Tools for managing manure nutrients

Manures are a valuable source of nutrients (and organic matter), and can be seen as a method of transferring nutrients around the farm (for homeproduced manures) or as a method of importing fertility (imported manures or composts). Good manure management offers a ‘win-win’ opportunity: benefits to soil fertility and benefits to the environment (less pollution). This paper describes two tools for manure nutrient planning: the use of look-up tables to assess nutrient content, and the development of a Decision Support Tool for describing nutrient transformations during manure management

Trade facilitation in ASEAN member countries : measuring progress and assessing priorities

This paper reviews recent progress and indicators of trade facilitation in member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The findings show that import and export costs vary considerably in the member countries, from very low to moderately high levels. Tariff and non-tariff barriers are generally low to moderate. Infrastructure quality and services sector competitiveness range from fair to excellent. Using a standard gravity model, the authors find that trade flows in Southeast Asia are particularly sensitive to transport infrastructure and information and communications technology. The results suggest that the region stands to make significant economic gains from trade facilitation reform. These gains could be considerably larger than those from comparable tariff reforms. Estimates suggest that improving port facilities in the region, for example, could expand trade by up to 7.5 percent or $22 billion. The authors interpret this as an indication of the vital role that transport infrastructure can play in enhancing intra-regional trade.Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Free Trade,Economic Theory&Research,Trade Policy,Common Carriers Industry

Road infrastructure in Europe and Central Asia : does network quality affect trade ?

The authors present a new database of minimum distance road routes connecting 138 cities in 27 countries across Europe and Central Asia. They use it to show that improved road network quality is robustly associated with higher intraregional trade flows. Gravity model simulations suggest that an ambitious but feasible road upgrade could increase trade by 50 percent over baseline, exceeding the expected gains from tariff reductions or trade facilitation programs of comparable scope. Cross-country spillovers due to overland transit are important: total intraregional trade couldbe increased by 30 percent by upgrading roads in just three countries-Albania, Hungary, and Romania.Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Free Trade,Common Carriers Industry,Transport and Trade Logistics,Trade Law

Music and Society - 1: ‘Serious’ Music — an ‘A-social’ Phenomenon?

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Transparency, trade costs, and regional integration in the Asia Pacific

The authors show in this paper that increasing the transparency of the trading environment can be an important complement to traditional liberalization of tariff and non-tariff barriers. Our definition of transparency is grounded in a transaction cost analysis. The authors focus on two dimensions of transparency: predictability (reducing the cost of uncertainty) and simplification (reducing information costs). Using the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies as a case study, the authors construct indices of importer and exporter transparency for the region from a wide range of sources. Our results from a gravity model suggest that improving trade-related transparency in APEC could hold significant benefits by raising intra-APEC trade by proximately USD 148 billion or 7.5 pecent of baseline trade in the region.Economic Theory&Research,Free Trade,Emerging Markets,Debt Markets,Trade Policy

Review of Recordings from the 21st International Festival of Contemporary Music, Warsaw, September 1977

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Review of Music and Society, Ed. G.S. Métraux

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Help or hindrance ? the impact of harmonized standards on african exports

The authors test the hypothesis that product standards harmonized to de facto international standards are less trade restrictive than ones that are not. To do this, the authors construct a new database of European Union (EU) product standards. The authors identify standards that are aligned with ISO standards (as a proxy for de facto international norms). The authors use a sample-selection gravity model to examine the impact of EU standards on African textiles and clothing exports, a sector of particular development interest. The authors find robust evidence that non-harmonized standards reduce African exports of these products. EU standards which are harmonized to ISO standards are less trade restricting. Our results suggest that efforts to promote African exports of manufactures may need to be complemented by measures to reduce the cost impacts of product standards, including international harmonization. In addition, efforts to harmonize national standards with international norms, including through the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement, promise concrete benefits through trade expansion.Information Security&Privacy,Standards and Technical Regulations,Science Education,Scientific Research&Science Parks,Information and Records Management

Review of Music-Society-Education by Christopher Small

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