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661. Omens and Threats in the Doha Round: The Decline of Multilaterialism?

Author:
Daniel Drache and Marc D. Froese
Publication Date:
05-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster University
Abstract:
Faced with the lengthening shadow of the Doha Round of trade negotiations, scholars often point to the seven years it took negotiators to conclude the Uruguay Round. This paper argues that the negotiating deadlock in the Doha Round represents a transformative shift on the part of Member nations away from the current model of multi-platform, single-undertaking multilateralism and towards smaller negotiating platforms. We examine two dynamics that mark this round as qualitatively different from the Uruguay Round. First, new, highly vocal global trading powers such as India, China and Brazil have begun to use their market power to push for a trade deal that directly benefits the Global South. Second, the new rules for trade that were agreed to in the Uruguay Round had promised a reduction in non-tariff protectionism, but the continuing popularity of protectionist industrial policies has shown the developing world that greater access to northern markets might not be delivered at the World Trade Organization. The paper concludes with a discussion of trade multilateralism in historical context. This is not the first time the world has been faced with systemic changes in international economic relations. In the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries, global trade broke down – first with the end of the British free trade system, and shortly thereafter with the catastrophic collapse of the interwar trading order. Nevertheless, this qualitative shift in the negotiating strategies of states need not be seen as a return to protectionism. The explosion of preferential regional agreements offers a number of new ways to address the social and political dimensions of economic integration.
Topic:
Agriculture, Globalization, International Organization, International Trade and Finance, Post Colonialism, Sovereignty, Treaties and Agreements, and World Trade Organization
Political Geography:
China and Brazil

662. Food, Feed, or Fuel? Examining Linkages Between Biofuels and Agricultural Market Economies

Author:
Siwa Msangi and Mandy Ewing
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
As global energy resources become increasingly scarce in the face of growing energy demand for transport fuel and other productive uses, many countries have begun to turn to the possibilities that biofuels from renewable resources could offer to supplement their domestic energy portfolio. While much of the recent literature has focused on the growth of biofuels in the developed world—mostly in ethanol, a substitute for gasoline made from sugar- or starch-based crops, and biodiesel, a substitute for diesel made from oil-based crops—developing nations have expressed growing interest in biofuel production as well. Although Brazil and the United States currently represent nearly 90 percent of ethanol production, and the European Union represents 90 percent of biodiesel production, China and India are expected to capture a growing share of production in these biofuels categories in the coming decades.
Political Geography:
United States, China, India, and Brazil

663. Empire, Hegemony, and Leadership: Developing a Research Framework for the Study of Regional Powers

Author:
Sandra Destradi
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Regional powers are often conceived of as “regional leading powers,” states which adopt a cooperative and benevolent attitude in their international relations with their neighbors. The paper argues that regional powers can follow a much wider range of foreign policy strategies in their region. Three ideal-typical regional strategies are identified: empire, hegemony, and leadership. The paper is devoted to a theory-led distinction and clarification of these three terms, which are often used interchangeably in the field of international relations. According to the goals pursued, to the means employed, and to other discriminating features such as the degree of legitimation and the type of self-representation by the dominant state, the paper outlines the essential traits of imperial, hegemonic, and leading strategies and identifies subtypes for better classifying hegemony and leadership.
Topic:
International Relations, International Political Economy, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
China, India, and Brazil

664. Macroeconomic Effects of Central Bank Transparency: The Case of Brazil

Author:
Helder Ferreira de Mendonça and José Simão Filho
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Nowadays there is a tendency for central banks to increase transparency in the conduct of monetary policy. Central bank transparency could be defined as the existence of symmetric information between monetary policymakers and other economic agents. High degrees of transparency reduce uncertainty, improve the private-sector inference about central bank goals, and increase the effectiveness of monetary policy. There is now an increasing literature that measures the effects of transparency on average inflation, output volatility (Chortareas, Stasavage, and Sterne 2002), the efficiency of monetary policy (Cecchetti and Krause 2002), and the volatility of financial markets (Ehrmann and Fratzscher 2005).
Political Geography:
Brazil

665. Exploring Host Country Capacity for Increasing U.S. Study Abroad

Author:
Robert Gutierrez, Rajika Bhandari, and Daniel Obst
Publication Date:
05-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute of International Education (IIE)
Abstract:
According to the Institute of International Education's most recent data, over 223,000 U.S. students annually study abroad for academic credit, and there are widespread calls to double, triple or even quadruple that number in the coming decade, sending students to more diverse destinations around the globe. Where would another 300,000-700,000 Americans go to study abroad? Which university systems, especially in the non-traditional destinations, have the capacity to absorb large increases when countries like India, China, Egypt, Turkey and Brazil are struggling to accommodate the demand for higher education by their own citizens? To begin addressing these important questions, the Institute of International Education launched Meeting America's Global Education Challenge, a focused policy research initiative which explores from multiple perspectives the challenge of substantially expanding the numbers and destinations of U.S. students studying overseas. In May 2007, IIE published its first White Paper in this series, Current Trends in U.S. Study Abroad the Impact of Strategic Diversity Initiatives.
Topic:
International Relations, Education, and Globalization
Political Geography:
United States, China, Europe, Turkey, Brazil, and Egypt

666. The BRICSAM Countries and Changing World Economic Power: Scenarios to 2050

Author:
Manmohan Agarwal
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:
Rapid economic growth in the large developing countries collectively known as BRICSAM (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and Mexico) has the potential to change the balance of economic power in the world. This paper analyzes this potential building on developments in these economies over the past four decades in the context of the evolution of the world economy. This evolution has two significant features: increasing economic integration and a hiatus in growth. Increasing integration can be observed in the almost universal rise in the share of the exports of goods and services in GDP, and the increase in private capital flows. There has been a hiatus in growth since the 1973-1974 increase in the price of oil.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, International Political Economy, and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Russia, China, India, South Africa, Brazil, and Mexico

667. Why the Code of Conduct for Resolving Sovereign Debt Crises Falls Short

Author:
Barry Herman
Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
The Institute of International Finance, a bankers group, has promoted its “Principles for Stable Capital Flows and Fair Debt Restructuring” as a code of conduct for debtor governments and their private creditors to avoid and if necessary resolve sovereign defaults. Although drafted with Brazil, Korea, Mexico and Turkey, I argue this purely voluntary code is excessively creditor friendly. Instead, a more balanced code should be developed in a broad, open and politically legitimate forum, and be coupled with an international disciplining mechanism that pushes creditors and debtor to a negotiated outcome under the code. A suggested approach concludes the paper.
Topic:
Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Turkey, Brazil, Korea, and Mexico

668. Brazil: Bright Prospects or Dark Portents?

Author:
Matthew M. Taylor
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Brazil is an island on its continent, separated from its neighbors by an ocean of history, culture, and language. And yet whither Brazil, so too Latin America. The country accounts for a sixth of the region's trade, and more than a third of its GDP and its population. In addition to its large share in all cross-regional quantitative measures, Brazil's weight is geopolitical as well, with the country playing a central role among leading emerging markets. The state of affairs in Brazil, then, is of enormous concern to its neighbors, and should be of great concern to the rest of the world as well.
Topic:
Markets
Political Geography:
Brazil, Latin America, and Island

669. Turning to the Left? Understanding Some Unexpected Events in Latin America

Author:
Carlos M. Vilas
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Uruguay and Venezuela are currently ruled by governments that are typically considered to be on the left of the political spectrum due to their progressive, reformist stances. Together, these states account for almost two thirds of Latin America's population and roughly half of its combined GDP. In the 2006 presidential election in Mexico, the candidate who shared the political views of the aforementioned states was defeated by less than percent in a contested turnout.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Latin America, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia

670. Microinsurance for Brazil: The GILR-Bond

Author:
Bernardo Weaver
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Microfinance, in general, worries about alleviating poverty in the developing world. But, how do the poorest people avoid falling into poverty traps on their way to the middle class? What recourse do people have from becoming poor due to illness, natural disaster, or the loss of assets like livestock? Microinsurance is insurance that caters to the lowest income groups in a country and serves those who are not usually served by private insurance. The microinsurance enterprise is comprised of several components and issues. First, microinsurance relies on massive market penetration. For microinsurance to work effectively, insurance contracts must be sold to vast numbers of people at very low rates and provide coverage against losses that are usually not large. Thus, microinsurers sell millions of contracts to turn a very small profit, with even total revenue volumes being small.
Topic:
Poverty
Political Geography:
Brazil