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4701. Hidden Costs of War

Author:
William D. Hartung
Publication Date:
03-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Fourth Freedom Forum
Abstract:
The Bush administration's war on terrorism and its proposed military intervention in Iraq have sparked the steepest increases in military and security spending in two decades. Since September 11, 2001, the federal government has approved over $110 billion in increased military spending and military aid. Spending on national defense is slated to reach $399 billion in the Fiscal Year 2004 budget, and to rise to over $500 billion annually by the end of this decade. These vast sums do not include the costs of the ongoing war in Afghanistan or a war with Iraq. Steven Kosiak of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments estimates that only 5 to 10 percent of the Fiscal Year 2003 Pentagon budget is being set aside for anti-terror activities and homeland security.
Topic:
Security, Economics, Government, Terrorism, and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, and Middle East

4702. Five Kinds of Capital: Useful Concepts for Sustainable Development

Author:
Neva Goodwin
Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:
The concept of capital has a number of different meanings. It is useful to differentiate between five kinds of capital: financial, natural, produced, human, and social. All are stocks that have the capacity to produce flows of economically desirable outputs. The maintenance of all five kinds of capital is essential for the sustainability of economic development.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Treaties and Agreements

4703. International Trade and Air Pollution: The Economic Costs of Air Emissions from Waterborne Commercial Vessels in the United States

Author:
Kevin Gallagher and Robin Taylor
Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:
Although there is a burgeoning literature on the effects of international trade on the environment, relatively little work has been done on where trade most directly effects the environment: the transportation sector. This article shows how international trade is affecting criteria air pollution emissions in the United States' shipping sector. Recent work has shown that cargo ships have been long overlooked regarding their contribution to air pollution. Indeed, ship emissions have recently been deemed "the last unregulated source of traditional air pollutants."Air pollution from ships has a number of significant local, national, and global environmental effects. Building on past studies, we examine the economic costs of this increasing and unregulated form of environmental damage. We find that total emissions from ships are largely increasing due to the increase in foreign commerce (or international trade). We analyze the period 1993 to 2001 and find that the economic costs of SO2 pollution during the period are estimated to be $1.1 billion or $126 million per year. For NOx emissions the costs are $3.7 billion over the entire period or $412 million per year. Because foreign trade is driving the growth in U.S. shipping, we also estimate the effect of the Uruguay Round on emissions. Separating out the effects of global trade agreements reveals that the trade agreement- led emissions amount to $460 million for SO2 between 1993 and 2001, or $51 million per year. For NOx they are $1.2 billion for the whole period or $144 million per year. Without adequate policy responses, we predict that these trends and costs will continue to rise with trade flows into the future
Topic:
Economics, Environment, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
North America

4704. Economic Reform, Energy, and Development: The Case of Mexican Manufacturing

Author:
Kevin Gallagher and Francisco Aguayo
Publication Date:
07-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:
Given increasing concern over global climate change and national security there is a burgeoning interest in examining the relationship between economic growth and energy use in developed and developing countries. More specifically, delinking energy use per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) has fast come to be seen as in the interests of national economies and the world as a whole. Recent attention has been paid to the dramatic decreases in the energy intensity of the Chinese economy, which fell by 55 percent between 1975 and 1995 (Sinton and Fridley, 2000). Do other developing economies follow similar trajectories?
Topic:
Economics, Environment, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
North America

4705. Free Trade, Corn, and the Environment: Environmental Impacts of US - Mexico Corn Trade Under NAFTA

Author:
Frank Ackerman, Kevin Gallagher, Timothy Wise, Luke Ney, and Regina Flores
Publication Date:
06-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) had a profound impact on corn trade between the United States and Mexico. Negotiated tariff reductions and the Mexican government's decision not to charge some tariffs to which it was entitled resulted in a doubling of US corn exports to Mexico. This paper examines the environmental implications of this change on both sides of the border.
Topic:
Economics, Environment, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
North America and Mexico

4706. Current Economic Conditions in Myanmar and Options for Sustainable Growth

Author:
David Dapice
Publication Date:
05-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:
In this paper, an extensive report on the economy of Myanmar prepared in 1998 is supplemented by more recent reports as of fall 2002 (included as appendices).
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Asia

4707. Reconciling Growth and the Environment

Author:
Neva Goodwin and Jonathan Harris
Publication Date:
03-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:
Macroeconomic theory and policy are strongly based on the assumption that economic growth is a fundamental goal. The environmental realities of the twenty- first century compel a reassessment of macro theory in terms of the impact of current growth patterns on planetary ecosystems.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance

4708. Individual Unemployment Accounts

Author:
Lawrence Brunner and Stephen M. Colarelli
Publication Date:
10-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Independent Institute
Abstract:
The unemployment compensation system in the United States is out of date and in trouble. The system has four fundamental problems: (1) during recessions, it often cannot meet its financial obligations without federal aid or deficit spending; (2) it is out of step with the structural and cultural realities of the modern workforce; (3) it encourages layoffs and unemployment; and (4) it operates in isolation from other programs related to employment and financial security. We propose an alternative unemployment policy based on the individual unemployment account (IUA). The IUA would be a mandatory and portable individual trust to which the employer and employee contributed. It shifts control and responsibility from the employer and the state government to the employer and the employee, and it is compatible with the realities of a twenty-first-century economy. We begin by providing an overview of how the current unemployment insurance system works and discussing its problems. We then describe an alternative unemployment policy based on IUAs and discuss the benefits of such a policy.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
United States

4709. Are We Taking China's Future for Granted?

Author:
Joseph C. Folio
Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
Abstract:
During Fall 2003 the Schlesinger Working Group held two meetings (September 25th and November 3rd) to explore China's estimated political/ economic outlook and to determine what potential challenges might affect its projected future. The purpose of these meetings was not to predict a Chinese stumble or even collapse, but rather to examine events that could trigger a disruption of China's current, impressively successful economic trajectory, and to analyze what form that disruption could take. During the first meeting, participants identified potential disruption scenarios to which China remains vulnerable. The second meeting considered the implications of disruption for both China and the United States, and how these scenarios might affect U.S. policy. Working Group members did not attempt to assign probabilities for the identified potential disruptions or “failures.” Rather, they focused on the hurdles or challenges posed by these disruption scenarios, which the Chinese leadership would need to confront successfully in order to avoid losing control or endangering national cohesion. Participants generally agreed that any major disruption would most likely derive from an external shock that might negatively affect China's economic situation and possibly ignite collateral internal disruption via domestic unrest or leadership division. The group concurred that the Chinese leadership has sufficient strength and cohesion to manage most forms of internal disruption, or at least to adapt quickly and effectively to those that arise.
Topic:
International Relations, Diplomacy, and Economics
Political Geography:
United States and China

4710. Living at the Edge: America's Low–Income Children and Families

Author:
Hsien-Hen Lu, Julian Palmer, Younghwan Song, Mary Clare Lennon, and J. Lawrence Aber
Publication Date:
10-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia University
Abstract:
By analyzing data from the Current Population Survey March Supplements, Living at the Edge explores the following questions about children in low-income families in the United States: What are the overall changes in the low-income and poverty rates for children over the past quarter century? How has the population of children in low-income families changed over the past decade? Which children are more likel to live in low-income famlies? How have changes in parental employment status affected the likelihood children living in low-income families? What are the state by state variations in child low-income and poverty rates, and how have these changed in the last decade? How does a more inclusive definition of family income and expenses affect our understanding of the poverty and near-poverty rates of children in low-income families?
Topic:
Economics, Human Welfare, and Industrial Policy
Political Geography:
United States