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5391. Constrained Potential: A Characterisation of Mexican Microenterprises

Author:
Ana Karen Negrete-García
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This paper investigates the existence and nature of constraints prevailing among Mexican microenterprises. It provides inter‐temporal insights by relying on firm‐level data span‐ning from 1994 to 2012. A performance index is defined based on firm levels of capital stock and monthly profits, and is used to estimate the empirical probability of a business’s success. The predicted values are used to classify every microenterprise into one of three categories: upper, middle, or lower segment. Overall, the study provides evidence of con‐ strained productivity and capital misallocation. Specifically, middle‐segment firms exhibit entrepreneurial features and their average marginal returns are 15 percent. Because this segment faces mainly external constraints, cost‐effective interventions are plausible. Re‐garding the lower‐segment firms, it is estimated that their average monthly marginal re‐ turns are 30 per cent, compared to 1 per cent for the upper segment. It is also shown that, over time, the share that middle‐segment firms represent relative to all microenterprises increased from 16 to 22 percent. Lastly, the sources of variation in monthly profits among segments are explored using the Oaxaca‐Blinder decomposition method.
Topic:
International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Mexico

5392. Who Protects Whom? Politicians, Police and the Regulation of Drug Trafficking in Argentina

Author:
Hernan Flom
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
In many developing countries with weak formal institutions, sectors within the state protect organized criminal activities, allowing illicit markets to thrive. This article posits that how state actors regulate drug trafficking affects the levels of violence associated with such criminal activity. I argue that political competition influences coordination within the police and leads to different types of regulatory regimes. On the one hand, coordinated forces implement protection rackets that contain violence. On the other, uncoordinated police carry out particularistic negotiations with drug traffickers that exacerbate criminal violence. I illustrate this argument with a subnational comparison of two Argentine provinces, Buenos Aires and Santa Fe, during a period in which both witnessed a surge in drug trafficking but only one (Santa Fe) suffered a dramatic increase in criminal violence. These cases show how corrupt states can obtain relative order in highly fragmented drug markets, and how the police shape the evolution of drug dealing in metropolitan areas.
Topic:
Corruption and Narcotics Trafficking
Political Geography:
Argentina

5393. Clingendael State of the Union 2018: towards better European integration

Author:
Margriet Drent
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations
Abstract:
Every year is special and challenging when it comes to European integration. The highlights of 2017 were a number of high-level strategy papers and speeches such as the European Commission White Paper on the Future of Europe, the State of the Union Address by Commission President Juncker, French President Macron’s Initiative for Europe, and the Future of Europe report by President of the European Parliament Tajani. These papers and speeches all pave the way for the discussions on improving and deepening the European Union in the months towards the European elections in spring 2019. The upcoming EP elections will be different from earlier elections as the current discussions aim to offer political choices to ensure the elections are content-based.
Topic:
International Affairs and Europe Union
Political Geography:
Europe

5394. Unpacked: New trade tariffs and the U.S. economy

Author:
Eswar Prasad
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Brookings Senior Fellow Eswar Prasad unpacks the impact of the new steel and aluminum tariffs proposed by the Trump administration. He explains that the new tariffs have undermined America’s leadership as proponents of free trade and will decrease America’s economic influence across the globe.
Topic:
International Political Economy
Political Geography:
America

5395. EU's PESCO: A new foreign policy instrument or the same old story?

Author:
Amal Cemal Ertürk
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Global Political Trends Center
Abstract:
Since the end of World War II, foreign policy and security issues have haunted the European dreams of complete integration in terms of alignment in a highly challenging field, which is also constantly interrupted by sovereignty concerns of member states. Within today’s changing dynamics, the EU’s current instruments seem to fall short of preventing terrorism or providing a meaningful answer to the problems in the Middle East. The EU’s capacity to act in this field needs to be strengthened. The newest approach presented by the European External Action Service (EEAS) is called PESCO (the Permanent Structured Cooperation) and aims to change this current structure of “inactivity”. This short paper will briefly analyze this new instrument.
Topic:
International Relations and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Europe

5396. The construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and geopolitical tension between Egypt and Ethiopia with Sudan in the mix

Author:
Michael Asiedu
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Global Political Trends Center
Abstract:
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi indicated in a televised broadcast on 16 January, 2018 that his country neither wants war with Sudan nor Ethiopia; Egypt was also not looking to meddle in the internal affairs of these two countries. These pronouncements came at the backdrop of what is proving to be a challenge for these three countries, the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the largest hydro-electric dam project in Africa. This policy brief gives a snapshot of the brewing tension surrounding the GERD and some of the regional geopolitical concerns as well as an alternative for a workable solution.
Topic:
International Relations and Global Political Economy
Political Geography:
Ethiopia

5397. Failure to Protect Syria: will the UN Security Council invoke R2P ever again?

Author:
Çağlar Açıkyıldız
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Global Political Trends Center
Abstract:
The events in Syria since the beginning of the conflict in 2011 have been a source of concern for the international community. The ongoing civil war has caused many military and civilian casualties. Reports on the state of the country indicate that both government forces and rebels have committed both crimes against humanity and war crimes. What began as a crisis in March 2011, turned into a civil war between the Syrian government and armed opposition groups and has resulted in over 465,000 deaths. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), as of April 2017, there were more than 5 million Syrian refugees and at least 6.3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). Over 13.5 million Syrians remain in dire need of humanitarian assistance, with 4.5 million people in inaccessible areas, including at least 419,900 people trapped in 10 besieged communities. Besides, Islamic State has been very effective in the country especially since 2014. The Islamic State took control of some land and equally committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. Therefore, Syria demonstrates a clear case of a state unable or unwilling to protect its own citizens; hence, enough ground to invoke Responsibility to Protect (R2P) to save civilian lives in Syria. However, it is difficult to assume that the international community has a solution to the problem. In this paper, the validity of the R2P and problems of its implementation in the Syrian case are discussed.
Topic:
International Security and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Syria

5398. Global Hotspots: Africa

Author:
Global Political Trends Centre
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Global Political Trends Center
Abstract:
Recent years have seen many regions of Africa involved in war and internal or external conflict, from the seven or so countries directly involved in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the Libyan crisis and the war in Sudan/South Sudan and the various other civil wars. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), there were 6.9 million new Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) caused by conflict and violence in 2016. Sub-Saharan Africa overtook the Middle East as the region most affected with almost one million new displacements in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a result of violent clashes in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Kasai.
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Africa

5399. Tackling radicalisation among the youths in Libya

Author:
Michael Asiedu
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Global Political Trends Center
Abstract:
The marginalization of Libyan youths has contributed to a much larger extent their propensity to be radicalized. In 2011, Libyan youths both armed and unarmed formed the fulcrum of the Libyan revolution (Luhrmann, 2015). They were clear in their demands, “Gaddafi must go”. They fought and laid down their arms in hope for better prospects post Gaddafi; to be included in Libya’s body politic fully. This was however, not to be. This desolation has prompted many Libyan youths who supported the revolution against former Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi to feel dejected in retrospect
Topic:
International Relations and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Libya

5400. The Begin Doctrine: The Lessons of Osirak and Deir ez-Zor

Author:
Amos Yadlin
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Institute for National Security Studies (INSS)
Abstract:
The decision to attack a nuclear reactor in enemy territory is one of the most difficult decisions that an Israeli leader may face. Prime Minister Menahem Begin drafted the unofficial doctrine that is named for him, “the Begin Doctrine,” seeking to prevent countries hostile to Israel calling for its destruction from developing a nuclear military capability.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Middle East