This report addresses the overarching question regarding the role of institutions in enhancing market development following market reforms. It uses the New Institutional Economics framework to empirically analyze the role of a specific market institution, that of brokers acting as intermediaries to match traders in the Ethiopian grain market in reducing the transaction costs of search faced by traders. Brokers play a key role in facilitating exchange in a weak marketing environment where limited public market information, the lack of grain standardization, oral contracts, and weak legal enforcement of contracts increase the risk of contract failure. Relying on primary data, it analyzes traders' microeconomic behavior, social capital, the nature and extent of their transaction costs, and the norms and rules governing the relationship between brokers and traders.The study uses an innovative approach to quantify the costs of search and demonstrates that the brokerage institution is economically efficient both for individual traders and for global economic welfare.

This article highlights some basic steps towards keeping your computer virus free. It also shows you how to check whether warning emails are hoaxes or real, and how to keep your anti-virus software up-to-date. If you're unsure about viruses and how to deal with them, read on...

Zimbabwe's Minister of State for Information and Publicity Jonathan Moyo wants the European Union (EU) to urge the British and Netherlands governments to stop sponsoring short wave radio stations that broadcast in Zimbabwe.

The report from the International Conference on "Globalization of Research and Development: Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Countries," held in Grado, Italy on 11-13 September 2001, is now available for downloading in pdf format.

Over the last weeks, various improvements have been made to the HURIDOCS Web site: There is now a complete site index, plus a hierarchical menu. A search engine allows to search the site. Lists of all pages in French and in Spanish have been added as well. Also many new pages have been posted, including no. 25 (December 2001) of the periodical 'HURIDOCS News', all Micro-thesauri for human rights documentation, the programme of HURIDOCS activities for the year 2002.

Some responses to a request about web usage in developing countries are presented in this announcement.

Government forms such a large part of many countries' economies in Africa and therefore it is hardly surprising that there is an enormous level of interest in e-government. It has the potential to make processes more open, less corrupt and more efficient. In a continent in which functional government tends to be the exception rather than the rule, there is an understandable degree of scepticism.

Over the past few months, security experts have discovered flaws in a variety of Microsoft products.

Read more about the ongoing saga of Somalian internet access, which was largely blocked by the US government last year.

This article discusses the use of border sentry software which blocks access to certain web sites if visitors are in certain countries.

The monthly, electronic newsletter published by the Non Profit Partnership, is one of the tools the organisation uses to fulfil its objectives of maximizing the benefits for the non-profit sector in proposed legislation, as well as to widely disseminate information on the implications of particular laws, which have significant impact on the sector.

A protest, organised by MISA and NCRF, against restrictive media clauses passed under the Public Order and Security Bill in Zimbabwe is planned to take place in Johannesburg on Friday, 18 January 2002.

Tucked into corners and collecting dust in the closets of nonprofits worldwide, you'll find them: stacks of ancient computers, cracked monitors, tangled cords and drives without floppies. The hardware comes from well-meaning donors who hope their castoffs can do others some good. But while secondhand technology is indeed a blessing for some struggling agencies, for most it's quickly becoming a costly curse.

The South African Parliament is poised to establish an online communications platform, accessible from anywhere in the world, serving both parliamentarians and the public. The Internet-based portal is designed to serve as an entrance point to Parliament, enabling visitors to the site to consult policy, listen to speeches and gain an insight into the legislation process. Eventually members of the public may be able to "virtually attend" parliamentary sessions, debates and hearings as they happen - or have them played back after the event.

Community radio could help revolutionise the lives of millions of people in the Horn of Africa and play a crucial role in their future development, according to a conference underway in Addis Ababa.

Zimbabwean journalists plan to defy proposed legislation that will severely curtail independent reporting in the run-up to presidential elections in March.

SANGONeT, in association with LINK Centre at the University of the Witwatersrand, is offering a certificate course designed to promote computer literacy.

Zimbabwe's Minister of State for Information and Publicity
Jonathan Moyo has banned a CNN news bulletin from being aired by the national broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC). The twenty-minute programme was aired daily.

The International Federation of Journalists today called for the European Union to lead international community action to "condemn, isolate and put into political quarantine" the Government of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe over new restrictions on press freedom.