• Biotechnology offers the potential for more environmentally-friendly agriculture but the conditions for developing countries to take advantage of that potential should be created. • Policy intervention is needed to ensure that biotechnology responds to the priorities set for agriculture....

. Lowering interest rates and, thus, the cost of borrowing in the rand zone (Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland and South Africa) is a priority to promote investment and economic growth. . Local-currency interest rates in these countries are driven by those on rand-denominated transactions. Reducing...

. The poor are the principal beneficiaries of universal access to social services. . Instead of thinking in terms of supply, we need to meet the demand for services from the poor. . Policies should be judged by their outcomes rather than by the amount of resources employed. . Coherent, long-term...

• Many micro-enterprises are known to the authorities, in particular because they pay taxes. • Intermediate-revenue countries impose certain standards to protect consumers. • Wages regulations are only rarely respected. • The creation and development of micro-enterprises could be...

. Deeply rooted social institutions – societal norms, codes of conduct, laws and tradition – cause gender discrimination. . Religion per se does not systematically define such discrimination. All dominant religions show flexibility in interpreting the role of women in society. . The...

In the history of adjustment, concern with the political aspects appeared only after long reflection. At the beginning of the 1980s, given the urgency of the financial crises afflicting many developing countries, the only thought was to restore macroeconomic balances, particularly the balance of...

• Adjustment does not necessarily increase poverty • Adjusting before a crisis reduces social costs • Refusal to adjust and the suspension of imports leads to self-centred underdevelopment, which is socially much more costly • The choice of macroeconomic stabilisation measures is...

Latin American sovereign bonds represent a significant share of the emerging debt class (50 per cent by early 2001) and so have considerably shaped the dynamics of this market. Recent financial turmoil, contagion episodes and investors’ renewed concerns with debt default call for a better...

This study examines the potential impact of changes in the public/private sector balance for biotechnology development and diffusion in developing country agriculture. It focuses on biotechnology related to two important developing country crops: rice and cocoa. The study highlights the...

In this paper we aim to answer the following two questions: <I>1) has the Common Monetary Area in Southern Africa (henceforth CMA) ever been an optimal currency area (OCA)? 2) What are the costs and benefits of the CMA for its participating countries?</I> In order to answer these questions, we carry...</i>