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811. Economic Survey of Hungary, 2004

Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
For Hungary to maintain strong growth, macroeconomic policy has to aim for sound and sustainable public finances, low inflation and maintaining the competitiveness of its FDI-driven export sector. Fiscal consolidation has to focus on lasting structural reforms, which bring down the volume of government expenditure in a sustainable way. Revenue increases buy time for the 2004 budget, but thistime has to be used to implement measures that will durably reduce spending in a medium-term framework. The difficult balancing act for monetary policy between achieving inflation targets and steering the exchange rate for entry into the euro zone could be made easier if fiscal targets are achieved. The move to base future budgets on the joint inflation target is a welcome step to improve co-ordination between the government and the Central Bank and should be continued. In wage setting, the indicative wage guidelines should be used to communicate disinflation in the runup to EMU, and thereby limit the risk of unintended real wage increases. Wage moderation should also be assisted by measures which increase the supply responsiveness of labour. Any room created for tax cuts should be used to reduce Hungary's large tax wedge on labour, which interacts negatively with some social benefit programmes. Large regional disparities should be addressed by measures which increase labour mobility and broaden investment across regions through further improved infrastructure. Business conditions can be further improved by addressing the low level of competition in some network industries and more generally improving the conditions for market entry in the domestic sector. The considerable costs of programmes to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and also more local air pollutants could be reduced with the wider application of economic instruments. Hungary will only be able to reap the full benefits of European Union accession and EMU entry if it establishes a sound macroeconomic framework, boosts labour force participation and sustains high productivity growth.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, Environment, Human Rights, International Organization, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Hungary

812. Science and Innovation Policy: Key Challenges and Opportunities

Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Science and technology exert a growing influence on society and the economy. Scientific achievements continue to expand the frontiers of knowledge and increasingly contribute to the technological progress that affects how people live and work. New science-based technologies help protect the environment, build safer homes, schools and factories, and develop energy- saving transport systems. Advances in genetics save lives and improve health standards throughout the world. Industries based on new technologies employ millions of highly skilled workers in the OECD and beyond. Information and communications technologies (ICT) have enhanced their productivity and made it possible for a greater number of individuals, firms and countries to take part in the knowledge-based economy.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, Environment, Human Rights, International Organization, and Political Economy

813. Economic Survey of the United Kingdom, 2004

Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
The performance of the UK economy has been impressive in recent years, underpinned by wide-ranging structural reforms and sound macroeconomic policy frameworks. The OECD projects growth above potential in 2004 and 2005, with unemployment remaining low, but instability stemming from the housing market is a risk. Monetary policy should continue to tighten to reduce future inflationary pressures and the risk of a further sharp rise in house prices from becoming a potential source of fragility. At the same time, the current rigidity of house supply should be eased by reforming land planning, while a reform of the regressive council tax could help to reduce the risk of housing market instability. Over the projection period, government spending will continue to rise as a share of GDP, reflecting the government's ambitious targets in priority areas. Slowing spending growth may be warranted on efficiency grounds: bottlenecks have become apparent, while time is needed to pilot new innovative approaches. More generally, getting incentives right is essential to meet the ambitious service targets. Slowing spending growth would also benefit the public finances. An income-contingent contribution scheme for university graduates is an equitable way forward; other forms of user charges not compromising equity concerns could improve efficiency. Both are preferable to raising taxes. Trend growth has already been boosted by the sharp decline in structural unemployment, but measures are still needed to reduce the number of inactive, especially those on incapacity benefit. While educational performance of students has risen, policy needs to further address the lack of vocational skills as one element in a strategy to reduce the productivity gap with the best performers elsewhere. In this respect, competition is also important. The government has strengthened the competition framework and active enforcement along with the market studies of the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission's market investigations should help to ensure that markets become more competitive. However, planning restrictions and market power are a problem in the retail sector and industry regulators will need to remain vigilant in the electricity, gas and telecom sectors. Ensuring macroeconomic stability, while addressing the remaining weaknesses through further structural reforms offers the prospect of continuing strong economic performance.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, Environment, Human Rights, International Organization, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
United Kingdom

814. Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Enabling Joint Force Capabilities: Phase II

Publication Date:
08-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
Events of the past decade provide compelling evidence that the national security environment continues to evolve at a rapid pace and in unpredictable directions. Further, it is clear that meeting the demands of the evolving environment calls for new levels of adaptable military capabilities that, in turn, demand joint forces that are responsive and effective across a range of operations from small scale operations through major theater conflict. In the two most recent major contingencies – Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) - we have seen new levels of understanding of the need for truly integrated joint capabilities and new levels of innovation in leveraging existing capabilities to achieve the needed level of effectiveness. Lessons Learned activities have verified important shifts in focus leading to a series of emerging concepts for more effectively integrating capabilities.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Environment, and National Security
Political Geography:
United States

815. That Old Time Religion: A Review of Recent Environmental Books

Author:
Steven F. Hayward
Publication Date:
11-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
A slew of new and highly regarded environmental books in 2004 is testimony to the persistence of environmental apocalyticism, despite growing signs of environmental progress in the United States and the developing world. The persistence of doomsaying is an indicator of the staleness of popular environmental thought, which is increasingly removed from political reality and closed-minded toward innovative thinking about real environmental problems and their solutions.
Topic:
Development, Energy Policy, and Environment
Political Geography:
United States

816. Finding Better Ways to Achieve Cleaner Air

Author:
Joel Schwartz
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Though air quality continues to improve, those gains have come at the cost of a regulatory system that also devotes enormous resources to creating and enforcing administrative requirements, rather than reducing pollution. The National Research Council recently issued a report evaluating U.S. air quality management and recommending reforms. Unfortunately, the report focuses on symptoms and fails to address fundamental problems with air quality law and regulation. The public's interest is in sufficiently clean air achieved at the least possible cost. But getting to this ideal will require overcoming special interests that benefit from a centralized, administratively complex regulatory system.
Topic:
Economics, Environment, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
United States

817. River at risk: the Mekong and the Water Politics of China and Southeast Asia

Author:
Milton Osborne
Publication Date:
08-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
By the middle of March 2004 there was growing concern in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia about the level of the Mekong River. Poor rains in the wet season of 2003 and a subsequent protracted dry period appeared to be largely to blame for the sharply lower level of water in the Mekong by comparison with 'normal' years. But the unusually dry season may not have been the only factor at work. Officials in Thailand have claimed that Chinese authorities have endeavoured to limit the flow of water out of the dams already built on the Mekong in China's Yunnan province, as they undertake new dam construction and continue work to clear the river of obstacles to navigation. At the same time, Thai officials suggest that unusual volatility in the river's flow reflects the manner in which China has been closing its dam gates. Gates are closed for three days, before opening them for one day to allow Chinese cargo vessels to travel to and from river ports in the southern Yunnan province and northern Thailand.
Topic:
Environment, Political Economy, and Politics
Political Geography:
China, Cambodia, Thailand, and Southeast Asia

818. Oil and Stagflation

Author:
John H. Makin
Publication Date:
08-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
I am not an expert on the price of oil. But many who claim to be have been saying for months that its price should drop back below $25 or $30 per barrel. Meanwhile, the actual price has risen steadily to nearly $50 per barrel as this Outlook goes to press.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, and Environment
Political Geography:
United States

819. What Happened to the Iraqi Marsh Arabs and their Land?

Author:
Hanne Kirstine Adriansen
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
In the aftermath of the 2003 war against Iraq, the newspapers are full of stories about the monstrosities of Saddam Hussein's regime. One example is the destruction of the Iraqi marshlands leading to severe consequences for the human and wildlife population. While the responsibility for the atrocity against the Marsh Arabs is Saddam Hussein's, the desiccation of the marsh environment can be ascribed to a number of the hydro-political decisions made in the catchment area of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. Based on an analysis of the discourses of the destruction, it is demonstrated how these have changed after the war and are used in the battle to legitimise the war. This has led to a simplified image of the marshes and the Marsh Arab way of life. As the paper shows, a more complex approach towards the processes leading to this human and environmental disaster is required, if repatriation and rehabilitation of the area are to stand a chance.
Topic:
International Relations, Environment, and Politics
Political Geography:
Iraq and Arabia

820. From Water 'Wars' to Water 'Riots' - Lessons from Transboundary Water Management

Author:
Jannik Boesen and Helle Monk Ravnborg
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Over the last decade, water scarcity has increasingly been coupled with international security. Due to the nature of water – a fluid life-necessity and a key ingredient in economic development, driven by gravity across boundaries – it has been anticipated that water may trigger international conflicts – the so-called water wars – in the future.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Economics, and Environment