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1421. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: Integrating China with the Persian Gulf and East Africa

Author:
Adam Saud and Shabir Amhad Khan
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
South Asian Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
China by launching the multi-trillion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has possibly initiated the transformation of the prevailing global political system. The success of the BRI heavily depends upon the neighboring regions of China, as they will provide China with routes to integrate the international markets. In this regard, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the key route; thus, also repeatedly termed as the flagship project of the BRI. The importance of CPEC is crucial for China as Beijing not only needs markets but imports of hydrocarbons from Persian Gulf and Africa. This paper aims to analyze the importance of the CPEC and Gwadar Port vis-à-vis securing China‟s national interests; securing multiple trade routes and attaining the much desired status of Great Power. Furthermore, the paper will shed light on the possible challenges China may face in this regard. The central question of this research is how the CPEC would help China integrate with the Persian Gulf and East-Africa? The nature of this research is critical and analytical; based on primary and secondary sources. The research is supported by theories of Neofunctionalism and Complex Interdependence.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Infrastructure, Economy, Regional Integration, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and Strategic Interests
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Africa, China, South Asia, Asia, and Persian Gulf

1422. Reforming Patent Law: The Case of Covid‐​19

Author:
Michele Boldrin and David Levine
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Ashort time ago the debate over the proposal to temporarily waive intellectual property rights on Covid‐​19 vaccines was raging worldwide; and the suspension of those rights seemed imminent. Public attention reached its peak in May 2021 when the Biden administration endorsed the idea and committed itself to pursuing it under the World Trade Organization–World Intellectual Property Organization (WTO-WIPO) procedural rules for waiving intellectual property (IP) protection. By suspending IP rights, the administration sought to help low‐​income countries to start producing vaccines more quickly, reducing the rising and dramatic worldwide vaccine inequality.
Topic:
Intellectual Property/Copyright, Inequality, Vaccine, COVID-19, and Patents
Political Geography:
Africa, India, and Latin America

1423. An Alternative Theoretical Framework for Economics

Author:
Meir Kohn
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
As a profession, economics is thriving. The number of economists is large and growing. The volume of their output is exploding—more articles are published each year in a growing number of journals. As a science, however, economics is not doing so well. The questions addressed by all those articles seem to be getting smaller and smaller. And there seems to be little or no progress on the big questions of economics such as economic development and growth, economic fluctuations, and the proper role of government in the economy. Most of the articles published are econometric, and the results of many are of questionable quality.
Topic:
Economics, Research, Economic Theory, and Commerce
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1424. Labor Taxation: Insights from the World Economic Forum Survey

Author:
Michael Mitsopoulos and Theodore Pelagidis
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
One of the main topics highlighted in the field of economic policy applications is the impact of taxation on labor. In an era in which macroeconomic stability, technological change, and globalization pressure the job market, there exists no strong consensus in the literature on how exactly taxation influences growth, choice between work and leisure, share of income attributed to labor, or participation in different job market segments. This article focuses on employment levels and uses the results of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Executive Opinion Survey (EOS) between 2013 and 2017 to bypass several challenges often faced in the literature. By doing so, we complement the insights of the existing literature by establishing that, in institutionally mature countries, taxation that is deemed by a survey of business executives to pose a disincentive to work reduces employment.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Employment, Economic Growth, Tax Systems, and Survey
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1425. The Economic Policies of Lord Liverpool

Author:
Martin Hutchinson and Kevin Dowd
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (“Liverpool,” 1770–1828) was UK prime minister over the period 1812–1827. His achievements were remarkable. He designed the financial attrition strategy that defeated Napoleon; led the United Kingdom through the turbulence of the takeoff stage of the industrial revolution; inherited a daunting fiscal situation that included a debt/​GDP ratio of well over 200 percent, and implanted the austerity measures needed to put this ratio onto the path that led to later Victorian levels; reformed the currency; pushed through the return to the gold standard; promoted both the Corn Laws and free trade; successfully managed the 1825 financial crisis, the worst in over a century; and pushed through subsequent reforms that put the UK banking system onto a stable trajectory that lasted into the late 20th century.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, Fiscal Policy, and Trade
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1426. The Potential for Constitutional Devolution in South Africa

Author:
Martin van Staden
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The African National Congress (ANC) today rules South Africa, formally a federation, as though it were a unitary state. There has been increasing agitation in recent years for the secession of the Western Cape province, which since South Africa ended apartheid in 1994 has never returned a majority vote in favor of the ANC.
Topic:
Government, Constitution, Disputes, and African National Congress (ANC)
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

1427. The Economic Mentality of Nations

Author:
Pál Czeglédi, Brad Lips, and Carlos Newland
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Two hundred forty‐​five years after the publication of Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, economists continue to debate the causes of disparities in wealth among the countries of the world. Some scholars focus on the role of climate, natural resources, proximity to markets, or access to technology. Others study human capital, capital accumulation, the use of comparative advantages and economies of scale, and institutional and legal frameworks. We believe that another factor must be considered as well: the economic attitudes and causal beliefs (henceforth, “mentality”) of the population. While a growing body of research shows a clear association between economic growth and the institutions of economic freedom, those institutions can be quite fragile if the population does not have a clear understanding of what makes a country prosperous. To measure popular attitudes toward economic values, we have created the Global Index of Economic Mentality (GIEM).
Topic:
Economics, Markets, Capitalism, Youth, and Free Market
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1428. The Covid‐​19 Coin Shortage: Causes, Responses, and Lessons

Author:
Nicholas Anthony
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Covid‐​19 altered almost every facet of the human experience in 2020. For those who were lucky, living rooms became offices, cocktail hours went virtual, and spare time was spent exploring new passions. But others suffered: hundreds of thousands of people died, millions became unemployed, and even more were left uncertain about their future. All the while, smaller inconveniences multiplied. Of these, the most unexpected was a serious coin shortage in the summer of 2020.
Topic:
Currency, COVID-19, Cash, and Shortage
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1429. The War on Cash: Institutional Hostility and Covid‐​19

Author:
Edoardo Beretta and Doris Neuberger
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
There is significant economic literature investigating the hostility to cash or “war on cash” (Beretta 2005, 2007; Deutsche Bundesbank 2017; Jain 2017; Scott 2013; White 2018) by which financial institutions supported by governments discourage individuals from using (publicly issued) physical means of payments and convince them to move to digital (privately issued) ones.
Topic:
Economics, COVID-19, Digitization, and Cash
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1430. Covid Cash

Author:
Kenneth Rogoff and Jessica Scazzero
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The advent of the Covid‐​19 pandemic has witnessed a strong uptick in paper currency demand across advanced economies, even as contactless methods surged ahead of cash in payments. This article explores these two contrasting phenomena, which are in fact continuations of much longer‐​term trends. The use of cash, while still important for small in‐​person transactions, has been declining as a share of overall consumer payments for decades, thanks to a steady stream of innovations including credit cards, debit cards, electronic transfers, and smartphone payment apps. For example, in the United States, paper currency accounted for 26 percent of the number of consumer payments in 2019 but only 6 percent in value terms, down from 40 percent and 14 percent, respectively, in 2012. Meanwhile, U.S. dollars in circulation have increased from $1.1 trillion in January 2012 to $1.8 trillion in January 2020, exploding to $2.1 trillion in December 2020. The same pattern remains if one excludes foreign holdings (50–60 percent of the total) and is found in most other advanced economies as well. Some argue that soaring currency demand contests the view that the world is headed to a cashless future, or even a “less‐​cash” society (see Bech et al. 2018; BIS 2020).
Topic:
Currency, COVID-19, Digitization, and Cash
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1431. Effects of Immigration on Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Author:
Robert Krol
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Economic growth in advanced economies is driven primarily by innovations that improve productivity. Entrepreneurs and researchers, who are motivated by economic incentives, generate new ideas that result in either new or expanded businesses. The resulting expansion of businesses generates new and better products and services. Entrepreneurs also change the way production is organized because they improve efficiency that lowers prices for consumers. Such actions produce economic growth, which manifests itself by increasing product variety, jobs, and wages. As a result, economic well‐​being increases (Alcigit and Kerr 2018; Jones 1995, 2016; McCloskey 2016; Romer 1990).
Topic:
Immigration, Entrepreneurship, Economic Growth, and Innovation
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1432. The GameStop Episode: What Happened and What Does It Mean?

Author:
Allan M. Malz
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The GameStop stock trading episode that began in January 2021 has been unprecedented in some ways, especially in the ability of market participants to organize collective action openly yet anonymously. In other ways, it’s been an unsurprising repetition of past experience. Financial markets are imperfect, they display many frictions, and the imperfect alignment of interests is a perpetual dilemma in designing both contracts and public policy.
Topic:
Regulation, Economy, Public Policy, and Stock Markets
Political Geography:
United States of America

1433. GameStop and the Rise of Retail Trading

Author:
Jennifer J. Schulp
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
In January 2021, a curious event in the stock market caught the attention of the media, regulators, and the public. A well‐​known struggling company dominated the headlines, not for its business model, but for the meteoric rise of its stock price. GameStop Corp. started the year trading around $19.00 a share, a pretty robust share price for a company that had been trading below $5.00 as recently as August 2020. Yet, by the end of January, GameStop’s shares were trading at over $300, at one point hitting a high of $483. GameStop’s stock price has receded from those meteoric highs, but, as of late May, it continues to trade between $160 and $180 a share.
Topic:
Markets, Economy, Investment, Stock Markets, and Equity
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1434. The Impact of Public Debt on Economic Growth

Author:
Jack Salmon
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Following the 2007–2008 global financial crisis (GFC) and subsequent sovereign debt crisis in Europe, there has been a renewed interest in exploring the relationship between government debt and economic growth. One of the cornerstone studies on the subject that triggered an emergence of new literature was Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff’s “Growth in a Time of Debt” (2010), which became widely cited and influential among commentators, academics, and policymakers in the debate surrounding austerity and fiscal policy in debt‐​burdened economies. Much of the research that followed the GFC uses panel data analysis of the debt‐​growth nexus using datasets from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Commission, and Organisation for Economic Co‐​operation and Development (OECD).
Topic:
Economy, Economic Growth, Survey, and Public Debt
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1435. U.S. Debt Sustainability under Low Interest Rates and after the Covid‐​19 Shock

Author:
William R Cline
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The worst pandemic in 100 years has hit the United States at a time when economic thinking has become more comfortable with high public debt, facilitating an aggressive response in public spending for relief that has reached a remarkable 27 percent of GDP.1 One reason for the receptiveness to large spending has been the perception that the fiscal stimulus in the Great Recession of 2007–2009 erred on the side of excessive caution and left an aftermath of unduly slow growth. More fundamentally, low real interest rates in recent years have shifted the center of gravity in macroeconomic analysis away from concern about chronic deficits and rising debt toward a certain benign neglect of debt as a problem.
Topic:
Debt, Interest Rates, Sustainability, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

1436. Taliban News: Fair and Balanced?

Author:
Janet Steele
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:
Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:
At the Taliban’s first press conference on 17 August 2021, spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid startled the world by calling for “balanced and fair reporting,” claiming that the Taliban would support free and independent media as long as journalists worked according to Islamic rules and Sharia. In this essay, I argue that Western policymakers should take the Taliban spokesperson’s words very seriously, as his frame of reference is a set of powerful Islamic concepts that are likely to resonate with Muslim listeners throughout the world. It is important both to understand his words within the context of Islam, and to search for common ground in holding the Taliban accountable for what it has pledged.
Topic:
Governance, Taliban, News Analysis, and Accountability
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Middle East

1437. More Ethical Political Communication in the 21st Century

Author:
Benjamin Voth
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:
Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:
Ethics as a matter of political communication vexes the human experiment in politics since its inception. A proper and grounded sense of ethics in political communication is a necessary ongoing consideration in all expert analysis of political communication in order to avoid important excesses of politics ranging from injustice to genocide. The key antidote to achieving ethical rather than unethical conduct in political communication is a careful praxis of discursive complexity. As the 21st century intensifies its attachments to vehicles of communication rooted in artificial intelligence, we as expert practitioners must intensify our pedagogy and research toward the encouragement of human dissent. The potential mismanagement of public opinion could through technological savvy unleash nightmares comparable or suprassing the Third Reich in the 1940s.
Topic:
Politics, Science and Technology, Communications, Ethics, and Artificial Intelligence
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1438. What Do Social Media Activity and Social Networks Mean for Politics

Author:
James Andrew Lewis
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:
Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:
Social media reshapes politics and national narratives in ways that make it more difficult to govern, if by govern we mean collective actions to preserve stability and order through voluntary adhesion to laws and norms, and when necessary, through coercion deemed legitimate by the institutions of the state. Social media’s impact on narrative and legitimacy is what’s most pronounced and, in many cases, what’s most damaging to the ability of governments to govern.
Topic:
Politics, Social Media, Legitimacy, and Social Networks
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1439. Role of Social media in Amplifying Neo-Liberal Cancel Culture

Author:
Greg Simons
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:
Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:
Cancel culture and wokeism are dangerous trends that are increasing in their intensity and the self-destruction of Western civilization is a matter of time as the underlying historical myths and value/normative philosophies that led to its global hegemony is destroyed by a messianic ideology that is engineering an exclusive homogenous worldview in the name of pluralism and inclusivity. In this world of Orwellian doublespeak, the current struggle for ideological hegemony is taking place in the information space for hearts and minds in the cognitive realm. Social media is the very frontline in the future and even very existence of Western civilization, and it has chosen to support those waging the neo-liberal cancel culture in the name of justice, liberation and equality.
Topic:
Culture, Hegemony, Social Media, Neo-Liberalism, and Cancel Culture
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1440. Conspiracy Buffs, Skeptics and the 2016 US Presidential Election

Author:
Ted Goertzel
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Institution:
Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ)
Abstract:
We identified “Conspiracy Buffs” and “Skeptics” based on two conspiracy theory items included in the 2016 American National Election Survey. We then compared these two groups, and the much larger group we called the “Uncertains”, on a large number of closed and open-ended survey items. The Conspiracy Buffs had lower levels of education than the Skeptics, had less facility with language, and were more likely to state that they had not thought much about whether they were liberal or conservative. They expressed strongly angry feelings about Hillary Clinton, often citing the Benghazi incident and her use of a private email server. The Skeptics were just as angry at Donald Trump as the Buffs were at Hillary Clinton, but they did not use arguments drawn from conspiracy theories. They referred to his widely acknowledged personality traits and personal behaviors. These traits were also mentioned by many Buffs, but more in disappointment than in anger.
Topic:
Politics, Elections, Voting, and Conspiracy Theory
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America