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502. Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2010
- Author:
- Chris Edwards
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- State governments have had to make tough budget choices in recent years. Tax revenues have stagnated as a result of the poor economy, and that has prompted governors to take a variety of fiscal actions to close large budget gaps. Some governors have cut spending to balance their budgets, while others have pursued large tax increases.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, Markets, and Monetary Policy
- Political Geography:
- America
503. Assets, Shocks, and Poverty Traps in Rural Mozambique
- Author:
- Lena Giesbert and Kati Schindler
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Using a micro-level approach to poverty traps, this paper explores welfare dynamics among households in post-war rural Mozambique. Conceptually, the paper builds on an asset-based approach to poverty and tests empirically, with household panel data, for the existence of a poverty trap. Findings indicate that there is little differentiation in productive asset endowments over time and that rural households gravitate towards a single equilibrium, which is at a surprisingly low level. The analysis shows that shocks and household coping behavior help to explain the observed poverty dynamics. The single low-level equilibrium points to an overall development trap in the rural farm-based economy. This is attributed to the long-term impact of the civil war, which has consolidated unfavorable economic conditions in rural areas and limited new economic opportunities outside of the agricultural sector.
- Topic:
- Economics, Markets, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Africa
504. Asian Economic Integration and Cooperation: Challenges and Ways Forward for Pan-Asian Regionalism
- Author:
- Durgesh K. Rai
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- As the Asian economies have grown larger and become more complex, they have also be-come more integrated at both the regional and the subregional level. Yet although economic integration has increased, regionalism in the sense of economic cooperation at both the pan-Asian and subregional levels has lagged behind. Regionalism or economic cooperation in terms of bilateral or multilateral FTAs is a relatively new phenomenon, but one that has in-creased rapidly in recent years. However, the progress of Asian regionalism faces several challenges. Also, the increasing number of FTAs could lead to a "spaghetti-bowl effect" and reduce trade volume instead of increasing it. In addition to resolving the existing challenges, actors in the region need to convert some of the existing FTAs into a broader one that can serve as a hub for further integration. Given the potential economic gains and future eco-nomic dynamism of the region, this paper suggests the pursuit of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia (CEPEA) rather than the East Asia Free Trade Area (EAFTA).
- Topic:
- Economics, Markets, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- East Asia and Asia
505. On Multilateralism -Ideas and Actions of a World Banker-
- Author:
- Hideaki Asahi
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
- Abstract:
- The genesis of this essay was a series of conversations over the Internet with a long-time friend who made a whirlwind trip to Japan at the end of 2009. At the time, I felt compelled to write by his suggestion that the concept of multilateralism might well be understood and become more prevalent among not only policy-makers, but also the general public, and that this would serve the interests of Japan in changing international circumstances. Subsequently, I was requested to draft an essay for contribution to a forthcoming annual bulletin of the graduate course I was about to leave at the conclusion of tenure. The bulletin struck me as an opportune medium for the dissemination of an essay on multilateralism. With this backdrop in mind, it should be understood that the essay was neither a piece of academic research nor a policy advocacy piece targeted at the ordinary readers of public opinion journals. It is rather an attempt to weave together vivid memories and piece together remembered fragments of conversations held over the past three decades, an undertaking I have long considered worthwhile. The contents of this essay intentionally steered clear of stories concerning my friendship with this person already reported by well-known journalists in Japan. Instead, the essay is intended to examine the core elements of what he stands for, known as multilateralism, which may be paraphrased as liberal internationalism in the literature of international relations. Accordingly, I hope the essay will serve as a personal memorandum. I also hope that it will help the readers envisage how multilateralism works and deepen their understanding of what it is all about by connecting the concept of multilateralism to concrete images and offering food for thought.
- Topic:
- Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- Japan, Israel, and Asia
506. Address by Howard Davies, Director, London School of Economics
- Author:
- Howard Davies
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Columbia University World Leaders Forum
- Abstract:
- This World Leaders Forum program features an address by Howard Davies, Director of the London School of Economics, who will discuss his book titled, Banking on the Future: The Fall and Rise of Central Banking.
- Topic:
- Debt, Economics, Markets, and Monetary Policy
- Political Geography:
- London
507. The social purpose of new governance: Lisbon and the limits to legitimacy
- Author:
- Bastiaan van Apeldoorn and Sandy Brian Hager
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of International Relations and Development
- Institution:
- Central and East European International Studies Association
- Abstract:
- This article examines the extent to which the Lisbon strategy, with its utilisation of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) as the 'new mode of governance' for supranational social policy, has delivered on the pledge of acting as a counterweight to neoliberal market integration in the EU. Adopting a critical political economy perspective, we transcend the focus on institutional form of existing approaches, and seek to explain the social purpose of Lisbon. In this context we argue that both form and content of the Lisbon strategy reflect a hegemonic project of 'embedded neoliberalism', inasmuch as the Lisbon strategy's institutional mechanisms such as the OMC reaffirm the asymmetric nature of European governance through the promotion of market-making rather than market-correcting policies, bolstering the power of transnational capital while simultaneously incorporating subordinate projects through limited forms of embeddedness. The contradictions inherent in this strategy have come to test the limits of its legitimacy.
- Topic:
- Markets
- Political Geography:
- Lisbon
508. Toward Institutional Innovation in US Labor Market Policy: Learning from Europe?
- Author:
- Tobias Schulze-Cleven and Henry Farrell
- Publication Date:
- 07-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
- Abstract:
- What keeps US labor market institutions from more effectively helping the nation cope with the current economic crisis and secure its future prosperity? What is the scope for politically feasible innovation in US labor market policy? These are crucial policy questions. As a result of the global financial crisis, the US unemployment rate climbed into double digits and has remained higher than in many European countries. The US is experiencing the highest level of unemployment for a generation and the highest rate of long-term unemployment for more than half a century. American families are suffering from financial hardship without any fault of their own, and many of the currently unemployed will find it hard to re-enter the workforce during the recovery. Nor is the government easily able to use current programs to help those seeking work. Even though policymakers have launched new initiatives during the past year, the US remains almost uniquely weak among advanced industrialized democracies in its lack of policy programs to support the populace in successfully engaging with the labor market.
- Topic:
- Economics, Markets, Labor Issues, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
509. From Religion to Reality: Energy systems transformation for sustainable prosperity
- Author:
- John Zysman and Mark Huberty
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
- Abstract:
- There are compelling and varied arguments for moving to low-carbon, high-efficiency energy systems. Reducing emissions to limit or avoid climate change leads the public debate, but reduced dependence on imported energy, avoidance of conflicts over energy resources, and the rising price of fossil fuels also motivate action. Nevertheless, the potential cost and difficulty of making the transition to a new energy system have generated substantial opposition from entrenched economic interests and consumers alike.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Economics, Energy Policy, and Markets
510. Perverse Incentives in the Chinese Health System and Assessment of the April 2009 Reform
- Author:
- Meghan Bruce
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
- Abstract:
- Since 1978, China has been primarily market-focused in its provision of health care and social services. The market-driven health care system has been characterized by perverse incentives for individual providers, patients, and hospitals that are inducing improper provision of care: overprescription of pharmaceuticals and hightech testing, lack of effective primary care and gatekeeping, and competition for patients instead of referral. The national health care reform document that was made public in April 2009 recognizes this failure of the market in health care in China. The document suggests potential policies for improvement on the current system that are focused primarily on a targeted increase in government funding and an increased, changing role for the government. We assess the potential of this national health care reform to achieve the stated goals, and conclude that the reform as designed is necessary but insufficient. For the reform to meet its goals, the promised increase in funding should be accompanied by improved data collection, regional piloting, and a strong regulatory and purchasing role for the government in aligning incentives for individual and institutional payers, providers, and patients.
- Topic:
- Health and Markets
- Political Geography:
- China and Israel