Regional development in LDCs

Regional policy and planning in developing countries has the task to surmount spatial disequilibria. Various theories of regional development try to show a way out of economic disparities; but these theories are not always accepted by political institutions.     

我国地区经济差距及其收敛机制研究述评

对我国地区经济差距的研究主要集中在地区经济差距的描述和分解、收敛假说检验等几个方面,本文基于2004年以来的研究文献对以上问题进行了述评,分析了现有文献中存在的问题并提出了进一步研究的方向.     

Measuring income from family enterprises with household surveys

The accuracy of the measured income of family enterprises is a matter of importance in studies of, inter alia, human capital, income distribution, and consumption behavior. Enterprise surveys can measure this income through detailed questions. Household surveys offer a better perspective for a study of living standards and poverty: they capture more of the truly small-scale one-person enterprises; there is a wealth of relevant information about the household; and household surveys allow one to integrate family enterprises into household decisions about labor supply, risk sharing, enterprise start-up, and asset formation.This paper examines three enterprise income values that one may derive from household surveys held in the Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. The three values vary much and do not correlate all that well. This sobering conclusion implies that relying on self-reported values of sales revenue, expenditures and enterprise earnings is risky. Greater effort should be made to measure the transactions of enterprises carefully. Using worksheets and cross-checking responses in loco should help, but since many enterprises do not use any accounting system, it may be necessary to monitor inflows and outflows either personally or with diaries.Without implicating anyone for any remaining errors, I appreciated the comments and assistance of Paul Glewwe, Valerie Kozel, Kalpana Mehra, and the referees of the Journal.     

Growth problems in wealthy LDCs

Large revenues drawn from oil offer wide scope for a highly active development policy, especially to the oil producing states round the Arab-Persian Gulf (which is to be understood as a geographical, not a political term). But even countries In such a favoured situation experience bottlenecks, and also the direction In which their economic and social structures of the future may move is full of pitfalls.     

Transfer of technology in LDCs

The author discusses the controversial problems connected with the transfer of highly sophisticated technologies to LDCs. In his opinion this transfer and adaptation of technologies is necessary and advantageous, but depends on the development of a national technological capacity of a developing country as a prerequisite.     

Technology transfer into LDCs

Multinational enterprises play an important role in the transfer of technology into LDCs. The following article examines the various aspects of the transfer of technology and the attitude of multinational enterprises towards such transfers.     

International subcontracting involving LDCs

An increasing number of LDCs for which international subcontracting has been an accepted practice can be seen to be progressively tied to the internationalization of production and marketing.     

Inflation and economic growth in LDCs

Economists find it difficult to reach agreement about the effects on economic growth of depreciation of the money value. One reason is that they define certain terms in different ways, another one is that many other factors as well as inflation have an impact on economic growth. They may intensify or compensate for positive and negative relations between inflation and economic growth.     

Chances of tourism promotion in LDCs

The author tries to draw up a balance sheet between, on the one hand, the economic benefits flowing to LDCs from foreign tourism and, on the other hand, the social and cultural harm done to LDCs by tourism. Concluding, he defines a number of conditions under which touristic projects may be suitable for promotion through foreign aid.     

Limits to tourism growth in LDCs

The following is an attempt by the author to analyse tourist relations between industrial nations and LDCs and to describe predictable conflict situations which may arise if these relations are subjected to excessive physical and psychological strains or if the international division of labour in the field of “holiday production” becomes unbalanced.     

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.     

New ways of financing LDCs

The forthcoming third plenary meeting of UNCTAD in Santiago will primarily consider how the less developed countries (LDCs) can be integrated more effectively into the world economic system. To solve the problem of development of the so-called “Third World” it is considered essential to open up new financial resources for the LDCs.     

Agricultural vs. industrial development in LDCs

Since the beginning of concerted efforts for developing the Third World, the question has been whether the agricultural or the industrial sector of less developed countries (LDCs) should have priority. In trying to find an answer to this question, experts have hitherto paid too littie regard to the interdependence between the two sectors.     

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.     

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.     

Legal safeguards for direct investments in LDCs

The developing countries are caught in the cleft stick of assertion of national interests and independence, on one side, and need for an improved investment climate to attract foreign direct investment, on the other. The question facing the foreign firms is how they can safeguard their capital investments against encroachment by the host country which may even expropriate their assets.