LEASE CONTRACTING IN SOVIET AGRICULTURE IN 1989

Farm Management,

THE LAW ON COOPERATIVES, RETAIL FOOD PRICES, AND THE FARM FINANCIAL CRISIS IN THE U.S.S.R.

Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance,

AGRICULTURE AND FIVE YEARS OF PERESTROIKA

International Development,

PRICE ADJUSTMENT AND SOVIET AGRICULTURAL REFORM: A VIEW USING LITHUANIAN FARM DATA

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Agricultural Transition in the New Federal States of Germany

International Development,

Decollectivization and the agricultural transition in Eastern and Central Europe

The agricultural transition is an essential part of stabilization and adjustment in Eastern and Central Europe because agricultural sectors are large and food is important. The supply response that many within and outside the region expected to emerge early and expeditiously is complicated by the removal of consumer subsidies and constrained export demand. In an atmosphere of acute economic uncertainty and declining farm incomes, the distribution of agricultural land is proceeding. The author traces the liberalization of food prices and the distribution of agricultural land to date. The essence of the agricultural transition is the state's withdrawal from its traditional role as residual claimant of rents forthe use of agricultural resources. This role will pass in stages to owners of land. The author concludes that an agricultural transition when demand is constrained is more difficult to manage than one in which the fruits of institutional change and productivity growth find ready outlets. Moreover, although price movements are not yet clear, it appears that removing subsidies on feed, credit, fertilizer, machinery, and energy will move the terms of trade against agriculture - particularly against the large livestock sector. The need to increase productivity will thus be even greater than in the past. Any progress on the demand side will thus give a major impetus to the institutional changes needed on the supply side.Access to Markets,Environmental Economics&Policies,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Economic Theory&Research,Markets and Market Access

RUSSIAN FARM ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE AND RESTRUCTURING: A DEBT PROBLEM OR A PROFITABILITY PROBLEM?

Farm Management,

Agriculture and the transition to the market

Agricultural sectors in Eastern and Central Europe are large so that changes in producer prices, farm employment, and land ownership affect substantial numbers of people. In the past, food in the region was politicized. For decades, governments of Eastern European countries and the USSR offered their citizens stable, subsidized food prices and a steadily improving diet in an effort to demonstrate the superiority of communism over capitalism. During the transition, the context has changed, but food remains politicized. Many consumers in the region are ill-prepared to pay the real costs of food, which are quite high. The task of reducing those costs will be difficult, involving restructuring of farms and fostering competition in processing and distribution. Management of the agricultural transition will affect the political sustainability of the process and influence agriculture's contribution to the growth of emerging market economies. Although the agricultural sector of Eastern and Central Europe is large, Soviet agriculture dwarfs it in its impact on the region and the world. A positive program to stop the decline in Soviet agriculture could contribute to economic growth and political stability. Failure to remedy the fundamental flaws in Soviet agriculture will speed the country's slide into poverty and ethnic turmoil - and undermine the efforts of Central and Eastern Europeans to succeed.Access to Markets,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Markets and Market Access

Efficacy and Safety of Umeclidinium Added to Fluticasone Propionate/Salmeterol in Patients with COPD : Results of Two Randomized, Double-Blind Studies

Combinations of drugs with distinct and complementary mechanisms of action may offer improved efficacy in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In two 12-week, double-blind, parallel-group studies, patients with COPD were randomized 1:1:1 to once-daily umeclidinium (UMEC; 62.5 μg and 125 μg) or placebo (PBO), added to twice-daily fluticasone propionate/salmeterol (FP/SAL; 250/50 μg). In both studies, the primary efficacy measure was trough forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV) at Day 85. Secondary endpoints were weighted-mean (WM) FEV over 0-6 hours post-dose (Day 84) and rescue albuterol use. Health-related quality of life outcomes (St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire [SGRQ] and COPD assessment test [CAT]) were also examined. Safety was assessed throughout. Both UMEC+FP/SAL doses provided statistically significant improvements in trough FEV (Day 85: 0.127-0.148 L) versus PBO+FP/SAL. Similarly, both UMEC+FP/SAL doses provided statistically-significant improvements in 0-6 hours post-dose WM FEV versus PBO+FP/SAL (Day 84: 0.144-0.165 L). Rescue use over Weeks 1-12 decreased with UMEC+FP/SAL in both studies versus PBO+FP/SAL (Study 1, 0.3 puffs/day [both doses]; Study 2, 0.5 puffs/day [UMEC 125+FP/SAL]). Decreases from baseline in CAT score were generally larger for both doses of UMEC+FP/SAL versus PBO+FP/SAL (except for Day 84 Study 2). In Study 1, no differences in SGRQ score were observed between UMEC+FP/SAL and PBO+FP/SAL; however, in Study 2, statistically significant improvements were observed with UMEC 62.5+FP/SAL (Day 28) and UMEC 125+FP/SAL (Days 28 and 84) versus PBO+FP/SAL. The incidence of on-treatment adverse events across all treatment groups was 37-41% in Study 1 and 36-38% in Study 2. Overall, these data indicate that the combination of UMEC+FP/SAL can provide additional benefits over FP/SAL alone in patients with COPD