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"This paper examines the impact of North-South regional integration policies on growth, direct investment and migration flows, in the light of recent theoretical and empirical studies. It shows that many grey areas still exist in this field, owing mainly to uncertainties surrounding the processes of economic convergence and development. The uncertainties in question are strikingly illustrated by recent events affecting emerging countries (the Asian crisis and its repercussions). The paper is designed as follows. The first part sets down the main arguments for migratory behaviour, as they have been catalogued by microeconomic theory, and discusses the impact of regional integration policies on these arguments. It concludes that North-South regional integration offers a serious alternative to migration only if it has a chance to markedly change the living conditions and expectations of South country populations within a fairly short period of time - in less than a generation. The second part focuses on the consequences of open trade on South countries' long-term growth. It concludes that the beneficial effects of regional integration on growth come about through technology transfers and investment. The third part is devoted to the effects of regional integration on direct investment. It shows that inherent in present regional integration processes is the risk of disqualifying countries that are short on human and social capital and have small-sized domestic markets." (excerpt)

"This paper examines the impact of North-South regional integration policies on growth, direct investment and migration flows, in the light of recent theoretical and empirical studies. It shows that many grey areas still exist in this field, owing mainly to uncertainties surrounding the processes of economic convergence and development. The uncertainties in question are strikingly illustrated by recent events affecting emerging countries (the Asian crisis and its repercussions). The paper is designed as follows. The first part sets down the main arguments for migratory behaviour, as they have been catalogued by microeconomic theory, and discusses the impact of regional integration policies on these arguments. It concludes that North-South regional integration offers a serious alternative to migration only if it has a chance to markedly change the living conditions and expectations of South country populations within a fairly short period of time - in less than a generation. The second part focuses on the consequences of open trade on South countries' long-term growth. It concludes that the beneficial effects of regional integration on growth come about through technology transfers and investment. The third part is devoted to the effects of regional integration on direct investment. It shows that inherent in present regional integration processes is the risk of disqualifying countries that are short on human and social capital and have small-sized domestic markets." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Explores the animating theories of the nonviolent direct action movement that, since the 1970s, has stood in opposition to nuclear power plants & weapons, US intervention in Central America, & the Persian Gulf War. It is suggested that the leading theory of social movements, resource mobilization theory, cannot explain the continual reappearance of the nonviolent direction action movement in the US cultural landscape, because it posits a process of social change in which excluded groups form social movements that eventually evolve into interest groups. Borrowing from the work of Alberto Melucci (1989), the nonviolent direct action movement is described as motivated less by the attainment of institutional structures & elite resources than by interaction within affinity groups in a decentralized organizational structure. The process of acting within such groups involves the creation of personal political identities in such a way that a multitude of identities can be connected through a chain of equivalences &, thus, energized to pursue direct political action. In both its explicit political actions & its implicit organizational structure & theory of political action, the nonviolent direct action movement challenges the discursive practices that support the security state. D. M. Smith

The merits of direct democracy through referendums were somewhat timidly promoted by the Canadian Alliance during the 2000 federal election campaign, but received little consideration at the time. This paper seeks to initiate more serious discussion of whether & how direct democracy could benefit Canada. Referendums are increasingly used in many liberal-democratic societies in Western Europe, primarily to vote on such issues as membership in the European Union & ratifications of EU treaties, changes to electoral systems, & legalization of abortion & divorce. In Switzerland, Italy, & the US, citizens can have issues placed on the ballot & can vote directly for the passage of some laws. However, support in Canada is weak; only 37% of Canadians surveyed by the IRRP could think of an issue they would want to be decided by referendum, though the percentage varied widely by province. Nonetheless, it is argued that this enhancement of democracy would do more than increase opportunities to vote; it would engage citizens in political deliberation with each other & with their elected representatives; & it would give the public a more meaningful say in decision-making. Figures. J. Stanton

An exploration of the link between international labor migrations & the globalization of production focuses on the impact of foreign investment. Factors that lead to the beginning of a new migration flow are examined, along with reasons for the continuation of immigration flows; & the concentration of new immigration in cities that are global centers for highly specialized services. Special attention is given to the question of why rapidly industrializing countries of Southeast Asia that are recipients of both jobs lost in the US & direct foreign investment are also leading senders of new immigrants to America. It is pointed out that foreign investment in developing countries has primarily targeted production for export which in turn has mobilized new segments of the population into both waged labor & regional migrations. The main migrant-sending countries to the US over the last 15 years are those that have received large export-oriented investment, a reality that seems to go against central tenets of the development literature. References. J. Lindroth