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1782. A Roadmap for U.S.-China Collaboration on Carbon Capture and Sequestration
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Asia Society
- Abstract:
- Global greenhouse gas emissions are fast approaching unsustainable and alarming levels . There is broad consensus that these emissions, caused primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, have led to global warming. it is increasingly evident that maintaining the current trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions poses wide-ranging and potentially catastrophic risks to natural systems and human welfare . it is also clear that an unprecedented level of global cooperation will be necessary to successfully confront the immense challenge of reversing the effects of climate change.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Development, Energy Policy, Environment, Bilateral Relations, and Natural Resources
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
1783. Afghanistan Report: A Ten-Year Framework for the Future
- Author:
- Ashraf Ghani
- Publication Date:
- 04-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- Describing the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan as increasingly perilous, President Obama has committed his administration to enhancing the military, governance, and economic capacity of the two countries. On March 27, 2009, he announced plans to launch a new strategy in the region: To succeed, we and our friends and allies must reverse the Taliban's gains and promote a more capable and accountable Afghan government. . . . Afghanistan has an elected government, but it is undermined by corruption and has difficulty delivering basic services to its people. The economy is undercut by a booming narcotics trade that encourages criminality and funds the insurgency. The people of Afghanistan seek the promise of a better future. Yet once again, they have seen the hope of a new day darkened by violence and uncertainty.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Development, Economics, Military Strategy, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan and Afghanistan
1784. Financial Globalization and Economic Policies
- Author:
- Eswar Prasad, Kenneth Rogoff, M. Ayhan Kose, and Shang-Jin Wei
- Publication Date:
- 04-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Brookings Institution
- Abstract:
- We review the large literature on various economic policies that could help developing economies effectively manage the process of financial globalization. Our central findings indicate that policies promoting financial sector development, institutional quality and trade openness appear to help developing countries derive the benefits of globalization. Similarly, sound macroeconomic policies are an important prerequisite for ensuring that financial integration is beneficial. However, our analysis also suggests that the relationship between financial integration and economic policies is a complex one and that there are unavoidable tensions inherent in evaluating the risks and benefits associated with financial globalization. In light of these tensions, structural and macroeconomic policies often need to be tailored to take into account country specific circumstances to improve the risk-benefit tradeoffs of financial integration. Ultimately, it is essential to see financial integration not just as an isolated policy goal but as part of a broader package of reforms and supportive macroeconomic policies.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Globalization, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
1785. Income Per Natural: Measuring Development for People rather than Places - Working Paper 143
- Author:
- Michael Clemens and Lant Pritchett
- Publication Date:
- 03-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- It is easy to learn the average income of a resident of El Salvador or Albania. But there is no systematic source of information on the average income of a Salvadoran or Albanian. We create a first estimate a new statistic: income per natural—the mean annual income of persons born in a given country, regardless of where that person now resides. If income per capita has any interpretation as a welfare measure, exclusive focus on the nationally resident population can lead to substantial errors of the income of the natural population for countries where emigration is an important path to greater welfare. The estimates differ substantially from traditional measures of GDP or GNI per resident, and not just for a handful of tiny countries. Almost 43 million people live in a group of countries whose income per natural collectively is 50% higher than GDP per resident. For 1.1 billion people the difference exceeds 10%. We also show that poverty estimates are very different for national residents and naturals; for example, 26 percent of Haitian naturals who are not poor by the two-dollar-a-day standard live in the United States. These estimates are simply descriptive statistics and do not depend on any assumptions about how much of observed income differences across naturals is selection and how much is a pure location effect. Our conservative, if rough, estimate is that three quarters of this difference represents the effect of international migration on income per natural. This means that departing one's country of birth is today one of the most important sources of poverty reduction for a large portion of the developing world. If economic development is defined as rising human well being, then a residence-neutral measure of well-being emphasizes that crossing international borders is not an alternative to economic development, it is economic development.
- Topic:
- Demographics, Development, Economics, Migration, Poverty, and Population
- Political Geography:
- United States and Albania
1786. Measuring Progress with Tests of Learning: Pros and Cons for "Cash on Delivery Aid" in Education
- Author:
- Marlaine Lockheed
- Publication Date:
- 06-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- This paper reviews, in non-technical terms, the case for and against using tests of learning for measuring annual educational progress within programs of “progress-based aid.” It addresses three questions about testing in developing countries. One, are valid and reliable measures of student learning currently available in developing countries? Two, are existing tests used in developing countries capable of registering the changes in educational results called for under “progress-based aid”? And three, do developing countries have the technical and administrative capacity to undertake annual assessments of learning? The paper includes a brief description of existing national, regional and international testing activities in developing and transition countries, a discussion of some technical topics related to testing and assessment, and various options for using learning assessments in the context of “progress-based aid.”
- Topic:
- Development, Education, and Non-Governmental Organization
1787. The Place Premium: Wage Differences for Identical Workers across the U.S. Border - Working Paper 148
- Author:
- Michael Clemens, Lant Pritchett, and Claudio E. Montenegro
- Publication Date:
- 07-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- We compare the wages of workers inside the United States to the wages of observably identical workers outside the United States—controlling for country of birth, country of education, years of education, work experience, sex, and rural-urban residence. This is made possible by new and uniquely rich microdata on the wages of over two million individual formal-sector wage-earners in 43 countries. We then use five independent methods to correct these estimates for unobserved differences between the productivity of migrants and non-migrants, as well as for the wage effects of natural barriers to international movement in the absence of policy barriers. We also introduce a selection model to estimate how migrants' wage gains depend on their position in the distribution of unobserved wage determinants both at the origin and at the destination, as well as the relationship between these positions. For example, in the median wage gap country, a typical Bolivian-born, Bolivian-educated, prime-age urban male formal-sector wage worker with moderate schooling makes 4 times as much in the US as in Bolivia. Following all adjustments for selectivity and compensating differentials we estimate that the wages of a Bolivian worker of equal intrinsic productivity, willing to move, would be higher by a factor of 2.7 solely by working in the United States. While this is the median, this ratio is as high as 8.4 (for Nigeria). We document that (1) for many countries, the wage gaps caused by barriers to movement across international borders are among the largest known forms of wage discrimination; (2) these gaps represent one of the largest remaining price distortions in any global market; and (3) these gaps imply that imply allowing labor mobility can reduce a given household's poverty to a much greater degree than most known in situ antipoverty interventions.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Nigeria, and Bolivia
1788. The Structural Transformation as a Pathway out of Poverty: Analytics, Empirics and Politics
- Author:
- Peter Timmer and Selvin Akkus
- Publication Date:
- 07-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- A powerful historical pathway of structural transformation is experienced by all successful developing countries, and this Working Paper presents the results of new empirical analysis of the process. Making sure the poor are connected to both the structural transformation and to the policy initiatives designed to ameliorate the distributional consequences of rapid transformation has turned out to be a major challenge for policy makers over the past half century. There are successes and failures, and the historical record illuminates what works and what does not. Trying to stop the structural transformation does not work, at least for the poor, and in fact can lead to prolonged immiseration. Investing in the capacity of the poor to cope with change and to participate in its benefits through better education and health does seem to work. Such investments typically require significant public sector resources and policy support, and thus depend on political processes that are themselves conditioned by the pressures generated by the structural transformation itself.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Development, Economics, and Poverty
1789. From Fragility to Resilience: Concepts and Dilemmas of Statebuilding in Fragile States (Executive Summary)
- Publication Date:
- 04-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- Policy-makers are increasingly concerned by what appears to be a growing body of 'weak,' 'fragile', or 'failing' states. This is understandable, as few issues are so central to contemporary international politics – to questions of development, management of the global commons, or human and collective security – as that of well-organized cooperation between effective states. States retain the central responsibility for assuring the safety and security of their citizens, protecting property rights, and providing public goods to enable a functioning market. Many states do more, taking on critical welfare functions for their populations.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Development, and International Political Economy
1790. Getting the fundamentals right: The early stages of Afghanistan's WTO accession process
- Publication Date:
- 06-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Afghanistan has recently embarked on the process of joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO). While increased trade can help lift countries out of poverty, the experience of countries at similar levels of development to Afghanistan's which have joined the WTO suggests that, unless great care is exercised, the terms of that member ship may adversely affect poverty reduction. This paper seeks to identify how Afghanistan can give itself the best possible chance of achieving a WTO accession package that supports its efforts to develop sustainably and to reduce poverty.
- Topic:
- Development and World Trade Organization
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Asia