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Recent studies by Adelman and by Friedlander and Silver, which have investigated whether regression equations derived from cross-section data can be used to predict the impact of socioeconomic development on changing levels of fertility, are reviewed critically. Regression analyses based on data for 57 countries c. 1960 show that fertility (gross reproduction rate) varies cross-sectionally with region as well as with level of development (as measured by per capita income, percent labor force in primary sector, expectation of life, illiteracy rate). Using equations derived from the cross-section study and time-series data for five European countries during the period that their fertility rates fell, it is shown that predictions about past fertility changes are in error. The results suggest caution in the use of cross-section relations to predict the course of fertility in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent spurt of scholarly interest in the emergence of new "States" and "nations" has given rise, on the one hand, to a renewed interest in the historical study of similar phenomena in older States and, on the other, to a considerable effort at formulating general theories and models which can provide guide-lines for an understanding of these phenomena. By and large the initiative for these efforts has come from North American and European scholars. More recently, scholars from the developing nations have also joined in this work. Subsequent co-operation between these two groups of scholars from differing historical backgrounds and socio-cultural contexts has led to a series of questions concerning (a) the relevance of prevailing conceptual frameworks for an explanation of variations in the behavior of social and political phenomena; (b) the empirical validity of these frame-works in different historical settings; (c) the methodological assumptions underlying the whole effort at general theory; and (d) basic issues of teleology and directionality, determinacy and choice, in comparative theory.

Drawing on the implications suggested by several recent studies in comparative public policy, this article examines the impact of the structure of intergovernmental relations on the patterns of distribution of educational funds. The fundamental hypothesis underlying this analysis is that differences in this structure, and in particular the distinction between federal and unitary systems of government, are systematically related to differences in distribution across and within nations. The variations in total educational allocations among eighteen nations in Europe and North America are considered in order to discover whether the aggregate funding of education, relative to a nation's wealth, is related to the structure of intergovernmental relations. Then, in a more intensive analysis, the international patterns of distribution are compared in four federal and four unitary systems. This analysis suggests that there is a significant difference between the two types of system in the degree to which educational policy outputs equalize the territorial disparities in wealth and effect a redistribution of funds within the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article evaluates the quantity of damage caused by Scleroderris lagerbergii Gremmen in plantations and nurseries of Europe and North America. The fungus, familiar to a relatively small number of research scientists and foresters, is a factor of major economic importance and warrants extensive study. An awareness of the magnitude of its damage should stimulate research, leading to improved disease control and considerable savings. In estimating reliably the quantity of damage, it is vital to know the number of trees infected, frequency of mortality, age of trees and other factors which result in economic loss.

This contribution deals with the distribution of the fungus Scleroderris lagerbergii in Europe and in North America based on the present-day knowledge. A detailed bibliography of host-plants in the genera Pinus and Picea is included in the article. Until recently little was known regarding the distribution of Scleroderris lagerbergii since it could not be proved with certainty from existing reports that this organism in fact being dealt with. Various fungi may cause dieback of pine twigs or even colonize dying or dead twigs. Moreover, as a result of extensive outbreaks in northern and central Europe towards the end of the last century and the beginning of this century, Scleroderris lagerbergii became so popular that many cases of damage in pine were ascribed to this fungus without a thorough microscopical examination.

This article reports on the pathogen's history in Europe and North America, the connection between the ascogenous stage, Scleroderris lagerbergii and the conidial form, Brunchorstia pinea and the disease symptoms in nurseries as well as in plantations. Extensive research has proved that this disease has been known in Europe since the last century, whereas knowledge of its incidence on the U.S. continent was recorded at a later date. The first indication of the occurrence of Scleroderris lagerbergii Gremmen in Europe goes back to a calamity in Austrian pine plantations of Jutland.

This article discusses the role of regional interconnections in the development of resources since the war in three parts of the world: Europe, the Soviet Union and North America. It notes the advantages of regional interconnections and the factors which have encouraged their development in the post war period. It examines proposals for future development and discusses some of the difficulties which will have to be overcome before these proposals can become a reality. The article concludes with some remarks about the implications of the developments of regional inerties.

Apart from certain old works which are considered to be of fundamental importance, this bibliography deals more particularly with studies published since 1945. The choice of this date is not absolutely arbitrary. It has been mainly in the post-war period, as the hitherto colonial people began to rise and the least well-equipped countries made their claims on the victorious nations, that the specific problems of the underdeveloped countries have been forced on the attention of a wider public. Political considerations have, to a very large extent, stimulated scientific research and are still doing so, as is shown by the number of works being published. North American anthropology has given rise to a great number of research projects directly dealing with the subject of this study, most of which are well known, at the same time, the European nations, which have often had long experience in countries overseas, have, on their side, accumulated works which, although not presented according to any uniform system, are of great importance. Great regions which are undoubtedly underdeveloped economically-most of the South American continent, Asia and Africa, Africa has least often been the subject of systematic investigations and surveys.