Brazil is a country of continental proportions whose gross domestic product is unevenly distributed among its various regions. The impact of general domestic economic policies has often been perceived as not being regionally neutral, but as reinforcing the geographic concentration of economic activities. This detailed book examines the regional impact of such general policies as: industrialization, agricultural modernization, privatization, stabilization, science and technology, labor, and foreign direct investment. Written by recognized and respected scholars, this book fills a significant gap in the current literature on regional development in Brazil. Researchers and students in economics, economic history, political science and regional studies, and others interested in the economics of transition to a market system will find this comprehensive collection an invaluable resource.
Originally published in 1984. Australia is a resource-rich country deriving a significant proportion of its export earnings from trade in these resources. At the same time, the country is young, sparsely populated beyond the coastal fringe, particularly in the resource-rich areas, and environmentally fragile. The consequences of resource exploitation in these areas have far-reaching policy implications. A range of these concerns is canvassed in this volume, encompassing the views of policy-makers, planners and academics. Five chapters address social and economic impacts ranging over manufacturing and tertiary industry, immigration and labour markets, employment and population and the provision of educational facilities. Many of these are seen in microcosm in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. Two contributions offer an international perspective, one in another federal system – Canada – and one where Australian interests are participating in resource extraction – Papua New Guinea. The issues raised are fundamental to Australia's development in the 1980's and of importance to everyone connected with the development and planning of Australia's future.
This report describes evaluation methods for transport infrastructure investments to ensure that scarce resources are allocated in a way that maximises their net return to society.
This book is a summary of the main research results and the presentations given at the final conference of the WAVES Program on June 25-26, 2001 in Fortaleza (Brazil). Global climatic change will most likely affect natural resources and human living conditions in semi-arid regions. The authors present disciplinary as well as integrative methods to assess these impacts considering the interactions between climate variability and change, water availability, land-use systems, and quality of life.
This report focuses on the risks of climate change to development in Sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia and South Asia. Building on the 2012 report, Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C Warmer World Must be Avoided, this new scientific analysis examines the likely impacts of present day, 2°C and 4°C warming on agricultural production, water resources, and coastal vulnerability. It finds many significant climate and development impacts are already being felt in some regions, and that as warming increases from present day (0.8°C) to 2°C and 4°C, multiple threats of increasing extreme heat waves, sea-level rise, more severe storms, droughts and floods are expected to have further severe negative implications for the poorest and most vulnerable. The report finds that agricultural yields will be affected across the three regions, with repercussions for food security, economic growth, and poverty reduction. In addition, urban areas have been identified as new clusters of vulnerability with urban dwellers, particularly the urban poor, facing significant vulnerability to climate change. In Sub-Saharan Africa, under 3°C global warming, savannas are projected to decrease from their current levels to approximately one-seventh of total land area and threaten pastoral livelihoods. Under 4°C warming, total hyper-arid and arid areas are projected to expand by 10 percent. In South East Asia, under 2°C warming, heat extremes that are virtually absent today would cover nearly 60-70 percent of total land area in northern-hemisphere summer, adversely impacting ecosystems. Under 4°C warming, rural populations would face mounting pressures from sea-level rise, increased tropical cyclone intensity, storm surges, saltwater intrusions, and loss of marine ecosystem services. In South Asia, the potential sudden onset of disturbances to the monsoon system and rising peak temperatures would put water and food resources at severe risk. Well before 2°C warming occurs, substantial reductions in the frequency of low snow years is projected to cause substantial reductions in dry season flow, threatening agriculture. Many of the worst climate impacts could still be avoided by holding warming below 2°C, but the window for action is closing rapidly. Urgent action is also needed to build resilience to a rapidly warming world that will pose significant risks to agriculture, water resources, coastal infrastructure, and human health.
