Limited Membership Research Articles

Systematics of some Late Ordovician encrinurine trilobites from Laurentian North America

Classification and relationships of the Ordovician encrinurines Frencrinoides Lespérance and Desbiens and Walencrinoides Lespérance and Desbiens are poorly understood, with little evidence for monophyly of either genus. We revise the type species of both genera, F. capitonis (Frederickson) and W. rarus (Walcott), using new and archival material. We explore their species composition and phylogenetic relationships with a parsimony analysis that includes 17 well-documented ingroup species that can be coded readily, and which is rooted with Encrinuroides regularis Parnaste, the oldest known encrinurine. The results support monophyly of Frencrinuroides and Walencrinuroides, albeit with more limited species membership than proposed by Lespérance and Desbiens. Previous suggestions that both E. uncatus Evitt and Tripp and E. neuter Evitt and Tripp should be assigned to Erratencrinurus Kruger are also supported by our analysis, as is monophyly of Physemataspis Evitt and Tripp. New species are W. rolfi and W. tremblayi.

Network structures in the furniture industry - the industrial network approach

The aim of the article is to identify the various types of network structures occurring in the furniture industry from the perspective of the industrial network approach, using Poland as an example. The conceptual framework of this article, which comprises the industrial network approach and Actors-Resources-Activities model, together with a secondary sources analysis, is adopted in order to identify the various network structures. Thus a comparison of the identified types of network structures in the furniture industry is developed from the perspective of their actors, resources and activities interdependencies. The main contribution of the article is a proposal to split the two main types of network structures (more formal structures with limited membership fully observable from the outside, e.g. industry clusters and purchasing groups, as well as those which are not fully observable from the outside and are analysed from the perspective of the focal actor) and as a result, to identify and analyse various network structures in the Polish furniture industry.

A Catholic Brain Trust: The History of the Catholic Commission on Intellectual and Cultural Affairs, 1945–1965 (review)

Reviewed by: A Catholic Brain Trust: The History of the Catholic Commission on Intellectual and Cultural Affairs, 1945–1965 Dennis O’Brien A Catholic Brain Trust: The History of the Catholic Commission on Intellectual and Cultural Affairs, 1945–1965 By Patrick J. Hayes. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2011. 440 pp. $75.00. Patrick J. Hayes splendidly researched book records the short history of The Catholic Commission on Intellectual and Cultural Affairs (CCICA), an exceptionally interesting project started by a small group of United States Catholic intellectual leaders at the conclusion of World War II. From its inception – and largely at the insistence of John Courtney Murray, SJ – it was separated from any official ecclesiastic control and encompassed distinguished intellectuals from many fields, laity and religious. CCICA enjoyed broad initial support from individuals such as Cardinal Spellman and an extended array of Catholic colleges and universities. CCICA was founded to address both a current and a continuing concern facing the Catholic intellectual world in 1945. The current issue was the creation of UNESCO. Given its mandate to address international education and culture, the founders of CCICA were concerned that the voice of Catholic education and Catholic culture would be excluded. A statement by UNESCO’s general director, Julian Huxley, endorsing eugenics in the name of “scientific humanism” was an obvious challenge. The founders hoped that a Catholic “Commission” composed of distinguished Catholic scholars could enter into dialogue with UNESCO. The continuing concern of CCICA was the perceived state of Catholic intellectual life in the United States. The most famous expression of this concern was a paper by CCICA member Monsignor [End Page 98] John Tracy Ellis at the CCICA annual meeting in 1955, “American Catholics and the Intellectual Life.” It can be summed in its most memorable line: “Where are the Catholic Einsteins?” Widely reprinted, Ellis’ critique of the low level of United States Catholic intellectual attainment became a rallying cry for significant upgrading and improvement in academic attainment by Catholic colleges and universities. In keeping with the notion that CCICA was a Commission, not a mere discussion group, CCICA embarked on two major projects: creation of a directory of Catholic scholars and a new Catholic Encyclopedia to replace the by then out-of-date effort of 1907–1914. Given these ambitious projects, Hayes’ history could be read as a story of failure and frustration. There was no official dialogue with UNESCO, the directory of scholars was created but eventually abandoned, and the encyclopedia project was co-opted by Catholic University. Nevertheless, there is ample reason to regard CCICA as a worthy effort with more impact than its limited membership would suggest. Regional discussions and annual meetings created significant interchange on topics such as “the relation of church and state” and “the state of Catholic scholarship.” Individual CCICA members exercised considerable influence in the church, academia, and the larger cultural landscape. Hayes’s history offers a compelling and illuminating account of the ideological cross currents and major personalities in Catholic intellectual life during a time of great change in the church and the country. A personal note: in 2007 I took the initiative to formally dissolve CCICA. While an organization spanning a broad range of Catholic leaders in scholarship, the arts, and professional attainment was an attractive idea, CCICA suffered throughout its history from three fatal defects. Lack of executive leadership because of inadequate funding; uncertainty about membership; and lack of “product” when major projects like the directory faltered and publication from the annual meeting was minimal. In the last decade of its existence, CCICA was unable to find an executive director who could be given significant support; nominations for membership were haphazard; annual meetings were not held; and no publication was produced. Having ceased to function de facto, it seemed appropriate to confirm reality de lege. Hayes’ account of CCICA’s noble failure may encourage a new organization that would benefit from the lessons of his exemplary history. [End Page 99] Dennis O’Brien Middlebury College Copyright © 2012 American Catholic Historical Society

Training Primary Care Physicians for Local Health Authority Duties in Texas

Only one fourth of Texas counties have a local health authority (LHA) or health district. Primary care physicians in the remaining counties could be trained in public health basics by providing an online LHA training course and courses at annual meetings of the Texas Medical Association and the Texas Academy of Family Physicians. The Texas Department of State Health Services should develop a web portal for LHAs. The Texas Association of Local Health Officials should also provide automatic limited membership for LHAs. These initiatives would provide public health training to primary care physicians and would greatly improve availability of public health services for the citizens of Texas.

Institutionalizing the pro-democracy movements: the case of Zambia's Movement for Multiparty Democracy

In this contribution the challenges of political opposition is addressed through a focus on the problems of institutionalizing parties and party systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Challenges of party institutionalization in a context of political and economic liberalization, where external international donors have become an active part of these political processes, are illustrated through a case study of Zambia. Zambia is chosen as a case because it in many ways presents a ‘best-case scenario’ for democratic consolidation in sub-Saharan Africa. The political transition in 1991 saw a new party coming to power as the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) won the parliamentary elections with a large majority over the former one-party rule of the United Independence Party (UNIP). The electoral success of Zambia's pro-democracy movement was in part explained by its ties to civil society, most notably, the Zambian Congress of Trade Unions. The contribution will show that the combined effects of political and economic liberalization, and the political role played by external financial actors in these processes, have hindered the institutionalization of political parties in Zambia. The limited institutionalization, witnessed by weak ties to civil society, a limited membership and shallow organizational structures, provides a partial explanation for the executive dominance that has characterized Zambian politics after the 1991 democratic transitions.

The OECD and the G20: An Ever Closer Relationship?

This contribution critically analyses the recent developments in the relationship between the G20 and the OECD. The OECD has been one of the key economic institutions ever since its establishment. Recently however, its limited membership and the engagement of other international organizations in its traditional issue fields increased the fear that the organization might become less relevant within the global economic architecture. In first instance, the emergence of the G20 reinforced this threat. However, thanks to the activism of its Secretary-General and the appealing pool of knowledge and expertise in its secretariat, the OECD was able to turn the latter threat into an opportunity to revive itself. The OECD increasingly performs operational, implementation and monitoring assignments for the G20, which itself lacks such capabilities. Recent G20 commmuniques support the claim that both entities increasingly cooperate in order to solve their respective shortcomings. The increased cooperation allowed the OECD to regain its relevance within the global economic governance architecture, while the G20’s functioning is strengthened thanks to the contributions of the OECD on a growing number of issues. However, the growing concresence of both organization raises some concerns about the role and functioning of both entities in the global economic governance architecture.

Financial Sector Regulation and Financial Services Liberalization at the Crossroads: The Relevance of International Financial Standards in WTO Law

This article provides an assessment of the relevance in World Trade Organization (WTO) law of the international financial standards set by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (Basel Committee), the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), international cooperation for a bringing together domestic financial regulators. This analysis gauges the potential use of these international financial standards in a potential future dispute settlement involving the domestic regulation of financial services. It demonstrates their relevance in WTO law as well as their both considerable and contested role in the institutional practice of the organization, thereby highlighting the incentives for regulatory harmonization that are embedded in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The difficulties are mainly centred on the Basel Committee due to its limited membership, therefore not meeting the conditions of validity for the recognition of external standards laid down in the GATS, and also leading to the reluctance of some developing countries unwilling to endorse standards to which they have not previously agreed. More broadly, this study reflects on the potential tensions between plurilateral regulatory strategies and the multilateral context of the WTO and highlights the insufficient coordination between the international legal frameworks for the regulation and for the liberalization of financial services.

The place for a contemporary artist with a mental illness

Arts participation fosters social inclusion in a way that other social and recovery programmes do not. The professional role of an artist is an appealing and socially valid role in the community. For many people with a mental illness, arts‐based programmes become a catalyst to resume and/or pursue their art practice more seriously. The focus of this paper is to uncover the complex boundaries that exist for artists who have mental health needs in contemporary culture, and to review these artists' perceptions of their opportunities to create a place for their creative expression to emerge in its own right, and not on the basis of their illness. We also comment on the specific issue of public perception of the ‘outsider artist’ and refer in parts to the apparent question of how such art is perceived and treated. This paper refers specifically to the experiences of eight visual artists with mental illnesses living in Queensland, Australia, who contributed to an exhibition titled Artist Citizen as part of a participatory action research programme. The topics of discussion by the eight artists explore familiar themes to mental health: stigma, exclusion and the integration of identity within limited membership groups. This paper details the expressed concerns of the artists around the value and connection of their creative output. It should be relevant and of interest to mental health service personnel for insight into integration and recovery for people with mental health needs into mainstream social and cultural environments.

Hydroperiod, predators and the distribution of physid snails across the freshwater habitat gradient

Summary1. Studies of species distributions across environmental gradients further our understanding of mechanisms regulating species diversity at the landscape scale. For some freshwater taxa the habitat gradient from small, shallow and temporary ponds to large, deep and permanent lakes has been shown to be an important environmental axis. Freshwater snails are key players in freshwater ecosystems, but there are no comprehensive studies of their distributions across the entire freshwater habitat gradient. Here we test the hypothesis that snail species in the family Physidae are distributed in a non‐random manner across the habitat gradient. We sampled the snails, their predators and the abiotic environment of 61 ponds and lakes, spanning a wide range in depth and hydroperiod.2. Temporary habitats had the lowest biomass of predators. Shallow permanent ponds had the highest biomass of invertebrate predators but an intermediate fish biomass. Deep ponds and lakes had the highest fish biomass and intermediate invertebrate biomass. Five species of physids occurred in the regional species pool and 60 of the 61 ponds and lakes surveyed contained physid snails. Each pond and lake contained an average of just 1.2 physid species, illustrating limited membership in local communities and substantial among‐site heterogeneity in species composition.3. Physids showed strong sorting along the habitat gradient, with Physa vernalis found in the shortest hydroperiod ponds and Aplexa elongata, P. gyrina, P. acuta and P. ancillaria found in habitats of successively greater permanence. When organised into a site‐by‐species incidence matrix with sites ordered according to their hydroperiods, we found the pattern of incidence to be highly coherent, showing that much of the heterogeneity in species composition from one pond to another is explained by hydroperiod. We also found that the number of species replacements along this gradient was higher than random, showing that replacement is more important than nesting in describing species composition in ponds of different hydroperiod.4. Discriminant analysis showed that pond depth, invertebrate biomass and fish biomass were the best predictors of species composition. Analysis of these niche dimensions showed that P. vernalis and A. elongata were most successful in shallow, temporary ponds with few predators. P. gyrina and P. acuta were typically found in ponds of intermediate depth and high predator abundance. P. ancillaria was found in the deepest lakes, which had abundant fish predators but few invertebrate predators. Of the five species considered, P. ancillaria, P. vernalis and A. elongata were relatively specialised with regard to key habitat characteristics, P. gyrina was moderately generalised and P. acuta was remarkably generalised, since it alone occurred across the entire freshwater habitat gradient. The exceptional habitat breadth of P. acuta stands in contrast to distributional studies of other freshwater taxa and deserves further attention.

Societal Context of Labor Union Strategy

This article questions the societal context of labor union strategy for the case of Turkey, where the legacy of the military junta of 1980—1983 is still vivid. The results by and large indicate a clear rupture between unionized and nonunionized workers, a fact that highlights the significance of innovative union strategies directed at expanding membership in a way to include atypical workers so as to resist union decline. This rupture also points, however, to the reasons why such strategies might not be forthcoming where they are especially needed. Where unions have a precarious existence, the expansion of the membership base could be the only way to gain legitimacy and power. Yet, it is precisely their precarious existence that might condemn unions to a myopic strategy, leading them to concentrate on the interests of their limited membership that they try to maintain at all cost.

AAOS 75th Anniversary Tribute to Past Presidents

AAOS 75th Anniversary Tribute to Past Presidents

DEPOSITIONAL DYNAMICS AND THE RECORD OF ECOSYSTEM STABILITY: EARLY EOCENE FAUNAL GRADIENTS IN THE PYRENEAN FORELAND, SPAIN

We studied mollusk-dominated multispecies assemblies from the south Pyrenean foreland in Spain by using relative abundance data in a framework of high-frequency depositional sequences for an interval spanning 2 myr across the early Eocene climatic optimum. The sequences are part of the Figols (middle Ypresian) and Castigaleu (upper Ypresian) allogroups and together document environmental changes influenced by tectonics at the lower frequency and driven by sea level and climate at the high-frequency temporal scale. We applied ordination through multidimensional scaling and other techniques to explore the structure of the data set. Six Figols and eight Castigaleu communities, linked along onshore-offshore gradients, were interpreted on uniformitarian grounds. Paleoenvironments ranged from mangrove forest to tidal flat, tidal creek, estuary, delta front, shoreface, carbonate ramp, and inner shelf. Some habitats were represented throughout the interval, allowing examination of the effect on coastal ecosystems of environmental disturbances tied to sea-level lowstands, as deduced from the sequence stratigraphic analysis. These disturbances presumably amounted to extirpation by river floods, burial, increased turbidity, high river-derived nutrient input, and decreased ecospace availability. The major effect on the mangrove-estuary-delta gradient was coincident with the unconformity separating the two allogroups. Mangrove communities suffered a change in rank of dominating species and a turnover of rare species. Subtidal estuarine and delta communities were affected in their relative abundances, but we observed no change in rank or turnover. We suggest that the different niche breadth of organisms leads to different responses to perturbation of several scales. Many intertidal cerithioidean gastropods went extinct, whereas subtidal turritelline gastropods were unchanged, during the major environmental variation. Mangrove gastropods experienced increased originations in the upper Ypresian. The carbonate ramp heterotrophs did not change across the Figols-Castigaleu perturbation, although throughout the early Eocene the phototroph guild within the same ecosystem was undergoing frequent turnover events. All studied associations showed significant changes in the relative abundances of constituent species across unconformities of minor entity, proving that soft-bottom marine communities conform to an open-membership model of ecosystem recruitment, as suggested by studies of past open marine ecosystems. Persistence to a degree is suggested by mangrove communities, indicating a slightly more limited membership in low-nutrient estuarine habitats, a response more similar to that of coral reef tropical ecosystems. This study confirms the idea that different species and communities may experience opposite effects from the same events and shows that faunal distributions in estuarine and deltaic systems reflect more than just bathymetric change. High onshore origination also conforms to the theory of onshore-offshore faunal change.

Learning with errors in answers to membership queries

We study the learning models defined in [D. Angluin, M. Krikis, R.H. Sloan, G. Turán, Malicious omissions and errors in answering to membership queries, Machine Learning 28 (2–3) (1997) 211–255]: Learning with equivalence and limited membership queries and learning with equivalence and malicious membership queries. We show that if a class of concepts that is closed under projection is learnable in polynomial time using equivalence and (standard) membership queries then it is learnable in polynomial time in the above models. This closes the open problems in [D. Angluin, M. Krikis, R.H. Sloan, G. Turán, Malicious omissions and errors in answering to membership queries, Machine Learning 28 (2–3) (1997) 211–255]. Our algorithm can also handle errors in the equivalence queries.

Language ideologies and the production of identities: Spanish as a resource for participation in a multilingual marketplace

As technological advances, trade initiatives, and the formation of political and corporate alliances contribute to the spread of globalization, language has become not only a marker of national or ethnic identity but also a form of economic and social capital (Heller 1999). Within the United States, this shift is being felt at some of the nation's most prestigious universities as an increasingly pragmatic student body clamors for courses in languages-other-than-English in an effort to accumulate the linguistic resources necessary for participation in a multilingual marketplace. This paper examines how language ideologies might function to construct expertise in Spanish as a resource for the professional advancement of middle-and upper-middle class foreign language learners, while simultaneously casting it as a detriment to the social mobility of heritage language users (i. e., U. S. Latinos). In so doing, it describes how ideologies of Spanish as a foreign language get produced, circulated, and appropriated in the day-to-day workings of a Spanish language program at a prestigious U. S. university to support and foster this asymmetry. Weaving together both diachronic and synchronic approaches to research on language ideologies, it investigates how foreign language learners draw on certain ideologies to construct themselves as competent and legitimate users of Spanish, despite gaps in their linguistic repertoires and limited membership in Spanish-speaking communities of practice.

CIRSE 1985 to 2005: 20 Years of Growing Success

To commemorate the history of CIRSE, we need to take ashort look at the developments in European interventionalradiology before CIRSE was created in the spring of 1985.Until then, two ‘‘interventional societies’’ existed in Europe:the European College of Angiography (ECA) and theEuropean Society of Cardiovascular and InterventionalRadiology (ESCVIR), which were both founded in 1976.The idea of gathering European cardiovascular and inter-ventionalradiologistsintoascientificsocietywasconceivedin the early 1970s. By 1975 numerous prominent Europeancardiovascular and interventional radiologists had startedseriousdiscussions, whichresultedinthecreation ofthetwoEuropean bodies.Whereas the ECA was more academically oriented, witha limited membership of 75 and defined credentials in car-diovascular radiology to be eligible for membership, theESCVIR was founded as an open society for all doctorsinterested in cardiovascular and interventional radiology. Inthe years between 1982 and 1984 the ESCVIR and ECAcombined their annual meetings, and the American sistersociety SCVIR was invited for joint meetings. Since mostleading European angiographers and interventionists weremembers of both societies, the idea of a unified, singleEuropean society was aired as early as 1981 by severalleading figures such as FranAois Pinet, Ivo Obrez, RobertoPassariello, Plinio Rossi, Eberhard Zeitler, Gian-CarloFeltrin, Ulf Tylen, Rolf Gnther, and Friedrich Olbert.In a water-taxi from the airport in Venice to the HotelExcelsior on the Lido of Venice, FranAois Pinet askedFriedrich Olbert whether he would be willing to carrythrough the merging of the two societies at the forthcomingjoint meeting in Vienna in 1985. Friedrich Olbert happilyagreed to do so, and certainly Vienna as an internationalmelting-pot was the ideal place for such an undertaking.Moreover, Friedrich Olbert as a renowned leader in inter-ventional radiology and a person of great diplomatic skillspromised to be the right choice for such a delicate task.However, it was first necessary for leading figures such asFranAois Pinet, Ulf Tylen, Eberhard Zeitler and others, whofortunately were members of both societies, to do somelobbying for a single European society. Under their influ-ence, working groups started to draw up regulations andarticles to be ready for presenting to the two societies attheir joint meeting in Vienna in 1985.At 1p.m. on April 24th, during the joint general assem-bly, the Cardiovascular and Interventional RadiologicalSociety of Europe (CIRSE) came into existence. The newarticles drawn up by Ulf Tylen were accepted and FriedrichOlbert—president of the joint meeting of the ECA and theESCVIR—was immediately appointed as the new presidentof CIRSE. FranAois Pinet and Christoph Zollikofer werevoted in as secretary-general and treasurer of the newsociety. Members of the ECA automatically became fellowsof CIRSE. The new society now had a combined member-ship of about 300 which triggered the beginning of a veryfruitful era. A total of 556 scientists from all over Europehad been present at the Vienna meeting and the congressmade a substantial profit, which served as the basis forfinancing future congresses.The first CIRSE congress and joint meeting with theAmericanSCVIRwasheldinMay1986inJerusalem,underthepresidencyofAlexRosenberger.Furtheryearlymeetingsfollowed in Porto Cervo, Berlin, Paris, Brussels, and Oslounder the presidencies of Plinio Rossi, Reingard Sorensen,Jean-Michel Bigot, Julien Struyven, and Ivar Enge in theyears 1987 to 1991, with growing attendances of up to 800.With an expanding membership, and with the increasingimportance of interventional radiology in radiology andmedicine as a whole, it was felt that the existing structure ofthe society—with a distinct lack of continuity in the exec-utive body due to the yearly changing presidency, and nopermanentsecretarialoffice—wasnolongergoodenoughtocope with its future tasks. The need for training, education,and research on the one hand, and on the other the deter-mination to become a recognized and powerful subspecialty

ENDOGENOUS FORMATION OF COMPETITIVE RESEARCH SHARING JOINT VENTURES*

Research sharing is an important objective of many research joint ventures. When partners share R&D but do not maximize joint profits, large consortia are more profitable than small ones, and joint ventures prefer dispersed rivals. For much of the spillover space, a coalition formation game that permits limited membership predicts that at most, three joint ventures form. Research-sharing joint ventures improve welfare when spillovers are low, and banning research sharing joint ventures is beneficial for high spillovers. With imperfect research sharing and low spillovers, allowing only research sharing is the best industry-wide joint venture alternative for consumer surplus.

Policy change and network termination: The role of farm groups in agricultural policy making in Australia

As the National Farmers' Federation (NFF) celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2004, it is timely to reflect on the role of farm groups in agricultural policy making in Australia and revisit the policy changes of the 1970s which provided a major impetus for the NFF's formation. Agricultural policy is often presented as the classic case of policy developed by tight policy communities characterised by stability, shared ideology and limited membership. There has been much debate in the literature about the value of the concept of policy communities in explaining policy development processes and policy change. This article suggests that the combination of ideological and institutional change, particularly in the presence of looser policy networks, can disrupt policy making and lead to network termination resulting in policy change.

The Threat of Politicization of the World Trade Organization

This article documents and analyzes an important feature of the GATT/WTO regime that has almost gone unnoticed in the academic literature: its relatively un-politicized character. It shows how unlike many other of the so-called specialized agencies of the United Nations, where the fallout of the major political conflicts of our time has caused some serious organizational dysfunctions, the GATT/WTO has hitherto largely managed to keep away from those conflicts and thus been able to better serve its objectives. The article seeks to understand the reasons for this, and more generally what it is that makes one international framework more attractive than others to the influence of general politics. By relating the notion of to the theory of functionalism, one of the most central theories of international organizations, the article has developed a definition of this notion that is theoretically defendable and legally workable. The article suggests several explanations to the relative absence of politicization in the GATT. These include its historically limited membership of likeminded states, which certainly helped in creating a business-minded tradition of technocrats devoted to promoting the economies of their countries, its narrowly defined mandate and its system of decision-making by consensus. Legal safety valves such as the non-application clause and the Security Exceptions provision, as well as its traditional deference to the domestic socio-economic policies of its member states, also contributed to the GATT/WTO regime's success in keeping itself outside the great political conflicts. Based on these explanations, the last section of the article tries to assess the risk of future politicization of the WTO and the sources of this risk. It shows that many of the characteristics that in the past protected the GATT from politicization are not present anymore in today's WTO. Its growing membership, broadened mandate in sensitive areas and rising public profile are all likely to increase the threat of politicization of the WTO, as are the recent calls, both from within and outside the organization, for a revision of the consensus rule. Indeed, there are already worrying signs of politicization within the WTO that are discussed in the article. If the situation continues to deteriorate, we may be faced with some major organizational dysfunctions in the future. The article concludes with suggestions on what can be done to counter the threat of politicization of the WTO.

Impact of China's Accession to the Bangkok Agreement on Intraregional Trade Flows

Regional Trading Arrangements (RTAs) have been recognized as useful building blocks of a broader trade liberalization strategy over the past two decades with nearly 150 RTAs notified to the WTO. The Bangkok Agreement (BA) established in 1975 is one of the oldest among them. BA was established to promote intra regional trade through exchange of tariff concessions by Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, the Republic of Korea and Lao PDR. China has recently acceded to BA. Due to limited membership and product coverage BA has had limited success in promoting intraregional trade in the past. The accession of China is expected to inject dynamism to it. This article examines the impact of China's accession to the Bangkok Agreement on other member countries. The analysis of the article shows that accession of China is likely to generate vast trading opportunities for the current member countries of BA.

Examining the Case for an Asian Monetary Fund

This paper explores the case for an Asian Monetary Fund (AMF) in light of the East Asian crisis. It discusses the role of such a regional facility, and attempts to clarify important issues such as its functional relationship to the IMF. Available evidence stresses that contagion is largely a regional phenomenon. It has become legion in the economics literature to separate transmission channels that cause crises to be contagious across countries into two categories. Those that are related to investor sentiment or psychology are termed contagion. Those that are based on linkages between countries that are measurable/observable pre-crisis, are referred to as or (these could be due to trade, direct investment or financial linkages). Both theory and evidence suggest that pure contagion is not necessarily random or arbitrary. Thus, in the case of the East Asian crisis, it is notable that the countries initially and worst-impacted were the ones with the worst economic fundamentals to begin with. Stronger, though much more open and regionally integrated economies (such as Singapore), were much less affected. This underscores the need for the primary focus to be placed squarely on the domestic policy arena. In the East Asian context, this broadly involves strengthening the financial systems and corporate and industrial structures. However, given the fact that regional spillovers or interdependencies are fairly high and growing in East Asia, even relatively strong regional economies can be and have been affected by crises in the weaker neighboring economies. These policy externalities suggest the need for some form of regional cooperation in the financial and macroeconomic spheres. In light of this, there may be merit in considering the creation of some sort of self-standing regional facility in Asia with limited membership (at least initially). The facility should focus primarily on crisis surveillance and prevention at a regional level; while the IMF continues to focus on surveillance at a global level, as well as crisis management and resolution. Any funds dispersed through the regional facility during a crisis period would be done in full consultation with the IMF and in conjunction with the potential recipient pursuing the IMF conditionalities.