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2332. The times they are a-changin' -- again -- in the relationships between governments and multinational enterprises: From control, to liberalization to rebalancing
- Author:
- Karl P. Sauvant
- Publication Date:
- 05-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Governments seek to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) undertaken by multinational enterprises (MNEs) because it contributes to the growth of their economies; they seek to maximize the benefits of this investment in the framework of their national economies. Firms undertake FDI because it improves their access to markets and resources and hence increases their international competitiveness; they seek to maximize the benefits of this investment in the framework of their global corporate networks. This difference in objectives and frameworks gives rise to tensions that play themselves out in the approach governments take in national FDI policies and bilateral investment treaties (BITs). During the late 1960s and the 1970s, the dominant approach was to control MNEs. During the 1990s, it was liberalization -- and the approach is again changing.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Government, Monetary Policy, and Foreign Direct Investment
2333. Bay of Bengal: ITLOS' first ruling in favour of Bangladesh
- Author:
- Jalila Abdul Jalil
- Publication Date:
- 05-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Maritime Institute of Malaysia
- Abstract:
- Wednesday, 14th March 2012, marked an important date when the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) delivered its judgment on a maritime boundary delimitation dispute between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal. The ruling, by a vote of 21 to 1, awarded Bangladesh territorial and full 200 nautical miles (nm) economic rights as well as a substantial share of the outer continental shelf beyond 200 nm. The Tribunal also awarded a full 12 nm territorial sea around St. Martin's Island to Bangladesh. The conclusion of the dispute now opens up opportunities for exploration and exploitation of petroleum and natural gas in the bay.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Law, International Trade and Finance, Maritime Commerce, and Territorial Disputes
- Political Geography:
- Bangladesh, South Asia, Island, Southeast Asia, and Myanmar
2334. China and Global Mega Trade Deals
- Author:
- John Whalley, Chunding Li, and Jing Wang
- Publication Date:
- 07-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- The term "mega deal" has been widely used in relation to two large prospective trade deals between the United States and Europe – the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) — and in Asia and the Pacific — the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This paper starts by exploring a possible description of trade mega deals by making an inventory of mega deals in place, under discussion or negotiation, and deals yet to be considered under different criteria. This paper also calculates the trade volume coverage and trade barrier coverage for potential mega deals, and the results show the potential impact of mega deals on trade and growth performance is large.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, and Asia
2335. Turkey: The Elephant in the Room of Europe
- Author:
- Hüseyin Selçuk Dönmez
- Publication Date:
- 05-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
- Abstract:
- Turkey's accession process to the European Union (EU) has been a rather challenging issue for more than two decades now. Turkey applied for membership in 1987, "that is, three years before Cyprus and Malta and between seven and nine years before applications were lodged by ten Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs)." By the year 2011, Turkey has been waiting for 24 years to become a member of the EU. No other country in history of the EU enlargement has waited this long to become a member and not managed to become one after a quarter of a century. It would not be wrong to consider Turkey's bid to join the EU as a unique case in comparison to the former applicant countries, especially CEECs. As a result of this, there has been a continuous debate about Turkey's application and whether it has been treated differently or not. The aim of this paper is to shed a brighter light on this debate by presenting examples of different treatment towards the Turkish application. Before exploring the reasons of why and how Turkey has been treated differently, there are some key facts worth mentioning while defining Turkey's difference from other applicant countries. What makes these facts important is that they have formed the foundations of hurdles and their justifications for Turkey's possible membership in the EU. These facts will be touched upon prior to a deeper analysis.
- Topic:
- Economics, Sociology, and Culture
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Turkey
2336. Whither Neoliberalism? Latin American Politics in the Twenty-first Century
- Author:
- Jewellord (Jojo) Nem Singh
- Publication Date:
- 04-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
- Abstract:
- In the most recent attempt of Latin America's primary intellectual hub to res-pond to the world-wide financial crisis, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) argued for the need to tackle 'growth with equity' as an organising principle of development strategies in the Americas. Crucially, this opens up two main discussions. Firstly, neoliberal economics, though a complex political project aimed at controlling inflation, curbing state inefficiency and addressing debt management via fiscal discipline, has failed to deliver its promise of economic development through unfettered market opening. After twenty years of reforms, uneven patterns of economic growth, sustained inequality, and environmental exploitation have been its key consequences for Latin American countries (CEPAL 2010: 17, 20, 53). Having said this, macroeconomic stabilisation policy has been widely adopted since the debt crisis, which successfully addressed fiscal disequilibria and is now considered a pillar of sound policymaking in the region and elsewhere. But as neoliberal reforms induced the eclipse of state activism, social inequality remains unaddressed, even in cases where sustained economic growth was occurring, specifically Chile whose growth hardly came together with social equality despite the rhetoric of its left-centre La Concertación governments. Equality, whether in terms of access to the market or to decision-making, does not come naturally with economic growth.
- Topic:
- Economics and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and Caribbean
2337. Factors Underlying Communal Beef Cattle Marketing Decisions in Botswana: The Role of Public and Private Transfers
- Author:
- Tebogo Seleka and David Mmopelwa
- Publication Date:
- 08-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
- Abstract:
- This article examines factors underlying communal beef cattle marketing at a household level in Botswana, with emphasis placed on the role of public and private transfers. Results show that public and private transfers (pensions, remittances, government food rations, and food supplies from friends and relatives) discourage cattle marketing. Thus, while they are important sources of household food security, cash and food transfers may adversely impact on beef export performance in Botswana. It is therefore fundamental that public transfer programmes are well targeted to needy and poor households, in order to minimize their adverse effects on the cattle industry. On the positive side, the paper argues that public transfer programmes may assist poor farmers rebuild their cattle and other livestock inventory, contributing to transition out of inter-generational poverty.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Public Policy, Economic Development, Private Sector, and Cattle
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Botswana
2338. Competition and Trade Policy: The Case of the Botswana Poultry Industry
- Author:
- Masedi Motswapong and Roman Grynberg
- Publication Date:
- 09-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
- Abstract:
- The poultry sector is the most successful example of import substitution in Botswana with the country having achieved national self sufficiency. The paper describes the value chain in the industry and shows how, given the small size of the market, a high degree of market concentration exists. There is an estimate of the loss of consumer surplus from the current trade regime. The paper raises issues regarding the fundamental tension between competition and industrial policy in a small developing country. As the larger firms in the poultry industry move towards export readiness after 32 years of protection, the question of a new trade and industry regime is considered.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Economic Development, Trade Policy, Strategic Competition, and Industry
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Botswana
2339. Functional Distribution of Income and Economic Growth in the Chinese Economy, 1978-2007
- Author:
- Ricardo Molero Simarro
- Publication Date:
- 02-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
- Abstract:
- This paper seeks to analyse the relationship between functional distribution of income, aggregate demand and growth in Chinese reform economy. For this purpose the Bhaduri-Marglin Model is used, stating the theoretical possibility of both profit-led and wage- led growth regimes. Subsequently, the principal literature on the evolution of factor‟s shares in China is reviewed. The statistical series for the period 1978-2007 are reconstructed in order to carry out our analysis of the relations between capital‟s share and investment, on one hand; and labour‟s share and consumption, on the other. Supported by the Model‟s preliminary estimations, it is argued that Chinese growth has been largely profit-driven. Finally, the implications are presented vis-a-vis concerning Chinese economic prospects.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Reform, and Investment
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
2340. From Preponderance of Power to Balance of Power? South Korea in Search of a New North Korea Policy
- Author:
- Jihwan Hwang
- Publication Date:
- 12-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- East Asia Institute (EAI)
- Abstract:
- The global and East Asian orders of power are now represented by China's economic, military, and diplomatic rise and America's decline. The result is often called Chimerica or G2, leading to U.S.-China competition in every aspect of the international agenda. After the Bush administration's foreign policy in the first years of the millennium, when many scholars and policy makers focused on U.S. unipolarity or at least its preponderance of power after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the current state of affairs is a great change. While U.S.-China relations represent a set of the most important variables in world politics, the meaning of China’s rise is much greater in the East Asian regional order. The Korean Peninsula, of course, cannot escape from the influence of its neighbors. Although the world order of the 1990s saw the unprecedented economic prosperity and overwhelming military power of the United States, the recent order has been characterized by the relative decline of the United States and the fast and strong rise of China. The Chinese economy has grown more than 10 percent per year for the last thirty years and is now the world's second-largest economy. Although the Chinese GDP is still only one-third that of the United States, as TABLE 1 shows, it is not at all unheard of to say that China may economically catch up with the superpower by 2030. Moreover, China's trade with Northeast Asian countries is much larger than that of the United States. As TABLE 2 shows, China's exports and imports with South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan are almost twice as large when compared with those of the United States. Given America's economic recession and China's incessant growth, the gap between the two is likely to get much larger. China's increasing economic interdependence with regional powers will have a great effect on the changing balance of power in the region, and will have a much greater effect on the Korean Peninsula. On the other hand, China has also made every effort to build up its military capability. Supported by its strong economic growth, Chinese military spending has been hugely increased, more than 10 percent per year on average. China spent 40 billion U.S. dollars in 2001, but it spent 119 billion in 2010, an increase of almost three times in ten years. TABLE 3 indicates that Chinese military spending is still less than one sixth compared to the American figure, but one must recognize that while the United States plans to cut its military spending in the next decade due to its budget deficit, China is certain to keep increasing its, unless its economy falls into deep trouble in the near future.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Economics, Military Strategy, and GDP
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, South Korea, and North Korea