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602. A New Information Infrastructure for Financial Markets
- Publication Date:
- 02-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Information about prices and quantities of assets lies at the heart of well-functioning capital markets. In the current financial crisis, it has become clear that many important actors-both firms and regulatory agencies-have not had sufficient information. Distributed by the Center for Geoeconomic Studies, this Working Paper proposes a new regulatory regime for gathering and disseminating financial market information. The authors argue that government regulators need a new infrastructure to collect and analyze adequate information from large (systemically important) financial institutions. This new information framework would bolster the government's ability to foresee, contain, and, ideally, prevent disruptions to the overall financial services industry.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- United States
603. The Future of Foreign Assistance Amid Global Economic and Financial Crisis
- Author:
- Laurie A. Garrett
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Though the United States of America faces its toughest budgetary and economic challenges since the Great Depression, it cannot afford to eliminate, or even reduce, its foreign assistance spending. For clear reasons of political influence, national security, global stability, and humanitarian concern the United States must, at a minimum, stay the course in its commitments to global health and development, as well as basic humanitarian relief. The Bush administration sought not only to increase some aspects of foreign assistance, targeting key countries (Iraq and Afghanistan) and specific health targets, such as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the President's Malaria Initiative, but also executed an array of programmatic and structural changes in U.S. aid efforts. By 2008, it was obvious to most participants and observers that too many agencies were engaged in foreign assistance, and that programs lacked coherence and strategy. Well before the financial crisis of fall 20 08, there was a strong bipartisan call for foreign assistance reform, allowing greater efficiency and credibility to U.S. efforts, enhancing engagement in multilateral institutions and programs, and improving institutional relations between U.S. agencies and their partners, including nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), recipient governments, corporate and business sector stakeholders, faith-based organizations (FBOs), academic-based implementers and researchers, foundations and private donors, United Nations (UN) agencies, and other donor nations.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Debt, Development, Economics, Health, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- United States
604. China's $1.7 Trillion Bet: China's External Portfolio and Dollar Reserves
- Author:
- Brad W. Setser and Arpana Pandey
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- China reported $1.95 trillion in foreign exchange reserves at the end of 2008. This is by far the largest stockpile of foreign exchange in the world: China holds roughly two times more reserves than Japan, and four times more than either Russia or Saudi Arabia. Moreover, China's true foreign port- folio exceeds its disclosed foreign exchange reserves. At the end of December, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE)—part of the People's Bank of China (PBoC) managed close to $2.1 trillion: $1.95 trillion in formal reserves and between $108 and $158 billion in “other foreign assets.” China's state banks and the China Investment Corporation (CIC), China's sovereign wealth fund, together manage another $250 billion or so. This puts China's total holdings of foreign assets at over $2.3 trillion. That is over 50 percent of China's gross domestic product (GDP), or roughly $2,000 per Chinese inhabitant.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Debt, Economics, Emerging Markets, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, China, Israel, Asia, and Saudi Arabia
605. Securing Afghanistan
- Author:
- Seth G. Jones and C. Christine Fair
- Publication Date:
- 02-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- More than seven years after U.S. forces entered Afghanistan, important gains made in bringing stability and democracy to Afghanistan are imperiled. While there have been some positive developments in such areas as economic growth, the Taliban and other insurgent groups have gained some ground in the country and in neighboring Pakistan, the drug trade remains a significant problem, and corruption has worsened in the Afghan government. According to United Nations data, insurgent incidents have increased every year since the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban regime. The situation in parts of Afghanistan's south and east is particularly concerning because of the twin menace of insurgent and criminal activity. Despite these challenges, the insurgency remains deeply fractured among a range of groups, and most have little support among the Afghan population. This presents an opportunity for Afghans and the international community to turn the situation around.
- Topic:
- Security, Political Violence, Development, Economics, and War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, and Central Asia
606. The Private Sector in Security Sector Reform: Essential But Not Yet Optimized
- Author:
- Robert Perito
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- While the U.S. and world economies are slowing markedly, Security Sector Reform (SSR) is a growth industry for the private sector. U.S. government employees may set SSR policy and design projects, but implementation is extensively outsourced to private contractors. With the forthcoming surge of U.S. military forces into Afghanistan, the U.S. Army has announced contracts worth $1.1 billion for the construction of military bases and training centers for Afghan military and police. Private firms supply everything from construction materials to trainers and administrative staff. Private contractors operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan are required to provide their own security. Up to 15 percent of the cost of construction will go to private security firms, which guard convoys, facilities and personnel.
- Topic:
- Security, Economics, Government, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, and United States
607. Does the Doctor Need a Boss?
- Author:
- Michael F. Cannon and Arnold Kling
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The traditional model of medical delivery, in which the doctor is trained, respected, and compensated as an independent craftsman, is anachronistic. When a patient has multiple ailments, there is no longer a simple doctor patient or doctor-patient-specialist relationship. Instead, there are multiple specialists who have an impact on the patient, each with a set of interdependencies and difficult coordination issues that increase exponentially with the number of ailments involved.
- Topic:
- Economics, Health, and Human Welfare
- Political Geography:
- United States
608. A New Direction for U.S. Policy in the Caspian Region
- Author:
- Martha Brill Olcott
- Publication Date:
- 02-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- With Washington's influence on the Caspian region at its lowest ebb in many years, the Obama administration could reverse this trend with a new approach that accepts Russia's presence and China's interest as historical and geographical givens and emphasizes short- and medium-term problem solving in multilateral and bilateral settings instead of long-term political and economic transformations. The United States can accomplish more in the Caspian region by focusing on military reform and building security capacity than on forming military alliances. The United States should switch from a multiple pipeline strategy to a policy that advances competition by promoting market pricing for energy producers, consumers, and transit states. The United States could facilitate the introduction of renewable sources of energy as a stimulus to economic recovery and a source of enhanced social security. The United States should develop a nuanced strategy that encourages political development through social and educational programs and local capacity building. The Obama administration should name a high-level official as a presidential envoy to this region.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Development, Economics, and Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, China, Washington, and Central Asia
609. Bailout or Bankruptcy?
- Author:
- Jeffrey A. Miron
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Cato Journal
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- At the end of September 2007, the U.S. economy had experienced 24 consecutive quarters of positive GDP growth, at an average annual rate of 2.73 percent. The S 500 Index stood at roughly 1,500, having rebounded over 600 points from its low point in 2003. Unemployment was below 5 percent, and inflation was low and stable.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Privatization
- Political Geography:
- United States
610. Origins of the Financial Market Crisis of 2008
- Author:
- Anna J. Schwartz
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Cato Journal
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- I begin by describing the factors that contributed to the financial market crisis of 2008. I end by proposing policies that could have prevented the baleful effects that produced the crisis.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Privatization, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States