Search

Begin New Search Publishing Institution Norwegian Institute of International Affairs

21. Are attitudes conducive to economic growth stronger in protestants than in others?

Author:
Lenka Filipova
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
This paper investigates the impact of religious denominations on values and attitudes that are thought to be conducive to economic growth and are usually pronounced in favor of Protestants. The model is based on the same strategy as in (Guiso, Sapienza and Zingales 2002). To isolate the effect of religion from other effects, socio-demographic controls such as gender, age, educational and income level and country fixed effects are included in all regressions. The analysis uses the World Values Survey to investigate twelve attitudes in the overall impact of religious denominations followed by the analysis controlling for the dominant religion of the country. The paper contributes to the research by: (1) including more Muslim countries, which leads to different results from that of (Guiso, Sapienza and Zingales 2002) where Muslims represented mostly minority religion in researched countries; (2) evaluating precisely the differences between Protestants and other religious denominations. The results thus are not dependent on such an unspecified group of people who answered that they do not belong to any religious denomination; (3) including new attitudes like determination or confidence in major companies that are emphasized especially in (Kuran 2011). The results show that neither overall analysis nor analysis with the control for dominant religion proved the hypothesis that Protestants have significantly higher values and attitudes considered advantageous for economic development compared to other religious denominations. Is it because of the changes of values and attitudes over time?
Topic:
Economics

22. Integration, Security and Associated Non-members

Author:
Pernille Rieker
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
This article analyses the relationship between EU security, integration and associated members, using insights from security studies and the literature on Europeanization. While much recent literature emphasizes either the EU's insignificance as a security actor or its importance as a normative and global actor, I investigate its role as a security actor in its own region, arguing that the EU is primarily a regional security actor. I make two general claims: (1) it is the development of common rules and values in various policy areas that constitutes the basis for the EU as a security actor; (2) it is the successful projection of these rules and values beyond EU borders that will determine the impact of the EU as a security actor. The aim is therefore to show how the EU promotes security and stability through the externalization of rules and values through various processes, association agreements and neighbourhood policies.
Topic:
Security
Political Geography:
Europe

23. Business Groups, Innovation and Institutional Voids in Latin America

Author:
Fulvio Castellacci
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
The paper presents an empirical analysis of the innovative activities of business groups in Latin America. It compares the innovativeness of group-affiliated firms (GAFs) and standalone firms (SAFs), and it investigates how country-specific institutional factors – financial, legal, and labor market institutions – affect the group-innovation relationship. The empirical analysis is based on the most recent wave of the World Bank Enterprise Survey (period 2010-2011), and it focuses on a sample of 6500 manufacturing firms across 20 Latin American countries. The econometric results point out two major conclusions. First, GAFs are more innovative than SAFs: we estimate the innovation propensity of GAFs to be 9% higher than that of SAFs. Secondly, across countries, the innovativeness of GAFs is higher for national economies with a better institutional system than for countries with a less efficient institutional set up.
Topic:
Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
Political Geography:
Latin America

24. Socioeconomic and Ecological Consequences of Biofuel Development in India

Author:
M.S. Umesh Babu and Sunil Nautiyal
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
This paper provides an overview on biofuel production and its pros and cons in India and elsewhere. The paper also discusses the major issue of whether biofuels are an alternative to fossil fuels or are a competitive for food production. It examines benefits for the rural poor by providing additional income, employment, land value, etc., and the circumstances of the biofuels market and its inputs for GDP growth in India. However, of late, biofuels and their production have failed to address challenges like supply of water and food security, for the growing population in India as well as many other developing countries in the world. This paper highlighted these issues in detail particularly disadvantages of biofuel production.
Topic:
Security, Environment, Oil, Water, and Food
Political Geography:
India

25. Public procurement and organized crime – illustrated with examples from Bulgaria, Italy and Norway

Author:
Jens Chr.1 Andvig
Publication Date:
12-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
The paper provides a semi-popular exposition of the formulation of public procurement and privatization mechanisms and how they may be influenced by organized crime units. A number of possibilities are outlined using examples from Bulgaria, Italy and Norway.
Topic:
Civil Society, Crime, Governance, and Law Enforcement
Political Geography:
Europe, Norway, Bulgaria, and Italy

26. Innovative and absorptive capacity effects of education in a small, open economy

Author:
Taran Fæhn and Brita Bye
Publication Date:
12-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Evidence points to relatively low supply elasticities for workers skilled for research and development (R), which can hamper innovation and growth. Increasing the supply of R skills will expand an economy's innovative capacity. A simultaneous effect of increased education, which is particularly important for small, open economies, is to raise final goods producers' capacity to absorb cross-border knowledge spillovers. In a calibrated endogenous growth model for Norway, we find that increasing the share of highly educated workers has pronounced absorptive capacity effects that partially crowd out R innovation. Both innovative and absorptive capacity expansions contribute to higher growth and welfare.
Topic:
Development, Education, Human Welfare, Markets, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
Europe

27. Revising COIN: The Stakeholder Centric Approach

Author:
Karsten Friis, Erik Reichborn-Kjennerud, and Harald Håvoll
Publication Date:
11-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
With the apparent lack of progress and success in Afghanistan, counter- insurgency (COIN), both as a theory and practice, is falling out of favor within the political and military establishment in the US. This comes at a time when the US is redirecting its geopolitical focus away from global instability towards the Asia-Pacific and the 'New Great Power Game'.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Development, Emerging Markets, Terrorism, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, and Australia/Pacific

28. The structure and dynamics of cut flower export markets from Kenya and Ethiopia

Author:
Brian D. Perry
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
This report is part of a broad study of trade preferences and market conditions between various developing countries and Norway, conducted under the auspices of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Norway's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) was established in 1971. From 2002 Norway has provided duty and quota free market access (DQF-MA) for all goods from all the 50 least developed countries (LDCs3). In 2005 the results of a review of Norway's GSP were published (Melchior, 20054), which showed that agricultural products from developing countries other than LDCs were still subject to substantial tariffs, and this contrasted dramatically with advantages given to European trading partners. As a result, from 1 January 2008 changes were made to Norway's GSP5. An important adjustment was that 14 low income countries that were not part of the LDC group were included in the provision for duty and quota-free market access (DQFMA). Consequently, 64 low income countries now benefit from DQFMA to Norway for all their goods.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, Norway, and Ethiopia

29. A case study of Norway's beef trade from developing countries

Author:
Arne Melchior, Karl M. Rich, and Brian D. Perry
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Norway has traditionally operated a rather closed, managed market for beef importsnder WTO-auspices, Norway operates a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for beef that allows the entry of a small amount of product at a relatively low tariff rate, with higher rates of duty imposed on imports over the quota. There are several different TRQs of relevance to boneless beef. The main quota is the WTO quota, which allows for the annual import of 1,084 tons of frozen beef at an in-quota duty rate of NOK 33,60/kg for boneless cuts. Countries with ordinary GSP access receive a 30 percent discount on this duty, so that the in-quota GSP tariff is NOK 23,52/kg. The WTO quota is administered once per year by an auction system – table 6 provides a list of the prices and volumes for the 2011 WTO quota. For imports outside the WTO quota, the duty is 119,01 NOK/kg, with GSP countries paying 10 percent less at NOK 107,11/kg.
Topic:
Development, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
Political Geography:
Norway

30. Capable Companies or Changing Markets? Explaining the Export Performance of Firms in the Defence Industry

Author:
Fulvio Castellacci and Arne Fevolden
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
The paper carries out an empirical analysis of the factors explaining the export performance of firms in the defence sector. We focus on the case of Norway, and make use of two complementary methodologies: the first is based on quantitative firm-level data analysis for the whole population of defence companies, and the second is based on qualitative case study research on the three most important defence export products (weapon stations, ammunition, electronics). Our empirical results highlight the importance of four major success factors for exporting firms: (1) the participation in offset agreements; (2) the ability to focus on their set of core competencies; (3) their R activities and interactions with the public S system; (4) demand opportunities and, relatedly, user-producer interactions.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Markets, Science and Technology, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Norway