Fortress Europe and other myths concerning trade

Developing countries sometimes still resist free trade because of the alleged protectionism of industrial countries -- a myth belied by facts, says the author. Import growth in the industrial countries accelerated during the 1980s, while income growth slowed. Outside of agriculture (only about 2 percent of GDP) and with the possible exception of Japan, free trade -- not protectionism -- is the reality. Despite the march toward a frontier-less Europe, the European Community (EC) manufactures imports from nonmembers rose faster than intra-EC trade, and imports from developing countries rose fastest. Similar tendencies prevailed in North America. This pattern of imports contradicts the myth of widespread, effective and growing barriers to manufactures imports. Protectionist rhetoric is up because imports are increasing, not because trade barriers are rising. The rising share of developing countries, despite their often weak bargaining positions, shows that multilateral rules, rather than bargaining, threats and counter-threats, still drive the system. In the 1980s, manufactures imports rose to 40 percent of manufacturing production in the United States and to 25 percent in the EC. But in Japan, manufactures imports in 1990 were less than 12 percent of manufacturing production, and their dollar value was smaller than Italy's. Granted, some protectionism persists everywhere, but it is an irritant rather than a true obstacle to trade. For that reason, further trade liberalization can bring the industrial countries little additional benefit in terms of faster growth, though retreat from free trade holds huge potential losses. Only improved domestic policies -- structural and macroeconomic -- can raise investment, accelerate growth, reduce unemployment and consolidate support for free trade. Developing countries should view the United States and the EC as open markets for their manufactures exports. Even in agriculture, policy reform over the present decade should reduce inefficiencies. Meanwhile, analysts should be careful to disaggregate: industrial countries'agricultural policies that have truly harmed food exporters, like Thailand, should not be blamed for the ills of food importers, like most African countries. Selective trade restraints may have blunted but not countered the dynamism of newly industrialized countries and accelerated their shift toward more sophisticated exports. As their barriers to manufactures imports are generally low, the preferences industrial countries grant to developing countries carry similarly low benefits. They help nascent exporters benefit from good policies, but they do not overcome the handicap of bad policies.Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Trade Policy,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,General Manufacturing

Bartonella rochalimae in Raccoons, Coyotes, and Red Foxes

To determine additional reservoirs for Bartonella rochalimae, we examined samples from several wildlife species. We isolated B. rochalimae from 1 red fox near Paris, France, and from 11 raccoons and 2 coyotes from California, USA. Co-infection with B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii was documented in 1 of the coyotes

recommendations from the CVBD World Forum

The human-animal bond has been a fundamental feature of mankind's history for millennia. The first, and strongest of these, man's relationship with the dog, is believed to pre-date even agriculture, going back as far as 30,000 years. It remains at least as powerful today. Fed by the changing nature of the interactions between people and their dogs worldwide and the increasing tendency towards close domesticity, the health of dogs has never played a more important role in family life. Thanks to developments in scientific understanding and diagnostic techniques, as well as changing priorities of pet owners, veterinarians are now able, and indeed expected, to play a fundamental role in the prevention and treatment of canine disease, including canine vector-borne diseases (CVBDs).The CVBDs represent a varied and complex group of diseases, including anaplasmosis, babesiosis, bartonellosis, borreliosis, dirofilariosis, ehrlichiosis, leishmaniosis, rickettsiosis and thelaziosis, with new syndromes being uncovered every year. Many of these diseases can cause serious, even life-threatening clinical conditions in dogs, with a number having zoonotic potential, affecting the human population.Today, CVBDs pose a growing global threat as they continue their spread far from their traditional geographical and temporal restraints as a result of changes in both climatic conditions and pet dog travel patterns, exposing new populations to previously unknown infectious agents and posing unprecedented challenges to veterinarians.In response to this growing threat, the CVBD World Forum, a multidisciplinary group of experts in CVBDs from around the world which meets on an annual basis, gathered in Nice (France) in 2011 to share the latest research on CVBDs and discuss the best approaches to managing these diseases around the world.As a result of these discussions, we, the members of the CVBD Forum have developed the following recommendations to veterinarians for the management of CVBDs

Vector-Borne Diseases - constant challenge for practicing veterinarians: recommendations from the CVBD World Forum

The human-animal bond has been a fundamental feature of mankind's history for millennia. The first, and strongest of these, man's relationship with the dog, is believed to pre-date even agriculture, going back as far as 30,000 years. It remains at least as powerful today. Fed by the changing nature of the interactions between people and their dogs worldwide and the increasing tendency towards close domesticity, the health of dogs has never played a more important role in family life. Thanks to developments in scientific understanding and diagnostic techniques, as well as changing priorities of pet owners, veterinarians are now able, and indeed expected, to play a fundamental role in the prevention and treatment of canine disease, including canine vector-borne diseases (CVBDs)

La forteresse Europe. Le commerce international, les salaires et l'emploi

Baneth Jean. La forteresse Europe. Le commerce international, les salaires et l'emploi . In: Revue d'économie financière. Hors-série, 1994. Bretton Woods : mélanges pour un cinquantenaire. pp. 299-311

La théorie de la parité des pouvoirs d'achat : un nouveau réexamen

Rejecting Cassel's Purchasing Power Parity , Balassa's JPE article affirmed that interna¬ tional price level relations were a function of relative real per capita incomes. This depended on four postulates. Tradeable prices tend to be equal across countries. Wage structures are the same across sectors within each country. Wages are determined by relative productivity in tradeables. In non-tradeables (i.e. services) prices are determined by wages, and by productivity levels that differ little across countries. International price comparisons and the evolution of real exchange rates confirmed Balassa's theory at first, but not in recent years. The postulates were never fully valid. They have been further weakened by technical progress that increased international productivity differences in services. Above all, many developing countries accelerated their growth through low real exchange rate policies. Balassa, the outstanding advocate of such policies, has contributed to weakening the price-income relationship he had earlier established.Réfutant définitivement la théorie de Cassel, Balassa affirma dans le JPE que le rapport international des niveaux de prix était fonction du rapport des revenus par habitant. Cette relation dépendait de quatre postulats. Les produits du secteur exposé au commerce international tendent à avoir le même prix partout. La productivité relative de ce secteur détermine les salaires de tous les secteurs. Dans le secteur non exposé (services) la productivité diffère peu d'un pays à l'autre ; compte tenu du salaire, elle détermine les prix. Les comparaisons internationales de prix et l'évolution des taux de change réels ont d'abord confirmé le rapport revenu-prix, mais ne le font plus. Les postulats n'ont jamais été tout à fait vrais ; le progrès technique a accru les différences internationales de productivité dans les services ; avant tout, bien des PVD ont accéléré leur croissance par une politique de taux de change réel bas. Balassa, promoteur hors pair de ces politiques, a contribué au relâchement du lien revenu-prix qu'il avait découvert.Baneth Jean. La théorie de la parité des pouvoirs d'achat : un nouveau réexamen. In: Revue d'économie du développement, 2e année N°1, 1994. Hommage à Bela Balassa. pp. 35-72

La dette du Tiers-Monde

[spa] La deuda del tercer mundo - Hará pronto diez años que la deuda sigue constituyendo un obstáculo dificilmente superable a pesar de las políticas de ajuste llevadas a cabo por numerosos países de America Latina y de otras partes del planeta. La deuda va a tener peso también en lo que respecta al proceso de integración de Europa del Este en el seno de la economía internacional y quizes dificulte la culminación del mismo. . El refinanciamiento concertado por los acreedores privados y más recientemente, las reducciones de la deuda mediante el sistema de compra y de conversión con la ayuda de fondos públicos permitieron hacer ganar tiempo pero muy pronto, tales estrategias se vieron confrontadas a sus propios limites. Además, cuando las tasas de interés sobrepasan las de crecimiento el tiempo transcurrido es realmente perdido. Asimismo, evaluado teniendo en cuenta la tasa de actualización elevada que se requière cuando no se llega a financiar ni el servicio vencido, ni las inversiones indispensables, ni las medidas sociales elementales, el precio de los créditos disminuye considerablemente para que su reembolso anticipado y las tecnicas equivalentes constituyan una buena utilización de los fondos públicos. La deuda pública internacional corresponde a contratos y sirve de contrapartida a depósitos bancarios, por lo tanto, no debe ser cuestionada a la ligera. Ahora bien, las suspensiones unilaterales de pago se multiplican y los pagos atrasados aumentan en forma caótica. El buen orden legal internacional y la moralidad pública sufren ya a causa de esta situación sin que se logre facilitar el crecimiento. La incertidumbre, ligada forzosamente a las medidas unilaterales desalienta la inversion, el retorno de los capitales expatriados e incluso las politicas económicas que exigen una cierta duración. En conclusión, mediante una intervención deliberada de los poderes públicos y en un marco internacional apropiado, seria necesario disminuir de una manera suficiente, durable y creible el servicio de la deuda de los pai'ses que intentasen hacer esfuerzos de recuperación económica suficientes, creíbles y durables. [eng] The Third World Debt - For almost ten years, the debt has been a very difficult obstacle to overcome for many Latin American - and other - countries which are making an effort to adjust their economies. It is also going to weigh heavily on the integration process of Eastern Europe into the international economy, and may hinder its success. . The refinancing arranged by private creditors, and more recently the debt reductions thanks to debt purchases and conversions with the help of public money, have made it possible to gain time but have quickly reached a limit. Besides, when interest rates are higher than growth rates, the passage of time is a loss rather than a gain. In addition, measured by the high updating rate which is suitable when one can neither finance the overdue services nor indispensable investments, nor basic social measures, the price of the debt has to be very low for early redemption and . equivalent techniques to constitute a proper use of public funds. . The international public debt corresponds to contracts. It is used as collateral for bank deposits: it should not be questioned. Unilateral stoppages of payments are becoming more numerous and unplanned arrears accumulate. The international legal order and public morality are already suffering and yet it does not facilitate a return to economic growth: the incertitude which inevitably results from unilateral measures discourages investments, the return of exported capital and, even more simply, long term economic policies. It is necessary, through the deliberate intervention of the government, in an appropriate international environment, to alleviate in a sufficient, durable and credible manner the debt service for the countries which would make sufficient, durable, and credible efforts towards economic recovery. [fre] Depuis bientôt dix ans, la dette forme un obstacle difficilement surmontable aux efforts d'ajustement entrepris par bien des pays d'Amérique latine et d'ailleurs. Elle va aussi peser sur le processus d'intégration de l'Europe de l'Est dans l'économie internationale, et peut-être en rendre difficile l'aboutissement. . Le refinancement concerté par les créanciers privés, et plus récemment les réductions de dette par le canal de rachats et de conversions à l'aide de fonds publics ont permis de gagner du temps, mais ont rapidement rencontré leurs limites. D'ailleurs, quand les taux d'intérêt dépassent les taux de croissance, le temps qui passe est perdu, pas vraiment gagné. De même, mesurés au taux d'actualisation élevé qui convient quand on n'arrive à financer ni le service échu, ni les investissements indispensables, ni les mesures sociales élémentaires, le prix des créances doit tomber bien bas pour que leur remboursement anticipé et les techniques équivalentes constituent une bonne utilisation des fonds publics. . La dette publique internationale correspond à des contrats, elle sert de contrepartie à des dépôts bancaires ; elle ne doit pas être remise en question à la légère. Or les suspensions unilatérales de paiements se multiplient, les arriérés montent dans le désordre. Le bon ordre légal international et la moralité publique souffrent déjà, sans pourtant que cela facilite le retour à la croissance : l'incertitude forcément liée aux mesures unilatérales décourage l'investissement, le retour des capitaux expatriés, et même simplement les politiques économiques qui exigent la durée. Il faut enfin, par une intervention délibérée des pouvoirs publics, dans un cadre international approprié, alléger d'une façon suffisante, durable et crédible le service de la dette des pays qui entreprendraient des efforts de redressement économique crédibles, durables et suffisants.

Les paiements internationaux : de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale à la première crise du pétrole

Baneth Jean. Les paiements internationaux : de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale à la première crise du pétrole. In: Revue d'économie financière, n°14, 1990. Le financement de l’économie mondiale : l'expérience historique, sous la direction de Patrick Artus, Anton Brender et Jean-Marie Thiveaud. pp. 133-155

Questions d'Orient

Baneth Jean. Questions d'Orient. In: Revue d'économie du développement, 2e année N°4, 1994. pp. 115-125