You are at: Home > News/Analysis, Page 4 ('08) | Previous | Next Posted: 8-12 Sep 08 M Feldstein & J Taylor: McCain has a tax plan to create jobs -- In stark contrast to Obama, McCain believes that tax policy should be used to foster the creation of jobs & higher wages through economic growth, rather than to redistribute incomes, say econ advisers to Mc- Cain, Wall Street Journal, 2 Sep 08; and Alan Blinder: Is history siding with Obama's economic plan? -- Few are aware of 2 important facts about the post-WW2 era. US econ- omy grew faster under Democratic presidents than under Republic- ans. And income inequality trended substantially upward under Re- publican presidents but slightly downward under Democrats, says econ adviser to Democrats, NYT (via Intl Herald Trib), 31 Aug 08 S Haggard & assoc: Markets and famine in North Korea--The nation is no stranger to food shortages, even famine. 3 Inst researchers look at the critical need for policy changes if the nation is ever to resolve its chronic battle with hunger, Global Asia/Indonesia (courtesy Peter- son Inst), Aug '08 [pdf] (After Kim Jong-il) Emerging markets full of promise: Even when faced with tough economic conditions in their home markets, global retailers can real- ize double-digit sales growth and profits in emerging markets, acc to the Global Retail Development Index '08, by M Moriarty, Mass Market Retailers (courtesy AT Kearney), 11 Aug 08 [pdf] Alan Krueger: What makes a terrorist--Economics and the roots of terrorism: Many popular ideas about terrorists and why they seek to harm us are fueled by falsehoods & misinformation. Leading politi- cians have argued that poverty & lack of education breed terrorism. But our tactics in the fight vs terrorism must be based on more than anecdote and speculation, argues Princeton economist, Princeton U Press, 2 Sep 08 Nook & cranny: Moving up the (global) value chain--One reason for the speeding-up of the globalization process is the rapid emergence of 'global value chains'.The whole process of producing goods, from raw materials to finished product, has increasingly been 'sliced' and each process can now be carried out wherever the necessary skills & materials are available at competitive cost, OECD, July '07 [pdf] (Synthesis report) Development shows up at US presidential conventions and in the party platforms: Organizations working to make the US role in redu- cing global poverty part of the natl debate can claim some interim victories. These victories signal significant progress, but there is a long way to go before the issues are fully integrated into the presi- dential politics seen on the nightly news, Ctr Global Dev, 8 Sep 08 Why Microsoft and Intel tried to kill the XO $100 laptop: Nicholas Negroponte had a vision - to build a $100 laptop and give away mil- lions to educate the world's poorest children. And then the fat-cat multinationals got scared and broke it, London Times, 10 Aug 08 (Intel-Classmate PC | One Laptop | New ver.Classmate | Gizmondo-XO laptop) Investment-friendly monetary and financial policies are key to sus- tained growth in developing countries: The focus should be on re- tained profits and the creation of investment credit by the banking system, Trade and Development Report '08 recommends, Unctad, 4 Sep 08 Bradford DeLong: Is inflation the right battle?--The Federal Reserve & other central banks are coming under pressure these days from 2 directions: from the left, they are pressured to do something to ex- pand demand & hold down unemployment; from the right, they are pressured to contract demand to rein in inflation, says UC Berkeley economist, Proj Syndicate (courtesy Daily News/Egypt), 1 Sep 08 Opec production cut boosts oil prices: World oil prices rebounded above $100 a barrel after a surprise decision by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut production by 520,000 barrels a day, Agence France-Presse (courtesy Mail & Guardian/S Africa), 10 Sep 08 Travelers vote the best airports in world survey: The World Airport Survey is conducted by a UK-based aviation research organization, with more than 8.2 million questionnaires completed by passengers across the world during the 10-month survey period., Skytrax Res, 14 Jul 08 (More info) China, Japan hail US mortgage rescue as doubts linger: The two na- tions, the biggest buyers of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae bonds, praised Washington for its rescue of the ailing mortgage giants. US stocks futures and Asian & European share markets soared after the news of the takeover that could become the costliest US bailout ever, Reuters, 8 Sep 08 (US Treasury info [scroll] | BBC--Q&A) Coffee/tea break: Obama 'price' little changed following Dem con- vention--Barack Obama's price on the Univ Iowa's Iowa Electronic Markets is barely moved following the Democratic Convention, with traders still making him the favorite to win the popular vote in Nov. The price of an Obama contract was trading at 63 cents.The 63 cent price means traders believe there is a 63% chance he will win the popular vote count, Iowa Electronic Markets, 29 Aug 08 (Current mkt quotes | FAQ) US still leads the world in science/technology; benefits from foreign scientists, engineers: Despite perceptions that the nation is losing its competitive edge, US remains the dominant leader in sci/tech, acc. to a recent study. US accounts for 40% of the total world's spending on R&D, employs 70% of Nobel Prize winners & is home to 3/4 of the top 40 universities.The inflow of foreign students, scientists and engineers has been a key factor, Rand, 12 Jun 08 Posted: 1-5 Sep 08 Robert Shiller: The subprime solution--How today's global financial crisis happened, and what to do about it: To restore confidence in the markets, bailouts are needed in the short run. But these bailouts must be targeted at low-income victims of subprime deals. In the longer term, the solution will require leaders to revamp the financial framework by deploying a package of initiatives to inhibit the forma- tion of bubbles and limit risks, argues Yale economist, Princeton U Press, 2 Sep 08 Social injustice cutting life expectancy, says UN report: Inequality caused by poverty, poor education and bad housing is 'killing on a grand scale', says new commission report, Guardian, 28 Aug 08 (Report--Inequities are killing people | Hindu Biz--Don't lose focus of basic issues - Amartya Sen) New chief economist sees global economy weathering financial storm: What makes the present crisis so complex is the combination of 2 major shocks - the oil and commodity shock and the financial shock. While we know how to handle each one separately, the com- bination is tougher. The lower interest rates which would help fight the financial crisis run against the risk of inflation triggered by the oil shock, IMF Survey Mag, 2 Sep 08 Michael Kremer: Does foreign aid create weak states? -- There is skepticism about the overall impact of aid to developing nations. But is that skepticism warranted?, asks Harvard economist, Creative Capitalism, 8 Jul 08 ; Abhijit Banerjee: What makes a weak state?--A lot is lost when we speak in the vocabulary of weak & strong states, rather than treating state performance as a contingent outcome of many things, incl the various constraints facing them & the options that are at hand, says MIT economist, 14 Jul 08; and William Easterly: A response to Kremer--Do you unconditionally hand over the aid to the state, thus reinforcing the 'patrimonial state', or do you bypass the state altogether, possibly weakening the state by having donors replace it in providing public goods?, asks NYU economist, 15 Jul 08 (MIT Press--Reinventing Foreign Aid) Portfolio: Mobius picks S Africa as most attractive market--Emerg- ing markets may not have been the most rewarding sector in the past year,but veteran investor Mark Mobius sees great opportunities in S Africa and Turkey. He is also attracted by frontier markets such as Pakistan and sees plenty of other nations with great prospects on the back of recent price falls, Citywire/UK, 3 Sep 08 Forum's goal is more efficient, effective aid: Vietnam was an intl aid magnet in '07, attracting 752 donor missions--more than 3 per work- ing day.While the funds are welcome, the plethora of projects is tax- ing low income govts with limited capacity. Ministers from over 100 nations, heads of development agencies, donor orgs and civil society orgs will discuss that issue and others at a forum, 2-4 Sep in Ghana, World Bank, 29 Aug 08 (Accra High-Level Forum on aid effective- ness) Homi Kharas: Accra Agenda for Action--Old promises, new city: Following the '05 Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness, the Forum will resume for its 3rd gathering in Ghana. Public and private aid add up to over $170 bln per year. Any improvement in its effectiveness could have a huge pay-off. A major investment of time, energy and funds has been made in preparing the Accra Agenda. So what will be done differently on 5 Sep?, asks Inst senior fellow, Brookings, 27 Aug 08 J Bhagwati & A Panagariya: Doha - The last mile: The dir-gen of the World Trade Org, minding the Doha Round negotiations that colllapsed in Geneva on 29 Jul, was in India last week & is in Wash- ington this week. A marathon runner who goes the distance in a 26-mile run, he is not giving up when he is at the last mile, write Colum- bia economists, New York Sun, 21 Aug 08 Gregory Mankiw: What if the presidential candidates pandered to economists?--In the mos. to Nov, McCain and Obama will be vying for the support of various voting blocs. It is safe to say, however, that one group won't get much attention: economists. But suppose it were otherwise. What would it take to put the nation's economists solidly behind a candidate?, asks fmr CEA chair, NYT (via Intl Her- ald Trib), 13 Jul 08 Domestic and foreign economic platforms of McCain and Obama: "McCain has a comprehensive economic plan that will create mil- lions of good American jobs, ensure our nation's energy security, get the government's budget & spending practices in order, and bring re- lief to American consumers"--JohnMcCain.com (Economists who endorse him) "I believe that America's free market has been the engine of Amer- ica's great progress. It's created a prosperity that is the envy of the world. It's led to a standard of living unmatched in history. And it has provided great rewards to the innovators & risk-takers who have made America a beacon for science, technology, and discovery"--BarackObama.com (Economists who endorse him) Three million displaced in India floods: Authorities struggling to pro- vide aid after devastating floods in eastern India said on Sunday they needed more boats and rescuers to help hundreds of thousands of people still marooned in remote villages. The latest flooding occurred after a river burst a dam in neighboring Nepal earlier this month and changed its course, swamping hundreds of villages, Reuters, 31 Aug 08 (ReliefWeb | ProVention-Flood disasters: Learning from previous relief operations) Emergency management-Responses to questions about preparedness for catastrophic disasters: One of the questions(no.9) is--Does GAO believe that Homeland Security Dept is prepared for '08 hurricance season?, Govt Accountab.Ofc (report), 15 Jul 08 (Disaster prepared- ness (report) | FEMA/DHS preparedness (report) | Partnership PS--What Hurricane Katrina should teach us all | Ready.gov) [pdf] Posted: 25-29 Aug 08 M Noland & H Pack: Looking beyond the boom--The Arab unem- ployment challenge: The Arab world is experiencing an economic boom spurred by surging energy prices. But most Arabs do not live in major oil-producing nations, and the region has the world's lowest employment rate - less than half of adults are formally employed, say Inst senior fellow and Wharton economist, VoxEU, 1 Aug 08 Nook & cranny: Anwar Ibrahim-Cultivating the seeds of democracy: Recent Islamist electoral successes in Iran, Egypt and the Palestinian territories have given rise to questions about the ability of liberal forces to prevail vs fundamentalism. For the US, the fear is real, though perhaps tinged with a bit of Islamophobia, writes Malaysian fmr dep prime min, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar 06 (Stanford Daily | Podcast) 'Developing world is poorer than we thought, but no less successful in fight vs poverty': New estimates show that poverty has been more widespread across the developing world over the past 25 years than previously thought, but also that there has been strong -if regionally uneven- progress toward reducing overall poverty, World Bank, 26 Aug 08 Mark Mobius on the outlook for emerging markets: In all market slowdowns, some see disaster while others spy opportunity. This emerging-market guru with 40 years' experience and $40 bln under management is most certainly an opportunity guy, by M Bartiromo, BusinessWeek, 23 Jul 08 Brazil, China, India, Russia, and Taiwan lead S&E article output of non-OECD nations: Scientific research, development, & innovation -key drivers of economic growth- have been concentrated in the 30 OECD member nations. However, countries outside the OECD have been increasing their S&E capabilities, Natl Sci Found, Sep '07 Simon Johnson: Emerging markets emerge--20 years ago, 'emerging markets' was the label for countries that were just starting to interest a broader class of investors worldwide. Now they are a key deter- minant of global growth. This is good news-and a potential problem, says IMF chief economist, Finance & Dev, Sep-Nov '08 Paul Blustein: Doha trade talks collapse -- What's next for global trade?: The upshot is a sort of double whammy for the WTO. Disil- lusionment with its ability to set the rules of global trade is on the rise due to the repeated fiascos in the Doha talks. At the same time, the profusion of bilaterals tempts politicians to think of those deals as reasonable substitutes for multilateralism,says Inst resident journalist, Brookings, 20 Aug 08 The tyranny of empire--Another view of development: Q&A with Alice Amsden -- The US has had 2 empires. Under the 1st, from 1950-80, it was too busy to bother controlling the policies of the developing world. Under this regime, poorer nations did relatively well. In the 2nd, which has reigned since then, it has felt obliged to set those policies, and poorer nations have done relatively poorly. Is there a connection? Yes, says MIT economist, Challenge, Sep/Oct '07 [pdf] Ex-BoE official says Fed rate cuts went too far: The Fed's decision to cut interest rates in response to the financial market crisis of the past year is a bad mistake that will lead to higher inflation, a former Bank of England official said at Jackson Hole, Reuters, 24 Aug 08 (ECB's Trichet says still in market correction) [courtesy Indep/Bang- ladesh & Tiscali]; and Economic Symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming: 'Maintaining Stability in a Changing Financial System' -- Papers and Discussions, posted by Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City on 25 Aug 08 R Caballero & A Krishnamurthy: Musical chairs--Comment on the credit crisis: In the game of musical chairs, only one will be left w/o a seat. But if the players are confused about the rules & each is con- vinced that she will be the one left w/o a seat, chaos may ensue with the grabbing of chairs. So too in today's markets, say MIT & North- western economists, Banque de France (courtesy MIT), Feb '08 [pdf] Investment in Russia rising but policy concerns remain: Russia's intl investment flows reached record levels in '07, but a new report says more needs to be done to improve the investment climate. The big- gest obstacle to further domestic & foreign investment remains un- certainty over govt policy, esp the risk of greater state interference in the economy & the impact of the postponement of necessary admin & regulatory reforms, OECD, 31 Jul 08 (incl exec sum) Posted: 18-22 Aug 08 Central bankers at retreat may see few options to fix economy: The world's top central bankers gather at their annual mountainside sym- posium today in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which Bernanke will open with a speech on financial stability. His audience comprises a who's who of central banking, incl ECB pres, Bank of Japan deputy gov & central bank officials from 40 nations, Bloomberg, 22 Aug 08 (Ber- nanke's opening remarks '08 | '07 proceedings) Nobel laureates warn financial system is still not out of the woods: A top cast of Nobel economists (Scholes, McFadden, and Stiglitz) has warned that the world's financial system may not start to recover for at least another year, leaving banks at mounting risk of an insol- vency crisis, Telegraph, 22 Aug 08 (Laureates at Lindau | Crisis far from over) World Airline Awards '08 announced: These are based on a yearly survey carried out from Aug '07-Jun '08, during which over 15 mln eligible survey interviews were completed.The survey measures over 35 different aspects of passenger satisfaction of an airline's service and evaluates the 'typical' travel experience, Skytrax Res, 20 Aug 08 Coffee/tea break: Day 16 of the Olympic Games -- Official sites: International Olympic Committee | Beijing 2008 Olympics Build it and they will learn: The geography of higher ed is changing fast, with Asia and the Mideast coming on strong. Although New Haven and London won't soon be replaced by Shanghai or Seoul, they have started to feel the heat. Analysts say that the region with the best shot at truly threatening the West is the oil-rich Persian Gulf, Newsweek, 9 Aug 08 Strengthening sub-national systems in Afghanistan vital to meet goals of national strategy: Strengthening the sub-national systems of ser- vice delivery is critical to achieve the 3 main goals of its develop- ment strategy - improved security, governance & development, says a new report Currently all public expenditures within the central govt are planned for & budgeted centrally, with little or no provincial input into the budget process, World Bank, 4 Aug 08 Kenneth Rogoff: The end of financial triumphalism?--There is talk in many nations, even the US, that the time has come to ensure that the entire financial system, incl hedge funds and investment banks, become subject to much stricter regulation. Should financial firms be screaming murder?, asks Harvard economist, Proj Synd (courtesy J Turkish Wkly), 9 Aug 08 Nook & cranny: Brazil's winged victory--There are now only 2 re- gional jet makers in the world. Here is a report from Rio on why Embraer is one: On production lines that are smaller but look every bit as sophisticated as the giant versions at Boeing in Seattle or Air- bus in Toulouse, Brazilians build jets the world wants to buy, Sun Observer, 8 Dec 02 (Harvard--Embraer case | Trade dispute with Bombardier); and The growing role of emerging markets in aerospace: Manufacturers in developing markets are already helping aircraft makers in devel- oped ones to cut costs. That's just the beginning. Research suggests that China & Russia are increasingly well positioned to supply West- ern aerospace cos. & India has strong potential also, by C Bedier & assoc, McKinsey Quart., Apr '08 [pdf,1.1Mb] Daron Acemoglu: Growth and institutions -- Institutions are often viewed as a key determinant of economic growth. A major line of inquiry is whether the institutions that influence economic outcomes are themselves determined by other factors. European colonization of the world provides a laboratory in which to investigate these is- sues since it imposed from outside different institutions on otherwise identical societies, says MIT economist, New Palgrave Dict.of Econ, 12 May 08 Humanitarian agencies seek $58.6 mln in Flash Appeal for Georgia crisis: Relief agencies issued a joint Flash Appeal to fund the emer- gency effort to help people affected by the crisis.The funds will sup- port intl partners -9 UN agencies & 16 non-govt & intl orgs- in ad- dressing the needs of some 128,700 people displaced/affected by the conflict over the next 6 mos., UN, 18 Aug 08 (Situation report) Caucasus region incl Georgia: The region sits bet. Black Sea on the west & Caspian Sea on the east. Georgia, not a big oil/gas producer itself, provides an important part of the land corridor for Caspian oil/ gas. Before, the only way for Caspian energy to reach Europe was via Russia. US has supported the principle of multiple routes for Caspian exporters, & 3 of the largest projects cross through Georgia, Energy Info Admin, May '06 (Caspian Sea | Intl Engy Ag); and BP reopens Georgia gas pipeline: BP said it has resumed pumping gas through a pipeline that runs through Georgia after an EU-bro- kered truce between Russian and Georgian troops. The pipeline was shut on Tues amid the military conflict, BBC News, 14 Aug 08 (Georgia falls victim to pipeline politics) Jeffrey Sachs: A user's guide to the Century--The 'New World Or- der' of the 21st century holds the promise of shared prosperity...and also the risk of global conflict. This is the paradox of our time. Old models of statecraft & economics won't suffice in a world character- ized by 3 dominant patterns: rapid technological diffusion, extensive environmental threats, and vast inequalities of income & power, both bet. and within countries, says Earth Inst dir, National Interest, Jul/ Aug '08 Nook & cranny: S Montoya & R Swanger--Ideas for policymakers: Enhancing the impact of think tanks--This essay examines the role of think tanks in civil society, with an emphasis on their use of pol- icy analysis to influence policy debate. 7 institutions from Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, S Africa, China, Namibia & Hungary joined Rand in a discussion about 'successful' policy analysis, write assoc dean & fellow, Policy Insight, Apr '07 << Previous Home Next >> Copyright (c) 2001-2009 Leonardo L. Sta. Romana All rights reserved. |
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