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3141. Fortune or Evil? The Effects of Inward Foreign Direct Investment on Corruption

Author:
Pablo M. Pinto and Boliang Zhu
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies
Abstract:
This paper analyzes the relationship between inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and grand corruption in host countries. We argue that the effects of FDI on government corruption are conditional on the host country's underlying economic and political climate: FDI will be associated with higher corruption levels in political and economic environments where competition is restriced. We adopt an empirical strategy aimed at dealing with the underlying endogeneity problem. We construct an instrument for inward FDI based on a measure of remoteness. We test our hypotheses on the conditional effects of FDI on corruption in an instrumental variable two-stage least-squares setting, finding preliminary support for our argument: the effect of FDI on corruption is positive in authoritarian and poor countries, and turns negative as countries develop and become more democratic. We also find that the marginal effect of FDI on corruption in democratic and rich countries is smaller.
Topic:
Corruption, Development, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance

3142. Enhancing Democracy Assistance

Author:
Lincoln A. Mitchell and David L. Phillips
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
The Research Project on Enhancing Democracy Assistance is undertaken by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies of the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, and the Atlantic Council of the United States. This report recognizes that democracy assistance is essential to the promotion of US foreign policy and global interests, and offers political and technical recommendations in order to enhance democracy assistance.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Democratization, Development, Globalization, and International Affairs
Political Geography:
United States

3143. On What Terms Is the IMF Worth Funding?

Author:
Edwin M. Truman
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
Abstract:
In the first decade of the 21st century the International Monetary Fund (IMF) faced crises of legitimacy, relevance, and budgetary finance. It now confronts what likely will be the worst global recession since World War II, potentially huge demands for its financial assistance with limited resources, and calls for it to play a more central role in the international financial and regulatory systems. At the same time, the incoming Barack Obama administration must decide what to do about the modest package of IMF reforms that was completed in the spring of 2008. The package requires US congressional approval to go into effect. This paper reviews the recent, slow progress on IMF reform and makes recommendations to the Obama administration against the background of that record, the emerging global recession, and continuing financial turmoil. I recommend that the IMF package be reopened to include a doubling of IMF quotas and an amendment that will permit the Fund to swap special drawing rights (SDR) with major central banks to finance its short-term lending facility. I also recommend a special allocation of 50 billion SDR. If these proposals are turned down by the G-20 at its meeting in April 2009, I reluctantly recommend that the Obama administration seek congressional approval of the IMF package as it now stands because a failure to do so would seriously undermine the Fund as a central multilateral institution.
Topic:
Development, International Organization, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Global Recession
Political Geography:
United States

3144. Stabilizing Afghanistan: Threats and Challenges

Author:
William Maley
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Afghanistan cannot be stabilized by quick fixes. The United States, NATO, and their allies need to make a sustained commitment for the long term. Instead of a simple “surge,” there needs to be a much clearer focus on bringing security to Afghans' daily lives. Only once this is achieved will Afghanistan's government have real reservoirs of legitimacy. Afghanistan has not been served well by its 2004 Constitution, which created a dysfunctional system of government that relies too much on the president alone. The United States should support systemic reforms, first through the development of an effective executive office to support the Afghan president. Counternarcotics policies in Afghanistan must take account of domestic socioeconomic complexities, and be based on long-term development projects that increase the returns from cultivating different crops. Serious thought needs to be given to encouraging more Muslim states to contribute personnel to support the promotion of human security and development in Afghanistan. Pakistan needs to be pressured discreetly but very strongly to arrest the Afghan Taliban leadership in Pakistan.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Development, and War
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States, and Central Asia

3145. Drought Management Considerations for Climate Change Adaptation

Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Cambodia is one of the most disaster-prone countries in East Asia, with its vulnerability to annual floods and droughts. One of the reasons why it is vulnerable to natural disasters is that the livelihoods of the majority of people depend directly upon natural resources, with a large proportion of its population occupied in agriculture and related sectors, including animal husbandry. Extreme poverty, which limits access to food, water, and other basic amenities, increases vulnerability. These characteristics heighten Cambodia's exposure to the impacts of climate change too. The Mekong region has recently been showing signs of climate change, as illustrated in our previous report on VietNam ('Drought-Management Considerations for Climate-Change Adaptation: Focus on the Mekong Region – Report (VietNam)', October 2007). There is evidence of greater climatic extremes: both declining rainfall in the dry season and more violent rainfall in the wet season, causing flash floods. Increasingly powerful typhoons also appear to be occurring.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Energy Policy, Environment, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
East Asia, Asia, Vietnam, and Cambodia

3146. Urban Sustainable Development and the Challenge of French Metropolitan Strategies

Author:
Philippe Hamman
Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Political Sociology
Abstract:
This article focuses on some salient issues of urban sustainable development in France, specifically with regard to six urban agglomerations: Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Montpellier, Nantes and Toulouse. The reticular dimension of these issues is analysed with reference to the ways a plurality of actors imagine, project and realise the construction of cities, rather than through sectoral points of view. This relational approach is divided according to a triple focus in which we successively address: firstly, the state of SD policies in the listed major French cities, in terms of contents and conception; secondly, their implementation from the perspective of instruments; and finally, the circuits of their realisation. Thus, urban SD appears within a (locally variable) set of linkages that place these issues firmly in areas of interrelations and intersections.
Topic:
Demographics, Development, Government, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
France

3147. Land Policy Reform, Customary Rule of Law and the Peace Process in Sierra Leone

Author:
Jon Unruh
Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
African Journal of Legal Studies
Institution:
The Africa Law Institute
Abstract:
Armed conflict is particularly destructive to socio-legal relations regarding land and property. Reconstruction priorities increasingly include the reform of property legislation as part of efforts to address the causes and reasons for continuation of conflicts. However, a pervasive problem is that postwar laws are extremely difficult to connect with informal on-the-ground developments regarding perceptions of spatially-based rights as populations pursue livelihoods, grievances and aspirations. Left unattended, the problem constitutes a potential flashpoint for a return to conflict. This article examines this connection for postwar Sierra Leone, in order to highlight issues and questions of potential utility. The stakes are high for successfully connecting postwar land tenure laws with informal socio-legal realities. For Sierra Leone, a primary issue is the presence of a large population without access to land, tenure insecurity discouraging investment, large-scale food insecurity and rural unemployment while significant swathes of arable and previously cultivated land stands idle.
Topic:
Development

3148. Strengthen the Millennium Challenge Corporation: Better Results are Possible

Author:
Lex Rieffel and James W. Fox
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is one of the outstanding innovations of the eight-year presidency of George W. Bush. No other aid agency-foreign or domestic-can match its purposeful mandate, its operational flexibility and its potential muscle.
Topic:
Development, Government, Humanitarian Aid, and International Affairs
Political Geography:
United States

3149. The Diversification Challenge in Africa's Resource-Rich Economies

Author:
John Page
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
For a growing number of countries in Africa the current commodity boom is a huge opportunity. But if the economic history of resource-rich, poor countries-especially in Africa-is any guide, rather than bringing prosperity, the resource boom may drive them into what Paul Collier (2007) in his influential book The Bottom Billion terms the "Natural Resources Trap." In Africa, countries dependent on oil, gas, and mining have tended to have weaker long-run growth, higher rates of poverty, and higher inequality than Non mineral-dependent economies at similar levels of income.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Political Economy, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Africa

3150. Ending Dependence: Hard Choices for Oil-Exporting States

Author:
John V Mitchell and Paul Stevens
Publication Date:
07-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
Since 2003, countries whose economies depend on the export of oil and gas have enjoyed a surge of revenue driven by rising oil prices and, in some countries, rising export volumes. The press has captured petroleum-fuelled prosperity in images of futuristic construction plans and the rocketing assets of sovereign wealth funds. However, this obscures important differences among oil and gas exporters in terms of reserves size and social development challenges. Based on a major study of twelve hydrocarbon-exporting countries, this report shows that the boom does not guarantee economic sustainability for these countries, most of which face hard policy choices over domestic consumption, development spending and rates of economic growth. The report estimates the timeframes these countries have in which to make the necessary changes and examine their prospects for success given the existing human, institutional and technical capacity, competitive advantages, infrastructure and access to capital.
Topic:
Development, Energy Policy, Oil, International Security, and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Middle East