Peter Calkins

Kueh, Y.Y., and Robert F. Ash, editors. Economic Trends in Chinese Agriculture: The Impact of Post-Mao Reforms. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1993, xii + 405 pp.,

Introduction: Robert Ash: Agricultural policy under the impact of reform Terry Sicular: Ten years of reform: Progress and setbacks in agricultural planning and price Reeitsu Kojima: Agricultural organization: New forms, new contradictions Robert Michael Field: Trends in the value of agricultural output, 1978-1988 Kenneth R. Walker: Trends in crop production Francis C. Tuan: The livestock sector Y.Y. Kueh: Food consumption and peasant incomes Jeffrey R. Taylor: Rural employment trends in China and the legacy of surplus labour, 1978-1989 Bruce Stone: Basic agricultural technology under reform Joseph C.H. Chai: Factors influencing Chinas agricultural trade.

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Discusses the meaning of the term new world order (NWO) and defines its economic dimensions. Identifies three common principles of any workable NWO: material, social and spiritual dimensions. Links these dimensions in an analytical framework. Reviews the literature on the theories and concepts which further our understanding and identification of societal ideals. Describes ways to integrate the social and spiritual dimensions into production, consumption and exchange. Attempts to link the ideals of a NWO with the potential behaviour of corporations to create a smoother transition towards sustained global welfare.

Transitional paradigms to a new world economic order

Hat Yai City in Songkhla Province, Thailand has three unique advantages: its Central Rubber Market lies in the largest rubber growing region in the world, it can easily access the new (2004) deep-sea port in Songkhla, and it lies directly on the improved transport infrastructure of the Asia Highway and the North-South Economic Corridor linking it to other growing areas in Southeast Asia and Thailand. Despite these advantages, the rubber industry has always been susceptible to the price volatility of rubber latex, which destabilizes the benefits of rubber production to the local economy, particularly to small-holder producers. Since volatility may theoretically either decrease in the future with the integration of more numerous supplying regions or increase with the intensified co-dependence of supplying and demanding countries, careful modeling of rubber price volatility on the Hat Yai market could both inform development policy today and serve as a baseline for future studies.