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172. The evolving post-crisis world
- Author:
- Stephen Grenville
- Publication Date:
- 04-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Lowy Institute for International Policy
- Abstract:
- The worst of the global financial crisis (GFC) is over, but it has left scars, principally in the form of fiscallydriven debt increases, balance sheets that still need repair and high unemployment in the principal crisis countries. There is also unfinished business from the precrisis period, in the form of external imbalances. More positively, the crisis offers lessons about economic policymaking that may improve the way things are done. Of course the main lessons are for the developed countries that were at the centre of the crisis. But the countries of the region had to cope with the backwash, and in doing so lessons were learned. In addition, the lessons in the crisis countries, learned in an environment of extreme stress, may have relevance for the emerging market economies of this region.
- Topic:
- Development, Emerging Markets, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- China, India, and Asia
173. Norway's strategic challenges in Afghanistan: how to make a difference?
- Author:
- Ståle Ulriksen
- Publication Date:
- 04-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- Norway may be a marginal actor in Afghanistan as a whole, but its troop contingent and development aid programmes mean that it does play an important role in the north-west of the country as part of a joint overall effort with its allies and friends. This role is now facing a twofold test.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Development, Humanitarian Aid, and War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Europe, and Asia
174. Promises, Promises: A briefing paper for the Kabul Conference on Afghanistan
- Author:
- Ashley Jackson
- Publication Date:
- 07-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- The Kabul Conference marks the ninth international conference on Afghanistan in nearly as many years. The conference aims to present a new set of development programs and shore up international support for civilian efforts. It will also follow up on commitments made on anticorruption and reconciliation during the London Conference in January 2010. Yet much of the hope and optimism that marked the earlier conferences such as the Bonn Conference in 2001, which set out the parameters for the interim government, and the Paris Conference in 2006, which outlined a strategy for reconstruction and development, is now gone.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, War, and Fragile/Failed State
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Asia
175. Cheap but Costly: Constraints of Economic Development in the Coal Mining Industry
- Author:
- Lina Gong and Sofiah Jamil
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
- Abstract:
- The demand for coal is set to increase over the coming years, especially among developing countries. However, while coal may be a cheap source of energy to facilitate economic development, it is costly in terms of the implications for human security. Coal mining has been seen to adversely impact local communities and cause sociopolitical instability. Long-term environmental sustainability is also negatively affected. This NTS Insight seeks to examine the extent to which governance mechanisms have been successful in mitigating these socioeconomic and environmental costs, with a focus on China and Indonesia. The paper will also assess the effectiveness of current initiatives designed to address the various forms of human insecurities stemming from coal mining in the two countries.
- Topic:
- Development, Energy Policy, and Environment
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
176. President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Columbia University World Leaders Forum
- Abstract:
- "What Next? Turkey's Global Vision for a Prosperous Future" An address by President Abdullah Gül of Turkey followed by a question and answer session with the audience.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and Islam
- Political Geography:
- Turkey, Middle East, and Asia
177. Japan-China Relations
- Author:
- James J. Przystup
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Comparative Connections
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- A flurry of high-level political and diplomatic contacts marked the quarter. The engagement culminated in the December visit of DPJ Secretary General Ozawa Ichiro to China and his meeting with President Hu Jintao followed by the visit of Vice President Xi Jinping to Japan and his audience with Emperor Akihito. Both Japanese and Chinese political leaders repeatedly made clear their intentions to advance the bilateral relationship. While progress on issues related to joint development of resources in the East China Sea and resolution of the adulterated gyoza case remained noticeably lacking, public opinion polls suggested an upward trend in the way both Japanese and Chinese viewed each other and the bilateral relationship.
- Topic:
- Development and Government
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
178. The Economics of Climate Change in Southeast Asia
- Author:
- Juzhong Zhuang, Suphachol Suphachalasai, and Jindra Nuella Samson
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
- Abstract:
- CSoutheast Asia is one of the world's most vulnerable regions to climate change due to its long coastlines, high concentration of population and economic activity in coastal areas, and heavy reliance on agriculture, natural resources and forestry. Climate change is already affecting the region, as shown by the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, floods and tropical cyclones in recent decades.
- Topic:
- Climate Change and Development
- Political Geography:
- Asia and Southeast Asia
179. China and World Development beyond the Crisis
- Author:
- Dic Lo
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
- Abstract:
- Recent international opinions on China and world development have focused on the Sino-US economic nexus. The neo-liberal theory of “China causing global imbalances” claims that the particular way through which China has integrated itself into the world market is to the detriment of the economies of the advanced countries. The critical theory of “China facing internal and external dependence”, in contrast, claims that the real victim has been the economic development of China itself and the majority of developing economies. The objective of this paper is to clarify the analytical efficacy of these two theories, and, on that basis, to assess the validity of their implied policies. The paper also seeks to explore into the construction of an alternative policy line that suits better the needs of the social and economic development of China and the developing world.
- Topic:
- Development, Inequality, Social Policy, and Economic Development
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
180. The Impact of Microcredit on the Poor in Bangladesh: Revisiting the Evidence
- Author:
- David Roodman and Jonathan Morduch
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- The most-noted studies on the impact of microcredit on households are based on a survey fielded in Bangladesh in the 1990s. Contradictions among them have produced lasting controversy and confusion. Pitt and Khandker (PK, 1998) apply a quasi-experimental design to 1991–92 data; they conclude that microcredit raises household consumption, especially when lent to women. Khandker (2005) applies panel methods using a 1999 resurvey; he concurs and extrapolates to conclude that microcredit helps the extremely poor even more than the moderately poor. But using simpler estimators than PK, Morduch (1999) finds no impact on the level of consumption in the 1991–92 data, even as he questions PK's identifying assumptions. He does find evidence that microcredit reduces consumption volatility. Partly because of the sophistication of PK's Maximum Likelihood estimator, the conflicting results were never directly confronted and reconciled. We end the impasse. A replication exercise shows that all these studies' evidence for impact is weak. As for PK's headline results, we obtain opposite signs. But we do not conclude that lending to women does harm. Rather, all three studies appear to fail in expunging endogeneity. We conclude that for non-experimental methods to retain a place in the program evaluator's portfolio, the quality of the claimed natural experiments must be high and demonstrated.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Bangladesh, South Asia, and Asia