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521. Financial Inclusion and Global Regulatory Standards: An Empirical Study across Developing

Author:
Mariana Magaldi de Sousa
Publication Date:
03-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Expanding the access of financial services to low-income households and other disadvantaged groups has become an important public policy goal in the past decade. Many developing economies have encouraged the introduction of a variety of programs, services and branchless banking instruments ranging from automatic teller machines to cell phones to reach people for whom traditional, branch-based structures, had not. After the 2008 global financial crisis, the leaders of the Group of Twenty (G20) recognized the need to further promote these initiatives as key components in the development of healthy, vibrant and stable financial systems that contribute to sustainable economic growth and lower levels of income inequality. As a result, financial inclusion has become one of the new areas of international financial regulation coordination, alongside shadow banking, resolution regimes and new capital requirements.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Health

522. On the Nature of the Internet

Author:
Leslie Daigle
Publication Date:
03-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
This paper examines three aspects of the nature of the Internet: the Internet's technology, general properties that make the Internet successful and current pressures for change. Current policy choices can, literally, make or break the Internet's future. By understanding the Internet — primarily in terms of its key properties for success, which have been unchanged since its inception — policy makers will be empowered to make thoughtful choices in response to the pressures outlined here, as well as new matters arising.
Topic:
Development and Science and Technology

523. Internationalization of the Renminbi: Developments, Problems and Influences

Author:
Ming Zhang
Publication Date:
03-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Due to the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, the Chinese government began to promote renminbi (RMB) internationalization in order to raise its international status, decrease reliance on the US dollar (USD) and advance domestic structural reform. RMB internationalization has achieved progress not only in cross-border trade settlement, but also in the offshore RMB markets. However, the rampant cross-border arbitrage and the relatively slow development of RMB invoicing compared to RMB settlement are becoming increasingly problematic. RMB internationalization has exerted significant influence on not only the Chinese economy but also other emerging market economies. RMB internationalization complicates domestic monetary policy, exacerbates the currency mismatch on China's international balance sheet and increases both the scale and volatility of short-term capital flows. It offers emerging economies another alternative for pricing domestic currency and investing foreign exchange reserves. Its overall impact on the international monetary system's stability will depend on how the capital account is liberalized and the consistency and transparency of Chinese monetary policy. This paper concludes with five recommendations for Chinese policy makers to promote RMB internationalization in a sustainable way that is conducive to international stability.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
United States and China

524. The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone: Backgrounds, Developments and Preliminary Assessment of Initial Impacts

Author:
John Whalley
Publication Date:
02-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (SPFTZ) founded in September 2013, is a trial for China's new round of “reform and opening up” (China.org.cn 2008). The SPFTZ has promised liberalization on capital account and trade facilitation as its main objectives. This paper discusses reasons why China needs such a pilot zone after three decades of economic development, examines the differences between the SPFTZ and other free trade zones (FTZs) and highlights the developments of the SPFTZ since its inception. The SPFTZ's initial impressions are assessed, especially its impact on the opening of China's capital account and financial liberalization. The hope is that the success of the SPFTZ, and more pilot policies replicated in China, will give rise to a more balanced Chinese economy in the following decade.
Topic:
Development and Economics
Political Geography:
China

525. SMARTer Indicators for Decent Work in a Post-2015 Development Agenda: A Discussion and a Proposal

Author:
Jann Lay, Sarah Lindemann-Komarova, Sebastian Prediger, and Martin Ostermeier
Publication Date:
03-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
The aim of this paper is to contribute to the ongoing discussion about the design of a post-2015 development framework by proposing indicators to monitor employment outcomes. Our analysis of the current MDG employment indicators shows that measurement problems, the inappropriate use of aggregate statistics, ambiguous interpretability, and assumptions that often do not hold true in the context of developing countries are major shortcomings of the current indicators. Based on this critique, we develop a new set of indicators for productive employment and decent work. We propose four indicators: (i) the growth of labor value added per worker, (ii) the working poverty rate, (iii) (a) the share of workers receiving less than an absolute labor income and (b) the share of workers receiving less than 60 percent of the median labor income. We demonstrate the empirical application of these indicators using the country cases of Uganda and Peru.
Topic:
Development
Political Geography:
Uganda and Peru

526. Fixing fragile states: a country-based framework

Author:
Seth Kaplan
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
Although there is growing awareness in the development field of the need to better assess fragile states and customise policies to their particular needs, there has been limited progress in these areas. The new Country Fragility Assessment Framework, which systematically examines the societal and institutional sources of fragility, can help decision-makers make more precise diagnoses and better target interventions. It builds on the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States, but offers a more comprehensive framework to assess the forces that can drive a society together or apart. It does this by analysing 12 societal and institutional sources of fragility. The combination of poor social cohesion and poor institutionalisation yields a vicious cycle as instability and underdevelopment feed each other. Social divisions hamper efforts to improve governance and foster economic opportunity, which in turn create discontent and a zero-sum struggle for power and resources. As such, change must target one of these two elements. Even though the framework does not directly provide solutions, it can be used to suggest policy options that are most likely to work, or at least rule out some that will surely fail.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, Fragile States, and Institutionalism
Political Geography:
Global Focus

527. Mark Toufayan, Emmanuelle Tourme-Jouannet, Hélène Ruiz Fabri (eds). Droit international et nouvelles approches sur le tiers-monde: entre répétition et renouveau [International Law and New Approaches to the Third World: Between Repetition and Renewal]

Author:
Makane Moïse Mbengue
Publication Date:
07-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
The volume under review publishes the proceedings of a colloquium held at the University of Paris in July 2010. The aim of this colloquium was to fill a lacuna that characterizes the contemporary francophone international legal scholarship. Indeed, as noted by the editors in their foreword to the book, after a prolific period during the 1970s and 1980s, French and francophone scholars have gradually lost interest in Third World-related issues and ignored this topic in their research and teachings. This trend is regrettable and unfortunate because despite some progress and improvements, international relations are still marked by significant inequalities and disparities between rich and poor countries, while several regions of the world remain in a situation of extreme poverty. Therefore, there is an urgent need to renew and revive the reflection of French-speaking international lawyers on their discipline by inciting them to critically question the present existence and effects of the rules of international law relating to the Third World in the current globalized context. To achieve this goal, Mark Toufayan, Emmanuelle TourmeJouannet and Hélène Ruiz Fabri had the idea of bringing together, in Paris, francophone and anglophone scholars and prominent representatives of the critical Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). TWAIL scholars were invited to expose their ideas and thoughts, and their French-speaking counterparts were asked to react and comment on these thoughts.
Topic:
Development, Human Rights, Imperialism, International Law, Post Colonialism, Third World, and History
Political Geography:
China, Europe, France, South Africa, and Chile

528. Where Are E-governments in South Asian Countries? A Comparative Approach

Author:
Jin-Wan Seo and Hasan Md Golam Mehedi
Publication Date:
07-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
South Asian Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
The four countries are selected and compared based on their use of e-government as a tool to work and share information more effectively while delivering better services to the public. It also provides a general understanding of e-government and uses different variables to discuss the reality of e-government development and e-participation over the last few years in these four countries. In view of this, the time series data are collected from the United Nations e-government survey to highlight developing trends in e-government along with issues and challenges, best practices, and opportunities for the development of egovernment. As a result, this study finds that real e-government remains a distant hope in these countries due to the expense of supplying technology, a lack of infrastructure, limited human capital and a weak private sector.
Topic:
Development, Science and Technology, Infrastructure, and Internet
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Asia, India, Asia, and Korea

529. Challenges and Opportunities of Globalization for the Development of Human Rights in Pakistan 2010-2014

Author:
Azhar Rashid and Muhammad Arshad Watoo
Publication Date:
07-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
South Asian Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
Globalization is a growing phenomenon in the contemporary times when man has become modern in its thinking, actions and evaluation. Growing awareness regarding human rights is not only bringing human into mainstream affairs being major stakeholders indirectly but also greater expectations. This reality of preservation of human rights has brought the issue into legislation to make it law as a written part of the constitution at national, regional and global level in almost all spheres. Consequently, assurance of human fundamental rights is ground reality and written part of all the constitutions of the world. Globalization has transformed the world into a global village where there are commonalities of the cultures, exchange of ideas and free economic approaches are struggling to bring consensus among the world society to protect and preserve the human rights against any violation. World has divided into two blocks global north and global south based on their economic and political capacities. Globalization phenomenon was started by global north so it augurs well for the advancement of their interests while South is less benefited because of having underdeveloped status and weaker rule of law, social, economic and political condition. There are disparities of resources between both the blocks that are why south is suffering and north is maintaining status quo. State like Pakistan being the part and parcel of global south is facing economic and political hurdles where there is no provision of basic human requirements like food, health, education, employment and socio-economic stability. Globalization is north-centered phenomenon and more beneficial for them as compare to south. Globalization has positives and negatives. On one side it is providing awareness about the human rights violations while on other side it seems unable to protect human rights violations. Human rights violation scale is growing in Pakistan where there is nationalistic economy that is anti-thesis of the globalization and free market economy of north. Moreover, weak socio-economic and political conditions in Pakistan causing deprivations and grievance are growing where a specific chunk of society is violating all norms and rules of human rights by using their economic power and social status. In comparison to internationalization of economies under the umbrella of globalization, limited weightage is given to Pakistani exports in international market as compare to exports that proves very costly with the emergence of issue balance of payment that causes severe economic implications on Pakistan economy where social and political sector already going downwards and lacking to provide basic needs of life and fundamental rights. Labor issues and forced labor menace is growing in Pakistan where there are less facilities and larger number of labor and phenomenon of brain drain is growing. Globalization is impacting Pakistan more in a negative way and less in positive way. In this phase of initial years of second decade of twenty first century, human rights violation has decreased due to constitutional protection, media campaigns, role of NGO’s but still long way to go ahead to curb the menace.
Topic:
Development, Globalization, Human Rights, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
Pakistan, South Asia, and Punjab

530. Why is Chiapas Poor?

Author:
Dan Levy, Ricardo Hausmann, Miguel Angel Santos, Luis Espinoza, and Miguel Flores
Publication Date:
07-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
No matter which way you look at it, Chiapas is the most backward of any state in Mexico. Its per capita income is the lowest of the 32 federal entities, at barely 40% of the national median (Figure 1). Its growth rate for the decade 2003-2013 was also the lowest (0.2%),1 causing the income gap separating Chiapas from the national average to increase from 53% to 60%. That is to say that today the average income for a worker in Mexico is two and a half times greater than the average in Chiapas. The two next poorest states, Oaxaca and Guerrero, are 25% and 30% above Chiapas.2 According to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía de México (INEGI, National Institute of Statistics and Geography), Chiapas is also the state with the highest poverty rate (74.7%) as well as extreme poverty (46.7%).3 These major differences in income levels among Mexican federal entities are reproduced as in a fractal within Chiapas. In fact, while the wealthiest entity (Mexico City) is wealthier than the poorest (Chiapas) by a factor of six, the difference within Chiapas between the wealthiest municipality (Tuxtla Gutiérrez) and the poorest (Aldama and Mitontic) is by a factor greater than eight.4 As there are different "Mexicos" within Mexico,5 in Chiapas there are also different sorts of Chiapas (Figure 2). Income per capita in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, to the right of the distribution, is five standard deviations above the state average. Next comes a series of intermediate cities, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Comitán de Domínguez, Tapachula, and Reforma, between two and a half to four standard deviations above the average. The remaining municipalities of Chiapas follow (122 in all), clustered to the far left of the distribution. In addition, both the statistics available at the town level and our visits to various municipalities in Chiapas seem to indicate that significant differences also exist within these municipalities. From this vantage point, questions as to why Chiapas is poor, or what explains its significant backwardness compared to other areas of Mexico, become much more complex. Why do some regions in Chiapas have high income levels, while other regions remain stagnant, fully dependent on federal transfers and deprived from the benefits of modern life?
Topic:
Development, Poverty, Governance, and Economic Inequality
Political Geography:
Central America, Mexico, and Chiapas