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2042. Private Donations for International Development
- Author:
- John Micklewright and Anna Wright
- Publication Date:
- 12-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- Charitable donations by private individuals and firms can help fund the Millennium Development Goals. What are the prospects for increasing donations for international development, whether from small-scale donors, the super-rich (as in the recent gifts by Bill Gates and Ted Turner), or the corporate sector? The paper starts by reviewing how large are the sums currently given in OECD countries (including gifts of time) and the problems development has in competing with domestic causes. It then looks at possibilities for the future, including tax deductions, the new 'global funds', corporate social responsibility and 'cause-related marketing', the use of the Internet, and long-term donor education.
- Topic:
- Development, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, and Third World
2043. Revenue Potential of the Currency Transaction Tax for Development Finance: A Critical Appraisal
- Author:
- Machiko Nissanke
- Publication Date:
- 12-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- The paper assesses the potential of currency transaction taxes (CTT, widely known as the Tobin tax), to raise revenue for global development. Though Tobin proposed and others assessed CTTs in terms of reducing exchange rate volatility and improving macroeconomic policy environments, this paper considers the CTT first and foremost from the standpoint of revenue. With a view of establishing a 'permissible' range of tax rates to obtain realistic estimates of revenue potential, it first reviews the debate over the effects of CTT on market liquidity and the efficiency of foreign exchange markets, and assesses the Spahn proposal for a two-tier currency tax. It then moves to a discussion of the technical and political feasibility of CTT, followed by an evaluation of several new proposals, such as those advanced by Schmidt and Mendez. The paper presents revenue estimates from CTT in light of recent changes in the composition and structure of foreign exchange markets.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance
2044. A Global Lottery and a Global Premium Bond
- Author:
- Tony Addison and Abdur R. Chowdhury
- Publication Date:
- 12-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- The world lottery market now amounts to at least US$126 billion in sales. World market sales for all gaming products (public, charitable and commercial) total some US$1 trillion, of which Internet gambling accounts for US$32 billion. This paper assesses the prospects for harnessing this large and growing market for the purposes of development finance by means of a global lottery and a global premium bond (with the successful UK scheme providing a model for the latter). Each has different strengths: the global lottery can add to the supply of grant finance for development, while the global premium bond could be an attractive savings instrument for ethical investors. The paper concludes that global versions of both a lottery and a premium bond are viable and complementary in mobilizing more development finance.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, International Cooperation, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom
2045. The International Finance Facility: The UK HM Treasury-DFID Proposal to Increase External Finance to Developing Countries
- Author:
- George Mavrotas
- Publication Date:
- 12-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- The paper discusses the International Finance Facility (IFF), a joint HM Treasury-DFID proposal to increase development aid substantially for the Millennium Development Goals to be achieved by 2015. The main conclusion of the paper is that the proposed IFF is a promising, forward-looking and creative proposal for it implies a substantial increase in fresh, predictable and stable aid as well as a robust financial structure. However, there are a number of concerns about potential shortcomings of the proposal, namely its underlying assumptions about continuous commitment on behalf of the donor community towards the implementation of the IFF during the life of the Facility and most importantly its heavy reliance on political coordination among donor countries participating in the proposed scheme. Potential absorptive capacity constraints in IFF aid-recipient countries may be also relevant. Achieving its huge political task as well as alleviating the crucial constraints regarding its successful implementation seem to be the main challenges this innovative proposal needs to deal with in the near future.
- Topic:
- Development, International Cooperation, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
2046. Globality and Transnational Policy-Making in Agriculture: Complexity, Contradictions, and Conflict
- Author:
- William D. Coleman
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster University
- Abstract:
- States and other collective actors are seeking to reconstitute political authority in the 21st Century in part to regulate an ongoing series of globalizing processes. These processes are adding to the spread of globality, consciousness that the world is one place. What is also clear is that attempts to reconstitute authority require states to cooperate with one another in ever increasing ways. The global scope of such cooperation, its regularity, level of institutionalization, and frequency have all contributed to the growth of densely networked transnational policy spaces on an unprecedented scale.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements
2047. The Enron Debacle: Lessons for Tax Policy
- Author:
- Jane G. Gravelle
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Urban Institute
- Abstract:
- The Enron debacle had potential implications in three areas of tax policy: tax-favored retirement plans, stock options, and differences in book versus tax accounting. The most important issue relates to the increasing riskiness of retirement plans that (1) can pay in a lump sum amount, (2) are of the defined contribution variety, and (3) may be excessively concentrated in employer stock. Proposals to remedy this issue even in a limited way may be unsuccessful if they do not address the especially favorable tax treatment of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). Most stock options do not benefit from preferential treatment, although for both book and tax purposes it may be desirable (and feasible) to recognize compensation payments at the time of grant. Stock options may not be accomplishing their purposes efficiently, and special benefits (such as those for qualified stock options) might either be reconsidered or restricted to plans with desirable features. The spectacle of a purportedly profitable company paying little or no tax has become a common phenomenon. The Enron case suggests the need for more disclosure regarding the sources of book versus tax differences, if not some substantive corporate tax reforms.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States
2048. The Dog that Would Never Bite? The Past and Future of the Stability and Growth Pact
- Author:
- Martin Heipertz and Amy Verdun
- Publication Date:
- 11-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
- Abstract:
- This paper analyses the underlying reasons for the creation of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) and its subsequent development in recent years. The paper examines the economic and political factors behind it, including the role of economic ideas, experts, politicians, institutional arrangements in the Maastricht Treaty, domestic politics, and the exceptional position of Germany in the realm of monetary integration in the EU. It concludes that a set of commonly held beliefs together with a corresponding power-political constellation explain the creation of the SGP.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Germany
2049. Stabilizing Postwar Europe: Aligning Domestic and International Goals
- Author:
- Armin Schäfer
- Publication Date:
- 07-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
- Abstract:
- This paper looks at the historical developments that led to the Schuman Plan in 1950, which today is seen as a starting signal for the European integration process. It argues that this announcement by the French foreign minister constituted a genuine change of strategy that can only be understood in the light of the preceding historical chain of events. The first steps of European integration were part of a search for suitable institutions capable of dealing with Europe's economic and political problems, which also involved the Bretton Woods institutions, Marshall Aid and the OEEC, and, finally, the ECSC. These organizations' respective fate depended on the strategies of key states, which in turn were driven by domestic concerns. Aligning their interests took several steps and was only completed when all three organizations existed in parallel. Throughout this process, all states had to abandon their preferred course of action and learn to settle for second best.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Economics, Government, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Europe
2050. A Comparative Study of Business Lobbying in the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of Ministers
- Author:
- Pieter Bouwen
- Publication Date:
- 04-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
- Abstract:
- The aim of this paper is to empirically test a theory of access that investigates the logic behind the apparent ad hoc lobbying behavior of business interests in the EU multi-level system. First, I propose the theoretical framework that attempts to explain the access of different organizational forms of business interest representation (companies, associations and consultants) to the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. The degree of access to these institutions is explained in terms of a theory of supply and demand of access goods. Access goods concern information that is crucial in the EU policy-making process. In return for access to an EU institution, business interests have to provide the access good(s) demanded by that institution. I then derive a number of specific hypotheses about the access of the aforementioned organizational forms. These hypotheses are analyzed in an extensive empirical study of the EU financial services sector. On the basis of 126 exploratory and semi-structured interviews the hypotheses are checked across the three EU institutions.
- Topic:
- Economics, Human Welfare, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Europe