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501. Building on the Past, Imagining the Future: Competency Based Growth Strategies in a Global Digital Age

Author:
John Zysman, Dan Breznitz, Niels Christian Nielsen, and Derek Wong
Publication Date:
10-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
Abstract:
The policy objective for governments is classic and enduring: sustain the growth of employment and productivity to assure expanding real incomes of the citizens. Success requires that “under free and fair market conditions, the community (firms and populace) can produce goods and services that meet the test of international markets while simultaneously expanding the real income of its citizens.” Yet, the logic of competition and value creation in global markets has evolved. Consequently, old strategies of simply supporting the competitiveness of particular national flag firms or chasing smokestacks are clearly obsolete, but merely investing in R or education is not sufficient, and doing nothing is a formula for decline. Regions have to conceive new strategies to find distinctive advantages to support employment and productive activity. Those strategies will need to target competencies, not particular firms or specific sectors. We argue, first, that basic shifts in global markets have altered for firms the logic of value creation and the character of competition. Second, we contend that this changed value logic also alters the policy choices and growth strategies for places, be they regions or nations or simply communities. The focus of and foundation for policy analysis must be the domains of competency that underpin diverse activities of firms and are central to competitive advantage in sectors. Finally, we argue that there are no magic strategy bullets, but rather an array of options and choices. Successful strategies will emerge by building on the past while imagining the future.
Topic:
Development, Government, Markets, and Political Economy

502. Wie viel Erbschaftssteuern?

Author:
Jens Beckert
Publication Date:
10-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:
Germany introduced a federal inheritance tax in 1906. Historically, the share of its revenues compared to total tax revenues has always been low. Currently, less than one percent of total revenues are generated from inheritance tax. In countries like France, the United States and England, inheritance tax revenues are higher. With its ruling in 2007 the German supreme court has forced parliament to revise regulations on inheritance taxation. Various proposals are currently the subject of intense political debate. I take this discussion as the starting point for an investigation of fundamental arguments for and against estate taxation. Proposing that inheritances be taxed as a further type of income within the context of the income tax, I examine the impact of inheritance taxes on economic performance, family solidarity and the political community as well as the relationship between inheritance taxation and important value principles of individual freedom, social justice and equality of opportunity.
Topic:
Government and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Europe, France, and Germany

503. Social Democrats and Education Spending: A Refined Perspective on Supply-Side Strategies

Author:
Marius R. Busemeyer
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:
This paper builds on the arguments developed by Carles Boix (1997, 1998) about partisan differences in supply-side oriented strategies. The original Boix model argues that social democrats in government prefer to increase public investment in human capital formation, while conservatives are opposed to this. The model is presented and subjected to a comprehensive empirical test. It is argued that it is necessary to determine the dynamics of spending in each educational sector separately. In addition, economic internationalization is not treated as a background variable as with Boix (1997, 1998), but fully included in the analysis. Finally, instead of relying on a simple dichotomy of leftist and rightist parties, the impact of government participation on the part of social democrats, Christian democrats and conservatives is analysed. The empirical test supports the Boix model only on a very general level. Social democrats are found for the most part to increase spending on higher education, which is at odds with the predictions of the Boix model and partisan theory in general. The paper concludes with a discussion of the consequence of the findings for the development of partisan theory.
Topic:
Economics, Education, Government, and Political Economy

504. Corporate Values in Local Contexts: Work Systems and Workers' Welfare in Western and Eastern Europe

Author:
Marta Kahancová
Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:
Increased international competition poses challenges to companies' organizational practices, including human resource management. For multinational companies operating simultaneously in diverse local conditions this challenge implies a decision between either opting for universal best practices or adapting their employment strategy to differing local standards in host countries. What influences whether work practices are similar or differ when deployed in differing conditions? Why are some companies committed to their workers' welfare while others are not? This paper attempts to answer these questions by studying work practices, namely work systems and fringe benefits, in a Dutch multinational company (MNC) and its manufacturing subsidiaries in Western and Eastern Europe. Evidence suggests that the observed patterns are best explained by the interplay of three factors. Rational economic interest, company values, and local institutions yield subsidiary work practices that are embedded in, but not adapted to, local standards. The MNC's value system accounts for the fact that generous benefits are offered without a direct relation to the company's profit maximization and without external societal and institutional pressures to provide such benefits.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Europe

505. It's a long way to Copenhagen

Author:
Willem H. Buiter
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
On October 3, 2005, Turkey officially started negotiations for membership in the European Union. Whether Turkey becomes a full member of the EU is likely to be a defining decision, both for the existing EU members and for Turkey. The regional - and geo-political consequences of success or failure of the negotiations, and its cultural and ideological impact, are likely to be even more significant than its economic consequences, although even from an economic perspective the stakes are very high. Turkey's population of over 70 million is larger than that of the ten countries that joined the EU on 1 May 2004 combined. Unlike the EU-25 (and in particular the ten new member states), the Turkish population is young and growing. Its present per capita income is lower than that of any of the EU-25 countries – about at the level of Romania and Macedonia, using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) estimates of per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, with the right institutions and policies, Turkey could become a true tiger economy. But this is not guaranteed. With the institutions and policies of the second half of the 20th century, it could end up a mangy cat instead of a tiger.
Topic:
International Relations and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Turkey, Eastern Europe, Romania, and Macedonia

506. Perspectives on EU-India Relations

Author:
Feng Geng
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Since the 1960s, relations between the EU and India have developed rapidly. Nowadays, EU–India relations have a strong institutional architecture, including regular summits (political and commercial), meetings of ministers and senior officials and so on. Within this institutional framework, the EU and India have launched a comprehensive and fruitful cooperation. There is much active political collaboration, such as in the reform of the United Nations and the fight against terrorism, based on common values. Trade and investment between the EU and India are experiencing strong growth but lack symmetry.
Topic:
International Relations, Political Economy, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Europe, India, and Asia

507. Reverse Balkanisation? Trade Integration in South-East Europe

Author:
David Kernohan
Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Recent research from the World Bank and elsewhere suggests that openness to trade was a vital ingredient in the transition of the former Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) that joined the EU in May 2004. Current EU association agreements in South East Europe indicate that future enlargements may need to accommodate the remaining former Yugoslav Republics as well as the existing candidate countries. This paper examines persistent concerns that trade openness in South East Europe generally, and the former Yugoslav Republics in particular, is much less advanced than it was for the former CEECs in the mid to late 1990s. In particular we examine the issue of whether the present network of bilateral trade arrangements put in place under the Stability Pact has had much effect in boosting trade integration and whether trade within the region is currently at or below its potential. Given the small size of many of the countries in the region, we find that trade patterns remain problematic. In some cases they are smaller than might be expected but in several cases there is an overdependence on trade with old Yugoslav neighbours. In view of this, we consider that current plans to extend the Stability Pact matrix of bilateral trade agreements into a pan-regional trade association are likely to be inadequate. A better option, and one more likely to have a more immediate effect, would be to extend the present Customs Union with Turkey to include trade with the entire South East European zone of countries linked to the EU.
Topic:
International Relations and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia, and Balkans

508. Genealogy of the Field of European Judicial Cooperation

Author:
Antoine Megie
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cultures & Conflits
Institution:
Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:
L'objet de l'article est de tracer les pistes d'étude qui permettent de mieux comprendre les caractéristiques et les conséquences de la mise en place d'une coopération pénale à l'échelle européenne. Prenant en considération la littérature juridique et institutionnelle déjà importante sur ce sujet, il s'agit d'expliquer en quoi une approche historique en termes de processus constitue une première piste essentielle pour appréhender les différentes étapes de la construction d'un pouvoir pénal européen qui, loin d'être linéaire, apparaît plutôt comme intermittente et chaotique. Saisir les différentes phases de cette européanisation implique de travailler sur les moments de ruptures et de changements. La mise en évidence de ces instants critiques conduit, dans un second temps, à placer au cœur de l'analyse les interactions entre les acteurs via l'étude de leurs ressources sociales et de leurs représentations. La compréhension des logiques du champ de la coopération pénale permet, enfin, de donner du sens à la forme normative que revêt aujourd'hui le régime judiciaire européen notamment concernant le déséquilibre structurel qui existe en défaveur des droits procéduraux et des libertés civiles.
Topic:
Political Economy and Political Theory
Political Geography:
Europe

509. SEMINAR REVIEW: Report on the Conference "Transnationalisation, Politics and Policing" of James SHEPTYCKI

Author:
Julien Jeandesboz
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cultures & Conflits
Institution:
Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:
La conférence de James Sheptycki sur « Transnationalisation, politics and policing » offre l'occasion d'une réflexion sur les évolutions d'un champ d'études, moins par un état des lieux de la littérature existante, que par la rencontre avec un chercheur1. A ce titre, la rencontre avec James Sheptycki, du fait de son parcours et des orientations de sa recherche, apporte une mise en perspective des plus instructives sur deux trajectoires générales : celles de l'univers social des professionnels de la sécurité que sont les policiers, et celles du secteur du champ universitaire qui se préoccupe des pratiques de contrôle social, regroupées sous le terme de « policing ».
Topic:
Crime and Political Economy

510. Governance in Areas of Limited Statehood – New Modes of Governance? Research Program of the Research Center (SFB) 700

Author:
Thomas Risse and Ursula Lehmkuhl
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
The governance problematique constitutes a central research focus in contemporary social sciences. Yet, the debate remains centered on an „ideal type“ of the modern nation-state – with full sovereignty and a legitimate monopoly over the use of force. From a global as well as a historical perspective, however, the Western modern nation-state is an exception rather than the rule. Outside the developed world, we find areas of “limited statehood”, from developing and transition countries to „failing“ and „failed states“ in today's conflict zones and – historically – in colonial societies. Our Research Center focuses on these areas of limited statehood which lack the capacity to implement and enforce central decisions or even lack the monopoly over the means of violence. We ask: How can effective and legitimate governance be sustained in areas of limited statehood? Which problems emerge under these conditions? We assume that “multi-level governance” is the rule in areas of limited statehood, linking the local with the national, regional, and global levels. We also assume that governance in areas of limited statehood involves a variety of public and private actors, such as states, international organizations, firms, and civil society. Governance entails negotiations, bargaining, and arguing among these actors rather than hierarchical „command and control“.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, International Cooperation, and Political Economy