1,721,062 research outputs found
Payments and finance problems in the Commonwealth of Independent States
Full text linkPayments problems constrained interstate trade among the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries in 1992-95, especially during the prolonged demise of the ruble zone. Two kinds of solutions should be sought: 1) more effective stabilization measures to improve the prospects of currency convertibility among CIS countries; and 2) strengthening of institutional arrangements to permit payments and settlements through correspondent bank accounts. Strengthening institutions will require not only strengthening commercial banks but liberalizing foreign exchange markets and promoting the use of letters of credit and other mechanisms to increase the security of trade transactions. A multilateral clearing arrangement operated among central banks would have been a useful alternative to the chaotic payments prevailing earlier, but such arrangements are no longer needed as considerable progress has been made toward convertibility. Nor is a payments union desirable. Trade deficits are likely to persist in such countries as Belarus and Ukraine. Surplus countries such as Russia and Turkmenistan must develop transparent means of trade financing that take into account the recipient countries'ability to pay. External financing will remain important for practically all CIS countries. The best way to mobilize private financing will be to establish macroeconomic stability and stable, transparent rules on private capital inflows. Improving the flow of public resources requires improving countries'capacity to quickly absorb the large amounts already committed. Donors need to expedite procurement and other procedures and recipient countries must address governance problems and institutional weaknesses that delay disbursements. Certain smaller CIS countries face significant debt servicing problems and often the creditors are other CIS countries that themselves need additional financing. The smaller countries need debt relief on concessional terms, which is possible only if external assistance allows local creditors to offer such relief.Environmental Economics&Policies,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Economic Theory&Research,Trade Policy,Financial Intermediation,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Trade Policy,Financial Intermediation
Developing countries'participation in the World Trade Organization
Full text linkIn the 1960s and 1970s developing countries viewed UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade&Development) rather than the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs&Trade) as the main institution through which to promote their interests in international trade. But beginning with the Uruguay Round in the mid-1980s, their attitude changed, many more of them became members of the GATT, and a significant number played an active role in negotiations. The author analyzes developing countries'representation and participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO) as of mid-1997 to determine how developing countries can effectively promote their interests and discharge their responsibilities under the rules and agreements of the new organization. He concludes that although many developing countries are actively participating in the new process, more than half of the developing countries that are members of the WTO participate little more than they did in the early 1980s and have not increased their staffing, despite the vastly greater complexity of issues and obligations. Institutional weaknesses at home are the main constraints to effective participation and representation of their interests at the WTO. To make their participation more effective, he recommends that the developing countries establish adequately staffed WTO missions based in Geneva; failing that, pooling their resources and representation in Geneva; and being sure to pay their dues, which are typically small. He also recommends that the international community place higher priority on programs of assistance in support of institutional development of poorer countries aimed at enhancing their capacity to participate in the international trading system and the WTO -- and that the WTO review its internal rules and procedures to ensure that inadvertently they do not make developing countries participation more difficult.Economic Theory&Research,Decentralization,Economic Conditions and Volatility,Country Strategy&Performance,Labor&Employment Law,Trade and Services,Poverty Assessment,Economic Theory&Research,World Trade Organization,Country Strategy&Performance
Trade and payments arrangements in post-CMEA Eastern and Central Europe
Full text linkA web of trade and payments arrangements binds countries of Eastern and Central Europe under the Council of Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) agreements. However, it is incompatible with these countries recent commitments to move toward liberalized trade and currency convertibility. The importance of trade with other CMEA members, and the apparent desire of the USSR and others to denominate all future mutual trade at international prices poses a number of problems of transition for the countries of Eastern and Central Europe. This paper identifies three broad problems in this connection: (1) the breakdown of the CMEA arrangements has led to a serious breakdown of trade relations and reduced trade volume among former CMEA members; (2) denominating international trade at international prices implies changes in the terms of trade for each country in the system; and (3) all countries may not reach full currency convertibility in the near term, but the continuation of the old CMEA arrangements is also impossible. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the possible interim institutional arrangements for trade of payments among previous CMEA members and how such arrangements can contribute to addressing the emerging payments imbalances.Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Trade Policy,Transport and Trade Logistics
The role of special differential treatment for developing countries in GATT and the World Trade Organization
Full text linkThe author analyzes how changes in thinking about the role trade plays in economic development have been reflected in provisions affecting developing countries in the GATT and the WTO. He focuses on the provisions calling for the special and differential treatment of developing countries. The WTO's special, and differential treatment has been extended to include measures of technical assistance, and extended transition periods to enable countries to meet their commitments in new areas agreed on in the Uruguay round of negotiations. At the same time, many WTO provisions encourage industrial countries to give developing countries preferential treatment, through a variety of measures, none of them legally enforceable. The author concludes that weaknesses in the institutional capacity of many developing countries, provide a conceptual basis for continuing special, and differential treatment in the WTO, but that the benefits should be targeted only to low-income developing countries, and those that need help becoming integrated with the international trading system. In addition, an effective system of graduation, should be put in place for higher-income developing countries. Developing countries find it politically easier to argue, that all should be treated the same, except for least developed countries, although their capacities, and need for assistance differ vastly. Industrial countries are expected to provide special, and differential treatment, but in practice, their commitments on market access, preferential treatment, and technical assistance, are not enforceable. Leaving it up to the industrial countries to decide which developing countries get preferential treatment, invites extraneous considerations in determining who gets how much special treatment. Unless higher-income developing countries accept some type of graduated differentiation in their treatment (beyond that granted the least developed countries), there is little prospect ofimplementing meaningful, legally enforceable special, and differential treatment favoring all developing countries under the WTO.Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Rules of Origin,Economic Conditions and Volatility,Trade Policy,Poverty Assessment,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Achieving Shared Growth
Trade policy and market access issues for developing countries : implications for the Millennium Round
Full text linkThe author analyzes 61 trade policy reviews prepared for the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its predecessor, GATT - reviews that document the progress developing countries have made in integration with the world trading system over the past decade. Based on an analysis of post-Uruguay Round tariff and nontariff barriers worldwide, he then recommends developing country positions on major issues inthe new round of WTO trade negotiations. His key conclusions and recommendations: 1) Agriculture. Developing countries should support the Cairns Group in its push for greater liberalization of industrial countries'agricultural trade policies; the revised Food Aid Convention is not a substitute for but a complement to worldwide liberalization of agriculture. 2) Manufactures. The existence of tariff peaks and escalation in industrial country markets and the limited bindings at relatively high levels of developing country tariffs on manufactures present opportunities for negotiations with good prospects for shared and balanced benefits. The remaining nontariff barriers in industrial countries that affect manufactures are concentrated in textiles and clothing. Developing countries should ensure that industrial countries implement their commitments to liberalize this sector and impose no new nontariff barriers in this or other sectors under the guise of other rules or arrangements. The remaining nontariff barriers in developing countries should be converted into tariffs and reduced over time as part of the negotiations. 3) Antidumping. The increased use of antidumping measures by high- and middle-income developing countries in recent periods offers an opportunity for balanced negotiations to restrict their use. Reduced use of antidumping measures would increase efficiency and benefit consumers in all countries. But it is unclear whether a supportive climate for such negotiations exists in either industrial or developing countries.Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Economic Conditions and Volatility,Trade Policy,Export Competitiveness,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Economic Theory&Research,Poverty Assessment,Environmental Economics&Policies,Trade Policy
Control optimization of a lifting body entry problem by an improved and a modified method of perturbation function
Full text linkA study of the solution problem of a complex entry optimization was studied. The problem was transformed into a two-point boundary value problem by using classical calculus of variation methods. Two perturbation methods were devised. These methods attempted to desensitize the contingency of the solution of this type of problem on the required initial co-state estimates. Also numerical results are presented for the optimal solution resulting from a number of different initial co-states estimates. The perturbation methods were compared. It is found that they are an improvement over existing methods
Forced vibrations of a Timoshenko beam under the influence of distributed quadratic damping
No full textThe steady-state response of a Timoshenko beam under the unfluence of distributed quadratic damping and a sinusoudal forcing function is considered. The Timoshenko beam equations are solved by the method of characteristics. A numerical example is considered with numerical results given in graphical form.Mechanical Engineering, Department o
The integration of transition economies into the world trading system
Full text linkThe author analyzes current trade policies and challenges faced by the transition economies - especially countries in the former soviet Union - as they are integrated into the world trading system. With few exceptions, transition economies in Central and Eastern Europe, including the Baltics, have been well integrated into the multilateral trading system. Their trade regimes differ - and the main challenges they face involve their integration into the European Union. Integration into the multilateral trading system, including progress toward membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), varies significantly among the other countries of the former Soviet Union. Armenia, Georgia, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Moldova have adopted relatively liberal trade regimes and are either already members of the WTO or are close to it. These four countries need to strengthen the capacity of broad market-based (especially trade-related) institutions, including customs, the financial sector, and institutions to facilitate trade. The momentum for market and trade reform appearsto have stalled in some of the larger countries of the former Soviet Union: Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine. Their trade regimes are not especially restrictive, but weak operations in fundamental market institutions inhibit their effective integration into the world trading system. These problems, together with persistent protective pressures, inhibit progress and accession to the WTO. The remaining countries in Central Asia, as well as Belarus, have far to go in introducing market-oriented reforms and institutions, and the kind of trade liberalization needed for integration into international trade. The countries of the former Soviet Union must make most of the reform and adjustment effort, but WTO members must make changes as well - especially the United States and the European Union. Both need to review their policies toward non-market economies on antidumping practices and (in the European Union) on safeguards. Countries where market decisions prevail should not be subjected to non-transparent and arbitrary procedures. In particular, countries that have been judged to be"market"economies in the process of gaining access to the WTO should be excluded from procedures applied for antidumping and safeguard measures in non-market economies.Economic Theory&Research,Trade Policy,Environmental Economics&Policies,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Rules of Origin,Trade and Services,Environmental Economics&Policies,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Economic Theory&Research,Trade Policy
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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