88 research outputs found
Freedom to Trade, Free Trade and Laissez-Faire: Latin American Approaches to Economic Liberalism in the Nineteenth Century
There were at least four stages in the nineteenth-century transition from mercantilism to "free trade". The first involved the freedom to trade with any country; the second led to the application of the same tariffs on imports from all countries. The third required the sharp reduction of the tariff rates themselves. The fourth assumed the subordination of the state to the market. This presentation explores how far Latin American countries advanced along this continuum in the nineteenth century
Trade Liberalisation, Market Deregulation and Agricultural Performance in Central America
One frequently encounters the argument that trade liberalisation and deregulation of domestic markets in developing countries result in increased incentives for agriculture. This proposition is considered for the Central American countries, all of which passed through fundamental policy change either in the 1980s or 1990s. After characterising the policy regimes in each country over various periods, the analysis moves to an inspection of agricultural trade performance. The evidence indicates that liberalisation of foreign trade and deregulation of domestic markets has not been associated with improved agricultural performance. It is suggested that the failure of agriculture to respond positively to policy changes can be in part explained by an unfavourable trend in world prices of the region's major tradable commodities.
Dietary nitrate reduces muscle metabolic perturbation and improves exercise tolerance in hypoxia
The definitive version is available at www3.interscience.wiley.comExercise in hypoxia is associated with reduced muscle oxidative function and impaired exercise tolerance. We hypothesised that dietary nitrate supplementation (which increases plasma [nitrite] and thus NO bioavailability) would ameliorate the adverse effects of hypoxia on muscle metabolism and oxidative function. In a double-blind, randomised crossover study, nine healthy subjects completed knee-extension exercise to the limit of tolerance (T(lim)), once in normoxia (20.9% O(2); CON) and twice in hypoxia (14.5% O(2)). During 24 h prior to the hypoxia trials, subjects consumed 0.75 L of nitrate-rich beetroot juice (9.3 mmol nitrate; H-BR) or 0.75 L of nitrate-depleted beetroot juice as a placebo (0.006 mmol nitrate; H-PL). Muscle metabolism was assessed using calibrated (31)P-MRS. Plasma [nitrite] was elevated (P < 0.01) following BR (194 ± 51 nm) compared to PL (129 ± 23 nm) and CON (142 ± 37 nM). T(lim) was reduced in H-PL compared to CON (393 ± 169 vs. 471 ± 200 s; P < 0.05) but was not different between CON and H-BR (477 ± 200 s). The muscle [PCr], [P(i)] and pH changed at a faster rate in H-PL compared to CON and H-BR. The [PCr] recovery time constant was greater (P < 0.01) in H-PL (29 ± 5 s) compared to CON (23 ± 5 s) and H-BR (24 ± 5 s). Nitrate supplementation reduced muscle metabolic perturbation during exercise in hypoxia and restored exercise tolerance and oxidative function to values observed in normoxia. The results suggest that augmenting the nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway may have important therapeutic applications for improving muscle energetics and functional capacity in hypoxia
Why Reform Fails : The âPolitics of Policiesâ in Costa Rican Telecommunications Liberalization
As the \u27Washington Consensus\u27 reforms are losing momentum in Latin America, the Inter-
American Development Bank (IDB) is calling for shifting the focus from the content of policy
choices to the political process of their implementation. As this paper studies the paradigmatic
case of telecommunications reform in Costa Rica it underscores the importance
of these \u27politics of policies\u27. The analysis finds, however, that the failure of repeated liberalization
initiatives was not only due to policy-makers\u27 errors in steering the project
through \u27the messy world of politics\u27 (IDB); instead, as liberalization remained unpopular,
policy content indeed mattered, and only the interaction of both explains the outcome.
Particular attention is drawn to the political feed-back effects, as the failed reform, precisely
because it had been backed by bi-partisan support, became a catalyst for the disintegration
of the country\u27s long-standing two-party system.In dem MaĂe, in dem die mit dem âWashington Consensusâ verbundenen Reformen in Lateinamerika
ins Stocken geraten sind, plÀdiert die Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
fĂŒr eine stĂ€rkere BerĂŒcksichtigung nicht nur der Politikinhalte (policies), sondern auch des
politischen Prozesses von deren Umsetzung (politics). Die vorliegende Untersuchung zum
paradigmatischen Fall der Reform des Telekommunikationssektors in Costa Rica unterstreicht
die Bedeutung dieser âpolitics of policiesâ. Sie zeigt allerdings auch, dass Ursache
fĂŒr das Scheiten wiederholter Liberalisierungsinitiativen nicht nur Fehler der Politiker sind,
das Vorhaben durch âdie unordentliche Welt der politicsâ (IDB) zu steuern. Die breite gesellschaftliche
Opposition gegen den Liberalisierungskurs bleibt. Nur die Interaktion von beiden,
politics und policies, erklÀrt Verlauf und Ergebnis der Reform. Besonderes Augenmerk
widmet die Studie den politischen RĂŒckwirkungen der gescheiterten Reform: Sie wurde,
just weil sie von beiden etablierten Parteien unterstĂŒtzt wurde, zum Katalysator fĂŒr den Zerfall
des seit Jahrzehnten etablierten Zweiparteiensystems des Landes
Learning together for and with the Martuwarra Fitzroy River
Co-production across scientific and Indigenous knowledge systems has become a cornerstone of research to enhance knowledge, practice, ethics, and foster sustainability transformations. However, the profound differences in world views and the complex and contested histories of nation-state colonisation on Indigenous territories, highlight both opportunities and risks for Indigenous people when engaging with knowledge co-production. This paper investigates the conditions under which knowledge co-production can lead to improved Indigenous adaptive environmental planning and management among remote land-attached Indigenous peoples through a case study with ten Traditional Owner groups in the Martuwarra (Fitzroy River) Catchment in Western Australiaâs Kimberley region. The research team built a 3D map of the river and used it, together with an interactive table-top projector, to bring together both scientific and Indigenous spatial knowledge. Participatory influence mapping, aligned with Traditional Owner priorities to achieve cultural governance and management planning goals set out in the Fitzroy River Declaration, investigated power relations. An analytical framework, examining underlying mechanisms of social learning, knowledge promotion and enhancing influence, based on different theories of change, was applied to unpack the immediate outcomes from these activities. The analysis identified that knowledge co-production activities improved the accessibility of the knowledge, the experiences of the knowledge users, strengthened collective identity and partnerships, and strengthened Indigenous-led institutions. The focus on cultural governance and management planning goals in the Fitzroy River Declaration enabled the activities to directly affect key drivers of Indigenous adaptive environmental planning and managementâthe Indigenous-led institutions. The nation-state arrangements also gave some support to local learning and decision-making through a key Indigenous institution, Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council. Knowledge co-production with remote land-attached Indigenous peoples can improve adaptive environmental planning and management where it fosters learning together, is grounded in the Indigenous-led institutions and addresses their priorities
Brazil and the United Kingdom: Trade Relations in the 1990s
This paper explores recent trends in the bilateral trade relationship
at both an aggregated and disaggregated level. It then develops an econometric
model to explain British and Brazilian bilateral exports on a global basis, which
demonstrates that both countries have 'underperformed' in their exports to each
other. This is followed first by an analysis of British underperformance in the
Brazilian market and then by an analysis of Brazilian underperformance in the
British market. The final section looks at prospects for trade relations in the next
ten years
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