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12. How good is the European Commission’s Just Transition Fund proposal?
- Author:
- Alienor Cameron, Gregory Claeys, Catarina Midoes, and Simone Tagliapietra
- Publication Date:
- 02-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Bruegel
- Abstract:
- On 14 January 2020, the European Commission published its proposal for a Just Transition Mechanism, intended to provide support to territories facing serious socioeconomic challenges related to the transition towards climate neutrality. This brief provides an overview and a critical assessment of the first pillar of this Mechanism, the Just Transition Fund (JTF).
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Governance, Budget, European Union, Macroeconomics, Renewable Energy, and Transition
- Political Geography:
- Europe
13. From climate change to cyber attacks: Incipient financial-stability risks for the euro area
- Author:
- Zsolt Darvas, Marta Dominguez-Jimenez, and Guntram B. Wolff
- Publication Date:
- 02-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Bruegel
- Abstract:
- The European Central Bank’s November 2019 Financial Stability Review highlighted the risks to growth in an environment of global uncertainty. On the whole, the ECB report is comprehensive and covers the main risks to euro-area financial stability, we highlight issues that deserve more attention.
- Topic:
- Governance, Finance, Central Bank, and Macroeconomics
- Political Geography:
- Europe
14. A post-Brexit agreement for research and innovation
- Author:
- Michael Leigh, Beth Thompson, and Reinhilde Veugelers
- Publication Date:
- 01-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Bruegel
- Abstract:
- This report sets out what the Wellcome Trust and Bruegel have learned from a project to simulate a negotiation process between the UK and EU to create a post-Brexit research and innovation agreement. Our negotiating scenario assumed that the UK had left the EU with a withdrawal agreement, and that the negotiation was taking place during a ‘standstill’ transition period.
- Topic:
- Treaties and Agreements, Governance, European Union, Research, Brexit, Macroeconomics, Innovation, and Transition
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
15. Market versus policy Europeanisation: has an imbalance grown over time?
- Author:
- Leonardo Cadamuro and Francesco Papadia
- Publication Date:
- 01-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Bruegel
- Abstract:
- This Policy Contribution tests the hypothesis that an imbalance has grown in Europe over the last few decades because markets have integrated to a greater extent than European-level policymaking, potentially creating difficulties for the democratic process in managing the economy. This hypothesis has been put forward by several authors but not so far tested empirically.
- Topic:
- Markets, Governance, Democracy, Regional Integration, Macroeconomics, and Trade Policy
- Political Geography:
- Europe
16. Socio-Economic Implications of Covid-19 in Cameroon
- Author:
- Dr. Fuein Vera Kum and Henri Kouam
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- The Nkafu Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- The economic impact of COVID-19 will be broad-based, causing wages to fall due to social distancing and quarantine measures on the service sector. While communications and ICT-related sectors will be less affected, transport, entertainment and leisure sectors will be adversely affected, together with exports and domestic demand. Policymakers should utilise the $164 billion availed by international institutions to support SMEs and wages in the informal sector, whilst the 90 billion should be used in other to invest in the physical and digital infrastructure to support educational outcomes and employment over the medium term. Such actionable policies should accompany broader quarantine and social distancing measures.
- Topic:
- Economics, Health, Macroeconomics, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Cameroon
17. Ordinary Shareholders' Rights Protection in Botswana
- Author:
- Ratang Sedimo and Kelesego Mmolainyane
- Publication Date:
- 03-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
- Abstract:
- This study seeks to examine institutional frameworks that exist in Botswana to protect the rights of ordinary shareholders. There is no literature on the subject matter in the context of Botswana; hence this study attempts to fill in the literature gap. The study uses a variety of data collection methods, such as semi-structured interviews, the Choppies case study and lessons learnt from other jurisdictions. Findings reveal that ordinary shareholders’ rights protection involves the use of institutional frameworks. In Botswana, existing frameworks are not adequate to protect ordinary shareholders’ rights. Furthermore, the study shows that ordinary shareholders in Botswana are mainly exposed to risks of losing their investments, partially or entirely, in case of non-compliance to regulatory requirements as shown by the reduction in Choppies’ stock price from P1.20 to P0.40 between years 2012 and 2018. The study suggests that the existing institutional frameworks should be reviewed to ensure adequate protection of ordinary shareholders’ rights.
- Topic:
- Security, Economics, Human Rights, Investment, Macroeconomics, Land Rights, and Labor Rights
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Botswana
18. Bundled-Payment Models Around the World: How They Work and What Their Impact Has Been
- Author:
- Meredith B. Rosenthal, Paul F. van Gils, Caroline A. Baan, Eline F. de Vries, and Jeroen Struijs
- Publication Date:
- 04-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- The Commonwealth Fund
- Abstract:
- We identified 23 initiatives in eight countries that have implemented bundled-payment models, focusing on procedures such as total joint replacements and cardiac surgery, as well as chronic conditions like diabetes and breast cancer. Of the 35 studies retrieved, 32 reported effects on quality of care and 32 reported effects on medical spending. Twenty of 32 studies reported modest savings or a modest reduction in spending growth, while two studies (both based on the same initiative) demonstrated increased spending in the early years of the bundled-payment model’s implementation. Eighteen of 32 studies reported quality improvements for most evaluated measures, while other studies showed no difference in measured quality. Our study provides evidence that bundled-payment models have the potential to reduce medical spending growth while having either a positive impact or no impact on quality of care.
- Topic:
- Economics, Health, Health Care Policy, Income Inequality, Macroeconomics, Coronavirus, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- United States and Global Focus
19. Measuring the Rise of Economic Nationalism
- Author:
- Monica de Bolle and Jeromin Zettelmeyer
- Publication Date:
- 08-2019
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- Since the mid-2000s, the platforms of major political parties in both advanced and emerging-market economies have increasingly emphasized policies that stress national sovereignty, reject multilateralism, and seek to advance national interests through measures that come at the expense of foreign interests. This paper documents this shift by evaluating the policy platforms of the largest political parties (about 55 in total) in the Group of Twenty (G-20) countries with regard to trade policy, foreign direct investment (FDI), immigration, and multilateral organizations. Preference shifts with respect to industrial policy, competition policy, and macroeconomic populism are also examined. In advanced economies, the biggest shifts were toward restrictions on immigration and trade and toward macroeconomic populism. In emerging-market economies, the largest preference shifts were toward industrial policies favoring specific sectors, macroeconomic populism, and industrial concentration. Trade protectionism and skepticism toward multilateral organizations and agreements have increased in both advanced and emerging-market economies. As of 2018, economic policy preferences in emerging-market economies were more nationalist and less liberal than in advanced countries, but the gap has narrowed. Right-wing parties tend to be more nationalist than left-wing parties in the areas of immigration restrictions, FDI restrictions, and antimultilateralism, but there is no significant difference with respect to trade protectionism.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Nationalism, Politics, Populism, and Macroeconomics
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
20. Natural gas pricing GSA Bolivia: Brazil using virtual hub and expected monetary value instruments
- Author:
- Sergio M. Medinaceli and Jorge L. Gumucio
- Publication Date:
- 11-2019
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
- Abstract:
- The purpose of this paper is to show the shortcomings of incentive policies, specifically competitiveness, if they are designed without considering fundamentals of market development such as, level of demand, level of investment, and availability of alternative sources of supply. We focus on the analysis of the main market, financial, and economic variables in the Bolivia-Brazil Gas Supply Agreement, their relationship, development and dynamics through time and the current situation before the contract is renegotiated in 2019. Our analysis centers on the effective negotiation margin that Bolivia has calculated from the overall production costs of Bolivian gas (using EMV) vis a vis the opportunity cost of Brazil importing LNG. Using 10%-15% as discount rates and WTI prices between $50 and $60/bbl, the natural gas price result of EMV is between $ 4.96 and $ 7.99/MMbtu. Using the Bolivian tax incentive gas price should be between $2.29 and $5.16/MMbtu. Under the assumptions that WTI levels would be around $ 60/bbl, investors use a 15% discount rate to invest in Bolivia, incentive policy is in place, and the price of LNG is around $ 6.84/MMbtu; the opportunity cost of Brazil importing gas from Bolivia is $ -0.55/MMbtu. The same case without incentive policy will yield a $ -3.38/MMbtu. On the other hand, if the transport tariff is reduced the margin becomes positive under the assumption that the incentive policy is still in place. Therefore, as the price of LNG becomes more competitive through increase in supply (worldwide), Brazil will set its negotiation position around the price that they could import LNG on the short to medium term.
- Topic:
- Markets, Regional Cooperation, Natural Resources, Monetary Policy, Gas, Macroeconomics, and Economic Development
- Political Geography:
- Brazil, Latin America, and Bolivia