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16262. Still a Better Deal: Private Investment vs. Social Security
- Author:
- Michael Tanner
- Publication Date:
- 02-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Opponents of allowing younger workers to privately invest a portion of their Social Security taxes through personal accounts have long pointed to the supposed riskiness of private investment. The volatility of private capital markets over the past several years, and especially recent declines in the stock market, have seemed to bolster their argument.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States
16263. Renewing Federalism by Reforming Article V: Defects in the Constitutional Amendment Process and a Reform Proposal
- Author:
- Michael B. Rappaport
- Publication Date:
- 01-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The constitutional amendment procedure of Article V is defective because the national convention amendment method does not work. Because no amendment can be enacted without Congress's approval, limitations on the federal government that Congress opposes are virtually impossible to pass. This defect may have prevented the enactment of several constitutional amendments that would have constrained Congress, such as amendments establishing a balanced budget limitation, a line-item veto, or congressional term limits. The increasingly nationalist character of our constitutional charter may not be the result of modern values or circumstances, but an artifact of a distorted amendment procedure. Article V should be reformed to allow two-thirds of the state legislatures to propose a constitutional amendment which would then be ratified or rejected by the states, acting through state conventions or state ballot measures. Such a return of power to the states would militate against our overly centralized government by helping to restore the federalist character of our Constitution. Moreover, a strategy exists that would allow this reform to be enacted.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Government, Law Enforcement, and Law
- Political Geography:
- United States
16264. Scaling Up Development Interventions: A Review of UNDP's Country Program in Tajikistan
- Author:
- Johannes F. Linn
- Publication Date:
- 02-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Brookings Institution
- Abstract:
- This study reports on a review of the United Nations Development Programmed' s (UNDP) country program in Tajikistan in terms of how it addresses the opportunities and challenges to scale up successful development interventions. It assesses to what extent the UNDP pursued well-articulated scaling up pathways in its overall program and in specific project areas, including its communities development program, its AIDS/HIV, tubercu¬losis and anti-malaria program, its support for aid coordination, its disaster risk management program and its energy and environment program. The study concludes that UNDP has incorporated key elements of a scaling up approach in its Tajikistan program, but also identifies additional ways to develop a more systematic approach to scaling up. This study is part of a broader program of research and analysis carried out under the auspices of the Brookings Global Economy and Development Program.
- Topic:
- Development, United Nations, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Central Asia and Tajikistan
16265. Global Governance Audit
- Author:
- Hakan Altinay
- Publication Date:
- 02-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Brookings Institution
- Abstract:
- We frequently treat the changing constellation that has come to be referred to as global governance as a lackluster fait accompli. Nobody has masterminded it. Nobody is really in charge. Almost everybody has reasons to be unhappy about what they view as its current suboptimal state. As such, global governance is not an easy phenomenon to assess or audit. The benchmarks and scales to be used are not obvious. Yet an audit attempt is nevertheless necessary, if for no other reason than to start to form a deliberated assessment, to develop some benchmarks, and to refine our questions for the future.
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- China and Europe
16266. Dynamics of Inflation "Herding": Decoding India's Inflationary Process
- Author:
- Urjit R. Patel and Gangadhar Darbha
- Publication Date:
- 01-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Brookings Institution
- Abstract:
- Compared to immediately preceding years, that is, its own recent history, India's inflation became unhinged (thereby reversing creditable performance) from as far back as 2006. The paper puts forward an empirical framework to analyze the time series and cross-sectional dynamics of inflation in India using a large panel of disaggregated sector prices for the time period, 1994/95 to 2010/11. This allows us to rigorously explore issues that have been, at best, loosely posed in policy debates such as diffusion or comovement of inflation across sectors, role of common and idiosyncratic factors in explaining variation, persistence, importance of food and energy price changes to the overall inflation process, and contrast the recent experience with the past. We find, interalia, that the current period of high inflation is more cross-sectionally diffused, and driven by increasingly persistent common factors in non-food and non-energy sectors compared to that in the 1990s; this is likely to make it more difficult for anti-inflationary policy to gain traction this time round compared to the past. The paper has also introduced a novel measure of inflation, viz., Pure Inflation Gauges (PIGs) in the Indian context by decomposing price movements into those on account of: (1) aggregate shocks that have equiproportional effects on all sector prices; (2) aggregated relative price effects; and (3) sector-specific and idiosyncratic shocks. If PIGs, in conjunction with our other findings, for example, on persistence had been used as a measure of underlying (pure) inflationary pressures, the monetary authorities may not have been sanguine regarding the timeliness of initiating anti-inflationary policies.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Monetary Policy
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
16267. Can Producer Associations Make Agriculture Sustainable? Evidence from Farmer Development Centers in India
- Author:
- Raj M. Desai and Shareen Joshi
- Publication Date:
- 01-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Brookings Institution
- Abstract:
- This paper evaluates the impact of the Self- Employed Women's Association's (SEWA) farmer development center (FDC) initiative across five farming districts in Gujarat, India. The initiative provided a mix of training, information provisions, access to farming inputs, risk mitigation, and output. Controlling for a range of individual-specific, household, and village level factors, we find that SEWA membership primarily raised awareness of available opportunities among its participants, linked women to the financial sector and to diversified employment opportunities, including non-farm work. There is also evidence that the program's impact varied depending on the participants' socio-economic background. The poorest members experienced higher farm and non-farm incomes, increased food consumption, improved household and farm productivity, more self-employment opportunities, a greater likelihood of opening a bank account, higher crop harvests, and greater food security. These estimates suggest that the major comparative advantage of FDCs lies in improving access to credit and in expanding access to useful information.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- India and Gujarat
16268. Africa: open for business The potential, challenges and risks
- Publication Date:
- 02-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- Africa is drawing increasing attention, not only from the perspective of businesses based in China and Europe, but also from operators in Africa itself. In particular, closer economic ties between Africa and China have been covered extensively by the media recently—with fairly mixed reviews. This paper highlights the potential, challenges and risks for doing business in Africa over the next few years.
- Topic:
- Development, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, and Europe
16269. Indonesia: Averting Election Violence in Aceh
- Publication Date:
- 02-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- In less than two months, on 9 April, Aceh will go to the polls to elect a governor and vice governor, as well as seventeen district heads and deputies. Despite rhetorical commitments on the part of all contenders to a peaceful election, the potential for isolated acts of violence between now and then is high; the potential for trouble after the results are announced may be even higher, especially if it is a close election. Getting as many trained monitors to Aceh as possible in the coming weeks is critical.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Democratization, Armed Struggle, and Insurgency
- Political Geography:
- Indonesia and Southeast Asia
16270. Constructing a German Europe? Germany's Europe Debate Revisited
- Author:
- Timo Behr and Niklas Helwig
- Publication Date:
- 02-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Germany's ambiguous role during the eurozone crisis has stoked fears that a more self-confident and dynamic Germany is threatening the political independence and economic well-being of its neighbours and will lead to a “German Europe”. German weakness, not power, is the main challenge to EU integration. In order to build a supranational EU and a “European Germany”, Germans will have to overhaul their Cold War institutions and traditions that have become a brake on EU integration. Germany's political elite continues to favour a federalist vision for the EU, but faces a somewhat more sceptical public as well as strong domestic veto players, such as the Federal Constitutional Court, which limit their pro-integrationist tendency. While Germany continues to support the use of the “Community method”, Angela Merkel has increasingly resorted to the “Union method” that places function over form and prioritizes pragmatic problem-solving to address the current crisis. Germany's uncompromising attitude towards the eurozone crisis and its sometimes erratic foreign policy are the product of its deeply embedded stability culture and instinctive pacifism, rather than a sign of growing global ambitions. European partners will have to help Germany in its indispensable leadership role by jointly formulating a vision for the European integration project and by assisting Germany in adapting its political institutions and culture.
- Topic:
- Cold War, Economics, Regional Cooperation, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Germany