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2131. From Reporting to Reform: Eleven Opportunities for Increasing EITI Impacts

Author:
Max George-Wagner and Erica Westenberg
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:
Under the EITI Standard, implementing countries are required to produce far more comprehensive reports than before; these go beyond revenue payments to include disclosures across the entire extractive industries decision chain. However, the objective of the Standard is not merely to generate more data, but rather that stakeholders will use the information to impact the governance of the sector. This EITI briefing note explores how countries are faring at meeting the EITI’s more ambitious requirements and what implementing countries can do to begin moving “from reporting to reform.” This briefing note is based on a review of the first 22 reports produced under the Standard; the review assesses both the quality of reporting, as well as the content. We found that in many respects countries have risen to the challenge and become more ambitious and comprehensive in their reporting. This has included highlighting critical deficiencies in license allocation processes, revealing politically affiliated owners of companies, and identifying significant local revenues that were never disbursed. However, a number of significant gaps remain and these are holding countries back from seeing meaningful impacts from their EITI processes. For instance, these reports have missed opportunities to inform major tax code revisions, ignored hotly debated issues of sector employment, and left stakeholders in the dark about individual extractive projects.
Topic:
Economics, Industrial Policy, Intelligence, Natural Resources, and Governance
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2132. NRGI Readers: A Primer Series About Resource Governance

Publication Date:
04-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:
NRGI has created a series of short, illustrated overviews of key topics in NRGI's portfolio of work. Together they serve as a robust introduction for the lay reader to fundamental issues and concepts in resource governance. Most contain helpful figures and infographics, and each reader has a standard format: key messages, key concepts and case examples, and a final set of practitioner-orientated questions to ask. Each topic is explicitly linked to the relevant precepts of the Natural Resource Charter.
Topic:
Economics, Industrial Policy, Oil, Natural Resources, and Governance
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2133. National Dialogues: A Tool for Conflict Transformation?

Author:
Susan Stigant and Elizabeth Murray
Publication Date:
10-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
National dialogue is an increasingly popular tool for conflict resolution and political transformation. It can broaden debate regarding a country’s trajectory beyond the usual elite decision makers; however, it can also be misused and manipulated by leaders to consolidate their power. This brief includes principles to strengthen national dialogue processes and considerations for international actors seeking to support these processes.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Diplomacy, Political Economy, and Governance
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2134. The 2015 Survey of Progress in International Economic Governance

Author:
Domenico Lombardi and Kelsey Shantz
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
The annual CIGI Survey of Progress in International Economic Governance assesses progress in five areas of international economic governance: macroeconomic and financial cooperation; cooperation on financial regulation; cooperation on development; cooperation on trade; and cooperation on climate change. In this year’s survey, 31 CIGI experts conclude that international economic arrangements continue to show a level of “status quo,” averaging a score of 50% across all five areas. The 2015 survey indicates a slight improvement to the result of last year’s survey, which suggested a minimal regression overall. The experts’ assessment of progress was most promising in the area of climate change cooperation, with an average score of 57%, whereas the least promising area was macroeconomic and financial cooperation, with a score of 44%, indicating minimal regression. The remaining three areas polled all fell within the “status quo” range, with trade at 46%, development at 48% and international cooperation on financial regulation at 53%. Interestingly, in the area of cooperation on development, CIGI’s experts provided a relatively mixed assessment. Responses varied based on experts’ perception of the effectiveness of current rhetoric, from 70% (indicating some progress) to 10% (suggesting major regression). Compared to last year, climate change governance has made the greatest improvement, but the remaining three areas (with the exception of development, which was not included in the 2014 survey) have all, on average, regressed further or remained stagnant. This trend is cause for concern.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Economics, International Cooperation, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2135. Pitching a Level Playing Field: Women and Leadership in Sports

Author:
Barbara Kotschwar and Tyler Moran
Publication Date:
12-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
While women's presence in the leadership ranks of international sporting bodies has increased over the past decade, women continue to be underrepresented relative to their involvement in sports. Seeing qualified women in sports leadership positions can serve as a strong motivator for female athletes, which is important given the strong link between girls' participation in sports and positive outcomes in education, health, and positioning in the workforce. The important multiplier effects that sports can have for girls and women, and the important effects that positive female outcomes can have for economic growth, makes promoting gender equality in sports leadership a wise societal investment.
Topic:
Education, Gender Issues, Human Welfare, and Social Movement
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2136. World on the Move: The Changing Global Income Distribution and Its Implications for Consumption Patterns and Public Policies

Author:
Tomas Hellebrandt and Paolo Mauro
Publication Date:
12-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
In the next two decades, hundreds of millions of people in emerging economies are projected to reach income levels at which they will be able to afford cars and air travel. As purchasing power increases worldwide, people will spend proportionately less on food and beverages and more on transportation. Higher spending on transportation, especially in China, India, and Sub-Saharan Africa, will increase pressures on the infrastructure in these economies and aggravate global climate change. Governments will need to respond to these challenges in a fiscally sustainable and environmentally responsible way.
Topic:
Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, Politics, and Economies
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2137. Inflation and Activity: Two Explorations and Their Monetary Policy Implications

Author:
Olivier Blanchard, Eugenio Cerutti, and Lawrence H. Summers
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Blanchard, Cerutti, and Summers explore two issues triggered by the global financial crisis. First, in most advanced countries, output remains far below the prerecession trend, suggesting hysteresis. The authors look at 122 recessions over the past 50 years in 23 countries and find that a high proportion of them have been followed by lower output or even lower growth. Second, while inflation has decreased, it has decreased less than anticipated, suggesting a breakdown of the relation between inflation and activity. The authors estimate a Phillips curve relation over the past 50 years for 20 countries and find that the effect of unemployment on inflation, for given expected inflation, decreased until the early 1990s but has remained roughly stable since then. The paper concludes with implications for monetary policy.
Topic:
Economics, Labor Issues, Monetary Policy, Financial Crisis, and GDP
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2138. Can Foreign Exchange Intervention Stem Exchange Rate Pressures from Global Capital Flow Shocks?

Author:
Olivier Blanchard, Gustavo Adler, and Irineu de Carvalho Filho
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Many emerging-market economies have relied on foreign exchange intervention (FXI) in response to gross capital inflows. The authors study whether FXI has been an effective tool to dampen the effects of these inflows on the exchange rate. To deal with endogeneity issues, they look at the response of different countries to plausibly exogenous gross inflows and explore the cross-country variation of FXI and exchange rate responses. Consistent with the portfolio balance channel, they find that larger FXI leads to less exchange rate appreciation in response to gross inflows.
Topic:
Economics, Emerging Markets, Foreign Exchange, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2139. Are Capital Inflows Expansionary or Contractionary? Theory, Policy Implications, and Some Evidence

Author:
Olivier Blanchard, Jonathan D. Ostry, Atish R. Ghosh, and Marcos Chamon
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
The workhorse open-economy macro model suggests that capital inflows are contractionary because they appreciate the currency and reduce net exports. Emerging-market policymakers, however, believe that inflows lead to credit booms and rising output, and the evidence appears to go their way. To reconcile theory and reality, the authors extend the set of assets included in the Mundell-Fleming model to include both bonds and nonbonds. At a given policy rate, inflows may decrease the rate on nonbonds, reducing the cost of financial intermediation, potentially offsetting the contractionary impact of appreciation. The authors explore the implications theoretically and empirically and find support for the key predictions in the data.
Topic:
Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2140. Further Statistical Debate on "Too Much Finance"

Author:
William R. Cline
Publication Date:
10-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Cline critiques OECD findings on "too much finance," which seem to imply that the optimal amount of credit in an economy is zero, given the linear specification of the main tests. If these results were taken literally, there would be a radical policy implication: Growth would be maximized by completely eliminating credit finance. He then finds that the negative impact of additional finance on growth is reversed when the appropriate (purchasing-power-parity) per capita income is applied and country fixed effects are removed. Separate tests for countries with intermediated finance below and above 60 percent of GDP show a significant positive effect of finance on growth in the lower group but an insignificant effect in the higher group. He also responds to critics of his earlier study.
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and GDP
Political Geography:
Global Focus