The drugs economy and anti-drug policy in developing countries

The drugs economy has now developed into a major factor in many developing countries. What effects on the economies of the countries concerned do drugs production and the drugs trade have? How should the prospects of success for substitution policies be judged? What strategy to curb the demand for drugs in the industrial countries might carry the promise of success?     

National and international developments in technology

Declining R&;D intensities at the national level coincide with growing international technological links. In this context a number of questions arise: Do companies research in the same field of technology abroad as they do at home? Are the fields of technology in which R&;D is concentrated within a country those in which it has a comparative advantage? What drives the process of the internationalisation of technology? What are the implications for host countries and home countries? What are the implications for policy on a national and an international level?     

The “brain drain” from developing countries — An enduring problem

For several decades there has been a migration of highly qualified workers from developing to industrial countries. What are the causes of this “brain drain”, which many regard as a subsidy from the poor to the rich? What consequences does it have for the countries concerned? Are there effective ways of curbing it?     

Adjustment policy and interest groups in developing countries

Adjustment programmes promoted by the IMF and the World Bank have met with mixed success in recent years. What part has the interaction of interest groups in the countries concerned played in this connection? What lessons are to be learnt for future adjustment programmes?     

Ecological aspects of structural change

Structural change in advanced industrialized countries has followed a very ambivalent course, with the resulting reductions in environmental stress in one area often being cancelled out by increases in another. What role has been played in this to date by industrial and economic policy? What options are open to policy-makers for the future?     

The mediterranean policy of the EC—The case of agriculture

The production structures of the majority of Mediterranean countries have traditionally been oriented towards the West European market. What effects will the southward enlargement of the EC have on the agricultural sector of the non-candidate Mediterranean countries? What can the EC do to alleviate the problems?     

The economic system and economic development

An increasing number of voices have recently been claiming that an economic system based more strongly on the market should be introduced in Third World countries for reasons of efficiency. What conditions need to be met in the developing countries for this to be possible? What specific measures should be taken?     

The integration of Japan into the world economy and its meaning for Germany

Japan is currently still characterized by a low degree of import integration in the field of finished products. What are the reasons behind this? What can be done to remove the existing trade imbalances vis-à-vis Western industrialized countries? What, on the other hand, can be learned from the Japanese?     

Structural changes in EC trade intensities

The European Economic Community has now been in existence for about 20 years. Five years have elapsed since it was enlarged. What progress have the member countries made in the integration of their foreign trade? What would be the repercussions of a southward extension of the EC to take in Greece, Portugal and Spain?     

Soviet agriculture and US-Soviet grain agreement

In August the Soviet government agreed to the second one-year extension of the US-USSR grain agreement, which has regulated grain trade between the two countries since 1976. Although a net exporter of grain for the best part of this century, the USSR has become increasingly dependent on imports since the beginning of the seventies. What are the reasons for this? What should the US be looking for when a new, long-term agreement is negotiated?     

Structural changes in EC trade intensities

The European Economic Community has now been in existence for about 20 years. Five years have elapsed since it was enlarged. What progress have the member countries made in the integration of their foreign trade? What would be the repercussions of a southward extension of the EC to take in Greece, Portugal and Spain?

     

Scandinavia's monetary convergence with the European Community

In the twelve months preceding the conclusion by the EFTA countries and the EC of the agreement on the establishment of a common European Economic Area in October 1991, the three Skandinavian EFTA members-Norway, Finland and Sweden-decided to tie their currencies to the ECU. What objectives do these countries hope to achieve by this move? What effects is it likely to have?     

The international debt problem: An analysis of the Brady plan

Recently the American Treasury Secretary, Nicholas Brady, launched a new initiative in which he proposed reducing the developing countries’ bank debt. What are the elements of the plan, and which countries would benefit? What problems does it entail? Can it bring about a decisive improvement in the international debt situation of the developing countries? The following two articles attempt to answer these questions.     

The “Third World” in the 1990s

Given that the developing countries today present a highly differentiated picture, is it appropriate to continue to speak of a “Third World”? If so, how does this group of countries appear to the present-day observer? What is their position within the world economy? What problems and challenges are they facing?     

The future of cooperation between the EU and ACP countries

Something over 20 years after the first Lomé Agreement came into force, most of the ACP countries are still among the poorest in the world. Why have these countries' situations not improved despite the Agreements? Why has their share of total EC imports from developing countries fallen in spite of the tariff preferences they are granted? What conclusions ought to be drawn for future cooperation between the EC and ACP countries?     

Financial liberalisation and sustained interest differentials

In the last decade, many of the more advanced developing countries in Latin America and Asia have deregulated and opened up their financial markets. What impact has this had on the efficiency of the financial sector? How can the existence of sustained interest differentials be explained?     

Options in foreign economic relations for Central and Eastern Europe

Following the collapse of the CMEA, the foreign trade of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe declined drastically with dire consequences for output, incomes and employment in these countries. What options do the former CMEA members have for revitalizing their foreign trade? What impediments will have to be surmounted in each case?     

The role of entrepreneurial cooperation

Entrepreneurial cooperation between industrial and developing countries has gained in significance during the past decade, both in practice and in academic discussion. To what factors can this trend be attributed? What forms of cooperation are available? Where do the opportunities and risks lie?     

The “Spirit of Bandung” 1955–1985: Thirty years since the Bandung Conference

On 24th and 25th April, 1985, delegates from more than 80 Asian and African countries gathered in the Indonesian city of Bandung at the “Gedung Merdeka”, or “House of Freedom”, to commemorate the famous Bandung Asian-African Conference held thirty years previously. What, in retrospect, has been the historical and political significance of Bandung? What have been the achievements of its heirs so far?     

Effects of world market oriented regional integration on developing countries

The inward-oriented wave of regionalisation in the mid-sixties in the so-called developing countries was judged, twenty years later, to have been a failure almost everywhere. Since the beginning of the nineties a new trend towards regionalisation has been emerging, this time more strongly oriented towards world markets. Do the new regional integration agreements complement the economic and development policy effects aimed at by the structural adjustment programmes of the international financial institutions? What effects do they have on the economic development and the industrialisation of the countries involved?