of the intra-regional flow of labour.     

International subcontracting: Improved prospects in manufactured exports for small and very poor LDC's

In recent years one of the most dynamic manufactured export sectors in developing countries has been the assembly and processing operations subcontracted from multinational firms. The paper analyzes this relatively new phenomenon as a possible opportunity for the small and very poor developing countries to increase their manufactured exports. After making a case that domestic size and level of economic development are not preconditions of success in exporting manufactures, it is further argued that small and very poor countries may even have a comparative advantage in international subcontracting. Not only does international subcontracting avoid some of the traditional obstacles which these countries experience in exporting manufactures, but the gains from this activity seem to be particularly beneficial to them.     

Some aspects of the impact of inflation on the debt burden of developing countries

The effect of inflation on the external indebtedness of developing countries is examined in this UNCTAD paper in a more comprehensive framework than is usually the case. The conventional view on this has been that international inflation reduces the ‘real’ burden of external debt. However, viewed in the context of the net effect of inflation on the import capacity of debtor developing countries, the paper shows that the situation is by no means so simple. It demonstrates by examining the cases of a sample of 71 developing countries that the effect of price increases of developing countries' imports (relative to price increases for their exports) caused by international inflation can and often has more than offset the so-called favourable effect on the burden of debt. For example in 1975, a year with particularly high inflation, no less than 75% in the sample experienced negative consequences. In these cases, therefore, international inflation on balance has reduced import capacity and thus made it more not less difficult for them to maintain servicing on their external debt and so increased the ‘real’ burden of their debt. Thus the UNCTAD paper brings into serious question the conventional wisdom on this important issue.     

Production management — the forgotten factor in the industrialization policy in developing countries

The failure or the slow progress of industrialization programmes in developing countries is often attributed to the reluctance of developed countries to ‘transfer technology’ to them. It is indeed true that in many cases developed countries are reluctant to part with the technological know-how gained over the years to a potential competitor; however, it would be unfair to blame lack of transfer of technology totally for the failure of industrialization aims of developing countries. In most cases the types of technology employed in developing countries are well established. However, the performance of these industries falls well below expectations, even though the technological know-how is fully available. The success of any industry once the technology has been mastered depends largely on efficient production management, which attempts to utilize resources in the most efficient way. Studies in developing countries have shown that production management is given little prominence in the industrial sector. As a result, numerous problems are encountered which lead to inefficiencies and low productivity. The significance of production management is neglected due to the shortage of qualified production management personnel. It is shown that of 32 universities in a sample of 18 developing countries, only one university offered a course in production management. In developed countries, one would typically find 15 such courses in a similar number of universities. The paper argues that without first having personnel qualified to perform the production management function, any industrialization programme has little chance of success. Developing countries and international agencies have been preoccupied with the problem of transfer of technology; it is time serious thought is given to the problems of production management following the technology transfer.     

Debt Sustainability and the Ongoing Financial Crisis: The Case of IDA‐only African Countries*

Abstract: The ongoing financial crisis has raised concerns in many circles about a potential future wave of sovereign defaults spreading among developing countries and, therefore, the need for additional rounds of debt relief in poor indebted countries. This paper addresses this issue for a group of 31 International Development Association (IDA)‐only African countries, which are in a fragile debt situation. Using the most recent debt sustainability analyses (DSAs) undertaken for these countries by the World Bank and the IMF, this paper studies the potential adverse effect of the ongoing financial crisis on the countries’ debt burden indicators, as a function of the depth and length of the crisis. The latter is measured by the fall and the duration of such fall in exports revenues, and by the terms at which each country can obtain financing to muddle through the crisis period. The analysis underscores the importance of concessional financing for these countries, especially if the crisis proves to be a protracted one. This, because the likelihood of countries being able to muddle through the crisis without defaulting on their external debt decreases with the hardening of the financial conditions faced by them — alternatively, the size of the downsizing in domestic (fiscal) expenditures needed to ensure the service of their foreign debts increases with the tightening of financial conditions.     

Mining enclaves and taxation

This paper examines certain macroeconomic effects of major mining projects in developing countries, paying special attention to the case of Papua New Guinea. It goes on to assess the contribution that such projects can make to economic development indirectly through their contributions to government revenue. This paper reviews existing evidence on the linkage effects of foreign investment in mining projects in developing countries and presents as new evidence the results of a study on the macroeconomic effects of major mining projects in Papua New Guinea. Considerable support is found for the proposition that such projects tend to perform as enclaves, having only weak direct links with host national economies. This paper stresses the importance of applying fiscal arrangements which can be expected to appropriate a large share of the mineral rent from intra-marginal mining projects while preserving the incentive to invest. Fiscal arrangements of this type are being applied in Papua New Guinea and are indeed able to capture very large benefits for the country. In Papua New Guinea the enclave nature of large-scale mining projects is consistent with their making large contributions to progress towards national objectives, and this paper argues that given the application of appropriate fiscal arrangements, this conclusion can be extended to other developing countries.     

中国自主品牌汽车产业发展与市场开拓

中国自主品牌汽车工业起步晚、底子薄,是在与外国企业进行激烈竞争中取得发展的.目前,中国自主品牌汽车已经在国内经济型、中级乘用车、SUV市场立稳脚跟,并且出口到发展中国家国外市场.在技术成果上,已经开发出拥有自主知识产权的发动机.在性价方面,自主品牌汽车具有一定比较优势,但存在整体质量不高、创新能力不足等问题.面对国内外广阔的市场前景,中国自主品牌汽车需要进一步增强实力.开拓市场.     

Economic rents, the distribution of gains from mineral exploitation, and mineral development policy

The ‘once-and-for-all’ character of mineral exploitation introduces a unique element into the analysis of mining and the formulation of mineral policy, making issues of mineral ownership, questions of the interests of producers and consumers, and of the timing of exploitation particularly important. Developing countries account for a considerable, though by no means dominant, proportion of the world's mineral output, but the bulk of consumption is in high-income industrialized countries, and these countries also own the major corporations with mineral exploitation expertise. The high degree of horizontal and vertical integration among these corporations, and their participation in mineral processing, is a further complication. This paper argues that the resource rents inherent in mineral exploitation, and the other monopolistic rents associated with mining and processing, are essential to an understanding of past trends and to the formulation of future policies. The difficulties of measuring these rents adds to the problems of determining their equitable distribution among mineral-rich countries, mineral exploitation companies and mineral consumers. The proper timing of mineral exploitation in relation to national economic development is a further complication. It is thus perhaps not surprising that in high-income, no less than in developing countries, mineral exploitation and use policies are in disarray. The paper concludes with a discussion of the principal mineral development policy options emerging from the debate on the distribution of gains from mining.     

Human Capital and FDI Inflows to Developing Countries: New Empirical Evidence

Despite the dramatic increase in total foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to developing countries in the last few years, the bulk of the inflows has been directed to only a limited number of countries. It has been argued that developing countries might enhance their attractiveness as locations for FDI by pursuing policies that raise the level of local skills and build up human resource capabilities. Nevertheless, the empirical evidence in the literature in support of this recommendation for a large sample of developing countries is scant. This paper evaluates this argument in the light of the evolution in the structural characteristics of FDI and empirically tests the hypothesis that the level of human capital in host countries may affect the geographical distribution of FDI. The empirical findings are: (a) human capital is a statistically significant determinant of FDI inflows; (b) human capital is one of the most important determinants; and (c) its importance has become increasingly greater through time.     

Substituting and Complementing Models of Economic Development in East Asia

This paper assesses the relative merits and demerits of different East Asian models by placing them in a historical perspective. It re-interprets Gerschenkron's model of late industrialization, and extends it to compare East Asian economies in view of substituting and complementing models. It then explains divergent performances among East Asian economies from the late 1990s by examining the different challenges they faced as their economies became mature and more fully open to forces of globalization. In conclusion, the paper discusses the applicability of the East Asian models for today's developing countries.     

On technology policy and its institutional frame

The purpose of this paper is limited to a discussion of only some of the institutional aspects of technology policy. The ways in which the technology problem currently differs from that faced by the nineteenth-century developing countries and the implications of these differences for development strategy are discussed in section I. The nature of the technology problem in the context of a development strategy is indicated in section II. It is argued in section III that it is not possible to identify the specific technology gaps and devise a suitable technology policy without first initiating the development of Technical Consultancy Service Centres (TCSCs) in relevant fields. The TCSCs can be made effective in their tasks only if their work is directly and vitally related to the development strategy and specific project ideas and specific projects that are consistent with such strategy and are seriously considered for implementation. Hence the TCSCs' functioning should be organically related with the tasks of the development banks. For the international diffusion of appropriate technology, and for solving certain difficult core technology problems, it is essential to supplement and reinforce the tasks of national centres by the development of international centres—in the fields of both consultancy and specific technological research—and these international centres should have an organic relationship with the corresponding national centres as well as with international development banks, which should in fact initiate action in these fields (section IV).     

市场孵化、发展政策与国家能力——建设有效市场的政策逻辑

市场有效性取决于制度质量，但是一个欠发达国家不可能迅速建立起符合有效市场要求的高质量制度。为打破在发展中国家普遍存在的"低制度质量—增长停滞"的恶性循环，文章基于中国经验，提出了一个国家实施孵化市场的发展政策与制度建设同步并举的发展赶超路径，通过培育现代产业、扶植竞争性企业和优先发展公共事业尤其是基础设施，籍此扩充市场参与者数量、提升市场参与者能力、扩大市场边界和规模，加速市场发育，并由此反过来倒逼推动制度质量提升。进一步，我们指出，要正确制定和有效实施如此广泛的发展政策，需要来自国家力量的保障。在现有文献所提出的维持有效市场需要依靠国家财政能力和法治能力支撑之外，文章提出发展中国家还需要建设基于"对外学"和"干中学"的国家学习能力，用于在制定和实施发展政策中纠错纠偏，并补偿一国发展早期天然存在的国家财政能力和法治能力的欠缺。尽管文章分析主要结合中国经验展开，但针对的是发展中国家共性问题，对广大发展中国家具有普遍参考价值。     

The new international economic order: The beneficiaries

The two substantive elements of the programme of action for a ‘new international economic order’ (NIEO) that have been most stressed by developing countries are those dealing with primary commodity prices and relief from debt service burdens. The provision of adequate amounts of official development assistance (ODA) has received less stress. An examination of 75 oil-importing developing countries for which adequate data were available grouped by per capita product, shows that if the priorities of the NIEO are carried out the principal beneficiaries would be the wealthier developing countries. For the very poorest countries, those for which the existing order has provided little in the way of material benefits, the most critical external element in helping them meet their development aspirations would be more ODA.     

Main issues in the regulation of licence arrangements on foreign trademarks: The Latin American experience

The licensing of foreign trademarks has become an issue of concern for a majority of Latin American governments during the last decade. The impact of such arrangements on the balance of payments, the growing dependence of licensees vis-à-vis the licensor, and the risks involved in the development of new markets through the use of licensed trademarks have, among other reasons of public policy, led to the adoption of a number of regulatory measures. These range from the control of restrictive practices, the price and duration of such arrangements, to the direct limitation of the use of foreign trademarks. The implementation of these measures, however, has encountered serious obstacles and, in some cases, has not achieved their declared aims. Therefore, the appropriate regulation of licensing on foreign trademarks is, to a great extent, still an unresolved issue.     

走出比较优势的误区

比较优势理论和国家竞争优势理论是一国据以发展经济和对外贸易的两种理论,各有其优缺点.绝对否定或肯定两者中的任意一个,在实践中都是有害的.正确的办法是把两者辩证结合起来,共同促进经济的发展.中国是个发展中的大国,经济实力还不强,产业结构还不合理,应根据中国的国情和国力,把两种理论结合起来考虑,促进我国产业升级,提高我国国际经济地位.