The decline of most world commodity prices came to an end in recent months. The aggregate dollar price level was 15 per cent lower in the first quarter of 1999 compared to a year previously, and since autumn 1997 it even decreased by about 30 per cent. Oil prices fell particularly sharply, but...

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a crucial indicator for a country's integration into the global division of labour and its general level of development. Empirical analyses of integration processes however require an extensively harmonized procedure to compile and disseminate FDI data. This...

This paper reviews Italian audiovisual policies, in order to assess their impact on the international position of domestic cinema and television producers. Italian audiovisual policies are characterised by a rich set of institutions, regulations and support tools, whose complexity sometimes...

Free trading is considered as index of global economy and factor economic growth in many countries. In this study along with recognition of growth resources, those factors such as surplus value, Labour, capital, energy, government planning and expenditure which playing the main role in economic...

The path towards a common market requires an alignment of macroeconomic policies. In the case of the MERCOSUL member countries, the observed disparities in the exchange, tax and monetary policies constitute major imbalances and impede future international economic integration. Apart from...

Milk producers in virtually every OECD country, and in many non-OECD countries as well, benefit from government interventions. Indeed, government support and protection for milk producers is more widespread than for any of the other commodities for which the OECD calculates producer subsidy...

Proposals for agricultural trade reform put forward by the main protagonists remain far apart, with little sign of convergence. In an attempt to progress the negotiations towards a successful outcome, the chairman of the WTO Committee on Agriculture has proposed a compromise. The alternative...

The Round of Uruguay (1987-1995) signaled the end of the Multi Fiber Agreement (MFA) for textiles and clothing. The quota regime, in place since 1974, was decided, according to the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC; 1995), to be gradually eliminated by the year 2005. As a result, prices of...

The importance of food standards in global agricultural trade has increased strongly, but the effects are uncertain. Several studies argue that these standards imposed by high-income countries diminish the export opportunities for developing countries and concentrate the benefits of trade with...

A recent issue impacting hay shipments in Washington State involves the reduction of container services at the Port of Portland, Oregon. Prior to this change, containers filled with hay were shipped almost exclusively via barge on the Columbia River to the Port of Portland. After reaching...