NEW TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER: IMPLICATIONS FOR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL POLICY. By John Barton. International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, February 2007. One in a series of publications aimed at promoting a better understanding of the proper role of intellectual property in a knowledge-based economy, the objective of this study is to explore how technology is transferred to developing countries and barriers that affect its transfer. To this end, it identifies policy approaches that might be of assistance in overcoming such barriers by addressing the flow of human resources, the flow of public-sector technology support, and the flow of private technology embodied in goods and services. The study can be viewed online at http://www.iprsonline.org/resources/docs/Barton%20-%20New%20Trends%20Technology%20Transfer%200207.pdf
THE STATE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE 2006 (SOFA). Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), 2006. In its latest annual report, the UN FAO has proposed major changes to the way international food aid is organized and delivered. The report recommends eliminating conditions for food aid, and providing aid in the form of cash or food vouchers instead of food shipments, which can distort local markets. Other suggestions include eliminating government-to-government food aid that is not specifically targeted to needy groups, stopping the practice of selling food aid in local markets to generate funds for development, and improving the system of assessing monitoring need. The FAO SOFA Report can be downloaded at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0800e/a0800e00.htm
EXAMINING THE TRADE EFFECT OF CERTAIN CUSTOMS AND ADMINSTRATIVE PROCEDURES. By Norbert Wilson, OECD Trade Policy Working Paper No. 42. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 26 January 2007. Using metrics of customs and administrative procedures, this paper formulates gravity models to estimate the effects that these procedures have on trade flows between bilateral trade partners. The paper concludes that improving the efficiency of customs and administrative procedures facilitates trade, but warns that methods of improving efficiency will vary to a great extent across nations. The paper can be viewed at http://www.oecd.org/department/0,2688,en_2649_33705_1_1_1_1_1,00.html.