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This paper examines the effects of foreign debts on the economic performance of small countries. Forty‐eight small countries, each with a population of approximately five million, have been desegregated according to their per capita income and geographical location. The groups in question include Africa, the Caribbean region, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe. Using correlation analysis, analysis of variance, and multiple comparison procedure, the collected data on fourteen economic indicators for each group of countries were analyzed. It was found that the economic effects of external debt varied among countries not only on the basis of their income level, but also on the basis of their geographical locations. Middle Eastern and European countries, being more prosperous, were able to maintain a relatively lower external debt to export ratio and thus were able to attain better economic accomplishments as compared to the poorer nations such as those in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean region. Within this latter group, those countries which were able to borrow more in relation to their GDP were able to perform better as far as their export, import, and government expenditures are concerned.

Industrial concentration is broadly defined as: a few firms controlling a substantial share (assets, revenues) of the market. In the banking sector, this paper shows that the largest 50 banks in the world control about 50 percent of assets of the largest 1,000 banks. Two well known indexes of concentration were used (the Herfindahl and Theil’s entropy) to check the levels of concentration between 1990 and 2002. For purposes of robustness, the world’s largest 100 banks were also investigated. It was found in both cases that the concentration in 2002 was statistically significant as compared to concentration in the previous decade

The EC single market is one of the world's largest. It offers both opportunities and challenges to U.S. insurers wanting to expand their operations into that market. Some U.S. companies possess unique qualifications that give them a good competitive position vs. European companies. Greater financial capacity, extensive underwriting experience particularly in the area of environmental U.S. insurers have focused on their vast home market which is responsible for approximately 37 percent of global insurance premiums. pollution and product liability, unique products and services of special appeal to European consumers, and the ability to service integrated international insurance programs are just a few examples. However, certain barriers may stand in the way of U.S. insurers’ entry to Europe. High entry cost, regulatory constraints, keen domestic competition, the possibility of lower profit margins, and the likelihood of certain protectionist policies are examples of these barriers. U.S. insurers are also concerned about entering an unknown market with radically different cultural characteristics and considerable national differences still existing among its members which would require adapting their approaches to the peculiarities of each country's insurance market instead of being able to use their own ideas about methods of operation. Nonetheless, U.S. insurers should abandon their domestic orientation and conservative nature and seek to resolve those difficulties that hinder their path of entry to Europe. The EC market is too important to be ignored.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the levels of extensive (wider set of goods) and intensive (larger quantities of each good) margins for 126 countries grouped by income and development hierarchies.

Analysis of variance and the coefficient of variation were used to find similarities and differences between and within the groups of countries.

Results show that the extensive margin accounts for a large share of exports of rich countries.

This paper highlights export margins (extensive and intensive) for groups of countries.

The ratio of exports plus imports to gross national product may be viewed as a measure of openness in international trade. Constructs indexes for 1967, 1980 and 1988, using this ratio for cross‐country comparison of trade patterns. Analysis of variance and regression reveal that the patterns among countries differ according to levels of income, and that there was a trend towards convergence of the index in the late 1980s reversing an earlier trend towards divergence.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate differences between 46 countries, 25 of which are EU members, in their technological communication standards and technological efforts.

Two indexes were developed. The first, labeled Index 1, measures the communication standards of the 46 countries. The second index, labeled Index 2, measures their innovative efforts. Three different dimension variables were employed in each index. Analysis of variance and the coefficient of variation were used to find similarities and differences between and within the groups classified as EU and non‐EU.

Results show overall that there were no statistically significant differences in means when countries were grouped into EU and non‐EU.

The paper uses two indexes composed of indication variables to rate and rank 46 countries for their technological diffusion, considering communication standards and innovative efforts.

The 1960s in America was the decade of social responsibility, founded upon fifteen years of unparalleled economic growth. To some, world prosperity seemed a realizable ideal. Social theorists like Buckminster Fuller, John Gardner, and John Rawls saw opportunities for sharing wealth in a cooperative net that assumed a rising standard of living across the world. While some might find little cheer in John Kenneth Galbraith's model of the “New Industrial State,” few would now argue that his model was not, in the main, correct. The following two decades proved that while global industrialization was realizable, perhaps inevitable, there was no guarantee that social equity across the board would be the result of that process. In a competitive world marketplace, it might seem that abstract considerations of justice and equity are a luxury few firms or nations can now afford.