Common Market Countries Research Articles

Towards Sustainable Development: Revisiting the Middle-Income Trap Hypothesis for the Southern Common Market Countries

One of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations is to promote, sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth. However, it is observed that many countries struggle to move up from the middle-income to high-income level, which refers to the middle-income trap (MIT). In this paper, we test the MIT hypothesis using a novel unit root test of Gómez-Zaldívar et al. (2013) across the Southern Common Market (MECOSUR) countries. To do so, we follow a different path from the existing literature and use a novel unit root testing strategy. We first test the significance of the trend term and then examine the unit root properties of the series by allowing multiple structural breaks according to the existence/non-existence of the trend term. Our results provide evidence of stationarity for Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, indicating that these four MERCOSUR countries are in MIT.

Convergence analysis of ecological footprint at different time scales: Evidence from Southern Common Market countries

This study investigates the convergence in ecological footprint per capita across Southern Common Market countries over the period 1961–2016 within the framework of the environmental convergence hypothesis. However, unlike the existing literature, which mainly tests the convergence for the overall period, this study follows a different path. First, the time series is decomposed into different frequencies using the discrete wavelet transform method. Then, using the Fourier Augmented Dickey-Fuller and Augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root tests, convergence in ecological footprint per capita is tested for different time scales; short-run, medium-run, and finally long-run. The results indicate that countries show different convergence tendencies at different time scales. While the results support the convergence hypothesis for all countries in the short-run, the convergence hypothesis holds for only four and three of the five countries in the medium and long-run, respectively. Besides, the results show that the convergence hypothesis holds for only Uruguay for the whole period.

Palliative care integration: a critical review of nurse migration effect in Jamaica

BackgroundProvision of palliative care to individuals with late-stage serious illnesses is critical to reduce suffering. Palliative care is slowly gaining momentum in Jamaica but requires a highly skilled workforce, including nurses. Out-migration of nurses to wealthier countries negatively impacts the delivery of health care services and may impede palliative care capacity-building. This critical review aimed to explore the evidence pertaining to the nurse migration effect on the integration of palliative care services in Jamaica and to formulate hypotheses about potential mitigating strategies.MethodsA comprehensive search in the PubMed, CINAHL, and ProQuest PAIS databases aimed to identify articles pertinent to nurse migration in the Caribbean context. Grant and Booth’s methodologic framework for critical reviews was used to evaluate the literature. This methodology uses a narrative, chronologic synthesis and was guided by the World Health Organization (WHO) Public Health Model and the Model of Sustainability in Global Nursing.ResultsData from 14 articles were extracted and mapped. Poorer patient outcomes were in part attributed to the out-migration of the most skilled nurses. ‘Push-factors’ such as aggressive recruitment by wealthier countries, lack of continuing educational opportunities, disparate wages, and a lack of professional autonomy and respect were clear contributors. Gender inequalities negatively impacted females and children left behind. Poor working conditions were not necessarily a primary reason for nurse migration. Four main themes were identified across articles: (a) globalization creating opportunities for migration, (b) recruitment of skilled professionals from CARICOM by high income countries, (c) imbalance and inequities resulting from migration, and (d) mitigation strategies. Thirteen articles suggested education, partnerships, policy, and incentives as mitigation strategies. Those strategies directly align with the WHO Public Health Model drivers to palliative care integration.ConclusionEmerged evidence supports that nurse migration is an ongoing phenomenon that strains health systems in Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) countries, with Jamaica being deeply impacted. This critical review demonstrates the importance of strategically addressing nurse migration as part of palliative care integration efforts in Jamaica. Future studies should include targeted migration mitigation interventions and should be guided by the three working hypotheses derived from this review.

Geography and Caribbean Integration

Abstract Using the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) countries as the units of analysis, this article seeks to achieve three goals: 1) explain theoretically the basis for the existence of self-determination or fragmentation agendas; 2) show how geography, exploitation, neglect and historical memory contribute to fragmentation by fostering the emergence of self-determination movements; and 3) argue from a policy perspective that these self-determination agendas must become integral parts of the policy discourse if a region is to achieve meaningful integration and solidarity.

The relationship between CO2 emissions, renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, economic growth, and urbanisation in the Southern Common Market

ABSTRACT The causalities between carbon dioxide emissions, renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, economic growth, and urbanisation were examined for the panel of five countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela) from Southern Common Market, over thirty-five years (1980–2014), using a panel vector autoregression. The empirical analysis pointed to the existence of bi-directional causality between the consumption of fossil fuels, economic growth, consumption of renewable energy, and carbon dioxide emissions; and a uni-directional relationship between the consumption of renewable energy and urbanisation. The research also proves that the countries from Southern Common Market are dependent on fossil fuels consumption and that urbanisation process is highly linked with the consumption of this type of energy. Additionally, it was found that these countries have low renewable energy participation in their energy mix. Nevertheless, a substitutability effect between the consumption of renewable energy and the consumption of fossil fuels, as a possible response to periods of scarcity in reservoirs, was detected. Policymakers of Southern Common Market countries should speed up the deep reforms regarding renewable energy to mitigate environmental degradation.

Institucionalidades do sistema de proteção social em linhas de frontera: experiência metodológica e resultados obtidos

Este texto apresenta o processo metodológico e os principais resultados de uma avaliação realizada para o Instituto Social do MERCOSUL (ISM) sobre os sistemas de proteção social em seis pares de cidades-gêmeas situadas nas fronteiras dos países do Mercado Comum do Sul (MERCOSUL). Com este intuito foram resgatadas informações sobre os dispositivos jurídicos e político-administrativos do MERCOSUL e Estados Parte, serviços, ações programáticas e demandas locais abrangendo os setores saúde, previdência social, educação e assistência social, cujos indicadores impactam negativamente as áreas de fronteiras internacionais do MERCOSUL. Em termos metodológicos utilizou-se a abordagem construída pela Comissão Econômica para América Latina e o Caribe para avaliar a institucionalidade das políticas sociais, a qual assinala quatro dimensões que concretiam o nível de cidadania em espaços regionais, nacionais e locais – a jurídico-normativa, organizacional, técnico-operativa e fiscal. Os resultados apontam em relação à dimensão jurídico-administrativa a lentidão na concretização das normativas e de acordos bilaterais entre os Estados Parte. Sobre a dimensão orgânico-ministerial destaca-se a forma distinta de organização pública nacional na proteção social nos países do bloco. Na dimensão substantiva as controvérsias em relação aos critérios de acesso de nacionais e não nacionais aos serviços no campo da saúde e proteção social foram frequentes, o que sinaliza para a divergência entre os gestores quanto ao grau de universalidade a ser obtido. Conclui-se que a abordagem metodológica utilizada favoreceu a construção do diagnóstico proposto favorecendo a elaboração de um plano de ação para superar os desafios identificados.

Problems of European economic integration

The author reconstructs the recent experience of the free-trade area in Europe, and draws four main scenarios for the future. Great gains in productivity and a marked acceleration of economic expansion are not to be expected from further European economic integration. However, establishing permanent economic bonds implies the avoidance of beggar-thy-neighbour policies that the future may hold in store. The Common Market countries are proceeding faster than was previously expected, even though the farther they go, the more difficult negotiations will become. For example, problems are inevitable in the process of merging high price markets for farm products in the six Common Market countries and the British low price system.

Technical efficiency in the agricultural sectors of selected CARICOM countries

The Caribbean Common Market (CARICOM) countries are investing in agricultural development with limited knowledge of the technical efficiencies emanating from recent changes within the sector. Hence, it is important to investigate whether agricultural efficiencies in Caribbean agriculture are enhanced through resource allocation, and whether growth in related sectors fosters linkage development with agriculture. We employ a stochastic production frontier, log-linear, and Tobit models, using cross-sectional time series data from 1960 to 2006 for eleven CARICOM countries to examine factors influencing Caribbean countries’ efficiency of agricultural contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per labor. The probability of the chi squared is 0.0001 indicating that the model is appropriate to measure the production frontier. The gamma (gamma = 0.963) indicates that the efficiency, or inefficiency, is related to the explanatory variables, while only 3.7 percent is due to random errors. Cropland per arable land per agricultural labor force, pastureland per arable land per agricultural labor force, fertilizer per crop land, and pasture land per agricultural labor force positively influence agriculture per labor force contribution to GDP, while tractors per crop land per agricultural labor force negatively influence agricultural contribution to GDP per labor. The technical efficiencies of these countries’ agriculture vary from 30 percent for St. Vincent to 95 percent for the Dominican Republic. Dominica and St. Lucia have efficiencies of 32 and 33 percent, respectively, whereas Haiti and Barbados have 93 and 94 percent, respectively. Jamaica has 80 percent while Guyana has 57 percent. All other CARICOM countries (Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, and Belize) have less than 50 percent efficiency. Industrial growth and sugar production reduce levels of technical inefficiencies, while urban population growth rate positively influences inefficiency in the sector. The CARICOM countries must examine the factors that influence agricultural efficiency both at the micro and macro levels, and use a holistic approach that encompasses the involvement of other sectors that provide linkages to the agricultural sector. The governments can develop programs to limit the urban population and industrial growth rates, which enhance agricultural inefficiency.

A diversidade ética e política na garantia e fruição do direito à saúde nos municípios brasileiros da linha da fronteira do MERCOSUL

This article presents the results of a study in Brazilian municipalities along the border with the other Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR) countries, identifying health care patterns and showing ethical and political diversity in the guarantee and use of the right to health care, characterizing demands on (and responses by) local health systems. The main variable was whether non-Brazilians had access to Brazilian health services. Data were collected using forms in municipalities with more than 10 thousand inhabitants, field diaries, meetings, and interviews. The definition of the right to health care varied greatly, indicating lack of common ethical and political principles and weak institutionality, with incapacity to absorb the demand by non-Brazilian patients. Agreements between the respective Federal governments of MERCOSUR countries had failed to reach the local level and were ignored by local health services managers and professionals. The foreign population remains uncertain about receiving care. In Brazil, the lack of uniform standards of care lead to ad hoc personal decisions by health services managers and professionals, thus hindering integrated action.

Bridging the Digital Divide in Caribbean Group Decision‐Making

AbstractCaribbean organizations, like their counterparts in developed countries, engage in countless group decision meetings that require structuring mechanisms to help produce effective outcomes. However, no such meeting support was available to the breakout sessions at the January 2003 meeting of The United Nations information and communication technologies (UNICT) task force to discuss the digital divide as it affects Caribbean community and common market (CARICOM) countries. Whereas group support systems (GSS) have been widely discussed in the literature, there is no evidence of their use in the English‐speaking Caribbean, a situation which may be classified as another instance of the digital divide. Against this backdrop, we examine the process of organizational decision‐making within groups, the factors influencing group behaviors and interaction and the advantages and disadvantages of structuring mechanisms such as the technology‐enabled GSS and the manual, nominal group technique (NGT). The paper concludes that it is desirable for Caribbean nations to acquire GSS technology to reap some of the benefits that other developing countries have experienced. However, despite its runner‐up status (to GSS), NGT provides similar assistance to that offered by GSS, is implementation‐friendly, inexpensive, and outperforms other manual techniques in creative decision‐making; it is therefore a viable alternative for Caribbean nations struggling to bridge the digital divide.

Adolescent health in the Caribbean: a regional portrait.

This study assessed youth health in the Caribbean Community and Common Market countries and describes the prevalence of health-related factors. We used a self-administered classroom questionnaire; questions addressed general health, health care, nutrition, sexual history, drug use, mental health, violence, family characteristics, and relationships with others. Most youths reported good health; however, 1 in 10 reported a limiting disability or significant health problems. Violence was a pervasive concern. Of those who reported history of sexual intercourse, many reported that their first intercourse was forced, and nearly half reported that they were aged 10 years or younger when they first had intercourse. Although most young people are healthy, problems indicate the importance of monitoring trends and designing effective youth health programs.

THE IMPACT of FINANCIAL SERVICES GLOBALIZATION UPON the CARIBBEAN COMMON MARKET

ABSTRACTThis article tests three hypotheses concerning the policy effects of foreign exchange market liberalization and exchange controls in the three Caribbean Common Market countries of Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, and Barbados during the 1990s. It concludes that these cases do not show either monetary or fiscal policy to be particularly effective, when foreign exchange markets are liberalized before a functional bank regulatory system is put in place. These cases also imply that given the challenges posed by financial services globalization, the need for informed judgment by governments regarding the pace and scope of financial sector liberalization will remain critical, particularly within small developing countries.

Teaching Mineral Resources as an Aid to Understanding International Policy Issues

Human and mineral resources are the basis of economic and political power. Among other characteristics, mineral resources 1) have a localized occurrence, 2) are exhaustible, 3) lack certainty of discovery and reserves, 4) can be recycled, 5) require long term investment, and 6) have environmental consequences when exploited. All of these factors are critically important, but the first most profoundly influences international policy. The localized occurrence of mineral resources means that concentrations of desired minerals do not occur in all parts of all countries. A large country or a country that controls the resources of a large area is more likely to have ample mineral supplies. Large countries like the United States, China, and the USSR have dominated world politics in the latter half of the twentieth century. In order to gain or maintain power, countries must develop foreign policies to ensure mineral availability.Warfare has been used repeatedly throughout history to increase geographic holdings and, thus, the mineral supplies of various countries. In some cases, peaceful policies have led to the sharing of minerals as, for example, in the European Common Market countries. U.S. foreign policy toward, for example, South Africa has been profoundly influenced by mineral availability.

Increasing returns and the shift from customs union to common market

This paper analyzes the welfare effects of the shift from customs union to common market in the presence of increasing returns to scale, either internal or external to the firm. A sufficient condition for gains is derived in terms of a weighted average of the output changes in the increasing returns industries. The theory is applied to data from European common market countries. As a percent of GDP, potential gains from increasing returns related cost reductions in the move to full common market are almost surely less than 2% and more likely less than 0.7%.

The practice of nuclear medicine in common market countries

There is no politically structured European policy on nuclear medicine, and there are significant discrepancies between the various member states. It is hard to guess whether competing imaging modalities will slow down the process of development that took place in underequipped countries. But it appears likely that with the free circulation of professionals between European Community countries, free competition will stimulate these countries toward major development in nuclear medicine.

New metric initiatives

There has been major national legislation, signed by President Reagan, on August 23 that should have considerable impact on the U.S. move into the metric system. The Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act (OTCA) of 1988 contains a section that amends the U.S. National Metric Act of 1975 to state that Congress directs each federal agency to convert to the metric system by 1992. This date may have been influenced by several earlier actions: The Department of Defense announced all procurement, specifications, etc., would be metric by 1992 and the Common Market Countries will prohibit sale of nonmetric products in those countries after 1992.

Energy use Patterns in Common Market Countries Since 1979

The overall energy-intensity, that is the ratio of total primary energy required (TPE) to gross domestic product, has improved since 1973 in almost all Common Market countries except the two industrializing countries Greece and Portugal . Considering the statistical raw data, the average rate of im­ provement for EUR-121 was almost 2% per year between 1973 and 1983. Between 1983 and 1986, a period of stable or declining prices for fuels and of economic recovery, the energy conservation process seems to have slowed in almost all member countries and even reversed in five member countries (Figure 1 ). This change is quite similar to that of 1975 to 1979, when specific consumption stagnated three years after the first oil price shock. The changes in energy-intensity vary considerably among member coun­ tries and among sectors (Figure 1), and annual fluctuations are difficult to follow at first glance. These differences can be explained by various factors, such as different trends and levels of economic activity, different industrial production and energy consumption structures, variation of stocks, different weather, as well as genuine differences in energy-efficiency. Since all these factors influence the energy consumption of an economy, the change in overall energy-intensity is a weak indicator of the improvement of energy­ efficiency (in the sense that physical production or consumption can be kept

Energy Use Patterns In Common Market Countries Since 1979

Energy Use Patterns In Common Market Countries Since 1979

The European organization for research and treatment of cancer (EORTC)

The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) was founded in 1962 by research workers in the main cancer research institutes of the Common Market countries and Switzerland. This small group of cancer specialists comprising clinicians and basic science researchers decided to form an association to promote cancer research in Europe through the joint efforts of the clinical and basic research groups of several countries. Among them, were Henri TAGNON from Brussels (Belgium), Silvio GARATTINI, Director of the Institute for pharmacological Research in Milan (Italy), D. VAN BEKKUM, Director of the Radiobiological Institute TN0 at Rijswijk (Netherlands), K. BREUR, Director of the Amsterdam Cancer Institute (Netherlands), G. MATHE, D. SCHWARTZ, and M. TUBIANA from Villejuif (France). Initially the organization was called the “Groupe Europeen de Chimiotherapie anticancereuse” (GECA), 1 year later it became the EORTC and has been known all over the world under this appellation. G. MATHE was its first President from 1962 to 1965. The creation of the EORTC was immediately greeted both by the governments of the various EEC countries and by the medical and scientific circles. From the outset its two main goals were first to develop and coordinate clinical research in Europe and indeed it has organized several hundreds of cooperative multi-center controlled clinical trials and second to promote that area of basic research, which is closed, to providing significant results for diagnosis or therapy. During the past 25 years the EORTC has progressively become the largest organization for therapeutic cancer research in Europe. In 1972, the NC1 in Washington stated that its creation has been “the most important development in therapeutic research on cancer in Europe.” PRESENT STRUCTURES

L'entrée de l'Espagne et du Portugal dans la Cée : enjeux, perspectives et premiers bilans

The entry of Spain and Portugal into the European economic Community, by Guy Longueville. The third extension of the European Community to include Spain and Portugal seems to have been motivated in the main by political considerations: on the one hand the need to extend Europe to the south European countries and on the other Europe's promise to both States that they would be eligible for membership as soon as they restored democracy. For it appears that the economic advantages are not obvrious for any of the contractive parties. While the two newcomers to the Community gradually closed the gap separating them from the other members, thus facilitating their membership, it appears that the gap between these two Iberian states and the Eec countries with regard to production, investment and standard of living, which narrowed progressively from 1960 to 1974, has since remained constant. During the ten-years transition phase the uneven customs barriers will oblige Spain and Portugal/to make a great effortto streamline their economies and become more competitive if they do not want their trade relations with the Common Market countries to continue deteriorating as they did quite sharply in the year period following membership. The resulting slowdown in economic growth, however, will scarcely be compatible with a decrease in the unemployment rate in Spain and a narrowing of the development gap within the enlarged Community. The medium-term unification of the market of the twelve member States could accelerate a sectorial reshuffle within the Eec, mainly in industry, where price pressures demand maximum efficiency, unlike in agriculture, where local production has a part to play even if it is not particularly efficient. The tendency for intra-European specialization of activities, which reached Spain and Portugal in the 1970s, seems likely to increase in the future, with a risk of increased hierarchization between these two economies: as Spain gradually develops its poles of competitivity, Portugal would be limited to low-cost labour-intensive areas. The membership stakes are therefore higherfor Portugal, a late-developing country with limited possibilities of expansion, than for Spain, whose economic modernization potential is an important asset even if certain inequalities are inevitable. From the Community's point of view, this third enlargement looks likely to increase agricultural surpluses and pressures on the Community budget. What is more, the harmonization of development in the member States, the similar standards of living, the balanced conditions of competition and the complementary nature of products in different areas, which all encouraged an institutional advance towards greater Community integration, may well suffer from this latest enlargement as they doubtless did in the previous two cases of Community enlargement. So if we want to avoid the emergence of a two-speed institutional Europe in answer to the obstacles thrown up by different levels of development, Community solidarity, which has already been shown towards Greece and Portugal should nonetheless be further reinforced, which means among other things a redistribution by the wealthier Common Market countries in favour of the poorer members. JEL: 121