[sdpd] Re: Developing countries and SDPD Internet Course

[L.M.D.Cranswick...@dl.ac.uk (L. Cranswick)]

> Following recent discussions, a 50% discount is proposed
> for registration to the SDPD Internet Course if students are
> living in developing countries as defined by the DAC list :
> 
> http://www.oecd.org/dac/htm/ldc-alfa.htm
> http://www.cristal.org/course/
> 
> Best wishes,
> 
> 
> Armel Le Bail - Université du Maine, Laboratoire des Fluorures,

If the aim is to get a better distribution of overseas
students, wouldn't it more effective to base it on
"capacity to pay" - rather than a "fixed discount" on a 
French person's capacity to pay?

Armel will recognise the following is the same logic 
used a while back on the Rietveld list with the ICDD 
discount on their approx US$6,200 CD-ROM diffraction 
database product.

Cost of course for students:  
             3250 French Francs ==  US$477.67
50% discount 1625 French Francs ==  US$238.83


==========

>From the CIA World Fact Book 
  http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/

US:         GDP per capita: purchasing power parity US$31,500
Canada:     GDP per capita: purchasing power parity US$22,400 
France:     GDP per capita: purchasing power parity US$22,600
Australia:  GDP per capita: purchasing power parity US$21,200
Spain:      GDP per capita: purchasing power parity US$16,500

Bangladesh: GDP per capita: purchasing power parity  US$1,380

---

Even if the 50% discount is given for countries defined on
the DAC list, say Bangladesh, this is roughly 17% the
"average" yearly purchasing power - but only 1.2% the
"average" yearly purchasing power of a French person.

On a capacity to pay, it is the equivalent of asking
a French student to pay US$3842 (26,151 FF) for the 
"discounted" course as opposed to US$238.83 (1625 FF).

----

Lachlan.

-- 
Lachlan M. D. Cranswick

Collaborative Computational Project No 14 (CCP14)
    for Single Crystal and Powder Diffraction

4th March to 17th March 2000
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, 
Palisades, New York 10964-1000 USA

Daresbury Laboratory, Warrington, WA4 4AD U.K
Tel: +44-1925-603703  Fax: +44-1925-603124
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