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132. Institutional Change in Industrial Relations: Coordination and Common Knowledge in Ireland, Italy and Australia
- Author:
- Pepper D. Culpepper
- Publication Date:
- 01-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- When should we ever expect to see durable moves toward greater wage bargaining coordination? Moving to sustained coordinated wage bargaining presupposes that unions and employers can both be convinced that wage bargaining is in fact a game in which both actors prefer coordination. This can only happen when these social actors come to accept as true an idea of the economy in which their coordination through wage bargaining institutions will give them better outcomes than would bargaining through decentralized institutions. This paper argues that the process of developing common knowledge changes institutional preferences among employers. It was the development of common knowledge that changed employer preferences about the attractiveness of institutions for wage coordination in Ireland in Italy. In both cases, the development of common expectations required the emergence and joint ratification of a common set of references, in what I call common knowledge events. These events led organized employers to change their previous position about acceptable institutions of wage bargaining. This change made possible the institutionalization of coordinated wage bargaining in both countries. As demonstrated through counterfactual analysis of the Australian case, the emergence and ratification of such a common view is the necessary condition for the emergence and survival of coordinated wage bargaining institutions.
- Topic:
- Development and Economics
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Australia/Pacific, and Ireland
133. Terrorism in Indonesia: Noordin's Networks
- Publication Date:
- 05-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- The Indonesian police are closing in on Noordin Mohammed Top, South East Asia's most wanted terrorist. In a dramatic pre-dawn raid on 29 April 2006 in Wonosobo, Central Java, they shot and killed two members of his inner circle and arrested two others. If and when they capture Noordin, they will have put the person most determined to attack Western targets out of commission. But the problem of Noordin's support structure will still have to be tackled.
- Topic:
- Security and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- Indonesia, Australia/Pacific, and Southeast Asia
134. Capital punishment and Australian foreign policy
- Author:
- Michael Fullilove
- Publication Date:
- 08-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Lowy Institute for International Policy
- Abstract:
- Australia is an abolitionist country. Both the Australian Government and the Opposition are opposed to capital punishment. Australia engages in modest advocacy against the death penalty but most of Canberra's efforts are directed toward cases involving Australian citizens. These are likely continue to occur: our closest Asian neighbours retain the death penalty, and Australian nationals will probably continue to commit ciminal acts carrying this penalty. For example, the looming execution of Van Tuong Nguyen last year led to calls from Australian commentators for trade and business sanctions against Singapore, and charges of hypocrisy being levelled against Australia in the regional press.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Government, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Asia and Australia/Pacific
135. Geeing up the G-20
- Author:
- Mark P Thirlwell and Dr. Malcolm Cook
- Publication Date:
- 05-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Lowy Institute for International Policy
- Abstract:
- Globalisation implies a big increase in the payoffs from successful cross-border economic cooperation. Yet the main international institutional mechanisms designed to facilitate such cooperation, the G7 and the IMF, are not up to it. Both the G7’s membership and the IMF’s governance structure significantly under-represent several key players in the modern global economy, a potentially fatal handicap when it comes to tackling some of the most pressing challenges now facing policymakers. Moreover, neither gives Australia a permanent seat at the top table.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, and Economics
- Political Geography:
- Australia/Pacific
136. Fuelling confrontation: Iran, the US and the oil weapon
- Author:
- Anthony Bubalo, Mark P Thirlwell, and Dr. Michael Fullilove
- Publication Date:
- 05-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Lowy Institute for International Policy
- Abstract:
- The Iranian nuclear issue has entered a critical phase. A draft UN Security Council resolution has been circulated that could pave the way for political and economic sanctions. Should these fail to change Iran's position, the likelihood of military action will grow towards the end of 2006 and into 2007. At the same time, high oil prices have bolstered Iran's ability to defy demands that it give up uranium enrichment and provide greater transparency with respect to its nuclear program. Given current supply, demand and price indicators, oil provides Iran with a very potent weapon with which to respond to punitive measures. However, the economic and political fallout produced by the use of the oil in this way makes it likely Tehran would use such a weapon cautiously.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Energy Policy, and Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iran, Middle East, and Australia/Pacific
137. The testament of Solomons: RAMSI and international state-building
- Author:
- Dr. Michael Fullilove
- Publication Date:
- 03-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Lowy Institute for International Policy
- Abstract:
- The phenomenon of state failure and its remedies constitute a growth area of international politics, partly because of the recognition that state failure generates security threats and partly because it is so very difficult. This Lowy Institute Analysis identifies the critical elements of one small but significant case, about which there is growing international interest: the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). The background to the mission was the long-standing tension between the peoples of the two main islands, Guadalcanal and Malaita, which developed in the period 1998-2002 into militant violence which then mutated into widespread criminality and thuggery. Acting on a request from Honiara, the Australian Government and its regional partners elected to lead a new kind of statebuilding intervention.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Development
- Political Geography:
- Australia/Pacific
138. Food Security in the South Pacific Island Countries with Special Reference to the Fiji Islands
- Author:
- K.L. Sharma
- Publication Date:
- 06-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper analyses the status of food security in selected South Pacific Island countries, namely Cook Islands, Fiji Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu at the national and household levels during the period 1991-2002. Due to narrow resource base and production conditions, Pacific Islands concentrate on a few primary commodities for production and exports. During recent years import dependency for food items has increased mainly due to a decline in per capita food production and a rapid rate of rural-urban migration. Currently, export earnings can finance food imports but earnings could fall short of the requirements needed after the expiry of some commodity preferential price agreements with importing countries. National food security is dependent on the continuation of subsistence farming and tapping ocean resources in conjunction with the on-going commercial farming of those crops in which Pacific Islands have a comparative advantage. Increased productivity is crucial for improving agricultural performance through government investment in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension, irrigation and appropriate price incentives. This would also help alleviate poverty for improvement in economic accessibility of food by households. There is also a need to design appropriate disaster risk management programmes to minimize any adverse effects on the food supply.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Welfare, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Australia/Pacific, Solomon Islands, Papua, Guinea, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Fiji
139. U.S.-Australia Alliance Relations: An Australian View
- Author:
- Paul Dibb
- Publication Date:
- 08-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- Australia is America's oldest friend and ally in the Asia-Pacific region. The two countries fought alongside each other in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the 1991 Gulf War, and most recently in Afghanistan and Iraq. The closeness of the two nations today is without precedent in the history of the relationship. Australia is now America's second closest ally in the world, after the United Kingdom.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, United Kingdom, Vietnam, Australia/Pacific, and Korea
140. Economic Survey of New Zealand, 2005
- Publication Date:
- 07-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- The economy has continued on its strong upward course and living standards – measured as real GDP per person – have risen steadily over the past decade, putting the country on track towards the government’s objective of returning to the top half of the OECD. But capacity has become increasingly strained, and monetary policy has been tightened to ensure inflation remains well anchored. The country’s prospects are bright, with potential growth projected to remain comfortably above 3% per year over the medium term
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Australia/Pacific and New Zealand