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Begin New Search Content Type Commentary and Analysis Publication Year within 10 Years

1961. Will We Derail US Freight Rolling Stock Production?

Author:
Oxford Economics
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
US freight railcar manufacturers contribute $6.5 billion to U.S. GDP and support nearly 65,000 jobs. However, increased global competition and evidence suggesting unfair business practices puts this contribution at risk. Oxford Economics conducted an original study that evaluates the practices of Chinese state-owned enterprises' (SOE) push into the U.S. market and the potential risks to domestic manufacturers and domestic supply chains. The study focuses primarily on U.S. freight railcar production and includes consequences from a similar experience in Australia's freight railcar production, when faced with the entrance of Chinese SOEs.
Topic:
Economics, Hegemony, State Actors, and Transportation
Political Geography:
China, Asia, Australia, Australia/Pacific, North America, and United States of America

1962. The Impact of Online Content on European Tourism

Author:
David Goodger
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
This study explores the value of online content to the tourism economies of six southern European countries: Greece, Italy, Spain, Cyprus, Croatia and Malta. The analysis quantifies the proportion of recent tourism growth generated by greater use of online platforms. Improvements since the previous report (produced in 2013) are highlighted. Remaining growth opportunites are estimated, including the potential for job creation, from increased internet adoption by the tourism industry in each country to meet source market demands.
Topic:
Tourism, Digital Economy, Internet, Customer Service, and Consumerism
Political Geography:
Europe

1963. Together Again: Reuniting refugee families in safety – what the UK can do

Author:
Josephine Libel and Anna Musgrave
Publication Date:
02-2017
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This paper highlights how the UK government could do more to enable refugees with family members in the UK to travel here safely. The current rules leave families facing impossible decisions: bring some family members to safety but leave others behind, often at even greater risk as they may be isolated and alone in dangerous circumstances; or put their loved ones’ lives in the hands of smugglers in a desperate attempt to be together in the UK. By changing its restrictive policy, the UK government could help make families more resilient in the face of displacement, prevent men, women and children from embarking on dangerous journeys, and support the integration of refugees in the UK.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Migration, Refugees, Displacement, and Conflict
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

1964. Impact Investing: Who are we serving? A Case of Mismatch between Supply and Demand

Author:
Mara Bolis, Isabelle Irani, Robert Nash, Erinch Sahan, and Chris West
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Oxfam has several programmes that focus on poverty-reducing enterprises which engage marginalized populations through investment and investment-like approaches. These programmes recognize the need to structure finance differently so that it realizes the full potential of those enterprises to make a sustainable contribution to poverty reduction. The founders of Sumerian Partners have long histories of supporting start-up and growing businesses in both developed countries and emerging economies. This includes experience as entrepreneurs, as well as acting as asset managers and deploying philanthropic capital. This paper from Oxfam and Sumerian Partners questions some of the assumptions around impact investment and highlights the experience of enterprises contributing to poverty reduction so that they might be better served by the field. It argues that the sector risks being discredited due to rising, unrealistic expectations about financial returns.
Topic:
Emerging Markets, Poverty, Investment, and Marginalization
Political Geography:
Global Markets

1965. Macroeconomic Policy and Women’s Economic Empowerment

Author:
Oxfam Publishing
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
At its core, the economic empowerment of women – to succeed and advance economically and to make and act on economic decisions – depends on the quantity and quality of paid employment, the provision or absence of public services, the amount of unpaid care work borne by women, as well as coverage or lack thereof under core social and labour protections. This paper discusses how macroeconomic policies are crucial enablers of gender equality, as they shape the overall economic environment for advancing women’s economic empowerment. It focuses on how macroeconomic policies support employment creation, the level of unpaid care required of women and the size of fiscal space, which determines the resources available for governments to promote gender equality.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Income Inequality, Macroeconomics, and Empowerment
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1966. Using Internal Evaluations to Measure Organizational Impact: A Meta-Analysis of Oxfam’s Women’s Empowerment Projects

Author:
Simone Lombardini and Kristen McCollum
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This paper presents the results of a meta-analysis examining the overall impact of women’s empowerment projects evaluated as part of Oxfam GB’s Effectiveness Reviews. Results show a positive and significant impact on the Women’s Empowerment Index and mixed results with its individual indicators. We found a statistically significant effect on opinions on women’s economic role and their ability to participate and have influence in the community. We did not find evidence of overall changes in power within the household nor with the share of household income. The meta-analysis also found statistically significant overall effects where the individual studies were too under-powered to detect impact. This paper provides an example of how using meta-analysis in the presence of a robust organizational global evaluation framework can enable evidence-based learning, organizational accountability and better programme implementation.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Women, Economic Inequality, Content Analysis, and Empowerment
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1967. Is IMF Tax Policy Progressive?

Author:
Oxfam Publishing
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The IMF has significant influence on the tax policies of developing countries through advice and conditionality, technical assistance and by setting global standards and analyzing global trends. Its rhetoric has become more progressive in recent years. This paper assesses the IMF’s tax advice to developing countries based on five country case studies (Ghana, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Peru, Senegal) over the period 2010 to 2015 and supported by a desk study of public IMF documents. It finds that there is a gap between the IMF’s commitment to leveraging fiscal policy to fight inequality, and its actual tax advice to developing countries.
Topic:
International Cooperation, Inequality, Tax Systems, IMF, and Progressivism
Political Geography:
Africa, South America, Nicaragua, Mozambique, Senegal, Peru, and Ghana

1968. The Fifth Eastern Partnership Summit: Between hyperbole and understatement

Author:
Hrant Kostanyan
Publication Date:
11-2017
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
Summits are glitzy events that bring together the highest level of officials – the heads of state and government. These occasions naturally attract the interest of both the media and the public, raise expectations, increase tensions, create drama and heighten the rhetoric – but sometimes they end in disappointment. And this is exactly what the EU would like to avoid in the upcoming 5th Eastern Partnership (EaP) summit, which will bring together most of the leaders of the EU and its Eastern partners – namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine – on November 24th in Brussels. The summit will be essentially a stocktaking exercise in which its principals reflect on the difficulties that the Partnership has encountered and the reforms it has undertaken to meet and mitigate the growing challenges. But more importantly, in the midst of the political hyperbole, the summit will aim to chart a pragmatic way forward to bring about tangible and positive results for citizens in a host of sectors ranging from energy efficiency and transport to youth employment and SMEs.
Topic:
European Union, Partnerships, Regional Integration, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:
Europe, Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia

1969. The Privatisation of Security in Africa: Challenges and Lessons from Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Senegal

Author:
Alan Bryden, Aliou Diouf, Edem K. Comlan, Kadidia Sangaré Coulibaly, Aly Sagne, and Emmylou Boddi
Publication Date:
01-2016
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Private security in Africa is booming. Whether from the perspective of major multinational players or small-scale local enterprises, the market for commercial security has expanded and evolved over recent years. However, policy makers rarely address private security, national parliaments and regulatory bodies provide limited oversight in this area, and the attention of African media and civil society is localized and sporadic. In short, a fundamental shift in the African security landscape is taking place under the radar of democratic governance. "The Privatisation of Security in Africa: Challenges and Lessons from Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Senegal" provides expert accounts which portray the realities of the contemporary private security industry in Africa. The volume analyses key characteristics of security privatisation in Africa, offers new insights into the significance of this phenomenon from a security sector governance perspective and identifies specific entry points that should inform processes to promote good governance of the security sector in Africa.
Topic:
Security, Privatization, Governance, Law Enforcement, and Multinational Corporations
Political Geography:
Africa, Senegal, Mali, and Côte d'Ivoire

1970. Notes for the Next UN Secretary-General

Author:
Simon Adams
Publication Date:
10-2016
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:
The United Nations faces an existential crisis. The norms that bind and ‘safeguard humanity’ are currently under threat. The deliberate bombing of hospitals and the indiscriminate killing of civilians has become almost routine in Syria and several other conflicts. Numerous governments and murderous non-state actors (like isis or Boko Haram) are defying international humanitarian and human rights law. This article argues that the solution to the current global exigency and a central challenge facing the next Secretary-General is to achieve an equilibrium shift away from crisis response and towards conflict prevention. This is especially true with regard to preventing mass atrocity crimes (genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing). Historically, no single issue has done more to tarnish the reputation of the un than the failure to halt atrocities. Under a committed Secretary-General, the un has unique capacity to prevent these crimes.
Topic:
International Law, Displacement, Conflict, Violence, and Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
Political Geography:
United Nations, Syria, and Global Focus