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1982: Volume 13

'Monetarism' and the Third World

Volume 13 Number 1 January 1982 Edited by: Dudley Seers

lt is quite eerie to read Anglophone economists discussing monetarism as if it had not been vigorously debated for more than a quarter of a century in Latin America, and as if there had not been numerous attempts there to apply monetarist doctrines starting, let us say, with the Klein-Saks programme for Chile of 1957. One feels one is seeing the re-run of an old film. Eminent economists in Britain and the United States repeat long familiar arguments (falling often into errors long since overcome in Latin America). They cite empirical evidence, for example the relation between the quantity of money and prices, as if the world were bounded by the North Sea, the Rio Grande del Norte and the coast of California and British Colombia. The tacit assumptions are that nothing of importance happens in foreign parts and that, naturally, the native economists are of no consequence.

Comparative Advantage in an Automated World

Volume 13 Number 2 May 1982 Edited by: Raphie Kaplinsky

This issue of the Bulletin, attempts to explore some of the possible impacts which microelectronics technology might have on the problems of underdevelopment. Its particular focus is an examination of its impact on international trade. A simple-minded explanation of its significance might be as follows: the existing international division of labour depends upon developed countries supplying technology and developing economies providing labour; but when there is no longer a need for labour, where lies the future comparative advantage of developing countries? But before we move on to a brief discussion of some of the issues involved in this subject area, it is appropriate to begin with a description of the technology.

Feeding the Hungry: A Role for Post-Harvest Technology

Volume 13 Number 3 July 1982 Edited by: Martin Greeley

Food policy research is often regarded as having just two main strands: food production and food distribution. This reflects policy responsibility which, in ldcs, is commonly divided between ministries of agriculture responsible for food production to the point of harvest, and ministries of food responsible for public sector food trade and controlled distribution. Yet falling between thee is the post-harvest system which, for ldc staples, contributes a substantial share to total crop value. For city-consumed cereals the value added in post-harvest handling and processing is usually over a half of the total crop value.

These postharvest operations typically include transportation, threshing and winnowing, drying, milling and storage and - even in poor peasant farming - usually represent least a quarter of the total costs of food production, whether time or money is used to estimate value.

Agriculture, the Peasantry and Socialist Development

Volume 13 Number 4 October 1982 Edited by: Gordon White

Though the trajectories of rural development in countries adopting a socialist orientation differ considerably, all have been influenced by the view that collectivisation is a primary requirement of socialist agricultural development.

Therefore, an examination of 'socialist agriculture' involves first of all an evaluation of the history, performance and advisability of collective agriculture, ie, some form of nationally organised system of joint organisation of production and distribution by the rural producers themselves, whether termed 'co-operative', 'collective farm' or 'commune'.

Though these dimensions of the reassessment process are important, and should be dealt with in any more comprehensive discussion of socialist agriculture, the contributions to this Bulletin concentrate on recent changes in systems of macro and micro-economic management and basic-level production processes, with special reference to three areas of policy change and institutional reform.

1983: Volume 14

Accelerated Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Volume 14 Number 1 January 1983 Edited by: Caroline Allison and Reg Green

This Bulletin was born in response to a 1979 Request of the African Governors of the World Bank for a review of the cause and potential cures for the dim economic prospects which they believed confronted their economies. It appeared in the autumn of 1981 s the first comprehensive ideological and programmatic manifesto setting out the post-McNamara Bank's response to lagging development (in many cases distintegration), in the context of rising global economic disorder and deepening industrial economy recession.