Developing countries' anti-cyclical policies in a globalized world

Includes bibliography

Spurious shifts in the pattern of diurnal variation of sea level pressure of reanalysis datasets

The main purpose of this work is to report the presence of spurious discontinuities in the pattern of diurnal variation of sea level pressure of the three reanalysis datasets from: the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and National Center for Atmospheric Science (R1), the NCEP and Department of Energy (R2), and the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (ERA-40). Such discontinuities can be connected to the major changes in the global observing system that have occurred throughout reanalyses years. In the R1, the richest period in discontinuities is 1956-1958, coinciding with the start of modern radiosonde observation network. Rapid increase in the density of surface-based observations from 1967 also had an important impact on both R1 and ERA-40, with larger impact on R1. The reanalyses show discontinuities in the 1970s related to the assimilation of radiances measured by the Vertical Temperature Profile Radiometer and TIROS-N Operational Vertical Sounders onboard satellites. In the ERA-40, which additionally assimilated Special Sensor Microwave/Imager data, there are discontinuities in 1987-1989. The R1 also presents further discontinuities, in 1988-1993 likely connected to replacement/introduction of NOAA-series satellites with different biases, and to the volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991, which is known to have severely affected measurements of infrared radiances for several years. The discontinuities in 1996-1998 might be partially connected to change in the type of radiosonde, from VIZ-B to VIZ-B2. The R2, which covers only satellite era (1979-on), shows discontinuities mainly in 1992, 1996-1997, and 2001. The discontinuities in 1992 and 2001 might have been caused by change in the satellite measurements and those in 1996-1997 by some changes in land-based observations network. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.

Regional integration in the 1990s

The renewed interest sparked by the potential for intraregional cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean today has been reflected in numerous agreements regarding trade preferences and in attempts to establish free trade areas, customs unions or common markets. The possibility has even been discussed of setting up free trade arrangements on a hemispheric scale. This plethora of proposals inevitably raises a great many questions. What is the reason for this renewed interest? Are the differences between the schemes of today and those of the 1960s and 1970s significant enough to avert the obstacles and difficulties encountered by those earlier schemes? What are the most suitable mechanisms and instruments for promoting intra-Latin American integration? What are the defining characteristics of the various categories of integration initiatives, such as free trade areas, customs unions and common markets? Is it feasible to set up free trade areas involving countries having very dissimilar levels of development or macroeconomic policies? Would it be wise to work towards a gradual convergence of all these initiatives into a single, regionwide scheme? And most importantly: Just how functional would integration be in terms of the development strategies and policies adopted by the individual countries of the region? The various sections of this article attempt to answer, albeit tentatively, these questions.

Growth crises and strategic turnarounds

Includes bibliography

Productivity, growth and industrial exports in Brazil

Includes bibliography

Liberalization or financial development?

Includes bibliography

Technological change and structuralist analysis

Includes bibliography

The State, business and the restoration of the neoclassical paradigm

Includes bibliography

How non-traditional are non-traditional exports? The experience of seven countries of the Caribbean Basin

Includes bibliography

The ongoing history of a Chilean metal products and machinery firm

Includes bibliography

Regulating the private provision of drinking water and sanitation services

Includes bibliography

Concessions and road and rail transport optimization

Includes bibliography

Policies for small and medium-sized enterprises in Chile

Includes bibliography

Income distribution in Argentina, 1974-2000

Includes bibliography

The Argentine labour market in a financially globalized world

Includes bibliography