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181. The Competitive Advantage of Hollywood Industry

Author:
Luc Veron
Publication Date:
03-1999
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for International Studies, University of Southern California
Abstract:
The author is very grateful for the support, both material and intellectual, which he received during his stay at the University of Southern California. He is particularly appreciative of the many conversations he had with colleagues at the School of International Relations, the Center for International Studies, the Marshall School of Business and the Department of Economics of USC as well as at UCLA's School of Public Policy and Social Research which greatly helped him to formulate the ideas presented here. Although the author is currently employed by the European Commission, the ideas expressed in this paper are purely personal and do not reflect the views of any institution.
Topic:
Globalization, Industrial Policy, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and California

182. Hollywood and Europe: A Case of Trade in Cultural Industries, the 1993 GATT Dispute

Author:
Luc Veron
Publication Date:
03-1999
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for International Studies, University of Southern California
Abstract:
The heated dispute that erupted at the end of the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) negotiations between the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) on audio-visual services is fairly representative of the cultural argument in trade. Culture is often proclaimed to oppose full liberalisation of international exchanges of goods and services. In 1989, after the liberalisation of US film import in Korea, angry Koreans directors in some Seoul theatres showing US movies released poisonous snakes Japan traditionally opposed rice imports on the basis that it would endanger Japanese culture. The United States claimed that the "potato-potato-potato rhythm at idle and the staccato beat at cruising speeds" of a Harley-Davidson was part of the American culture with the obvious aim to ridicule any notion of culture, or more precisely of national culture. German director Wim Wenders replied to the latter by provocatively reminding that the essence of US national culture being trade the Americans have no sense of any possible contradiction between trade and culture. When, to justify the remarkable work of the Australian Film Commission, experts came up with a tentative definition of Australian culture, the simple evocation of Crocodile Dundee generated outrage, especially among the feminists. It is uneasy to find an acceptable and workable definition of national culture to analyse its impact on trade.
Topic:
Globalization, Industrial Policy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, Europe, Germany, Australia, and Korea

183. Private Governance and Democracy in International Finance

Author:
William D. Coleman
Publication Date:
07-1999
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster University
Abstract:
The governance arrangements in international finance mirror, in part, those found domestically by featuring a partnership between relatively autonomous state agencies and private actors. Where they depart from domestic arrangements is in the relatively stronger position of private actors, particularly global financial conglomerates, in decision-making. Given the importance of the governance arrangements in international finance for the welfare of individuals and firms throughout the world, it is important to ask whether these arrangements conform to accepted criteria for democratic decision-making. Five criteria are identified that might be applied to international sites of governance. These criteria are then applied to three groups of institutions, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), and “private regimes” especially predominant in the derivatives subsector. Based on this analysis, important gaps are found when these governance institutions are held up to democratic principles.
Topic:
Globalization, Government, International Cooperation, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States

184. Globaphobia: The Wrong Debate Over Trade Policy

Author:
Robert Z. Lawrence and Robert E. Litan
Publication Date:
10-1997
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The outcome of the fast-track debate that opened this month will determine whether the United States continues to lead the world toward a more open global economy or whether, for the first time since the end of World War II, it sends the opposite message.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Globalization, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States

185. Persistent Poverty in Developing Countries: Determining the Causes and Closing the Gaps

Author:
Moeen Qureshi, Meghan O'Sullivan, Michael Walton, Carol Graham, Moises Naim, Jacques Attali, and Nancy Bearg Dyke
Publication Date:
12-1997
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
As we start the final countdown to the new century, about one fourth of the world's population—1.3 billion people—live in absolute poverty, while almost another third are very poor by every measure. The blight of poverty thus continues to challenge the international community. Despite globalization, expanding markets, years of anti–poverty efforts and the hopes kindled in the embers of the Cold War, the number of the poor in the world has risen and continues to rise with population growth. The manifestations of extreme poverty and the growing gap between rich and poor, both within and between countries, pose an undeniable threat to the prospects for peace and security and raise concerns about inequity. Given the continued trend toward global interconnectedness, finding solutions to persistent poverty has assumed an unprecedented urgency. However, this pressing international issue is barely visible on the agendas of the industrialized nations, whose interests are affected and whose attention and resources will continue to be indispensable in the fight against poverty. To be sure, there has been progress in poverty reduction, particularly in the last decade as globalization, spreading capitalism and markets, and technological advancement have combined to reduce the percentage of people living in poverty and to create new middle classes. Infant mortality has been cut in half; life expectancy, on average, has increased by a decade. But recent developments in East Asia are a reminder that, even where development and poverty reduction have occurred, the possibility for reversal exists. And the persistently huge numbers of poor and pockets of extreme poverty testify to the unevenness of globalization and the need for new strategies and reinvigorated attention to the problem of poverty. The Aspen Institute International Peace and Security Program convened the conference on “Persistent Poverty in Developing Countries: Determining the Causes and Closing the Gaps” December 14, 1997, to discuss the current trends that affect poverty and suggest ideas for the most effective strategies for poverty eradication in the 21st century. Meeting in Broadway, England, the 24 experienced and highly respected participants from all regions of the world represented diverse professional and cultural perspectives that enriched the discussion.
Topic:
Economics, Emerging Markets, Globalization, International Political Economy, and Third World
Political Geography:
United States

186. Global Advance of Electronic Commerce

Author:
David Bollier and Charles M. Firestone
Publication Date:
08-1997
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
As use of the Internet has grown by leaps and bounds, it is clear that electronic commerce will proliferate rapidly in the years ahead. The number of Internet domains in the United States is more than 1.3 million. Most major companies now have Web sites, if only to market themselves, and many others are exploiting intranets to improve internal operations. As many as 163 million personal computers worldwide will have access to the Internet by the year 2000. As television and telephony migrate onto the Internet, wireless communication explodes, and countless other new applications attract users, one of the biggest challenges is understanding the economic and social logic driving change.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, International Political Economy, Science and Technology, and Sovereignty
Political Geography:
United States

187. Exporting U.S. High Tech: Facts and Fiction about the Globalization of Industrial R D

Author:
Benedicte Callan, Sean Costigan, and Kenneth Keller
Publication Date:
01-1997
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
One of the great strengths of the U.S. economy is its capacity for innovation. Relatively young companies like Microsoft, Genentech, Intel, and Netscape bring verve to the American industrial landscape. The products they introduce transform the way we do business and the way we live. Older companies, like AT T, Ford, and IBM, prove that they can adapt new technologies to stay vital. Old or young, it is the commitment to research and development (R D) that has allowed these companies to come up with novel ideas, products, and processes. The American ability to foster high-technology industries is the envy of both advanced and industrializing countries alike.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States

188. Coping with US - Mexican Interdependence: The NAFTA Response

Author:
Miquel Ángel Valverde
Publication Date:
01-1997
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
Abstract:
This paper examines the theoretical discussion on interdependence, and its use for analyzing US-Mexican economic relations. It combines interdependence's premises with other perspectives on the position of North American economies in the global marketplace, arguing that NAFTA is an institutional response to these developments.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States, North America, and Mexico

189. The Dynamics of Industry Structure: The Chemical Industry in the US, Western Europe, and Japan in the 1980s

Author:
Ashish Arora and Alfonso Gambardella
Publication Date:
03-1997
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute of European Studies
Abstract:
This paper analyzes the evolution of the structure of the chemical industry in the US, Europe, and Japan. Differences in institutions, historical conditions, and resource endowments across the three regions reinforce differences in initial conditions. However, technological innovation, the internationalization of the industry, and the development and operation of markets, especially markets for technology, capital, raw materials, and corporate control, are powerful forces encouraging convergence. Convergence is less marked at the level of the firm than at the level of the industry, and is more marked between the industries of Western Europe and the United States.
Topic:
Globalization and Industrial Policy
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, and Europe