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261. Faster taper – limited impact

Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
Markets took fright after Ben Bernanke's press conference on 19 June at the prospect of an early end to QE. Bond purchases might be tapered off sooner, as the Fed now expects unemployment to fall to its target of 6.5% next year rather than in 2015. It is not yet clear whether any of the bonds bought as part of QE will eventually be sold off. While it is obvious that an end to the Fed's purchases will have an impact on output growth and asset prices, our Global Economic Model shows that the effects will be limited.
Topic:
Markets, Global Recession, Labor Issues, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States

262. Kadının Güçlendirilmesi ve İstihdam

Author:
Özge Zihnioğlu
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Political Trends Center
Abstract:
Women's employment is a recurrent theme in the agenda of policy-makers not only because it is a key aspect of women's empowerment, but also due to its contribution to development. This working paper focuses on the trends in women's participation in the labour force globally, regionally and in Turkey. For this purpose, this paper comparatively examines progress achieved in women's employment in different regions of the world and in Turkey within the framework of Untied Nation's Millennium Development Goal 3. In doing so, this paper provides a brief overview of the initiatives undertaken and problems faced in promoting women's employment, in particular in the non-agricultural sectors.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, Gender Issues, Globalization, Human Rights, and Labor Issues

263. Contingent Democrats in Action: Organized Labor and Regime Change in the Republic of Niger

Author:
Sebastian Elischer
Publication Date:
08-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
The effects of organized labor on regime change in developing countries are not clear‐cut. Optimists argue that union agitation is conducive to both democratic transition and consolidation processes. Pessimists hold that unions will support any regime that is conducive to their demands. Accordingly, unions may support regime transitions; however, once their economic interests are under threat, they will jeopardize the subsequent consolidation process. Systematic studies on the effects of organized labor on regime change in sub‐ Saharan Africa are sparse and largely confined to the (pre)transition phase. This article examines the role of organized labor in Niger between 1990 and 2010. Given the high number of regime breakdowns during the period, a longitudinal study of Nigerien labor enables a critical examination of motives and actions of organized labor toward different regime types. In contrast to other recent findings on African unionism, the article confirms the pessimistic view.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Development, Regime Change, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
Africa

264. How to Reduce Migrant Worker Recruitment Costs

Author:
Philip Martin
Publication Date:
08-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Recruitment matches workers with jobs, a process that is often complicated by asymmetric information, viz. employers know more about the jobs they are offering than job seekers, who know more about their abilities than employers. Economists have developed a variety of models to explain how employers screen applicants to find the workers best suited to fill the jobs they offer, and how workers signal their ability to employers by earning degrees and certificates.
Topic:
Economics, Markets, Migration, and Labor Issues

265. Money for Structural Reforms in the Eurozone:making sense of contractual Arrangements

Author:
Xavier Vanden Bosch
Publication Date:
05-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
EGMONT - The Royal Institute for International Relations
Abstract:
Both the Commission's proposal for a 'Competitiveness and Convergence Instrument' and the 'contractual arrangement' presented by President Van Rompuy share a common concept: associating EU money with national structural reforms under a binding arrangement.
Topic:
Economics, Markets, Regional Cooperation, Labor Issues, Monetary Policy, and Reform
Political Geography:
Europe

266. Is It All About the Tails? The Palma Measure of Income Inequality

Author:
Alex Cobham and Andy Sumner
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
There are normative or instrumental reasons why inequality may be said to matter (e.g. fairness and meritocracy). However, much global literature has taken an instrumentalist approach as to why high or rising inequality can hinder development. For example, Birdsall (2007) argues that income inequality in developing countries matters for at least three instrumental reasons: where markets are underdeveloped, inequality inhibits growth through economic mechanisms; where institutions of government are weak, inequality exacerbates the problem of creating and maintaining accountable government, increasing the probability of economic and social policies that inhibit growth and poverty reduction; and where social institutions are fragile, inequality further discourages the civic and social life that underpins the effective collective decision-making that is necessary to the functioning of healthy societies.
Topic:
Economics, Poverty, Social Stratification, and Labor Issues

267. Structure and Dynamics of the U.S. Federal Services Industrial Base, 2000-2012

Author:
David J. Berteau, Gregory Sanders, and Jesse Ellman
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
The U.S. government has a permanent reliance on contracts with the private sector for a wide range of services, though the share of federal services contracts has declined slightly in recent years. For the past eight years, the Defense - Industrial Initiatives Group (DIIG) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has tracked the trends driving the services industry. Overall, this report analyzes the trends for all federal services contract obligations from FY 2000 through FY 2012, the most recent full fiscal year for which reliable data are available from the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS). This Executive Summary provides an overall view of the data and trends, including projections for federal services contract spending over the next 3 years (FY 2013 – 2015).
Topic:
Economics, Industrial Policy, Labor Issues, and Governance
Political Geography:
United States

268. English-Taught Master's Programs in Europe

Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute of International Education
Abstract:
In recent years, European countries in which English is not the primary language of instruction have developed an increasing number of programs taught either fully or partly in English in order to serve domestic demand for higher education in English and to attract students from around the world. In an IIE briefing paper published in 2012, we looked at trends related to English-taught master's programs in Europe. We were able to gain new insights into the types of programs that were on offer, as well as the types of programs international students were looking for. This paper takes another look at data from StudyPortals.eu, the most comprehensive website related to educational offerings in Europe, in order to get a sense of where the market is going. In 2011, StudyPortals estimated that 90 percent of English-taught master's programs in Europe were represented on the website, which makes it a remarkably accurate reflection of the situation on the ground.
Topic:
Education, Markets, International Affairs, Labor Issues, and Immigration
Political Geography:
Europe

269. Inserting Migrants Into the Global Social Protection Floor

Author:
Marie-Hélène Ratel, Gabriel Williams, and Keegan Williams
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Unprecedented human migration is an issue of critical importance in today's rapidly globalizing world. International migrants constitute a group with more people than the population of Brazil, and they send more money home each year than the entire value of Argentina's economy (International Organization for Migration [IOM], 2013). Migration flows have doubled since 1980 and show no signs of slowing down due to growing inequalities in global development, population pressure, environmental change and conflict (Koser, 2010). Compared to the majority of citizens in many countries, migrants face heightened risks because they do not receive adequate social protections such as health care, income security, education, housing or access to clean water and sanitation.
Topic:
Economics, Migration, Social Stratification, Labor Issues, Immigration, and Sociology
Political Geography:
Brazil and Argentina

270. Education for young people in fragile situations – the need for support

Author:
Birgitte Lind Petersen
Publication Date:
08-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
With massive unemployment, insecure livelihoods and unpredictable political transitions in many fragile states, there is an urgent need to train and educate young people – tomorrow's citizens. Governments and donors now realise this, yet, according to recent documentation, donors commit only 10% of what is needed to educate and train youth in fragile situations, and provide even less. UNESCO, among others, points to the serious underfunding as the most problematic aspect of aid to education in fragile states, especially at secondary school level.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Demographics, Education, War, and Labor Issues