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11022. Reinterpreting China's Success Through the New Economic Geography
- Author:
- Yukon Huang
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- China has in recent years capitalized on its huge, diverse population and geographical expanse to transform itself into the world's most efficient assembler and exporter of a wide range of manufactured goods. In achieving this development, it has followed a strategy essentially based on the New Economic Geography, which explains how lower transportation costs and concentration of economic activities foster economies of scale and explosive urbanization.
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- China
11023. In Search of an "Action Principle"
- Author:
- Patrick J. Glen
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Human Rights Human Welfare (University of Denver)
- Abstract:
- In his seminal work on the history of scientific development, Thomas Kuhn described the structure of that development as revolutionary in nature, occurring at that point in time “in which an older paradigm is replaced in whole or in part by an incompatible one.” The impetus for this paradigm shift is malfunction—“scientific revolutions are inaugurated by a growing sense … that an existing paradigm has ceased to function adequately in the exploration of an aspect of nature to which that paradigm itself had previously led the way…. [T]he sense of malfunction that can lead to crisis is prerequisite to revolution.” Kuhn himself analogized his conception of the theory and operation of scientific revolutions to political revolutions, drawing out parallels in genesis, form and function between the two. The notion of revolutionary change, or paradigm shifts, itself provides a useful framework to judge the evolution, current state, and potential future of international human rights and criminal law. Although the analogy must necessarily be incomplete, as is the analogy between scientific and political revolutions, it does go a long way in explaining how the current system of international justice has reached its present state, and what may need to occur before that system can develop further.
- Topic:
- Crime, Human Rights, Human Welfare, International Law, and Political Theory
11024. Teaching Notes: Rights and Rebuilding in El Salvador
- Author:
- Susan Waltz and Elaine K. Denny
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Human Rights Human Welfare (University of Denver)
- Abstract:
- We have prepared this two-part case study with two pedagogical purposes in mind: (1) To develop an understanding of the concept (and political meaning) of human rights. (2) To facilitate discussion about processes of reconciliation and reconstruction and the importance of holistic conceptions of rights and security for future stability. Instructor notes are organized around these two themes. For each theme, we have provided some background commentary and discussion questions that can accompany both parts of the case study.
- Topic:
- Civil War, Human Rights, Human Welfare, and War
- Political Geography:
- Latin America
11025. Tunisia–The Imprisonment of Fahem Boukadous (Part One of a series)
- Author:
- Rob Prince
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Human Rights Human Welfare (University of Denver)
- Abstract:
- To most Americans with the exception of those few who, for whatever reason, have an attachment to the North African country of Tunisia, the name Fahem Boukadous, foreign to American ears, means nothing. It means a good deal more to "Reporters Without Borders” and to the US State Department that actually issued a statement (half way down the page) on his behalf, to the US intelligence agencies and military that have carefully followed the Spring, 2008 uprising in the Tunisian region of Gafsa–deemed the most extensive and militant social protest in that country's history in the past quarter century.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Human Welfare, and Torture
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, America, Arabia, North Africa, and Tunisia
11026. Human Rights Education in Peace-building: A Look at Where the Practice Has Come from, and Where It Needs to Head
- Author:
- Tracey Holland
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Human Rights Human Welfare (University of Denver)
- Abstract:
- The world's peace-building and development organizations increasingly are incorporating human-rights frameworks into the myriad of activities now under their purview. Slower to develop, however, are the capacity-building programs designed to impart knowledge about human rights to citizens and communities. Field-workers throughout the world indicate that the lack of such guidance-giving education hinders them when it comes to monitoring activities, helping to rebuild public institutions, setting up and organizing electoral politics, building an unfettered media, protecting human security, setting up transitional justice mechanisms, and the myriad of other peace-building activities and democratization challenges they face in post-conflict situations. This paper not only explores this emerging field of the study and practice of human-rights education within the cross-national peace-building sphere by sharing the perspectives of educators around the world, but also considers a host of ideas that should help to advance the human-rights agendas of present and future post-conflict planners.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, Human Rights, Human Welfare, International Law, Peace Studies, and Peacekeeping
11027. Chicago's Preparedness for Terrorism
- Author:
- Clark Kent Ervin
- Publication Date:
- 06-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- This is the third in a series of reports about various cities' preparedness for terrorism and/or natural disasters. It is the outgrowth of a series of discussions in 2007-2008 in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, New Orleans, and Chicago among key federal, state, and local government officials in each such city, as well as private sector stakeholders, and think tank/academic experts on homeland security and counterterrorism. The series was underwritten by a generous lead grant from the Ford Foundation, supplemented by additional grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, the McCormick Foundation, and the Houston Endowment. The goal in each city was to identify best practices that can be replicated around the country; to identify any gaps in preparedness; and to recommend to policymakers ways and means of closing any such gaps.
- Topic:
- Security, Terrorism, and Counterinsurgency
- Political Geography:
- United States, New York, and Chicago
11028. Houston's Preparedness for Terrorism
- Author:
- Clark Kent Ervin
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- This is the fourth in a series of reports, underwritten principally by the Ford Foundation, and, in this particular case, additionally, the Houston Endowment, as to various cities' (namely, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, and Houston) preparedness for terrorism and catastrophic natural disasters. Our goal in each city was to identify best practices that can be replicated in other cities around the nation; to identify any gaps in preparedness; and to make recommendations to close any such gaps. We conducted these assessments primarily through roundtable discussions in each city in 2007-2009 with key local, state, and federal government officials, corporate and non-profit stakeholders, and academic and think tank experts, with some supplemental research and follow-up interviews. The audience for each roundtable consisted of representatives of funding organizations, congressional staff, policy experts, and students, all of whom were helpful in engaging the speakers in dialogue following their formal presentations.
- Topic:
- Security, Government, Terrorism, Natural Disasters, and Counterinsurgency
- Political Geography:
- United States, New York, and Chicago
11029. Reforming Medical Malpractice Liability through Contract
- Author:
- Michael F. Cannon
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- This paper discusses the medical malpractice "crisis" and the potential of contract liability to reduce overall malpractice costs as well as improve the quality of and access to care. First, the paper describes the current medical malpractice liability "system" and some of the more common reforms offered. It then discusses the economic rationale of allowing patients and providers to agree in advance of treatment on how the patient will be compensated in the event of simple negligence on the part of providers, explaining how contract liability may offer improvements in the areas of costs, patient preferences, the pursuit of more efficient liability rules, and quality of care. The paper then critiques select objections to contract liability – those based on the superior bargaining power of providers, the lack of information available to patients, and possible reductions in quality – and forwards possible limitations on the right to contract that may allay such concerns.
- Topic:
- Health, Law, and Health Care Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States
11030. Has the Fed Been a Failure?
- Author:
- George A. Selgin, Lawrence H. White, and William D. Lastrapes
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- As the one-hundredth anniversary of the 1913 Federal Reserve Act approaches, we assess whether the nation's experiment with the Federal Reserve has been a success or a failure. Drawing on a wide range of recent empirical research, we find the following: (1) The Fed's full history (1914 to present) has been characterized by more rather than fewer symptoms of monetary and macroeconomic instability than the decades leading to the Fed's establishment. (2) While the Fed's performance has undoubtedly improved since World War II, even its postwar performance has not clearly surpassed that of its undoubtedly flawed predecessor, the National Banking system, before World War I. (3) Some proposed alternative arrangements might plausibly do better than the Fed as presently constituted. We conclude that the need for a systematic exploration of alternatives to the established monetary system is as pressing today as it was a century ago.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Government, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- United States