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871. America's Mega-Regional Trade Diplomacy: Comparing TTP and TTIP

Author:
Daniel S. Hamilton
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The United States is currently negotiating two massive regional economic agreements, one with 11 Asian and Pacific Rim countries and the other with the 28-member European Union. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) herald a substantial shift in US foreign economic policy as Washington turns its focus from the stalemated Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations and scattered bilateral trade agreements to 'mega-regional' trade diplomacy. As the only party to both negotiations, Washington seeks to leverage issues in one to advance its interests in the other, while reinvigorating US global leadership.
Topic:
Diplomacy and Economics
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, Washington, and Asia

872. The Revival of the Silk Roads (Land Connectivity) in Asia

Author:
Wai-Mun Chia and Pradumna B. Rana
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
This paper argues that contrary to popular belief, in the bygone era, there was not one but two Silk Roads in Asia - the Northern and the less well-known South-western Silk Road (SSR). The SSR connected South/Central Asia with southern China and present day Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). After enjoying a rich history of around 1,600 years, the Silk Roads went into disrepair. Now, for various economic, security, and political reasons, land connectivity is once again making a comeback in Asia. These include the (i) "Go West" and the recent "New Silk Roads" policies of China; (ii) "Look East" policies of South Asia; (iii) opening of Myanmar, a node between South Asia and East Asia; and (iv) growing importance of supply-chain trade. The focus has, however, been mainly on reviving the Northern Silk Road with relatively few actions being initiated to revive the SSR. Mirroring the on-going efforts in the Greater Mekong Sub-region and the Central Asian region, this paper proposes four economic corridors for Pan-Asian connectivity that is to connect South/Central Asia with southern China and ASEAN. The paper argues that the revival of land connectivity in Asia is making Maritime Asia of the past, more continental-based. One implication is that regional institutions focusing solely on Maritime Asia, such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), may be losing some of their relevance vis-à-vis say the more continental-based China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The other is that the influence of the West in Asia's security may be declining relative to that of China, India, and Russia.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
South Asia, Central Asia, and Asia

873. See No Evil: South Korean Labor Practices in North Korea

Author:
Marcus Noland
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Economic engagement between South and North Korea is often justified as a means of encouraging economic and social evolution in North Korea, with the ultimate goal of national unification. The South has invested heavily in the North, and firms have employed more than 50,000 workers. Yet expectations of a transformational impact rest on unexamined assumptions. The North recognizes the Trojan horse nature of the engagement policy: results of an original survey of South Korean employers show that the North Korean government has largely circumscribed the exposure of its citizens to both South Koreans and market-oriented economic practices, in the process violating labor rights defined by covenants to which both countries belong. The problem seems intractable, given that South Korea's diplomatic commitment to engagement with North Korea trumps labor rights concerns and South Korean firms perceive that the North Korean status quo confers benefits. As the experience of labor rights movements elsewhere shows, conditions will likely improve only if an aroused citizenry—here, the South Koreans—demands change.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Economics, Human Rights, Bilateral Relations, and Reform
Political Geography:
Asia, South Korea, and North Korea

874. Perspectives on topical foreign direct investment issues

Author:
Rainer Geiger
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Launched in July 2013 by the European Union and the United States, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) represents an important effort to reach a comprehensive economic agreement between two major trading partners. As has been pointed out, the project offers great opportunities for liberalizing trade and investment and regulatory convergence. Its level of ambition implies high risks, but despite negotiators' initial optimism, its success is far from certain. This Perspective focuses on the project's investment chapter, drawing lessons from the failed negotiations on a Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), which was meant to consolidate the results of liberalization in the OECD area, establish new disciplines and introduce protection and dispute settlement.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe and North America

875. Which host country government actors are most involved in disputes with foreign investors?

Author:
Nathan M. Jensen and Jeremy Caddel
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Foreign direct investors increasingly use investment dispute-settlement mechanisms to resolve investment disputes and reduce political risk. Using data from the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the major forum of international investment arbitration, we cataloged the government actors involved in disputes and the actions that led to arbitration. Existing case-based studies of investment arbitration have provided general inferences about the actors involved, but we contribute to the literature in political science and economics by systematically documenting these patterns of behavior.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, and Governance

876. China needs to complement its "going-out" policy with a "going-in" strategy

Author:
Karl P. Sauvant and Victor Z. Chen
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
China's rising outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) faces rising skepticism abroad. This is partly the result of the leading role of state-owned enterprises in her OFDI (and the fear that it serves non-commercial purposes), the speed with which this investment has grown, the negative image of the home country in some quarters, and the challenges it poses to established competitors. Moreover, Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs) may not always keep in mind that host countries see FDI as a tool to advance their own development and hence seek maximum benefits from it.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
China and Asia

877. A Window of Opportunity to Upgrade EU Foreign Policy

Author:
Stefan Lehne
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
As the financial crisis recedes and the European Union (EU) regains a measure of internal stability, pressure in Europe\'s neighborhood is on the rise. The Ukraine crisis and turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa have elevated foreign policy to the top of the EU\'s agenda. Whether the EU can make its external action more effective will depend in large part on institutional decisions made in 2014—the selection of a new leadership team and the reorganization of the European Commission.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Economics, Human Rights, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe, Ukraine, Middle East, and North Africa

878. A Case against Taxes and Quotas on High-Skill Emigration

Author:
Michael Clemens
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
Skilled workers have a rising tendency to emigrate from developing countries, raising fears that their departure harms the poor. To mitigate such harm, researchers have proposed a variety of policies designed to tax or restrict high-skill migration. Those policies have been justified as Pigovian regulations to raise efficiency by internalizing externalities, and as non-Pigovian regulations grounded in equity or ethics. This paper challenges both sets of justifications, arguing that Pigovian regulations on skilled emigration are inefficient and non-Pigovian regulations are inequitable and unethical. It concludes by discussing a different class of policy intervention that, in contrast, has the potential to raise welfare.
Topic:
Economics, Human Rights, Human Welfare, Immigration, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
India

879. Exports and Capacity Constraints: A smooth transition regression model for six euro-area countries

Author:
Ansgar Belke, Anne Oeking, and Ralph Setzer
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The significant gains in export market shares made in a number of vulnerable euro-area crisis countries have not been accompanied by an appropriate improvement in price competitiveness. This paper argues that, under certain conditions, firms consider export activity as a substitute for serving domestic demand. The strength of the link between domestic demand and exports is dependent on capacity constraints. Our econometric model for six euro-area countries suggests domestic demand pressure and capacity-constraint restrictions as additional variables of a properly specified export equation. As an innovation to the literature, we assess the empirical significance through the logistic and the exponential variant of the non-linear smooth transition regression model. We find that domestic demand developments are relevant for the short-run dynamics of exports in particular during more extreme stages of the business cycle. A strong substitutive relationship between domestic and foreign sales can most clearly be found for Spain, Portugal and Italy, providing evidence of the importance of sunk costs and hysteresis in international trade.
Topic:
Economics, Human Rights, International Trade and Finance, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe

880. Disappearing government bond spreads in the eurozone — Back to normal?

Author:
Paul De Grauwe and Yuemei Ji
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Since the announcement of the Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) programme by Mario Draghi, President of the ECB, in 2012, the government bond spreads began a strong decline. This paper finds that most of this decline is due to the positive market sentiments that the OMT programme has triggered and is not related to underlying fundamentals, such as the debt-to-GDP ratios or the external debt position that have continued to increase in most countries. The authors even argue that the market's euphoria may have gone too far in taking into account the same market fundamentals. They conclude with some thoughts about the future governance of the OMT programme.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
Political Geography:
Europe