Camelina success story

Camelina sativa is an ancient oilseed crop, which has been cultivated in Europe during the iron and bronze ages. The seeds contain about 40 % oil. Camelina oil has an excellent fatty acid composition: 40 % omega-3 fatty acids and 16 % omega-6 fatty acids

A learning object success story

This paper outlines an approach to designing a course entirely in learning objects. It provides a theoretical basis for the design and then presents evaluation data from a master’s level course using this design. It also describes several re-uses of the learning objects on other courses and in different contexts. Each learning object is conceived as a whole learning experience, thus avoiding many of the problems associated with assembling components of disparate kinds

Latvia's Internal Devaluation: A Success Story?

Advocates of an economic strategy of "internal devaluation" have recently pointed to Latvia as an example of successful macroeconomic policy. The Latvian economy is projected to grow by four percent in 2011. They argue that the Latvian government, along with the European authorities (including the International Monetary Fund -- IMF), pursued the correct macroeconomic policies by maintaining Latvia's fixed exchange rate and implementing pro-cyclical fiscal policies (that shrunk the economy further) and sometimes pro-cyclical monetary policies. They argue that these were the best policies (as opposed to counter-cyclical, expansionary fiscal and monetary policies, accompanied by devaluation) designed to promote a rapid economic recovery.The data, however, contradict the notion that Latvia's experience provides an example of successful internal devaluation. This paper looks at the Latvian case and provides further evidence that this can be a very costly strategy and one that does not work. The social and economic costs in Latvia were enormous, and the loss of income much greater than most countries that had crisis-driven devaluations. Countries with crisis-driven devaluations also recovered vastly faster, on average, than did Latvia. Furthermore, net exports contributed little or nothing to Latvia's recovery, which seems to have been facilitated instead by the abandonment of pro-cyclical macroeconomic policies. This case study is relevant to the eurozone because current policies there rely at least partly on "internal devaluation" in the weaker eurozone economies for recovery. The risks in the eurozone are even greater because of the financial crisis that has resulted from these pro-cyclical policies

Mozambique's Food Security Success Story

Resultados das investigações do Projecto de Segurança Alimentar em Moçambique MAP-Direcção de Economía-Dpto. Estatísticafood security, food policy, Mozambique, Food Security and Poverty, Q18,

Hungary: The Janus-faced Success Story

This paper offers a broad overview of the Hungarian development strategy over the past two decades. Combining historical and functional analysis, some major strengths and weaknesses are identified, with special emphasis on the country.s open-door policies and the role played by the European Union. The paper investigates why the impetus of institutional and financial integration was lost by about 2004 when policy drifting took over the role of strategies. Some ideas on how to remedy the situation are being offered. Paradoxically, the Hungarian success and failure both testify to the relevance of a neo-institutionalist/political economy approach to sustainable development. It also examines the limitations of external anchoring by the EU as well as of the spontaneous bottom-up evolution of institutions when policy drifting continues.structural reform, sustainability, EU accession, regulation, FDI, trust

Tunisia's Development Experience: A Success Story?

Tunisia.s recent growth and development performance relative to countries in its region, and relative to countries at similar levels of development in other parts of the world, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, have been notable. An analysis of Tunisia.s path to development reveals that the country.s development strategy relied primarily on diversifying its production and trade and enhancing its human capital with emphasis on women.s empowerment. Family planning programmes that have caused fertility to decline significantly are a hallmark of Tunisia.s development strategy. This paper reviews Tunisia.s experience, identifies the major challenges and threats to the viability of its development strategy, and pinpoints lessonsDevelopment, politics of co-optation, trade openness, fertility, human capital, wonmen's empowerment, Tunisia

The Mauritian Success Story and its Lessons

This paper examines different explanations.initial conditions, openness to trade and FDI, and institutions.of the Mauritian growth experience since the mid-1970s. We show that arguments based on openness to trade and FDI are either misleading or incomplete. Even when correctly articulated, openness appears to be a proximate rather than an underlying explanation for the Mauritian experience. The institution-based explanation offers greater promise. Ultimately, however, the econometric results indicate that existing explanations may be incomplete. Some idiosyncratic factors, particularly Mauritian diversity and the responses to managing it, may provide the missing pieces in the story of Mauritius.s success.Mauritius; growth; institutions, openness