Authors of Working Papers are normally staff members of the Fund or consultants, although on occasion outside authors may collaborate with a staff member in writing a paper. The views expressed in the Working Papers or their summaries are, however, those of the authors and should not necessarily be interpreted as representing the views of the Fund. Copies of individual Working Papers and information on subscriptions to the annual series of Working Papers may be obtained from IMF Publication Services, International Monetary Fund, 700 19th Street, Washington, D.C. 20431. Telephone: (202) 623-7430 Telefax: (202) 623-7201 This compilation of summaries of Working Papers released during July-December 1994 is being issued as a part of the Working Paper series. It is designed to provide the reader with an overview of the research work performed by the staff during the period.

Publishes in-depth articles on labor subjects, current labor statistics, information about current labor contracts, and book reviews.

Publishes in-depth articles on labor subjects, current labor statistics, information about current labor contracts, and book reviews.

A comprehensive and empirically rich set of case studies that examine the impact of socio-cultural influences on multilateral arms control and security-building processes around the world.

For many years asset management was considered to be a marginal activity, but today, it is central to the development of financial industry throughout the world. Asset management's transition from an "art and craft" to an industry has inevitably called integrated business models into question, favouring specialisation strategies based on cost optimisation and learning curve objectives. This book connects each of these major categories of techniques and practices to the unifying and seminal conceptual developments of modern portfolio theory. In these bear market times, performance evaluation of portfolio managers is of central focus. This book will be one of very few on the market and is by a respected member of the profession. Allows the professionals, whether managers or investors, to take a step back and clearly separate true innovations from mere improvements to well-known, existing techniques Puts into context the importance of innovations with regard to the fundamental portfolio management questions, which are the evolution of the investment management process, risk analysis and performance measurement Takes the explicit or implicit assumptions contained in the promoted tools into account and, by so doing, evaluate the inherent interpretative or practical limits

One of the more significant recommendations to emerge from UNCED in 1992 was the call in Agenda 21 for countries to develop and implement national sustainable development strategies. Most countries have responded to this challenge. However many countries also have a long history of drawing up planning exercises at this level to deal with environmental problems. 'Green planning' is now used as a shorthand term for a range of such national-level planning initiatives covering both sustainable development and environmental concerns, and countries from the North and the South can benefit from a pooling of knowledge. Getting to Grips with Greens Plans presents a cogent analysis of industrial countries' experiences in this area, drawing out lessons and observations from broad empirical experience. Part 1 provides an overview of national green planning, reviewing its origins and scope, identifying popular approaches and common processes, highlighting important issues such as participation, the influence of domestic politics, and the track record of more ambitious regional plans, and comparing approaches in developed and developing countries. Part 2 goes on to present a series of detailed case studies, drawn largely from interviews with key individuals responsible for coordinating national green planning processes. These cases come from a range of Western and Eastern European countries, the US and Canada, and Australia and New Zealand. Some of these case studies show impressive records of achievement, whilst others demonstrate potential stumbling blocks. All demonstrate the difficulty of putting the concept of sustainable development into practice Barry Dalal-Clayton is director of the Environmental Planning Group at the International Institute for Environment and Development, London. In recent years, Dr Dalal Clayton has been deeply involved in analyzing approaches to national sustainable development strategies and environmental action plans in many countries, and in advising governments and international agencies in this field. His other current research interests include environmental impact assessment, community-based wildlife management and land use planning. Originally published in 1996