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3261. Evaluating Iraq's Provincial Reconstruction Teams While Drawdown Looms: A USIP Trip Report

Author:
Sam Parker and Rusty Barber
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Since their 2005 inception in Iraq, PRTs have struggled to fully define their mission, overcome structural problems, learn to work alongside their military counterparts and assist Iraqis down the path to self-governance and stability so that U.S. forces can withdraw. While the concept was born in the Afghan conflict, PRTs in Iraq bear little resemblance to their Afghan cousins, which are led and largely staffed by military officers. PRTs in Iraq are largely civilian-led and are required to address a host of issues including local governance, economic and women's development, health, agriculture, rule of law and education. In this respect, they resemble mini development task forces, harnessing civilian expertise sourced from the U.S. and augmented by military civil affairs officers.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Economics, Health, Terrorism, War, and Governance
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, and Middle East

3262. Banking the Mexican Immigrant Population: Analysis of Profiling Variables

Author:
Paulina Ennis
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Latin American and Iberian Studies at Columbia University
Abstract:
The aim of this thesis is to provide actionable recommendations for banks to target the Mexican immigrant market. To achieve this, I analyze survey data collected from the Mexican immigrant population to amplify a subject commonly seen from a sociological viewpoint – the immigrants' use of bank accounts with the objective of accumulating money to send home. Specifically, the objective of this paper is to answer the following questions: Does having a bank account entail larger amounts of savings sent to Mexico at the end of the migration spell? What is the profile of a bank account user within the Mexican migrant population? What does this mean in terms of targeting the Mexican migrant market?
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Migration
Political Geography:
Latin America and Mexico

3263. The FDI Recession Has Begun

Author:
Karl Sauvant
Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Latin American and Iberian Studies at Columbia University
Abstract:
With $1.8 trillion (according to UNCTAD), world foreign direct investment (FDI) flows reached an all-time high last year. All major regions benefitted from increased flows. But that was then. What is, and will be, the impact of the financial crisis and the recession on FDI flows this year and next?
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Africa, Russia, Central Asia, and Latin America

3264. Water and Gender: The Unexpected Connection That Really Matters

Author:
Vivienne Bennett, Sonia Davila-Poblete, and Maria Nieves Rico
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Abstract:
Since the mid-1990s, worldwide focus on water scarcity has exploded. Attention has moved beyond the technical dimensions of water provision to the political and social contexts in which water management occurs. In many places, especially where water is scarce, control over water confers power. The political analysis of water is then an analysis of power relations. As social scientists have entered the water world, and more and more case studies are carried out in Latin America, Africa and Asia, another facet of the politics of water that has been brought to light is gender differentiation in water usage and water management. In our 2005 book, Opposing Currents: The Politics of Water and Gender in Latin America, we provided a framework for understanding the connection between water and gender and a review of the development of global water policy and gender policy since the early 1990s, using case studies from six Latin American countries to highlight the role of women in water management. We found that substantial change is still needed to overcome pernicious gender bias and imbalances that distort water management and lead to ineffective planning in the water sector.
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
Africa, Asia, and Latin America

3265. The Individual Sources of Economic Nationalism: Evidence from Survey Data

Author:
Pablo Pinto
Publication Date:
02-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies
Abstract:
Political leaders in troubled democracies around the world have resorted to an anti-foreign rhetoric to justify the adoption of policies restricting foreign imports, and the free flow of capital and people, allegedly in defense of the national interest. And this rhetoric has resonated positively with large sectors of the electorate in those countries. A similar trend, exploiting a nationalistic sentiment for economic purposes, is observed in campaigns in the United States to buy American. Most studies to date have analyzed the causes and consequences of economic nationalism at the state level. However, there is good reason to believe that sources of economic nationalism should be traced at the individual level: some individuals might be willing to embrace economic nationalism purely on self-interest, yet others will be forced to trade off material and ideational preferences in order to support the national industry. The existence of this tradeoff at the individual level has important implications for coalition formation on trade, investment and migration policy-making. While recent studies suggest that cultural and ideational interests are likely to influence individual attitudes towards trade, one of the central policy dimensions in economic nationalism, the empirical content of the tradeoff between material and non-material preferences remains untested to date. Using data from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP 2003) we explore whether the effect of nationalism on attitudes towards protectionism varies with the individual's position in the economy. We find preliminary evidence that nationalism systematically affects attitudes towards trade in the United States, but less so in the Philippines. We also find that the effect of nationalism is conditional on individuals' skill, or position in the economy.
Topic:
International Relations, Democratization, Economics, and Nationalism
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Philippines

3266. The Economics of CO2 Mitigation: the Stern Review and its critics

Author:
Marilyn Power
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
The debate surrounding Global Warming and potential policies to curve its consequences has been ever-growing in noise and status. Sir Nicholas Stern's Review on the Economics of Climate Change in 2006 stimulated more debate and research with its conclusions of immediate policy action based on cost-benefit techniques; its critics coming from both the mainstream and ecological economic backgrounds. This paper will examine Stern Review's use of discounting in environmental cost-benefit analysis, its critiques, and possible alternatives to analyze the economic understandings of global warming. And, in the end, it will tie together the above economics to the political atmosphere of today.
Topic:
Climate Change, Economics, Globalization, and Political Economy

3267. (How) does aid Work? A Literature Review of Aid Effectiveness Welfare Studies

Author:
Tina Maria Jensen
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Despite several decades of development aid, economists generally agree that on average, most developing countries have experienced no or only little economic growth: while a limited number of countries particularly in South East Asia have experienced a rather significant growth, most African countries have had very limited or in some cases even negative economic growth. Only two of the 47 Sub-Saharan African countries, Botswana and Equatorial Guinea – both low in population – have reached annual growth rates of 7% over the last 15 years, while only nine countries have managed a growth rate above 2%. Moreover, 21 of the African countries have experienced negative growth, while on a global scale, just five countries have reached an annual growth rate of 7 % or more over a 15 year period (1985-2000) (Clemens et al. 2004:9-10).
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, and Economics
Political Geography:
Africa and Southeast Asia

3268. SWF's Are Making Political Waves in the U.S. and EU

Author:
Thomas J. Karol
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
European Affairs
Institution:
The European Institute
Abstract:
Western countries need and largely welcome the fresh capital that can be injected by SWFs. But these funds are liable to arouse controversy, often because they are run by countries disliked in the West. Their tax-free status (as government-owned entities) may offer politicians a handle on these funds.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, Government, and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
United States

3269. Europe Must Present a Single Market to SWF's

Author:
Antonio De Lecea
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
European Affairs
Institution:
The European Institute
Abstract:
The Commission hopes to help put in place a Europe-wide approach to sovereign wealth funds designed to avoid a situation in which the investors play off EU countries against each other. A common European attitude may help sensitize the funds about the value of transparency concerning their own rules of the road.
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
Europe

3270. Norway's Wealth Fund Answers to Voters

Author:
Jarle Bergo
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
European Affairs
Institution:
The European Institute
Abstract:
Norway is a democracy that has a “wealth fund” thanks to hydro-carbon exports. To maintain voter support for saving and investing instead of spending the revenue now, the fund has strict and open rules about its policies. The author outlines Norway's system as an example to be studied by others – including the IMF, which is working on a code of best practices.
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
Norway and Scandinavia