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422. Dependency and Complacency in the Energy Sector: Implications for Human Security
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
- Abstract:
- The need for higher levels of economic growth and development – in both developing and developed countries – has only served to increase the world's appetite for energy. The persistent dependence on traditional sources of energy in the form of fossil fuels such as oil and coal relegates the plan to develop renewable sources of energy to a long-term goal despite the desire for sustainable development and a low-carbon economy. Such dependency on these energy sources has sometimes come with a degree of complacency. Complacency sets in when profit-driven firms fail to take into account the socioeconomic and environmental implications of the development of traditional energy sources; these could indirectly affect production and operational processes as well as the firms' overall image. This complacency is reflected in ineffective management which can and has posed threats to human security.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, Economics, and Energy Policy
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
423. Comprehensive Food Security: An Approach to Sustainably Address Food Insecurity
- Author:
- Pau Khan Khup Hangzo
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
- Abstract:
- Food security has become one of this century's key global challenges. Given current population and consumption trends, as well as the factors of climate change and resource scarcity, the situation is set to worsen—unless drastic actions are taken. The multi-dimensional nature of the food problem requires a comprehensive approach, one that not only addresses food production and availability but also deals with access issues. Only then can sustainable food security be achieved.
- Topic:
- Security, Climate Change, Development, and Food
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
424. Financial Globalization and Economic Policies
- Author:
- Eswar Prasad, Kenneth Rogoff, M. Ayhan Kose, and Shang-Jin Wei
- Publication Date:
- 04-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Brookings Institution
- Abstract:
- We review the large literature on various economic policies that could help developing economies effectively manage the process of financial globalization. Our central findings indicate that policies promoting financial sector development, institutional quality and trade openness appear to help developing countries derive the benefits of globalization. Similarly, sound macroeconomic policies are an important prerequisite for ensuring that financial integration is beneficial. However, our analysis also suggests that the relationship between financial integration and economic policies is a complex one and that there are unavoidable tensions inherent in evaluating the risks and benefits associated with financial globalization. In light of these tensions, structural and macroeconomic policies often need to be tailored to take into account country specific circumstances to improve the risk-benefit tradeoffs of financial integration. Ultimately, it is essential to see financial integration not just as an isolated policy goal but as part of a broader package of reforms and supportive macroeconomic policies.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
425. Niebyl, Money and Development
- Author:
- Daniela Tavasci, Jan Toporowski, and Radha Upadhyaya
- Publication Date:
- 04-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
- Abstract:
- This paper examines Karl Niebyl’s critique of monetary theory against the typology of equilibrium, reflective and critical theories of money. It argues that despite fundamental criticisms of monetary theory, his analysis of money in capitalist development is essentially a reflective one. The paper goes on to show how the development of the capitalist firm in the twentieth century may give a more critical, disequilibrium, role to money and finance. The introduction presents a categorisation of theories of money. The second section shows the reflective nature of Niebyl’s theory of money comparing it to more recent disequilibrium or critical theories. As Niebyl’s work focuses to the changing function of money with the emergence of industrial capitalism, the next section deals with possible lessons for understanding money in a context of capitalist development. The fourth section reflects on Niebyl’s considerations on methodology.
- Topic:
- Development, Monetary Policy, Capitalism, and Industrialization
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
426. Globalization and Smallholders: The Adoption, Diffusion, and Welfare Impact of Non-traditional Export Crops in Guatemala
- Author:
- Paul Winters, Angeli Kirk, Benjamim Davis, and Calogero Carletto
- Publication Date:
- 02-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- As developing countries continue on the path of economic liberalization, there is a compelling need to ensure that the benefits of globalization reach poor rural communities. Increased commercialization of agriculture and diversification into nontraditional exports (NTXs) is one strategy that has often been advocated as a way for developing countries to use their comparative advantage in lower labor costs and to achieve growth in the agricultural sector. Given the predominantly rural nature of most developing countries and the preponderance of poor people in these areas, high-value agricultural production is considered the ideal mechanism to extend the benefits of globalization directly to the rural poor:1 Allowing poor farmers to shift into the export sector and take advantage of internationally demand driven prices that are higher relative to traditional crops may reduce inequality while fostering overall economic growth (Nissanke and Thorbecke 2007).
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Development, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
427. In Search of The 21st Century Developmental State
- Author:
- Peter B. Evans
- Publication Date:
- 12-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Global Political Economy, University of Sussex
- Abstract:
- What role for the developmental state in the 21st century? What state structures and political institutions will best equip nations trying to enter the ranks of "developed" countries? I offer two interconnected propositions. The first stresses continuity: the "developmental state" will continue to play a crucial a role in economic growth and social transformation in the 21st century, just as it did in the latter half of the 20th century. The second is more radical: successful 21st century developmental states will have to depart fundamentally from existing models of the developmental state in order to achieve success. Growth strategies focused primarily on traditional capital accumulation will no longer suffice. State-society ties can no longer be focused narrowly on relations with capitalist elites.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Capitalism, International Development, and Global Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
428. Financial Liberalisation, Bureaucratic Corruption and Economic Development
- Author:
- Keith Blackburn and Gonzalo F. Forgues-Puccio
- Publication Date:
- 06-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
- Abstract:
- We study the e§ect of international Önancial integration on economic development when the quality of governance may be compromised by corruption. Our analysis is based on a dynamic general equilibrium model of a small economy in which growth is driven by capital accumulation and public policy is administered by governmentappointed bureaucrats. Corruption may arise due to the opportunity for bureaucrats to embezzle public funds, an opportunity that is made more attractive by Önancial liberalisation which, at the same time, raises e¢ ciency in capital production. Our main results may be summarised as follows: (1) corruption is always bad for economic development, but its e§ect is worse if the economy is open than if it is closed; (2) the incidence of corruption may, itself, be a§ected by both the development and openness of the economy; (3) Önancial liberalisation is good for development when governance is good, but may be bad for development when governance is bad; and (4) corruption and poverty may co-exist as permanent, rather than just transitory, Öxtures of an economy.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Development, Finance, and Liberalization
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
429. Good and Bad News on Global Development
- Author:
- Dani Rodrik
- Publication Date:
- 04-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- MIT Center for International Studies
- Abstract:
- Istart with some good news, because there is, I think, a lot of good news in the world of development. Then I want to present what I think is essentially a paradox. The paradox, to put it very crudely, is that while economic development is working, development policy is not. Let me start with the good news. If you look at the total number of people who live on below $1 a day and look at the trend, between 1981 and 2001, what you see is basically that there are now roughly 400 million fewer people who live below the $1-a-day line. So there actually has been not just a relative reduction in the number of the absolute poor; there has actually been an absolute reduction in the number of the absolute poor. This is in a period when, of course, the population of the developing world has increased quite significantly. In terms of the somewhat higher poverty line, which is the $2-a-day line, the number of poor people below that threshold has actually increased somewhat, but it is still the case that relative to the population of the developing world, it has come down. That is basically good news. In this period, there has been, in fact, significant poverty reduction around the world. But if you look at where that has come from, it is also the case that much of it has actu- ally been localized. China alone accounts for the full 400 million-person reduction in absolute poverty when measured by the $1-a-day line. If you take China out, basically, in the rest of the world, some countries have had an increased number of poor people, others have had a decline.
- Topic:
- Development, Poverty, Inequality, and Population Growth
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
430. Exploring Universal Rights: A Symposium
- Author:
- Jamie Mayerfeld, Henry Shue, Jack Donnelly, Kok-Chor Tan, Charles Beitz, and Brooke A. Ackerly
- Publication Date:
- 01-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Human Rights and Human Welfare - Review Essays
- Institution:
- Josef Korbel Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver
- Abstract:
- The struggle for human rights has been shadowed by philosophical doubt. Can we assert universal human rights without engaging in moral imperialism? Can we have confidence in the moral beliefs that underlie human rights claims? Can we justify human rights to those who do not believe in the intrinsic value of autonomy? Which Rights Should Be Universal?, the first of two projected volumes on human rights, is a significant contribution to this literature. In a series of original and mind-opening arguments, William Talbott, a professor of philosophy at the University of Washington, lifts us over one philosophical impasse after another. Admirers of Which Rights Should Be Universal? will find their thinking about human rights enlarged and enhanced by a wealth of new concepts; critics will be kept busy in answering the book's copious arguments. From any perspective, Professor Talbott's book moves the conversation about human rights onto a new plane.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Development, Gender Issues, Human Rights, Political Economy, and Post Colonialism
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus