The Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) - Pharmaceuticals Transitional Period: Can it Help Build Capacity in African Least Developed Countries (LDCs)?

ABSTRACT

African least developed countries LDCs face unique challenges in the implementation of minimum standards for the protection of IPRs, most poignantly illustrated in the field of pharmaceuticals. This was to an extent recognised by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in providing a transitional period during which LDCs are not obliged to implement the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement in order to afford them an opportunity to develop a viable technological base in the pharmaceutical sector before being required to provide patent protection for pharmaceuticals. This article explores some options available to African least developed countries LDCs to use the transitional period in a manner that could help develop their pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity. Rwanda has already shown itself to be a pioneer in the use of policy flexibility available in the TRIPS Agreement and related instruments to fulfil the country's demand for essential pharmaceutical products. Therefore, much of the analysis draws on Rwanda for illustrative purposes.     

Exporting Activity in Transitional Economies: An Enterprise-Level Study

This study represents the first enterprise level analysis of the determinants of exporting in transitional economies, and focuses on privatised manufacturing firms in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Employing models developed from the existing literature on enterprise-level trade, results derived from longitudinal data suggest that the most important influences on a firm's decision to export are company size and the non-monotonic, curvilinear influence of managerial ownership and control. Comparisons are made with studies of less developed countries.     

Discourses on Poverty: emerging perspectives on a caring economy

In The Real Wealth of Nations, Eisler proposes a holistic view of the economy, which would include the caring sectors—the household, unpaid community work and the environment—as an alternative to market-oriented economic models that have proven ineffective in dealing with the problems facing our local and global communities. Her inclusion of language change as part of a strategy for economic transformation implicitly recognises the socially constitutive function of discourse, a notion put forth by critical linguists. Based on these economic and linguistic perspectives, this article reports on a study that examined the social knowledge about poverty constructed through selected discourses to determine whether they communicate a narrow or holistic view of the economy. It proposes that economic planning for poverty reduction build upon the process of language change towards a caring economy as revealed by the study.     

The wto in Bali: what mc9 means for the Doha Development Agenda and why it matters

The conclusion of the World Trade Organization’s (wto) ninth ministerial meeting – held in Bali 3–7 December 2013 – is at one and the same time momentous, marginal and business-as-usual. It is momentous because it marks the first multilateral agreement reached in the wto since the organisation began operations on 1 January 1995; it is marginal because the deal reached will have only a limited impact on the global trading system; and it is business as usual because the Bali package will be of disproportionally greater value to the industrial states than to their developing and least developed counterparts. We examine what happened in Bali, covering the principal issues at stake and the content of the outcome, what this means for the wto and for the Doha Development Agenda (dda), and why it all matters. We argue that, while the Bali ministerial is significant and the agreements reached important, the conclusion of the meeting and the package agreed represent only a limited movement forward in addressing the fundamental problems and inequities of the wto system.     

The Impact of Rural Votes in Foreign Policies: The FTA Policies under the DPJ Government in Japan

The recent trend of bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) has pressured the governments of many countries to make such arrangements with their trade partners. Since its foundation in 1998, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has advocated free trade policies, partly because the party was an urban-based party. Thus, many expected that, when the DPJ assumed power in 2009, it would implement free trade policies as it had promised in the past. However, the DPJ government failed to deliver on its promise after spending three and a half years in office. It contrasts sharply with the Korean government under the leadership of Lee Myung-bak, which managed to conclude FTAs with its major trade partners, including the United States and the European Union. Both governments' free trade policies faced strong opposition from the agricultural industry, as farmers in Japan and Korea lacked international competitiveness. What explains the reasons why the Japanese government has been struggling to implement its free trade policies, while its Korean counterpart succeeded in signing a number of FTAs? Focusing primarily on the case of Japan and using the Korean case as reference, this study tries to provide an explanation for this puzzle by analyzing the impact of rural votes in the policy-making process.     

Introduction: The OECD and Policy Transfer: Comparative Case Studies

Abstract

The six articles in this issue examine the role of the OECD in policy transfer. Two articles (Kudrle on international tax agreements, and Legrand and Vas on Australia’s vocational and educational training policy) conclude that the OECD has been influential, albeit in a grinding and lengthy way. Two others (Clifton on the OECD’s “enhanced engagement” policy with five G-20 countries, and Eccleston and Woodward on tax transparency) find the OECD’s influence either patchier or even dysfunctional. Carroll’s article provides a novel analysis of policy transfer through accession processes, while Alasuutari explores transfer in terms of a comparative analysis of policy rationalizations that refer to the OECD as a “standard.” A common theme of all six articles is the way in which policy transfer is driven by exogenous pressures and crises, and how international governmental organizations like the OECD exploit these pressures to protect and expand their global relevance.     

西方自由贸易理论与发展我国劳动密集型产业的思考

我国拥有丰富而且廉价的劳动力资源,以劳动要素和资源禀赋差异形成的比较优势参与国际分工。带动了国内劳动密集型产业的快速发展。但这种优势目前正在面临挑战。要努力实现人力资源优势由数量型向质量型的转变,将比较优势转化为竞争优势,营造核心竞争力,推动产业升级。     

大国博弈、双层均势的亚洲时刻--俄罗斯智库对中美经贸摩擦的认知与政策立场

俄罗斯智库对中美经贸摩擦有着独特的认知和期待,并与克里姆林宫的官方立场互为表里。总体上,俄方智库的观点是,在经贸摩擦的背后,是中美两国对军事、政治、科技、地区和全球领导权的竞争;两国的国内议程和对外政策,将因此受到深远影响并产生溢出效应--在亚洲区域内形成两极结构。即使两国会因国内和国际政治因素,在经贸问题上达成妥协,但中方不会放弃获得世界科技领导者的雄心,美方也不会打消遏制中国发展动能的战略意图。俄罗斯应与中国继续保持经济与军事合作,避免与美国和西方关系的继续恶化,并在亚太地区推动"大欧亚伙伴关系"倡议。俄罗斯政策分析界基于自身利益的演绎,将中美经贸摩擦定性为大国博弈,相应的政策建议反映出俄罗斯以在全球和亚洲分别制衡美中为目标的双层均势策略。俄罗斯将在有亚洲其他国家参与的情景下扮演战略平衡手角色,借中美全面对抗之势,在中美俄三边关系之外扭转不利的外部发展环境。俄罗斯对亚太国际局势的盘活作用,将催生双边和三边竞合新模式的建立。     

论《服务贸易总协定》的投资协定性质

《服务贸易总协定》在性质上是各国签订的国际投资协定,并非贸易协定,这是由服务本身的性质造成的。从《服务贸易总协定》的性质和宗旨看,发达国家有意搭多边贸易体制的便车,以服务贸易之名行对外投资之实;从《服务贸易总协定》对服务的分类看,商业存在和自然人流动无疑要伴随着跨国投资;从《服务贸易总协定》对最惠国待遇和国民待遇的规定看,这里的待遇实际上是给予服务的提供者而不仅仅是给予作为商品的服务;从《服务贸易总协定》对市场准入的规定看,市场准入允许服务提供者在他国进行投资设业,这涉及东道国对外资的审批。《服务贸易总协定》的签订,不仅丰富了世界贸易组织的议题,也为世界贸易组织的运行带来了新的挑战。     

欧盟竞争法对知识产权人滥用市场支配地位之规制--从欧洲法院的视角解析《欧共体条约》第82条

复制生产权是知识产权人独占性权利的重要组成部分,因此,权利人拒绝向第三方授予许可的行为本身并不当然构成《欧共体条约》第82条(以下简称ECT82)意义上之市场支配地位的滥用,但是,这并不排除某些特殊情况下滥用行为的存在。通过一系列案件的审判,欧洲法院对知识产权人滥用市场支配地位的判断总结出了一些标准,一旦符合这些标准,权利人就会被强行要求向市场提供某些产品或服务,尤其是当权利人凭借知识产权垄断了市场“基础设施”的时候,欧盟竞争法就会赋予权利人开放这种“特定门槛”的强制性义务。