This paper presents econometric evidence of the effects of economic incentives and institutions on national aggregate private agricultural R&D investments. A model is proposed and fitted to annual data for seven European Union countries, 1984-1995. We find strong impacts of both incentives and institutions on private agricultural R&D investment, and including institutional factors strengthens the story and in some cases changes greatly the results. In particular, we reject the hypothesis that quality of property rights does not matter.

Een verkennend onderzoek naar de waardering van de kwaliteit van de leefomgeving door ondernemers in de groene ruimte van de West-Betuwe. Naast een literatuurstudie zijn sleutelfiguren geraadpleegd en interviews gehouden onder ondernemers. Het doel van de interviews was om helder te krijgen waarom ondernemers zich in de groene ruimte van de West-Betuwe hebben gevestigd en welke opvattingen ondernemers hebben over de kwaliteit van hun woon- en werkomgeving. Slechts een deel van ondernemers heeft de huidige locatie gekozen op basis van factoren relevant voor het bedrijf.

Recent demographic, social, economic and institutional changes have aggravated the food supplies and distribution problems of African cities, all of which will be doubling their current population in less than twenty years. Very few initiatives have been taken to improve the performance of food supply and distribution systems (FSDS) to cities and minimise the cost at which good quality food products reach the urban consumers' tables. For this reason, FAO and the Senegalese Institute for Agricultural Research (ISRA) organised in Dakar, Senegal, in April 1997, a sub-regional seminar

A medium size report that comments on the overall situation of data on forest resources in Gambia. It is composed of nine parts including the following topics: forest classifications, statuses of Gambian forests, land use shifts, degradation of forests, forest categories, forest management, wildlife management and forest uses and related issues. A large number of tables are given.

The first Meeting of the Advisory Board on Population, Agriculture and Environment was held in the United Nations Conference Center (UNCC), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 20-21 September 1999. The Meeting was formally opened by Ms. P. K. Makinwa Adebusoye, Director of the Food Security and Sustainable Development Division of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).