World Bank Technical Paper No. 306. This paper examines ways in which state-owned enterprises (SOEs) may be structured, governed, operated, and financed as modern corporations. The authors present lessons learned from empirical research and eight case studies and explore the possibilities of systemic limits to reform.

International policies toward protecting intellectual property rights have seen profound changes over the past two decades. Rules on how to protect patents, copyright, trademarks and other forms of intellectual property have become a standard component of international trade agreements. Most significantly, during the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations (1986-94), members of what is today the World Trade Organization (WTO) concluded the Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which sets out minimum standards of protection that most of the world's economies have to respect. How will developing countries fare in this new international environment? Intellectual Property and Development brings together empirical research that assesses the effects of changing intellectual property regimes on various measures of economic and social performance - ranging from international trade, foreign investment and competition, to innovation and access to new technologies. The studies presented point to an important development dimension to the protection of intellectual property. But a one-size fits all approach to intellectual property is unlikely to work. There is need to adjust intellectual property norms to domestic needs, taking into account developing countries' capacity to innovate, technological needs, and institutional capabilities. In addition, governments need to consider a range of complementary policies to maximize the benefits and reduce the costs of reformed intellectual property regulations. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of international law, particularly in the area of intellectual property rights, international trade, and public policy.

General Theory of Trade... is the first academic or practitioner text book to establish a general theory of trade and competition and attempts to bring these two disciplines back together. Shanker Singham demonstrates that there is indeed a powerful interface between these two areas and that by understanding this interface practitioners, be they in governments, companies or law and economics firms can succeed in trade negotiations as well as build up support for free trade principles in a time when they are being increasingly challenged. By noting that consumer welfare is enhanced where trade liberalization is accompanied by competitive markets and property rights protection, the author articulates an overall vision in which future policymakers can frame a different kind of trade debate.

The book’s 30 chapters are divided into three sections – international trade, economic development, macroeconomics and finance – and focus on the frontier issues in each. Section I addresses analytical issues relating to trade-environment linkage, capital accumulation for pollution abatement, possibility of technology diffusion by multinational corporations, nature of innovation inducing tariff protection, effects of import restriction and child labour, the links between exchange rate, direction of trade and financial crisis—the implications for India and global economic crisis, financial institutions and global capital flows and balance of payments imbalances. Section II consists of discussions on the causes of widespread poverty persisting in South Asia, development dividend associated with peace in South Asia, issues of well-being and human development, implications for endogenous growth through human capital accumulation on environmental quality and taxation, the rationale for a labour supply schedule for the poor, switching as an investment strategy, the role of government and strategic interaction in the presence of information asymmetry, government’s role in controlling food inflation, inter-state variations in levels and growth of industry in India, structural breaks in India’s service sector development, and the phenomenon of wasted votes in India’s parliamentary elections. Section III deals with the effectiveness of monetary policy in tackling economic crisis, the effective demand model of corporate leverages and recession, the empirical link between stock market development and economic growth in cross-country experience in Asia, an empirical verification of the Mckinnon-Shaw hypothesis for financial development in India, the dynamics of the behaviour of the Indian stock market, efficiency of non-life insurance companies, econometric study of the causal linkage between FDI and current account balance in India and the implications of contagious crises for the Indian economy.

This Handbook brings together scholars from around the world in addressing the global significance of, controversies over and alternatives to intellectual property (IP) today. It brings together over fifty of the leading authors in this field across the spectrum of academic disciplines, from law, economics, geography, sociology, politics and anthropology. This volume addresses the full spectrum of IP issues including copyright, patent, trademarks and trade secrets, as well as parallel rights and novel applications. In addition to addressing the role of IP in an increasingly information based and globalized economy and culture, it also challenges the utility and viability of IP today and addresses a range of alternative futures.

Multinational Enterprises and the Law is the only comprehensive, contemporary, and interdisciplinary account of the techniques used to regulate multinational enterprises (MNEs) at the national, regional, and multilateral levels. In addition, it considers the effects of corporate self-regulation, and the impact of civil society and community groups upon the development of the legal order in this area. The book has been thoroughly revised and updated for this third edition, making it a definitive reference work for students, researchers, and practitioners of international economic law, business, corporate and commercial law, development studies, and international politics. Split into four parts, the book first deals with the conceptual basis for MNE regulation. It explains the growth of MNEs, their business and legal forms, and the relationship between them and the effects of a globalised economy and society upon the evolution of regulatory agendas in the field. Part II covers the main areas of economic regulation, including the limits of national and regional jurisdiction over MNE activities, controls over, and the liberalisation of, entry and establishment, tax, company and competition law and the impact of intellectual property rights on technology diffusion and transfer. Part III introduces the social dimension of MNE regulation covering labour rights, human rights, and environmental issues. Finally, Part IV deals with the contribution of international investment law to MNE regulation and to the control of investment risks, covering the main provisions found in international investment agreements, their interpretation by international tribunals, and how concerns over these developments are leading to reform proposals.

As technological developments multiply around the globeâ€"even as the patenting of human genes comes under serious discussionâ€"nations, companies, and researchers find themselves in conflict over intellectual property rights (IPRs). Now, an international group of experts presents the first multidisciplinary look at IPRs in an age of explosive growth in science and technology. This thought-provoking volume offers an update on current international IPR negotiations and includes case studies on software, computer chips, optoelectronics, and biotechnologyâ€"areas characterized by high development cost and easy reproducibility. The volume covers these and other issues: Modern economic theory as a basis for approaching international IPRs. U.S. intellectual property practices versus those in Japan, India, the European Community, and the developing and newly industrializing countries. Trends in science and technology and how they affect IPRs. Pros and cons of a uniform international IPRs regime versus a system reflecting national differences.