Primary Production Export Research Articles

Social Determinants of Deforestation in Developing Countries: A Cross-National Study

This study examines the social forces that drive deforestation. Neo-Malthusian, modernization, and dependency theories are applied in a cross-national comparison of 51 developing countries. Multiple regression techniques are applied to estimate the rate of deforestation using the level of urbanization, economic growth rate, population growth rate, level of sectoral inequality, rate of change in primary product exports, and rate of change in tertiary education. Results support modernization theory, indicating that the level of urbanization has a curvilinear effect on the rate of deforestation, that economic growth contributes to deforestation, and that sectoral inequality reduces the rate of deforestation. In support of neo-Malthusian theory, population growth results in higher rates of deforestation. Tertiary education has a mild negative effect on the rate of deforestation, whereas the effect of trade dependency is insignificant. Although deforestation is a phenomenon as old as agriculture, current concern over forest loss is justified by the sheer scale of modem-day destruction. According to estimates by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) (1995), between 100,000 and 200,000 square kilometers of forest area are lost each year. A 1992 National Research Council (NRC) report estimates that deforestation in tropical moist forests alone is responsible for the extinction of 17,500 species per year, resulting in habitat destruction, ecosystem simplification, and climate change. Tropical deforestation also accounts for an estimated 22.9% of global carbon

Social Determinants of Deforestation in Developing Countries: A Cross-National Study

This study examines the social forces that drive deforestation. Neo-Malthusian, modernization, and dependency theories are applied in a cross-national comparison of 51 developing countries. Multiple regression techniques are applied to estimate the rate of deforestation using the level of urbanization, economic growth rate, population growth rate, level of sectoral inequality, rate of change in primary product exports, and rate of change in tertiary education. Results support modernization theory, indicating that the level of urbanization has a curvilinear effect on the rate of deforestation, that economic growth contributes to deforestation, and that sectoral inequality reduces the rate of deforestation. In support of neo-Malthusian theory, population growth results in higher rates of deforestation. Tertiary education has a mild negative effect on the rate of deforestation, whereas the effect of trade dependency is insignificant.

Biomass distribution in marine planktonic communities

Patterns in primary production and carbon export from the euphotic zone suggest that the relative contribution of planktonic heterotrophs to community biomass should decline along gradients of phytoplankton biomass and primary production. Here, we use an extensive literature data survey to test the hypothesis that the ratio of total heterotrophic (bacteria + protozoa + mesozooplankton) biomass to total autotrophic biomass (H : A ratio) is not constant in marine plankton communities but rather tends to decline with increasing phytoplankton biomass and primary production. Our results show that the plankton of unproductive regions are characterized by very high relative heterotrophic biomasses resulting in inverted biomass pyramids, whereas the plankton of productive areas are characterized by a smaller contribution of heterotrophs to community biomass and a normal biomass pyramid with a broad autotrophic base. Moreover, open‐ocean communities support significantly more heterotrophic biomass in the upper layers than do coastal communities for a given autotrophic biomass. These differences in the biomass structure of the community could be explained by the changes in the biomass‐specific rates of phytoplankton production that seem to occur from ultraoligotrophic to eutrophic marine regions, but other factors could also generate them. The patterns described suggest a rather systematic shift from consumer control of primary production and phytoplankton biomass in open ocean to resource control in upwelling and coastal areas.

Social and Economic Reform in Ecuador: Life and Work in Guayaquil.

Pineo's work on the urban social history of Guayaquil not only breaks virgin territory as far as Ecuadorian history is concerned, it also constitutes one of the few such urban social histories for the period in Latin American historiography. While we have comparable works for Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, we have none for Peru or the other Andean countries nor any that emphasizes the public health or medical dimensions of urban underdevelopment.--Peter Klaren, George Washington University A pioneering study which fills an important gap in the social and economic history of Ecuador. . . . An admirable contribution to urban social history in Latin America.--John Martz, Penn State University This book examines the dynamic tension between Latin America's rising primary product export trade during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the concomitant heightened social strains of rapid urbanization. It offers a fresh look at one of the most central modern historical issues--the difficult process of urban social reform. In a departure from previous investigations into the history of Latin American urbanization, the author rejects the assumptions of the existing historiography (which has tended to impose economic, social, and political patterns from a few large cities on smaller ones), finding that smaller cities without economic and trade advantages can less afford the costs of reform. This study takes as its example Guayaquil, Ecuador, a nonindustrial, nonprimate city, and examines the daily experiences of ordinary women and men, rich and poor, considering the conditions they confront and their struggles--both individual and sometimes collective--to improve their lives. In addition, it analyzes the forces that have shaped the pattern of political reform in Guayaquil and provides a comparative discussion of the process of urban social reform across Latin America. This study will be valuable to historians and social scientists interested in Latin American social history, urbanization, and Andean history. Ronn F. Pineo is assistant professor of history at Towson State University, Towson, Maryland. He has published articles in Hispanic American Historical REview and Latin American Perspectives and has contributed numerous entries on Ecuador for the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Latin American History.

Carbon export and regeneration in the coastal upwelling system of Monterey Bay, central California

In order to quantify the role of coastal upwelling regions as source or sink areas for carbon, the relationships between particulate organic carbon (POC) production, export, remineralization, and accumulation were examined in Monterey Bay from 1989 through 1992. During a normal upwelling year (1989-90), a high positive correlation (r = 0.91) is observed between biweekly primary production and POC export at 450 m. Primary production values range from 500 mgC m -2 d -1 during the winter, to 2600 mgC m -2 d -1 in the spring and summer upwelling months. Corresponding deep-water (450 m) POC fluxes vary from a minimum of 10 mgC m -2 d -1 in December, to 120 mgC m -2 d -1 in May. In contrast, the mid-1991 through 1992 data sets obtained during the '91-92 El Nino period, show a relatively poor correlation (r = 0.23) between productivity and carbon export. Calculated ratios of POC export to POC production (defined as e-ratios) display a trend for the three-year data sets in which the e-ratio values are greatest during periods of low productivity and decrease to minimal values when surface production is high. Upwelling-induced, offshore Ekman transport of organic matter and probable seasonal changes in the planktonic community structure are the mechanisms likely to be responsible for the e-ratio trends. Based on the data sets reported from this work, a simple box model of the annual export and regeneration of particulate organic carbon is presented for the Monterey Bay region. An appreciable advective and/or recycling loss from the euphotic zone of 362.8 gC m -2 y -1 is estimated, representing primarily algal material transported offshore and/or recycled within the upper 100 m of the water column. Annual mid-water (∼100-450 m) and deep-water (>450 m) POC remineralization rates of 71.8 gC m -2 y -1 of 7.2 gC m -2 y -1 , respectively, are reported for Monterey Bay. The average POC rain rate to the underlying slope sediments is sufficient to satisfy reported benthic utilization requirements without invoking an additional input source of POC via deep lateral advection and/or the downslope movement of particulate material.

Theories of dependent foreign policy and the case of Ecuador in the 1980s

How do economic weakness and dependence influence foreign policy decisions and behavior in third world countries? Theories in Dependent Foreign Policy examines six foreign policy theories: compliance, consensus, counter dependence, realism, leader preferences and domestic politics, and each is applied to a series of case studies of Ecuador's foreign policy during the 1980s under two regimes: Osvaldo Hurtado (1981-1984) and his successor Leon Febres Cordero (1984-1988). Hey shows that Ecuador during this period represented the third world in many ways. It was a new democracy, having just emerged from years of military rule, extremely indebted to the West, and dependent on primary product export economy that relied heavily on importers, especially the United States. Jeanne Hey finds that some of the most popular and enduring theories in western research, such as realism and compliance, poorly account for Ecuadorian foreign policy. She explains that poor countries like Ecuador have substantial foreign policy latitude in the diplomatic area. Drawing on archival research and interviews with policy makers including Presidents Hurtado and Febres Cordero, Dr. Hey convincingly argues that many of the traditional foreign policy theories do not fit dependent states, and inadequately account for the complexity of foreign policy in the third world.

Seasonal and interannual variability in primary production and particle flux at Station ALOHA

A 5-year time-series study of primary production and euphotic-zone particle export in the subtropical North Pacific Ocean near Hawaii (Sta. ALOHA, 22°45′N, 158°W) with measurements collected at approximately monthly intervals has revealed significant variability in both ecosystem processes. Depth-integrated (0–200 m) primary production averaged 463 mg C m −2 day −1 ( s = 156, n = 54) or 14.1 mol C m −2 year −1. This mean value is greater than estimates for the North Pacific Ocean gyre made prior to 1984, but conforms to data obtained since the advent of trace metal-clean techniques. Daily rates of primary productivity at Sta. ALOHA exhibited interannual variability including a nearly 3-year sustained increase during the period 1990–1992 that coincided with a prolonged El Nifio-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event. Export production, defined as the particulate carbon (PC) flux measured at the 150 m reference depth, also varied considerably during the initial 5 years of the ongoing field experiment. The PC flux averaged 29 mg C m −2 day −1 ( s = 11, n = 43) or 0.88 mol Cm −2 year −1. A 5-fold variation between the minimum and maximum fluxes, measured in any given year, was observed. During the first 3 years of this program (1989–1991), a pattern was resolved that included two major export events per annum one centered in late winter and the other in late summer. After 1991, export production exhibited a systematic decrease with time during the prolonged ENSO event. When expressed as a percentage of the contemporaneous primary production, PC export ranged from 2 to 16.9%, with a 5-year mean of 6.7% ( s = 3.3, n = 40). Contrary to existing empirical models, contemporaneous primary production and PC flux were poorly correlated, and during the ENSO period they exhibited a significant inverse correlation. This unexpected decoupling of particle production and flux has numerous implications for oceanic biogeochemical cycles and for the response of the ocean to environmental perturbations.

Influence of dissolved silicate on vertical flux of particulate biogenic matter

The influence of dissolved silicate (DSi) addition on primary production, phytoplankton development and subsequent vertical export of particulate matter was studied in enclosures. Blooms of different phytoplankton communities were initiated in the upper part of 10 m deep enclosures supplied with nitrate and phosphate (NP) and nitrate, phosphate and silicate (NPS). Primary production was 31% higher in the NPS enclosure as compared to the NP enclosure over the experimental period of 27 days. Increased phytoplankton growth was mainly caused by mass development of diatoms in the NPS enclosure. Enhanced growth was accompanied by an increased vertical flux of organic matter (86, 15.9 and 16.9% in terms of chlorophyll, particulate nitrogen and particulate carbon, respectively) and was dominated by diatoms. The present study indicates that for each gram of DSi added, vertical flux was enhanced by 3.6 g C, implying that the ratio of DSi added/carbon exported was close to the Redfield ratio. Thus DSi presence appears to decrease the nutrient turn-over time in the euphotic zone by increasing vertical export. This may improve water quality of the surface layer of eutrophicated environments, but can lead to oxygen depletion of bottom waters.

Foreign Investment in the Exporting Sector: Welfare Enhancing or Welfare Reducing?

There has been a considerable amount of debate on whether structural adjustment policies suggested by the IMF and the World Bank to many primary product exporting nations may be selfdefeating. The terms of trade deterioration due to export expansion by any one country may be small enough to be ignored. However, if several exporters engage in simultaneous export expansion, all of them can suffer welfare losses. Diakosavvas and Scandizzo [5, 231-64] among others find that the terms of trade of primary commodities have indeed exhibited a downward trend in this century. Panagariya and Schiff [8] address this issue in a partial-equilibrium-simulation model of the cocoa market. They provide examples whereby productivity increases in one exporting country lead to welfare losses for other exporting countries despite the imposition of unilaterally optimal export taxes.' Bhagwati [2, 481-85] had shown that optimal trade taxation rules out the possibility of immiserizing growth. Bandyopadhyay [1] shows that this result does not generalize to the case where two (or more) exporters have market power. Hence, productivity increases in the exporting sector can be immiserizing even in the presence of optimal export taxes. Rodrik [11] provides an excellent survey of these issues. The concerns expressed in the elasticity pessimism literature (the classic papers by Prebisch [10, 251-73] and Singer [12, 473-85] addresses these issues) have been largely alleviated by the experience of the East Asian countries. However, these concerns remain alive in the context of some primary product exports like cocoa and coffee. Using a two country-free trade model Brecher and Choudhri [4, 181-90] show that the Singer-Prebisch concerns are specially relevant in the context of foreign investment in the exporting sector of primary product exporters. The value of the marginal product of foreign capital has to be repatriated to the foreign nation. Hence, a decline in the terms of trade for the host nation is sufficient to guarantee its immiserization. The traditional two country models that have been employed to analyze issues in optimal trade taxation do not address the issue of interdependence among different exporting nations. In a two country model, there is only one exporter of a particular commodity. However, in reality several nations export the same commodity. For instance, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Brazil are all

Learning from the Old South by the New South? The case of tourism

nation states from the First World of the USA and its allies and the Second World of the USSR and its satellites. Economic criteria apparently supported the distinction, for Third World societies seemed characterised by poverty, low GNPS, and a focus on the export of primary products. Politically, too, their experience as ex-colonies made them a distinct group, and their social structures, typically highly inegalitarian, also distinguished them from societies in the First and Second Worlds.' Times have changed. With the Second World no longer an actor on the geopolitical stage, it is now simply illogical to posit the existence of a Third World. Furthermore, there are other signs that the distinction is breaking down. First, Eastern Europe in its current phase of decolonisation is duplicating some of the experiences of African and Asian societies of the 1950s and 1960s. At the political level, for example, privileged classes (previously sustained by outside support) voluntarily relinquish power-or seem to relinquish power-during (relatively) bloodless revolutions in a generally supportive international political environment.2 A slightly different version of this argument, focusing on economic criteria, is put forward by Killick and Stevens, for example, who suggest that the experience of the (old) South of structural adjustment programmes during the

Regulation of vertical export of particulate organic matter from the euphotic zone by planktonic heterotrophs in eutrophicated aquatic environments

Different scenarios of remineralization response by planktonic heterotrophs on increasing primary production are presented. The consequences of these response patterns for the vertical export of particulate organic matter from the euphotic zone and productivity indexes are discussed. Reference is made to existing data and algorithms regarding primary production and vertical export of carbon from the euphotic zone. The response patterns of planktonic heterotrophs to increasing primary production most likely to be found in eutrophicated aquatic environments are indicated. The transport of particulate organic matter to depth in limnic as well as marine environments, as a fraction of a given rate of phytoplankton production, seems to depend on the structure and function of the prevailing planktonic food webs. It is suggested that herbivore control of suspended biomass along gradients of increasing nutrient supply results in decreasing carbon supply to bottom water and sediments. Carnivory probably reverses this trend, giving rise to increased carbon export. This conclusion has crucial consequences for investigating pelagic-benthic coupling, currently also a priority in eutrophication studies. Zooplankton orientated programmes will be a necessary component of future investigations of eutrophication in aquatic environments.

Expression of the triose phosphate translocator gene from potato is light dependent and restricted to green tissues.

The export of primary photosynthesis products from chloroplasts into the cytoplasm is mediated by the triose phosphate translocator. The transporter is an integral membrane protein localized at the inner envelope of chloroplasts. In order to study the expression of the major chloroplast envelope protein gene E29, which is assumed to function as the translocator, we have isolated corresponding cDNA clones from potato. A full-length clone was sequenced and shown to be highly homologous to the E29 gene from spinach. Expression on the RNA level is restricted to green tissues, is light dependent and cannot be induced by sucrose in darkness. The presence of a single-copy gene argues for the existence of different translocator systems responsible for import and export of carbohydrates in chloroplasts and amyloplasts.

Rapid Industrialization in Thailand 1986-1991

THE economic-development paradigm established during the 1950s and 1960s was dominated by four broad concerns--capital accumulation, agriculture as a provider of resources for industrial investment, import substitution and protection for nascent industries, and state-directed strategies, especially for capital-intensive industries (Higgins 1959; Lewis 1960). However, the dynamism of the export-oriented economies of five Asian countries--Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Singapore--influenced thinking about development and resulted in a shift in that paradigm. By the 1980s, the importance of trade liberalization, transfer of technology by direct foreign investment, and the role of exports in spurring economic growth were recognized as important components in development. Based on the experiences of Japan, Singapore, and other newly industrialized countries, the role of human capital investment emerged as perhaps the most important component in economic development (World Bank 1991). Concomitantly, environmental concerns began to be emphasized internationally. Case studies suggested that rapid industrialization was causing severe and, in some instances, irreversible environmental damage. Thus, the notion of social costs, especially as articulated in the concept of sustainable development (World Commission 1987), is emerging as a new paradigm in economic-development theory. Until recently, Thailand was rarely featured on economic news pages. For decades its economy, like those of many developing countries, was based on the export of primary products and on import-substitution policies at home. However, the Thai economy shifted from the lowest growth rates in Asia in the mid-1980s to the highest by 1988, when the world economic press dubbed the country Asia's fifth tiger. This article reviews the recent and rapid industrialization in Thailand and examines the spatial implications of growth in Bangkok and its surrounding provinces. The effects of rapid growth and industrialization on the urban environment are surveyed, and contrasts are drawn between Thailand and other newly industrialized countries. In the 1960s and 1970s, Thailand, like most of the developing countries in Asia, had high growth rates, on the order of 6.9 to 7.9 percent, in gross domestic product (GDP). In contrast with the path followed by South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, where growth was based on export-driven industrialization, most of Thailand's manufactures were the products of simple processing industries: wood, prawns, tapioca pellets, tobacco, and sugar. In 1976, manufactures accounted for only 26 percent of Thailand's total exports, and only 8 percent of the population was employed in the manufacturing sector. During the 1960s and 1970s, economic growth in Thailand was sustained by expansion of the agricultural sector, by export of primary products, and by the involvement of the United States in Vietnam. Aid from the United States and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) enabled Thailand to build an infrastructure from which it could launch its primary products into a buoyant world market. The United States military presence in the country resulted in a military-procurement boom for Thai entrepreneurs. The most productive agricultural region in Thailand is the central valley of the Chao Phraya. However, with development aid from IBRD and the United States, Thailand launched ambitious programs to expand agriculture on the margins of the Chao Phraya and into the eastern and northern regions of the country. Forestland was cleared, the felled trees were processed and sold profitably on the world market, and the cleared land was given to agriculture. The rapid expansion of the agricultural base resulted in high growth rates for the Thai economy. From the mid-1970s into the mid-1980s, a series of external events seriously disturbed the Thai economy. The pullout of the United States from Vietnam in 1975 ended the procurement boom, and shortly thereafter the closure of U. …

Developed country policies and biological diversity in developing countires

A vigorous effort will be required to negotiate and implement international commodity agreements which would stabilize and maximize the earnings of developing countries from the export of primary products. Success will enable them to evolve and develop from a more balanced base and to manage their natural resources in a sustainable manner. This article examines ways developing countries are interlocked with wealthy nations in terms of agriculture practices, how that affects biodiversity and habitat conditions in developing countries, and how developing countries could develop agricultural policies and strategies that would address and correct the loss of biological diversity. Agricultural trade policies, agricultural assistance policies, and potentials within these for changes are examined in terms of achieving sustainable approaches to agriculture. Some general principles are apparent, and the combined effects from certain policies are clear. Protectionism depletes the resources of the developing world; it accelerates the loss of biological diversity and reduces the ability of poorer nations to create a context in which future development could occur. Developing countries become forced to respond to foreign rather than local conditions. The success of agricultural development will depend on linkages with natural areas important for biological diversity. Therefore, agricultural development projects supported by agencies of developed nations must consider the larger ecosystem, the parts in context with the whole. Since current models of economic and ecological systems are disconnected, a monitoring and research program should be established to determine the effectiveness of alternative policies and organizational structures. Nonetheless, economic restructuring offers opportunities to direct efforts towards conservation of biological resources, sustainable agriculture, and training in principles of conservation. Opportunities for innovative initiatives exist through debt reduction or exchanging debt for biological conservation. This could lead to sound agricultural systems, reduce government deficits, and protect biological diversity. The global climate debt, incurred by wealthy nations, could be managed to the benefit of developing countries. It is suggested that nations develop a “Foreign Policy on Agriculture and the Environment” stating national objectives in both trade and aid, in relation to agriculture.

The Maquilas in Mexico: A Global Perspective

In Mexico, as in many other Third World countries in recent years, the belief in export-led industrialisation fuelled by foreign investment and technology (ELIFFIT) is beginning to displace other available development strategies, such as import substitution, varying degrees of autarky, or the traditional reliance on primary product export. This paper explores how the maquila industry along the Mexico-US border, by spearheading ELIFFIT, has helped create a transnational capitalist class which is gradually changing the ways in which Mexico relates to a global capitalism in the process of reformation.

Direct observations of the mass flocculation of diatom blooms: characteristics, settling velocities and formation of diatom aggregates

Blooms of chain-forming marine diatoms were observed in the process of aggregating into centimeter-sized flocs of marine snow in surface waters of the Santa Barbara Channel, California. These aggregates were composed of a rich assemblage of living, actively photosynthesizing diatoms dominated by the setose genus Chaetoceros and by chain-forming Nitzschia spp. Flocculation of one bloom occurred in as little as 24 h, and bloom flocculation apparently was not triggered by nitrogen-limitation. Marine snow of diatom origin was also abundant during spring, summer and early autumn throughout the Southern California Bight, suggesting that diatom flocculation is a seasonally significant source of marine snow. Resting spores rarely occurred within either newly formed or aged diatom flocs. The mean in situ settling velocity (± S.D.) of newly formed flocs was 117 ± 56 m d −1, two orders of magnitude faster than unaggregated Chaetoceros. Rapid, episodic export of surface-derived primary production to the ocean bottom via mass flocculation and settlement of diatom blooms can occur prior to consumption by pelagic grazers and significantly effects marine food webs, oceanic flux processes, and diatom biology.

Export Assembly Operations in Mexico and the Caribbean

Faced with limited opportunities for their primary-product exports, many developing countries have sought new strategies to develop manufactured products for export. Often lacking the necessary infrastructure for industrialization but possessing abundant labor resources, some developing economies have attempted to attract investment through assembly operations that promote domestic employment, exports, and local development.

The Changing Pattern of Korean Comparative Advantage, 1965-1980

By liberalizing its trade regime and adopting an 'outward-oriented' strategy of economic development, the Republic of Korea (hereafter simply Korea) has dramatically changed both the volume and composition of its international trade. Between 1960 and 1980 the constant price value of exports increased nearly eighty fold, while imports in creased by twenty times over the same period.1 The export share in gross domestic pro duct (GDP) grew from three percent to forty-three percent between 1960-1980, while the import share rose from twelve percent to fifty-one percent. This expansion of trade volume was accompanied by significant changes in trade composition, as the share of manufactured goods in total exports grew from fourteen percent in 1960 to ninety percent in 1980.2 Because of its increasing importance in the international trading system, and its rapidly changing pattern of specialization, the Korean case is of substantial interest. Few studies though, have investigated the determinants of Korean comparative advantage. Westphal and K. S. Kim (1982) adopted the Leontief method and used Korean direct factor coefficients to compute the physical capital and labor embodied in Korean exports and imports over the period 1960-1968. They calculated that the capital-intensity of Korean exports was greater than imports because the capital-intensity of Korea's primary product exports (mainly forest products) was far greater than its primary product imports (mostly food). When these were removed and only manufactured goods were

Tariffs and trade bargaining: Anglo-scandinavian economic relations in the 1930s

Abstract Extract The British trade agreements programme of the 1930s was a striking example of the power which a major importer can exert over suppliers. After the introduction of full-scale protection in the winter of 1931–2, the UK made a series of treaties with its main suppliers of primary produce, pacts aimed principally at obtaining privileges for British exports. The countries selected for trade negotiations were exclusively exporters of primary products and in no case included a major industrial power.1 All were unequal partners in the sense that they were far more dependent on the British market than Britain on theirs, and most also ran trade surpluses with the UK. Both these factors, it may be argued, gave the larger power a strong bargaining hand, and this may have been enhanced by relative factor immobility in smaller countries with less diversified economic structures.2

Central America: Monetary Policy and Economic Growth

Central America has always seemed to me a particularly fruitful object of study, of economic and particularly monetary affairs, because of the existence of six countries of not too different size and economic structure. This situation provides an opportunity for assessing the workings of certain economic principles.In economic terms, the countries of Central America are very small units. For such units, economics can provide a few analytical propositions that seem prima facie plausible. One is that such economies need not indefinitely specialize in exports of primary products, but if they diversity and industrialize their economies, it must be for export. Industrialization for the domestic market is unlikely to permit sufficient economies of scale. In this regard, the Central American countries have industrialized much less than the small republics in the Far East, and accordingly have not enjoyed as rapid a rate of economic growth.