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2761. Setting the NAFTA Agenda on Climate Change

Author:
Jeffrey J. Schott and Meera Fickling
Publication Date:
08-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into force 15 years ago, environmental issues were an afterthought appended to a side accord, the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). Today, environmental problems loom large on the global agenda, and climate change, in particular, ranks among the top issues on the North American agenda as the leaders of the United States, Canada, and Mexico convene in Guadalajara in August 2009. This policy brief examines the implications for NAFTA of national policies in the three countries to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and suggests steps that the partner countries can take together to further both their economic and environmental goals.
Topic:
Climate Change, Economics, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Canada, North America, and Mexico

2762. The Economics of Energy Efficiency in Buildings

Author:
Trevor Houser
Publication Date:
08-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
At the 2008 summit in Hokkaido, Japan, and again in 2009 in L'Aquila, Italy, G-8 leaders called for a 50 percent global reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions below current levels by 2050 to avoid “the most serious consequences of climate change.” Meeting this goal will require transforming the way energy is produced, delivered, and consumed across all sectors of the economy and regions of the world. Buildings, which account for nearly 40 percent of global energy demand today and 30 percent of projected growth in energy demand between now and 2050, will play a critical role in this process (IEA 200).
Topic:
Climate Change, Economics, and Energy Policy
Political Geography:
Japan and Italy

2763. India-Pakistan Trade: A Roadmap for Enhancing Economic Relations

Author:
Mohsin S. Khan
Publication Date:
07-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Many previous attempts to improve economic ties between India and Pakistan unfortunately have been derailed by periodically heightened political tensions between the two countries—be it Kargil in May 1999, the terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001, or most recently, the Mumbai attacks in November 2008. Although successive Indian and Pakistani governments have often repeated the desire for peaceful relations, reaching a comprehensive agree ment that settles outstanding disputes still seems far off. But this does not mean that steps toward better economic relations cannot be taken. Indeed, there was a major breakthrough in trade relations at the meeting between then President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India in New Delhi in April 2005 (Joint Communiqué 2005). A number of trade-related issues were discussed at this meeting, and several key decisions were taken to move the process along.
Topic:
Economics, Peace Studies, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
Pakistan, South Asia, Asia, and New Delhi

2764. China's Changing Outbound Foreign Direct Investment Profile: Drivers and Policy Implications

Author:
Daniel H. Rosen and Thilo Hanemann
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
In 1967 Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber published Le defi americain, a call to beware of American multinationals buying up the world. In the 1980s and 1990s it was Japan's turn, spawning books like Clyde Prestowitz's 1993 Trading Places: How We Are Giving Our Future to Japan. Today it is China's outbound foreign direct investment (OFDI) that elicits the most anxiety China's OFDI has reached commercially and geoeconomically significant levels and begun to challenge international investment norms and affect international relations.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
China, America, and Asia

2765. A Solution for Europe's Banking Problem

Author:
Adam S. Posen and Nicolas Véron
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Since mid-2007, public authorities in the European Union have broadly met the challenge of ensuring a functional degree of liquidity and preventing financial meltdown. The Eurosystem has even been ahead of the curve compared with the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England in discounting early on a wide variety of assets to a range of counterparties. However, despite unprecedented central bank intervention, extensive government guarantees since October 2008, and macroeconomic assistance (with the International Monetary Fund) to the European Union's weakest member states, the underlying state of continental Europe's banking industry remains very fragile.
Topic:
Economics, Markets, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
United States, United Kingdom, and Europe

2766. Understanding Special Drawing Rights

Author:
John Williamson
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
A once-familiar but long-neglected acronym has reappeared in newspapers in recent weeks. We have read that the G-20 meeting in London endorsed a proposal that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should create $250 billion in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). We have been told that one problem with this proposal is that most of the SDR allocation would accrue to countries that are unlikely to use them, and some readers may have seen proposed ways around this difficulty. We have read that the governor of the People's Bank of China, Zhou Xiaochuan, has proposed that the SDR should gradually displace the dollar at the center of the international monetary system and that surplus countries should be able to convert their dollar holdings into SDR-denominated assets. No one can doubt that the SDR is back.
Topic:
Economics, International Cooperation, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
United States and China

2767. The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region: A Catalyst for What?

Author:
Pertti Joenniemi
Publication Date:
08-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
In order to generate momentum, the European Commission has recently prepared a strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, this being the first of its kind with regard to the various European macro-regional formations. The strategy stands out as a goal-oriented and visionary document and clearly exceeds the scope of the Union's traditional policies vis-à-vis regional formations. But does it really stand for a strategy in the proper sense of the word in aspiring for a fresh start, choosing between different priorities and providing guidance in a programmatic manner for the Baltic Sea Region to gain the status of a 'model' and a forerunner among the various macro-regions in the EU? In probing the issue, the brief suggests a conditional 'yes'. It argues that there are many indications that the document should indeed be regarded a strategy. In addition to providing insight into the aspirations of the EU with regard to the Baltic Sea Region, the brief also argues that regionalization is enjoying increased legitimacy and standing in EU policies in general.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe and Germany

2768. Australia as a supplier of uranium to the Asian region: Implications

Author:
Stuart Harris
Publication Date:
07-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Australian National University Department of International Relations
Abstract:
Significant interest in Australia's uranium export industry has re-emerged in the face of increased energy demand, fears of eventual reduced supplies of traditional energy sources, further evidence of global climate change and prospective higher electricity prices. This paper examines how Australia will respond to that renewed interest and how it seeks to balance its economic and environmental interests with its traditional nuclear non- proliferation activism.
Topic:
Economics, Energy Policy, Environment, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Australia

2769. How Do We Know This is Not Another Great Depression? Lessons for Policymakers from the 1930s

Author:
Jeffrey Frankel
Publication Date:
07-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
The current economic crisis is fundamentally different from those we have experienced in recent past. The proximate causes of previous recessions (1980-2 and 1990-91) were increases in interest rates in response to inflation. This time around, however, low interest rates and loose monetary policy during the period 2003-2005 had contributed to a bubble in asset prices, rather than to inflation. This-coupled with an underestimation of risk in our financial system, failures of corporate governance, and excessive debt by both households and government-caused the crisis of 2007-09.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, and Germany

2770. Monetary Policy Challenges for Emerging Market Economies

Author:
Ravi Kanbur, Eswar Prasad, and Gill Hammond
Publication Date:
08-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
This paper introduces a significant collection of papers on monetary policy in emerging market economies, written by leading analysts and policymakers. Does existing economic theory provide lessons that are pertinent for designing effective monetary policy frameworks in emerging markets? What can be learnt from cross-country studies and from experiences of individual countries that have adopted different approaches? While country-specific circumstances and initial conditions matter a great deal in formulating suitable frameworks, are there clear general principles that can serve as a guide in this process? These are among the issues addressed in the dialogue between academics and policymakers represented in the volume. In this paper, we provide an overview of the main issues, linking them to broader debates in the academic literature as well as an assessment of how individual countries have chosen to respond to specific policy challenges and what the consequences have been. We discuss many controversies where there are still sharp differences in views between and amongst theorists and practitioners. We also delineate a few key analytical issues where there is still a yawning gap between theory and practice. In the process, we set out a broad agenda for further re- search in this area.
Topic:
Economics, Emerging Markets, Markets, and Monetary Policy