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5931. Looking for Facts in the GATS Attack: Impacts on Social Service Sovereignty

Author:
Katherine Walraven
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
This paper investigates the implications of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) for members’ regulatory sovereignty over social services. It presents the moderate view that, while some of the outcomes envisioned by those opposed to the agreement are unlikely, they are not impossible and there is therefore some cause for concern. Legal ambiguities and gaps in the GATS undermine how both civil society and World Trade Organization (WTO) members perceive it, limiting its credibility and future scope. The essay concludes with recommendations aimed at improving the reliability and credibility of the agreement in order to increase the degree of trade occurring under its purview.
Topic:
Sovereignty, Trade, Social Services, and WTO
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5932. Mother and Child: A Multi-Determinant Model for Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes in Urban, Low-Income Communities and the Effectiveness of Prenatal Care and Other Interventions

Author:
Matthew W. Wolfe
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
Research examining the outcomes of prenatal care has largely been restricted to medical interventions. Focusing on low-income women in urban communities, this paper fi rst describes a broadened set of expectations of prenatal care and other interventions. It proposes a more holistic framework for analyzing policy choices by examining the numerous determinants that affect maternal and child health outcomes. Then, it examines policy options through these determinants.
Topic:
Health, Children, Cities, Parenting, and Pregnancy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5933. Turning Pirates Into Proprietors: How and Why to Make Software Intellectual Property Work in Developing Countries

Author:
Steven Yarger
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
Intellectual property (IP) assets are of paramount importance in the developed world. Yet the regulations used to protect these assets artifi cially limit their application in developing countries that could benefi t from the ideas these assets utilize. In the software industry, and because of distinct characteristics of software IP, this paper offers a solution that shares the value of these assets among various parties to improve outcomes for all. Through a partnership between local government and software IP owners, the labor enhancing benefi ts of software can be spread throughout the developing world legally and effi ciently
Topic:
Development, Intellectual Property/Copyright, Regulation, and Software
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5934. On the Influence of World Religions on International Trade

Author:
Matthias Helble
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
As the world economy is integrating, trade between countries is growing rapidly. The exchange of goods not only has an economic, but also a cultural dimension. This paper investigates the possible ways that religion infl uences international trade patterns. It studies the view of the fi ve world religions, namely Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam, on economic activity, and trade in particular. Analyzing empirically trade fl ows between 151 countries, the paper fi nds an impact of religion on trade. Furthermore, the results indicate that religious openness boosts trade performance of countries. Given these results, the paper derives several policy recommendations.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, Religion, Culture, and Economy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5935. Stadium Architecture and regional economic development: International experience and the plans of Durban

Author:
Wolfgang Maennig
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg
Abstract:
For the FIFA World Cup 2010, South Africa plans to invest heavily. The positive economic effects that the country is hoping for stand in contrast to almost all statistical ex-post studies. This contribution emphasises that these results, usually from research under-taken in the USA, can only be generalised to a limited degree. The density of sports venues in developed countries is so high, that the marginal effects of new stadia are necessarily limited. We also emphasise that stadium design around the world was not hitherto adequately targeted towards positive economic effects. The example of Durban and its plans for a new “iconic” stadium is used to illustrate fundamental principles of stadium design and their embedding in a re-urbanisation process that have to be undertaken in order to consciously achieve positive regional economic effects.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Sports, Architecture, World Cup, Regional Economy, and Soccer
Political Geography:
Africa, South Africa, and Global Focus

5936. The Geneva Conventions and New Wars

Author:
Renee De Nevers
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
RENÉE DE NEVERS explores how ‘‘new’’ wars—ranging from civil wars to asymmetric war—and new warriors, including warlords, private security companies, and children, fit within the Geneva Conventions. Although the nature of warfare and warriors has changed from the time the Conventions were adopted in 1949, she challenges the view that the Conventions should be abandoned. Rather, she argues, the Conventions should be revitalized to address a broader spectrum of war, because this will generate greater international support for U.S. efforts to combat terrorism.
Topic:
Terrorism, War, and Geneva Convention
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

5937. Stealing Al Qa’ida’s Playbook

Author:
Jarret Brachman and William McCants
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
The key to defeating the jihadi movement is identifying its strengths and weaknesses so that the former may be countered or co-opted and the latter exploited. In this article, we argue that the people who know these strengths and weaknesses best are the jihadis themselves; one just needs to know where (and how) to look for their insights. Jihadi leaders are surprisingly frank when discussing the vulnerabilities of their movement and their strategies for toppling local regimes and undermining the United States. Their candor is, in large part, a consequence of struggles for leadership within the movement; thus, a leader of one group will publish his strategic vision in order to gain more recruits and achieve a reputation as a serious scholar worthy of respect. It is also a consequence of the United States’ success in destroying jihadi training camps and denying safe havens—jihadi leaders have had to put their writings online so as to provide continuing guidance to a very decentralized following. In a sense, members of the jihadi movement have put their playbooks online. By mining these texts for their tactical and strategic insights, the United States will be able to craft effective tactics, techniques, and procedures to defeat followers of the movement. In what follows, we will demonstrate the efficacy of this approach by highlighting the insights we have gleaned from the works of four prominent jihadi ideologues.
Topic:
Terrorism, Al Qaeda, Leadership, and Ideology
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5938. Militant Ideology Atlas

Author:
William McCants
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
The Militant Ideology Atlas identifies the most influential thinkers in the Jihadi Movement and delineates the movement’s key ideological vulnerabilities. It situates the Jihadi Movement within the various Muslim constituencies that Jihadi leaders seek to influence and persuade. Each constituency is responsive to leaders in the broader constituencies of which it is a part, but each also has its own set of thinkers that are best positioned to influence their base. The largest constituency is comprised of Muslims. This includes Sunnis and Shi’as and ranges from secularists to fundamentalists. The authors assert that Jihadi propaganda, which is designed to reclaim the credibility lost among mainstream Muslims, can be countered with the following messages: Jihadis want a totalitarian system of government. The Jihadi message is so weak and unappealing that they have to use violence to persuade people. The next constituency is comprised of Islamists, who differ over the meaning of Islamic law, and the means of achieving its supremacy. Among Sunnis the Muslim Brotherhood is the most influential group in the Islamist constituency, including Yusuf Qaradawi as their spokesman. Next, Salafis differ over the final form of these states and the proper means for achieving them. The most influential Salafis are Saudi clerics. They are Sunni Muslims who want to establish and govern Islamic states based solely on the Qur’an and the example of the Prophet as understood by the first generations of Muslims close to Muhammad. Finally, the Jihadis, the holy warriors, are a movement that is part of the larger Salafi Movement. Since Jihadi thinkers draw their legitimacy from the same tradition as Salafis, Salafi scholars are best positioned to discredit the movement among other Salafis. Specific prescriptions for delegitimizing the Jihadi Movement are outlined at the conclusion of this report.
Topic:
Terrorism, Counter-terrorism, and Ideology
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5939. The Case Against a Dollar Policy

Author:
Samuel Brittan
Publication Date:
07-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Milton Friedman’s classic “The Case for Flexible Exchange Rates” was published in 1953, but its inception dates back to 1950 when the author was a consultant to the U.S. Economic Cooperation Administration that was responsible for implementing the Marshall Plan. At that time, it was taken for granted that the Western nations were committed to a system of fixed exchange rates, except for periodic adjustments to new parities. Little did he know that in 1952 the British Treasury had proposed—in a very pessimistic vein and as a result of gloomy and wrongheaded forebodings—that sterling should move to a floating rate. The plan, known as “Robot,” was defeated in the British Cabinet. The country had to wait until 1972 to move to floating and another 20 years—after it was forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism—to learn how to operate economic policy under such a system. Internationally the big shift to floating dates to the early 1970s, between President Nixon’s suspension of gold convertibility in 1971 and the collapse of the Smithsonian attempt to rebuild a fixed exchange rate system in 1973. The fixed rate system broke down because of the inherent tensions between the goals of free multilateral trade, national freedom to determine monetary policy, and fixed exchange rates. It is fortunate that a fixed exchange rate regime was the element that gave way in the end. The main force for change was as usual the pressure of events. Insofar as there was an intellectual influence it was the coming together of a coalition of “sound money” economists who wanted to be free to run stable domestic policies and “expansionists” who wanted to experiment with a more rapid increase in domestic nominal demand.
Topic:
Economics, Exchange Rate Policy, Currency, and Exchange Rates
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5940. The Unsustainability of the US Twin Deficits

Author:
Nouriel Roubini
Publication Date:
07-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Global current account imbalances are increasing rather than decreasing. The U.S. current account deficit was about $665 billion in 2004 and rose to $791 billion (around 6.5 percent of GDP) in 2005, and it is likely to grow to more than $950 billion in 2006 and well above $1 trillion in 2007. Most other regions of the world—with the exception of Central Europe—are now running a current account surplus. Thus, with the exception of a few countries—Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Spain, Britain, and some Central European countries—most of the world is running a current account surplus and financing the U.S. current account deficits. Moreover, unlike some of these other countries running current account deficits, the United States is also running a large budget deficit that is growing— after a drop in 2005—at rates that are worrisome. Thus, the United States appears to be experiencing a twin fiscal and current account deficit whose medium- to long-term sustainability is doubtful. The stability of this global current account disequilibrium is widely debated. According to some (Dooley, Folkerts-Landau, and Garber 2004, 2005), we are in a new Bretton Woods 2 (BW2) regime where Asia and most of the emerging world is now actively pegging its currencies to the U.S. dollar and thus following a mercantilist policy of undervalued currencies that lead to export-led growth. The resulting current account surpluses lead to an accumulation of official foreign exchange reserves that imply a cheap financing of the U.S. current account deficit. According to the supporters of the BW2 view, this is a stable disequilibrium that could last for a decade or two. In fact, this BW2 regime and the growing global imbalances are unsustainable and bound to unravel in the next couple of years. The U.S. current account deficits—bound to rise above 7–8 percent of GDP in 2006–07—imply an accumulation of foreign liabilities that will lead the U.S. net foreign debt to grow from the 25 percent of GDP level of 2004 to over 50 percent by 2010. Thus, the issue is whether foreign investors—both private and public—will be willing to accumulate U.S. assets at the net rate of $800 billion to $1,000 billion a year for the foreseeable future. Those who believe in the sustainability of such trends point to the strength of the U.S. dollar in 2005 and to the low levels of U.S. long-term interest rates—the so-called bond market conundrum. They also argue that global imbalances are not due to the U.S. fiscal deficits but, rather, to other phenomena such as a global savings glut or foreigners’ desire to accumulate U.S. assets (the “capital account surplus” interpretation of the current account deficit in the Council of Economic Advisers 2006 Economic Report of the President). However, a careful analysis of the data refutes the complacency of financial markets and the revisionist interpretations of the U.S. external deficit.
Topic:
Economy, Fiscal Policy, Deficit, and Bonds
Political Geography:
Global Focus