Regional economic specialization and population redistribution as mechanisms of African underdevelopment

Includes bibliography

International competitiveness and specialization

Includes bibliography

Argentina's industrial specialization regime: new-generation industrial policy, or merely a transfer of resources?

Includes bibliography

Are Central American export specialization patterns "sticky"?

Includes bibliography

Peru: integration, sectoral specialization and synchronization with international gross domestic product cycles

Includes bibliography

Meeting the challenges of the FTAA: trade trends, export specialization patterns and regional integration in the Caribbean: including the case of the NICCs

Includes bibliography

Jamaica: agroindustry in a changing global environment: international insertion and specialization, competitiveness and market opportunities

Includes bibliography

Technical and industrial aspects of regional integration and specialization in the Latin American automotive industry

Information Paper, No 13

Niche Specialization and Conservation Biology of Cicindela nevadica lincolniana

As with many organisms across the globe, Cicindela nevadica lincolniana is threatened with extinction. Understanding ecological factors that contribute to extinction vulnerability and what methods aid in the recovery of those species is essential in developing successful conservation programs. Here we examine behavioral mechanisms for niche partitioning along with improving techniques for captive rearing protocol and increasing public awareness about the conservation of this local insect. Ovipositional selectivity was examined for Cicindela nevadica lincolniana, Cicindela circumpicta, Cicindela togata, Cicindela punctulata, and Cicindela fulgida. Models reflect that these species of co-occurring tiger beetles select different ranges of salinity in which to oviposit thereby reducing the potential for interspecific competition. In a second study, thermoregulatory niche partitioning was examined for the same complex of tiger beetle species. Time spent in the sun, on different substrates, and engaging in various behaviors associated with thermoregulation were significantly different during different parts of the day and between species. I continued along a previous line of study to develop a viable captive rearing program. So far fourteen adult Cicindela nevadica lincolniana have been successfully reared in captivity. Overwintering mortality has been determined as a key factor in the mortality of this species in captivity. Finally, I examined the potential for using the visual arts to promote the conservation of Cicindela nevadica lincolniana and associated saline wetlands. The results from surveys conducted at the exhibit suggest that art exhibits can have a strong positive impact on members of the community.

Measure of Global Specialization and Spatial Clustering for the Identification of "Specialized" Agglomeration

The intensity of regional specialization in specific activities, and conversely, the level of industrial concentration in specific locations, has been used as a complementary evidence for the existence and significance of externalities. Additionally, economists have mainly focused the debate on disentangling the sources of specialization and concentration processes according to three vectors: natural advantages, internal, and external scale economies. The arbitrariness of partitions plays a key role in capturing these effects, while the selection of the partition would have to reflect the actual characteristics of the economy. Thus, the identification of spatial boundaries to measure specialization becomes critical, since most likely the model will be adapted to different scales of distance, and be influenced by different types of externalities or economies of agglomeration, which are based on the mechanisms of interaction with particular requirements of spatial proximity. This work is based on the analysis of the spatial aspect of economic specialization supported by the manufacturing industry case. The main objective is to propose, for discrete and continuous space: i) a measure of global specialization; ii) a local disaggregation of the global measure; and iii) a spatial clustering method for the identification of specialized agglomerations.