This article examines the impact of democracy on environmental conditions in a large sample of developing countries for the period 1976-2003. This relationship is explored empirically using three indicators of environmental quality: carbon dioxide emissions, water pollution and deforestation damage. We find evidence that democracy is conducive to environmental improvement but that this result depends on the measure of the environmental quality that is used. We also find remarkable differences in results across our different sub-samples. The conclusion therefore is that there is no uniform relationship between democracy and the state of the environment.

The growth of trade after 1860 has been attributed to declining tariffs, to falling transport costs, and, recently, to monetary arrangements. However, coincident with the rise of trade the second half of the nineteenth century saw the development of the first electric communication network: the telegraph. The first successful trans-oceanic cable was operating in 1865. The telegraph remained the only direct trans-oceanic communication link until into the twentieth century. Little research has been conducted explicitly linking the impact of telegraphs on international shipping and international trade. A panel is used to show that there is a correlation between the diffusion of the telegraph, co-ordination of shipping, and the growth of world trade even controlling for the impact of other well-studied effects. The telegraph reduced the time ships spent in port and allowed ships to travel farther among ports to collect more valuable cargo.

Purpose -Studies on the determinants of remittances focus primarily on a single country or undertake cross-country analyses using aggregate data. By comparison, there is a dearth of empirical evidence on the determinants of remittances from multiple host to multiple destination countries. To address this deficiency, the purpose of this paper is to use a novel dataset which captures these bilateral flows. Design/methodology/approach -The paper concentrates on three sets of explanatory variables: those which characterize the pair relationship, those that pertain to migrants' host country, and those related to the migrants' home country. Findings -Cultural and political factors play a fundamental role. Altruism is not key in migrant remittances; investment motives are more important. Bilateral aid inflows bear a direct relationship to remittances. The marginal effect of happiness (in migrants' host and home countries) on remittances is positive for a large percentage of countries in the sample. Practical implications -Results nullify the oft-asserted role of remittances in assisting with adverse economic conditions, such as inflation. They also identify a possible nexus between remittances and foreign aid -a link that heretofore has not been identified or discussed in the literature or recognized by policy-makers. Originality/value -The contribution of the paper is its use of bilateral data to present evidence on remittances capturing not only North-South, but also South-South flows. The paper also contributes to the literature by considering, for the first time, some additional variables as potential determinants of remittances, chief among them the level of happiness of migrants' host and home countries, as well as the level of aid disbursed to migrants' home country.

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This article examines the relationship between foreign aid and ecological harm in developing countries. The study covers three types of ecological injury: carbon dioxide damage, water pollution and net deforestation. Results based on an empirical model where aid and injury are jointly determined, suggest that aid flows affect ecological conditions in poorer countries as well as being the result of these conditions.