Tax Havens and Global Capitalism: Vanuatu and the Australian Connection

The growth of tax haven activities has been a feature of recent global capitalist development, yet geographical analysis of these activities has been limited. Vanuatu has become the South Pacific's major tax haven, expanding through its ability to capture (mainly) Australian and Asian investment in the 1970s and 1980s. Tax haven activities in Vanuatu have increasingly contributed to local employment and income generation, despite the growth of competition from newer tax havens in the region. Vanuatu is not used by major Australian public companies to the extent that either Hong Kong or the Caribbean tax havens are used, and it is suggested that activities from Asia are increasingly dominating Vanuatu's finance centre. Recent Australian taxation legislation may reduce Australia's role in the Vanuatu tax haven further, although it is apparent that there are limitations to the legislation's effectiveness in stopping tax haven activities.     

Attitudes to Drought in Outback Communities in South Australia

This paper explores the perceptions of drought by residents in outback South Australia and their associated responses to the drought. Behavioural Geography methodology is used with data drawn from interviews with pastoralists, business owners, and residents of small outback towns and Aboriginal communities. Although they were not resident in the region, the perceptions of tourists were also garnered. The results show that perceptions varied between the groups of people interviewed. Outback residents contrasted their own frugal water use with reports of wasteful behaviour by foreign tourists. Local inhabitants were largely ‘accepting’ of the drought, having survived worse droughts in the past and over many years. They were therefore of the sentiment that they would cope with future droughts. Despite the sentiments of acceptance, the dropping groundwater levels and continued lack of rainfall were leading to growing concerns for the future. The concerns point to a boundary to community resilience to drought in outback South Australia.     

The politics of civil society in confronting HIV/AIDS

Civil society organizations have been at the forefront of the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. However, the contributions and the models of action they offer have remained marginalized by most governments and international organizations. This article looks at the initiatives of civil society actors. It discusses some of the political reasons and rationale behind the less than enthusiastic support for these initiatives from governments and large aid agencies. Two reasons are suggested: many politicians fear providing support and credibility to civil society organizations that might then build upon their success to question and challenge development failures; and the threat perceived by national and international bureaucrats to their own assumed expertise and solutions to the pandemic. In some cases, civil society organizations have been co-opted to fill gaps that governments themselves can not or will not address. However, even here, governments assume the credit for 'successes' in controlling HIV/AIDS.     

Foreign direct investment: facts and perceptions about Canada

Recently improved data on foreign direct economic control and foreign direct investment (FDI) are used to evaluate common perceptions of the degree of Canadian dependency. Including financial corporations in measures of foreign control yields rates of foreign control that are lower than those traditionally cited. Foreign and U.S. control in Canada declined in recent decades and only minor changes are evident since ‘free’ trade went into effect. Contrary to what is often assumed, Canada's rate of inward FDI is lower than in some advanced capitalist countries and its outward rate of FDI is higher than most G7 countries. The concentration of Canadian direct investment in the U.S. is similar to that many West European countries in the rest of Western Europe. The findings indicate that Canada is a ‘core’, not ‘dependent’ capitalist country. De récemment données améliorées sur le contrôle direct des avoirs économiques et sur les investissements directs étrangers sont utilisées pour évaluer les perceptions du contrôle économique et le degré de la dépendance économique canadienne. Sont aussi analysées, les institutions financières en termes de leur contrôle domestique et étranger. II appert que le contrôle étranger est moins important que l'on croit. Les contrôles étrangers et états‐unien de l'économie canadienne sont en déclin aux cours des dernières années. L'influence du libre échange ne semble pas être significatif. Certes, le taux interne d'investissements directs étrangers est moindre que pour d'autres économies capitalistes avancées, mais le taux externe d'investissements directs étrangers est plus important que pour la plupart des économies du Groupe des Sept. La concentration des investissements directs canadiens aux États‐Unis est similaire aux concentrations de plusieurs économies de l'Europe de l'ouest au sein de l'Europe. Les analyses tendent à indiquer que le Canada est une économic capitaliste ‘centrale’ et non ‘périphérique’.     

TECHNICAL NOTE A FRAMEWORK FOR MULTI-SITE DISTRIBUTED SIMULATION AND APPLICATION TO COMPLEX STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS

In this technical note, the development of a framework for multi-site distributed simulations is presented. The algorithm is suitable for any combination of physical (laboratory) and analytical (computer) distributed simulations of structures, their foundations and the underlying sub-strata subjected to static and dynamic loading. Two examples of multi-site testing and multi-platform simulation are given. The main contribution in this note is the separation between time-step integration and stiffness formulation, which enables the use of static analysis and testing as modules of the main control module referred to as the simulation coordinator. The approach proposed is intuitive, simple and efficient. It is therefore recommended for use in distributed analysis using different programs, distributed testing facilities (e.g. the NEES equipment sites) or a combination of analysis and testing.     

Turkey's isolated stance: an ally no more,or just the usual turbulence?

This article explores the policy choices and political stances that lie behind Turkey's growing isolation both from its western allies and its regional neighbours. It details Ankara's approach to a range of current issues in its region—particularly relating to Syria but also Iraq, Libya, Iran, Russia and Israel—and seeks to trace these approaches back to the world‐view of the country's ruling party and its leading figures, most notably President Erdogan and Prime Minister Davutoglu. It also assesses Turkey's reactions to the complex regional circumstances that have confronted Turkey in recent years. It considers the content and impact of some of the rhetoric emanating from Ankara, especially where it is directed towards the West. The article asks whether and why Turkish foreign policy has acquired an anti‐western tone, and also looks at the extent to which its dealings with its neighbours can be explained by sectarian considerations or by pro‐Muslim Brotherhood leanings. It then goes on to speculate about Turkey's future relationship with NATO and to a lesser degree the EU. It considers the prospects for an improvement in Ankara's relationship with its western allies, or whether Turkey–US relations in particular are now likely to be characterized by ‘strategic drift’ and a more transactional and contingent approach to alliance relationships.     

Unpacking the Neoliberal Approach to Regional Policy: a Close Reading of John Freebairn's ‘Economic Policy for Rural and Regional Australia’

A close reading of a neoliberal intervention in policy debates on ‘the regional economic problem’ is used to throw light on this method. When it is compared to economic geography, the neoliberal approach advances a relatively simplified conception of regional economic and social life that pays little regard to their richness, complexity and grounded realities. Correspondingly, this approach encourages a vision of regional policy that normalises and exonerates the spatially uneven outcomes of market forces. This article argues that policy‐makers’ ends in the field of regional development should be alert to the limitations that arise from the neoliberal tendency to override the evidence of empirical complexity in favour of a more simple narrative.