Analogous Cycles with Lagged Co-movement: U.S. and East Asian Business Cycles

In selected East Asian economies, the behavior of detrended macroeconomic variables was found to be similar to that observed in the postwar U.S. economy. Consumption and investment are highly procyclical while the balance of trade and the price level are counter-cyclical in most of them. Labor productivity is procyclical in general. The high coherence between U.S. GDP and that of the East Asian economies suggests that business cycles in terms of frequency are also similar between the United States and East Asia. However, the GDP and consumption of East Asian countries do not necessarily co-move well with current U.S. and Japanese GDP and consumption, while East Asian consumption tends to co-move more with lagged U.S. and Japanese consumption.

National union list of current Japanese serials in East Asian libraries of North America /

Mode of access: Internet.

The population of South-East Asia (including Ceylon and China: Taiwan) 1950-1980.

[Document] ST/SOA/ser. A/30.

Spider fauna of soybean crops in south-east Queensland and their potential as predators of Helicoverpa spp. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Spiders are among the most abundant predators recorded in grain crops in Australia. They are voracious predators, and combined with their high abundance, may play an important role in the reduction of pest populations. The significance of spider assemblages as biological control agents of key pests such as Helicoverpa spp. in Australian agroecosystems is largely unknown. A thorough inventory was made of the spider fauna inhabiting unsprayed soybean fields at Gatton, south-east Queensland. One-hundred-and-two morphospecies from 28 families were collected using vacuum sampling and pitfall traps across two summer seasons (2000-01, 2001-02). No-choice feeding tests in the laboratory, using eggs and larvae of Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) as prey, were used to ascertain the predatory potential of each spider group. The field-collected spider assemblage ate on average 2.4 (+/-0.7 standard error) to 5.0 (+/-0.8) eggs per 24 h per spider (10-25% of those available), depending on level of starvation. Clubionidae were the only spiders to readily consume eggs in the laboratory (mean of 18.4 +/- 1.5 eggs per starved spider and 8.2 +/- 3.9 per non-starved spider after 24 h). Starved spiders consumed 9.4 (+/- 0.1) first-instar larvae per 24 h per spider (90% of those available). This information was combined with field observations and literature from Australian and overseas studies to assess the potential of spider groups as predators of Helicoverpa spp. Lycosidae, Clubionidae, Oxyopidae, Salticidae and Thomisidae have the capacity to contribute to control of Helicoverpa spp.

Lessons for African economies from Irish and East Asian industry policy

When comparisons in terms of industrial policy lessons to be learned have taken place, it has tended to be solely vis-a-vis the ‘development state’ East Asian experience. This paper broadens the analysis and considers lessons which African countries can learn from other so-called ‘tiger’ economies including Ireland and the East and South Asian countries. We recognise that the latter are indeed clearly significant as many African countries at the time of independence had economic structures and levels of income quite similar to East Asian countries, yet have grown at vastly different rates since then. Exploring why this has been the case can thus offer important insights into possibilities for industrial policy. Yet this comes with some health warnings over East Asian experience. We suggest that another important contribution can come by looking at the Irish example, given its emphasis on corporatism rather than simply relying on state direction in the operation of industrial policy. The Irish model is also more democratic in some senses and has protected workers’ rights during the development process in contrast to the often highly dirigisite East Asian model. Overall we suggest that some immediate actions are needed, notably with regard to the financial system in small African economies. Without such changes, a poorly functioning financial system will continue to keep investment at low levels. In relation to the small size of the African economies, the paper recommends regional integration and sufficient overseas development assistance (ODA) for infrastructural development. It is also critical to note that the various small African economies each face their own industrial and economic development challenges, and that a ‘one size fits all’ approach is not appropriate; rather the key is to tailor policies and systems to the unique opportunities and development challenges in each African country.