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82. China’s Global Rise Can the EU and U.S. Pursue a Coordinated Strategy?
- Author:
- Philippe Le Corre and Jonathan Pollack
- Publication Date:
- 10-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- The Brookings Institution
- Abstract:
- China’s emergence as a global economic power and its fuller integration in the international order are among the principal policy challenges facing Europe and the United States in the early 21st century. At the time of Beijing’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, China (though already growing rapidly) was in global terms an economic actor of limited consequence. A decade and a half later, China’s transformation is without parallel in economic history. Over the past 15 years, China has experienced an eightfold increase in GDP, enabling it to serve as the pri- mary engine of global economic growth in the early 21st century. It has leapfrogged from sixth to second place among the world’s economies, trail- ing only the United States in absolute economic size. In addition, China has become the world’s leading trading state and is now the second largest source of outward foreign direct investment. Change of this magnitude has enhanced China’s political power and eco- nomic leverage. It has also stimulated China’s internal economic evolution, simultaneously expanding the power of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) while also contributing to major growth in the private sector. China has also begun to think bigger, devoting increased attention to the rules of global economic governance. Although Beijing insists it has no intention of supplanting the existing international order, China contends that chang- ing power realities will require modification of global rules.
- Topic:
- International Cooperation, International Political Economy, and Geopolitics
- Political Geography:
- China, America, and Europe
83. Gateways to the World: Port Cities in the Gulf
- Author:
- Center for International and Regional Studies
- Publication Date:
- 09-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS), Georgetown University in Qatar
- Abstract:
- Glittering skylines, high urbanization rates, and massive development projects in the Gulf have increasingly attracted the attention of urban development scholars and practitioners. Within the GCC, an average of 88 percent of the total population lives in cities, while on average only 56 percent of Yemen, Iraq, and Iran’s populations lives in urbanized spaces. The tempo and spatial ethos of urbanization in the Gulf differ markedly from patterns of traditional urbanism in other developing countries. Within a matter of decades, Gulf port cities have rapidly evolved from regional centers of cultural and economic exchange to globalizing cities deeply embedded within the global economy. Explicitly evident features of Gulf cities such as international hotel chains, shopping centers, and entertainment complexes have classified these cities as centers of consumption. Other urban trends, such as exhibition and conference centers, media and knowledge cities, and branch campuses of Western universities have integrated Gulf cities within numerous global networks. From the advent of oil discovery until the present day, forces of economic globalization and migration, national conceptualizations of citizenship, and various political and economic structures have collectively underpinned the politics of urban planning and development. While oil urbanization and modernization direct much of the scholarship on Gulf cities, understanding the evolution of the urban landscape against a social and cultural backdrop is limited within the academic literature. For instance, within the states of the GCC, the citizen-state-expatriates nexus has largely geared the vision and planning of urban real-estate mega-projects. These projects reflect the increasing role of expatriates as consumers and users of urban space, rather than as mere sources of manpower utilized to build the city. Other state initiatives, such as the construction of cultural heritage mega-projects in various Gulf cities, reveal the state’s attempts to reclaim parts of the city for its local citizens in the midst of a growing expatriate urban population.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy, Migration, Urbanization, and Citizenship
- Political Geography:
- Middle East
84. Trading Pains and Gains: Expanding Trade Alliances in Asia
- Author:
- Rupert Hammond Chambers, Pek Koon Heng, and Tami Overby
- Publication Date:
- 10-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- The Wilson Center
- Abstract:
- Since its rather humble beginnings as a free trade agreement between Chile, Brunei, Singapore, and New Zealand in 2005, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement has ballooned into a pact that includes two of the three biggest economies in the world. Signed by the 12 founding members in February 2016, namely the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Peru, Vietnam, and Malaysia as well as the four original signatories, the TPP represents nearly 40 percent of the world’s GDP. It has been described as the most ambitious multinational trade deal in history, with high standards that address issues that have not been address by trade agreements until now including environmental protection, labor rights, and addressing competition issues related to state-owned enterprises.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
85. Committed: U.S. Foreign Policy in Asia and Completing the Rebalance
- Author:
- Shihoko Goto, Robert Daly, Michael Kugelman, Sandy Pho, Meg Lundsager, Robert Litwak, Robert Person, and James Person
- Publication Date:
- 09-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- The Wilson Center
- Abstract:
- The United States is a Pacific power. It may be so reluctantly, but its continued military, political, and economic engagement has been key to Asia’s stability and prosperity. Ensuring that the Asia-Pacific remains robust politically and economically will be in the United States’ own interest, and will be a key foreign policy challenge for any administration. The realities on the ground in Asia, though, are rapidly changing. The region has become increasingly divided, and rivalries are manifesting themselves in territorial disputes, competition for resources, as well as a growing arms race. Having overtaken Japan as the world’s second-largest economy, China has sought to become as much a political and military power as much as an economic one. Beijing’s vision for the region puts China at its center, which has led to rifts in relations among Asian nations, not to mention Sino-U.S. relations. Continued stability in the region cannot be taken for granted. Washington must continue to be committed to Asia, not least amid growing concerns about North Korea’s nuclear aspirations, maritime disputes, and alternative visions for economic development.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, International Cooperation, International Political Economy, and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- America and Asia
86. Big is beautiful? State-owned enterprise mergers under Xi Jinping
- Author:
- Wendy Leutert and François Godement
- Publication Date:
- 11-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
- Abstract:
- It is merger season again in China, as evidenced by the sources drawn on in this special issue of China Analysis. But who really knows why? Our contributor Wendy Leutert points out how the government’s goals have shifted within the last year alone. In September 2015, new guidelines emphasising the importance of separating state suppliers of public goods from more commercial state firms suggested a possible shift towards the latter having to play by the rules of the market. Today, the more traditional goal of mopping up excess supply and inefficient companies seems to have taken over.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- China
87. Shared Border, Shared Future: A Blueprint to Regulate US-Mexico Labor Mobility
- Author:
- Carlos Gutierrez, Ernesto Zedillo, and Michael Clemens
- Publication Date:
- 09-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Mexico and the United States have lacked a bilateral agreement to regulate cross-border labor mobility since 1965. Since that time, unlawful migration from Mexico to the US has exploded. Almost half of the 11.7 million Mexican-born individuals living in the U.S. do not have legal authorization. This vast black market in labor has harmed both countries. These two neighboring countries, with an indisputably shared destiny, can come together to work out a better way. The time has come for a lasting, innovative, and cooperative solution. To address this challenge, the Center for Global Development assembled a group of leaders from both countries and with diverse political affiliations—from backgrounds in national security, labor unions, law, economics, business, and diplomacy—to recommend how to move forward. The result is a new blueprint for a bilateral agreement that is designed to end unlawful migration, promote the interests of U.S. and Mexican workers, and uphold the rule of law.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy, International Affairs, Labor Issues, and Border Control
- Political Geography:
- America and Mexico
88. Financial Regulations for Improving Financial Inclusion
- Author:
- Stijn Claessens and Liliana Rojas-Suarez
- Publication Date:
- 03-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- As recently as 2011, only 42 percent of adult Kenyans had a financial account of any kind; by 2014, according to the Global Findex, database that number had risen to 75 percent. [1] In subSaharan Africa, the share of adults with financial accounts rose by nearly half over the same period. Many other developing countries have also recorded gains in access to basic financial services. Much of this progress is being facilitated by the digital revolution of recent decades, which has led to the emergence of new financial services and new delivery channels. Whereas payment services often are the entry point into using formal financial services, they are not the only lowcost and widely accessible financial services being delivered in recent years. Driven by advances in new digital payment services, smallscale credit and new modes for delivering insurance services are being offered in several developing countries. Digital (payment) records are being used to make decisions about provision of credit to small businesses or individuals who do not have traditional collateral or credit history to secure loans. Additionally, affordable mobile systems have led to the provision of new and innovative financial services that would not be economically sustainable under the traditional brickandmortar model such as mobilebased crop microinsurance in subSaharan Africa and payasyougo energy delivery models for offgrid customers in India, Peru, and Tanzania. [2] Increased access to basic financial services, especially payments services, by larger segments of the population reflects the growing use of digital technologies in developing countries. Simultaneously, the adoption of proper regulation based on countryspecific opportunities, needs and conditions has been critical.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Financial Markets
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
89. Assessing EU development cooperation: from infancy to maturity?
- Author:
- Eva Krizkova
- Publication Date:
- 10-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Europeum Institute for European Policy
- Abstract:
- The development cooperation policy of the EU is an important political and economic tool. Nevertheless, its importance might be underestimated in today’s public debate. In 2000 and 2015 the international community adopted development goals (the so-called Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals), in which poverty eradication and global inclusive sustainable prosperity were set as priorities. In this framework, EU development cooperation is one of the most important tools in the accomplishment of these goals.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy, Millennium Development Goals, and International Development
- Political Geography:
- European Union
90. A new Atlantic Community: the European Union, the US and Latin America
- Author:
- Joaquín Roy
- Publication Date:
- 06-2015
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Fundación Alternativas
- Abstract:
- Joaquín Roy es licenciado en Derecho por la Universidad de Barcelona y doctor por la Universidad de Georgetown. Es catedrático Jean Monnet ad personam y anteriormente fue profesor en Georgetown University, John Hopkins University (Washington DC) y Emory University (Atlanta). Entre las distinciones recibidas destaca la Encomienda de la Orden del Mérito Civil, otorgada por el Rey Juan Carlos I.
- Topic:
- International Relations and International Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
91. Rio de Janeiro as a Global Financial Center
- Author:
- Virgílio Gibbon
- Publication Date:
- 10-2015
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI)
- Abstract:
- Situational crises tend to concentrate economic activity in centers where such activity already is historically more significant. As a result, financial markets — especially the organized markets — tend to coalesce around these same centers because they benefit from the higher level of liquidity that concentrated economic activity offers. This undoubtedly was one of the major causes of the waning of the financial market in Rio de Janeiro, and the hegemony conquered by São Paulo as of the 1980s.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, Financial Crisis, and Financial Markets
- Political Geography:
- Brazil
92. Losing Control? Sovereignty in the Age of Globalization
- Author:
- Saskia Sassen
- Publication Date:
- 02-2015
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Columbia University Press
- Abstract:
- What determines the flow of labor and capital in this new global information economy? Who has the capacity to coordinate this new system, to create some measure of order? What happens to territoriality and sovereignty, two fundamental principles of the modern state? And who gains rights and who loses rights? Losing Control? examines the rise of private transnational legal codes and supranational institutions, such as the World Trade Organization and universal human rights covenants, and shows that though sovereignty remains an important feature of the international system, it is no longer confined to the nation-state. Other actors gain rights and a kind of sovereignty by setting some of the rules that used to be within the exclusive domain of states. Saskia Sassen tracks the emergence and the making of the transformations that mark our world today, among which is the partial denationalizing of national territory. Two arenas in particular stand out in the new spatial and economic order by their capacity to set their own rules: the global capital market and the series of codes and institutions that have mushroomed into an international human rights regime. As Sassen shows, these two quasi-legal realms now have the power and legitimacy to demand action and accountability from national governments, with the ironic twist that both depend upon the state to enforce their goals. From the economic policy shifts forced by the Mexico debt crisis to the recurring battles over immigration and refugees around the world, Losing Control? incisively analyzes the events that have radically altered the landscape of governance in an era of increasing globalization.
- Topic:
- Debt, Globalization, International Political Economy, Sovereignty, World Trade Organization, Labor Issues, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
- Publication Identifier:
- 9780231106092
- Publication Identifier Type:
- ISBN
93. Power to the States: Making Fiscal Transfers Work for Better Health
- Author:
- Center for Global Development
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Most money and responsibility for health in large federal countries like India rests with subnational governments — states, provinces, districts, and municipalities. The policies and spending at the subnational level affect the pace, scale, and equity of health improvements in countries that account for much of the world’s disease burden: India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Fiscal transfers between levels of government can — but do not always — play an important role in turning money into outcomes at the subnational level. Well designed, transfers can help put states on a level financial playing field by equalizing spending across states and adjusting allocations for the health risks of each state’s population. Transfers can increase accountability and create incentives for greater spending or effectiveness in service delivery. But transfers are rarely designed with attention to their desired outcomes. To get to better outcomes, international experience suggests that transfers need to be reexamined and reformed along three dimensions. First, central government’s allocation of national revenues to subnational governments should respond to needs and population size. Second, transfers should generate incentives to improve subnational governments’ spending quality and performance on outcomes. Third, independent systems to monitor, evaluate, and provide feedback data on subnational performance can generate greater accountability to the central government, parliaments, and legislatures as well as to citizens. These insights are seemingly simple and suggestive, but each country starts from its own unique history that requires careful technical analysis and political savvy to define reforms with genuine potential to improve health.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Financial Markets
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
94. Investment Treaties and Industrial Policy: Select Case Studies on State Liability for Efforts to Encourage, Shape and Regulate Economic Activities in Extractive Industries and Infrastructure
- Author:
- Lise Johnson
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- This paper, prepared in connection with a February 2014 conference organized by the UN Economic Commission for Africa, discusses some of the implications that investment treaties have for investments in infrastructure and the extractive industries. It focuses on liability for government conduct (1) in connection with tenders and negotiations; (2) when responding to questions regarding the legality of the investment; (3) in using performance requirements to leverage benefits and capture spillovers from the investment; (4) changing the legal framework governing an investment in response to evolving needs, circumstances, and interests; (5) administering the investment; and (6) requesting, and responding to requests for, renegotiation. After describing some investment treaty disputes, this paper concludes by outlining options for addressing and minimizing tensions between investment treaties and government policies and practices in these areas.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
95. Policy Perspective: India’s curious stand at WTO
- Author:
- Rajrishi Singhal
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations
- Abstract:
- India’s decision to block the Trade Facilitation Agreement at the World Trade Organisation in July was perplexing; the confusion was compounded because India was almost alone in its position. This policy perspective explains the reasons for India’s curious stand
- Topic:
- International Political Economy and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- India and Global Focus
96. Pathways to 'The future we want': socio-environmental indicators
- Author:
- José Veiga
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI)
- Abstract:
- José Eli da Veiga critically examines the socioeconomic measures already established, like the GDP and the Human Development Index (HDI). The author contextualizes the creation of such measures and points out the limits of those, which can measure the economic performance of a given society, but are not intended to measure welfare and sustainability. With a keen eye, Eli da Veiga addresses the major issues related to the development and adoption of new indicators, selecting four emerging indicators to be examined in detail. These indexes – all created by renowned international institutions – seek to overcome the notion of wealth based on the production of commodities and on physical capital and propose a narrative of progress that is more compatible with the 21st century, focusing on people’s quality of life and on environmental sustainability.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy, Political and institutional effectiveness, and International Development
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
97. Investing For Impact on Economic Mobility In The US: “Insights from Abroad: Impact Investing in Emerging Markets”
- Author:
- Alexander Pan and Randall Kempner
- Publication Date:
- 12-2014
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- From our perspective at ANDE, we have seen impact investing become an increasingly important tool used to support small and growing businesses in the developing world that are capable of creating jobs, stimulating long-term economic growth, and generating social impact. However, impact investing is still very much an emerging tool. If it is to scale and become a viable solution to social issues in the United States, There are several key lessons from the international context that the industry should consider.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy and Social Movement
- Political Geography:
- America
98. Metrics to Align Mission with Financial Performance: Tips from Practitioners
- Author:
- Mike McCreless
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- Social enterprises and impact investors, along with non-profits and foundations, have invested significant effort in designing metrics to monitor and evaluate impact. Yet these impact metrics do not create as much value as they could. Too often, impact metrics, and the people who manage them, are siloed in their own departments, databases, and discourses, one step removed from strategic and financial decision-making in their organizations
- Topic:
- International Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
99. Mapping the Impact Investing Sector in Brazil
- Author:
- Aspen Institute
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- During the past 10 years of impact investing in Brazil, we have observed a significant development in the impact investing space. Five years ago, only a few players identified themselves as impact investors, very few organizations in the social sector were investor-ready, and there were almost no co-investment opportunities. A steep increase in the number of investors and amount of capital, greater coordination among players, and a more professional workforce active in the industry today have facilitated the development of impact investing. This market study of the impact investing sector in Brazil reveals significant market growth. Nineteen of Brazil’s largest impact investors, including fund managers, banks, foundations, family offices and others surveyed expect to commit 40% to 50% more capital to impact investments in 2014 compared to 2013.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Brazil
100. ANDE Brazil Impact Investing Conference
- Author:
- Aspen Institute
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- ANDE Brazil chapter releases, in partnership with LGT VP, Quintessa Partners and University of St. Gallen, the most recent mapping about the Impact Investment sector in the country. A study conducted with various national and international investors that captures some data about capital and investments on the field as some trends and challenges for the sector evolvement in the country. O polo da ANDE no Brasil lançou, em parceria com LGT VP, Quintessa Partners e Universidade de St. Gallen, o mais recente mapeamento sobre o setor de Investimento de Impacto no país. Um estudo realizado com vários investidores nacionais e internacionais, que capta alguns dados sobre o capital e os investimentos realizados no campo, assim como algumas tendências e desafios para a evolução do setor no país.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Brazil