Russia and the IMF

Russia's economic crisis in the summer of 1998 has renewed debate as to whether the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has helped, hindered or been irrelevant to economic transition in the core of the former Soviet Union. The authors examine the relationship between the Fund and Russia over the past ten years, highlighting a mixed record of successes, failures and the limits of the Fund's role. They argue that the institution may well have also inadvertently facilitated the rise of political forces which are today opposed to the second phase of reforms which Russia so desperately needs. In conclusion, the authors question whether the IMF ought to continue to lead Western attempts to foster stability and growth in Russia.     

EUROPEAN BRIEFING: The Transition to Environmental Agriculture in Europe: Learning Processes and Knowledge Networks

Environmental policies in agriculture have now been fully incorporated into policy throughout Europe both within and outside of the European Union. One of the cornerstones to the successful implementation of these policies is both the willingness and ability of farmers to implement them. Many actors influence both the formulation and implementation of such policies, from governments, through pressure groups and the agricultural knowledge networks (AKNs) in various countries, to farmers themselves. In assessing the principal objectives of all of these actors, it can be seen that none has environmental goals as their principal objective, and the development of policies is thus both difficult and a residual priority. This situation is likely to be ameliorated not through a focus on more effective policy instruments for agri-environmental polices, but through adjustments of administrative structures for both their development and in carrying them out.     

Constructing a Manufacturing Fixed Capital Stock Series for the Regions of Greece

Although regional variation in rates of capital accumulation is considered a major component of spatially uneven industrial development, it remains largely an understudied area. The theoretical and methodological problems that surround the measurement of capital, generally, alongside the lack of necessary information about a wide range of specific aspects, pose serious obstacles in any attempt to construct regional capital stock series. In such a context, the main aim of this paper is to make the best possible effort to construct a regional manufacturing fixed capital stock series for Greece. The limited availability of information (not unusual in regional as opposed to national contexts) and the necessity of making some arbitrary, but specified, assumptions mean that the estimation steps have to be presented in detail to assess reliability. Four regional fixed capital stock series for total manufacturing activity are generated. The results are then assessed in the context of uneven spatial development in Greece.