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This article examines the largest corporations outside of the United States by analyzing revenues published annually by 'Fortune' magazine since the 1950s, finding that Third World corporations have been around for decades. The authors suggest that an understanding of major corporations from developing countries is necessary when discussing the national bourgeoisie, comprador capitalism, and controversies surrounding concepts about the development of state and globalization.

The professional ideology of engineers is said to be rooted in feelings of self-importance and a belief in an ability to lead, based on qualities of technical expertise and rational decision-making not held by the public at large. This paper outlines the views of another group of engineers, labelled ‘reflexive engineers’, having a much more integrated view of socio-technical systems. Interviews were conducted with engineers working in the Global South in fields such as community water supply and sanitation. The paper aims to uncover how they make sense of the social and how they perceive factors shaping development practice. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with a well-documented fresh water crisis in many parts of the world, international institutions are advocating market-based solutions involving the privatization and commodification of water. The definition of water as a commodity by multilateral organizations in the early 1990s allowed a handful of transnational corporations, supported by the World Bank and the IMF, to become centrally involved in management of public water services in poorer countries. The years 2000 to 2003 saw the retreat of TNC investment in water due to national economic crises, social protest, and the difficulties of extracting profit delivering water to indigent consumers. This article examines the shift in discursive strategy of development organizations, and the resulting rise and fall of TNC involvement in water and sanitation provision in the Third World. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]