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Begin New Search Topic Economics Publication Year within 25 Years

5141. Reforming U.S. Patent Policy: Getting the Incentives Right

Author:
Keith E. Mascus
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
America's robust economic competitiveness is du e in no small part to a large capacity for innovation. That capacity is imperiled, however, by an increasingly overprotective patent system. Over the past twenty-five years, American legislators and judges have operated on the principle that stronger patent protection engenders more innovation. This principle is misguided. Although intellectual property rights (IPR) play an important role in innovation, the recent increase in patent protection has not spurred innovation so much as it has impeded the development and use of new technologies.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Markets
Political Geography:
United States, China, and America

5142. Europe's Financial Perspectives in Perspective

Author:
Paul Veenendaal, Herman Stolwijk, and George Gelauff
Publication Date:
04-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
The budget of the European Union nearly always raises much commotion. Many member states anxiously guard their net payment positions: don't they pay too much for the EU compared to what they receive from the EU? Yet, from an economic perspective the subsidiarity principle is much more important: Should the funds be allocated by the Union or by the individual member states? From that angle, a number of fundamental reforms of European agricultural policy and structural actions (support to lagging regions) suggest themselves. These reform options may more than halve the EU budget. In addition they happen to bring the net payment positions of member states closer together.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe

5143. The Trade-Induced Effects of the Services Directive and the Country-of-Origin Principle

Author:
Arjan Lejour, Henk Kox, and Roland de Bruijn
Publication Date:
04-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
The proposed ServicIn March 2004, the European Commission proposed a directive on the internal market in services. Its aim is to boost the EU's internal market in services by reducing regulation-based impediments to trade and investment in services. A previous CPB study The free movement of services within the EU concluded that bilateral trade in commercial services may increase by 30-60 per cent. This equals an increase of total intra-EU trade (i.e. including trade in goods) of 2 to 5 per cent. For foreign direct investment in commercial services the EU proposal may lead to an increase by 20 per cent to 35 per cent.
Topic:
Economics, Regional Cooperation, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe

5144. Knowledge Capital as the Source of Growth

Author:
Hannu Piekkola
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
Regional disparities in the growth rates of GDP and total factor productivity (TFP) are a major policy concern in the European Union, not least because of the inclusion of new transition economies in the EU. The growth rate of a nation's TFP especially depends on its level of human capital rather than the increasing rate of human capital. The growth that is driven by innovation and the catching-up process spurred by technology imitation relies on educationbased human capital and related agglomeration. This explains why education provides a permanent advantage, which over time may increase in importance in the labour market.
Topic:
Economics and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe

5145. The Effects of Alternative Policy Scenarios on Multifunctionality: A Case Study of Spain

Author:
Irene Blanco, Arancha Simó, and Consuelo Varela-Ortega
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
This paper focuses on the comparative analysis and evaluation of the impact of multifunctionality on the agricultural sector for different scenarios that take into account the protection of the environment and natural resources as well as the international trade agreements in the context of the EU agricultural sector. The research focuses on two different regions in Spain that represent the continental agriculture of the region of Castilla-Leon in the northern central plateau and the Mediterranean fertile agriculture of Andalusia in the south. The analysis has been carried out based on mathematical programming models that simulate farmers' behaviour and their response to the different policy scenarios that correspond to the EU agricultural policies (CAP programmes) and water policies (Water Framework Directive) currently in place. Specifically, these scenarios are: full and partial decoupling, subsidy modulation, crop prices reduction, cross-compliance measures and water pricing policies. Results indicate that the new decoupled CAP will not lead to drastic changes in land use in the two regions studied but will have negative repercussions on farmers' income. Moreover, the introduction of additional measures, such as cross-compliance, will contribute substantially to improving and protecting the environment even though they amount to an additional cost for farmers. Reduction in crop prices will have significant effects on international trade and is likely to produce a reduction in farm intensification and hence a beneficial effect on the environment but will involve negative socio-economic impacts in marginal rain-fed farms. As regards the integration of agricultural and water conservation policies, the application of the EU Water Framework Directive in conjunction with the new CAP reform would produce different regionspecific effects and might question the viability of a number of irrigated farms in Spain.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe and Spain

5146. Potential WTO Trade Reform: Multifunctionality Impacts for Ireland?

Author:
Kevin Hanrahan and Trevor Donnellan
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
The economic impact of trade policy reforms on various sectors of the economy receives more attention than the effects on the environment. This may be partly owing to the secondary importance attributed to environmental or multifunctionality issues when economic consequences take centre stage. An additional consideration, however, may be the practical difficulties of bringing together models that examine the economic impact of trade policy reforms and models that can measure environmental or multifunctionality indicators.
Topic:
Economics, Politics, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe and Ireland

5147. European Financial System Governance

Author:
Karel Lannoo
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
Much has been achieved in upgrading and integrating the 'governance' of the European financial system in recent years. In parallel with the successful adoption of the Financial Services Action Plan (FSAP), the EU managed to reform its regulatory structure, extending what was proposed by the Lamfalussy Committee for securities markets in early 2001 to banking and insurance. The EU thus created permanent committees of securities, banking and insurance supervisors (the 'Level 3 Committees' – CESR, CEBS and CEIOPS). This rapid reform demonstrated that national authorities were capable of overcoming domestic biases, adapting the supervisory structure, and instituting a much greater degree of supervisory cooperation than had existed previously.
Topic:
Economics and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Europe

5148. Fixing the Services Directive

Author:
Stefano Micossi
Publication Date:
04-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
In the spring of 2004, the European Commission approved a draft Directive on Services in the Internal Market and sent it to the Council and the European Parliament. The proposal is the cornerstone of the ailing Lisbon strategy to revive growth and jobs in the European Union: services account for 70% of GDP and employment in advanced countries, and their performance is a main determinant of overall productivity and employment growth. In the European Union, the markets for services are still organised along national lines, cross border trade remains relatively underdeveloped and competition is scarce. The productivity gap with the United States is largely explained by these obstacles.
Topic:
Economics, International Cooperation, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Lisbon

5149. Confidence through Compliance in Emissions Trading Markets

Author:
Christian Egenhofer and Joe Kruger
Publication Date:
04-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
Emissions trading is a market-based mechanism designed to allow firms to choose the most cost effective strategy to meet environmental standards. The success of SO2 and NOx emissions trading systems in the United States and the launch of the ambitious European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) underscore the value of emissions trading as a tool for environmental policy.
Topic:
Economics, Environment, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

5150. Environmental Policy Competition and Differential Tax Treatment: A Case for Tighter Coordination?

Author:
Paul J. G. Tang and Richard Nahuis
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
The Kyoto Protocol binds the level of greenhouse gas emissions in participating countries. It does, however, not dictate how the countries are to achieve this level. The economic costs of reaching emission targets are generally evaluated to be low. For example, evaluations with applied general-equilibrium models estimate the costs to be in the range of 0.2% to 0.5% of GDP, when international trade in emissions rights among governments is allowed for. We argue that important costs are overlooked since governments are inclined to choose highly distorting tax schemes.
Topic:
Economics, Environment, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe