Inflation and stabilization in Yugoslavia

This paper shows that inflation in Yugoslavia shares common elements with inflation in other highly indebted countries, despite appearances other-wise. These common elements include a large transfer of resources abroad unmatched by an internal adjustment, resulting in a large internal redistribution of real resources through inflation. The author argues that Yugoslavia differs from other countries in that these internal conditions are not transparent. Instead of an open fiscal deficit, there were complex interactions among enterprises, commercial banks, and the central bank, involving, among other things, the absorption and servicing of a large stock of foreign exchange liabilities by the central bank. Events in the second half of 1990 also indicate that, for a stabilization program to succeed in Yugoslavia, there must be much greater political resolve to cope with wage indiscipline and loss-making enterprises than was observed in 1990. And the question remains whether financial discipline can be imposed in the system only at the macroeconomic level and without introducing private ownership of capital. The ultimate question may be whether stabilization can succeed without a comprehensive privatization program.Economic Stabilization,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Macroeconomic Management

Agricultural growth and agrarian structure in the Brazilian Cerrado: the role of land prices, natural resources and technology

This paper argues that the rapid agricultural expansion of the cerrado regions in Brazil is due to the low price of land in these regions, as compared with the other agricultural regions of Brazil and abroad. This low price of land is, in turn, attributed not only to the greater distance of these regions from the main markets, but also to the limitations of natural resources (the extremely harsh drought period, which limits agricultural activities to grains and livestock) and, above all, to technological innovations that “produced†an abundance of land of good quality. In order to show more clearly how this process has taken place, the paper develops a model of the land market that allows for “production of land,†and derives the implications of such a model for production functions and total factor productivity (TFP) analyses. The paper also seeks to explain why the agrarian structure of the cerrado is so concentrated. The explanation turns on the low price of land and the peculiar characteristics of the natural resources and technology, rather than the role of agricultural policies. In its conclusions, the paper derives some implications for environmental as well as agrarian reform policies.The cerrados in Brazil, Technology, Land markets, Agricultural growth, Agrarian structure., Land Economics/Use,

Determinants of expatriate workers'remittances in North Africa and Europe

The authors review the theoretical literature on the determinants of international workers'remittances and then posit an empirical model that accounts for demographic, portfolio, and macroeconomic factors that - together with special incentive policies - determine official remittances. They estimated the model using data from five major labor-exporting countries of North Africa and Europe: Morocco, Portugal, Tunisia, Turkey, and the former Yugoslavia. The econometric results strongly corroborate the model's predictions and reveal interesting policy implications. In planning for the future growth of remittances, labor-exporting countries should explicitly take into consideration the history of migration, since an aging labor force abroad will be less inclined to remit. Labor-exporting countries should also account for the economic prospects of the major labor-receiving countries and for the geographical distribution of their migrant labor. The authors'results show that remittances are significantly affected by economic policies in the home (labor-exporting) countries. Special incentive schemes cannot substitute for a stable, credible macroeconomic policy.Economic Theory&Research,Economic Conditions and Volatility,Environmental Economics&Policies,Inequality,Banks&Banking Reform

Patterns of competition and strategic groups in the special cheese industry in Brazil

The aim of this study is to identify the competition pattern in the Brazilian special cheese industry, and the strategic groups of this market. Based mainly on the Industrial Organization Theory, a qualitative study was conducted, supported by primary and secondary data. The primary data were obtained through interviews with six managers of Brazilian special cheese companies, and the secondary data were obtained from websites, company documents and specialized publications. The results point to the increasing importance of the price variable, related to market growth in recent years, which attracted companies with more effective production and logistics structures. Based on the characteristics and strategies of companies, four strategic groups were identified: a) medium sized companies with large market penetration; b) small companies focused on the special cheese market and located in traditional production regions of Minas Gerais State; c) single-product companies, with high levels of vertical integration; and d) transnational companies that produce special cheese in several countries.Fine cheese, industrial organization, strategic groups, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Industrial Organization,

Fiscal and quasi - fiscal deficits, nominal and real : measurement and policy issues

The paper reviews alternative definitions of the non-financialpublic sector deficit. Important points giving rise to different definitions are the problem of foreign exchange losses, the appropriateness of including net government lending to the private sector and the distinction between nominal and real deficits. The paper also introduces alternative definitions of quasi-fiscal deficit, and discusses the same issues in the context of these definitions. Foreign exchange losses and the distinction between nominal and real deficits are discussed in greater detail, since these issues are even more relevant in the case of the central bank. The authors also merge the accounts of the non-financial and financial public sector into a consolidated budget constraint. Then the analysis of fiscal and quasi-fiscal deficits are illustrated through a detailed examination of some stylized cases. Finally, the authors provide a summary of major issues and some conclusions are derived from them.Economic Stabilization,Economic Theory&Research,Macroeconomic Management,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies

Smale flows on S2×S1\mathbb{S}^2\times\mathbb{S}^1

In this paper, we use abstract Lyapunov graphs as a combinatorial tool to obtain a complete classification of Smale flows on $\mathbb{S}^2\times\mathbb{S}^1$. This classification gives necessary and sufficient conditions that must be satisfied by an abstract Lyapunov graph in order for it to be associated to a Smale flow on $\mathbb{S}^2\times\mathbb{S}^1$