Social Development, the Empowerment of Women, and the Expansion of Civil Society: Alternative Ways out of the Debt and Poverty Trap

In Pakistan’s fifty-five years, most governments have terribly neglected the overall well-being of their people. When economic growth has occurred in the past, it has been grossly inequitable. For Pakistan to escape the debt and poverty trap in which it is becoming inextricably immersed, it must prioritise social development, the empowerment of women, and the expansion of civil society over economic growth strategies. Only then can there be balanced growth—not just growth for the élites—as knowledgeable people from myriad backgrounds feel vested in Pakistan’s future. The process of globalisation has all but eliminated the possibility of a local economy being able to become competitive in the global market. Though by prioritising social development, enabling women to become full participants in the state, and expanding the power and possibilities that civil society groups can play, Pakistan will find that these are the most viable strategies to break free from the debt and poverty trap in which it finds itself today.

How effective are directed credit policies in the United States? A literature survey

Schwarz surveys U.S. experience with directed credit as background for a larger study of the Asian experience. Almost half of net credit lent in the United States annually is directly affected by government policies - half of net credit covering budget deficits, and half falling under various federal credit programs. The main difference between U.S. and Asian credit policy is that U.S. credit policy is oriented more toward equity than toward growth. Different sectors are affected differently by U.S. credit policies. Few empirical studies test how U.S. credit policy affects growth - perhaps partly because of the motives behind those policies. Few enpirical studies even test whether the policies edffectively increase credit to the target group. Schwarz outlines a method for testing the effectiveness of credit policy, then examinesexisting empirical work to see how it fits that methodology. The first common empirical technique examines credit allocation in the economy. Schwarz finds that for the largest program, housing credit, the effect of credit program on credit allocation is very small and may be negative when cross-program effects are considered. The second common empirical technique examines individual sectors. Results here are mixed. In agriculture, much of the credit raises the demand for land, providing a gain for landowners rather than increasing production. In education, less than a third of the students who got government credit would not have gone to college without it. So in both cases, the credit has a positive impact but at a sizable cost. Schwarz concludes that despite its huge volume, directed credit in the United States has a limited impact in growth. The credit programs have generally succeeded in increasing credit to the targeted group, but not necessarily in increasing investment by that group.Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Housing Finance,Financial Intermediation,Economic Theory&Research

Campaign for a Moral, Balanced Immigration Overhaul (CAMBIO), Strategic Review

In March 2014, Campaign for an Accountable, Moral, and Balanced Immigration Reform (CAMBIO) commissioned us to conduct an external review of the CAMBIO campaign. This report summarizes findings based on data gathered during an in-person focus group conducted with members of the CAMBIO Steering Committee in May 2014; a review of approximately 20 CAMBIO corporate documents and 36 internal meeting minutes; and 41 semi-structured telephone interviews conducted principally in June and July 2014

A column of grains in the jamming limit: glassy dynamics in the compaction process

We investigate a stochastic model describing a column of grains in the jamming limit, in the presence of a low vibrational intensity. The key control parameter of the model, $\epsilon$, is a representation of granular shape, related to the reduced void space. Regularity and irregularity in grain shapes, respectively corresponding to rational and irrational values of $\epsilon$, are shown to be centrally important in determining the statics and dynamics of the compaction process.Comment: 29 pages, 14 figures, 1 table. Various minor changes and updates. To appear in EPJ

Cellular and Secretory Proteins of the Salivary Glands of \u3cem\u3eSciara coprophila\u3c/em\u3e During the Larval-pupal Transformation

The cellular and secretory proteins of the salivary gland of Sciara coprophila during the stages of the larval-pupal transformation were examined by electrophoresis in 0.6 mm sheets of polyacrylamide gel with both SDS-continuous and discontinuous buffer systems. After SDS-electrophoresis, all electrophoretograms of both reduced and nonreduced proteins from single glands stained with Coomassie brilliant blue revealed a pattern containing the same 25 bands during the stages of the larval-pupal transformation. With the staining procedures used in this study, qualitative increases and decreases were detected in existing proteins and enzymes. There was no evidence, however, for the appearance of new protein species that could be correlated with the onset of either pupation or gland histolysis. Electrophoretograms of reduced samples of anterior versus posterior gland parts indicated that no protein in the basic pattern of 25 bands was unique to either the anterior or posterior gland part. Electrophoretograms of reduced samples of secretion collected from either actively feeding or cocoon -building animals showed an electrophoretic pattern containing up to six of the 25 protein fractions detected in salivary gland samples, with varied amounts of these same six proteins in electrophoretograms of secretion samples from a given stage. Zymograms of non-specific esterases in salivary gland samples revealed a progressive increase in the amount of esterase reaction produce in one major band and some decrease in the second major band during later stages of the larval-pupal transformation

Export Performance in Fiji, 1960 to 1999

Stochastic dominance analysis was used to assess export performance in Fiji from 1960 to 1999. A country with reasonably abundant resources, Fiji has made effective use of its quite substantial resources to increase total export values significantly over the study period, with an average rate of growth of 2.6 per cent per annum. Non-agricultural exports were the source of this growth, increasing annually by 7.3 per cent. Growth was particularly strong from the late 1980s despite the loss of skills and capital flight in the wake of the May 1987 coup and military takeover. The economy clearly benefited from a policy switch from a trade protectionist policy with a high degree of government intervention to an export-oriented strategy based on private sector-led development. The values of total exports in the 1990s were dominant overall. The values in the 1980s dominated values in the 1960s and 1970s as a result of the expansion of non-agricultural exports. The 1970s stochastically dominated the 1960s clearly and the 1980s dominated the 1970s for non-agricultural exports. Non-agricultural export values continued to expand in the final decade of the study period, rendering overall stochastic dominance of the 1990s over the 1980s and preceding decades. The dominant decade for agricultural exports was the 1970s. However, the increase in agricultural export values during the 1970s was offset by a decline in agricultural export values in the final two decades of the study period such that there was no trend in agricultural export values over the whole study period.export performance, Fiji, stochastic dominance, International Relations/Trade,