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192. Penicillin and the Antibiotic Revolution
- Author:
- Daniel Rowe and Christopher McKenna
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Case Study
- Institution:
- Oxford Centre for Global History
- Abstract:
- In October 1945, Alexander Fleming, Howard Florey, and Ernest Chain each received an almost identical telegram from Stockholm, Sweden. The Nobel Prize Committee, these messages read, was pleased to inform the three British-based scientists that they had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine, for the ‘discovery of penicillin and its curative action in various diseases.’ This was not surprising news. In fact, a year earlier, two major newspapers had informed their readers that Fleming would receive the prestigious award in 1944. Although the reporters’ stories were a year ahead of their time, they were right that the global scientific community had generally agreed that the world’s first antibiotic was a landmark in medical history worthy of Nobel Prize recognition. It was simply a question of when, not if, the prize would be awarded.
- Topic:
- Economics, Health, History, and Medicine
- Political Geography:
- Sweden and Global Focus
193. Scaling Up Alternatives to Capitalism: A Social Movement Approach to Alternative Organizing (in) the Economy.
- Author:
- Simone Schiller-Merkens
- Publication Date:
- 11-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
- Abstract:
- In these times of crises, capitalism and the far-reaching marketization of our societies has again become a subject of contestation and critique. Alternative organizing is one response to the critique of capitalism. As an embodied and constructive form of critique it takes place in prefigurative organizations and communities on the ground that experiment with alternative forms of organizing economic exchanges and lives. These prefigurative initiatives are seen as central actors in a social transformation toward an alternative economy. However, they oftentimes remain autonomous and disconnected, questioning their potential to contribute to a broader social change. This paper sets out to explore how and when alternative organizing as practiced in communities and organizations can scale upwards to lead to a more profound social transformation of our societies. Building on insights from scholarship on social movement outcomes, I discuss the collective actions, contextual conditions, and social mechanisms that are likely to allow an upward scale shift of alternative organizing.
- Topic:
- Economics, Social Movement, Capitalism, and Community
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
194. Growth Models and the Footprint of Transnational Capital
- Author:
- Patrick Kaczmarczyk
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Max Planck Sciences Po Center on Coping with Instability in Market Societies (MaxPo)
- Abstract:
- The definition of various growth models is the latest innovation of comparative capitalism (CC) research. Yet, the literature has its weaknesses in explaining the dynamics within and the interdependencies between different growth models. I argue that this weakness stems inter alia from an inadequate conceptualization of transnational corporations (TNCs). I provide empirical evidence on the footprint of international capital in the global economy and outline how including TNCs as a unit of analysis can help us to better understand economic outcomes. This leads to several implications for the growth models literature, which I conclude my argument with.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Political Economy, Global Political Economy, Economic Growth, Transnational Actors, Multinational Corporations, and Macroeconomics
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
195. Central Bank Digital Currencies: Tools for an Inclusive Future?
- Author:
- Eve Lee
- Publication Date:
- 09-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) have rapidly evolved from a sci-fi concept to a plausible alternative to cash that is being studied by central banks all over the world. According to a Belfer Center tracker, over 50 central banks have pursued or are engaging in CBDC work as of August 2020. However, while 10 central banks have already piloted or announced plans to pilot a CBDC in the near term, most are in the early stages of research and experimentation. In this brief, we outline the common motivations driving central bank work on CBDCs. We then explore CBDCs’ potential impacts on financial inclusion, a primary motivation in developing and emerging markets that has also gained significant traction in developed economies during the COVID-19 related global recession. We conclude that for CBDCs to achieve its financial inclusion goals, more technical advancement in offline adaptability and policy deliberations around issues of identity and traceability are needed.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, Economics, International Trade and Finance, International Affairs, and Monetary Policy
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
196. Consumer Sovereignty and the Role of Government Intervention
- Author:
- Harold Furchtgott-Roth and Kirk R. Arner
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Hudson Institute
- Abstract:
- American businesses and consumers have an unequal relationship. Consumers generally are and should be sovereign because a consumer—not a seller, nor a third party, nor even the government—usually decides what to purchase. Consumers must like a business to buy its product or service. If a business has poor service, sales will suffer. And if a business is tainted by scandal, customers will flee. As courtiers of purchasing power, businesses go on bended knee to pay homage to the consumer. Typically, a business need not like a consumer to sell products or services. In most lines of business, a seller must sell to anyone willing to pay. And although there are types of businesses where a seller can legally refuse a sale, most rational sellers seek as many customers as possible.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, Sovereignty, and Regulation
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
197. Populist Leaders and the Economy
- Author:
- Manuel Funke, Moritz Schularick, and Christoph Trebesch
- Publication Date:
- 10-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
- Abstract:
- Populism at the country level is at an all-time high, with more than 25% of nations currently governed by populists. How do economies perform under populist leaders? We build a new cross-country database identifying 50 populist presidents and prime ministers 1900-2018. We find that the economic cost of populism is high. After 15 years, GDP per capita is more than 10% lower compared to a plausible non-populist counterfactual. Rising economic nationalism and protectionism, unsustainable macroeconomic policies, and institutional decay under populist rule do lasting damage to the economy.
- Topic:
- Economics, Nationalism, Populism, and Economic Growth
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
198. Estimating the prevalence: Properties of the estimator regarding specificity and sensitivity of the underlying test
- Author:
- Jens Boysen-Hogrefe and Vincent Stamer
- Publication Date:
- 03-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
- Abstract:
- We provide a calculation tool to assess the properties of a maximumlikelihood (ML) estimator that extrapolates the true prevalence of an infectious disease from a random sample. The tools allow the researcher to correct for the specificity and sensitivity of the underlying medical test, calculate the standard deviation of the estimator and to plan the needed sample size. This document explains the underlying methods of the calculation tools and provides instructions for their proper use. We apply an adaption of the epidemiological SEIR-model to show that ML-estimators from random sampling tests provide a more realistic rate of infection than common approaches.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Political Economy, and Infectious Diseases
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
199. Labor force participation, job search effort and unemployment insurance in the laboratory
- Author:
- Wolfgang Lechthaler and Patrick Ring
- Publication Date:
- 03-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
- Abstract:
- How the provision of unemployment benefits affects employment and unemployment is a debated issue. In this paper, we aim at complementing theoretical and empirical contributions to this debate with a laboratory experiment: We simulate a job market with search effort and labor force participation decisions while varying the maximum length of unemployment benefit eligibility. Our results reveal two separable, opposing effects: Individuals within the labor force search with lower effort when unemployment benefits are extended. However, individuals are more likely to participate in the labor force and to actively search for a job. Concerning employment, the second effect dominates so that unemployment benefits raise employment.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Political Economy, Markets, Labor Issues, Employment, Unemployment, and Job Creation
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
200. Water Conflict Pathways and Peacebuilding Strategies
- Author:
- David Michel
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- No modern states have ever declared war over water. In fact, nations dependent on shared water sources have collaborated far more frequently than they have clashed. Nevertheless, global surveys have counted over forty hostile, militarized international actions over water—from riots to border skirmishes to larger battles—in the first six decades after World War II. This report reviews the pathways that link water resource pressures to conflict risks and describes how peacebuilding strategies such as water diplomacy can help mitigate these risks.
- Topic:
- Economics, Environment, Natural Resources, Water, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus