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2582. Framework for the International Services Agreement
- Author:
- Gary Clyde Hufbauer and J. Bradford Jensen
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- Services trade continues to be the most dynamic part of world trade, and service sectors have long been the largest destination of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows. Higher GDP growth goes hand-in-hand with service sector growth. Yet, despite these positive attributes, little progress has been achieved in multilateral talks to liberalize services trade and investment. There is something very wrong about this picture—the disjuncture between stalled service negotiations in Geneva, the excessive focus on other components of the Doha Round to the neglect of services, and the rapid expansion of services trade and investment across borders. The time has come for an International Services Agreement (ISA) in which self-selected World Trade Organization (WTO) members voluntarily agree to new rules and market access commitments. The ISA would be distinct from a multilateral undertaking, like the Doha Round, that must gain the consent of all WTO members. Instead, it would be akin to the Agreement on Government Procurement, in which the market access benefits are confined to the agreement's members, but the agreement itself is open to all WTO members that are willing to accept its disciplines and commitments.
- Topic:
- Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and World Trade Organization
2583. US Tire Tariffs: Saving Few Jobs at High Cost
- Author:
- Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Sean Lowry
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- In his 2012 State of the Union address, President Obama claimed that "over a thousand Americans are working today because we stopped a surge in Chinese tires." The tire tariff case, decided by the president in September 2009, exemplifies his efforts to get China to "play by the rules" and serves as a plank in his larger platform of insourcing jobs to America.
- Topic:
- Economics, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and America
2584. Does Monetary Cooperation or Confrontation Lead to Successful Fiscal Consolidation?
- Author:
- Adam S. Posen, Tomas Hellebrandt, and Marilyne Tolle
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- Active accommodation of fiscal consolidations by monetary policy is controversial, as can be seen in current euro area discussions. While many observers acknowledge that there is usually a place for monetary accommodation in response to fiscal consolidation, a sequencing argument is often heard today that fiscal commitment must precede any loosening. Some analysts go further to suggest that toughness by central banks taking a hard line on adjustment is critical to inducing sustained fiscal stabilization. This policy brief looks at the recent historical record of central bank behavior vis-à-vis fiscal authorities, at least until the current crisis period, and whether accommodative approaches ahead of consolidations have proven dangerous or helpful. The authors also try to assess the market credibility of fiscal consolidations as a function of the central banks' monetary stance prior to fiscal consolidation. They find clear evidence of positive associations between the degree of monetary ease in advance of fiscal consolidation programs and both those programs' success and their market credibility.
- Topic:
- Economics, Markets, Monetary Policy, Financial Crisis, and Governance
2585. Projecting China's Current Account Surplus
- Author:
- William R. Cline
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- For several years China has run persistent current account surpluses that have been widely seen as the most serious single source of global imbalances on the surplus side, and mirrored by persistent systemically large US current account deficits on the other side. In recent years, however, both imbalances have shown moderation (figure 1). China's surpluses have posed questions of international policy rules, because they have reflected in part an unwillingness to allow the exchange rate to appreciate sufficiently to act as an effective equilibrating mechanism. Exchange rate intervention resulted in a massive buildup of international reserves, which rose from $615 billion at the end of 2004 to $3.2 trillion at the end of 2011 (IMF 2012a).
- Topic:
- Economics, Emerging Markets, Foreign Exchange, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Israel
2586. A China – US bilateral investment treaty: A template for a multilateral framework for investment?
- Author:
- Karl P. Sauvant and Huiping Chen
- Publication Date:
- 12-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- China is the largest foreign direct investment (FDI) host and home country among emerging markets, the United States among developed countries. As host countries, both seek to maintain policy space to pursue their own legitimate public policy objectives; as home countries, both seek to protect their investors' outward FDI. The development of their bilateral investment treaties (BITs) over the past decade reflects this: Chinese BITs have become more protective of investors, US ones more respectful of host country interests. If agreement is reached between both, it would provide a template for future investment agreements.
- Topic:
- Economics, Emerging Markets, Treaties and Agreements, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
2587. Inward foreign direct investment: Does it enable or constrain domestic technology entrepreneurship?
- Author:
- Saurav Pathak, André Laplume, and Emanuel Xavier-Oliveira
- Publication Date:
- 12-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Whether or not foreign direct investment (FDI) is essential for domestic technological and economic development remains a contentious question. The controversy is illustrated by comparing the Celtic and Asian Tigers experiences from 1995 to 2000. Based on IMF and World Bank data in constant prices, Ireland and China averaged an annual growth rate of 8% in GDP per capita. However, FDI per capita grew at an average pace of 98% per year in Ireland, while in China it decreased by 1% -- absolute values averaged US$ 3,397 versus US$ 144, respectively. This suggests that, rather than a one-policy-fits-all approach, customized policies are more appropriate; and, if any generalization can be made, it should be based on a country's stage of economic development.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Israel and Asia
2588. Evaluate Sustainable FDI to Promote Sustainable Development
- Author:
- John M. Kline
- Publication Date:
- 11-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Abstract:
- Prescriptions to increase the role of FDI in promoting sustainable development generally focus on the macro level -- getting policies right and otherwise improving the investment climate. These steps are necessary but not sufficient. Effective implementation processes, especially at the micro project level, are also essential to encourage FDI that matches host country development needs and priorities.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
2589. Transatlantic cybersecurity: The only winning move is to play with others
- Author:
- Charly Salonius-Pasternak and Jarno limnéll
- Publication Date:
- 12-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Cybersecurity concerns everyone, and is everyone's responsibility. It is a genuine example of a society-wide security issue. The United States is ahead of Europe in discussing and integrating (military) cybersecurity into its foreign and security policies. For the US, the biggest challenges at the moment are: updating legal frameworks, creating cyber rules of engagement for the military, building cyber deterrence and clarifying the cybersecurity roles and responsibilities of government and private sector actors. Cooperation at national and international levels is integral to improving cybersecurity. This includes updating international and domestic legal frameworks to ensure that state actions are accountable, and to protect citizens from wanton strikes at critical infrastructure. Governments must hold private sector partners accountable, and through partnerships ensure that societal cybersecurity is not overshadowed by private interests – public-private partnerships have a crucial role to play in this.
- Topic:
- Security, Government, Science and Technology, Terrorism, and Infrastructure
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
2590. Financial markets in GCC countries: recent crises and structural weaknesses
- Author:
- Steffen Hertog
- Publication Date:
- 12-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries' financial sectors are solid, but not very sophisticated: business is mostly financed through bank lending rather than bonds or stock issues, and banks continue to rely on state support and, in many cases, are directly state owned.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and Arabia