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692. Technologies, Rules, and Progress: The Case for Charter Cities
- Author:
- Paul Romer
- Publication Date:
- 03-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Non-resident fellow Paul Romer argues that the principal constraint to raising living standards in this century will come neither from scarce resources nor limited technologies. Rather it will come from our limited capacity to discover and implement new rules—new ideas about how to structure interactions among people, such as land titles, patents, and social norms. The central task of reducing global poverty is to find ways for developing countries to adopt new rules that are known to work better than the ones they have. Economists who advise leaders on policy have often overlooked why some good rules get adopted and others do not. But a better understanding of rules-that-change-rules could lead to breakthrough thinking about development policy. The special rules of China's Special Economic Zones, where new cities like Shenzhen could grow up, created small laboratories through which rules from Hong Kong spread to the mainland, helping unleash the largest and fastest reduction of poverty on record. Romer concludes that a new type of development policy would be to voluntarily charter new cities for the purpose of changing rules, using a range of new legal and political structures analogous to the ones that made Hong Kong and Shenzhen possible. The essay is adapted from a talk presented in Mexico City on October 2009, at the conference, “Challenges and Strategies for Promoting Economic Growth,” organized by Banco de México.
- Topic:
- Development, Poverty, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, Mexico, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen
693. Closing the Technology Gap?
- Author:
- Fulvio Castellacci
- Publication Date:
- 08-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- This paper focuses on the dimensions shaping the dynamics of technology. We present a model where the knowledge stock of a country grows over time as a function of three main factors: its innovation intensity, its technological infrastructures and its human capital. The latter two variables contribute to determine the absorptive capacity of a country as well as its innovative ability. Based on this theoretical framework, we carry out an empirical analysis that investigates the dynamics of technology in a large sample of developed and developing economies in the last two-decade period, and studies its relationships with the growth of income per capita in a dynamic panel model setting. The results indicate that the cross-country distributions of technological infrastructures and human capital have experienced a process of convergence, whereas the innovative intensity is characterized by increasing polarization between rich and poor economies. Thus, while the conditions for catching up have generally improved, the increasing innovation gap represents a major factor behind the observed differences in income per capita.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, Science and Technology, and Infrastructure
694. Politicians Online! MEP Communication Strategies in the Internet Era
- Author:
- Stefano Braghiroli
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- The last decades have witnessed a dramatic growth of internet-based communication. This phenomenon and its still partially unexplored potential have increasingly attracted the attention of a growing number of political entrepreneurs. This paper analyses to what extent it has characterised vertical communication between politicians and voters looking at a very particular group: the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).
- Topic:
- Politics, Regional Cooperation, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- Europe
695. Internet Governance in an Age of Cyber Insecurity
- Author:
- Robert K. Knake
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- The United States is being outmaneuvered in the international forums that will determine the future of the Internet. Led by Russia and China, nondemocratic regimes are organizing into a united front to promote a vision of the Internet that is tightly controlled by states. That vision is increasingly attractive to many Western nations wrestling with interrelated threats of cybercrime, industrial espionage, and cyber warfare. The United States must actively combat these threats while it works to protect U.S. national interests in the preservation and extension of the Internet as a platform for increased efficiency and economic exchange. Protecting this interest requires far more extensive engagement within Internet governance forums to shape the future of the network in a way that addresses security concerns without resulting in a cure that is worse than the disease.
- Topic:
- Security, Crime, Science and Technology, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, and China
696. Energy Innovation: Driving Technology Competition and Cooperation Among the U.S., China, India, and Brazil
- Author:
- Adam Segal, Elizabeth C. Economy, Michael A. Levi, and Shannon K. O'Neil
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- If governments are to respond effectively to the challenge of climate change, they will need to ramp up their support for innovation in low-carbon technologies and make sure that the resulting developments are diffused and adopted quickly. Yet for the United States, there is a tension inherent in these goals: the country's interests in encouraging the spread of technology can clash with its efforts to strengthen its own economy of particular importance is the spread of low-carbon technologies from the United States to the major emerging economies—China, India, and Brazil. Washington's strategy to promote the spread of low-carbon technologies to these countries must combine efforts to grow and open markets for low-carbon technologies with active support for accelerating the innovation and diffusion of these technologies. Its strategy will also need to reflect the unique challenges presented by each of the three countries.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, International Cooperation, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, Washington, and Brazil
697. Can You Help Me Now? Mobile Phones and Peacebuilding in Afghanistan
- Author:
- Sheldon Himelfarb
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- A decade ago, mobile phone usage in Afghanistan was almost nonexistent; now there are 13 million subscriptions for a total of 29 million citizens, and the annual growth rate of subscription is estimated at 53 percent. A number of factors have fueled this dramatic increase, including the sheer popular demand for communication, an absence of viable landline substitutes, government deregulation, and a competitive market that flourishes despite the conflict. Each of the major telecommunications companies in Afghanistan identifies the same five challenges to future expansion: poverty, high illiteracy rates, corruption, an untrained workforce, and lack of security. Despite these challenges, Afghanistan has proved an exceptional case study in the use of mobile phones for social change in support of peacebuilding, as it has been the focus of numerous pilot application programs conducted by the government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector. Mobile money transfer (MMT) applications have proved to be powerful mechanisms for helping to reduce corruption, foster security sector reform, and promote economic development. Yet neither the international community nor the Afghan government has shown the will or the capacity to move MMT programs forward at a pace commensurate with their demonstrated potential. At least two other high-value mobile applications were cited during the June summit as having improved conditions for stability and reconstruction in early deployments: the provision of market information through mobile phones, especially in the agricultural sector, and the use of mobile phones to strengthen local governance and civil society. Both applications have sufficient promise to warrant large-scale rollouts and merit careful consideration by international donors, whose support is vital during the transition to sustainability. Other applications on the horizon that hold tangible if still aspirational promise for peacebuilding are those that use mobile phones for land dispute resolution, election monitoring, and gender empowerment and education.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Peace Studies, Science and Technology, and Peacekeeping
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
698. Russia, the United States, and Cyber Diplomacy: Opening the Doors
- Author:
- Greg Austin and Franz-Stefan Gady
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- EastWest Institute
- Abstract:
- Russia and the United States have been unable to establish a common understanding in their bilateral diplomacy on most aspects of cyber security. In spite of a 1998 declaration of their interest in joint leadership of global responses to cyber security challenges, the two countries have acted more often than not like enemies guarding sensitive national security secrets rather than as allies committed to protecting common interests in the global digital economy and the socially networked world.
- Topic:
- Security, Diplomacy, Science and Technology, and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- Russia and United States
699. Controlling Behavior – Not Arms: Moving Forward On An International Convention For Cyberspace
- Author:
- Ramtin Amin
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- The rapidly increasing occurrence of cyber attacks and the growing use of the cyber domain for politically motivated purposes during both times of war and peace by both state and non-state actors has precipitated a dire need of an international convention to control behavior in cyberspace. While arms control conventions exist for the nuclear, chemical, and biological modes of warfare occurring at land, sea, space, and air, no such treaty is in place for the latest domain, whose tactical importance is now of vital importance for the global communication infrastructure and domestic military capabilities. In this paper, I will first extrapolate upon the current legal landscape pertinent to cyber arms and crime, and explore the limitations of current international laws that have been most often cited during past instances of cyber attacks. I will further explore a number of arms control drafts that have been proposed over the years, and highlight some of the lessons learned, with the aim of providing a constructive analysis to aid international lawmakers and affiliated institutions who are less familiar with the meta-physical cyber domain, and the unique challenges it presents. Finally, I will analyze the following five essential elements of a future global cyber convention: terms and definitions regarding cyber arms; peaceful use of cyber technology; signatory obligations regarding private actors; attribution; and mechanisms for deterrence. In exploring these fundamental themes, I will demonstrate why and how a future convention for cyberspace should focus on controlling behavior, rather than dwelling on a counterproductive goal of arms control.
- Topic:
- Arms Control and Proliferation, Crime, Science and Technology, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
700. The Gender Revolution in Science and Technology
- Author:
- Henry Etzkowitz, Namrata Gupta, and Carol Kemelgor
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
- Abstract:
- The confluence between the gender and information technology (IT) revolutions has the potential to create a new development paradigm. The transition from an industrial to a knowledge society opens up new opportunities for women in the emerging technology transfer, innovation and entrepreneurship (TIE) fields that avoid some of the negative consequences of academic science. The spread of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in developing countries empowers women by upgrading skills, enhancing employment opportunities, creating income for reinvestment and political strength. This article addresses the consequences of gender inequalities in depressing the contribution of women and the growing opportunities for them to use technology in order to take economic and social advancement into their own hands.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology