Context  The effect of global health initiatives on population health is uncertain. Between 2003 and 2008, the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the largest initiative ever devoted to a single disease, operated intensively in 12 African focus countries. The initiative's effect on all-cause adult mortality is unknown.

Objective  To determine whether PEPFAR was associated with relative changes in adult mortality in the countries and districts where it operated most intensively.

Design, Setting, and Participants  Using person-level data from the Demographic and Health Surveys, we conducted cross-country and within-country analyses of adult mortality (annual probability of death per 1000 adults between 15 and 59 years old) and PEPFAR's activities. Across countries, we compared adult mortality in 9 African focus countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia) with 18 African nonfocus countries from 1998 to 2008. We performed subnational analyses using information on PEPFAR's programmatic intensity in Tanzania and Rwanda. We employed difference-in-difference analyses with fixed effects for countries and years as well as personal and time-varying area characteristics.

Main Outcome Measure  Adult all-cause mortality.

Results  We analyzed information on 1 538 612 adults, including 60 303 deaths, from 41 surveys in 27 countries, 9 of them focus countries. In 2003, age-adjusted adult mortality was 8.3 per 1000 adults in the focus countries (95% CI, 8.0-8.6) and 8.5 per 1000 adults (95% CI, 8.3-8.7) in the nonfocus countries. In 2008, mortality was 4.1 per 1000 (95% CI, 3.6-4.6) in the focus countries and 6.9 per 1000 (95% CI, 6.3-7.5) in the nonfocus countries. The adjusted odds ratio of mortality among adults living in focus countries compared with nonfocus countries between 2004 and 2008 was 0.84 (95% CI, 0.72-0.99; P = .03). Within Tanzania and Rwanda, the adjusted odds ratio of mortality for adults living in districts where PEPFAR operated more intensively was 0.83 (95% CI, 0.72-0.97; P = .02) and 0.75 (95% CI, 0.56-0.99; P = .04), respectively, compared with districts where it operated less intensively.

Conclusions  Between 2004 and 2008, all-cause adult mortality declined more in PEPFAR focus countries relative to nonfocus countries. It was not possible to determine whether PEPFAR was associated with mortality effects separate from reductions in HIV-specific deaths.

The OECD and the WTO have accumulated systematic data on the magnitude of support going to farmers as a result of farm policies. The datasets are collected for different purposes, but give a detailed picture of the evolution of these policies. This paper extends recent work on the compatibility of these two classification systems with a focus on Norway, Switzerland, the US and the EU. The results show how the OECD data set, particularly with respect to the link between direct payments and production requirements, complements that of the WTO. Many payments classified as in the WTO Green Box require production, raising the possibility that they may not be trade-neutral. Though the issue of correct notifications to the WTO is the province of lawyers, the implications for modeling and policy analysis is more interesting to economists. And the broader question of improving the consistency of the two datasets is of importance in the quest for transparency.

This work was undertaken while Mittenzwei was a Research Fellow at the Europe Center.

These working papers on the South Korean economy are the product of an annual conference series on Korean affairs hosted by Stanford University's Korean Studies Program (KSP), and made possible by the generous support of the Koret Foundation. KSP's 2009–2010 Koret Fellow, Byongwon Bahk, a former vice finance minister and chief economic adviser to Korean president Lee Myung-bak, played a leading role in organizing the 2010 conference, authored a major paper, and co-edited this volume.

From Byongwon Bahk's preface:

The editors believe that the study of the South Korean economy holds, or should hold, interest not only for Koreans but also for Americans and the international community as a whole. Korea has become a major player in the global economy, ranking thirteenth in GDP and seventh in exports among the world's nearly 200 countries. This should no longer come as much of a surprise to consumers across the globe who use Korean cell phones, drive Korean cars, and, increasingly, enjoy Korean pop music and movies.

The Korean economy is also important as a leading model of development. In only two generations and despite national division and the devastation of civil war, South Korea has transformed itself from a largely agricultural economy to a world leader in manufacturing, which in turn facilitated its emergence as a dynamic democracy. The Korean experience holds many lessons for countries throughout the world as they also struggle to modernize in a highly competitive, globalized economy.

Korea's success in navigating the turmoil caused by the global financial crisis and recession of 2008–2009 is yet another reason for studying its economy. Despite its economy being an astounding 85 percent dependent on international trade, Korea has been among the world's leaders in recovering from the crisis. Korea owes that success in part to the very hard lessons it learned from the Asian financial crisis of 1997–1998.

The five chapters selected for this compendium focus on some of the timeliest and most important issues involving the Korean economy.

Papers included in this volume:

1. "The Changing Global and Korean Economies" by Taeho Bark
2. "An Odyssey of the Korean Financial System and the September 2008 Financial Shock" by Thomas F. Cargill
3. "South Korea’s Official Development Assistance Policy Under Lee Myung-bak: Humanitarian or National Interest?" by Eun Mee Kim and Ji Hyun Kim
4. "Policy Recommendations for the Korean Economy" by Byongwon Bahk
5. "Economic Globalization and Expatriate Labor in Korea" by Gi-Wook Shin and Joon Nak Choi

New product and service development is the lifeblood of any enterprise. Beyond the obvious need for organizations to innovate in order to compete, embedded in any new product development (NPD) program are knowledge, technological expertise, and the social networks that convert these capabilities into marketable offerings. Recent research has focused on the NPD as dynamic and iterative, as opposed to linear. The pressure to reduce costs is forcing many companies to outsource operations. On the one hand, outsourcing may create gaps in the product development value chain; on the other, it exposes product teams to new ideas and expands the "community of practice." How will this trend affect NPD in the long run?

This volume showcases the research of teams from the Grenoble Management School’s Learning and Innovation in Networks and Communities Lab, the European Commission’s MATRI project, and Stanford University's Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, among others, to explore the dynamics of NPD in today’s global environment. Presenting case studies from such industries as semiconductors, biotechnology, and information technology, and drawing from a variety of theoretical perspectives, including technology and knowledge management, sociology, economic geography, and organizational behavior, the authors highlight critical success and failure factors in NPD.