The TRIPS agreement and developing countries: a discussion of the paragraph 6 of the Doha declaration on public health

The Paragraph 6 solution arrived on 30th August 2003 to facilitate export of drugs to the countries which were not able to manufacture said drugs shows the total marginalization of developing countries in international treaty negotiations. A simple proposal by developing counties to use Article 30 of the TRIPS Agreement for such manufacture and export to non-manufacturing countries in order to avoid expensive litigations with the pharmaceutical multinationals took an ugly turn where not only the said proposal was totally rejected but export was added as one of the patenting rights in the TRIPS Agreement with payment of remuneration to patent holders. This introduction of export as one of the patenting rights was surrounded by a thicket of rules on the plea that such products would be diverted to ensure that the needing countries never acquire the requisite drugs. This article analyses the events leading to the establishment of the TRIPS Agreement, the elimination of developing countries from such negotiations through the use of suitably placed officials in the negotiating forums, the role of CEOs of the multinationals and the business NGOs such as International Intellectual Property Alliance and IPC (Intellectual Property Committee), epistemic community consisting of individuals such as Jacques Gorlin and Eric Smith and the subsequent development leading to the finalization of Para 6 Solution, which was an exact replication of events during the TRIPS negotiations. The analysis suggests that developing countries do not have any say in international negotiations and their agreements to such negotiations are essentially to legitimize their colonized existence.

Fighting the digital divide with microfinance : building social capital and socio-economic development

Unlike other technology, lCT has the tremendous capacity to eliminate various social and economic barriers impeding the poor, helping them discover their potential. Wider access and use of lCT can improve social networks and increase civic engagement, thereby improving social fabric and developing social capital. Thus, scholars now have realized lCT plays a primary role in the formation and maintenance of social network. This paper identifies microfinance programs as an agent with unparalleled capacity to facilitate access to lCT and thus the formation of social capital and socio-economic development of the poor. In this paper, we also discuss the role of MFls in developing social capital in
South Asia and present an analytical model of how the intervention of microfinance can facilitate access to lCT by the poor with the result of an improved both socio-economic situation and social capital.

Institutional economics approach to irrigation management with special reference to developing countries

Neoclassical economics has failed to address irrigation management issues in developing countries successfully. Institutions are at the heart some of these failures. Many academics in various disciplines in the social sciences now emphasize the need to pay attention to the multitude of informal institutions such as rotational irrigation in developing countries and not to treat them as irrelevant for development. Water user associations have been initiated for irrigation management in many countries. These have shown much promise although many problems still constrain the full adoption of this institutional mode. Water pricing is still at its infancy and significant problems remain in the use of the market system for improved management of irrigation water.

Measuring regional sustainability: lessons to be learned

Developing tools for measuring progress toward sustainability has proven a challenging task. Indicators offer an excellent means to explore the success or otherwise of management strategies. They also allow reporting social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainability. To ensure that the tools developed are effective in measuring the progress toward sustainable futures, an evaluation of the methods and the indicators used must be undertaken so that with progress there is learning and with the new knowledge methods can be redesigned to better advance sustainability. This paper discusses a study carried out in the south west region of Victoria, Australia, using indicators as the basis for developing a tool to measure progress toward sustainability. By evaluating the methods and indicators used in the study this paper provides an insight into the challenges encountered and the lessons learned. Issues explored include selecting indicators, collating data, integrating social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainability and using an adaptive approach.

E-government in developing countries: a Sri Lankan experience

Even though there is an emerging literature on information age reform of the public sector, research focused on potential and problems related to introduction of information-based reforms in developing countries is still limited. Thus in this chapter, experience in one developing country, Sri Lanka, is examined. Problems related to information-based technology is analysed and the lacuna in the literature is narrowed. It is argued that despite the great potential for IT in enhancing effective and efficient public sector in Sri Lanka, there are a number of difficulties hindering the development of computerised information systems. The upgrading of infrastructure facilities in Sri Lanka is long overdue. A lack of competent and committed individuals who could provide effective guidance in developing IT services in the public sector is another concern. The issues such as appropriate training, attractive promotion systems and remunerations for public officials need to be addressed urgently. Reforming existing organizational structures and changing officials' attitudes towards change are essential. The increasing public awareness of the potential of IT services enhancing the quality and timeliness of the public service is essential.

Evidence-based public health: what does it offer developing countries?

The global burden of disease and illness is primarily situated in developing countries. As developing countries have limited resources, it is particularly important to invest in public health and health promotion strategies that are effective. Systematic reviews are central to evidence-based public health and health promotion practice and policy. This paper discusses issues surrounding the relevance of evidence-based public health and systematic reviews to the health of developing countries. It argues that there is a lack of systematic reviews relevant to the health priorities of developing countries; many interventions reviewed can not be implemented in resource-poor situations; and, a limited amount of primary research is conducted in developing countries. The paper further argues that improvements in public health are determined not only by effective health services and interventions, but through an approach that includes other sectors and influences broader structural and systematic barriers to health. Given the social complexity of human development, and the inter-sections amongst different development goals, there is no question that gains in developing country public health are unlikely to emerge from systematic reviews alone, but will require decisions about inter-sectoral collaboration and social policy initiatives. Nonetheless, evidence around intervention effectiveness has an important role to play in addressing health priorities in developing countries and resource-poor areas. The public health evidence base urgently needs strengthening, with dedicated effort towards increasing the relevance of primary evidence and systematic reviews.

Measuring wellbeing in developing countries: the case of Algeria

The International Wellbeing Index (IWI) has been developed as a complementary measure to already well-known economic measures, and as a tool for cross-cultural comparisons. It comprises two subscales: the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) and the National Wellbeing Index (NWI). The aims of this paper are two-fold. Firstly, to test the psychometric characteristics of the IWI. Secondly, to study how people of Algeria, a third world country that is yet suffering from a harsch economical and social situation, respond to questions dealing with their own lives and life in their country in general, compared to samples from more developed countries where wellbeing was previously measured. The IWI items were presented to individuals either in a questionnaire form to be self-rated or in interview sessions. The total of 1417 answers were analysed. As was expected, a very low satisfaction on both scales was found, compared to the results that were reported in countries, such as Australia or Hong Kong. Comparisons on the demographic characteristics basis show that women are significantly more satisfied than men with their personal lives, though no differences were found with regard to NWI. Eldest and youngest age groups rated the PWI significantly higher than other age groups. Education groups comparisons showed higher ratings on both subscales in favour of groups with no education and those with university levels. Marginal statistically significant differences were found with regard to the PWI in favour of the higher earning group, but no differences in the NWI. No statistically significant results were found as far as marital status, number of children, and income are concerned. The results add to the evidence of the usefulness of the scale to predict satisfaction of people with their own lives and life in their country. Its psychometric performance was proved to be very high in terms of validity, reliability and sensitivity. The results were interpreted on the light of the Homeostasis Theory and the particular situation of the Algerian society.

Implementing FATF standards in developing countries and financial inclusion : findings and guidelines

This report, emanating from a project commissioned by the FIRST Initiative, considers the impact of the implementation of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) controls on financial inclusion in five countries (Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan and South Africa). Based on these findings, it develops a set of guidelines to assist the authorities in developing countries to design effective AML/CFT regimes that are compliant with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards and supports financial inclusion.
The report and guidelines will be of benefit to countries striving towards the dual goals of protecting their institutions against money laundering and the financing of terrorism as well as extending financial inclusion, irrespective of whether protective measures are being considered in the process of implementing or amending AML/CFT controls to meet the Forty Nine Recommendations of the FATF or in order to meet other, related international requirements, such as those set out in the 2000 United Nations Convention on Transnational Organised Crime or the 2003 United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
The project was supervised and guided by a steering committee consisting of representatives from the FIRST Management Unit, World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), the South African National Treasury, the FinMark Trust and Professor Nikos Passas, an acknowledged world expert on AML/CFT standards and implementation.

Responsible entrepreneurship in developing countries : understanding the realities and complexities

Developing countries have recently experienced a burgeoning of small-scale individual entrepreneurs (SIEs) – who range from petty traders to personal service workers like small street vendors, barbers and owners of small shops – as a result of market-based reforms, rapid urbanisation, unemployment, landlessness and poverty. While SIEs form a major part of the informal workforce in developing countries and contribute significantly to economic growth, their potential is being undermined when they engage in irresponsible and deceptive business practices such as overpricing, sale of underweight or substandard products, or attempts to hoard goods, to name a few. Despite the growing interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of small businesses in developing countries, the SIEs have received almost no attention. To address this void in the literature, we explore the reasons for the less than optimal level of social responsibility demonstrated by some SIEs in developing countries. We do so by drawing upon the existing literature to develop a comprehensive framework of social responsibility of SIEs highlighting their unique characteristics and the different contextual factors that they encounter in developing countries. Based on this framework, we then present a set of propositions specifying the influence of these contextual factors such as business environment, cultural traditions, socio-economic conditions, and both international and domestic pressures on the business practices of SIEs. The framework offers an explanation for the lack of responsible entrepreneurship of SIEs and has important implications for promoting sustainable business practices in developing countries where businesses are striving hard to survive and compete.

Is the social agenda driving sustainable property development in Melbourne, Australia?

Purpose – Sustainable property development has increased in market share over the past two to three years globally and locally. This research aims to analyze the drivers and barriers to sustainable property development in Melbourne using the triple bottom line (TBL) theoretical framework. The TBL posits that sustainability has social, economic and environmental aspects to fulfil.

Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was sent out to 190 developers in Melbourne who promoted sustainable property development to ascertain their views about the drivers and barriers.

Findings – This research indicates that in the 2007 Melbourne market the drivers were social rather than economic. The data reveal that social reasons are considered more than economic arguments for incorporating sustainability into developments. The business case, or the economic drivers for sustainability alone do not convince developers.

Research limitations/implications – The questionnaire survey informed us about developers' views but not why they have these views. The sample was limited to Melbourne.

Practical implications – More developments are required for developers to become convinced of the benefits. The relatively low price of energy undermines the business case for sustainability in property here and needs to be fully costed.

Originality/value – This paper illustrates that whilst the theoretical framework cites three key areas for sustainability, the reality is that developers are currently driven by social and environmental factors primarily and the business case is not accepted by the majority of developers.

Exploring tensions in organisational learning : international and postcolonial perspectives

For the past decade I have been engaged as a management consultant in the area of organisational change and development. This has been primarily within international development environments, and all the professional opportunities, challenges and learning they offer. This thesis therefore employs reflexivity to explore professional practices within this context. These practices are primarily considered within the context of an emerging economy dealing with the challenges of globalisation, against a backdrop of tradition and the old vestiges of colonialism and socialism. Of particular interest have been the tensions between humanist and corporate values that emerge when dealing with the people and learning side of organisations, and within a context of what can be broadly defined as 'where west meets east'. These tensions are explored within a values framework and through consideration of some the themes that feature in the area of postcolonial studies. The intention of the study has been to explore some of the meanings and representations that emerge from professional experience, how they are explained and represented, and what the meanings and representations derived might imply in considering the requirements of 'principled' professional practice. The study is built around the work place and the researcher's role within it and therefore draws heavily on personal reflection and reflexivity. The qualitative methodologies employed draw heavily from the literature dealing with critical social science, and in particular that relating to 'narrative inquiry'. Particular consideration is given to the location of self in the research context and the way in which professional knowledge is constructed.

Macroeconomic impact of foreign aid to developing countries

The thesis looks at the macroeconomic impact of foreign aid. It is specially concerned with aid's impact on the public sector of less developed countries < LDCs> . Since the overwhelming majority of aid is directed to the public sector of LDCs, one can only understand the broader macroeconomic impact of aid if one first understands its impact on this sector. To this end, the thesis econometrically estimates " fiscal response" models of aid. These models, in essence, attempt to shed light on public sector fiscal behaviour in the presence of aid inflows, being specially concerned with the way aid is used to finance various categories of expenditures. The underlaying concern is to extent to which aid is " fungible" -that is, whether it finances consumption expenditure and reductions in taxation revenue in LDCs. A number of alternative models are derived from a utility maximisation framework. These alternatives reflect different assumptions regarding the behaviour of LDC public sectors and relate to the endogeniety of aid, whether or not recurrent expenditure is financed from domestic borrowing and the determination of domestic borrowing. The original frameworks of earlier studies are extended in a number of ways, including the use of a public sector utility function which is fully consistent with expected maximising behaviour. Estimates of these models' parameters are obtained using both time-series and cross-section data, dating from the 1960s, for Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and the Philippines. Both structural and reduced-form equations are estimated. Results suggest that foreign aid is indeed fungible, albeit at different levels. Moreover, the overall impact of aid on public sector investment, consumption, domestic borrowing and taxation varies between countries. Generally speaking, aid leads to increases in investment and consumption expenditure, but reduces taxation and domestic borrowing. Comparative analysis does, however, show that these results are highly sensitive to alternative behavioural assumptions and, therefore, model specification.

New Zealand's perfect storm of entrepreneurship and economic development

Applying a grounded-theory approach to analyzing the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data, we attempt to explain why New Zealand exhibits only a moderate level of economic development despite its high level of entrepreneurship. By statistically analyzing why 34 other countries in the 2005 GEM dataset exhibit small deviations from the classical quadratic curvilinear relationship between entrepreneurship and economic development, we develop a better understanding of the entrepreneurial framework conditions underlying New Zealand’s large deviation from this trend line. Based on our findings from the GEM data we make policy recommendations that could aid in moving New Zealand (and other countries) closer toward the trend line and thus promote economic development.

Trade and industrial policy in developing countries : what scope for interfaces between agent-based models and computable-general equilibrium models

How best to assess trade and industrial policy in developing countries is a controversial question that unlocks a host of modelling complexities. Large computable general-equilibrium (CGE) models dominate many economic policy debates, but recent developments in the field have demonstrated that it is by no means clear that they give reliable results to questions of how trade reforms affect the poor. Over the last decade or so, a new approach to modelling complex systems has emerged using agent-based models (ABMs). This paper explores the question of whether ABMs are useful for economic policy-makers seeking to quantitatively model the effects of trade and industrial policies and whether constructive interfaces could be developed between CGE models and ABMs. The paper argues that in developing economic policy, ABMs can and should be used in conjunction with CGE models and that there is much to be gained from a greater understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of different modelling approaches, and what domains are most appropriate for their use. It concludes with some reflections on the reasons for the success of CGE approaches and ways in which ABMs could be made more widely understood and used among economists.