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562. Two Reluctant Regionalizers? The European Union and Russia in Europe's North
- Author:
- Hiski Haukkala
- Publication Date:
- 01-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- It has become something of a cliché to argue that the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 resulted in dramatic changes in the unfolding of political space in the 1990s. Yet this was especially true in the case of the then European Community (EC) and its relations with the Soviet Union/Russian Federation. During the Cold War, the relations between the EC and the USSR were practically non-existent. The ascension of Mikhail Gorbachev and the period of perestroika and glasnost resulted, however, in a gradual rapprochement between the two parties. The creation of these new ties was formalized in the signing of a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) between the EC and the USSR, which was, however, in effect signed with an already crumbling Soviet Union as it took place as late as 21 December 1989.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Development, Economics, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Asia, and Soviet Union
563. Kosovo/a Standing Technical Working Group: 5th and 6th Session Economic Development and Reconstruction
- Author:
- Robert Curis and Camille Monteux
- Publication Date:
- 10-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues
- Abstract:
- The Standing Technical Working Group was established in March 2001 to address important issues of public policy in Kosovo/a at a technical level. It is composed of experts from Kosovo/a NGOs, from the parties and other civil society representatives. Its membership is fully interethnic and it prides itself on being able to conduct substantive debates about Kosovo/a in an interethnic way. In addition to reviewing technical aspects of policy, the group also formulates proposals and critical questions in relation to them. It then seeks to engage the international and Kosovo/a authorities on these issues. As the 5th and 6th session of the group were devoted to one common theme, it was found convenient to present the proceedings in one report.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Development, and Economics
- Political Geography:
- Europe
564. Improving Upon Nature: Creating Competitive Advantage in Ceramic Tile Clusters in Italy, Spain, and Brazil
- Author:
- Jorg Meyer-Stamer, Silene Seibel, and Claudio Maggi
- Publication Date:
- 10-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for Development and Peace
- Abstract:
- This paper shows how using a combination of a cluster and a global value chain approach helps to assess local competitive strategies and upgrading possibilities. The global ceramic tile industry is dominated by two industrial clusters, Sassuolo in Italy and Castellón in Spain, which are not only dominating tile production in their respective countries and in Europe but are also the global technology leaders and the leading exporters. The Italian tile manufacturers are closely linked with capital goods manufacturers, the Spanish with producers of glazing materials. The equipment and materials producers drive technical change and innovation in tile design, whereas the tile manufacturers try to establish a competitive advantage in particular by innovating in downstream activities: training tilers, establishing diversified brands for different sales channels, and going into direct sales. Analyzing the value chain, from inputs and capital goods to final sales, offers new insights into scope and alternatives of local upgrading. It also helps to reassess the competitiveness of tile clusters in the developing world. This is done for Brazil's leading cluster which is located in Santa Catarina. Tile firms there can benefit from the fierce rivalry among Italian capital goods producers and among Spanish producers of glazing materials, as well as the rivalry between Italy and Spain. They are technology followers. However, having to deal with a volatile and very competitive market, they are innovative in downstream activities, experimenting with concepts which are not yet used by Italian or Spanish manufacturers.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and Peace Studies
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Brazil, Spain, and Italy
565. A Mediterranean Economic Policy from Europe at the Enlargement Cross-Roads
- Author:
- Roberto Aliboni
- Publication Date:
- 11-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Admittedly, the results of the EU's economic policy towards the Mediterranean are to some extent disappointing. What do we have to do? Do all we need is to modify and improve such policy? Or do we have to bring in some more substantive changes? Is the policy disappointing in itself or because of the way it is implemented? Furthermore, we are aware that these questions come up in conjunction with the advancement of the EU enlargement to Eastern European countries. Thus, a further question is what is the impact of the enlargement on EU economic co-operation with the Mediterranean. According to EU's own decisions, there must be a link between enlargement and Euro-Med Partnership: that is a fair balance between enlargement towards the East and co-operation towards the South. Is indeed that balance there? or there is a polarisation towards the East which demands for corrections?
- Topic:
- Economics, International Cooperation, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Europe
566. Saudi-Italian Relations During the Reign of King Fahd
- Author:
- Roberto Aliboni
- Publication Date:
- 11-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- In the hundred years that have elapsed since the birth of Saudi Arabia many important developments and changes have affected both this country and Italy. Still, whereas Saudi Arabia has progressed with remarkable political stability, Italy has suffered numerous shocks: the crisis and fall, after World War I, of the nationalist elites which had made Italy an independent and united country in the 19th century; the fall of the Fascist regime and the Savoy monarchy at the end of World War II; the emergence, during the Cold War, of a Western democracy run by the classes which the nationalist elite had excluded from the process of independence; today, after the end of the Cold War, the fall of the Catholic and communist parties that dominated the Cold War domestic stage and the painful attempt to establish a less ideologically-based, more market-oriented and liberal-minded democracy in the country.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Economics
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Arabia, Saudi Arabia, and Italy
567. Urban and Industrial Pollution Programs: Russia Case Study
- Author:
- Matthew Addison, Mark Hodges, Steven Gale, and Nick Wedeman
- Publication Date:
- 07-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United States Agency for International Development
- Abstract:
- Since the official dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has moved forward to make the difficult transition to open markets and more democratic institutions. The journey toward a complete restructuring of the Russian economy and an adoption of wide-ranging political reforms has been perilous. Political instability continues, crime and corruption have become more widespread, and economic conditions show little sign of improving quickly. Efforts to privatize state-held industries, initially seen as wildly successful, have now met with resistance, and full citizen involvement in government is far from complete.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Environment, Human Welfare, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Asia
568. Alternative Models of Dynamics in Binary Time-Series-Cross-Section Models: The Example of State Failure
- Author:
- Nathaniel Beck, David Epstein, Simon Jackman, and Sharyn O'Halloran
- Publication Date:
- 08-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia University
- Abstract:
- This paper investigates a variety of dynamic probit models for time-series–cross-section data in the context of explaining state failure. It shows that ordinary probit, which ignores dynamics, is misleading. Alternatives that seem to produce sensible results are the transition model and a model which includes a lagged latent dependent variable. It is argued that the use of a lagged latent variable is often superior to the use of a lagged realized dependent variable. It is also shown that the latter is a special case of the transition model. The relationship between the transition model and event history methods is also considered: the transition model estimates an event history model for both values of the dependent variable, yielding estimates that are identical to those produced by the two event history models. Furthermore, one can incorporate the insights gleaned from the event history models into the transition analysis, so that researchers do not have to assume duration independence. The conclusion notes that investigations of the various models have been limited to data sets which contain long sequences of zeros; models may perform differently in data sets with shorter bursts of zeros and ones.
- Topic:
- Economics and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- Europe and France
569. Price Level Convergence, Relative Prices, and Inflation in Europe
- Author:
- John H. Rogers
- Publication Date:
- 03-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Abstract:
- If price levels are initially different across the euro area, convergence to a common level of prices would imply that inflation will be higher in countries where prices are initially low. Price level convergence thus provides a potential explanation for recent cross-country differences in European inflation, a worrisome development under the ECBs "one-size-fits-all" monetary policy. I present direct evidence on price level convergence in Europe, using a unique data set, and then investigate how much of the recent divergence of national inflation rates can be explained by price level convergence. I show that between 1990 and 1999 prices did become less dispersed in the euro area. Convergence is especially evident for traded goods, and more in the first half of the 1990s than the second half. By some measures, traded goods price dispersion across the euro area is now close to that across U.S. cities. Despite an on-going process of convergence, deviations from the law of one price are large. Finally, I find a statistically-significant and robust negative relationship between the 1999 price level and 2000 inflation rate in Europe, and that the contribution of price level convergence to explaining inflation differentials is often quite important economically. Still, factors other than price convergence explain most of the cross-country inflation differences.
- Topic:
- Economics, Emerging Markets, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Europe
570. Meet Me Halfway but don't Rush—Absorptive capacity and strategic R investment revisited
- Author:
- Leo A. Grünfeld
- Publication Date:
- 12-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- In this paper, we analyse how R investment decisions are affected by R spillovers between firms, taking into consideration that more R investment improves the ability to learn from competing firms - the so-called absorptive capacity effect of R The model in this paper is an extension of d'Aspremont and Jacquemin (1988), where they show that exogenous R spillovers reduce the incentive to invest in R when firms compete in a Cournot duopoly. Our model treats R spillovers as endogenous, being a function of absorptive capacity effects. Contrary to earlier studies, we show that absorptive capacity effects do not necessarily drive up the incentive to invest in R This only happens when the market size is small or the absorptive capacity effect is weak. Otherwise firms will actually chose to cut down on R Furthermore, absorptive capacity effects also increase the critical rate of spillovers that determines whether participating in research joint ventures leads to lower or higher R investment. Finally, we show that strong learning effects of own R are not necessarily goodfor welfare. Moreover, if the market size is large, welfare will be at its highest when the learning effect is small.
- Topic:
- Economics, Industrial Policy, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- Europe