Search

Begin New Search Publication Year within 25 Years

54601. Landmine Policy

Author:
Rebecca Spyke
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
On Friday, February 27, 2004, the Administration announced a new United States policy on landmines. This policy is a significant departure from past approaches to landmines. It will ensure protection for both military forces and civilians alike, and will continue U.S. leadership in humanitarian mine action – those activities that contribute most directly toward eliminating the landmine problem.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Human Welfare

54602. Annual Industrial Capabilities Report to Congress, 2004

Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
Section 2504 of title 10, United States Code, requires that the Secretary of Defense submit an annual report to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives, by March 1st of each year.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Industrial Policy, Science and Technology, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States

54603. Study on Impact of Foreign Sourcing of Systems

Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
Recent operations in Iraq raised concerns that foreign nations might restrict or preclude shipments of defense articles for DoD applications during internationally unpopular engagements. Given this possibility, the Department of Defense decided to review the extent to which it depends on foreign suppliers for operationally important defense systems.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Industrial Policy, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Iraq and Middle East

54604. Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Missile Defense Phase III: Modeling and Simulation

Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
This report covers Phase III of the work of the Defense Science Board (DSB) Task Force on Missile Defense. Phase I examined mid-course discrimination. Phase II, a 2002 DSB Summer Study, examined the four issues shown in the chart above. Following completion of the Phase II report, the Director, Missile Defense Agency (MDA) asked the Task Force to examine modeling and simulation (M). The Under Secretary Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (USD [AT]) concurred. The request was further refined to the five areas shown. After a brief introduction, this report will cover each of the five issues in turn.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Science and Technology, and Weapons of Mass Destruction

54605. Foreign Participation in Local-Currency Bond Markets

Author:
Francis E. Warnock and John D. Burger
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
We analyze the development of, and foreign participation in, 49 local bond markets. Countries with stable inflation rates and strong creditor rights have more developed local bond markets and rely less on foreign-currency-denominated bonds. Less developed bond markets have returns characterized by high variance and negative skewness, factors eschewed by U.S. investors. Results based on a three-moment CAPM indicate, however, that it is diversifiable idiosyncratic risk that U.S. investors appear to shun. Taken as a whole our results hint at a virtuous cycle of bond market development: Creditor friendly policies and laws can spark local bond market development that enables the development of derivatives markets and, in turn, attracts foreign participation.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States

54606. Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Uninhabited Combat Aerial Vehicles

Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
Lessons from recent combat experiences in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq have shown that UAVs can provide vastly improved acquisition and more rapid dissemination of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) data. They are one of the principal contributors to successful outcomes for the United States. in these campaigns. The benefits and promise offered by UAVs in surveillance, targeting and attack have captured the attention of senior military and civilian officials in the Defense Department (DoD), members of Congress, and the public alike. Indeed, these recent combat operations appear to indicate that unmanned air systems have at last come of age.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Science and Technology, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, and Kosovo

54607. Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Future Strategic Strike Forces

Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
The Defense Science Board Summer Study Task Force on Future Strategic Strike Forces looks to the 30-year future with the objective of providing the President with a broad range of strike options to Protect the United States and our forces abroad, Assure friends and allies of our future commitment, and Deal with future adversaries on terms favorable to the United States. The Task Force identified currently planned systems that will still be relevant and recommended new systems for development.
Topic:
International Relations and Defense Policy
Political Geography:
United States

54608. Is China "Exporting Deflation"?

Author:
Steven B. Kamin, Mario Marazzi, and John W. Schindler
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
In the past few years, observers increasingly have pointed to China as a source of downward pressure on global prices. This paper evaluates the theoretical and empirical evidence bearing on the question of whether China's buoyant export growth has led to significant changes in the inflation performance of its trading partners. This evidence suggests that the impact of Chinese exports on global prices has been, while non-negligible, fairly modest. On a priori grounds, our theoretical analysis suggests that China's economy is still too small relative to the world economy to have much effect on global inflation: a back-of-the-envelope calculation puts that effect at about 1/3 percentage point in recent years. In terms of the empirical evidence, we identify a statistically significant effect of U.S. imports from China on U.S. import prices, but given the size of this effect and the relatively low share of imports in U.S. GDP, the ultimate impact on the U.S. consumer prices has likely been quite small. Moreover, imports from China had little apparent effect on U.S. producer prices. Finally, using a multi-country database of trade transactions, we estimate that since 1993, Chinese exports lowered annual import inflation in a large set of economies by 1/4 percentage point or less on average, similar to the prediction of our theoretical model.
Topic:
Economics and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
China and Asia

54609. Defense Industrial Base Capabilities Study: Battlespace Awareness

Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
In February 2003, the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy, ODUSD(IP), produced Transforming the Defense Industrial Base: A Roadmap. This report identified the need for systematic evaluation of the ability of the defense industrial base to develop and provide functional, operational effects-based warfighting capabilities. The Defense Industrial Base Capabilities Study (DIBCS) series begins a systematic assessment of critical technologies and industrial capabilities needed in the 21st century defense industrial base to meet warfighter requirements as framed by the Joint Staff's Functional Concepts and Joint Operational Architecture. The DIBCS series ties directly to warfighter needs by linking industrial base capabilities to warfighter capabilities derived from the Functional Concepts. This report addresses the first of those functional concepts, Battlespace Awareness.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Industrial Policy, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States

54610. Cash Flows and Discount Rates, Industry and Country Effects, and Co-Movement in Stock Returns

Author:
John Ammer and Jon Wongswan
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
This paper examines the relative importance of global, country-specific, and industry-specific factors in both the cash flow and discount rate components of equity returns between 1995 and 2003. Our framework draws upon previously separate literatures on country versus industry effects and (forward-looking) cash flow versus discount rate components of equity return innovations. We apply the Campbell (1991) decomposition for industry-by-country, all-country, global industry, and world market index returns so we can produce a richer characterization of same-industry and same-country effects in stock returns. Unlike previous equity return decomposition papers, we exploit information in equity analysts' earnings forecasts when projecting future variables from our reduced-form equation systems. Our findings confirm previous research that finds patterns of correlation that suggest a richer underlying structure than just a single common global factor. Furthermore, our results suggest that global, within-country, and same-industry effects are all important for both of the two key components of stock returns: news about future dividends and news about future discount rates. In particular, within-industry covariation in news about future discount rates appears to be just as important as within-country covariation in news about future discount rates. We also find that the idiosyncratic component of cash flow news is more important than the global component, while the reverse is true for news about future discount rates. Our results are broadly consistent with co-movement in future discount rates arising from perceptions of common elements of risk, rather than national market segmentation.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, Industrial Policy, and International Trade and Finance

54611. Health Crisis: HIV/AIDS in Developing World Cities

Author:
Martin Caceres
Publication Date:
06-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Developing countries' urban areas are at the core of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The normal functioning of urban areas, their societies, and institutions can be severely disrupted by a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. This environment provides both a high potential for the spread of the disease and unique opportunities to fight and contain it.
Topic:
Civil Society, Health, and Human Welfare

54612. Reframing Urban Assistance: Scale, Ambition, and Possibility

Author:
Michael A. Cohen
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
In the early 1990s, Annick Osmont, a French anthropologist, wrote a book entitled La Banque Mondiale et des Villes. She analyzed the design and impact of World Bank–assisted projects in several West African countries—Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, and Senega—all of which I had worked with. She concluded that the World Bank's macroeconomic adjustment policies had had a greater impact on the cities and urban populations in those countries than the urban slum upgrading projects financed by the Bank.When I first read this book, I was angry and convinced she was wrong. How could she be so dismissive of the “good intentions and work” that those projects represented? Five years later, I agreed.
Topic:
Civil Society, Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, and Poverty

54613. Perspectives on Urban Poverty in Latin America

Author:
Craig Fagan
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Urban issues and poverty in Latin America are an integral part of any policy debate on the region. With nearly 90% of its diverse population and 50% of its poor residing in cities, effective and efficient solutions to the problems of poverty are imperative to respond to the increasing demographic and economic pressures placed on Latin America's limited social resources.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, and Poverty
Political Geography:
South America and Latin America

54614. The Role of the Central Public Market in a Twenty-first Century Metropolis

Author:
Maria Elena Ducci
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
This paper is designed to provoke discussion on the pros and cons of maintaining a public market in the center of a city such as Santiago, a metropolis of over 5 million inhabitants with serious air pollution and traffic problems.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, Economics, and Markets

54615. US-Mexico Border Control in a Changing Economic and Security Context

Author:
Peter Andreas
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Although far from Washington and Mexico City, it is perhaps only a slight exaggeration to say that U.S.-Mexico relations begin and end at their shared 1,933-mile-long border. Indeed, the degree of harmony or conflict in the relationship increasingly depends on how the border and border control matters are politically managed. The border is both one of the busiest and one of the most heavily policed territorial lines in the world, where many of the most critical and sensitive issues in the bilateral relationship, such as trade, migration, and drug trafficking, come together. In fact, much of U.S. policy toward Mexico has been driven by the twin objectives of facilitating authorized border crossings and deterring unauthorized crossings. Balancing these tasks has always been politically and bureaucratically frustrating and cumbersome, but both the challenge and the stakes have grown substantially as counterterrorism has been added to and redefined the border control agenda since September 11, 2001.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Economics
Political Geography:
United States, Washington, and Mexico

54616. Privatization in Brcko District: Why It Is Different and Why It Works

Author:
Henry L. Clarke
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
The Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina is small, with less than 100,000 people. In 2001, about 30 public companies were selected for privatization. At the outset, there were good reasons to ask whether the District would have any success in privatizing them. Many of the public companies had been shut down for up to ten years, while the rest were operating at a small fraction of their pre-1991 output. There was not a single company that was profitable enough to be sold successfully on the basis of its performance, none had adequate working capital or marketing arrangements, many were deeply in debt, some had too many nonworking “employees” and the equipment of most companies that was not damaged during the war was worn out or obsolete.
Topic:
Debt, Government, Politics, and Privatization
Political Geography:
Europe, Bosnia, and Herzegovina

54617. The Presidential Crisis in Lithuania: Its Roots and the Russian Factor

Author:
Richard J. Krickus
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to address two questions associated with Lithuania's political crisis in 2004. First, what were the domestic circumstances that led to the impeachment of Lithuania's President, Rolandas Paksas? Second, what evidence is there that Russia has played a significant role in the crisis and what are the motives behind Moscow's meddling in Lithuania's internal affairs? Answers to these questions are pertinent to the fate of countries throughout post-communist Europe, given their common history and geography. In addition, they provide the framework for addressing a third question that must be answered by the European Union (EU), NATO and the United States: what can be done about these two-fold threats to the newest members of the Western alliance?
Topic:
Democratization, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, Lithuania, and Moscow

54618. Women, Muslim Laws and Human Rights in Nigeria

Author:
Ayesha Imam
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
An Introduction from Directors Howard Wolpe and Haleh Esfandiari: This past September, the Woodrow Wilson International Center's Africa and Middle East Programs co-sponsored a forum on Women, Islam and Human Rights in Africa.At the forum, a notable keynote address was presented by the distinguished feminist scholar, Ayesha Imam, coordinator of the Nigerian women's rights organization, BAOBOB.We believe that Dr. Imam's remarks, presented in the form of responses to queries posed by Woodrow Wilson Fellow and forum organizer, Mary Osirim, deserve a wider audience. Dr. Imam's address becomes the second in a series of WWICS Africa Program Occasional Papers. A report on the September 17, 2003 forum can be found on the WWICS website, www.wilsoncenter.org.
Topic:
Civil Society, Human Rights, and Religion
Political Geography:
Africa

54619. Moving Toward Dialogue: Challenges in Canada - U.S. Energy Trade

Author:
Paul Ziff and Daniel Yergin
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Moving Toward Dialogue: Challenges in Canada-U.S. Energy Trade is the second publication in our new One Issue,Two Voices series. Using expertise from both sides of the Canada–U.S. border, this series is our contribution to dialogue on policy issues relevant to the bilateral relationship. We look at energy in this paper, specifically the issue of infrastructure and cooperation in the delivery of energy resources across the 49th parallel. Our authors, Daniel Yergin and Michael Zenker of Cambridge Energy Research Associates (Cambridge and Washington) and Paul Ziff of Ziff Energy Group (Calgary) are wellknown experts on energy issues who have agreed to share their opinions on this important aspect of the energy trade.
Topic:
International Relations, Energy Policy, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
North America

54620. Decision Time: Water Diversion Policy in the Great Lakes Basin

Author:
Ralph Pentland and Jim Olson
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Decision Time:Water Diversion Policy in the Great Lakes is the first publication in our One Issue,Two Voices series. Using expertise from both sides of the Canada–U.S. border, this series is our contribution to dialogue on policy issues relevant to the bilateral relationship. In this first paper, the issue is “water,” specifically the developing policy on diversions from the Great Lakes. Our two authors are leading experts on the Great Lakes, who have willingly entered the debate to share their informed opinions.
Topic:
International Relations, Regional Cooperation, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
North America