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1852. Be Outraged: There are alternatives
- Author:
- Richard Jolly, Frances Stewart, Giovanni Andrea Cornia, Stephany Griffith-Jones, Rolph van der Hoeven, Diane Elson, Carlos Fortin, Gerry Helleiner, Raphie Kaplinsky, Richard Morgan, Isabel Ortiz, and Ruth Pearson
- Publication Date:
- 05-2012
- Content Type:
- Book
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Pushed to extremes, austerity is bad economics, bad arithmetic, and ignores the lessons of history. We, an international group of economists and social scientists, are outraged at the narrow range of austerity policies which are bringing so many people around the world to their knees, especially in Europe. Austerity and cutbacks are reducing growth and worsening poverty. In our professional opinions, there are alternatives – for Britain, Europe and all countries that currently imagine that government cutbacks are the only way out of debt. The low-growth, no-growth trap means that the share of debt in GNP falls ever more slowly, if at all. It may even rise – as it has in some countries.
- Topic:
- Debt, Development, Economics, Foreign Aid, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Britain and Europe
1853. Risky Business: Intermediary lending and development finance
- Author:
- Sasanka Thilakasiri, Rob Nash, and Anne Perrault
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- This issue briefing highlights the increasing use by development finance institutions of financial intermediaries to channel their funding. It identifies features of this lending and the implications for affected communities' access to land and resources. It also provides recommendations for addressing concerns related to these investments.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Natural Resources
1854. EIU: Global outlook summary
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Abstract:
- The global economy remains in precarious shape. Europe's debt crisis rages on, and although the euro appears to have survived its most recent test in the form of the Greek election on June 17th, austerity and financial-market uncertainty are depressing economic activity in Europe and, by extension, in much of the rest of the world. The Economist Intelligence Unit continues to expect global GDP growth to slow in 2012, and while our forecasts for the G3 economies—the US, euro zone and China—are essentially unchanged this month, we have cut our projections for Brazil and India.
- Topic:
- Debt, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, Europe, India, and Brazil
1855. Entrepreneurship in Postconflict Zones
- Author:
- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
- Publication Date:
- 05-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Economic development is a critical component of promoting stability and U.S. security interests, particularly in conflict and postconflict zones. Reviving institutions and rebuilding an economic base are among the first priorities after fighting ends and reconstruction begins. According to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), negative economic shocks of just 5 percent can increase the risk of a civil war by as much as 50 percent in fragile environments. Additionally, donor assistance, which can account for 20 percent to as much as 97 percent of a country's GDP, is unsustainable in the long term. Building local business capacity and supporting homegrown entrepreneurs can help curb this risk. Research from Iraq has found that labor-generating reconstruction programs can reduce violence during insurgencies, with a 10 percent increase in labor-related spending associated with a 10 percent decrease in violence. And as Shari Berenbach, director of the Office of Microenterprise Development at USAID, argues, the development of “private enterprise is an important stabilizing force,” particularly for countries suffering from the political uncertainty and civil unrest that often characterizes the postconflict period.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- United States
1856. Implementing Basel III in Europe: Diagnosis and avenues for improvement
- Author:
- Rym Ayadi, Emrah Arbak, and Willem Pieter De Groen
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- Adopted by the European Commission in July 2011, the proposed Capital Requirements Directive and Regulation (CRD IV-CRR) translate into EU law the Basel III standards adopted by the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision (BCBS). Among other things, the proposal increases the quality and quantity of the minimum capital; introduces new rules on liquidity, leverage ratios, counter-cyclical buffers and systemically important financial institutions; and amends the definitions of counterparty credit risk and rules for the banking book. The rules complement the earlier amendments that strengthened the capital and disclosure requirements for the trading book and resecuritization instruments as well as requirements to ensure that remuneration policies do not lead to excessive risk-taking.
- Topic:
- Debt, Economics, Markets, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Europe
1857. An Agenda for the European Council: Feasible steps to bring the eurozone back from the precipice
- Author:
- Stefano Micossi
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- Once again the European Council will meet in an emergency session at the end of June, with the eurozone economy in recession and actually plummeting in its Southern periphery. Further doubts are also growing on the sustainability of sovereign debts due to the vicious spiral of deteriorating bank balance sheets, ballooning potential liabilities from banking rescues and widening spreads on government borrowings. The sovereign debt crisis in the periphery has now turned into a fully fledged banking crisis that threatens to spread from Greece to Spain and tomorrow, who knows, to Italy, France and even Germany itself.
- Topic:
- Debt, Economics, Regional Cooperation, Financial Crisis, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Greece, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy
1858. Europe's Recurrent Employment Problems
- Author:
- Daniel Gros
- Publication Date:
- 05-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- As the euro crisis continues and unemployment climbs to new heights, the clamour calling for Europe to 'do something' is getting louder. But the real question is: can Europe, or rather the EU, do 'something' that would actually have a real impact on unemployment? In other words, does a European plan or employment strategy make sense?
- Topic:
- Economics, Markets, Labor Issues, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Europe
1859. The Euro Crisis: Implications for the Internal Market and Harmonisation of Corporate Taxes
- Author:
- H. Onno Ruding
- Publication Date:
- 05-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- The so-called 'euro crisis' is of the utmost economic, financial and political importance for all member countries of the euro area and for the future of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). In my view, however, it is not primarily a euro crisis in the strict sense. The euro itself is of course involved, but, as a currency with a rather stable exchange rate vis-à-vis other currencies and with a major role in global financial markets, it is not at the heart of the crisis. Rather the crisis is a matter of the serious imbalances in the economies of several euro-area countries, particularly their budget deficits and sovereign debts and as well as their lack of competitiveness and balance-of-payments deficits.
- Topic:
- Economics, Markets, and Monetary Policy
- Political Geography:
- Europe
1860. Self-Fulfilling Crises in the Eurozone: An Empirical Test
- Author:
- Paul De Grauwe and Yuemei Ji
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper tests the hypothesis that government bond markets in the eurozone are more fragile and more susceptible to self-fulfilling liquidity crises than in stand-alone countries. We find evidence that a significant part of the surge in the spreads of the PIGS countries (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain) in the eurozone during 2010-11 was disconnected from underlying increases in the debt-to-GDP ratios and fiscal space variables, and was the result of negative self-fulfilling market sentiments that became very strong since the end of 2010. We argue that this can drive member countries of the eurozone into bad equilibria.
- Topic:
- Economics, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Europe