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19271. Legal order free of pillars: European Courts' jurisdiction in the post-Treaty of Lisbon setting

Author:
Janne Salminen
Publication Date:
11-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
From the legal point of view, the most important change ushered in by the Treaty of Lisbon concerns the scope of the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union. This was widened due to the dismantling of the pillar structure. As a general rule, the jurisdiction of the European Courts now covers previous third pillar matters as well, namely criminal law and police co-operation. The dismantling of the pillar structure did not, however, affect the Common Foreign and Security Policy. The Union Courts still do not have jurisdiction in this area. This rule has two important exceptions. Although the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice is communitarised and more coherent than before, the previous limits in its territorial scope, namely the opt-outs of the UK, Ireland and Denmark, did not disappear, so limits in the Courts' jurisdiction remain. The Treaty of Lisbon amendments did not change the fundamentals of the judicial doctrines, such as the direct effect and primacy of European Union law. Importantly, the application of these doctrines was widened instead, owing to the depillarisation. The Treaty of Lisbon amendments meant that the decisions of the European Council and European Union bodies, offices and agencies can be reviewed under the preliminary ruling procedure. The Treaty of Lisbon changed the much-debated criteria for the standing of non-privileged applicants in actions to review the legality of the European Union acts.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Treaties and Agreements, and Law
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Europe, Denmark, Lisbon, and Ireland

19272. Public Policy, Price Shocks, and Conflict: Price Shocks and Civil War in Developing Countries

Author:
Robert H. Bates and Brett L. Carter
Publication Date:
11-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Those who study the role of agriculture in the political economy of development focus on government policy choices on the one hand and the impact of price shocks on the other. We argue that the two should be studied together. We find that civil unrest (Granger) causes government policies, pushing governments in poor and medium income countries to shift relative prices in favor of urban consumers. We also find that while civil wars are related to food price shocks, when government policy choices are taken into account, the relationship disappears. We thus learn two things: Policies that placate urban consumers may inflict economic costs on governments, but they confer political benefits. And when estimating the relationship between price shocks and political stability, equations that omit the policy response of governments are misspecified.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Economics, Government, Markets, Political Economy, and Food

19273. The New Institutionalism and Africa

Author:
Robert H. Bates, Steven Block, Ghada Fayad, and Anke Hoeffler
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
After briefly reviewing the new institutionalism, this article uses the history of political reform in Africa to test its key tenet: that power, if properly organized, is a productive resource. It does so by exploring the relationship between changes in political institutions and changes in economic performance, both at the macro- and the micro- level. The evidence indicates that political reform (Granger) causes increases in GDP per capita in the African subset of panels of global data. And, at the mIcro-level, it demonstrates that changes in national political institutions in Africa strongly relate to changes in total factor productivity in agriculture.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Economics, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Africa

19274. The Future of Convergence

Author:
Dani Rodrik
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Novelists have a better track record than economists at foretelling the future. Consider then Gary Shteyngart's timely comic novel “Super Sad True Love Story” (Random House, 2010), which provides a rather graphic vision of what lies in store for the world economy. The novel takes place in the near future and is set against the backdrop of a United States that lies in economic and political ruin. The country's bankrupt economy is ruled with a firm hand by the IMF from its new Parthenon-shaped headquarters in Singapore. China and sovereign wealth funds have parceled America's most desirable real estate among themselves. Poor people are designated as LNWI (“low net worth individual s”) and are being pushed into ghettoes. Even skilled Americans are desperate to acquire residency status in foreign lands. (A degree in econometrics helps a lot, as it turns out). Ivy League colleges have adopted the names of their Asian partners and yuan-backed dollars are the only safe currency.
Topic:
Debt, Economics, Emerging Markets, Sovereign Wealth Funds, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States, China, America, and Singapore

19275. Going Global: Chinese Oil and Mining Companies and the Governance of Resource Wealth

Author:
Jill Shankleman
Publication Date:
11-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
This report is the result of a six-month research project undertaken at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. The focus of the work is on the impact of China's oil and mining companies' recent overseas expansion on the governance of resource wealth. The paper covers four topics: The structure of the Chinese oil and mining industries, focusing on overseas operations; the emergence over the last ten years within the large-scale, OECD-based extractive industry, of a “new model” for resource extraction focusing on minimizing negative social and environmental impacts and on resource revenue transparency; the development of corporate social responsibility concepts in China, and the extent to which this is leading Chinese oil and mining companies to apply the “new model” for resource extraction, and the role of Chinese infrastructure loans to resource-rich developing countries in resource wealth governance.
Topic:
Economics, Government, Industrial Policy, and Oil
Political Geography:
China and Washington

19276. "Cross-Country Analysis of the Effects of Urbanization, Improved Drinking-Water and Improved Sanitation on Cholera"

Author:
Andrew J. Leidner and Naveen C. Adusumilli
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Demand for adequate provision of drinking-water and sanitation facilities to promote public health and economic growth is increasing in the rapidly urbanizing countries of the developing world. Using panel data and probit estimation, this paper investigates the inter- relationships between the occurrence of cholera outbreaks, urbanization, drinking-water and sanitation facilities, and other economic and environmental-geographic variables. The imputation of missing data is found to be an important consideration. Significant effects are found for environmental-geographic variables and varied effects for sanitation, drinking-water, and urbanization. On balance, the evidence suggest s drinking-water levels and urbanization are stronger predictors of cholera outbreaks than sanitation levels.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Health, Natural Resources, and Urbanization

19277. "Removing Barriers to Land Security in Haiti"

Author:
Cynthia McCoy
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Haiti continues to experience overwhelming urban population growth and scarcity of land, causing increasing numbers of people to live and work in high-risk, low-potential or marginal urban environments. The land tends to be characterized as unplanned and sprawling, on public lands without proper municipal control, or on private land with informal ownership. Over time these settlements become inadequate, lacking infrastructure and direct access. Settlements tend to be situated precariously in inaccessible locations, such as on steep slopes or on outer city rubbish dumps (Overseas Development Institute, 2010). These lands are most attractive because the land rents tend to be much lower, or land is cheaper for people to build their homes – usually illegally. The informal status of housing for many of the urban poor can inhibit productivity, and the fear of eviction prevents people's willingness to invest in their homes.
Topic:
Development, Political Economy, Territorial Disputes, and Urbanization
Political Geography:
Caribbean

19278. Microfinance on the Ground in Post-Conflict Juba, South Sudan

Author:
Crystal Murphy
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Though microfinance is championed in “typical” underdeveloped societies, its appropriateness for societies in the wake of conflict is not certain. Through in-depth field interviews and subsequent narrative analysis, this essay details lived realities of microfinance in Juba, South Sudan since the 20 05 Comprehensive Peace Agreement. It describes how repatriates navigate the complex new economy, credit, and income opportunities to secure livelihoods after war. It finds that microfinance in Juba does serve some worthwhile ends in the post-conflict economy, which, however, complicate the industry's success narratives.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Africa, South Sudan, and Juba

19279. Land Titling as Women's Empowerment: Critical Observations from Recife Brazil

Author:
Regina K. Pritchett
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Development literature overwhelmingly argues in favor of formal property ownership (titling) as a practical intervention for poor women's empowerment and to address urban poverty. In this body of literature empowerment is equated with financial, social and politic al gains but it lacks a rigorous definition. Luke's three-dimensional power framework provides a methodology for critical assessment of empowerment. The chapter structures Luke's analysis around a case study from a center city slum in Recife, Brazil. Ultimately the chapter demonstrates how a critical definition of empowerment can move thinking and practice towards re-engineering titling process for gender equity in urban land markets.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Gender Issues, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Brazil and Latin America

19280. Bridging the Gap in Urban Health and Poverty Research

Author:
Mojgan Sami
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Urban health tends to be perceived as measures ensuring access to fresh food, parks, sidewalks and good air quality. In the last decade, donors such as The California Endowment have initiated place-based plans to “build healthy communities” through participatory action planning. While these endeavors are steps in the right direction, the overall approach to healthy urban development tends to narrowly focus on the physical and built environment, and does not pay adequate attention to the social determinants of health, or what the World Health Organization calls “causes behind the causes” of health (WHO 2008). In part, the challenge lies in the difficulty of understanding the complexity of social reality and the diverse social constructions of health and poverty that exist in multi-cultural cities throughout the world. To control for such complexity, planners tend to favor quantitative, standardized approaches to research whereby they can generalize impacts and solutions to a wider population. However, by overly de-contextualizing urban health research, planners miss the opportunity of obtaining deeper understanding and insight into the age-old problems that have plagued cities from the beginning of the planning profession; namely, inequity and inequality (Hall 2002).
Topic:
Development, Health, Poverty, and Food
Political Geography:
California