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Begin New Search Topic International Political Economy Political Geography Global Focus Content Type Special Report

1. Business & Peace 2021

Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP)
Abstract:
Rather than asking what businesses can do for peace, this study differentiates itself by focusing on what peace can offer businesses. The Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) sees this as an important, but missing step in business analysis. In order for the private sector to engage with peacebuilding, investors first need to see the benefits of peace to their investment decisions. This work shows that economic performance can be predicted by movements in the same socio-economic developmental factors that affect peacefulness. These conditions are known as Positive Peace. The global economic impact of violence was $14.4 trillion in 2020. This is broadly equivalent to the entire economy of China. If humanity were to reduce violence by ten per cent per annum, the savings of $1.4 trillion would broadly equate to adding an economy the size of Russia’s or Brazil’s every year to the global fold. The burden of violence on an economy is self-evident. However, this report focusses on the converse perspective: countries that improve their underlying conditions, as gauged by IEP’s measures of peace, create the potential for a significant peace dividend for business.
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, Business, Peace, and International Business
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. Human Rights from the International Relations

Author:
Alejandro Anaya Muñoz
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
Abstract:
Human rights are a very important area in contemporary international relations. The doctrine of human rights was concretized after a process of development of more than three centuries after the end of the Second World War and has changed the institutional panorama and the relations between actors at the international level. On the other hand, regardless of its «lack of teeth», the international regime on the subject has transformed the way states relate to international bodies, transnational civil society organizations and other governments.
Topic:
International Relations, Civil Society, Human Rights, International Political Economy, International Affairs, and Norms
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. Luck like the Irish: How emigration can be good for the Western Balkans

Author:
Alida Vračić
Publication Date:
03-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
Abstract:
Western Balkans governments have failed to tap the potential of their vast diaspora – six million strong – around the world. This diaspora possesses the networks, skills, and assets that Western Balkans countries need to develop and to prosper in an age of fierce economic competition. Ireland’s experience sets the standard: today’s “Global Irish” population is a networked diaspora that champions Irish interests throughout the world and has made critical contributions to Ireland’s economic miracle. To follow in Irish footsteps, the Western Balkans urgently needs to gather data, including carrying out comprehensive labour force surveys, to understand the diaspora properly and learn how best to communicate with it. The EU must help. It should introduce circular migration programmes so that educated Western Balkans citizens in EU member states return to their home countries fully equippedto make an even greater contribution than they could have done before leaving
Topic:
International Political Economy and Brexit
Political Geography:
Global Focus

4. Strength In Numbers

Author:
Wendy Cutler
Publication Date:
03-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
Tensions in U.S.-China economic and trade relations have steadily increased over the past year, leading to the imposition of tariffs and counter-tariffs impacting nearly USD $400 billion in two-way trade. At the time of writing, a negotiated solution has yet to materialize, but the two sides have continued to make progress, with a deal seemingly imminent. At the heart of the conflict are challenges posed by China’s state-led economic model, including excessive and under-reported industrial subsidies and other financial assistance, operation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), opaque regulatory measures that advantage domestic producers, forced technology transfer, and centrally directed strategic guidance
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5. Contested Spaces A Renewed Approach to Southeast Asia

Author:
Patrick M. Cronin
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for a New American Security (CNAS)
Abstract:
As the competition between the United States and China to shape the course of the 21st century intensifies, Southeast Asia has become a contested space. A region where geopolitical orientations remain fluid, Southeast Asia lies at the front line of Beijing’s expanding diplomatic influence, economic leverage, and military capability. At stake is whether countries across the region can retain their economic sovereignty and freedom of decision, and whether governance in the region will broadly trend toward greater freedom and openness, or the opposite.
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6. Understanding China's AI Strategy

Author:
Gregory Allen
Publication Date:
02-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for a New American Security (CNAS)
Abstract:
n the second half of 2018, I traveled to China on four separate trips to attend major diplomatic, military, and private-sector conferences focusing on Artificial Intelligence (AI). During these trips, I participated in a series of meetings with high-ranking Chinese officials in China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, leaders of China’s military AI research organizations, government think tank experts, and corporate executives at Chinese AI companies. From these discussions – as well as my ongoing work analyzing China’s AI industry, policies, reports, and programs – I have arrived at a number of key judgments about Chinese leadership’s views, strategies, and prospects for AI as it applies to China’s economy and national security. Of course, China’s leadership in this area is a large population with diversity in its views, and any effort to generalize is inherently presumptuous and essentially guaranteed to oversimplify. However, the distance is large between prevailing views in American commentary on China’s AI efforts and what I have come to believe are the facts. I hope by stating my takeaways directly, this report will advance the assessment of this issue and be of benefit to the wider U.S. policymaking community.
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

7. Financial Networks of Mass Destruction

Author:
Elizabeth Rosenberg and ​Neil Bhatiya
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for a New American Security (CNAS)
Abstract:
The international community has long prioritized reducing the risk of weapons of mass destruction proliferation, whether from state actors such as North Korea and Iran, or from non-state actors, particularly criminals and transnational terrorist networks. Despite this concern, however, there remains a significant blind spot: the efforts to prevent the financing of WMD proliferation are only in their infancy. The legal framework to prevent the financing of proliferation is weak, and implementation across the world is spotty. These weaknesses derive from one overwhelming fact: The international community has not prioritized financial controls to fight proliferation. Very few countries have demonstrated the political will to put further emphasis on this threat to international peace and security.
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

8. Emerging Trends in India-U.S Oil and Gas Engagement

Author:
Sujata Ashwarya
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Oil and gas trade is emerging as a new area of engagement between India and the United States against the backdrop of increasingly complementary interests. The emergence of the United States as the world’s top oil and gas producer in the last few years dovetails perfectly with India’s energy-deficient status and growing demand. With high rates of economic growth and over 17 percent of the world’s population, India’s energy consumption growth is largely fed by foreign imports of fossil fuels.
Topic:
International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

9. The Decline of Employment Protection and the Rise of Precarious Work

Author:
Anne Marie Brady
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMFUS)
Abstract:
By 1989, the employment landscape in the United States and Europe had changed significantly from the immediate post-Second World War decades. Between 1960 and 1973, the unemployment rate as a percentage of the total labor force averaged two percent or below in Western Europe’s big economies and 4.8 percent in the United States, but between 1990 and 1995, the average unemployment rate in the United States was 6.4 percent and between 7 and 10.7 percent in Germany, France, and the United Kindgom.1
Topic:
International Political Economy, Employment, and Income Inequality
Political Geography:
Global Focus

10. Behavioral Insights as a New Generation of Public Service Delivery

Author:
Robert Gawłowski
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
For many years behavioral insights has been on the top of political agenda. The aim of this article it to examine how the most innovative countries use this public management tool into public administration realm. In pursuit of this, behavioral insights units have been research in six countries. In conclusion author figure out that there is still a huge room for development and looking a new strategy to implement nudging in a larger scale.
Topic:
International Political Economy, International Affairs, and Public Opinion
Political Geography:
Global Focus

11. A Vision of the State’s Political System in the Political Thought of the National Party between 1928 and 1939

Author:
Aneta Dawidowicz
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
Views of the National Party (1928–1939) merit special attention, given both the Party’s prominent role in the political life of interwar Poland and the interesting combination of various elements derived from diverse ideological trends within the Party’s programme. The ideological legacy of the National Party reflected, to a large extent, the key constituents of the National Democracy’s political thought, such as nationalism, representation of all social classes, national integrity and the concept of the nation-state. The National Party underwent major evolution and was subject to internal divisions which makes the image of its political thought much more complex. Based on an analysis of the National Party’s political thought, several conclusions can be formulated. The National Party developed its own views regarding political systems. These were, to a large extent, determined by their own system of values based on the national idea. The National Party’s political system projections were mainly inspired by (1) the successes of the “new type” states; (2) pressure from totalitarian systems; and (3) the influence of the economic and spiritual crisis. The National Party leaders wanted to make the political system more efficient. Nonetheless, views in favor of directly imitating any foreign political systems could hardly be found in the Party’s political thought. The National Party’s ideologists and journalists invariably stated that there was no pre-defined political system, but its form had to be adjusted to the specificity and unique character of a given national body. Although inspiration was drawn from external political systems, the Party’s political thought did not lose its independence.
Topic:
International Political Economy and Geopolitics
Political Geography:
Global Focus

12. Activities of the Catholic Church in Poland Against Pedophilia in 2018

Author:
Kamila Rezmer-Płotka
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The aim of the article is to determine the type of activities undertaken by the Catholic Church towards clergymen committing sexual offenses, and more specifically: pedophilia. The research problem is a question: what actions does the Catholic Church take against pedophilia? In order to realize a research project, it was first determined how the offense is defined in the doctrine of church criminal law. Then, there was made an analysis of the activities undertaken by the hierarchs of the Catholic Church. On its basis, a typology of the forms of the Church’s influence at various levels was reconstructed in the field of both preventive and sanctioning actions against the clergy. In the article there was adopted a time restriction covering only 2018. It can be described as a breakthrough, first of all due to the verdict that was made in Poznań (MS, 2018), the accusations that appeared at the end of the year against the deceased chaplain of Solidarity, Fr. Henryk Jankowski and initiatives taken by both citizens and politicians, such as the first anti-clerical happening of Baby Shoes Remember in Poland or the creation of a pedophile map. In the cinemas, a movie entitled “Kler” showed up. It moved the topic of pedophilia in the Church. Results: the Catholic Church in Poland, apart from symbolic activities, i.e. oral and written declarations, assurances, and prayers, undertakes also substantial actions, such as personal changes, cooperation with the state or the meetings of hierarchs centered around pedophilia
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

13. A New Method to Calculate Power of International Actors

Author:
Abdullah Metin Durmuş
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
This article is based on the idea that it is necessary to develop a quantitative method to calculate power of international actors, which will enable scholars to analyse international conflicts. The Global Potential Power Distribution Chart, which is calculated based on three main characteristics of international actors, namely population, territory and economic power, shows “potential power of states and international organisations”. It may be called “Durmuş Scale of Power (DSoP)”. The chart is a comprehensive indicator with considerable accuracy and 100 % objectivity. In this article, potential powers of international actors have been calculated for years 1987, 2004 and 2015, which gives a clear overview of the potential power distribution (balance of power) of the World regarding states and as well as international organisations. Potential military powers of some states and international organisation in year 2015 have also been calculated. This research proves by means of a contemporary approach applied and a quantitative method developed that, the World is multipolar since 2004, and China is, potentially, the most powerful state of the World since 2015. The method introduced in this article were sufficient enough to explain the effects of the enlargement of NATO and EU, EU after BREXIT, reform of the Security Council of the United Nations and instrumental enough to provide a peaceful understanding for the self-determination issue of Kosova. There are three conclusions to this research: 1) The method “Durmuş Scale of Power” is calculated is reliable because everybody with a scientific calculator or a computer can easily calculate potential power of a state provided that he or she has reliable data for territory, population and GDP. 2) “Global Potential Power Distribution Chart” is a comprehensive Chart which shows “balance of power” at a specific year. It enables us to compare power of states and international organisations in different years. 3) It is convenient to use “Durmuş Scale of Power” while analysing issues of international relations
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

14. About Women in Conflicts and Wars: Theories of Violence and Collective Memory

Author:
Inga B. Kuźma and Edyta Pietrzak
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The article deals with the subject of relations between theories of violence and the category of collective memory in relation to women’s war stories. The text introduces the issue of war and conflict, understanding the theory of violence, the category of collective memory and female war narratives, as well as the ways of their political interpretation. The interpretation is crucial because of method used in the research, meaning hermeneutics, but also because of the, presented here, perspective of polyphony
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

15. Reshaping Trade through Women's Economic Empowerment

Author:
Oonagh Fitzgerald and et al
Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
At the December 2017 World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires, 118 WTO members joined forces to launch the Declaration on Trade and Women’s Economic Empowerment. The members undertook to work together to develop best practices on how to apply gender-based analysis to domestic economic policy and international trade policy to encourage female entrepreneurship and financial inclusion, remove barriers to women’s participation in trade, and develop useful gender statistics and research. The Centre for International Governance Innovation undertook this essay series to raise awareness about this initiative and contribute to increasing understanding of how the declaration might contribute to economic empowerment of women.
Topic:
Gender Issues and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

16. Emissions, Energy, and Economic Implications of the Curbelo Carbon Tax Proposal

Author:
Noah Kaufman
Publication Date:
07-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
Abstract:
In July 2018 Representative Carlos Curbelo proposed legislation that would put a price on US carbon dioxide emissions (“Curbelo proposal”). A carbon price is widely viewed as a necessary part of a cost-effective national strategy to address the risks of climate change. This proposal is especially notable because Republicans, who currently control the US Senate, House of Representatives, and presidency, have not proposed national carbon pricing legislation in nearly a decade.
Topic:
Energy Policy, International Political Economy, and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

17. Asian LNG Trading Hubs: Myth or Reality

Author:
Mike Fulwood
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
Abstract:
Almost every LNG conference has on its agenda nowadays the topic of Asian LNG trading hubs. Governments, regulatory authorities, academics, and market participants are all presenting on how a hub might be developed in Asia. There have also been a number of reports published in the last few years on the development of hubs in Asia.
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

18. Making Sense of the Trump Administration's Fuel Economy Standard Rollback

Author:
Jason Bordoff, Akos Losz, and Aaron Linn
Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
Abstract:
On April 2, 2018, the EPA announced that planned fuel economy increases for cars and light trucks in model years 2022–2025 are too stringent and should be revised.[2] The EPA thus initiated a process to set new standards for 2022–2025, in partnership with the NHTSA. The standards were a central part of the Obama administration’s efforts to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions. The move to weaken the standards has been sharply criticized by many environmental groups, policymakers, and others. Supporters of the current standards argue that the standards would substantially reduce emissions at a modest cost. But the standards have been highly controversial, and the move has also received a great deal of praise from other groups. Supporters of weakening the standards—including those in the Trump administration—argue that the current standards would be excessively costly to consumers and automakers, while providing little or no benefit to the public. Many analyses have proclaimed that this announcement would have profound effects on consumers, oil consumption, oil imports, and greenhouse gas emissions. One think tank, for example, told the Financial Times that US oil consumption, which was nearly 20 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2017, would be 1.5 million bpd higher in 2025 if the 2022–2025 fuel economy standards were rolled back
Topic:
Energy Policy, International Political Economy, and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

19. Global Magnitsky Sanctions: Raising the Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Bar

Author:
Samantha Sultoon
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
Economic sanctions have become a policy tool-of-choice for the US government. Yet sanctions and their potential pitfalls are often misunderstood. The Economic Sanctions Initiative (ESI) seeks to build a better understanding of the role sanctions can and cannot play in advancing policy objectives and of the impact of sanctions on the private sector, which bears many of the implementation costs.
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

20. Business Principles for Promoting Integrity in the Pharmaceutical Sector

Author:
Transparency International
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Transparency International
Abstract:
The aim of the Pharma Integrity Principles for Latin America is to provide a framework for good business practices and risk management strategies for promoting integrity in the pharmaceutical sector. They are intended to assist companies and industry associations across the region in: • eliminating bribery and related conflicts of interest; • demonstrating their commitment to doing business with integrity; and • making a positive contribution to improving business standards of integrity, transparency and accountability. The Pharma Integrity Principles combine anti-bribery principles of general applicability developed by Transparency International with more specific guidelines for preventing conflicts of interest in the pharmaceutical sector in relation to prescribing practices by healthcare professionals and interactions with healthcare institutions, patients and patient organisations.
Topic:
Corruption and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

21. Environmental Gems in Trade Agreements: Little-known Clauses for Progressive Trade Agreements

Author:
Jean-Frederic Morin and Rosalie Nadeau
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Trade agreements contain an increasing number of environmental provisions. Some of these provisions now relate to precise environmental issues, such as biodiversity or hazardous waste management. Certain trade agreements even devote entire chapters to environmental protection. However, the rate of innovative environmental clauses per agreement has declined over the years. This paper draws attention to some of the lesser-known provisions encountered in five agreements or fewer. These “legal one-hit wonders” do not often reach the billboard, despite their uniqueness and creativity.
Topic:
Environment and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

22. Conference Report: Climate Change and Sustainable Investment in Natural Resources: From Consensus to Action

Author:
Columbia Centre on Sustainable Investment
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
A conference report on CCSI’s Conference on “Climate Change and Sustainable Investment in Natural Resources: From Consensus to Action” is available here, and a shorter outcome document , which was disseminated at COP22, is available here. These documents summarize the discussions at the eleventh annual Columbia International Investment Conference, which took place on November 2-3, 2016, at Columbia University. The Conference offered a high-level opportunity to discuss how countries can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement, while also advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular the important implications for the world’s approach to natural resource investments. It featured leaders from government, the private sector, civil society, and academia, and brought together nearly 400 participants. In the lead-up to the Conference, CCSI also published a Blog Series on the Earth Institute’s State of the Planet Blog.
Topic:
Climate Change and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

23. Key Risks Companies Face in Petroleum Investment and Operations

Author:
Bud Coote and Karl V. Hopkins
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
This report is a collaboration between Dentons and the Atlantic Council that provides analysis on the array of risks and uncertainties faced by international energy firms investing in and operating energy projects worldwide. It focuses on lessons learned from a variety of experiences and offers risk mitigation options.
Topic:
Energy Policy, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Global Focus

24. Downstream Oil Theft: Global Modalities, Trends, and Remedies

Author:
Ian M. Ralby
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
This report is the first comprehensive study of the theft of refined oil products around the globe. It provides insight into the modalities and trends in oil theft, the culprits responsible, the stakeholders affected by illicit activities, and recommendations that could change the dynamics. It is divided into three parts.
Topic:
Energy Policy, International Political Economy, and Oil
Political Geography:
Global Focus

25. Charting a Course for Trade and Economic Integration in the Asia-Pacific

Author:
Asia Society Policy Institute
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
OVER THE PAST YEAR, THE GLOBAL AND REGIONAL TRADE LANDSCAPE HAS BEEN CHALLENGED AS NEVER BEFORE. A growing number of people around the world are questioning the value of trade agreements, holding them accountable for slow wage growth, rising inequalities, and job losses. Exemplified by Brexit and the U.S. presidential election, a wave of anti-globalization has washed over the world. Further, global trade is slowing, and existing trade agreements have not kept pace with the changing nature of trade itself, owing to the increasingly important role of digital and services trades. But trade has been one of the strongest drivers behind global growth and stability, particularly in Asia. In the past quarter century, the number of trade agreements in the region has increased dramati- cally. At the same time, Asian countries experienced average annual growth rates nearly 3 percent higher after liberalizing their markets.1 The region’s openness has been a critical ingredient in spurring growth, creating jobs, and lifting millions out of poverty. Trade has also helped nations develop stronger ties, giving them a greater stake in one another’s economic success and reducing the likelihood of conflict. What the French philosopher Montesquieu wrote during the eighteenth century remains as relevant in the twenty-first: “Peace is a natural effect of trade.” 2
Topic:
International Relations, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Geopolitics
Political Geography:
Global Focus

26. Blue Economy Vision 2025: Harnessing Business Potential for India Inc and International Partners

Author:
FICCI Task Force
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations
Abstract:
Blue Economy Vision 2025: Harnessing Business Potential for India Inc and International Partners is a pioneering effort by FICCI to sensitise India Inc about the growing global and regional emphasis on sustainability of harnessing the ocean resources. It makes a convincing argument that the oceans, with a current estimated asset value of US$ 24 trillion and an annual value addition of US$ 2.5 trillion, would continue to offer significant economic benefits both in the traditional areas of fisheries, transport, tourism and hydrocarbons as well as in the new fields of deep-sea mining, renewable energy, ocean biotechnology and many more, only if we integrate sustainable practices with our business models.
Topic:
International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

27. Making the ‘Special Relationship’ Great Again?

Author:
Tim Oliver and Micheal Williams
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
LSE IDEAS
Abstract:
Donald Trump’s election poses uncomfortable questions for Britain about the future of the UK-US ‘Special Relationship’.
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

28. Financial Regulations for Improving Financial Inclusion

Author:
Stijn Claessens and Liliana Rojas-Suarez
Publication Date:
03-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
As recently as 2011, only 42 percent of adult Kenyans had a financial account of any kind; by 2014, according to the Global Findex, database that number had risen to 75 percent. [1] In sub­Saharan Africa, the share of adults with financial accounts rose by nearly half over the same period. Many other developing countries have also recorded gains in access to basic financial services. Much of this progress is being facilitated by the digital revolution of recent decades, which has led to the emergence of new financial services and new delivery channels. Whereas payment services often are the entry point into using formal financial services, they are not the only low­cost and widely accessible financial services being delivered in recent years. Driven by advances in new digital payment services, small­scale credit and new modes for delivering insurance services are being offered in several developing countries. Digital (payment) records are being used to make decisions about provision of credit to small businesses or individuals who do not have traditional collateral or credit history to secure loans. Additionally, affordable mobile systems have led to the provision of new and innovative financial services that would not be economically sustainable under the traditional brick­and­mortar model such as mobile­based crop microinsurance in sub­Saharan Africa and pay­as­you­go energy delivery models for off­grid customers in India, Peru, and Tanzania. [2] Increased access to basic financial services, especially payments services, by larger segments of the population reflects the growing use of digital technologies in developing countries. Simultaneously, the adoption of proper regulation based on country­specific opportunities, needs and conditions has been critical.
Topic:
International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Financial Markets
Political Geography:
Global Focus

29. Linkages to the Resource Sector: The Role of Companies, Governments, and International Development Cooperation

Author:
Columbia Centre on Sustainable Investment
Publication Date:
07-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
With support from GIZ, CCSI prepared a report titled “Linkages to the Resource Sector: The Role of Companies, Governments, and International Development Cooperation.” It outlines options for how these stakeholders can increase the economic linkages to the extractive industries sector not only in terms of ‘breadth’ (number of linkages) but also in terms of ‘depth’ (local value added). Apart from providing the theoretical framework for linkage creation and an overview of existing literature on this topic, the study highlights successful case study examples. Recommendations are provided for the three types of stakeholders.
Topic:
Government, International Political Economy, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
Global Focus

30. Trading Pains and Gains: Expanding Trade Alliances in Asia

Author:
Rupert Hammond Chambers, Pek Koon Heng, and Tami Overby
Publication Date:
10-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Since its rather humble beginnings as a free trade agreement between Chile, Brunei, Singapore, and New Zealand in 2005, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement has ballooned into a pact that includes two of the three biggest economies in the world. Signed by the 12 founding members in February 2016, namely the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Peru, Vietnam, and Malaysia as well as the four original signatories, the TPP represents nearly 40 percent of the world’s GDP. It has been described as the most ambitious multinational trade deal in history, with high standards that address issues that have not been address by trade agreements until now including environmental protection, labor rights, and addressing competition issues related to state-owned enterprises.
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Global Focus

31. Power to the States: Making Fiscal Transfers Work for Better Health

Author:
Center for Global Development
Publication Date:
12-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
Most money and responsibility for health in large federal countries like India rests with subnational governments — states, provinces, districts, and municipalities. The policies and spending at the subnational level affect the pace, scale, and equity of health improvements in countries that account for much of the world’s disease burden: India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Fiscal transfers between levels of government can — but do not always — play an important role in turning money into outcomes at the subnational level. Well designed, transfers can help put states on a level financial playing field by equalizing spending across states and adjusting allocations for the health risks of each state’s population. Transfers can increase accountability and create incentives for greater spending or effectiveness in service delivery. But transfers are rarely designed with attention to their desired outcomes. To get to better outcomes, international experience suggests that transfers need to be reexamined and reformed along three dimensions. First, central government’s allocation of national revenues to subnational governments should respond to needs and population size. Second, transfers should generate incentives to improve subnational governments’ spending quality and performance on outcomes. Third, independent systems to monitor, evaluate, and provide feedback data on subnational performance can generate greater accountability to the central government, parliaments, and legislatures as well as to citizens. These insights are seemingly simple and suggestive, but each country starts from its own unique history that requires careful technical analysis and political savvy to define reforms with genuine potential to improve health.
Topic:
International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Financial Markets
Political Geography:
Global Focus

32. A new Atlantic Community: the European Union, the US and Latin America

Author:
Joaquín Roy
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Fundación Alternativas
Abstract:
Joaquín Roy es licenciado en Derecho por la Universidad de Barcelona y doctor por la Universidad de Georgetown. Es catedrático Jean Monnet ad personam y anteriormente fue profesor en Georgetown University, John Hopkins University (Washington DC) y Emory University (Atlanta). Entre las distinciones recibidas destaca la Encomienda de la Orden del Mérito Civil, otorgada por el Rey Juan Carlos I.
Topic:
International Relations and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

33. Losing Control? Sovereignty in the Age of Globalization

Author:
Saskia Sassen
Publication Date:
02-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Columbia University Press
Abstract:
What determines the flow of labor and capital in this new global information economy? Who has the capacity to coordinate this new system, to create some measure of order? What happens to territoriality and sovereignty, two fundamental principles of the modern state? And who gains rights and who loses rights? Losing Control? examines the rise of private transnational legal codes and supranational institutions, such as the World Trade Organization and universal human rights covenants, and shows that though sovereignty remains an important feature of the international system, it is no longer confined to the nation-state. Other actors gain rights and a kind of sovereignty by setting some of the rules that used to be within the exclusive domain of states. Saskia Sassen tracks the emergence and the making of the transformations that mark our world today, among which is the partial denationalizing of national territory. Two arenas in particular stand out in the new spatial and economic order by their capacity to set their own rules: the global capital market and the series of codes and institutions that have mushroomed into an international human rights regime. As Sassen shows, these two quasi-legal realms now have the power and legitimacy to demand action and accountability from national governments, with the ironic twist that both depend upon the state to enforce their goals. From the economic policy shifts forced by the Mexico debt crisis to the recurring battles over immigration and refugees around the world, Losing Control? incisively analyzes the events that have radically altered the landscape of governance in an era of increasing globalization.
Topic:
Debt, Globalization, International Political Economy, Sovereignty, World Trade Organization, Labor Issues, and Governance
Political Geography:
Global Focus
Publication Identifier:
9780231106092
Publication Identifier Type:
ISBN

34. Metrics to Align Mission with Financial Performance: Tips from Practitioners

Author:
Mike McCreless
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
Social enterprises and impact investors, along with non-profits and foundations, have invested significant effort in designing metrics to monitor and evaluate impact. Yet these impact metrics do not create as much value as they could. Too often, impact metrics, and the people who manage them, are siloed in their own departments, databases, and discourses, one step removed from strategic and financial decision-making in their organizations
Topic:
International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

35. ANDE Legal Working Group: Entrepreneur Introduction to Term Sheets

Author:
Aspen Institute
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
This guide provides an introduction to what term sheets are and provides entreprnuers with an overview of the key points to look for in negotiating their own term sheets.
Topic:
International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

36. Investment Treaties and Industrial Policy: Select Case Studies on State Liability for Efforts to Encourage, Shape and Regulate Economic Activities in Extractive Industries and Infrastructure

Author:
Lise Johnson
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
This paper, prepared in connection with a February 2014 conference organized by the UN Economic Commission for Africa, discusses some of the implications that investment treaties have for investments in infrastructure and the extractive industries. It focuses on liability for government conduct (1) in connection with tenders and negotiations; (2) when responding to questions regarding the legality of the investment; (3) in using performance requirements to leverage benefits and capture spillovers from the investment; (4) changing the legal framework governing an investment in response to evolving needs, circumstances, and interests; (5) administering the investment; and (6) requesting, and responding to requests for, renegotiation. After describing some investment treaty disputes, this paper concludes by outlining options for addressing and minimizing tensions between investment treaties and government policies and practices in these areas.
Topic:
International Political Economy and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Global Focus

37. Policy Perspective: India’s curious stand at WTO

Author:
Rajrishi Singhal
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations
Abstract:
India’s decision to block the Trade Facilitation Agreement at the World Trade Organisation in July was perplexing; the confusion was compounded because India was almost alone in its position. This policy perspective explains the reasons for India’s curious stand
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
India and Global Focus

38. Pathways to 'The future we want': socio-environmental indicators

Author:
José Veiga
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI)
Abstract:
José Eli da Veiga critically examines the socioeconomic measures already established, like the GDP and the Human Development Index (HDI). The author contextualizes the creation of such measures and points out the limits of those, which can measure the economic performance of a given society, but are not intended to measure welfare and sustainability. With a keen eye, Eli da Veiga addresses the major issues related to the development and adoption of new indicators, selecting four emerging indicators to be examined in detail. These indexes – all created by renowned international institutions – seek to overcome the notion of wealth based on the production of commodities and on physical capital and propose a narrative of progress that is more compatible with the 21st century, focusing on people’s quality of life and on environmental sustainability.
Topic:
International Political Economy, Political and institutional effectiveness, and International Development
Political Geography:
Global Focus