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4052. The Hidden Cost of Homeland Defense
- Author:
- Benjamin Friedman
- Publication Date:
- 11-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- MIT Center for International Studies
- Abstract:
- Conventional wisdom says that none of us are safe from terrorism. The truth is that almost all of us are. The conventional belief is that in response to terrorism, the federal government has spent massive sums on homeland security. The fact is that the increased federal spending on homeland security since September 11 pales in comparison to increases in the U.S. defense budget. But homeland security has costs beyond spending, costs that conventional thinking rarely considers. U.S. homeland security policy conjures up a flawless enemy that could strike at any moment, in any place. That policy institutionalizes the fears terrorists created and harms liberal values.
- Topic:
- Security, Economics, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- United States and North America
4053. The United States as an Asian Power: Realism or Conceit?
- Author:
- M. Taylor Fravel and Richard J. Samuels
- Publication Date:
- 04-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- MIT Center for International Studies
- Abstract:
- The long history of U.S. foreign policy is punctuated by axiomatic truths that have bordered on conceit—e.g., the virtues of isolation, America's manifest destiny, and our benign, democratizing presence in world affairs. Strategists have lurched from truth to truth across the centuries, often without sufficient reflection and learning. Today the United States is operating with an axiomatic idea about its place in and of Asia. U.S. foreign policymakers—and U.S. foreign policy wonks—intone the mantra: “The United States is an Asian power.”
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Economics, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States, America, and Asia
4054. The Norwegian Import Regime for Agriculture
- Author:
- Arne Melchior
- Publication Date:
- 09-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Norway maintains one of the highest levels of protection for agriculture in the OECD, but the tariff structure is not so transparent due to the extensive use of specific tariffs, i.e. tariffs expressed in NOK/kg or the like. In this paper, we use world market prices and Norwegian import prices to calculate ad valorem equivalents of specific tariffs. This shows that 28% of the tariff lines in agriculture are above 100%, and 10% are above 300%. The average of MFN applied tariffs is in the range 73-103%, depending on the calculation method. Protection is somewhat lower (54-74%) for goods exported by developing countries. While the Least Developed Countries have zero tariffs, other developing countries obtain 10-15% tariff reductions under the GSP system of tariff preferences. Tariff rate quotas provide some increase in market access. Protection of grains and feedstuff raises the forage costs in agriculture, and especially feedstuffs are important in the exports of developing countries.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Norway
4055. Trade and development - a selective review
- Author:
- Per Botlof Maurseth
- Publication Date:
- 09-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- This paper reviews parts of the recent literature on trade and growth. The relationships between trade and growth have been extensively studied in recent research. Many studies indicate that trade stimulates income and growth. The literature is controversial and many studies are criticised for weaknesses in methodology. Despite the methodological controversies, most evidence gives support for the view that trade stimulates growth. It is argued that major deficiency in the literature is that it does not discriminate between the impact of market access in other countries and the impact of liberal domestic trade policies.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Europe
4056. GSP in the 'spaghetti bowl' of trade preferences
- Author:
- Arne Melchior
- Publication Date:
- 09-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The paper examines the relative position of GSP (tariff preferences for developing countries) compared to ordinary tariffs and free trade agreements in Norway, the EU and the USA. On average, ordinary GSP gives a tariff rebate of less than 50% in all countries. “Extended” GSP, given to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and others, implies zero tariffs in Norway and the EU, but only partial liberalisation in the USA. EU provides extended GSP for 119 countries, while the USA does so for 76 and Norway for 52. Considering the shares of trade rather than the number of countries, extended GSP covers 5% or less of total trade in all cases, and ordinary GSP is much more important. Compared to tariffs in free trade agreements, ordinary GSP is inferior in the USA and the EU, but not too far behind in Norway. This is due to recent cuts in MFN tariffs as well as improvements in the GSP system of Norway. For manufacturing, Norway has low tariffs and a generous GSP system. This is however not the case for agriculture.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, and Norway
4057. The German ICT industry: Spatial Employment and Innovation Patterns
- Author:
- Björn Frank and Per Botolf Maurseth
- Publication Date:
- 02-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- This paper documents recent developments in German ICT industries. In particular we report results on spatial patterns in innovation and employment in these industries. The paper is motivated by previous studies that have found that ICT industries seem to cluster geographically and having spatially clustered growth rates. In this study, we discriminate between production of ICT devices and production of ICT services. In Germany, production of ICT devices is concentrated in clusters of innovating regions (in terms of patents). ICT service production, on the other hand, is concentrated in larger urban areas. Growth rates in ICT-related employment show different spatial patterns. The data show that negative spatial effects are present for several sectors, which might give support for the so-called backwash effect described by Gunnar Myrdal (1957). For other sectors, positive spatial spillover effects may be present. For overall economic development (in terms of gross regional product per habitant) we find weak positive growth effects ICT, but these growth effects stem more from innovation than from production or use of ICT.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Welfare, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Germany
4058. North-South Trade and Wages with Complete Specialisation
- Author:
- Arne Melchior
- Publication Date:
- 01-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- From the Stolper-Samuelson Theorem, it is expected that North-South trade reduces the real wage of unskilled labour in the North. This paper questions the underlying assumption that trading countries are diversified, and examines theoretically the trade-wage link when the South is completely specialised. While it remains true that trade with the South negatively affects wages in the North, it is no longer the case that the poorer the trade partner is, the more harmful is trade for Northern wages. The negative wage impact is largest when the South has an intermediate capital-labour ratio, since it is then a more efficient producer. This also gives the largest aggregate welfare gains from trade in the North. The specialised South also gains from trade, and these gains are relatively larger, the more extreme is its factor composition. But even if the poorest countries gain from trade, capital accumulation may be more important for their welfare.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, Human Welfare, and International Trade and Finance
4059. Preserving Competition: Keeping Predators at Bay
- Publication Date:
- 12-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- Predatory pricing is the practice of offering goods or services at exceptionally low prices, thereby forfeiting some profit in order to drive competitors out of the market, discipline them, and/or deter entry. It is among the most frequently discussed topics in competition law and economics.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, Industrial Policy, and Markets
4060. Subsidies: a Way Towards Sustainable Fisheries?
- Publication Date:
- 12-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- Governments pay out some USD 6 billion a year to support the fisheries sector in OECD countries. This money, variously called subsidies, support or financial transfers, is used to help manage fish stocks, to modernise fishing fleets, and to help communities and regions that can no longer make a living out of fishing to develop other economic activity. The money is also intended to assist in resolving problems of over-fishing and over-capacity that affect many parts of the OECD fishing industry.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Environment, and Government