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951. Savings in America: Building Opportunities for All

Author:
Suzanne Nora Johnson, Lisa Mensah, and C. Eugene Steuerle
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
Savings policy in the United States is at a critical juncture. The U.S. personal saving rate has declined from 10.8 percent in 1984 to zero in 2005.The national saving rate, which includes government and business savings, is the lowest among the G-20 countries and has decreased significantly in recent decades. These low levels of saving generally suggest lower growth rates of income and standards of living in the future.
Topic:
Civil Society, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
United States and America

952. Living with Hugo: U.S. Policy Toward Hugo Chávez's Venezuela

Author:
Richard Lapper
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
The popularity of the new political and economic model being developed in Venezuela has been a consistent source of aggravation for the U.S. government. Since first winning the presidency in December 1998, Hugo Chávez has been able through repeated electoral victories and radical constitutional reform to dominate Venezuela's government and public institutions. Undaunted by stiff U.S. opposition, President Chávez has launched what he calls a Bolivarian revolution, named after Simón Bolívar, a nineteenth-century leader of Latin America's independence wars. Chávez has reasserted the role of the state in the Venezuelan economy and developed extensive social programs to advance an anti- U.S., anti-capitalist crusade. New or newly reinvigorated alliances with established U.S. adversaries have helped internationalize Chávez's aims. Most alarming to those concerned with the health of Venezuelan democracy, Chávez and his allies have concentrated political power in the hands of the executive, curtailed the independence of the judiciary, shown limited tolerance for domestic critics, and openly intervened in the electoral politics of neighboring states.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Foreign Policy, Development, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States, South America, and Latin America

953. Reforming U.S. Patent Policy: Getting the Incentives Right

Author:
Keith E. Mascus
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
America's robust economic competitiveness is du e in no small part to a large capacity for innovation. That capacity is imperiled, however, by an increasingly overprotective patent system. Over the past twenty-five years, American legislators and judges have operated on the principle that stronger patent protection engenders more innovation. This principle is misguided. Although intellectual property rights (IPR) play an important role in innovation, the recent increase in patent protection has not spurred innovation so much as it has impeded the development and use of new technologies.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Markets
Political Geography:
United States, China, and America

954. Fixing the Services Directive

Author:
Stefano Micossi
Publication Date:
04-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
In the spring of 2004, the European Commission approved a draft Directive on Services in the Internal Market and sent it to the Council and the European Parliament. The proposal is the cornerstone of the ailing Lisbon strategy to revive growth and jobs in the European Union: services account for 70% of GDP and employment in advanced countries, and their performance is a main determinant of overall productivity and employment growth. In the European Union, the markets for services are still organised along national lines, cross border trade remains relatively underdeveloped and competition is scarce. The productivity gap with the United States is largely explained by these obstacles.
Topic:
Economics, International Cooperation, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Lisbon

955. Confidence through Compliance in Emissions Trading Markets

Author:
Christian Egenhofer and Joe Kruger
Publication Date:
04-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
Emissions trading is a market-based mechanism designed to allow firms to choose the most cost effective strategy to meet environmental standards. The success of SO2 and NOx emissions trading systems in the United States and the launch of the ambitious European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) underscore the value of emissions trading as a tool for environmental policy.
Topic:
Economics, Environment, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

956. The US Administration's 'Advanced Energy Initiative': New programmes and more funding or old programmes and less funding?

Author:
Thomas L. Brewer
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
The Bush administration's announcement of an 'Advanced Energy Initiative' poses challenges for the international climate change agenda as well as the US domestic energy policy agenda. The proposal is politically significant because it has altered the terms of reference in the domestic discourse about US energy and climate policy. However, while it proposes proportionately large increases in the funding levels of some programmes, it also suggests only marginal changes in several current programmes and proposes reductions or even the elimination of others.
Topic:
Economics, Energy Policy, and Environment
Political Geography:
United States

957. Interview with Senator John Edwards

Author:
Nermeen Shaikh
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
Senator John Edwards was the Democratic 2004 nominee for Vice President (Senator John Kerry's running mate) and a one-term former Democratic Senator from North Carolina. He defeated the incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in North Carolina's 1998 Senate election. Senator Edwards is now the Director of the Center on Poverty, Work, and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Senator Edwards addressed the Asia Society on The Future of US-China Relations as part of the series entitled "American Political Leaders on the Future of US Relations with Asia". Senator Edwards addressed the Asia Society on October 31st, and gave this interview to Nermeen Shaikh following his speech.
Topic:
Economics and Politics
Political Geography:
United States, China, America, Asia, and North Carolina

958. Speech by South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon at Asia Society: "The Quest for Peace and Prosperity in the Asia-Pacific and Beyond"

Author:
Ban Ki-moon
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
I would first like to thank Dr. Desai, Ambassador Holbrooke and the Asia Society for inviting me to speak tonight. I remember well the very enjoyable evening I had with President Desai and Vice President Metzl in Seoul last July. I remain grateful for the exchange of insightful and informed views. Today, I have a few topics that I want to discuss. But first, I would like to say a few words about the Asia Society and its unique contributions to Asia-US relations.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
United States and Asia

959. The Asian Economic Revolution and Canadian Trade Policy

Author:
John Whalley
Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:
This paper discusses the broad orientation of Canada's trade policy relative to two major historical phases of development based on a secure national market behind the National Policy from 1879 until the 1930s, and progressive integration with the United States (US) through Bilateral Agreements (1930s), the Auto Pact (1965), the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (1987) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (1994). Currently, Canada exports approximately 85% to the US, but imports from China account for 8% and are growing at over 20% a year. Sharply unbalanced (surplus) trade with the US is counterbalanced by unbalanced deficit trade with China. A scenario of elevated growth in Asia (principally China, India, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN) poses challenges of relative disintegration from North America and growing global integration centered on Asia. Seemingly a series of implications follow; including positioning Canada within the emerging network of regional agreements in Asia, more resourcebased and Western Canada focused trade and infrastructure development, and responding to capital market integration with Asia. Broader issues include the potential adjustments facing Central Canada as Asian imports of manufactures displace both imported manufactures from the US and domestic production are raised.
Topic:
Economics and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States, China, Canada, Asia, and North America

960. Iran and the New Geopolitics of Oil - an Annotated Bibliograhy

Author:
Luke Patey
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
Since its revolutionary birth in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has had a turbulent existence in international relations. From the US hostage crisis to the Iran-Iraq War to the current provocative development of its nuclear program, the short history of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been characterized by its volatile foreign politics. In fact, this is a feature very much resemblant of the country's tumultuous past, born from both its immense energy resources and its geo-strategic location. Regardless if Iran was under the rule of a Shah or the ultimate power of an Ayatollah, since the discovery of oil in the early 1900s, Iran's generous natural endowments have created an intimate link between itself and geopolitical competition.
Topic:
Economics, Politics, and Religion
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, and Iran