The problem with which this paper is concerned is that of examining some ideas and predictions of some American economists about the survival of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). This paper is divided into three parts; the first part includes the introduction, examines the importance of oil, and analyzes the history of the oil industry. This part is composed of Chapters I and II. Part two examines OPEC's formation and objectives and the cartel theory with concentration on OPEC. This part is composed of Chapters III and IV. Part three analyzes some economists' ideas regarding OPEC survival. It examines the economic and political realities of OPEC during the last two decades and discusses its present problems. This paper concludes that OPEC is a strong and sustained cartel.

PhD. (Economics) / This thesis studies population, the causes of population growth and changes and consequences of high population growth for communities and the environment. The study is divided into 9 chapters. Chapter 1 comprises a general introduction to population issues, the research problems, objectives and the deployment of the study. Chapter 2 analyses various theories of population growth. Chapter 3 compares population growth rates and the composition and structure of developed and developing countries. Comparisons of population migration in developed and developing countries and the impact of migration on the population composition and structure on the sending and receiving areas are analysed in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 discusses the consequences of population growth on the economic development of developing countries. Chapter 6 and 7 outline the impact of demographic trends on a population and also the population growth in South Africa. Population policies in the developed and developing countries are discussed in Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 gives the summary of the main findings and some tentative conclusions of the study. The important link that exists between population growth and the environment are investigated on both the macro and micro levels in this thesis. On the macro level the worldwide historical population growth and trends in developed and developing countries are compared and analysed. On the micro level an analyses is done on specific communities and regions. South Africa represents a microcosm of the whole world as far as its demographic composition and trends are concerned. The population growth rate, fertility levels and socio-economic factors of the black population resemble those of developing countries, while the non-black populations resemble that of the developed countries. The level of development among black people is also much lower than that of the other three populations. This lower level of development among particularly black women is an important factor in their lower level of contraceptive use and relatively high fertility rate. Much of the debate about the global relationship between population and environment remains polarised between two extreme positions. A comprehensive analysis of global demographic trends indicates that the world population problems are predominantly a concern of the developing countries and of the black population in South Africa. The high population growth in these countries has a negative effect on economic growth and development. Increases in population cancel out increases in aggregate output, keep average incomes low and stagnant. It also puts significant pressure on agricultural land, employment creation, urban housing and other infrastructure, as well as on access to quality education and health facilities. HIV/Aids is currently the leading cause of mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa and has a significantly negative impact on economic growth and development, as it decreases the standard of living. The study has found that high levels of unemployment and a low standard of living among black people increase their risk and vulnerability to HIV/Aids. Population policies that include factors that are commonly associated with fertility decline, such as education, urbanisation, improved status of women, employment opportunities for women and increased practice of family planning all contribute to fertility differentials within developed and developing countries and within communities. These factors are also effective even in those areas where prevailing cultures give a disposition to high fertility.

A Doctoral thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Information Systems, Division of Information Systems School of Economic and Business Sciences Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management.Johannesburg, March 2017 / This thesis is about the adoption of an Information System (IS) at a country level. Information Systems literature addresses adoption of IS at an individual level, organisational level or national/country level. Each level of analysis has its own complexities. However, literature acknowledging these varied complexities has not been forth coming. That is, literature has more studies done at either individual or organisational, and hardly at national or country level. This thesis argues that the adoption of an information system (also referred to as an innovation) at country level is a multi-dimensional and multi-level phenomenon. Existing literature and previous studies have hardily addressed fully, this complexities and multi-dimensionalism, although it has been noted that countries experience and internalise the innovation adoption, as a social process, differently. The study was on a developing country adopting a Physical Address System (PAS), herein seen as an IS innovation. In this thesis, PAS is seen as a social system comprising of artefacts (digital and visual representations), physical world, residents and organisations as stakeholders. The goal of the study was to conceptualise a multi-dimensional framework for adopting a Physical Address System, in the context of a developing country. Since the thesis argument is that the adoption of IS at a country level is even more complex, varied theories were employed as lenses to tackle the various aspect of the study. These lenses are the Diffusion of Innovation, the Stakeholder Theory, Upper Echelon Theory and the Contextualist Approach. Following the interpretivist philosophy, a case study was employed as a research strategy, using Botswana as a developing country case. The research design included semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, observations, policy documents. The data was analysed, discussed, synthesised and interpreted using thematic framework analysis method. Informed by the empirical evidence and the existing literature, this thesis conceptualises that the adoption of the Physical Address System ought to be done sensitive to the developing country as a multi-dimensional social system. This multi-dimensional social system includes the roles of stakeholders, determinants of innovation and context. The contribution of the thesis is in four folds; theoretical, methodological, practical, and contextual. Theoretically, the thesis conceptualised a multi-dimensional framework for the adoption of the Physical Address System in a developing country. Methodologically, the thesis contributed by following an interpretive philosophy and a case study as appropriate for understanding the complexities of adopting an information system, employing a case. Practically, the thesis, through the framework, may inform practitioners with ways to adopt a physical address system. Contextually, the thesis gives insight into the uniqueness of a developing country adopting an information system. Keywords: Developing Country, Adoption, Physical Address System, Stakeholder Theory, Upper Echelon Theory, Diffusion of Innovation, Context / GR2018

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Includes bibliographical references. / Observations and summaries were made on 181 surveys of urban dwelling environments in developing countries, carried out by members of the Urban Settlement Design Program (U.S.D.P.), at MIT. The focus of this study is in three parts - dwelling development, land subdivision and environmental transformation. In short, surveys indicate the significance of the popular sector and progressive development; grid layout is preferred to gridiron layout; and higher density. Multifamily dwellings are a proliferate trend, but should be promoted with caution. / by Chih-Chien Wang. / M.S.

Thesis (M.Arch.A.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1980. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: p. 67-68. / by Farid Hussain Taheri. / M.Arch.A.S.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: p. 103. / Tenements are significant systems that provide habitation to the poor in most of the urban areas of the developing countries. Yet, tenements are practically ignored if not prohibited by the public sector and consequently banned from any public housing program. This study, which is the first attempt to consider tenements as a viable option, describes, compares, analyzes and evaluates diverse tenement situations in twenty-eight case studies from twelve cities, in seven developing countries. It attempts to focus attention on a housing system that with a few improvements can provide an acceptable/appropriate shelter for a substantial sector of the income groups that otherwise have no better alternatives. In terms of evaluations, the goal of this study is to single out the critical aspects of tenements that can be/should be improved in order to meet adequate health, sanitary and social requirements. / by Isam Mohammad Alimam. / M.Arch.A.S.

No description available.

How much of the Arab Common Market provisions are actually implemented? And which member country benefits relatively more than the others from the Common Market arrangement? These are the two major questions that this research attempts to provide answers for. At present, the Arab Common Market is comprised of six member countries: Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Mauritania, and Democratic Yemen. Egypt was also a member until 1979 when its membership was suspended because of the Camp David Agreements. The first three are considered to be more advanced and were among the first to ratify the Common Market resolution as soon as it was passed in 1965. Accordingly, they are supposed to form a free trade area and are also supposed to be working on establishing a common external tariff against the outside world. Libya joined the Common Market in 1977. Mauritania and Democratic Yemen joined in 1980 and 1981 respectively. However, both were considered to be less advanced and were allowed to exclude a list of products from trade liberalization either to protect domestic industry or for revenue purposes. Goods not included in their exceptions lists were to be liberalized in a gradual process that will extend until 1988 for Mauritania and 1990 for Democratic Yemen. Currently, a free trade area is in operation for Jordan, Syria, and Iraq, at least as far as the removal of tariffs is concerned. However, some other non-tariff barriers are still practiced, such as licensing and foreign exchange allocations. Libya still excludes a number of items from trade liberalization with the objective of protecting domestic industry. Mauritania and Democratic Yemen joined the Common Market in 1980 and 1981; because they are considered to be less advanced, they still have until 1988 and 1990 respectively to implement the trade liberalization program. At present, both Iraq and Syria practice state trading and foreign trade planning. State trading could have a significant, positive or negative, impact on directing trade towards partner countries. It definitely weakens the causal relationship between market forces and trade flows, and subjects trade more to political factors. Because of the extensive use of state trading by Iraq and Syria, trade among member countries of the Arab Common Market fluctuates considerably, dropping when political relationships are tense to negligible amounts and increasing when friendly relationships dominate to an amount not justifiable by market forces alone. This was achieved without resorting to any of the traditional commercial policy tools. The second question regarding who benefits relatively more from the Arab Common Market was answered by looking at trade creation and trade diversion for each country and by looking at the volume of exports of each country to the other Common Market members and the degree of protection that those exports enjoy in their respective markets. Jordan experienced a high degree of trade creation; it has the largest volume of exports, and its exports enjoy the highest degree of protection in the Syrian and Iraqi markets. Based on these criteria, Jordan is assumed to benefit more from the Common Market arrangement. The research also identified other areas of research. Such areas include ex ante measurements of benefits for countries which are still reluctant to join the Common Market and an analysis of the impact of joint projects on the economies of the countries in which they are located and on other members. This is supposed to lead to a formula for allocating industries among member countries. One conclusion of this research is that a pure rational approach will be insufficient for analyzing the impacts of economic integration, and that a multiple perspectives approach is a must for such an analysis.

Background Inadequate access to medicine is a key public health issue. It violates the basic human right, and impedes economics development and social progress. Differential pricing means to charge according to variant ability to pay for the same products. Since differential pricing has been successfully used into many business sectors, its adoption in pharmaceutical industry seems to be necessary and feasible to help improve access to medicine for developing countries. Objective This project is to review the effect of “differential pricing “in pharmaceutical industry and to discuss its current situation and future development. Methodology A literature review was conducted on this topic. Keywords of “(Tiered OR differential OR segment*) AND (price*) AND (developing countries) AND (pharmacy OR drug OR medicine OR vaccine)” were used in databases of Pubmed, Medline and Google scholar for relevant studies and reports on differential pricing in pharmaceutical or vaccine markets. Result A total of 16 papers were included into this systematic review. In theory, differential pricing is a “win-win” solution with the ability to reconcile both static and dynamic costs. In practice, differential pricing works to help improve access, however, lower tiered price for patent drugs is still more expensive than generic drugs in most cases. Conclusion Differential pricing strategy has the potential to improve access to medicine. However it is still in an infancy stage, there are still lots of spaces for further improvement. Except for pricing policies, other mutual supportive policies also need to obtain a better access to medicine in developing countries. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health