Number of results to display per page
Search Results
302. When CO2 Goes to Geneva: Taxing Carbon across Borders — Without Violating WTO Obligations
- Author:
- Maria Paniezi
- Publication Date:
- 11-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Carbon taxes become relevant for international trade when they are coupled with border tax adjustment (BTA) legislation for imported products. BTAs are intended to level the playing field between domestic and foreign products, but such tax schemes, if not designed properly, can be found to violate a country’s international commitments before the World Trade Organization (WTO). This paper argues that environmentally conscious governments can impose a WTO-compatible BTA to offset domestic CO2 legislation, and that federal governments need to engage in coordinated efforts to harmonize treatment of high CO2 emitters domestically, since domestic industries will not bear the burden of environmental regulation alone.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, International Trade and Finance, and World Trade Organization
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
303. G20 Monitor: G20 outreach to society in 2015
- Author:
- Tristram Sainsbury
- Publication Date:
- 10-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Lowy Institute for International Policy
- Abstract:
- The G20 engagement groups represent a cross-section of society at the G20. They have an important role in publicly holding the G20 to account, assessing the forum’s performance, and contributing to the G20 agenda. The groups have differing agendas and vastly different priorities ahead of the Antalya Leaders’ Summit in November. However, there are some areas of overlap, such as calls from several groups for G20 leaders to respond to the Syrian refugee crisis and be more active in addressing gender inequality. Open and effective outreach to broader society should be an important priority of the 2016 Chinese G20 Presidency. China should look to improve the efficiency of the engagement processes in 2016, so that engagement groups are more focused on recommending fewer, but more pragmatic and high-impact policy solutions.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, International Cooperation, International Organization, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- China
304. Iran’s Economic Reintegration: Sanctions Relief, Energy, and Economic Growth Under a Nuclear Agreement with Iran
- Author:
- Elizabeth Rosenberg and Sara Vakhshouri
- Publication Date:
- 06-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for a New American Security (CNAS)
- Abstract:
- The international community is poised to sign a deal with Iran on its nuclear program, under which Iran would make concessions on its enrichment activities and the United States and others would offer substantial relief from punishing economic sanctions. The removal of the most complex, extensive, and multilateral regime of coercive economic measures promises a windfall to Iran. However, this will be neither immediate nor easy, given the difficulty of reestablishing severed commercial and legal ties between Iran and the global financial system. Removing sanctions will require careful international cooperation and substantial outreach to the private sector.
- Topic:
- Arms Control and Proliferation, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Oil, Treaties and Agreements, and Sanctions
- Political Geography:
- Iran and Middle East
305. The New Innovator’s Commercialization Dilemma
- Author:
- James Hinton and Kent Howe
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- This report outlines the impetus behind the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) International Intellectual Property Law Clinic, which operated for three months in 2014. It consisted of a partnership among the CIGI International Law Research Program (ILRP), Communitech (the Region of Waterloo’s hub for commercialization of innovative technologies) and leading intellectual property (IP) law firms. The report describes the new innovator’s commercialization dilemma — a multifaceted dilemma arising from lack of IP legal knowledge, lack of financial resources and the high costs associated with IP protection, all of which combine to place the new innovator in a vulnerable position at the early stages of their commercialization timeline. After briefly surveying the current environment for entrepreneurship-based clinics, the report describes the elements and structure of the CIGI clinic. The advantages for participating students as well as first-hand accounts of the benefits of the CIGI clinic are also detailed. Taking lessons learned from the CIGI clinic, the report illustrates how an IP-focused law clinic can help to address the commercialization dilemma. The report describes the manner in which IP clinics might be structured, while reviewing the associated benefits and challenges for each structure. The report also makes brief recommendations for governments, law societies, law schools and IP offices to support the provision of IP legal services through the law clinic model.
- Topic:
- Environment, International Trade and Finance, Intellectual Property/Copyright, Governance, and Entrepreneurship
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
306. Corporate Debt in Emerging Economies: A Threat to Financial Stability?
- Author:
- Barry Eichengreen, Domenico Lombardi, Malcolm D. Knight, Yu Yongding, Stephen G. Cecchetti, Diane De Gramont, Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan, Phillip R. Lane, Ugo Panizza, and Viral V. Acharya
- Publication Date:
- 09-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- During 1999-2007, the international balance sheets of emerging economies grew stronger through a combination of current account surpluses, a shift from debt funding to equity funding, and the stockpiling of liquid foreign reserves. This risk-mitigating strategy improved the international financial standing of many emerging economies and helped these economies withstand the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. However, a combination of domestic and external factors has led to a partial reversal of this strategy, with some emerging economies accumulating significant external debt since 2010. Previewed by the May 2013 “taper tantrum,” there has been considerable speculation that a tightening of dollar-funding conditions and a macroeconomic slowdown in emerging economies may result in financial instability in some emerging economies.
- Topic:
- Debt, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, Financial Crisis, and Global Markets
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
307. International Regulatory Cooperation on the Resolution of Financial Institutions: Where Does India Stand?
- Author:
- Renuka Sane
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- This paper provides a brief description of the principles of cross-border resolution that have emerged after the 2008 global financial crisis, and the progress that has been achieved. The paper then provides an overview of developments on resolution of financial firms in India. It finds that while there is cognizance of the need for international cooperation on resolution, the focus is on first developing institutional capacity on domestic resolution that can interact with the international community in the future. The policy choices of India may be reflective of the thinking in a large number of emerging markets, which considerably lag behind the more developed markets, partly due to lower interconnectedness and partly due to limited experience in domestic resolution.
- Topic:
- Development, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, Political Economy, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- India
308. From Catching Up to Forging Ahead: China’s Policies for Semiconductors
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- China, the world's leading exporter of electronic products, faces a fundamental dilemma. It is the largest and fastest-growing market for semiconductors, the core component of those electronics products. Yet, at least 80 percent of the semiconductors used in China's electronics products must be imported. As a result, China's trade deficit in semiconductors has more than doubled since 2005 and now exceeds the huge amount it spends on crude oil imports. To correct this unsustainable imbalance, China's new strategy to upgrade its semiconductor industry seeks to move from catching up to forging ahead in semiconductors. The strategy calls for simultaneously strengthening advanced manufacturing and innovation capabilities in China's integrated circuit (IC) design industry and its domestic IC fabrication, primarily through foundry services. Drawing on policy documents and interviews with China-based industry experts, this study takes a close look at the objectives, strategy, and implementation policies of China's new push in semiconductors and examines what this implies for China's prospects in this industry. The study shows that China's new policy resorts to private equity investment rather than subsidy as the tool of industrial policy. The government participates in equity investment and claims it will do so without intervening in management decisions. This policy is expected to reduce the cost of investment funds for a selected group of firms, which is to form a "national team" in the semiconductor industry. China's new policy to upgrade its semiconductor industry through innovation does not represent a radical break with its deeply embedded statist tradition. Within these boundaries, however, the study detects important changes in the direction of a bottom-up, market-led approach to industrial policy. In response to the rising complexity and uncertainty of today's semiconductor industry, the government seems more open to experimentation with new approaches to investment finance and flexible, bottom-up policy implementation, based on multilayered industrial dialogues with private firms. China's policies to forge ahead in semiconductors, thus, provide an interesting example of its current efforts to move from investment-driven catching up to an innovation-driven development model.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Oil, Science and Technology, and Financial Markets
- Political Geography:
- China
309. Unconventional Monetary Policy, Spillovers, and Liftoff: Implications for Northeast Asia
- Author:
- Marcus Noland
- Publication Date:
- 11-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- Unconventional monetary policy (UMP) has had predictable effects. How exit plays out is scenario-dependent. Quantitative easing has had the predictable effect of encouraging currency depreciation and some partner countries may have attempted to offset these exchange rate effects. Korea presents a particularly interesting case: it is relatively small and relatively open and integrated, in both trade and financial terms, with the United States and Japan, two practitioners of UMP. Authorities have acted to limit the won's appreciation primarily against the currency of China, not the US or Japan. Nevertheless, Korea's policy is a source of tension with the US. Under legislation currently being considered, the currency manipulation issue could potentially interfere with Korean efforts to attract direct investment from the US and create an obstacle to Korea joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Monetary Policy, and Financial Markets
- Political Geography:
- Korea and Asia-Pacific
310. Reforming U.S. Export Controls Reforms: Advancing U.S. Army Interests
- Author:
- Dr. Richard Weitz
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
- Abstract:
- The U.S. defense export system needs further major reforms to reduce inefficiencies and weaknesses. Although the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) do help prevent potential foreign adversaries from using U.S. arms against the United States and its allies, the Regulations, as enforced, can weaken U.S. national security in other important ways. For example, by excessively impeding defense exports, the ITAR makes it more difficult for U.S. firms to sustain core U.S. defense technological and industrial advantages, decreases U.S. military interoperability with allies that purchase ITAR-free weapons from other sources, and generates other undesirable effects for the U.S. Army and U.S. national security.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, International Trade and Finance, National Security, Science and Technology, Military Affairs, Reform, and Weapons
- Political Geography:
- United States of America
311. China’s Rise and Reconfiguration of Central Asia’s Geopolitics: A Case for U.S. "Pivot" to Eurasia
- Author:
- Roman Muzalevsky
- Publication Date:
- 07-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
- Abstract:
- China’s emergence as a global actor has questioned the position of the United States as the strongest power and the future of the Washington-led global order. To achieve the status of a truly global player wielding influence in all dimensions of power would require China to leverage its regional influence in Central Asia. This region is increasingly representing China’s western leg of economic expansion and development, and is of a growing strategic importance for Beijing. It is also a region that should be of greater strategic importance to Washington, which seeks to preserve its leading position in the international system and ensure China’s peaceful integration in the global political, security, and economic architecture.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, Hegemony, Global Markets, and Global Security
- Political Geography:
- China, Eurasia, and Asia
312. Constructing Quality: Producer Power, Market Organization, and the Politics of High Value-Added Markets.
- Author:
- Elizabeth Carter
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
- Abstract:
- Economists assume increased producer flexibility creates production advantages. So why do inefficient French quality wine producers dominate their flexible, efficient Italian counterparts? French AOC wine producers created “corporatist” producer organizations which served three purposes: encouraged increased product quality information across the supply chain; allowed for the emergence of a unique production style; and enabled producers to define their production methods as “quality” via state regulation. Italian DOC wine producers have fragmented political structures at both the regional and national levels, causing producers to rely more on the price mechanism and less on political structures to coordinate supply chain transactions. Market asymmetries persist across the supply chain, making it difficult for producers to guarantee quality and adversely shaping their potential production and brand strategies. Solving supply chain problems through representative political institutions yields superior economic outcomes than uncoordinated market transactions because the former corrects market power asymmetries.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Politics, and Regulation
- Political Geography:
- France, Italy, and Global Focus
313. Trade and conflict: Ukraine’s trade with Russia in and after 2014
- Author:
- Veronika Movchan
- Publication Date:
- 05-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper aims to review existing Ukrainian-Russian trade relations and explore the feasibility of Ukraine’s trade reorientation away from the Russian market, given growing trade tensions.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Russia and Ukraine
314. Ukraine in Contemporary Geopolitical and Socioeconomic Relations
- Author:
- Grigoriy Shamborovskyi
- Publication Date:
- 05-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper explores topics related to Ukraine’s Relations with Russia, the EU, and the US. These relationships are explored in terms of international trade, security issues and institution building. Finally, the existence of internal political and socioeconomic divisions is discussed.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, International Security, and Political and institutional effectiveness
- Political Geography:
- Russia, America, Ukraine, and European Union
315. Margins, Gravity, and Causality: Export Diversification and Income Levels Reconsidered
- Author:
- Karsten Mau
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The paper shows that the relationship between GDP per capita and levels of specialization can be predicted differently depending on whether the intensive or the extensive margin is considered. It shows that at the extensive margin countries continuously diversify their exports and that cross-sectional patterns can be captured well by a gravity equation. Prior studies documenting nonmonotone patterns with respecialization appear to have obtained their results from sample-selection bias, the omitted log-transformation of the income variable, and the neglect of control variables. Furthermore, results from dynamic panel analyses (system GMM) suggest that causality goes in both directions, with income having a contemporaneous impact on diversification, while the feedback effect of diversification on GDP per capita may be delayed. This pattern fits into theoretical rationales that view diversification as driven by technology or efficiency and where diversification generates additional revenues as it proves to be persistent.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Science and Technology
316. The reverse home market effect in exports: A cross-country study of the extensive margin of exports
- Author:
- Medin Hege
- Publication Date:
- 01-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- This paper presents a simple new trade theory model with results that contradict those from standard model. A home market effect in domestic sales of manufactured goods is found to co-exist with a reversed home market effect in exports of manufactured goods. In consequence, for a small country the number of manufacturing firms that sell in the domestic market is lower than proportional whereas the number of exporters is higher than proportional to country size. The proportion of firms that export, decreases with relative size of the home market. Empirical support for the latter prediction is found in a cross-sectional dataset on firm level exports for 116 countries.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Economics, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
317. Regional Trade Agreements in East Asia
- Author:
- Innwon Park
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Both intra - and inter-regional trade agreements are proliferating in East Asia. Deepening regional interdependence through trade and investment, and the necessity for stability and revitalization of the regional economy since the East Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s led the East Asian countries to adopt discriminatory RTAs. Accordingly, East Asian commercial policy stance has shifted from unilateral to bilateral to mega-lateral liberalization. This report attempts to assess the East Asian countries' efforts to liberalize the regional market by cooperating with each other. We investigate (i) why RTAs have been proliferating in East Asia, (ii) what the main characteristics of East Asian RTAs are, (iii) whether the East Asian countries are natural trading partners for each other to enhance welfare gains from RTAs, and (iv) whither East Asian RTAs. From our analysis, we recommend following policy options. First, East Asian RTAs should follow an expansionary RTA path (for example, AFTA and five ASEAN+1 FTAs → RCEP and/or TPP → FTAAP). Second, as we consider the high dependence on external economies through global trade and investment, East Asia needs to cooperate with major external trading partners by forming cross-regional RTAs with the EU and US. Third, in order to enable East Asian economies to take the more desirable expansionary RTA path, harmonizing or simplifying ROO, the cumulation of value contents among the RTA members in East Asia, and enhancing trade facilitation should be a prerequisite considering the complicated web of RTAs, regional production networks, and the consolidation of the FTAAP.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- East Asia and Asia
318. The governance of global value chains for live butterflies
- Author:
- Rich Karl, Magda Rich, and P.G. Chengappa
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Despite estimates that the global butterfly trade generates over US$100 million annually in sales of pupae for exhibitions and deadstock for a range of collector and artisanal uses, almost no research has been conducted that unpacks the dynamics of these value chains. This paper remedies this gap by highlighting the governance structure of the value chain, with important implications on the benefits for chain participants, upgrading strategies, sectoral sustainability, and the potential for new market entrants. This research on live butterfly chains reveals the fragility of current modes of economic organization that promote overproduction as threatening the long-term viability for the industry as a whole. The authors propose an alternative governance model based on the use of individually transferrable quotas, or ITQs, as a means of improving the performance of certain butterfly value chains.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, International Trade and Finance, and Governance
319. Sustainability Coffee Certification in India
- Author:
- Rich Karl, Magda Rich, P.G. Chengappa, Arun Muniyappa, Yadava C.G, Ganashruthi M.K., Pradeepa Babu B.N., and Shubha Y.C.
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Certification programs has been employed in many agricultural products as a means to encourage and communicate compliance with standards associated with various attributes, such as organic, fair-trade, GMO free, and eco-friendly, among others. Such programs further seek to provide added value, through a price premium, to producers and supply chain actors associated with the label. In this paper, we review a number of global labeling and certification programs that could add value for coffee farms in India through the promotion of conservation and environmental protection. We provide results from a survey conducted on a sample of coffee farms in Coorg district, India to assess their awareness and perceptions related towards certified coffee and environmental conservation in general. Survey results illustrate strong positive associations with the environment by coffee planters, particularly among certified and organic producers. However, price premiums for certified and organic coffee are relatively small. While the potential of conservation-oriented certification for coffee in Coorg could be relatively limited outside of a few individual-level niches, branding Coorg more generally as a conservation-oriented region could hold promise, leveraging and personalizing the uniqueness of the natural offerings from Coorg and tapping into burgeoning associations with place and region in India.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Economics, Environment, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- India
320. New trade theory: implications for industrial policy
- Author:
- Medin Hege
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The new trade theory, which emerged in the early 1980s, emphasised economies of scale and market failures as driving forces behind international trade. As opposed to the earlier theory, which mainly assumed perfect competition, the new trade theory provided a rationale for industrial policy. This article shows how industrial policy targeting specific firms or industries may be socially desirable within the new trade theory framework. Models from new economic geography and the more recent 'new' new trade theory with heterogeneous firms are also discussed. The main focus is put on models with pecuniary externalities.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, Political Economy, and Politics
321. North America Time for a New Focus
- Author:
- Shannon K. O'Neil
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- North America was once called the New World. The people, their ideas, and the resources of the continent shaped the histories of the Old World—East and West. Today, North America is home to almost five hundred million people living in three vibrant democracies. If the three North American countries deepen their integration and cooperation, they have the potential to again shape world affairs for gen-erations to come.
- Topic:
- Security, Economics, Energy Policy, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
322. Ratings and Regulation: A Case of an Irreversible Marriage?
- Author:
- Giulia Mennillo and Suryapratim Roy
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- What are the rationales for policymakers to rely on putatively disinterested actors such as credit rating agencies (CRAs) for financial regulatory input? This paper draws on perspectives from International Political Economy and Comparative Legal Studies to analyze the reasons behind the use and retention of external ratings as an indirect instrument of financial regulation. We find that allowing `market practice' to determine the relationship between ratings and regulation creates tautological justifications of the CRAs' authority, and raises compelling questions in terms of legitimacy.
- Topic:
- International Trade and Finance, Political Economy, Governance, and Law
323. Versailles Redux? Eurozone Competitiveness in a Dynamic Balassa-Samuelson-Penn Framework
- Author:
- Arvind Subramanian and Kevin Stahler
- Publication Date:
- 11-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- Prima facie, competitiveness adjustments in the eurozone, based on unit labor cost developments, appear sensible and in line with what the economic analyst might have predicted and the economic doctor might have ordered. But a broader and arguably better—Balassa-Samuelson-Penn (BSP)—framework for analyzing these adjustments paints a very different picture. Taking advantage of the newly released PPP-based estimates of the International Comparison Program (2011), we identify a causal BSP relationship. We apply this framework to computing more appropriate measures of real competitiveness changes in Europe and other advanced economies in the aftermath of the recent global crises. There has been a deterioration, not improvement, in competitiveness in the periphery countries between 2007 and 2013. Second, the pattern of adjustment within the eurozone has been dramatically perverse, with Germany having improved competitiveness by 9 percent and with Greece's having deteriorated by 9 percent. Third, real competitiveness changes are strongly correlated with nominal exchange rate changes, which suggests the importance of having a flexible (and preferably independent) currency for effecting external adjustments. Fourth, internal devaluation—defined as real competitiveness improvements in excess of nominal exchange rate changes—is possible but seems limited in scope and magnitude. Our results are robust to adjusting the BSP framework to take account of the special circumstances of countries experiencing unemployment. Even if we ignore the BSP effect, the broad pattern of limited and lopsided adjustment in the eurozone remains.
- Topic:
- Economics, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Europe
324. Sustainability of Public Debt in the United States and Japan
- Author:
- William R. Cline
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- This paper applies the probabilistic debt sustainability model developed for the euro area in Cline (2012, 2014) to sovereign debt in the United States and Japan. The results indicate that to avoid further increases in the expected ratio of public debt to GDP over the next decade, average annual primary deficits will need to be reduced by about 0.75 percent of GDP in the United States and by about 3 percent of GDP in Japan from the likely baselines as of mid-2014.
- Topic:
- Debt, Diplomacy, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, and East Asia
325. Exploring the Prospects for Russian-Turkish Cooperation in a Turbulent Neighborhood
- Author:
- Dmitri V. Trenin and Memduh Karakullukçu
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- Even though tensions over Ukraine will inevitably cast a shadow over the bilateral relationship, Russia and Turkey—a NATO member—continue to share a range of important interests. Indeed, there are a number of areas in which the two can work together in their common neighborhood, which stretches from the South Caucasus and the Levant to Central Asia and Afghanistan. A high-level working group on Russian-Turkish regional cooperation has sketched a forward-looking approach for Russia and Turkey in tackling regional challenges.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, International Trade and Finance, and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Turkey, Middle East, and Asia
326. The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership:European Disintegration, Unemployment and Instability
- Author:
- Jeronim Capaldo
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
- Abstract:
- According to its proponents, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will stimulate growth in Europe and in the US. Projections endorsed by the European Commission point to positive, although negligible, gains in terms of GDP and personal incomes. In a paradox, these projections also show that any gains in Trans-Atlantic trade would happen at the expense of intra-EU trade reversing the process of European economic integration. Furthermore, recent literature has pointed out several problems in the most influential assessment of the TTIP's effects. Projections by different institutions have been shown to rely on the same Computable General Equilibrium model that has proven inadequate as a tool for trade policy analysis. In this paper we assess the effects of TTIP using the United Nations Global Policy Model, which incorporates more sensible assumptions on macroeconomic adjustment, employment dynamics, and global trade. We project that TTIP will lead to a contraction of GDP, personal incomes and employment. We also project an increase in financial instability and a continuing downward trend in the labor share of GDP. Evaluated with the United Nations model, TTIP appears to favor economic dis-integration, rather than integration, in Europe. At a minimum, this shows that official studies do not offer a solid basis for an informed decision on TTIP.
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Labor Issues
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, and United Nations
327. Avoiding the Blind Alley: China's Economic Overhaul and Its Global Implications
- Author:
- Daniel H. Rosen
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- PRESIDENT XI JINPING ANNOUNCED a sweeping overhaul for China's economy in November 2013, with pledges to make market forces decisive, treat homegrown and foreign investors with the same laws and regulations, and change the mission statement of the government. The reform program, known as the Decisions plan and presented at the Communist Party leadership's Third Plenum meeting, is comprehensive and marks a turning point in China's modern history. The degree of boldness also indicates that after 35 years of world-beating economic performance, China's development model is obsolete and in need of urgent, not gradual, replacement. To justify the risks, President Xi quoted an impassioned plea for policy modernization by his predecessor Deng Xiaoping: the only way to avoid a dead end – a blind alley – is to deepen reform and opening both at home and with the world.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Political Economy, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- China
328. Implementing Structural Reforms in Abenomics: How to Reduce the Cost of Doing Business in Japan
- Author:
- Jamal Ibrahim Haidar and Takeo Hoshi
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
- Abstract:
- Improving the environment for business is an important part of the growth strategy of Abenomics. As the KPI (Key Performance Indicator) for this effort, the Abe Administration aims to improve Japan's rank in the World Bank Doing Business Ranking from the current #15 among high-income OECD countries to one of the top three. This paper clarifies what it takes for Japan to be among top three countries in terms of ease of doing business. By looking at details of the World Bank Doing Business ranking, we identify various reforms that Japan could implement to improve the ranking. Then, we classify the reforms into four groups depending on whether the reform requires legal changes and whether the reform is likely to face strong political resistance. By just doing the reforms that do not require legal changes and are not likely to face strong political opposition, Japan can improve the ranking to 9th. To be in the top 3, Japan would need to implement all the reforms except for those that require changing the laws and are likely to face strong political resistance, even under the unrealistic assumption that the other countries do not reduce the cost of doing business. Thus, in order to be one of the top three countries among OECD countries in terms of ease of doing business, Japan would most likely need to carry out all the reforms identified in this paper.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Japan
329. Impact Inventing: Strengthening the Ecosystem for Invention-Based Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets
- Author:
- Alexander N. Pan
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- Over the past decade, a growing segment of social entrepreneurs and small and growing businesses(SGBs) has emerged that seeks to utilize the power of invention to create products and companies that improve the lives of people living in poverty around the world. We call this class of entrepreneur-looking to develop and disseminate tangible products that will be manufactured and sold at high volumes via market mechanisms-an invention-based entrepreneur.1 ANDE believes that invention-based entrepreneurs are supported or impeded by a number of environmental factors, or the entrepreneurial ecosystem in which they work. While ANDE and our members have made significant progress toward strengthening these entrepreneurial ecosystems in emerging markets, invention-based entrepreneurs have a unique set of needs that differentiates them from typical SGBs. Consequently, we believe we can improve the ecosystem to support the growth of this industry, and thereby unleash the full potential impact of these invention-based entrepreneurs.
- Topic:
- Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, Political Economy, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- United States and South Africa
330. The Weightless Marketplace: Coming to Terms with Innovative Payment Systems, Digital Currencies and Online Labor Markets
- Author:
- David Bollier
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- The structure and character of commerce has changed dramatically since the arrival of the World Wide Web and various digital technologies, particularly mobile phones and large, interconnected databases. Consumers now have much greater market power and choice. Markets can more easily scale, often globally. Co-production and fluid producer/consumer interactions are routine. Transactions themselves have become far cheaper and more easily consummated.
- Topic:
- Foreign Exchange, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Science and Technology, Communications, and Monetary Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
331. Comments on the September 29, 2014 FSB Consultative Document, "Cross-Border Recognition of Resolution Action"
- Author:
- Steven L. Schwarcz
- Publication Date:
- 11-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- The International Law Research Program (ILRP) of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Financial Stability Board's (FSB's) Consultative Document, “Cross-Border Recognition of Resolution Action” (hereafter referred to as the “Consultative Document”) that was released on September 29, 2014.
- Topic:
- International Trade and Finance, Financial Crisis, and Reform
332. The Environmental Risk Disclosure Regime: Navigating Complexity in Global Financial Markets
- Author:
- Jason Thistlethwaite
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- In recent years, a plurality of different governance initiatives has emerged that are designed to expand the disclosure of environmental risk within financial markets. The emergence of these initiatives represents an important policy development, and it has the potential to reduce environmental risk within the financial sector by incentivizing investments in sustainable economic activity capable of long-term value creation. Unfortunately, environmental risk disclosure has yet to be assessed as a field of governance activity in addition to its potential effectiveness in improving disclosure within financial markets. This paper addresses this gap by describing environmental risk disclosure as a “regime complex” that is defined by a field of fragmented but related governance initiatives that lacks an overarching hierarchy. While this regime complex does reveal evidence for policy convergence among different initiatives, it lacks the enforcement necessary to produce a coherent and comparable disclosure and contributes to uncertainty within the financial sector over the impact of environmental risk. This uncertainty justifies an expanded role of international financial regulations in establishing a mandatory and harmonized disclosure standard that can be applied across different domestic jurisdictions.
- Topic:
- Environment, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- United Nations
333. The State-owned Enterprises Issue in China's Prospective Trade Negotiations
- Author:
- John Whalley and Hejing Chen
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- China, in the next few years, faces the prospect of major regional and bilateral trade negotiations possibly including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan, Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand and separate negotiations with India, Korea and Japan, potentially the United States and even possibly the European Union. A likely key element in such negotiations, and one already raised by the United States in the TPP negotiations, is that of trade arrangements involving state-owned enterprises (SOEs). China is viewed from outside as having a large SOE sector, and large SOEs are viewed as having a protected monopoly position in domestic Chinese markets.
- Topic:
- International Trade and Finance, Markets, and World Trade Organization
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, Europe, India, Asia, Australia, and Korea
334. China in the G20 Summitry: Review and Decision-making Process
- Author:
- Alex He
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- As the largest emerging economy, China believes that the Group of Twenty (G20), instead of the Group of Eight (G8), is the ideal platform for its participation in global governance. This paper examines the reasons why China joined the G20 rather than the G8, and then focuses on a detailed review of China's participation in G20 summits since the enhanced forum began in 2008. China took a very active and cooperative attitude in dealing with the global financial crisis in 2008-2009. The paper observes that China also insisted on its own agenda for reforms to the international monetary system, through reforms to the international financial institutions that manage it — in particular, raising the number of voting shares and the representation of developing countries at the IMF and the World Bank. Based on the reviews of China's performance in the G20 summits since 2008, the paper explores China's policy making through its participation in the G20, determining that it is shaped by several major economic departments in addition to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and coordinated by a vice premier responsible for economic and financial affairs. The paper concludes that China has gained immensely from its participation in the G20. Most importantly, China entered the centre stage of global economic governance through the G20, which allowed the country to demonstrate that it is a responsible great power, and communicate and maintain relations with other major powers. The main challenges China has faced since joining the G20, from the perspective of some Chinese scholars, are a lack of capacity for agenda setting and shaping initiatives, as well as inadequate communication and coordination among different government departments and between the Sherpa and financial tracks of the G20.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, International Monetary Fund, Global Recession, Financial Crisis, and World Bank
- Political Geography:
- China
335. China's Goals in the G20: Expectation, Strategy and Agenda
- Author:
- Alex He
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- The G20 has emerged as the lynchpin of China's involvement in global economic governance. It remains the only economic institutional setting where the country can operate on par with major Western powers. China has a strong interest in maintaining the status of the G20 as the premier forum for economic cooperation, and a vested interest in ensuring that the G20 does not degrade into yet another “talk shop” of multilateral diplomacy. However, the Chinese leadership's current approach to the G20 is not driven by a desire to position the country as a leading agenda setter. Instead, China's main policy priority is ensuring that the country is treated as an equal and respected partner. China recognizes that in many ways it is still in a comparatively weak position and does not have the institutional capabilities and talents needed to operate in global financial and economic institutions such as the G20.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Cooperation, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
336. Reforming the Global Architecture of Financial Regulation: The G20, the IMF and the FSB
- Author:
- Malcolm D. Knight
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- The global financial crisis that began in 2007 and deepened in 2008 exposed major weaknesses in financial and macroeconomic policy coordination, and profound flaws in financial risk management and regulation in a number of advanced countries. The severity of the crisis led global leaders to recognize that they must find a way to reform the global regulatory architecture to ensure that the financial system can absorb shocks while continuing to function efficiently.
- Topic:
- International Trade and Finance, Markets, International Monetary Fund, Financial Crisis, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- United States, United Kingdom, and Europe
337. Sovereign Debt Restructuring: Old Debates, New Challenges
- Author:
- James A. Haley
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Ten years ago, in the wake of the Asian financial crisis and subsequent Argentine default, the international community debated how to best promote the timely, effective restructuring of sovereign debt. The debate then focused largely on the relative merits of a so-called statutory approach for sovereign restructurings, with features of domestic bankruptcy regimes, versus the voluntary use of contractual terms designed to facilitate restructurings. At the time, the statutory approach did not have the support necessary to move from proposal to policy and efforts to improve the framework of sovereign debt restructuring rested on the contractual approach.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Asia
338. Cost allocation in investment arbitration: Forward toward incentivization
- Author:
- John Gaffney and James Nicholson
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- In their contribution to the FDI Perspectives series, Baiju Vasani and Anastasiya Ugale drew attention to an emerging trend in favor of the so-called "costs follow the event" (CFtE) (or loser pays) approach, which is in contrast to the more "traditional" approach under which parties share the costs of arbitration equally, with each party covering its own legal fees.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Rights, International Trade and Finance, Governance, and Reform
339. Locked In or Left Out? Transatlantic Trade Beyond Brussels and Washington
- Author:
- Sinan Ülgen
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- Many countries are interested in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) that Brussels and Washington are negotiating. But the United States and the European Union (EU) began talks without devising a way to involve their main trade partners. This approach, understandable given the complexity of the negotiations, could produce a bilateral agreement that is difficult to multilateralize. To influence the negotiations, third countries interested in eventually joining TTIP should pursue an agenda centered on the accession mechanism, the elimination of nontariff barriers, and dispute settlement.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Rights, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
340. How to enhance labor provisions in IIAs,
- Author:
- Rafael Tamayo-Álvarez, Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez, and Juan David Rodriguez-Rios
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Free trade agreements (FTAs) and international investment agreements (IIAs) are regarded as instruments to promote world trade, investment flows and market liberalization. The question, however, is whether they promote sustainable development as well. This Perspective contemplates incorporating voluntary codes of conduct for multinational enterprises (MNEs) in IIAs to strengthen the protection of labor rights, "the social component [...] embedded in the notion of sustainable development."
- Topic:
- Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, and Labor Issues
341. Withdrawing incentives to attract FDI: Can host countries put the genie back in the bottle?
- Author:
- Anna De Luca
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Many governments offer incentives to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). For example, the renewable energy sector has benefitted from large national incentive schemes in the past decade. However, the withdrawal of such incentives can lead to investors bringing investment treaty claims against host countries. This Perspective looks at some claims host countries face from investors in the renewable energy sector and their implications.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Italy
342. How Should Donors Respond to Resource Windfalls in Poor Countries?
- Author:
- Alan Gelb, Anton Dobronogov, and Fernando Brant Saldanha
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Natural resources are being discovered in more countries, both rich and poor. Many of the new and aspiring resource exporters are low-income countries that are still receiving substantial levels of foreign aid. Resource discoveries open up enormous opportunities, but also expose producing countries to huge trade and fiscal shocks from volatile commodity markets if their exports are highly concentrated. A large literature on the "resource curse" shows that these are damaging unless countries manage to cushion the effects through countercyclical policy. It also shows that the countries least likely to do so successfully are those with weaker institutions, and these are most likely to remain as clients of the aid system. This paper considers the question of how donors should respond to their clients' potential windfalls. It discusses several ways in which the focus and nature of foreign aid programs will need to change, including the level of financial assistance. The paper develops some ideas on how a donor like the International Development Association might structure its program of financial transfers to mitigate volatility. The paper outlines ways in which the International Development Association could use hedging instruments to vary disbursements while still working within a framework of country allocations that are not contingent on oil prices. Simulations suggest that the International Development Association could be structured to provide a larger degree of insurance if it is calibrated to hedge against large declines in resource prices. These suggestions are intended to complement other mechanisms, including self-insurance using Sovereign Wealth Funds (where possible) and the facilities of the International Monetary Fund.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Natural Resources, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ghana
343. India and Pakistan: The Opportunity Cost of Conflict
- Author:
- Shuja Nawaz and Mohan Guruswamy
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- India and Pakistan, born out of a single British-ruled entity in 1947, have continued an implacable rivalry marked by periodic wars and hostilities as well as through proxies. This unending conflict has led them to invest heavily in their militaries and even to choose nuclear weaponry as a deterrence on the part of Pakistan toward India and on India's part toward both Pakistan and China. Although there have been occasional moves toward confidence building measures and most recently toward more open borders for trade, deep mistrust and suspicion mark this sibling rivalry. Their mutual fears have fuelled an arms race, even though increasingly civil society actors now appear to favor rapprochement and some sort of an entente. The question is whether these new trends will help diminish the military spending on both sides.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, China, India, Asia, and Southeast Asia
344. Produced Water: Asset or Waste?
- Author:
- Blythe Lyons
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- US national security is enhanced by energy security. The United States is enjoying a unique opportunity to bolster its energy security by increasing domestic production of oil and gas resources. The recent explosion in domestic unconventional production will allow an expanded bandwidth of US responses to the turmoil in the Middle East and Europe. If further exploited, the move toward energy self-sufficiency also gives the United States a cushion to reassess its global strategic policies. Expanding the domestic resource base further provides the United States with an industrial advantage in global commerce.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, International Trade and Finance, National Security, and Oil
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, and Middle East
345. Uncertain Energy: The Caribbean's Gamble with Venezuela
- Author:
- David L. Goldwyn and Cory R Gill
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- It has been nearly ten years since the launch of Petrocaribe, a program designed to win the political loyalty of the Caribbean states through generous credit subsidies to help import Venezuelan crude oil and products. Recipient states have grown dependent on high-cost, high-carbon fuels for power generation and Venezuelan credit to balance their budgets.
- Topic:
- Economics, Energy Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Oil
- Political Geography:
- South America, Latin America, Caribbean, and Venezuela
346. Trade policy issues in the Wider Europe – that led to war and not yet to peace
- Author:
- Michael Emerson
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- This paper looks at the trade policy landscape of the EU and the wider Europe, with a focus on issues arising from the signature on 27 June 2014 of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements (DCFTAs) between the EU and three East European countries (Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine), and actual or prospective issues relating to the customs union of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan (BRK), and the Eurasian Economic Union whose founding treaty was signed on 29 May 2014.The huge expansion of intercontinental free trade area negotiations currently underway, in which the EU is an active participant alongside much of the Americas and Asia, stands in contrast with Russia's choice to restrict itself to the Eurasian Economic Union, which is only a marginal extension of its own economy. Alone among the major economies in the world, Russia does not seek to integrate economically with any major economic bloc, which should be a matter of serious concern for Moscow. Within the wider Europe, the EU's DCFTAs with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia are a major new development, but Russia now threatens trade sanctions against Ukraine in particular, the economic case for which seems unfounded and whose unilateral application would also impair the customs union.The Belarus-Russia-Kazakhstan customs union itself poses several issues of compatibility with the rules of the WTO, which in turn are viewed by the EU as an impediment to discussing possible free trade scenarios with the customs union, although currently there are far more fundamental political impediments to any consideration of such ideas. Nonetheless, this paper looks at various long-term scenarios, if only as a reminder that there could be much better alternatives to the present context of conflict around Ukraine.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Asia
347. ECB Policy and Eurozone Fragility: Was De Grauwe Right?
- Author:
- Ana-Maria Fuertes, Elena Kalotychou, and Orkun Saka
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- Paul De Grauwe ' s fragility hypothesis states that member countries of a monetary union such as the eurozone are highly vulnerable to a self – fulfilling mechanism by which the efforts of investors to avoid losses from default can end up triggering the very default they fear. The authors test this hypothesis by applying an eclectic methodology to a time window around Mario Draghi ' s " whatever it takes " (to keep the eurozone on firm footing) pledge on 26 July 2012 . This pledge was soon followed by the announcement of the Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) program me (the prospective and conditional purchase by the European Central Bank of sovereign bonds of eurozone countries having difficulty issuing debt) . The principal components of eurozone credit default swap spreads validate this choice of time frame . An event study reveals significant pre – announcement contagion emanating from Spain to Italy, Belgium, France and Austria. Furthermore, time – series regression confirms frequent clusters of large shocks affecting the credit default swap spreads of the four eurozone countries but solely during the pre – announcement period. The findings of this report support the fragility hypothesis for the eurozone and endorse the Outright Monetary Transactions programme.
- Topic:
- Economics, Foreign Exchange, International Trade and Finance, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Europe, France, Belgium, and Italy
348. Trade Hallucination: Risks of Trade Facilitation and Suggestions for Implementation
- Author:
- Jeronim Capaldo
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
- Abstract:
- Official estimates tend to overstate the benefits of trade facilitation and ignore its costs. When all underlying assumptions are brought to light, expecting large gains appears unreasonable. At the same time, estimated employment benefits may easily turn into net losses.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Labor Issues
- Political Geography:
- Europe
349. The Transparency Rules and Transparency Convention: A good start and model for broader reform in investor-state arbitration
- Author:
- Lise Johnson
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- In July 2013, after nearly three years of work, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) adopted a set of arbitration rules that will help open some investor-state arbitrations to public view. The UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration (Transparency Rules) were crafted with input from governments, academics, arbitration practitioners, and non-governmental organizations, and approved by consensus by the member states. When applied, the Transparency Rules will require disclosure of information submitted to, and issued by, arbitral tribunals throughout proceedings, mandate open hearings and expressly allow for participation by non-parties to a dispute. The Transparency Rules also guard against disclosure of confidential information and establish a repository in which all information will be published.
- Topic:
- International Law, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- United Nations
350. Trade and Innovation in Global Networks-Regional Policy Implications
- Author:
- Dieter Ernst
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- This Think Piece explores how integration into international trade through global networks of production (GPNs) and innovation (GINs) might affect a region's innovation capacity. As regions across the globe are progressively integrated into those global networks - some certainly more than others - these regions are all faced with a fundamental challenge: How might progressive integration of its firms into GPNs and GINs affect learning, capability development and innovation? Will network integration unlock new sources of industrial innovation? Or will it act as a poisoned chalice that will sap and erode the region's accumulated capabilities?
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Labor Issues
351. Economic Statecraft Redux: Improving the U.S. State Department's Effectiveness in International Economic Policy
- Author:
- Robert A. Pollard and Gregory N. Hicks
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- At a time when economics has become a more central feature of international relations, the United States needs to raise its game in international economic policy to sustain global leadership. Yet the U.S. government is not well organized at present to meet this challenge.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- United States
352. Trade policy issues in the Wider Europe – that led to war and not yet to peace
- Author:
- Michael Emerson
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- This paper looks at the trade policy landscape of the EU and the wider Europe, with a focus on issues arising from the signature on 27 June 2014 of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements (DCFTAs) between the EU and three East European countries (Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine), and actual or prospective issues relating to the customs union of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan (BRK), and the Eurasian Economic Union whose founding treaty was signed on 29 May 2014. While the contrived collision between these projects has tragically induced Russia to break all the established international security norms by waging war against Ukraine, the present paper deals essentially with trade policy issues. The huge expansion of intercontinental free trade area negotiations currently underway, in which the EU is an active participant alongside much of the Americas and Asia, stands in contrast with Russia's choice to restrict itself to the Eurasian Economic Union, which is only a marginal extension of its own economy. Alone among the major economies in the world, Russia does not seek to integrate economically with any major economic bloc, which should be a matter of serious concern for Moscow. Within the wider Europe, the EU's DCFTAs with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia are a major new development, but Russia now threatens trade sanctions against Ukraine in particular, the economic case for which seems unfounded and whose unilateral application would also impair the customs union. The Belarus-Russia-Kazakhstan customs union itself poses several issues of compatibility with the rules of the WTO, which in turn are viewed by the EU as an impediment to discussing possible free trade scenarios with the customs union, although currently there are far more fundamental political impediments to any consideration of such ideas. Nonetheless this paper looks at various long-term scenarios, if only as a reminder that there could be much better alternatives to the present context of conflict around Ukraine.
- Topic:
- Economics and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Russia, America, Europe, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Asia, and Georgia
353. Global Cybercrime: The Interplay of Politics and Law
- Author:
- Aaron Shull
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Examining global cybercrime as solely a legal issue misses an important facet of the problem. Understanding the applicable legal rules, both domestically and internationally, is important. However, major state actors are using concerted efforts to engage in nefarious cyber activities with the intention of advancing their economic and geostrategic interests. This attempt to advance a narrow set of economic interests through cybercrime and economic cyber espionage holds to the potential to erode the trust in the digital economy that has been a necessary condition for the success of the Internet as an economic engine for innovation and growth. By pursuing these efforts, states are prioritizing short-term interests over long-term stability and a responsibly governed, safe and secure Internet platform. This paper explores the recent unsealing of a 31-count indictment against five Chinese government officials and a significant cyber breach, perpetrated by Chinese actors against Western oil, energy and petrochemical companies. The paper concludes by noting that increased cooperation among governments is necessary, but unlikely to occur as long as the discourse surrounding cybercrime remains so heavily politicized and securitized. If governments coalesced around the notion of trying to prevent the long-term degradation of trust in the online economy, they may profitably advance the dialogue away from mutual suspicion and toward mutual cooperation.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Crime, International Trade and Finance, Terrorism, and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Asia
354. The China-EU BIT: The emerging "Global BIT 2.0"?
- Author:
- Wenhua Shan and Lu Wang
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Since China and the European Union (EU) announced their decision to negotiate a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) at the 14th China-EU Summit in February 2012, the two sides have engaged in two rounds of negotiations. If successful, it will be the first standalone EU BIT, a BIT between the world's largest developed economy and the world's largest developing economy, and will occupy a unique place in the history of BIT negotiations.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Bilateral Relations, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- China, Europe, and Asia
355. Trade policy issues in the Wider Europe - that led to war and not yet to peace
- Author:
- Michael Emerson
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- This paper looks at the trade policy landscape of the EU and the wider Europe, with a focus on issues arising from the signature on 27 June 2014 of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements (DCFTAs) between the EU and three East European countries (Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine), and actual or prospective issues relating to the customs union of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan (BRK), and the Eurasian Economic Union whose founding treaty was signed on 29 May 2014. While the contrived collision between these projects has tragically induced Russia to break all the established international security norms by waging war against Ukraine , the present paper deals essentially with trade policy issues . The huge expansion of intercontinental free trade area negotiation s currently underway, in which the EU is an active participant alongside much of the Americas and Asia, stands in contrast with Russia's choice to restrict itself to the Eurasian Economic Union, which is only a marginal extension of its own economy. Alone among the major economies in the world, Russia does not seek to integrate economically with any major economic bloc, which should be a matter of serious concern for Moscow. Within the wider Europe, the EU's DCFTAs with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia are a major new development, but Russia now threatens trade sanctions against Ukraine in particular, the economic case for which seems unfounded and whose unilateral application would also impair the customs union. The Belarus-Russia-Kazakhstan customs union itself poses several issues of compatibility with the rules of the WTO, which in turn are viewed by the EU as an impediment to discussing possible free trade scenarios with the customs union, although currently there are far more fundamental political impediments to any consideration of such ideas. Nonetheless this paper looks at various long-term scenarios, if only as a reminder that there could be much better alternatives to the present context of conflict around Ukraine.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Diplomacy, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan
356. Transatlantic Economic Agreements: Parsing CETA and TTIP
- Author:
- Patricia M. Goff
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- In October 2013, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that the Government of Canada had reached a "political agreement" with the European Union on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The timing of Mr. Harper's statement was not coincidental. Evidence suggests that talks between Canada and the European Union are actually continuing several months after his announcement, if only on technical elements. Nonetheless, it seems the Government of Canada wanted to signal that a successful end to Canada-EU talks was in sight, just as talks between the United States and the European Union were getting under way towards the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The Canadian government did not want to risk a redirection of European energies away from the Canadian negotiation toward their American counterparts.
- Topic:
- Economics and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Canada
357. John Anderson's Data Mining Mission to Sumatra in 1823: When Method Creates the Object
- Author:
- Farish A. Noor
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
- Abstract:
- Today the term 'data mining' is used in both academic and non-academic circles, though the practice is neither novel nor new. This paper looks at the data collection mission led by John Anderson on behalf of the British East India Company in 1823, and considers if it is possible to collect data in a purely objective, neutral manner. Though John Anderson was careful in his writing, and sought to communicate his findings in a dry, objective fashion, his own subject-position as a functionary working for the East India Company stands out in his account of the mission to Sumatra. This paper argues that the process of data collection is seldom ever a truly neutral enterprise, and that in the framing of the object of analysis, the cultural and socio-economic subject-position of the researcher/analyst is always present, rendering it impossible for there to ever be a truly objective work of research/analysis. In this respect an appraisal of Anderson's work today is also relevant for contemporary scholars who may likewise attempt an 'objective' approach to their work, and it reminds us that the method often constructs the object under scrutiny.
- Topic:
- International Trade and Finance, Science and Technology, and Communications
- Political Geography:
- Asia
358. Does Immigration Impact Economic Freedom?
- Author:
- Benjamin Powell, Alex Nowrasteh, J. R. Clark, Robert A. Lawson, and Ryan H. Murphy
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The economics literature generally finds a positive, but small, gain in income to native-born populations from immigrants and potentially large gains in world incomes. But immigrants can also impact a recipient nation's institutions. A growing empirical literature supports the importance of strong private property rights, a rule of law, and an environment of economic freedom for promoting long run prosperity. Although the literature on the impact of economic freedom on various social and economic outcomes is quite large, comparatively little work has tried to explain economic freedom as a dependent variable. This paper empirically examines how immigration impacts a region's policies and institutions. We find small but positive increases in institutional quality as a result of immigration.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Welfare, International Trade and Finance, and Immigration
359. The Impact of Asian Investment on Africa's Textile Industries
- Author:
- Tang Xiaoyang
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- Asian investors' impact on Africa's cotton, textile, and apparel sectors may have profound consequences for the continent's industrialization and development. As southeast African countries seek to industrialize and build indigenous cotton-textile-apparel value chains, the interactions between Asian—particularly Chinese—investors and African companies become more and more complex. Indeed, Asian investors present both a challenge to and an opportunity for local industries, and southeast African countries need a clear vision and tailored policies to make the most of the opportunities. Asian investors' impact on Africa's cotton, textile, and apparel sectors may have profound consequences for the continent's industrialization and development. As southeast African countries seek to industrialize and build indigenous cotton-textile-apparel value chains, the interactions between Asian-particularly Chinese-investors and African companies become more and more complex. Indeed, Asian investors present both a challenge to and an opportunity for local industries, and southeast African countries need a clear vision and tailored policies to make the most of the opportunities.
- Topic:
- Economics and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Asia
360. Regional Integration In Africa: Some Recent Developments And Challenges
- Author:
- Idris Ademuyiwa and Eberechukwu Uneze
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA)
- Abstract:
- African countries have been left out of the recent benefits accruing from international trade. For example, they accounted for only 3.2 percent of world trade in 2013 compared to 5 percent in the mid-1960s. Regional integration can reverse this weak performance as it holds the promise for countries to gain from the resultant economies of scale and enhanced competitiveness. It will also help to expand the markets for foreign direct investment.
- Topic:
- International Trade and Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, Regional Integration, Trade, and Trade Policy
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Latin America
361. Offshoring, Mismatch, and Labor Market Outcomes
- Author:
- David M. Arseneau and Brendan Epstein
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Abstract:
- We study the role of labor market mismatch in the adjustment to a trade liberalization that results in the offshoring of high-tech production. Our model features two-sided heterogeneity in the labor market: high- and low-skilled workers are matched in a frictional labor market with high- and low-tech firms. Mismatch employment occurs when high-skilled workers choose to accept a less desirable job in the low-tech industry. The main result is that--perhaps counter-intuitively--this type of job displacement is actually beneficial for the labor market in the country doing the offshoring. Mismatch allows the economy to reallocate domestic high-skilled labor across both high- and low-tech industries. In doing so, mismatch dampens both the increase in the aggregate unemployment rate and the decline in aggregate wages that come as a consequence of shifting domestic production abroad.
- Topic:
- Globalization, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, Labor Issues, Work Culture, and Labor Market
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
362. Natural Resources and Capital Flight: A Role for Policy?
- Author:
- Lemma W. Senbet, Gregoire Rota-Graziosi, and Rabah Arezki
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
- Abstract:
- This paper investigates the relationship between natural resources and capital flight in the form of tax avoidance from multinational corporations. In particular, it focuses on the spillover effects in terms of tax revenue mobilization and stock market development from the thin capitalization rule, a policy instrument aimed at limiting firm tax avoidance through setting limits on a firm’s foreign indebtedness. We exploit the plausibly exogenous within-country variations of data on oil discoveries for a panel of 117 countries during the period 1970–2012. We find evidence that oil discoveries significantly enhance both tax revenue mobilization and stock market development, but only when a thin capitalization rule is in place. We argue that these findings can be explained through the limiting role of a thin capitalization rule in multinational companies’ use of financial transactions among their affiliates or tax havens to transfer part of the profit. The thin capitalization rule may thus not only help limit the erosion of the domestic tax base but may also entice multinational corporations to resort to using and developing the domestic financial system.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Financial Markets, Economic Growth, Capital Flows, and Capital Flight
- Political Geography:
- Africa
363. The BRICS Development Bank: A New Tool for South-South Cooperation?
- Author:
- Jan Schablitzki
- Publication Date:
- 12-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for Development and Peace
- Abstract:
- The Sixth BRICS Summit, held in July 2014 in Fortaleza, Brazil, resulted in agreements to establish a New Development Bank (NDB) as well as a Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA). This Policy Brief discusses the impact of the NDB on the existing architecture of development finance, focusing on the bank’s potential contribution to the BRICS’ South-South cooperation. The first section outlines the BRICS countries’ rational for establishing the NDB. In the following section potential development paradigms that are likely to be adopted by the NDB are addressed. Since no decision has been taken on the bank’s future governance, this section will be based on the experiences from the BRICS’ national development banks. Once the NDB’s governance is agreed upon, it will impact whether and to what extent the new bank will cooperate with the existing international system of development finance. A third section discusses the NDB’s potential appeal for the Global South. The Global South shares with the BRICS a disappointment with the existing system, and connects specific hopes and expectations with the foundation of the NDB. Examining the Banks effect on South-South cooperation, the section includes prospects on the Bank’s capital potential and by that its potential contribution to the prevalent demand for infrastructure financing in developing countries. A final section summarises the points made and aims to put the present perceptions of the NDB in rather cautious perspectives.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Infrastructure, and Developing World
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
364. The Evolution of Los Zetas in Mexico and Central America: Sadism as an Instrument of Cartel Warfare
- Author:
- Dr. George W. Grayson
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
- Abstract:
- The United States has diplomatic relations with 194 independent nations. Of these, none is more important to America than Mexico in terms of trade, investment, tourism, natural resources, migration, energy, and security. In recent years, narco-violence has afflicted Mexico with more than 50,000 drug-related murders since 2007 and some 26,000 men, women, and children missing. President Enrique Peña Nieto has tried to divert national attention from the bloodshed through reforms in energy, education, anti-hunger, health-care, and other areas. Even though the death rate has declined since the chief executive took office on December 1, 2012, other crimes continue to plague his nation. Members of the business community report continual extortion demands; the national oil company PEMEX suffers widespread theft of oil, gas, explosives, and solvents (with which to prepare methamphetamines); hundreds of Central American migrants have shown up in mass graves; and the public identifies the police with corruption and villainy. Washington policymakers, who overwhelmingly concentrate on Asia and the Mideast, would be well-advised to focus on the acute dangers that lie principally below the Rio Grande, but whose deadly avatars are spilling into our nation.
- Topic:
- Corruption, International Trade and Finance, Migration, Governance, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Mexico and United States of America
365. The 2014 Sochi Olympics
- Author:
- Sergey Markedonov
- Publication Date:
- 01-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- On February 7, 2014, the 22nd Winter Olympic Games will open in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. Because these games will be the first Olympics hosted by Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, they will be more than a mere athletic competition—they possess a singular symbolic character, important to Russia and particularly to Russian president Vladimir Putin. On the eve of the 119th session of the International Olympic Committee in Guatemala on July 4, 2007, at which the decision on the host city for the 2014 games would be made, Putin was the main Russian lobbyist for the Sochi project.
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Russia
366. Stunted Growth: Why Don't African Firms Create More Jobs?
- Author:
- Vijaya Ramachandran, Leonardo Iacovone, and Martin Schmidt
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Many countries in Africa suffer high rates of underemployment or low rates of productive employment; many also anticipate large numbers of people to enter the workforce in the near future. This paper asks the question: Are African firms creating fewer jobs than those located elsewhere? And, if so, why? One reason may be that weak business environments slow the growth of firms and distort the allocation of resources away from better-performing firms, hence reducing their potential for job creation.
- Topic:
- Economics, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Fragile/Failed State
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Israel
367. Estimating Illicit Flows of Capital via Trade Mispricing: A Forensic Analysis of Data on Switzerland
- Author:
- Alex Cobham, Petr Janský, and Alex Prats
- Publication Date:
- 01-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- This paper assesses the role of Switzerland as the leading hub for global commodities trading, in terms of the patterns of prices received by original exporting countries and subsequently by Switzerland and other jurisdictions. We find support for the hypotheses that (i) the average prices for commodity exports from developing countries to Switzerland are lower than those to other jurisdictions; and that (ii) Switzerland declares higher (re-)export prices for those commodities than do other jurisdictions. This pattern implies a potential capital loss for commodity exporting developing countries and we provide a range of estimates of that loss - each of which suggests the scale is substantial (the most conservative is around $8 billion a year) and that the issue merits greater research and policy attention. An important first step would be a Swiss commitment to meet international norms of trade transparency.
- Topic:
- Economics, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Developing World
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Switzerland
368. Facing West, Facing North: Canada and Australia in East Asia
- Author:
- Leonard Edwards and Peter Jennings
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Canada and Australia have shared interests in bolstering economic prosperity and security cooperation across East Asia. The focus of the world economy has shifted to Asia; Canada should follow the path Australia has taken for decades and orient itself — in economic and security terms — toward the emerging economies of East Asia. The risk of regional instability is growing, however, due to China's re-emergence, continued speculation about US strategic engagement in Asia and increased competition over disputed maritime boundaries. These developments provide opportunities for collaboration between countries like Canada and Australia. Non-traditional security threats, including natural disasters, climate change, food security and cyber security, point to a range of areas where the two countries can work more closely together.
- Topic:
- Security, Diplomacy, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Bilateral Relations, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- America, Canada, and Australia
369. Reforming Finance: Macro and Micro Perspectives
- Author:
- Pierre Siklos
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Reforms of the financial system in the wake of the global financial crisis are incomplete. Beyond reforms, good judgment is essential in a crisis. Short-termism in finance cannot be completely controlled by regulation and supervision. Financial crises are inevitable but need not be as virulent at the global financial crisis. Central banks will have to rethink their policies and how they interact with other agencies partially responsible for maintaining financial system stability.
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, Financial Crisis, Governance, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Europe
370. Worldwide Cost of Living 2014: Which city is the most expensive to live in? Which city is the cheapest?
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Economist Intelligence Unit
- Abstract:
- Despite Abenomics driving consumer confidence and price inflation, a weaker yen has pushed Osaka and Tokyo away from the top of the cost of living ranking. This has paved the way for Singapore, which has been steadily moving up the ranking over the last decade, to claim the unenviable title of world's most expensive city. Singapore's rising price prominence has been steady rather than spectacular. The city-state was 18th most expensive ten years ago and has actually seen the cost of living compared with New York City decline over the last 12 months. However, over the last decade a 40% currency appreciation, coupled with solid price inflation, has consistently pushed Singapore up the ranking.
- Topic:
- Economics, Energy Policy, International Trade and Finance, Natural Resources, Food, and Infrastructure
- Political Geography:
- New York, Tokyo, and Singapore
371. The Development of Natural Resource Linkages in Mozambique: The Ruling Elite Capture of New Economic Opportunities
- Author:
- Lars Buur
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- This paper explores linkage creation in Mozambique related to mega-projects in natural resource extraction and development from a political economy perspective. It explores through a focus on linkage development related to extractive industries in Mozambique the 'best practice' attempts between commodity producers and local content providers. The paper argues that a relatively elaborate state organizational and institutional setup based on policies, strategies and units with funding tools has emerged over time in order to begin to reap the benefits of large-scale investments in the extractive sectors. However, despite the formal acknowledgement, very little has been achieved with regard to forward and backward linkages, state institutions are often despite the official government rhetoric of importance simply bypassed not only by foreign investors, but also by the political leadership.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Political Economy, Natural Resources, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa
372. Time to Reset the European Neighborhood Policy
- Author:
- Stefan Lehne
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- Through its European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), the European Union (EU) aims to support the structural transformation of its Eastern and Southern neighbors, promoting democracy, the rule of law, and successful market economies. Ten years after the ENP's launch, it is clear that the policy is not working. Adjusting the ENP to the changing reality on the ground, sharpening its tools, and rebuilding its credibility should be a top priority for the EU's foreign policy leadership.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Democratization, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- Europe
373. A High-Carbon Partnership? Chinese-Latin American Relations in a Carbon-Constrained World
- Author:
- Timmons Roberts and Guy Edwards
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Brookings Institution
- Abstract:
- China's rapidly increasing investment, trade and loans in Latin America may be entrenching high-carbon development pathways in the region, a trend scarcely mentioned in policy circles. High-carbon activities include the extraction of fossil fuels and other natural resources, expansion of large-scale agriculture and the energy-intensive stages of processing natural resources into intermediate goods. This paper addresses three examples, including Chinese investments in Venezuela's oil sector and a Costa Rican oil refinery, and Chinese investment in and purchases of Brazilian soybeans. We pose the question of whether there is a tie between China's role in opening up vast resources in Latin America and the way those nations make national climate policy and how they behave at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations. We focus on the period between the 2009 Copenhagen round of negotiations and the run-up to the Paris negotiations scheduled for 2015, when the UNFCCC will attempt to finalize a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Development, International Trade and Finance, Oil, Natural Resources, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- China and Latin America
374. Supporting The Internet as a Platform for International Trade
- Author:
- Joshua Meltzer
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Brookings Institution
- Abstract:
- This paper is about the potential of the Internet as a platform for international trade. A traditional understanding of the impact of the Internet on commerce is derived from the dot.com experience of the 1990s, where Internet companies such as Pets.com and Amazon sold goods online. Since then, the impact of the Internet on commerce has grown and changed. Certainly, the ability to sell goods online remains important. However, the key development is that the Internet is no longer only a digital storefront. Instead, the Internet as described in this working paper is a platform for businesses to sell to customers domestically and overseas, and is a business input that increases productivity and the ability of businesses to compete. Understanding the Internet as a platform for trade highlights its broad economic potential. It emphasizes how the commercial opportunities are no longer limited to Internet companies, but are now available for businesses in all sectors of the economy, from manufacturing to services. Moreover, the global nature of the Internet means that these opportunities are no longer limited to domestic markets, but are embraced wherever Internet access is available.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Science and Technology, and Communications
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, and Europe
375. Designing Youth Employment Policies in Egypt
- Author:
- Akira Murata
- Publication Date:
- 01-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Brookings Institution
- Abstract:
- The paper uses a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to elicit job preferences among youth, and analyzes survey data collected from engineering students at 10 universities in six cities in Egypt during the period of July through October 2013. For a comparative analysis, the survey was also conducted at eight universities in five cities in Indonesia, which is one of the nations in Asia with a Muslim-majority population that faces the same demographic issue. The findings of this research will contribute to building a foundation for designing youth employment policies in Egypt. The most obvious findings to emerge from this study are that: the public-private sector wage differentials must be narrowed; better benefits must accompany private sector employment (particularly support for continuing education, upgrading qualifications, and health insurance); and good IT infrastructure matters. Taken together, these steps could significantly contribute to an increase in the rates of a private sector employment among young Egyptian job seekers, even in the case of continued high public sector wages.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Islam, Labor Issues, and Youth Culture
- Political Geography:
- Africa, America, and Arabia
376. Boxing with Elephants: Can Canada Punch above Its Weight in Global Financial Governance?
- Author:
- James M. Boughton
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Canadians have long harboured a desire to "punch above their weight" in international diplomacy, an aspiration justified by Canada's position in the world both geographically and culturally. This paper examines one aspect of that effort: Canada's role in international financial governance, particularly within the International Monetary Fund. The key issue for the future is whether Canada will continue to have the capacity and the will to take leading positions and actions in the face of increasing competition from the rapidly growing emerging market countries.
- Topic:
- Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, International Monetary Fund, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- United States and Canada
377. Turkey's Energy Strategy and its Role in the EU's Southern Gas Corridor
- Author:
- Erkan Erdogdu
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- The Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) is a European Commission initiative aimed at facilitating the diversification of the routes and sources of gas imported into Europe. This paper is devoted to the analysis of Turkey's role in this initiative. Following a summary of the current economic and energy situation in Turkey, the paper presents recent developments in the SGC and an analysis of Turkey's role in the EU's SGC vision. It concludes that although the newly-built infrastructure within the SGC framework will probably serve Azerbaijani and Turkish interests first in their future relations with the EU, rather than the other way round, as had been initially hoped by the EU, it still addresses the EU's basic strategic interests, namely, the diversification of gas supply routes and suppliers.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Natural Resources
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United Kingdom, Europe, Turkey, Asia, and Netherlands
378. Framing Banking Union in the Euro Area: Some empirical evidence
- Author:
- Diego Valiante
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- Evidence shows that financial integration in the euro area is retrenching at a quicker pace than outside the union. Home bias persists: Governments compete on funding costs by supporting 'their' banks with massive state aids, which distorts the playing field and feeds the risk-aversion loop. This situation intensifies friction in credit markets, thus hampering the transmission of monetary policies and, potentially, economic growth. This paper discusses the theoretical foundations of a banking union in a common currency area and the legal and economic aspects of EU responses. As a result, two remedies are proposed to deal with moral hazard in a common currency area: a common (unlimited) financial backstop to a privately funded recapitalisation/resolution fund and a blanket prohibition on state aids.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Monetary Policy
- Political Geography:
- Europe
379. Inflation-Targeting, Flexible Exchange Rates and Macroeconomic Performance since the Great Recession
- Author:
- Thomas Barnebeck Andersen, Nikolaj Malchow-Møller, and Jens Nordvig
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- Has inflation targeting (IT) conferred benefits in terms of economic growth on countries that followed this particular monetary policy strategy during the crisis period 2007-12? This paper answers this question in the affirmative. Countries with an IT monetary regime with flexible exchange rates weathered the crisis much better than countries with other monetary regimes, predominantly countries with fixed exchange rates. Part of this difference in growth performance reflects differences in export performance during the initial years of the crisis, which in turn can be explained by real exchange rate depreciations. However, IT seems also to confer other benefits on the countries above and beyond the effects from currency depreciation.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Denmark
380. The EMS Crisis of the 1990s: Parallels with the present crisis?
- Author:
- Daniel Gros
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- The EMS crisis of the 1990 s illustrated the importance of a lack of confidence in price or exchange rate stability, whereas the present crisis illustrates the importance of a lack of confidence in fiscal sustainability. Theoretically the difference between the two should be minor since, in terms of the real return to an investor, the loss of purchasing power can be the same when inflation is unexpectedly high, or when the nominal value of government debt is cut in a formal default. Experience has shown, however, that expropriation via a formal default is much more disruptive than via inflation.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Italy
381. Launching a New Chapter in U.S.-Africa Relations
- Author:
- Richard Downie and Jennifer G. Cooke
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- Africa's changing economic landscape is prompting a shift in how U.S. policymakers view the continent. High growth rates, new technologies, and a rapidly expanding consumer class are driving greater global competition for investment and access to potential export markets, and the United States is recognizing that it will need to step up its game to remain relevant and influential in an increasingly crowded and competitive environment. This will mean placing a stronger emphasis on strengthening trade and investment ties and encouraging U.S. companies to take fuller advantage of expanding opportunities. Playing up these opportunities will not only serve long-term U.S. commercial interests in Africa but will serve U.S. development and diplomatic objectives as well. U.S. investments, done right, can have long-term development impacts in Africa, through technology and knowledge transfer, training, systems development, and partnerships. And a new, more optimistic engagement with Africa's citizens and entrepreneurs will have strong resonance with the continent's up-and-coming generation, creating links based on enduring mutual interest.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa and United States
382. A New Development Agenda
- Author:
- Daniel F. Runde and Scott Miller
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- The link between economic development and state security has been well established but is still too often overlooked. Former secretary of defense Robert Gates argued in support of development efforts as a form of “preventative diplomacy,” preventing the conditions where violent crises occur that may require more aggressive intervention. For example, rising food prices in Egypt have been cited as a major instigator for the protests that overthrew Hosni Mubarak. That does not mean that Mubarak could have stayed in power if only food were more affordable, but higher levels of economic development and the concurrent factors that encourage it could have made the transition more stable and less violent.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- United States
383. Safety of Crude Oil by Rail
- Author:
- David Pumphrey, Lisa Hyland, and Michelle Melton
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- In the last several years, rail has come to play an important role in the transportation of growing U.S. crude oil production. Over the last seven months, a number of serious accidents have resulted in intense review of the safety of shipping large quantities of oil by rail. The focus has been on classification of the oil, the integrity of tank cars, and rail operations. Regulatory processes have been initiated to attempt to deal with these issues in a timely manner. This analysis provides facts that illuminate the players, concerns, current status of regulatory action, as well as the potential issues going forward.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, International Trade and Finance, Markets, National Security, and Oil
- Political Geography:
- United States, Canada, and North America
384. India's Nonperforming Assets: A Lurking Crisis
- Author:
- Rasika Gynedi
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- Asset quality in India's banks has deteriorated sharply and if not tackled promptly poses a systemic risk to the banking system—and by extension the Indian economy. A high proportion of nonperforming assets (NPAs) steadily erodes the capital base of a bank, impinging on the ability of banks to raise fresh capital and continue lending for investment activities. Indeed, the spillover impact from banking crises to the real economy is all too familiar, evinced by the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States. However, despite this risk, the issue is not garnering sufficient attention outside the banking industry.
- Topic:
- Economics and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States, South Asia, and India
385. Terminating Security Council Sanctions
- Author:
- Kristen E. Boon
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- This report assesses the United Nations Security Council's current approach to drawing down sanctions in intrastate war situations. After examining broader questions surrounding the UN's authority to impose sanctions and the corresponding limits on these powers, this report assesses criteria used by the council to terminate sanctions. It observes that multilateral sanctions under the UN Security Council tend to last substantially longer than sanctions by regional organizations, such as the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); and it argues that short sanctions periods are preferable to long sanctions periods.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, International Relations, International Trade and Finance, and Sanctions
- Political Geography:
- Africa and United Nations
386. Fueling a New Order? The New Geopolitical and Security Consequences of Energy
- Author:
- Bruce Jones, David Steven, and Emily O'Brien
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- On December 16, 2013, Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, Saudi Arabia's powerful former intelligence chief, gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal. He was speaking out after a turbulent four months in Middle East and Persian Gulf diplomacy, diplomacy that culminated in an interim nuclear deal between Iran and the major powers. Prince Turki, long a close friend to the United States, used the interview to blast American policy. He was critical of U.S. strategy in the region as a whole, but particularly vehement about leaving Saudi Arabia out of the loop as the United States engaged in secret bilateral diplomacy with Iran. "How can you build trust when you keep secrets from what are supposed to be your closest allies?" he fumed.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Economics, Energy Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Oil
- Political Geography:
- United States, Middle East, and Asia
387. Prices and Work in The New Economy
- Author:
- Neva Goodwin
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
- Abstract:
- The impetus for this paper is the urgent need to figure out how a non-growing – even a shrinking – economy may be able to provide human well-being while beginning to restore the health of the natural world. Twentieth century economic theory is not well able to conceptualize this problem, especially since it sees growth as necessary for jobs, jobs necessary for income,and income necessary for well-being.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Welfare, International Trade and Finance, and Natural Resources
388. Seeking security in Africa: China's evolving approach to the African Peace and Security Architecture
- Author:
- Chris Alden
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- China is on course to becoming more deeply involved in Africa's security landscape. While the motivation behind Chinese involvement remains primarily economic, the growing exposure of its interests to the vagaries of African politics, as well as pressures to demonstrate greater global activism, are bringing about a reconsideration of Beijing's approach to the continent. China faces threats on three fronts to its standing in Africa: reputational risks derived from its assocation with certain governments; risks to its business interests posed by mecurial leaders and weak regulatory regimes; and risks faced by its citizens operating in unstable African environments. Addressing these concerns poses challenges for Beijing, whose desire to play a larger role in security often clashes with the complexities of doing so while preserving Chinese foreign policy principles and economic interests on the continent.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Rights, International Trade and Finance, and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, and Asia
389. Governance Transfer in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
- Author:
- Francesco Duina
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
- Abstract:
- While NAFTA itself does not contain any provisions for governance transfer, its two side agreements (NAALC, NAAEC) prescribe standards in the realm of human rights (labor, environment), the rule of law, and good governance and create a number of instruments for their (indirect) promotion. Through technical assistance, fora for dialogue and exchange, monitoring, and complaints procedures that can result in monetary sanctions, the side agreements aim at promoting the effective enforcement of national law rather than regional standards. These provisions reflect the same concerns in the United States and Canada that lead to the conclusion of the two side agreements in the first place: creating conditions for fair competition in light of Mexico's failure to effectively enforce national laws, resulting in de facto lower labor and environmental standards and thus lower costs compared to the northern neighbours. Beyond formal governance transfer, NAFTA has had an impact on domestic governance reforms in Mexico since the early 1990s as it was used as leverage in both international negotiations and Mexican domestic politics.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- United States, America, Canada, North America, and Mexico
390. Crying over Spilt Milk: The History of Dairy Supply Management and Its Role in Recent Trade Negotiations
- Author:
- Bruce Muirhead
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Canada's system of dairy supply management, where domestic supply is matched with domestic demand, has come under fire in recent years, criticized for being a regulated model in an increasingly deregulated world. This background paper explores the historical evolution of dairy in Canada, and why supply management was eventually implemented in the 1960s, bringing rationality and organization to an industry where none had existed before. It also examines the role of international trade negotiations, largely sponsored by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and, after 1995, by the World Trade Organization (WTO), in addressing issues of agricultural protectionism and exceptionalism. It was not until the Uruguay Round (1986–1993), however, that agriculture was included in these negotiations, as neither the European Union (and its antecedents) nor the United States demonstrated any interest. While Uruguay was a tentative beginning, the subsequent Doha Round has dissolved over agricultural problems. In all these venues, supply management has been protected by Canadian governments, but rising international pressure has led Canada to begin to reconsider its support, especially as bilateral trade negotiations and partners are unequivocally opposed to dairy supply management.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Economics, International Trade and Finance, World Trade Organization, and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- Canada and North America
391. Energy moves and power shifts: EU foreign policy and global energy security
- Author:
- Iana Dreyer and Gerald Stang
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- European Union Institute for Security Studies
- Abstract:
- Energy security has climbed the list of EU energy and foreign policy priorities in the last decade. This process was accelerated by the shock of the 2006 and 2009 disruptions in Russian gas supply through Ukraine, and by the new possibilities offered by the Lisbon Treaty. Efforts have been directed at interconnecting national gas and electricity markets, diversifying energy suppliers and promoting rules-based energy trade in the wider European neighbourhood. The EU's primary energy security goals are to reduce the strategic dependence of individual member states on single external suppliers and to ensure that energy markets are liquid, open and functioning according to stable market rules rather than power logics. Yet energy security also needs to be balanced against environmental and economic competitiveness concerns.
- Topic:
- Economics, Energy Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Border Control
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Ukraine
392. The Revival of the Silk Roads (Land Connectivity) in Asia
- Author:
- Wai-Mun Chia and Pradumna B. Rana
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper argues that contrary to popular belief, in the bygone era, there was not one but two Silk Roads in Asia - the Northern and the less well-known South-western Silk Road (SSR). The SSR connected South/Central Asia with southern China and present day Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). After enjoying a rich history of around 1,600 years, the Silk Roads went into disrepair. Now, for various economic, security, and political reasons, land connectivity is once again making a comeback in Asia. These include the (i) "Go West" and the recent "New Silk Roads" policies of China; (ii) "Look East" policies of South Asia; (iii) opening of Myanmar, a node between South Asia and East Asia; and (iv) growing importance of supply-chain trade. The focus has, however, been mainly on reviving the Northern Silk Road with relatively few actions being initiated to revive the SSR. Mirroring the on-going efforts in the Greater Mekong Sub-region and the Central Asian region, this paper proposes four economic corridors for Pan-Asian connectivity that is to connect South/Central Asia with southern China and ASEAN. The paper argues that the revival of land connectivity in Asia is making Maritime Asia of the past, more continental-based. One implication is that regional institutions focusing solely on Maritime Asia, such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), may be losing some of their relevance vis-à-vis say the more continental-based China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The other is that the influence of the West in Asia's security may be declining relative to that of China, India, and Russia.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- South Asia, Central Asia, and Asia
393. Exports and Capacity Constraints: A smooth transition regression model for six euro-area countries
- Author:
- Ansgar Belke, Anne Oeking, and Ralph Setzer
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- The significant gains in export market shares made in a number of vulnerable euro-area crisis countries have not been accompanied by an appropriate improvement in price competitiveness. This paper argues that, under certain conditions, firms consider export activity as a substitute for serving domestic demand. The strength of the link between domestic demand and exports is dependent on capacity constraints. Our econometric model for six euro-area countries suggests domestic demand pressure and capacity-constraint restrictions as additional variables of a properly specified export equation. As an innovation to the literature, we assess the empirical significance through the logistic and the exponential variant of the non-linear smooth transition regression model. We find that domestic demand developments are relevant for the short-run dynamics of exports in particular during more extreme stages of the business cycle. A strong substitutive relationship between domestic and foreign sales can most clearly be found for Spain, Portugal and Italy, providing evidence of the importance of sunk costs and hysteresis in international trade.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Rights, International Trade and Finance, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Europe
394. Disappearing government bond spreads in the eurozone — Back to normal?
- Author:
- Paul De Grauwe and Yuemei Ji
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- Since the announcement of the Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) programme by Mario Draghi, President of the ECB, in 2012, the government bond spreads began a strong decline. This paper finds that most of this decline is due to the positive market sentiments that the OMT programme has triggered and is not related to underlying fundamentals, such as the debt-to-GDP ratios or the external debt position that have continued to increase in most countries. The authors even argue that the market's euphoria may have gone too far in taking into account the same market fundamentals. They conclude with some thoughts about the future governance of the OMT programme.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- Europe
395. High Tech: The Next Wave of Chinese Investment in America
- Author:
- Daniel H. Rosen and Thilo Hanemann
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Asia Society
- Abstract:
- WHILE CHINA STARTED INVESTING AROUND THE WORLD in the early 2000s, the first waves of Chinese overseas investment targeted mostly extractive mining activities in developing countries and resource-rich advanced economies such as Australia and Canada. Over the past five years, however, Chinese capital has begun to flow into non-extractive sectors in advanced economies, increasingly targeting technology- and innovation-intensive industries. Initially, the surge of Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in the United States largely responded to opportunities in energy and real estate, but access to technology and innovation is now becoming an important driver. In the first quarter of 2014 alone, Chinese investors announced high-tech deals worth more than $6 billion, including the takeovers of Motorola Mobility, IBM's x86 server unit, and electric carmaker Fisker.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- China, America, Canada, Asia, and Australia
396. Wine as a Cultural Product: Symbolic Capital and Price Formation in the Wine Field.
- Author:
- Jens Beckert, Jörg Rössel, and Patrick Schenck
- Publication Date:
- 03-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
- Abstract:
- Understanding the valuation of goods in markets has become one of the key topics in economic sociology in recent years. Especially in markets for goods that are valued for their aesthetic qualities, the ascription of value appears to be a complex social process because product quality is highly uncertain. The wine market is an extraordinary example because most consumers and even experts are not able to differentiate between wines based on objective sensory characteristics and cannot rank wines in blind tastings according to their price. Our premise is that assessed quality differences cannot be explained by the sensual qualities of the wine. Instead, we explain variations in valuation by social processes in which quality is constructed and contested. To do so we make use of Bourdieu’s field theoretical perspective, which is strongly supported in our empirical analysis of the German wine field. It shows that his model of the structure of fields has considerable power in explaining price differentiation between wineries and that the orientation of consumers towards different segments of the field is based on class hierarchy.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Food, and Sociology
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
397. The Myth or Reality of US Energy Independence
- Author:
- Anthony H. Cordesman
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- US “independence” from energy imports has been a key source of political dispute ever since the October War in 1973 and the Arab oil embargo that followed. Much of this debate has ignored or misstated the nature of the data available on what the US options are, as well as the uncertainties involved in making any long range projections.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Energy Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Oil
- Political Geography:
- United States, Middle East, and Arabia
398. The BRICS and international peacebuilding and statebuilding
- Author:
- Oliver Richmond and Ioannis Tellidis
- Publication Date:
- 02-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- The emergence of the BRICS has generated a renewed debate about peacebuilding and donor activity. This has slowly influenced the aims, norms and practices of international peacebuilding, statebuilding and development. There are subtle differences in BRICS members' interests, approaches and motives, power, influence, and adherence to or rejection of established standards (such as OECD-DAC principles). These states' activities have often attracted scepticism and criticism from traditional donors. An examination of their engagement with interventionary forms of development, peacebuilding, statebuilding, and their related institutions and practices shows that the BRICS can be both “status-quo” and “critical” actors. On the one hand, they all engage with the liberal peace paradigm and its often-neoliberal agenda that allows them to protect sovereignty and non-intervention, pursue trade interests, and advance their own interests (like a seat on the UN Security Council, regional stability or maintaining their often-ambiguous status of being both aid donors and recipients). On the other hand, their involvement has challenged peacebuilding's and development's Euro-Atlantic character through the unfolding of their own donor and peace agendas. This report highlights the instances in which traditional and emerging actors' agendas converge and diverge – and the motivations behind these agendas.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, United Nations, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
399. China's impact on conflict and fragility in South Asia
- Author:
- Clare Castillejo
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- China is expanding its engagement across South Asia, with significant implications for the region's most fragile states. Western donors and peacebuilding actors are aware of this changing context and concerned about their resulting loss of influence. Yet they have so far failed to develop a coordinated response or to engage effectively with China regarding its impact on fragility within the region.
- Topic:
- Arms Control and Proliferation, Emerging Markets, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- China, South Asia, Israel, and Asia
400. Inward FDI in Ireland and its policy context, 2012
- Author:
- Louis Brennan and Rakhi Verma
- Publication Date:
- 03-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Despite the global financial and economic crises and a sharp downturn in the domestic economy between 2008 and 2009, Ireland managed to attract large inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2010. Inward FDI (IFDI) flows in 2010 were at a similar level to those in 2009, the second highest in Ireland's FDI history. However in 2011, there was a decline in such flows. While Ireland's economy has been greatly affected by the global crisis, Irish government initiatives have further fostered the country's attractiveness as an investment location for the world's firms. All indications are that Ireland's IFDI performance will continue to surpass that of most countries into the near future.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Ireland