International asymmetries and the design of the International Financial System

Includes bibliography

International migration, human rights and development in Latin America and the Caribbean: summary and conclusions

Includes bibliography

When less is better: Insights from the product mix dilemma from the Theory of Constraints perspective

Perhaps due to its origins in a production scheduling software called Optimised Production Technology (OPT), plus the idea of focusing on system constraints, many believe that the Theory of Constraints (TOC) has a vocation for optimal solutions. Those who assess TOC according to this perspective indicate that it guarantees an optimal solution only in certain circumstances. In opposition to this view and founded on a numeric example of a production mix problem, this paper shows, by means of TOC assumptions, why the TOC should not be compared to methods intended to seek optimal or the best solutions, but rather sufficiently good solutions, possible in non-deterministic environments. Moreover, we extend the range of relevant literature on product mix decision by introducing a heuristic based on the uniquely identified work that aims at achieving feasible solutions according to the TOC point of view. The heuristic proposed is tested on 100 production mix problems and the results are compared with the responses obtained with the use of Integer Linear Programming. The results show that the heuristic gives good results on average, but performance falls sharply in some situations. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

The United Nations in global governance, a Latin American and Caribbean perspective Santiago, 8 and 9 August 2011: regional seminar

Foreword by Alicia Bárcena

Children and international migration in Latin America and the Caribbean

Child migration in the region has many contradictory aspects, as reported in the feature article of this bulletin. On the positive side, there are better educational opportunities in countries of destination and, in countries of origin, greater well-being thanks to remittances; greater protection gained by migrating away from situations of violence and social risk; and new horizons for broadening life experiences. On the negative side, there are precariousness and heightened family environment risks when the parents migrate and the children are left behind in the care of others; exposure to abuse and violation of rights during migratory processes; and possibly lower citizen status in receiving countries.

The fifth freedom and the Southern Cone: a new perspective

An ECLAC document to be published in the near future examines a subject that has become a frequent topic of discussion in recent years, particularly in the Southern Cone of Latin America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay), where the greatest volume of land transport in South America is concentrated. Against a background of economic liberalization and integration in the region, and at a time when the development of regional transport infrastructures is growing in importance, the ECLAC Transport Unit analyses the Southern Cone Agreement on International Land Transport (Valparaíso, 1989) in an effort to give it fresh relevance and to determine whether its provisions can cope with the new challenges thrown up by more open international transport markets and management.

Financing for development in Latin America and the Caribbean: A strategic analysis from a middle-income country perspective

This document was prepared for the Latin American and Caribbean Regional Consultation on Financing for Development, held at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, on 12 and 13 March 2015, in preparation for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (Addis Ababa, July 2015).

Spectrum Distribution in Cognitive Radio: Error Correcting Codes Perspective

Cognitive radio is a growing zone in wireless communication which offers an opening in complete utilization of incompetently used frequency spectrum: deprived of crafting interference for the primary (authorized) user, the secondary user is indorsed to use the frequency band. Though, scheming a model with the least interference produced by the secondary user for primary user is a perplexing job. In this study we proposed a transmission model based on error correcting codes dealing with a countable number of pairs of primary and secondary users. However, we obtain an effective utilization of spectrum by the transmission of the pairs of primary and secondary users' data through the linear codes with different given lengths. Due to the techniques of error correcting codes we developed a number of schemes regarding an appropriate bandwidth distribution in cognitive radio.

The construction of the African perspective: a history of the General History of Africa project (Unesco)

This article analyzes the construction of the African perspective in the General History of Africa project (GHA), focusing on the period between 1965 and 1979. With the participation of over two hundred international experts under the auspices of Unesco, this was one of the greatest intellectual projects of the twentieth century. Based on primary sources, this analysis emphasizes the internal conflicts involved in the construction of the African perspective as a hegemonic line of thought in the GHA. Two critical moments of the project were found in the investigation: the controversial years (1972-78), and the pragmatic years (1978-82). As a result of these disputes, theoretical and methodological parameters were constructed, in addition to eight volumes of material published in the 1980s, and recently republished in Brazil.

Beyond "Cirrhosis" A Proposal From the International Liver Pathology Study Group

Cirrhosis is a moiphologic term that has been used for almost 200 years to denote the end stage of a variety of chronic liver diseases. The term implies a condition with adverse prognosis due to the well-known complications of portal hypertension, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver failure. However, recent advances in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic liver diseases have changed the natural history of cirrhosis significantly. This consensus document by the International Liver Pathology Study Group challenges the usefulness of the word cirrhosis in modern medicine and suggests that this is an appropriate time to consider discontinuing the use of this term. The role of pathologists should evolve to the diagnosis of advanced stage of chronic liver disease, with emphasis on etiology, grade of activity, features suggestive of progression or regression, presence of other diseases, and risk factors for malignancy, within the perspective of an integrated clinicopathologic assessment.

Learning for well being : Studies using the International Adult Literacy Survey

This thesis is a collection of five independent but closely related studies. The overall purpose is to approach the analysis of learning outcomes from a perspective that combines three major elements, namely lifelonglifewide learning, human capital, and the benefits of learning. The approach is based on an interdisciplinary perspective of the human capital paradigm. It considers the multiple learning contexts that are responsible for the development of embodied potential – including formal, nonformal and informal learning – and the multiple outcomes – including knowledge, skills, economic, social and others– that result from learning. The studies also seek to examine the extent and relative influence of learning in different contexts on the formation of embodied potential and how in turn that affects economic and social well being. The first study combines the three major elements, lifelonglifewide learning, human capital, and the benefits of learning into one common conceptual framework. This study forms a common basis for the four empirical studies that follow. All four empirical studies use data from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) to investigate the relationships among the major elements of the conceptual framework presented in the first study. Study I. A conceptual framework for the analysis of learning outcomes This study brings together some key concepts and theories that are relevant for the analysis of learning outcomes. Many of the concepts and theories have emerged from varied disciplines including economics, educational psychology, cognitive science and sociology, to name only a few. Accordingly, some of the research questions inherent in the framework relate to different disciplinary perspectives. The primary purpose is to create a common basis for formulating and testing hypotheses as well as to interpret the findings in the empirical studies that follow. In particular, the framework facilitates the process of theorizing and hypothesizing on the relationships and processes concerning lifelong learning as well as their antecedents and consequences. Study II. Determinants of literacy proficiency: A lifelong-lifewide learning perspective This study investigates lifelong and lifewide processes of skill formation. In particular, it seeks to estimate the substitutability and complementarity effects of learning in multiple settings over the lifespan on literacy skill formation. This is done by investigating the predictive capacity of major determinants of literacy proficiency that are associated with a variety of learning contexts including school, home, work, community and leisure. An identical structural model based on previous research is fitted to the IALS data for 18 countries. The results show that even after accounting for all factors, education remains the most important predictor of literacy proficiency. In all countries, however, the total effect of education is significantly mediated through further learning occurring at work, at home and in the community. Therefore, the job and other literacy related factors complement education in predicting literacy proficiency. This result points to a virtual cycle of lifelong learning, particularly to how educational attainment influences other learning behaviours throughout life. In addition, results show that home background as measured by parents’ education is also a strong predictor of literacy proficiency, but in many countries this occurs only if a favourable home background is complemented with some post-secondary education. Study III. The effect of literacy proficiency on earnings: An aggregated occupational approach using the Canadian IALS data This study uses data from the Canadian Adult Literacy Survey to estimate the earnings return to literacy skills. The approach adapts a labour segmented view of the labour market by aggregating occupations into seven types, enabling the estimation of the variable impact of literacy proficiency on earnings, both within and between different types of occupations. This is done using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM). The method used to construct the aggregated occupational classification is based on analysis that considers the role of cognitive and other skills in relation to the nature of occupational tasks. Substantial premiums are found to be associated with some occupational types even after adjusting for within occupational differences in individual characteristics such as schooling, literacy proficiency, labour force experience and gender. Average years of schooling and average levels of literacy proficiency at the between level account for over two-thirds of the premiums. Within occupations, there are significant returns to schooling but they vary depending on the type of occupations. In contrast, the within occupational return of literacy proficiency is not necessarily significant. The latter depends on the type of occupation. Study IV: Determinants of economic and social outcomes from a lifewide learning perspective in Canada In this study the relationship between learning in different contexts, which span the lifewide learning dimension, and individual earnings on the one hand and community participation on the other are examined in separate but comparable models. Data from the Canadian Adult Literacy Survey are used to estimate structural models, which correspond closely to the common conceptual framework outlined in Study I. The findings suggest that the relationship between formal education and economic and social outcomes is complex with confounding effects. The results indicate that learning occurring in different contexts and for different reasons leads to different kinds of benefits. The latter finding suggests a potential trade-off between realizing economic and social benefits through learning that are taken for either job-related or personal-interest related reasons. Study V: The effects of learning on economic and social well being: A comparative analysis Using the same structural model as in Study IV, hypotheses are comparatively examined using the International Adult Literacy Survey data for Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The main finding from Study IV is confirmed for an additional five countries, namely that the effect of initial schooling on well being is more complex than a direct one and it is significantly mediated by subsequent learning. Additionally, findings suggest that people who devote more time to learning for job-related reasons than learning for personal-interest related reasons experience higher levels of economic well being. Moreover, devoting too much time to learning for personal-interest related reasons has a negative effect on earnings except in Denmark. But the more time people devote to learning for personal-interest related reasons tends to contribute to higher levels of social well being. These results again suggest a trade-off in learning for different reasons and in different contexts.