Beyond Commodity Policy: Structural Changes and Financial Compensation

SUMMARY The concentration of recent discussion on Commodity Agreements neglects two other approaches to the reform of trade patterns—the structural approach (shifting the distribution of the gains from trade by changes in the whole structure of production financing, transport distribution) and compensatory finance schemes. The last are more attractive to the industrial countries (because of the possibility of ‘cost?free’ financing through IMF gold sales or the Link and the diffusion of the burden): as such they are more feasible, and have, also, attractions for the developing countries. (They can cover weak as well as strong commodities, payments go to governments and not to—possibly wealthy or MNC subsidiary—producers). They may offer the best hope for developing countries if the latter insist on three conditions: stabilization of export earnings in real terms; a significant degree of control over the schemes' operation; payments in the form of grants not loans particularly to the poorer countries. RESUMEN Mas Allá de la Política de Productos Primarios: Cambios Estructurales y Compensación Financiera La concentración de la discusión reciente sobre Convenios de Productos Primarios descuida otros dos enfoques de la reforma de los padrones de comercio : el enfoque estructural (cambiar la distribución de las ganancias del comercio por medio de cambios en la estructura global de producción, financiamiento, transporte y distribución) y los esquemas de compensación financiera. Los últimos son los más atractivos para los países industriales (debido a la posibilidad de financiamiento sin costo a través de ventas de oro del FMI, o del lazo con los DEG, y la repartición de la carga financiera) ; en esa medida son más factibles y tienen además atractivos para los países en desarrollo. (Pueden cubrir tanto productos débiles como fuertes, los pagos van a los gobiernos y no a productores ricos o incluso subsidiarias de las CMN). Estos esquemas pueden ser los más promisorios para los países en desarrollo siempre que éstos insistan en tres condiciones: estabilización de retornos de exportación en términos reales: un grado significativo de control sobre el funcionamiento del esquema ; y pagos en forma de ayuda, no de préstamos, especialmente a los países más pobres. RESUME Nouvelles approches des produits de base Les discussions récentes s'attachant aux accords sur les produits de base négligent deux aspects particuliers relatifs à la réforme des modèles commerciaux, notamment (1) la question structurelle (nouvelle répartition des bénéfices de commerce en vertu de changements apportés à l'ensemble des procédures de production, financement, transports, distribution) ; (2) les projets de financement compensateur. Ces projets plaisent le plus aux pays industrialisés (en raison (a) des possibilités de financement “gratuit” qu'ils présentent grâce aux transferts de ressources à partir du FMI, provenent soit de la vente des réserves en or soit du “Lien ', (b) de la répartition du fardeau). Ces projets peuvent s'appliquer à de produits à faibles et à forts revenus. Les paiements se versent aux gouvernements, et non aux producteurs (éventuellement riches, ou filiales de sociétés multinationales. Ils peuvent offrir la meilleure réponse aux aspirations des pays en développement, pourvu que ces derniers exigent (1) que la stabilisation des recettes d'exportation s'effecture moyennant de ressources réelles; (2) que la mise en oeuvre des projets soit assujettie à un contrôle adéquat ; (3) que tous les transferts se fassent à titre de subventions et non de prêts, et ceci surtout vers les pays les plus démunis

Comparing the correlation length of grain markets in China and France

In economics comparative analysis plays the same role as experimental research in physics. In this paper we closely examine several methodological problems related to comparative analysis by investigating the specific example of grain markets in China and France respectively. This enables us to answer a question in economic history which has so far remained pending, namely whether or not market integration progressed in the 18th century. In economics as in physics, before being accepted any new result has to be checked and re-checked by different researchers. This is what we call the replication and comparison procedures. We show how these procedures should (and can) be implemented.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, to appear in International Journal of Modern Physics

Search for solid conductors of Na(+) and K(+) ions: Five new conductors

Five conductors of three structure types were discovered which, as solids, can transport Na(+) or K(+) ions with conductivities of approximately .00001/(omega cm) at 300 K. These compounds are: (1) the pyrochlores NaTaWO6 and NaTa2O5F, both with an activation energy for conduction delta E of 21 kJ/mole; (2) the bodycentered cubic form of NaSbO3, with delta E = 42 kJ/mole; and (3) the niobates 2Na2O with 3Nb2O5 and 2K2O with 3Nb2O5, with the alkali ions probably in open layers of the incompletely determined structure; delta E = 17 kJ/mole. On the basis of approximately 40 structure types, some generalizations were made regarding the relation between structure and ionic transport

Midlatitude Pi2 pulsations: AFGL and ISEE magnetometer observations correlated

The ISEE observations of the pi2 magnetic pulsations occuring substorm onset in the inner magnetosphere are discussed. One of these events which was also detected as a pi2 event by the AFGL midlatitude magnetometers is considered. The event occurred when the foot of the ISEE field line was over North America. The ground and satellite signals are remarkably similar: they start and stop at the same time, have the same period and can be correlated cycle by cycle. The waves are detected in the electric field data from ISEE 1 and in the magnetic field data from both ISEE 1 and ISEE 2. Calculation of the Poynting vector at ISEE 1 shows that the energy flowed mainly westward, but that there was also a component towards the nearer (southern) ionospheric foot of the field line. The phases between the various field components measured by ISEE 1 and 2 indicate that this is a standing hydromagnetic oscillation