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Remittances have been a great support to Pacific island countries (PICs). Aside from providing additions to domestic savings and, hence, real resources, they have been one of the major sources of foreign exchange earnings. In the context of falling exports and limited options to diversify their exports, inward remittances have assumed greater importance. This paper examines the nexus between growth and remittances in Samoa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following rapid economic development, China's dependence on imported petroleum has been increasing at a pace. In order to prevent an energy shortage that would impede economic development, the Chinese government has come up with a strategy of NOCS 'going out'; this is as an important measure for securing energy safety at the beginning of twenty-first century. However, at a time when nationalization has become widespread among resource-rich countries, the only opportunities for Chinese nocs to implement the 'going out' policy are in politically fragile states. Against this background, Iran and Iraq became important 'going out' destinations of Chinese NOCS. However, the contracts that Chinese NOCS have signed with Iran and Iraq are service contracts. That is to say, by signing this kind of contract, the huge investments made by Chinese NOCS in Iran and Iraq are not equal to their oil or gas interests and the Chinese NOCS are also incapable of ensuring the oil and gas that they produce in both these resource-rich countries are exported to China. As a result, and due to the fact that the needs of the Chinese government with respect to securing stable energy imports, Chinese NOCS' decisions towards investing in Iran and Iraq, as well as the way they manage their projects in these two countries are driven purely by commercial considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China and India build modern highways through the Tibet-Nepal borderlands, traditional livelihoods, land use patterns, and trade relations are rapidly changing for numerous highland communities across the Trans-Himalaya interface. In response to recently opened border crossings, various social and market networks have (re)emerged, transforming the parameters of mobility for the populations of High Asia. New roads are critical to these transformations. Merging Science and Technology Studies (STS) and Marxist analytics to unpack the "black-box" of roads, this study asks two main questions: what are the factors at play in this socio-cultural and geopolitical transition in the Trans-Himalaya borderlands, and how can roads be thought of as technological objects central to this dynamic? After situating the study in the conceptual framework of Zomia, I then draw on Actor Network Theory (ANT), co-production, and the spatial fix to analyze two contemporary trans-border road development projects in Sikkim, India and Mustang, Nepal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]