The central objective of this study is to examine the factors that have influenced the evolution of the drug patenting regulatory framework in Canada from 1965 to 2005. The principal focus is on the extent to which in formulating that regulatory framework the Canadian federal government has been influenced by domestic and international interests and forces. In examining the domestic interests and forces attention is devoted to the financial interests of the two sectoral associations representing the patented and generic drug manufacturers and the economic and political interests of the governing and opposition parties. In examining the international interests and forces the focus is both on the emergence of international institutions and agreements and on the interests of various countries and drug companies located therein which wanted to ensure that Canadas regulatory framework would not have an adverse effect on them. This study reveals that there was three relatively distinct phases in the evolution of Canadas drug patenting regulatory framework and that each was influenced primarily by different sets of factors. The first phase which lasted from 1965 to 1991 was influenced entirely by domestic interests and forces produced by a highly charged political debate over reduced patent protection and drug price restrictions on the one hand, and increased patent protection and economic development on the other. The second phase, which lasted from 1992 to 2001, consisted largely of international forces. This included the emergence of new international institutions and agreements such as the World Trade Organization and the North American Free Trade Agreement, which created new intellectual property obligations for Canada and provided for even longer periods of patent protection than what had already existed. The third phase which began 2002 and continues to the present day, consists of a combination of domestic and international forces which attempt to reconcile domestic issues such as price restriction and economic development with international issues such as allowing Third World countries an opportunity to import drugs at reasonable prices. The Government of Canadas response to all of these pressures has predominantly reflected the objectives of patented drug manufacturers.

The author's Habilitationsschrift--Philipps-Universität Marburg. / "Marburger geographische Schriften, Heft 101. Sonderband." Includes bibliographical references (p. 329-350).

Thesis--Hamburg. / Cover title. Includes bibliographical references (p. 293-326).

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1989.

Since late 1990s, the four pillars industries of Hong Kong, i.e. financial services, trading and logistics, tourism and producer and professional services, have been shrinking. The Task Force on Economic Challenges established and chaired by the Chief Executive in 2009 proposed to develop the Six Potential Industries viz testing and certification, medical services, innovation and technology, cultural and creative industries, environmental industry and education services, so as to enhance the competitiveness of the city. The main focus of this dissertation is to study the policy making process of the competitiveness policy in Hong Kong. By applying different policy making theories, we will know what is the social problem and how the “competitiveness of Hong Kong” be considered as a social problem. Then we will need to know how this social problem get onto the social agenda, government agenda and so as to the policy agenda. The next step is formulating solutions among many different alternatives. We will get to know what factors are affecting the selection of alternatives and how to come up with solutions. In taking forward these solutions, we are particularly interested in the selection of institutional means for policy implementation in the case of the “Six Potential Industries”. This dissertation contributes to a better understanding of policymaking process for the competitiveness policy in Hong Kong and the labyrinthine interactions among the political actors. / published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

This thesis examines the suggestion that the Western economies are witnessing the globalisation of markets, production, finance and knowledge which has placed severe limits on the economic role of national governments, and that effective public policy is now restricted to the promotion of education and training which is the chief determinant of national competitiveness in the new global, knowledge-intensive economy. In practice, governments have become heavy supporters of knowledgeintensive industries through policies aimed mainly at upgrading human capital. This view of the role of economic policy amounts to a new academic and policy orthodoxy and is subject to critical examination in this thesis. This thesis contends that some convergence of economic systems has occurred with national economic development enmeshed in a global economy in which some positions are more rewarding than others. At the same time, the nation-state remains central to shaping industrial activity. Nowhere is this argument more true than in `high technology or `knowledgeintensive' sectors where increasing returns apply and where government policies continue to play a critical role in determining industrial development. These arguments are examined through a case study of skills and training issues in European biotechnology - purportedly a sector exposed to processes of globalisation. The study reveals the explanatory limits of the new orthodoxy. It reveals a picture of biotechnology in which economic development is far more complex than originally assumed at the beginning of the skill shortage study. The economic validity of the argument that investments in skills and training are a panacea to improving productivity in a knowledge-intensive industries and are thus the key to the economicprosperity of nations is criticised. It is shown how popular assumptions in relation to the scientific labour market are misplaced and inappropriate. The development of the sector is shown to have been heavily influenced by the operation of national structures and the ways in which these have structured the level and nature of demand for the industry's products and the availability of investment finance for new technologies. Significant changes in the dimensions of national biotechnology industries are acknowledged to have occurred through the globalisation of capital and markets, but the role of the national environment and of the strategic choices of governments in developing the sector are seen to have been highly influential in shaping the dynamics of the industry. Although the failure of the European biotechnology industry to develop at the pace originally envisaged has been attributed to skill shortages, it is argued that the pace of economic development in this sector has been influenced also by the power of national and transnational social groups, differential access to knowledge and finance - in short by the combination of the institutional characteristics of national societies and the emerging power of transnational movements

In June 1988 the five-year, £350 million Alvey programme for advanced information technology is scheduled to terminate. This study is a critical appraisal of the decision-making associated with all aspects of the formulation, approval, implementation and operation of the Alvey policy programme. The study analyses why a government that preaches public sector disengagement from the market has channelled funds into one of the fastest growing sectors of British industry, why a government committed to competition endorsed a programme based on collaboration between firms, and why a government opposed to picking 'winners' implemented a programme aimed at a few selected technologies. It describes the intricate advisory mechanisms which support decision-making by powerful but technologically ill-informed government departments and the British core executive. The study questions the wisdom of the government Insisting that industry should frame industry policy - for when a sector dominated by defence contractors did so, the result was an increased dependence on government. When the government engaged in a meso-corporatist policy-making arrangement with Industry, it did so from a position of weakness. Industry had the technical expertise, operational control of major projects, and a dominant role within the Alvey directorate. The result was a pattern of self-interested and short-sighted policy-making biased towards the interests of large firms In the defence and telecommunications fields. By divorcing itself from the mainstream of information technology developments and concentrating on selected narrow niches, the British information technology industry has set itself a difficult task for survival in the years ahead.

No description available.

This thesis explores the relationship between private industrialists and the state in Egypt since 1974. What is the nature of the local bourgeoisie? How capable is the state and how far does the East-Asian model of benevolent state autonomy apply to the case of Egypt? How has the adoption of economic liberalization affected business state relations? To address these questions, the industrial sector is analyzed as a case study. The approach adopted here is that of political economy and involves a comparison across the last three decades. Based on developments in the industrial policy, the distribution of private investment, the institutional environment and the structure of the manufacturing sector, the study demonstrates that state capacity in Egypt is low and the fundamental division among the bourgeoisie is size-based. The state's autonomy has not contributed to its ability to direct and undergo structural transformation. Further, its accommodation of the business sector has not been accompanied by private sector growth since discriminatory incentives favouring large enterprises and the prevalence of a system of 'crony capitalism', have impeded smaller firms from access to the available opportunities. Indeed, the leaders of the business power center, who contribute most to private investment, have been maneuvered by the state to support the political status quo.

Thesis--Hamburg. / Cover title. Includes bibliographical references (p. 293-326).