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Begin New Search Topic Human Welfare Publication Year within 25 Years

601. A Patent Policy Proposal for Global Diseases

Author:
Jean O Lanjouw
Publication Date:
06-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
We are in the midst of a dramatic extension of the global reach of the patent system. Until recently, in an effort to keep their prices low, many developing countries did not grant patents on new pharmaceutical products. Today, however, most countries have extended their patent laws to include pharmaceutical innovations, and in order to fulfill World Trade Organization membership requirements, the rest will soon follow.
Topic:
Civil War, Development, Human Welfare, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements

602. Stemming the Backlash Against Globalization

Author:
Carol Graham
Publication Date:
04-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
There is much speculation about a new round of protests at the upcoming meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The protestors contend that globalization is bad for poor people in poor countries. But the evidence suggests the opposite: that globalization provides the poor in developing countries with new opportunities for upward mobility. Yet it also introduces new vulnerabilities, particularly for those in the middle income strata, which cause even the upwardly mobile in these strata to negatively assess their economic progress. We propose three sets of policies for poor countries — increasing access to higher levels and better quality education, eliminating market distortions that block the upward mobility of the poor (including excessive levels of inequality), and providing more broadly available safety nets for people without steady incomes — that could help prevent these negative sentiments from growing into a broader backlash against globalization, which would ultimately hurt the poor in these countries the most.
Topic:
Development, Globalization, Human Welfare, and Third World

603. Africa Policy Outlook 2001

Publication Date:
01-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Africa Policy Information Center
Abstract:
By the end of the year 2000, a peace treaty between Ethiopia and Eritrea, peaceful transfers of power after elections in Senegal and Ghana, and continued growth of public debate about the future in almost every African country were among signs of advance in a year that was more than usually short of good news. Economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa was estimated to climb to 2.7 percent for the year, up from 2.1 percent in 1999. Per capita income in the region south of the Sahara rose by an estimated two tenths of one percent. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced debt reduction packages of $34 billion for 22 countries, including 18 in Africa.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Debt, Development, Diplomacy, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
Africa, Ethiopia, Senegal, Eritrea, and Ghana

604. Report on Biological Warfare Defense: Vaccine Research Development Programs

Publication Date:
07-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
Section 218 of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001, Public Law (PL) 106-398 (at Appendix A) requires the submission of a report to the congressional defense committees on the acquisition of biological defense vaccines for the Department of Defense (DoD). As required by section 218, PL 106-398, this report addresses: 1) the implications of relying on the commercial sector to meet the DoD's biological defense vaccine requirements; 2) a design for a government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) vaccine production facility; 3) preliminary cost estimates and schedule for the facility; 4) consultation with the Surgeon General on the utility of such a facility for the production of vaccines for the civilian sector and the impact of civilian production on meeting Armed Forces needs and facility operating costs; and 5) the impact of international vaccine requirements and the production of vaccines to meet those requirements on meeting Armed Forces needs and facility operating costs.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Human Welfare, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States

605. Patience, Persistence, and Welfare Costs of Incomplete Markets in Open Economies

Author:
Jinill Kim, Andrew Levin, and Sunghyun Henry Kim
Publication Date:
02-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
In this paper, we investigate the welfare implications of alternative financial market structures in a two-country endowment economy model. In particular, we obtain an analytic expression for the expected lifetime utility of the representative household when sovereign bonds are the only internationally traded asset, and we compare this welfare level with that obtained under complete asset markets. The welfare cost of incomplete markets is negligible if agents are very patient and shocks are not very persistent, but this cost is dramatically larger if agents are relatively impatient and shocks are highly persistent. For realistic cases in which agents are very patient and shocks are highly persistent (that is, the discount factor and the first-order autocorrelation are both near unity), the welfare cost of incomplete markets is highly sensitive to the specific values of these parameters. Finally, using a non-linear solution algorithm, we confirm that a two-country production economy with endogenous labor supply has qualitatively similar welfare properties.
Topic:
Economics, Human Welfare, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States

606. The Poles and Their Past: Society, Historiography and the Legislation Process

Author:
Andrzej Paczkowski
Publication Date:
05-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
The Polish nation had experienced both Nazism and communism. These were not equal experiences, and social memory about them differs to a considerable degree. In order to perform such an operation, it would be necessary to halt history in June 1941. Since it is impossible to stop history in order to examine the period from mid-September 1939 to June 1941, it is helpful to study Polish recollections of their experiences so as to understand their continued impact on national history and memory.
Topic:
Civil Society, Human Welfare, and Politics
Political Geography:
Europe

607. Violence Against Women in Post-communist Societies: Benefits and Changes

Author:
Vesna Nikolic-Ristanovic
Publication Date:
05-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Social changes, which recently occurred in post-communist countries, brought new opportunities for positive developments and offered the possibility of choice. In most countries, the social transition brought an opening of borders, enabling an influx of positive as well as negative influences. However, even the general positive impact of social changes is typically followed by more negative consequences in the everyday life of the people. The most dramatic consequences of social transition, manifested in a significant rise of unemployment and the loss of many social benefits. These developments are directly related to the replacement of planned, centralized economies by the market and the privatization of state property. Most people lost their previous social security benefits and, despite the fact that the general character of communism was “equality in poverty,” the social transition was a source of serious stress and numerous existential problems. This was further intensified by the fact that, at the same time, the growing import of both material goods and the American way of thinking, i.e. consumerism spirit of the West, urged people to achieve their “American dreams” at any cost.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Civil Society, Human Welfare, and Privatization
Political Geography:
America and Europe

608. Fieldwork Methodology for a CDIE Assessment of USAID and Poverty Reduction Approaches

Author:
Jonathan Sleeper and Lynn Salinger
Publication Date:
08-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, U.N. agencies, many bilateral donors, and a number of developing countries have made poverty reduction their overarching development objective. The United States was a signatory in 1996 to the OECD/DAC's international development goals, which included halving of world poverty by 2015. Under the aegis of a comprehensive development framework which empowers national partners to design and implement their own development actions, debt relief for the world's most heavily indebted poor countries is being linked by the multinational development organizations to the development of national Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs).
Topic:
Development, Economics, Human Welfare, and Poverty
Political Geography:
United States

609. Reducing Urban and Industrial Pollution in the Czech Republic

Author:
Steve Gale and Matthew Addison
Publication Date:
08-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
A USAID project in the Czech Republic confronted air pollution at two levels: nationally, through a state environmental fund, and locally, through direct support to municipalities. The national approach proved to be far more effective. Results in Poland, though, suggest regional funds may be the ideal.
Topic:
Economics, Environment, Human Welfare, Politics, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Poland, and Czech Republic

610. Reducing Urban and Industrial Pollution in India

Author:
Donald G. McClelland and Mark Hodges
Publication Date:
08-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Agency for International Development
Abstract:
An emerging industrial power, India faces major pollution problems. USAID has undertaken to help abate the release of emissions and effluents into the air and water using American technologies—thus helping U.S. firms as well. Significant success has been observed, but lack of solid baseline data obscures the actual extent of USAID's role.
Topic:
Economics, Environment, Human Welfare, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
America, South Asia, India, and Asia