The international trading order at the crossroads
As economic theory shows and experience underlines, international trade and the specialization associated herewith is one important source of economic growth, employment creation and technological innovation in participating countries. In awareness of this potential for increasing economic prosperity throughout the world, the architects of the international trading system, which was to emerge from the ashes of World War II, envisaged a framework of rules leading to, and securing, open markets. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which came into being in 1948, laid down such trade rules, basically the principles of non-discrimination and multilateralism in world trade. The aim was not to establish free trade, without any government intervention. What was meant is liberal trade, in which governments may interfere, but using price measures which are transparent and do not rule out competition (i.e. non-prohibitive tariffs rather than quantitative restrictions or subsidies). Adherence by the member countries to the principles of multilateralism and non-discrimination was expected to give rise to the production of an international public good: stability and predictability of trade rules.
The UN convention on the law of the sea: an inefficient public good supplied by an inefficient organization
The Convention on the Law of the Sea is the still controversial outcome of the longest and perhaps most expensive international conference of the century. The most debated issue at UNCLOS III was the Convention's regime to govern seabed mining; differences of opinion on this regime have seriously challenged the purpose of the Conference and are likely to keep the Convention from becoming effective as international law. This paper is an inquiry into the economic causes for such an outcome. In Section II the efficieny of the Convention's regulation for minerals production from the ocean bed is analyzed. Section III deals with the efficiency of the Convention's production process at UNCLOS, focusing on the determinants of voting behaviour and on the rules of procedure used. The last section explores the rationale for alternative multilateral organizations for an efficient management of seabed mining.
The bradykinin B1 receptor and the central regulation of blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats
We evaluated if the brain bradykinin (BK) B1 receptor is involved in the regulation of blood pressure (BP) in conscious rats. Basal mean BP and HR were 115±2 and 165±3 mmHg and 345±10 and 410±14 beats min−1 in Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), respectively. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of 1 nmol B1 receptor agonist Lys‐desArg9‐BK significantly increased the BP of WKY and SHR by 7±1 and 19±2 mmHg, respectively. One nmol Sar[D‐Phe8]‐desArg9‐BK, a kininase‐resistant B1 agonist, increased the BP of WKY and SHR by 19±2 and 17±2 mmHg, respectively and reduced HR in both strains. I.c.v. injection of 0.01 nmol B1 antagonists, LysLeu8‐desArg9‐BK or AcLys[D‐βNal7,Ile8]‐desArg9‐BK (R715), significantly decreased mean BP in SHR (by 9±2 mmHg the former and 14±3 mmHg the latter compound), but not in WKY. In SHR, the BP response to R715 was associated to tachycardia. I.c.v. Captopril, a kininase inhibitor, increased the BP of SHR, this response being partially prevented by i.c.v. R715 and reversed into a vasodepressor effect by R715 in combination with the B2 antagonist Icatibant. I.c.v. antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) targeted to the B1 receptor mRNA decreased BP in SHR, but not in WKY. HR was not altered in either strain. Distribution of fluorescein‐conjugated ODNs was detected in brain areas surrounding cerebral ventricles. Our results indicate that the brain B1 receptor participates in the regulation of BP. Activation of the B1 receptor by kinin metabolites could participate in the pathogenesis of hypertension in SHR.