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1332. Chinese and Indian Engineers and their Networks in Silicon Valley
- Author:
- Rafiq Dossani
- Publication Date:
- 03-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
- Abstract:
- In recent years, Asian immigrants have played an important role in Silicon Valley's growth, as suppliers of both engineering and entrepreneurial talent. Given their relatively large numbers, the Indian and Chinese communities' contributions have been particularly noted. The Indians' presence became more marked toward the last few years of the century, bolstered by arrivals working on the Year 2000 (Y2K) problem. The Chinese, by contrast, had older roots set down amid long-standing political, economic, and educational links with Taiwan. Both communities have formed extensive ethnic professional networks, with large memberships and well-attended, regular "networking" events, such as monthly meetings and special interest group sessions. The popularity of these events suggests that members find them valuable. While some of the value is probably noneconomic, the avowedly economic mission (see below) and long-term popularity of these gatherings means that most members primarily derive economic benefits. These networks and their members are the subject of this paper. The author acknowledges the collaboration of Professor AnnaLee Saxenian of the University of California, Berkeley, in the design of and data collection for the survey which forms part of this paper. The survey was partially funded by the Public Policy Institute of California.
- Topic:
- International Trade and Finance and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- United States, India, Taiwan, Asia, California, and Berkeley
1333. Free Trade and Environmental Protection
- Author:
- Daniel C. Esty
- Publication Date:
- 06-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- From the protests in the streets of Seattle during the World Trade Organization's 1999 Ministerial Meeting to the chaos surrounding the 2001 G-8 Summit Meeting in Genoa, the backlash against globalization is increasingly evident. One dimension of this backlash centers on environmental concerns. While economic integration and trade liberalization offer the promise of growth and prosperity, environmental advocates fear that freer trade will lead to increased pollution and resource depletion. At the same time, free traders worry that over- reaching environmental policies will obstruct efforts to open markets and integrate economies around the world. They often see environmentalists as blindly anti-free-trade and protectionist. “Trade and environment” tensions have therefore emerged as a major issue in the debate over globalization. This paper explores the contours of these tensions and argues that trade policy and environmental programs can be better integrated and made more mutually supportive.
- Topic:
- Development, Environment, International Trade and Finance, and Science and Technology
1334. Building a Transatlantic Securities Market
- Author:
- Benn Steil
- Publication Date:
- 12-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- This report aims to jump-start the integration of the US and EU securities markets through a mutual recognition agreement on transatlantic exchange access. Under this agreement, securities exchanges on each side of the Atlantic would be permitted to provide direct electronic access to brokers and institutional investors on the other side, for the purpose of trading listed equities and derivatives based on equities. We argue that this initiative will reduce trading costs, increase investment returns, lower the cost of capital, and increase economic growth on both sides of the Atlantic. The success of such an initiative will, over time, encourage its expansion to cover all forms of debt securities, primary issues, and other national markets.
- Topic:
- International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
1335. Terrorist Financing
- Author:
- Maurice R. Greenberg, Lee S. Wolosky, and William F. Wechsler
- Publication Date:
- 10-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Unlike other terrorist leaders, Osama bin Laden is not a military hero, a religious authority, or an obvious representative of the downtrodden and disillusioned. He is a rich financier. He built al- Qaeda's financial network from the foundation of a system originally designed to channel resources to the mujahideen fighting the Soviets.
- Topic:
- Security, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- Soviet Union
1336. How Shareholder Reforms Can Pay Foreign Policy Dividends
- Author:
- James J. Shinn and Peter Gourevitch
- Publication Date:
- 06-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Corporate governance—the rules that govern the relationship between managers and shareholders—belongs on the foreign policy agenda of American decision-makers. The vigorous debates underway about corporate governance, both at home and abroad, present an opportunity for the United States to advance its foreign policy goals of enhancing free trade and financial stability.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Economics, Government, Industrial Policy, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States
1337. Monetary Policy Rules and the International Monetary Transmission
- Author:
- Leonor Coutinho
- Publication Date:
- 10-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- This paper analyses alternative monetary policy rules for the ECB, using a two "country" model of the euro area and the US, that assumes monopolistic competition, sticky prices and optimizing agents. The alternative rules analyzed for the ECB are ranked by their ability to stabilize consumption, output, and inflation and maximize consumers' welfare. The analysis contributes toward understanding the trade-offs faced by policymakers in open economies and provides some support for the current design of the ECB's operational framework. The results suggest that stabilizing money-growth, in addition to inflation, gives an additional degree of freedom to stabilize output. Although price stability is likely to remain the primary objective of the ECB, monetary policy must "without prejudice of price stability (...) support the general economic policies in the Community..." (Article 2). Hence monitoring money, under certain assumptions about the shocks hitting the economy, may deliver a better outcome in terms of output stabilization which should allow the ECB to fulfill its secondary but nonetheless important commitment.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States
1338. The Economic Impact of Enlargement on the European Economy: Problems and Perspectives
- Author:
- Paul Brenton
- Publication Date:
- 10-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- Much of the attention on the economic aspects of the forthcoming enlargement of the EU have concentrated upon the high-profile issues which are linked to the level of relative economic development in the acceding countries; the perceived threat of large-scale migration and the budgetary costs arising from implementation of EU agricultural and regional policies. This paper briefly discusses that these are not insurmountable problems and stresses that the main difficulties from the next enlargement may arise from the effective inclusion of the acceding countries into the Single Market, the microeconomic hub of the EU. We discuss that the process of regulatory harmonisation will become more difficult in an EU of 25 or more members, which entails greater emphasis on the principle of mutual recognition as the main tool for ensuring freedom of movement of goods and services. However, mutual recognition has its limits and is likely to be less effective the more diverse the countries involved.
- Topic:
- Economics and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Europe
1339. Outsourcing and Inequality
- Author:
- Paul Brenton, Bob Anderton, and Eva Oscarsson
- Publication Date:
- 10-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- This paper brings together and analyses the results of empirical analyses which, in contrast to most other studies, find that trade has been a significant cause of labour market inequality in various industrialised countries. The approach is based upon the concept of outsourcing – whereby the low-skill parts of the production chain are 'outsourced' to low-wage countries. A distinguishing feature of the empirical work is the use of highly detailed trade data, which allow imports from high- and low-wage countries to be separately identified at the industry level. Using cost minimisation framework, we show that imports from low-wage countries have made a significant contribution to the decline in the wage-bill share and/or relative employment of less-skilled workers in the UK, the USA, Sweden and Italy. We also show how the country-specific characteristics of outsourcing can lead to quite different inequality outcomes in different countries. In line with other studies, we also find that technology has played an important role in causing the increase in inequality in many countries. However, there is also some evidence that some of the rapid increase in the application of new technologies in recent decades has been trade-induced through mechanisms such as 'defensive innovation'.
- Topic:
- Economics, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- United States and United Kingdom
1340. Who Needs Foreign Banks?
- Author:
- Daniel Gros
- Publication Date:
- 09-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- This paper shows that countries with weak banking system and fiscal institutions, might benefit from the presence of foreign banks, which can constitute a commitment and transparency device. Foreign banks can also reduce the probability of self-fulfilling speculative attacks. A strong presence of foreign banks can make a currency peg feasible in the first place by rendering it more resistant to speculative attacks. The European experience is instructive in this respect. In all of the candidate countries from Central and Eastern Europe (CEEC) the banking system is now dominated by foreign banks. This is now taken for granted, but it is unusual if one looks at the existing EU-15 members, where foreign banks play a marginal role in even the smallest economies.
- Topic:
- Economics and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Europe