Australian tariff preferences for LDCs

In the course of the discussion of the tariff preferences granted by various developed nations to less developed countries (LDCs) it should be noted that it was Australla which first set up a comprising preference scheme. The author of this article outlines the scheme and appraises the Australlan experience.     

The EEC preferences: A critical evaluation

On July 1, 1971, the European Community Introduced a system of generalized tariff preferences for less developed countries. This followed nearly five years of intensive discussion among the major industrial countries about how best to respond to an appeal by the UNCTAD to help improve the trading opportunities of LDCs.     

Welfare versus market access: The implications of tariff structure for tariff reform

We show that the effects of tariff changes on welfare and import volume are fully characterised by their effects on the generalised mean and variance of the tariff distribution, implying two “cones of liberalisation” in commodity price space. Because welfare is negatively but import volume positively related to the generalised variance, the cones do not intersect, which poses a policy dilemma. We present a new radial tariff reform rule, which implies new results for welfare- and market-access-improving tariff changes. Finally, we show that generalised and trade-weighted moments are mutually proportional when the trade expenditure function is CES.     

Forms of exports for LDCs

Development aid of the industrialized nations has taken as its focal point the promotion of nontraditional exports by LDCs. An important part of this endeavour is the spreading of enlightenment among LDCs about the possibility of finding marketing outlets for their direct and indirect exports.     

The nature of urbanisation in LDCs

The urbanisation experience of the less developed countries shows distinct differences to that of the industrialised countries. What are the reasons for this and what are the implications for development policy?     

The role of cooperatives in LDCs

Socio-economic conditions in LCDs generally are featuring a more or less naked dualism. The question has to be asked whether cooperatives could not be used as tools for dismantling this dualism.     

An action programme for land-locked LDCs

High on the agenda of the UNCTAD III Conference is the problem of least developed countries. It is realised that these countries need special cooperative action to improve their chances of overcoming the worst handicaps of poverty stabilised by stagnation. The hard-core cases within the group of least developed countries are the land-locked countries.     

The machinery of policy making in LDCs

At Nairobi, during this year’s annual conference of the International Monetary Fund, the Fund’s President, Mr Robert S. McNamara, called upon the LDCs to treat a more equitable distribution of personal incomes as a priority aim. However, the LDCs’ machinery for making policy decisions makes it very difficult to pursue such an aim.