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151. Public and Private Pension Systems and Macroeconomic Volatility in OECD Countries

Author:
Mario Holzner, Stefan Jestl, and David Pichler
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW)
Abstract:
This paper analyses the impact of public pension expenditures and pension funds’ assets as well as their benefits on economic volatility. To do so, we use panel data for 35 OECD countries for the period 1980-2018 and apply a set of state-of-the-art econometric estimators. Our results show weak evidence of a negative impact of public pension expenditures as well as weak evidence of a positive impact of pension funds’ benefits on volatility. Results were, however, found not to be very robust. In contrast, pension funds’ assets do not show any evidence of being associated with economic volatility. Unsystematic fiscal policy, banking crises and political (in)stability, however, are revealed to be somewhat more robust determinants of economic volatility.
Topic:
Economics, Public Sector, Econometrics, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Political Geography:
Global Focus

152. Hybrid Institutions: Institutionalizing Practices in the Context of Extractive Expansion

Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Postgraduate Program on Sustainable Development and Social Inequalities in the Andean Region (trAndeS)
Abstract:
States face the challenge of developing institutions to govern the activities of social actors when an area under their control becomes the target of increased extractive activities. National and local public regulations safeguarding the environment, the assignment of extractive rights to individuals or companies, and handling of ensuing conflicts are developed in an institutional gray zone. This paper analyzes how informal institutions developed in early period become hybrid institutional entanglements that depend largely on configurations of power. It does so by looking at two cases in Peru: Water extraction in Ica, mostly by large companies and gold mining in Madre de Dios, mostly by small scale miners. Taken together, these cases show the institutions resulting from state governance of extractive activities depends heavily on the agency and political leverage of the state but also of other social actors.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Environment, Natural Resources, Water, Institutions, and Ecology
Political Geography:
Latin America and Peru

153. The role of Chinese finance in the City of London after Brexit

Author:
Sarah Hall
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Asia Research Institute, University of Nottingham
Abstract:
London is the largest western financial centre for financial transactions denominated in Renminbi (RMB) and has played an important role in shaping the rapid and recent internationalisation of Chinese finance. This policy brief discusses how to maintain this leading role post-Brexit.
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, Finance, Brexit, and Financial Institutions
Political Geography:
Britain, China, and United Kingdom

154. The role of Chinese finance in the City of London after Brexit: Background Report

Author:
Sarah Hall
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Asia Research Institute, University of Nottingham
Abstract:
The competitiveness of London’s financial centre is shaped by the UK’s current adoption of EU regulations. The future development of London’s financial services sector is unknown as Britain’s relationship with Europe changes following the vote to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum. This uncertainty arises because even if Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement is adopted, the UK will then have to choose whether to converge, seek equivalence with or diverge from EU regulations for financial services. Research by Professor Sarah Hall (University of Nottingham) argues that the implications of these regulatory decisions will impact London’s financial services sector’s relationship with financial markets globally. Her research focuses on how London’s role as the largest western financial centre for financial transactions denominated in China’s currency, the renminbi, could be adversely affected following changes in the regulatory alignment between the UK and the EU following Brexit.
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, Finance, and Financial Institutions
Political Geography:
Britain, China, and United Kingdom

155. The United Kingdom's Belt and Road Initiative strategy after Brexit: Background Report

Author:
Benjamin Barton
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Asia Research Institute, University of Nottingham
Abstract:
As China and President Xi Jinping signature foreign policy programme, the BRI has become in a very short space of the time one of the world’s largest and most active international infrastructure development drivers. The BRI is helping, in a significant manner, to meet the increasing demand for infrastructure development and upgrades in emerging markets – a trend that is unlikely to slow anytime time soon, especially given the initiative’s current importance to the Chinese government. For the British government (from here onwards ‘government’), although the UK is unlikely to be a prime destination for BRI projects (for now), the BRI stakes are high. Not only do BRI projects impact the economic wellbeing of a number of countries of strategic importance to the UK, but the government cannot remain passive in the emerging geopolitical context of infrastructure development and financing rivalry. In addition, in light of its relative post-Brexit geopolitical isolation, the government needs to adopt a firm and unequivocal political stance in dealing with its Chinese counterpart should the UK itself become the recipient of BRI projects.
Topic:
Economics, Bilateral Relations, Geopolitics, Brexit, Multilateralism, and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
Political Geography:
China, United Kingdom, and Asia

156. SDG16+ Progress Report 2019: A comprehensive global audit of progress on available SDG16 indicators

Publication Date:
03-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Economics & Peace
Abstract:
This report presents the third in a series of yearly reports, produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace on Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG16), which measures peace, justice and strong institutions. Experience from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) shows that development is hindered by low peace and weak institutions. As such, in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, SDG16 is considered fundamental to achievements in many of the other SDGs.
Topic:
Economics, Millennium Development Goals, Sustainable Development Goals, Institutions, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus

157. Mexico Peace Index 2019: Identifying and measuring the factors that drive peace

Publication Date:
04-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Economics & Peace
Abstract:
The 2019 Mexico Peace Index (MPI), produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), provides a comprehensive measure of peacefulness in Mexico. The MPI is based on the Global Peace Index (GPI), the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness, produced by IEP every year since 2007. This is the sixth edition of the MPI, outlining the key trends, patterns and drivers of peace in Mexico, including an analysis through the lens of Positive Peace, which reviews eight societal structures and highlight areas important for government policy. The report also estimates the economic impact of violence to the Mexican economy, highlighting the need to increase investment and capacity in the criminal justice system. Finally, the report provides quantitative evidence to aid in the development of policies for a more peaceful society. The research is of assistance to policymakers, researchers, business leaders and the general public working towards building peace in Mexico.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Peace Studies, Peacekeeping, Violence, Public Policy, and Peace
Political Geography:
Central America and Mexico

158. Business & Peace 2019

Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Economics & Peace
Abstract:
This report analyses the relationship between the economic performance of a country and its levels of peace. The major finding of this report is that peace acts as a good predictor of a country’s future performance in a number of macroeconomic indicators. These insights can be used to better assess the expected investment potential of countries. Rather than asking what businesses can do for peace, the study differentiates itself from other work by focusing on what peace can offer businesses. Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) sees this as an important but missing step in business analysis. In order for businesses to be an actor in building peace, investors first need to see the benefits of peace to their investment decisions. The results of this work show that economic performance can be predicted by understanding the movement in the same socio-economic factors that affect peacefulness. These conditions are known as Positive Peace. The countries that improved the most in Positive Peace between 2010 and 2016 also had substantially above average economic performance.
Topic:
Economics, Peace Studies, Business, Economic growth, Investment, Peace, and Profit
Political Geography:
Global Focus

159. Consolidating Neoliberalism through Privatisation: The Case of the EU after the Eurozone Crisis

Author:
Özgün Sarimehmet Duman
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:
This article offers an inquiry into the increasing importance of privatisation policies in the European Union (EU). It evaluates the emphasis on international competitiveness and market efficiency to offer a comparative analysis of commodification, marketisation, liberalisation and privatisation policies in the pre- and post-crisis EU. It states that the EU introduced new mechanisms to explicitly promote privatisation policies in its member states after the Eurozone crisis. The article concludes that the EU’s lead in privatisation has functioned as a disciplinary mechanism for the member states to introduce and implement extensive privatisation policies. The EU has tended to consolidate neoliberalism through privatisation after the Eurozone crisis.
Topic:
Economics, Privatization, Financial Crisis, European Union, and Neoliberalism
Political Geography:
Europe

160. Participation in Non-Farm Activities in Rural Sudan: Patterns and Determinants

Author:
Ebaidalla M. Ebaidalla
Publication Date:
11-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
Abstract:
Despite the importance of non-farm income in the livelihood of the rural population in Sudan, information available on its size and determinants is scant. This study examined the patterns and determinants of decisions to participate in non-farm activities in rural Sudan. It also investigates whether the determinants of participation in non-farm activities vary across agriculture sub-sectors and income groups as well as among males and females. The data for this study was sourced from the Sudanese National Baseline Household Survey (NBHS) conducted by Sudan’s Central Bureau of Statistics in 2009. The results show that non-farm income is a crucial source of livelihood, contributing about 43% to household income in rural Sudan. The results of multinomial logit and probit estimation methods indicate that educational level, mean of transportation, lack of land and lack of access to formal credit are the most significant factors that push rural farmers to participate in non-farm activities. Surprisingly, the effect of household income was positive and significant, implying that individuals from rich households have higher opportunity to engage in non-farm activities compared to their poor counterparts. Moreover, the analysis revealed some symptoms of gender and location disparities in the effect of factors that influence participation in non-farm activities. The study concluded with some recommendations that aim to enhance the engagement in non-farm activities as an important diversification strategy to complement the role of the agriculture sector in improving rural economy in Sudan.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, Gender Issues, Income Inequality, and Rural
Political Geography:
Africa and Sudan