Agriculture and Agricultural Research Priorities

This paper studies the developmental impact and effectiveness of technology transfer in less developed countries (LDCs), and then propose a framework of policies and strategies for the appropriate use of technology transfer in these countries. Firstly, some of the most relevant conceptual issues regarding international technology transfer (ITT) are discussed. The empirical experiences of some successful newly industrialized countries in ITT and industrialization are also studied. The pre and post revolutionary experience of Iran is also surveyed. Finally, a general model for a successful ITT and overall industrial and economic development of LDCs is proposed. It examines the key elements of the effects of technology transfer on the economic and industrial development of Iran and other LDC.

The small-firm variant of flexible specialisation has been promoted as a viable alternative for revitalising clusters of traditional industries in less developed countries (LDCs). However, this avenue remains controversial because of various problems in the conceptualisation and implementation of this system of production. Previous findings remain equivocal. Therefore, any claims must be examined critically.This study explores the significance of the concept of flexible specialisation for future industrial and economic development in LDCs. It presumes that flexible specialisation has better prospects (or is more likely to arise) when the right preconditions, propensities and developmental processes exist. It uses a comprehensive model to capture and assess the potential of flexible specialisation in LDCs. The model operates mainly at the firm level with implications for the interfirm or the cluster level. It centres on entrepreneurs' efforts to interpret stimuli, make proper responses and produce intended outcomes, using internal and external resources. It combines entrepreneurial processes and macro contingent factors. This model facilitates inferences about the flexibly specialised status of enterprises and the cluster where they are situated. Extension of these inferences informs developmental processes towards a flexibly specialised cluster(s), leading to regional economic progress. Investigations are undertaken in the case of small-scale footwear production in the Cibaduyut cluster, Indonesia.This study shows both potential and constraints of flexible specialisation in a particular cluster of small-scale industries. The prospects for flexible specialisation in revitalising small-scale industries in LDCs are also clarified. More specifically, it has revealed that uncertainty and resource dependency are not sufficient for fostering collective actions. Entrepreneurs require a supportive local milieu and macro contingent factors to produce expected outcomes. Furthermore, it has indicated that, given likely shortcomings in entrepreneurial processes and unsupportive environments, flexible specialisation in clusters of small-scale industries remains a remote possibility in most LDCs. Yet, it does not necessarily mean that the nominated system of production is without value. Dynamic flexibility and collective efficiency remain valuable as developmental objectives for clusters of small-scale industries. The study indicates areas of interventions to achieve these intermediate objectives.

Thesignificant contribution of communication technology in the current global economic trend has been widely reported in the literature. However, the growth and realisation of potential benefits of communication technology, such as computer-mediated communication (CMC) have been limited for the less developed countries (LDCs). This article explores the role of CMC and the need for the technology in the economic development of LDCs. Specifically, the article examines the benefits of CMC in the area of telework, identifies challenges, and discusses techniques for implementing telework and CMC in LDCs along with the potential socio-cutural impact of implementing the necessary changes.

OECD-FAO (2015) argues that environmental issue on the agricultural sector, inequality on global food security, and international trade issues are critical aspects influencing the world economy. In particular, less developed countries (LDCs) still suffer from poverty and hunger even if world food security situations have improved since the 1990s. Amidst world food security scenario, this paper aims to analyze the relationship between international trade and food security in LDCs. This paper investigates the positive or negative aspects of international trade on food security with respect to income and local levels. Moreover, economic procedures based on the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, dynamic panel analysis, and Granger causality between international trade and food security are conducted in this study. Results show that international trade and food security have positive, N-shaped relationships and this implies that the initial point of international trade improves food security, but beyond a certain threshold, food security conditions worsen. Income levels and environmental pollutions of LDCs turn out to be important factors that affect food security. Finally, international cooperation is vital to decrease food insecurity as well as agricultural investment.

Peter Egger’s paper provides a synthesis of findings with regard to the impact of bilateral as well as multilateral means of protection of cross-border direct investments in less developed countries and, in turn, on their economic growth. In particular, he focuses on the role of bilateral investment treaties and multilateral agreements such as the GATS in this regard. Previous empirical work identifies a significant positive impact of bilateral investment treaties on FDI. It suggests a similar impact of the GATS on FDI. He argues that these agreements contribute significantly to economic growth in less developed economies and countries in transition by spurring technology transfers through multinational activity of the developed countries in other economies Andreas Freytag and Sebastian Voll emphasize the important role of adequate institutions both for investment and development. The question is, whether investment guarantees as insurance for political risks in the recipient country support economic development or not. Actually, the German Federal Republic is the leading warrantor for FDI-insurances on the world, but the benefiting countries are not the LDC’s. Using these warranties as an instrument of development policy in the future is content of actual political discussion. They argue that, in case of economies with weak domestic institutions, investment guarantees could provide disincentives for politicians in the target country to establish rule of law and good governance. On the other hand, investment guarantees could foster development by providing additional access to FDI, especially in emerging market economies with sufficient and improving institutional quality Philipp Harms points out while foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to developing countries and emerging markets have increased substantially in recent years, many low-income countries are still shunned by multinational firms. One of the key causes for this observation is the poor quality of institutions and an often precarious political environment in these countries. Given the benefits of FDI for host country productivity and income levels, it could thus be argued that protecting the security of property rights is an effective way of enhancing growth and prosperity in poor countries. While he agrees with this point of view, he argues that “traditional” forms of development aid can substantially contribute to an improved investment climate in developing countries. This argument is based on the notion that insecure property rights reflect distributional conflicts in the host country population, and that appropriate development support can shift agents’ distributional interests in favor of foreign firms.

The least developed countries (LDCs) are the poorest and the most disadvantaged members of the international community that face a broad range of socioeconomic, geographical, political, and environmental challenges. The United Nations defines LDCs based on three criteria: low gross national income, weak human development indices, and high level of economic vulnerability. Currently, 48 countries — 33 in Africa, 14 in Asia and the Pacific, and 1 in Latin America — are designated as LDCs by the United Nations. With only three countries having graduated from LDC status, the number of LDC countries has leaped from 24 in 1971 when the category was first officially established by the UN General Assembly to 49 in 2012. Amid the growing interdependency in the global economic system, international efforts to reverse the trend of socioeconomic marginalization of LDCs officially began at the first UN Conference on Least Developed Countries held in Paris in 1981. In the realm of development, the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals in 2000 has led to major donors targeting LDCs as their key aid recipient groups. The Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least De-veloped Countries (LDC-IV) pledged to reduce the number of LDCs by half in nine years. In order to achieve the agenda, it requires a sustainable long-term broad-based economic growth at the rate of 7% a year. Nevertheless, despite global efforts to support LDCs, there has been growing concern over the deepening vulnerability of LDCs as they were stricken by the impact of global economic recession, food crisis, and climate change in the last several years. The IMF predicts that only 10 countries will be able to graduate from LDC status by 2020. Entangled in a series of conflicts with LDCs’ geographical obstacles, socioeconomic factors, supply shock, and accumulated debt, the LDCs’ vicious cycle of poverty led further impoverishment. Although the continuing marked increases in the volume of the Korean ODA, due to relatively greater portion of concessional loan, Korea faces with the task of improving the lending conditions.

Development strategy, resource misallocation and economic performance

Bangladesh is heading toward a Developing Country with incremental growth, and Bangladesh’s current merchandise export reached USD 53.93 billion in FY2023-24. Still, export concentration on RMG and lack of product diversification may make Bangladesh uncompetitive in the world market after Graduation. Bangladesh has met three criteria for Graduation, including the Human Asset Index (HAI), the Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI), and the Gross National Income (GNI) indices, to graduate from the Least Developed Countries (LDC) to developing ones in the third triennial review. Given this view, the study aims to assess trade preference loss and to determine the impact of graduation on exports. A combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches is followed in the study, where for quantifying the impact on export, Trade Intelligence and Negotiation Adviser (TINA) is used, and 20 KIIs are taken with the purposive sampling method to evaluate the Smooth Transition Strategies (STS) of Bangladesh. Using exploratory research methodology, the study identifies the potential problems and prospects of LDC graduation and assesses trade preference loss using TINA Simulation Tools to measure LDC preference loss. Referring to the number of UNCTAD reports, articles and secondary literature, the research sheds light on how sustainable economic growth can be secured through diversified products and internal resource mobilisation. In the post-graduation era, Bangladesh will face several challenges related to preferential market access, minimum value addition conditions, and other LDC-related leverage in developed countries’ markets. As a result, the trade loss in the post-graduation era may range from US$4.7 billion to US$17 billion as per the TINA LDC preference loss simulation. The paper identifies inefficiency in resource mobilisation and export concentration as the major hindrances to overcoming the hurdles of graduation. It is crucial for Bangladesh to include trade concerns at each level of the development planning cycle to guarantee a seamless transition process for Bangladesh. This has to be supported by robust inter-ministerial coordination and consultation procedures involving various stakeholders, both from the public and private sectors. With this participatory approach and implementation of pragmatic STS, Bangladesh can go through the process of a smooth transition to becoming a middle-income country in the near future.

Socio-ethical implications of using AI in accelerating SDG3 in Least Developed Countries

Least Developed Countries (LDCs) is an official term applied within the United Nations to the countries with low living standards, weak economies, where people and resources are highly exposed to the vulnerability criterion of natural shocks. The African continent has the largest number of such states (33). Simultaneously, various sanctions are in force or imposed on a number of this category of African countries, both by the UN and states individually. This article examines in detail two country cases of applying international sanctions against least developed African countries: the DRC and Somalia. The analysis of the economic dynamics of these countries (as well as the CAR and Mali that are also LDCs and are subject to sanctions regimes) led to the conclusion that the effectiveness of sanctions imposed against these countries and targeted sanctions against members of their political elites is low. The negative effects associated with the implementation of the sanctions policy against these states are manifested mostly by a decrease in the volume of exports and a decrease in FDI inflows.

This empirical study investigates the impacts of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), educational attainment, the rule of law and other determinantal variables on the growth of Gross Domestic Products (GDP) among 35 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Africa and Asia. The results of this empirical analysis on archival data from 1997 to 2007 show that while ICT expansion in LDCs has many positive impacts on GDP growth in these countries, the differences between countries in terms of the level of citizens’ educational attainment, the rule of law, governmental intervention in economic activities and the level of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) can both enhance and restrict the relationship between ICT and GDP growth. This study proposes an e-commerce model called Virtual Bazaar. The model is adapted to the existing level of ICT infrastructure in LDCs in order to enable the micro-trade owners to sell their products directly to potential customers across the globe, hence increasing their level of incomes.

Instability in Underdeveloped Countries: The Impact of the International Economy

Is wealthier always healthier in poor countries? The health implications of income, inequality, poverty, and literacy in India

Return of the unexpected: Rural workforce recruitment and retention in the era of COVID-19.

The Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are a group of 49 of the world's poorest countries. They have contributed least to the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) but they are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This is due to their location in some of the most vulnerable regions of the world and their low capacities to adapt to these changes. Adaptation to climate change has become an important policy priority in the international negotiations on climate change in recent years. However, it has yet to become a major policy issue within developing countries, especially the LDCs. This article focuses on two LDCs, namely Bangladesh and Mali, where progress has been made regarding identifying potential adaptation options. For example, Bangladesh already has effective disaster response systems, and strategies to deal with reduced freshwater availability, and Mali has a well-developed programme for providing agro-hydro-meteorological assistance to communities in times of drought. However, much remains to be done in terms of mainstreaming adaptation to climate change within the national policymaking processes of these countries. Policymakers need targeting and, to facilitate this, scientific research must be translated into appropriate language and timescales.