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3201. New York City: Rebuilding a Future-Focused Economy

Author:
Committee for Economic Development of the Conference Board
Publication Date:
08-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Conference Board
Abstract:
Major shifts are expected in how New Yorkers work in the postpandemic economy—remotely or in the office. But the COVID-19 pandemic has also dramatically accelerated a shift in the sectoral landscape of New York City and the industries in which New Yorkers will work. Restoring the city’s economic dynamism and creating a postpandemic, locally prosperous, and globally competitive economy will hinge on leveraging the city’s growth sectors and ensuring that New Yorkers have the skills they need to rebuild a thriving, future-focused NYC economy. The city lost almost 900,000 jobs during the initial months of the pandemic and had recovered just over half of those jobs by June 2021. Many of these job losses are in sectors that had seen relative weakness prior to the pandemic, including the city’s historically important finance & insurance and real estate sectors. The recovery in NYC has so far been an unbalanced one, lagging behind other major US city centers. Much of NYC’s ongoing economic recovery has been concentrated in health care, life sciences, and the growing tech industry, sectors that were strengthening prior to the pandemic. Indeed, tech jobs were already driving much of the employment growth in NYC before the pandemic. And while office and residential buildings emptied out during the crisis, Big Tech companies—including Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google—have increasingly moved in, expanding their office and warehouse spaces and accelerating hiring.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, Finance, Economy, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
New York, North America, and United States of America

3202. Initial Assessment of Early End to Unemployment Benefits: Questionable Impact

Author:
Committee for Economic Development of the Conference Board
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Conference Board
Abstract:
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers, following guidance or regulation from federal, state and local governments, were compelled to shut down their operations for extended periods of time, affecting millions of workers. Public policy leaders responded swiftly, in order to ease the dramatic shock to those workers and the economy as a whole with redesigned federally enhanced unemployment benefits. In March, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, extended a number of programs that were approved a year earlier to Spetember 6, 2021, including the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) lowered to a $300 supplement; Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) for the self-employed, gig workers, and others who were not eleigible for standard unemployment insurance; Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) for the long-term unemployed. The bill allowed states to opt out.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Unemployment, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

3203. Annual Social Security and Medicare Trustees Report Reflects Worsening Economic Environment

Author:
Committee for Economic Development of the Conference Board
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Conference Board
Abstract:
The Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds are required by law to produce an annual report on April 1 of each year. It is by no means a shock that the report is late in any year; it happens often. This year, however, there is probably more of a justification that the report was released only yesterday, five months late. The economic and health care environments are perhaps as chaotic and uncertain as they have been in living memory.
Topic:
Economics, Health Care Policy, and Social Security
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

3204. Protecting Women from Intimate Partner Homicide in Post-Conflict Societies: Policy Options for Rwanda

Author:
Clementine Kanazayire
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
This policy briefing note addresses the challenges and opportunities for identifying women victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) who are at an increased risk of being killed by their partners. It is based on the findings of an APN-supported research project and makes specific recommendations aimed at reducing the rate of intimate partner homicide (IPH) against women in Rwanda. During the genocide against Tutsis, rape was used as a weapon against Tutsi women to humiliate and destroy the targeted group.1 The 2003 Consti- tution of the Republic of Rwanda amended in 2015 marked the turning point for gender equality in the country by putting in place provisions, policies, and programs to increase women’s role in socioeconomic reconstruction. Among other actions, it reserved 24 out of 80 seats in parliament exclusively for women representatives. Rwanda is one of the African countries that domestically implemented UN Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS). Regarding this agenda’s call for the abolition of gender-based violence (GBV) in all its forms, the government of Rwanda ratified Law No. 59/2008 on Prevention and Punishment of Gender-Based Violence, which was reinforced by Law No. 68/2018 of 30/08/2018 on Determining Offences and Penalties in General, and the Organic Law No. 01/2012/OL of 02/05/2012, which instituted the penal code for marital rape, forced marriage, child defile- ment, and human trafficking. Subsequently, institutions and programs were established for preventing GBV and providing integrated medical, psychological, and legal services to victims of GBV. Over the past years, Rwanda has made important prog- ress toward gender equality and heightened awareness of GBV, which has resulted in an increase in the reporting of cases of GBV. However, given that IPV in some cases leads to homicide, it continues to pose a major challenge. This brief is based on an adaptation of the Danger Assessment Instrument (DA-20), which measures the risk of IPH in Rwanda for women who have already experienced intimate partner violence. After adaptation, a version of DA-25 has been developed for the Rwan- dan context and its predictive validity has been tested on a sample of 424 women living in the northern region of Rwanda who responded to two scales: Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAS-8 short scale), which assesses IPV, and DA-25.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Genocide, Women, Protected People, and Domestic Violence
Political Geography:
Africa and Rwanda

3205. Peacebuilding Agencies and Farmer-Herder Conflicts in Nigeria's Middle Belt Region: Successes and Policy Challenges

Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
This policy briefing note evaluates the responsiveness of peacebuilding agen- cies to the farmer-herder conflict in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region. Although conflicts have occurred between farmers and herders in the region over centuries marked by symbiotic relationships,1 its resurgence since 1999 has assumed a worrisome trend. The Middle Belt states of Benue, Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, and Plateau, have been the epicenter of the conflict and in some cases, witnessed the complete takeover and renaming of conquered farming communities by invading herdsmen
Topic:
Peacekeeping, Conflict, Rural, and Farming
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

3206. 2020 Country Brief: Afghanistan

Author:
Third Way
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Third Way
Abstract:
After 19 years of war in Afghanistan and a peace agreement signed with the Taliban, it’s time for the United States to withdraw. Although the United States has slowly reduced troops in Afghanistan, the Trump Administration has left the remaining troops vulnerable to the Taliban and to Putin’s Russia, which is paying bounties to Afghans for murdering American soldiers.
Topic:
Military Strategy, Political stability, Military Intervention, Peace, and State Building
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Russia, Europe, Middle East, North America, and United States of America

3207. 2020 Country Brief: Iran

Author:
Third Way
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Third Way
Abstract:
A nuclear-armed Iran is an unacceptable threat to America and our allies. But because of Donald Trump, we are closer to—not farther from—this nightmare scenario. Donald Trump chose a bellicose, chaotic, go-it-alone strategy toward Iran. He blew up the Iran Deal, the international agreement that froze Iran’s nuclear weapons program, because it was negotiated by Barack Obama. When he blew it up, our European allies were shocked—and for the first time ever, they sided with Iran to preserve the deal over the Trump Administration. And that’s what just happened again at the United Nations in August of this year. Now it will be more difficult to stop Iran’s malign activity in the future. President Obama brought international pressure to bear to force Iran into a difficult choice: they could have an economy or nuclear weapons, but not both. Iran chose an economy, and in doing so, accepted restrictions on its nuclear program and submitted to international inspections. In return, the United States, our European allies, Russia, and China began to resume economic activity with Iran. After freezing Iran’s nuclear program, the United States could have begun dealing with Iran’s other malign activity. Unfortunately, against the advice of his senior national security advisors and allies, President Trump unilaterally withdrew from the Iran Deal. Then he threatened our negotiating partners with sanctions for attempting to salvage the deal. And when that didn’t work, in January, he ordered a unilateral strike to kill one of Iran’s senior military leaders, Qasem Soleimani, risking outright war. Despite all this, he signaled he was open to negotiations with Iran but has not indicated what a successful agreement would include. Trump’s chaotic, bellicose strategy has yielded no positive results. Future policymakers will need to rebuild the coalition to deal with Iran and develop a long-term strategy to get Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions, end its support for terrorists, and become a responsible global player.
Topic:
Diplomacy, International Cooperation, Nuclear Weapons, Military Strategy, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Iran, Middle East, North America, and United States of America

3208. Digital Currencies' Role in Facilitating Ransomware Attacks: A Brief Explainer

Author:
Kristine Johnson and Michael Garcia
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Third Way
Abstract:
This paper details how Bitcoin—the most popular digital currency—is used to facilitate ransomware attacks and how criminals try—and sometimes fail—to cover their tracks. Understanding how criminals use digital currencies for ransomware attacks can lead policymakers to solutions in thwarting and enforcing cybercrimes.
Topic:
Cybersecurity, Digital Economy, Bitcoin, Digitalization, and Digital Currency
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

3209. Border Regulation Begins with Stronger Capacity at Official Points of Entry

Author:
Todd Rosenblum
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Third Way
Abstract:
After the Trump Administration cutbacks, Congress should invest in the U.S. southern border to benefit trade, stop bad actors, and humanely process people with real asylum claims. Managing vehicular, rail, and people throughput at border crossings is an enormous challenge, but one not being met. U.S. inspectors do not properly screen more than a small percentage of incoming commercial and personal vehicles making this the primary means for narco-trafficking into the United States. Investing more in screening capacity at the official land Points of Entry with Mexico will reduce crime, illegal drug importation, guns going southbound, strengthen regulation and order essential for safe trade and opportunity, and make for a safer environment for those seeking legal entry into the United States. Congress has steadily appropriated new funds for more border screening capacity, but additional investment in screening capacity is still needed to make up for Trump Administration cutbacks. President Biden’s U.S. Citizens Act of 2021 has a range of helpful proposals to make us safer and keep commerce moving. Congress should mandate better measures to evaluate actual screening effectiveness. Congress also should conduct stronger oversight to address shortcomings in the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) acquisition plans to make sure border inspectors spend the money more effectively and field the right capability in a timely fashion. There is a range of reforms we must make across immigration and border regulation to better serve our nation and those seeking to come here. Immigration and border enforcement have strayed from our values as a country and urgently need reform. Our legal immigration system both in asylum and visa-based needs clear modernization. Millions who have known no home but America deserve citizenship. Enforcement alone also will not solve our problems, but we must improve all aspects of American immigration and our border.
Topic:
Migration, Immigration, Law Enforcement, Borders, Illegal Trade, and Commercialization
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

3210. The Responsibility to Protect: A Background Briefing

Author:
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Abstract:
The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) concept sought to confront both the Rwanda tragedy and the Kosovo dilemma by stipulating that states have an obligation to protect their citizens from mass atrocity crimes; that the international community will assist them in doing so; and that, should the state be “manifestly failing” in its obligations, the international community is obliged to act. R2P seeks to ensure that the international community never again fails to act in the face of genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity. By accepting a collective responsibility to protect, the international community issued a solemn pledge that it cannot lightly ignore.
Topic:
International Law, United Nations, Conflict, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), and Norms
Political Geography:
Kosovo, Rwanda, and Global Focus