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2931. Differentiated Policies: Indonesia's International Leadership and Internal Challenges

Author:
Alistair D.B. Cook
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
Indonesia's position as a regional champion of democracy and human rights has become prominent in international forums since the resignation of President Suharto in 1998 and the subsequent period of internal democratic reform. Its proactive foreign policy culminated in the establishment of the Bali Democracy Forum in 2008 to promote and strengthen democracy and the rule of law in Asia through a process of learning and sharing. While Indonesia's proactive foreign policy continues, significant internal challenges remain. This policy brief offers an insight into one of Indonesia's longest running internal challenges, Papua, and suggests the use of the human security lens as an alternative to the dominant traditional security lens used by many policymakers, in an effort to promote conflict resolution and match developments at home with its proactive strategies abroad.
Topic:
Security, Democratization, and Human Rights
Political Geography:
Indonesia, Asia, and Southeast Asia

2932. Lessons from the East European Financial Crisis, 2008-10

Author:
Anders Åslund
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
In the fall of 2008, Central and Eastern Europe became a flashpoint in the global financial crisis. The ten new eastern members of the European Union were in a state of severe overheating in all regards. Inflation surged everywhere and to double digits in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Wages and real estate prices skyrocketed, rendering these countries ever less competitive, which further undermined their current account balance. Output plunged and unemployment soared.
Topic:
Economics, Global Recession, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria, and Latvia

2933. Logistics Reform for Low-Value Shipments

Author:
Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Yee Wong
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Facilitating trade is essential for countries that aspire to compete in the global economy. Low transactions costs, speed, and predictability are all ingredients of a good logistics system. The payoff is large. According to a World Bank (2010) evaluation of nearly 155 countries, improving logistics for countries at the same level of per capita income can increase GDP by 1 percent and two-way merchandise trade by 2 percent.
Topic:
Economics, Emerging Markets, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance

2934. Revitalizing the Export-Import Bank

Author:
Gary Clyde Hufbauer, Meera Fickling, and Woan Foong Wong
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
The United States has experienced persistent trade deficits for decades, and thoughtful observers have concluded that deficits cannot be sustained at levels much exceeding 4 percent of GDP annually. There are only two ways to decrease the trade deficit: reduce imports or increase exports. For global economic health, increased exports are a far better proposition.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
United States

2935. Estimates of Fundamental Equilibrium Exchange Rates, May 2011

Author:
William R. Cline and John Williamson
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
This policy brief updates our estimates of fundamental equilibrium exchange rates (FEERs) to the latest available data, which for exchange rates are the average rates of April 2011, and for the IMF's balance of payments forecasts, those published in the April 2011 issue of World Economic Outlook (WEO; see IMF 2011a). It is the central study in what has now become a regular annual cycle, in which we draw out what we believe to be the implications of the IMF's forecasts for the pattern that exchange rates need to take if the world is to approach a reasonably satisfactory medium-run position. This past year we also published an interim policy brief (Cline and Williamson 2010b) in which we updated our calculations to the average exchange rates of October 2010, as well as commented on Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega's description of international monetary events as constituting "currency wars." As in the previous year, however, the November 2010 policy brief updated our estimates only for intervening changes in market exchange rates. We did not make use of the IMF's revised autumn WEO forecasts to update our estimates of FEERs; on the contrary, we assumed the FEERs estimated in May 2010 were correct. In contrast, this policy brief presents totally new estimates of FEERs.
Topic:
Economics and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
United States and China

2936. The Outlook for International Monetary System Reform in 2011: A Preliminary Report Card

Author:
Edwin M. Truman
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Reform of the international monetary system was placed on the agenda of the Group of 20 (G-20) a year ago at the initiative of the incoming French leadership of the G-20. On November 4, 2011 in Cannes, France, the G-20 leaders will announce their conclusions and agreements after a year and half of intense dialogue and debate. This policy brief summarizes my preliminary rating of the expected results based on the evidence to date: a barely passing grade on substance but an A for effort. Neither final grade is locked in stone, however.
Topic:
Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, International Monetary Fund, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
France

2937. The Elephant in the "Green Room": China and the Doha Round

Author:
Arvind Subramanian, Aaditya Mattoo, and Francis Ng
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
The puzzle about the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO) is not why it is on life support now but how it has survived as a viable multilateral initiative for so long. From the very beginning, it was clear that the Round suffered from a lack of private-sector interest, the engine that had driven previous rounds of successful trade negotiations. At most, Doha promised to deliver some security of access for unilateral liberalization previously undertaken by countries and some modest incremental market opening (Martin and Mattoo 2009; Hufbauer, Schott, and Wong 2010). That the Round had much to be modest about was reflected in the failure of even antiglobalization protesters to show up for the more recent meetings of the Doha Round.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
Political Geography:
China

2938. Corporate Tax Reform for a New Century

Author:
Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Woan Foong Wong
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama stressed four ingredients of American prosperity: faster innovation, better education, less deficit, and more jobs. As the president recognized in his address, the US free enterprise system drives the private sector to innovate, invest, and create jobs. This policy brief concentrates on how reforming the corporate tax system can strengthen the private sector, thereby spurring both innovation and job.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States

2939. Getting Surplus Countries to Adjust

Author:
John Williamson
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
The world has witnessed two distinct attempts to build a multilateral mechanism to discipline surplus countries that declined to adjust their surpluses, and several proposals are currently on the table to do the same. On the two previous occasions the major surplus country of the day defeated attempts to create such a mechanism, and today China (not to mention Japan or Germany) exhibits no enthusiasm for the idea. Despite the importance of the issue, there has been remarkably little discussion of these proposals.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, International Monetary Fund, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
Japan, China, and Germany

2940. Nigeria's Pernicious Drivers of Ethno-Religious Conflict

Author:
Chris Kwaja
Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Communal clashes across ethnic and religious faultlines in and around the city of Jos in central Nigeria have claimed thousands of lives, displaced hundreds of thousands of others, and fostered a climate of instability throughout the surrounding region.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Ethnic Conflict, and Religion
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria