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291. The Insurance Industry in America

Author:
Robert E. Litan and Richard J. Herring
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Economists and insurance experts have studied the industry for many years and have developed a series of theoretical concepts to explain how insurance markets function. The prevailing view of the demand for insurance was summed up by one conference participant who noted that an economically rational consumer would understand that apart from certain tax benefits, when you buy insurance, you're making a bet with an insurance company, which the insurance comp any wins on average because it must cover administrative costs and earn a competitive return for its shareholders. From this perspective it makes sense to insure only against potential losses so large as to affect your standard of living. But that is not always how consumers behave.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Government, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
America

292. Waive of the Future? Federalism and the Next Phase of Welfare Reform

Author:
Isabel V. Sawhill, Pietro S. Nivola, and Jennifer L. Noyes
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Determining the appropriate balance of power between the national government and the states is the "cardinal question of our constitutional system," wrote Woodrow Wilson in 1908. The question, he said, would resurface at "every successive stage of our political and economic development." A current manifestation of the time-honored debate focuses on whether to grant state governments additional discretion in managing and integrating a wide range of federally supported services that, in principle, can help the nation's poor earn a living rather than depend on public assistance.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Government, and Political Economy

293. The Uncertain Future of the Telecommunications Industry

Author:
Robert E. Litan and Roger G. Noll
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The U.S. telecommunications industry is riding a roller coaster. For most of the 1990s, the industry's future looked promising. The growth of Internet use, the promise of a broadband network, and a less restrictive regulatory environment that was expected following passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act led industry experts to forecast rapidly growing demand for core network services along with high-margin business opportunities in an expanding array of new information services. The industry backed these expectations with massive investments to expand the capacity of both wireless and wire line networks as well as to facilitate the expected boom in high-speed data transmission.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Government, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
United States

294. Traffic: Why It's Getting Worse, What Government Can Do

Author:
Anthony Downs
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Rising traffic congestion is an inescapable condition in large and growing metropolitan areas across the world, from Los Angeles to Tokyo, from Cairo to Sao Paolo. Peak-hour traffic congestion is an inherent result of the way modern societies operate. It stems from the widespread desires of people to pursue certain goals that inevitably overload existing roads and transit systems every day. But everyone hates traffic congestion, and it keeps getting worse, in spite of attempted remedies. Commuters are often frustrated by policymakers' inability to do anything about the problem, which poses a significant public policy challenge. Although governments may never be able to eliminate road congestion, there are several ways cities and states can move to curb it.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Government, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Tokyo and Los Angeles

295. Building an Effective, Sustainable Partnership Between the Government and the Private Sector

Author:
James B. Steinberg and Gilman Louie
Publication Date:
12-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The challenge of preventing and responding to the new security threats is very different from the one we, as a nation, faced in the Cold War. Today, the private sector is on the frontline of the homeland security effort: Its members are holders of information that may prove crucial to thwarting terrorist attacks; stewards of critical infrastructure that must be protected and dangerous materials that could be used to do harm; and important actors in responding to attacks. As we said in our first Task Force report, private sector information is essential to counter-terrorism, and government agencies should have timely, needed access to that information, pursuant to guidelines that give confidence that the information will be used in a responsible way.
Topic:
Government, National Security, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States

296. Metropolitan Magnets for International and Domestic Migrants

Author:
William H. Frey
Publication Date:
10-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Hundreds of thousands of people move to the U.S. each year seeking a better life. Millions of Americans move to new locations within the U.S. each year for the same reason. The respective destinations of these two groups—immigrants and domestic migrants—shape the physical landscape, public service needs, business patterns, and political culture of our nation's metropolitan areas. For those reasons, international and domestic migration trends in the late 1990s, and how they shaped metropolitan growth dynamics, represent some of the most eagerly anticipated findings from U.S. Census 2000.
Topic:
Demographics and Migration
Political Geography:
United States

297. Risks and Rights: The Causes, Consequences, and Challenges of Development-Induced Displacement

Author:
W. Courtland Robinson
Publication Date:
05-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
While it may have as many meanings as people who invoke its name, development generally has positive, though perhaps ambiguous, connotations. Uneven development is a bad thing and sustainable development is a good thing but, for the most part, under- developed countries and communities seek to become more developed, whether that is through improving health and livelihoods, expanding educational opportunities, or building infrastructure. But, as the citations above suggest, development does not benefit everyone equally and for some—indeed, for millions of people around the world—development has cost them their homes, their livelihoods, their health, and even their very lives. The suffering of those displaced by development projects can be as severe, and the numbers as large, as those displaced either internally or internationally by conflict and violence. What follows is an examination of the often-overlooked phenomenon of development-induced displacement, its causes, consequences and challenges for the international community.
Topic:
Development, Human Welfare, and Migration
Political Geography:
Africa and Asia

298. China and Southeast Asia: The Difference of a Decade

Author:
Catharin Dalpino and Juo-yu Lin
Publication Date:
04-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Over a span of several years, China's relations with the nations of Southeast Asia have shifted in quiet increments. The accumulated effect, however, has been profound. A concerted diplomatic effort to woo countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which now includes all countries in the region excepting East Timor, has reaped multiple benefits for Beijing. It is beginning to alter the political balance in the region as alignments with extra-regional powers are shifting, however subtly. In some aspects, the change is more dramatic. Economic relations have expanded rapidly; for example, trade between China and Southeast Asia is seventeen times larger today than it was twenty-five years ago.
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
China, Beijing, Asia, and Southeast Asia

299. Cross-Strait Relations: A Time for Careful Management

Author:
Richard Bush
Publication Date:
04-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
On the face of it, relations between China and Taiwan have improved significantly since the saber-rattling of 1999 and 2000. Economic relations have never been better. Two-way trade is around $40 billion annually, and the Mainland has become Taiwan's largest export market, displacing the United States. Taiwan companies continue to invest in the PRC at record rates, in order to keep their products competitive through cheaper Chinese labor. The product mix of Taiwan factories on the mainland is shifting from items like shoes and toys to high-end goods like semi-conductors and notebook computers. As machinery moves, so do people, and the number of Taiwan people living most of the time in the PRC is hundreds of thousands. With this growing economic interaction come shared interests and better mutual understanding. Neither side would benefit from conflict, and both know it. The chance of growing tensions seems low.
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States, Taiwan, and Asia

300. The Second Term of Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa: The Dual Problems of Performance and Capacity

Author:
Wilson Wong
Publication Date:
04-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
In the more than five years since Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty, it has suffered economical, social, and political decline. The root cause of this decline, and the key variable for the next five years, is institutional weakness. Specifically, the Hong Kong government must address the dual problems of poor performance and low capacity in order to reverse the decline and get Hong Kong back on track for economic growth and institutional development.
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Asia