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51. Equitable Sharing of Mining Profits: The Best Deal for Tanzania?

Author:
Thomas Scurfield
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:
Tanzania’s unique approach to mining taxation, described as an equitable sharing of economic benefits between government and mining company according to a negotiated split, could leave the country shortchanged. Tanzanian citizens have access to the terms of only one profit-sharing deal, a 50-50 framework agreement for Barrick’s gold mines. The rest remain unpublished, despite laws that require the government to disclose deal terms. The Barrick deal predicates government revenues more heavily on mine profitability than a more typical regime, making these revenues more uncertain. This structure also increases the risk that companies may seek to avoid tax payments. Negotiating the split on a project-by-project basis, without any legal guardrails on the approach, increases the risks of corruption and unfavorable deal terms. The Tanzanian government could eliminate these risks by borrowing provisions from other countries that also require a specific government share of mine profits but take a different approach. However, unless the government has identified benefits from its current sharing mechanism that a more typical regime does not offer, it should not pursue a sharing mechanism and instead focus on improving the underlying regime, such as increasing its flexibility with regards to profits and reducing tax avoidance risks. To gain more trust from citizens, Tanzania’s government should explain how the mechanism works in existing deals.
Topic:
Government, Natural Resources, Tax Systems, Mining, Transparency, Contracts, and Energy Transition
Political Geography:
Africa and Tanzania

52. America’s Best Choice in Sudan Is the Least Bad Option

Author:
Joshua Meservey
Publication Date:
05-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Hudson Institute
Abstract:
Long-simmering tensions between Sudan’s two most powerful generals broke into open warfare on April 15. A series of ceasefires have failed, and fighting continues in the capital city, Khartoum, and in other areas throughout the country. Street protests in April 2019 prompted Sudan’s security services to oust the former dictator, Omar al-Bashir, and forced them to include civilians in the subsequent transitional government. Ever since, the United States has tried to help those civilians consolidate power.1 In October 2021, however, the two most senior generals in the transitional government—Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (usually known as “Hemeti”), leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)—forced the civilians out. Still, the United States supported negotiations between the junta and elements of the civilian protest movement until both generals’ desire for supreme power forced the confrontation that now threatens to dismember the country.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Government, Leadership, Armed Conflict, and Strategic Interests
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, and United States of America

53. The Governments of Mauricio Macri and Jair Bolsonaro: Ideology, Pragmatism and Foreign Policy

Author:
André Luiz Coelho, Mariano Ignacio Treacy, and Beatriz Bandeira de Mello
Publication Date:
12-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
This article compares the foreign policy of the governments of Mauricio Macri in Argentina and Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, based on the positions of the presidents and their representatives on three issues: 1) relations with the United States, 2) with China and 3) regional integration. We suggest that the Macri government has had to adapt its positions and discursive practices throughout its administration to national and international pressures. We understand that Jair Bolsonaro has adopted a similar stance in his foreign agenda and that his discourses, although strongly ideological, are opposed to more pragmatic actions, especially in the Brazilian economic and trade agendas, as in Argentina. The methodology used in this study is content analysis of speeches and reports from the Brazilian and Argentine foreign ministries, and the theoretical contributions of foreign policy analysis.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Government, Ideology, Regional Integration, Jair Bolsonaro, and Mauricio Macri
Political Geography:
China, Brazil, South America, and United States of America

54. Why China's housing policies have failed

Author:
Tianlei Huang
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
Abstract:
This working paper reviews the current housing crisis in China and explores the roles of supply-demand imbalances and local governments in the real estate sector. To prevent the housing downturn from further dragging down economic growth, Beijing suspended the financing restrictions on developers imposed in August 2020. These restrictions, known as the "three red lines" that limited new borrowing by developers, led Chinese property developers to default on a record number of debt obligations and triggered the most serious housing slump China has seen since 1998. The property sector saw its value added decline by more than 5 percent in 2022, even as the overall economy grew at 3 percent. But the current dynamics in the housing market reflect a repeated pattern: Loosening financing restrictions on developers and using housing as a macroeconomic stabilization tool risk reinforcing the boom-bust housing cycle. China's real estate sector is a systemic problem. Without serious reforms to address concerns such as supply-demand imbalances and local governments' deep connections with real estate, housing slumps like the one in 2022 may recur.
Topic:
Government, Real Estate, Supply and Demand, and Housing Crisis
Political Geography:
China and Asia

55. National Science Foundation Technology Innovation Partnership Evaluation

Author:
Barry Bozeman, Nick Hart, Randolph Lyon, Theresa Pardo, and Janet Weiss
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
Abstract:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency established in 1950 by Congress "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense." NSF supports research and the fields of fundamental science and engineering, except for medical sciences, and helps the United States drive leading discoveries. In March 2022, NSF established the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP). TIP was created to focus on significant challenges and opportunities across the entire science and engineering enterprise and to strengthen and scale the critical research that will drive future technologies and solutions. The NSF required an assessment of the organizational and management structure of the NSF's Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships. The Academy: Evaluated and made recommendations to efficiently and effectively implement the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships; and Evaluated and made recommendations to ensure coordination of the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships with other directorates and offices of the Foundation and other Federal agencies.
Topic:
Government, Science and Technology, Innovation, Management, Performance Evaluation, and Public Administration
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

56. Governing in Hard Times: Urgent Questions for the Centre-Left

Author:
Colm Murphy and Farah Hussain
Publication Date:
10-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
Leading speakers from politics, policymaking, and academia provide Starmer and his team with not only questions that they must address ahead of next year’s likely election, but also some potential answers.
Topic:
Government, Public Policy, Labour Party, and Keir Starmer
Political Geography:
Britain, United Kingdom, and Europe

57. Governing in Hard Times Conference: The Climate Emergency and the Green Transition

Author:
Karl Pike, James Meadway, Holly Rowden, and Ryan Jude
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
In light of the IPCC's recent warning that the 1.5 degree target for global warming will be breached by 2028, this panel explored how a centre-left government would tackle the ongoing Climate Emergency. The panellists considered how it might minimise the political and economic blowback to the disruptions of the Green Transition, recent changes to the Labour Party's Green Prosperity Pledge to spend £28bn a year on the transition, and the role that the private sector should - or be encouraged - to play. Chair: Dr Karl Pike (Deputy Director of the Mile End Institute) Panel: Dr James Meadway (Former Director of the Progressive Economy Forum) Holly Rowden (Policy Advisor at Green Alliance UK) Councillor Ryan Jude (Programme Director for the Green Finance Institute and Cabinet Member for Climate Action and Biodiversity at the City of Westminster Council)
Topic:
Climate Change, Government, Domestic Politics, and Green Transition
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

58. Growth Stories: the 'Knowledge Economy' and alternative economic narratives for a future government

Author:
Nick O'Donovan and Vicky Pryce
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
Since the early 1990s, successive UK governments have emphasised social investment in education and research, coupled with pro-market reforms, to foster high-productivity 'knowledge work' in industries such as computing and life sciences. At this seminar at the Mile End Institute, held on Tuesday 23 March 2023, Dr Nick O'Donovan (Head of the Future Economies Centre at Manchester Metropolitan University) explored how the 'Knowledge Economy' became received wisdom in economic policy circles. After presenting his recent book, Pursuing the Knowledge Economy, Nick discussed how it endured multiple crises and a decade-long slump with Vicky Pryce (former Head of the Government Economic Service) and Lord Wood of Anfield (Special Adviser to Gordon Brown). They concluded by discussing whether today's political leaders are willing to break free of the Knowledge Economy narrative and what alternative 'growth stories' they might tell in its place after the next general election.
Topic:
Government, Reform, Economic Growth, and Knowledge Economy
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and North America

59. In Conversation with the Shadow Foreign Secretary, David Lammy MP

Author:
David Lammy and Marie Le Conte
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
On Thursday 9 March, the Mile End Institute welcomed the Shadow Foreign Secretary, David Lammy MP, to ‪@QMUL‬. In a wide-ranging conversation with Marie Le Conte, David reflected on his early life, becoming the first black Briton to graduate from Harvard Law School and over two decades as the MP for Tottenham. He also took stock of the ongoing war in Ukraine, outlined his vision for the UK's foreign policy if the Labour Party win the next election, and reflected on being one of the few members of the Shadow Cabinet to have served in government before.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Government, Elections, Domestic Politics, and Labour Party
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

60. Frontline Functionaries in India: The Absent Policy

Author:
Rashmi Sharma
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
In the context of a high level of dissatisfaction with the delivery of government services in India, this paper traces the evolution of policy regarding key actors in this process— frontline functionaries or street-level bureaucrats. Frontline functionaries form a special subset of the bureaucracy as they come in close contact with citizens, and negotiate government policy with specific citizen needs. The paper provides a historical background illustrating the continuity of colonial era ideas with the current policy regarding frontline functionaries, and also examines it against broader developments in policy and the administrative structure. The policy regarding frontline functionaries is scrutinised against their three roles: as government employees, as professionals or skilled workers in specific fields, and as workers serving the community. The paper shows that frontline functionaries, only loosely connected to the government before colonization, subsequently became government employees, as the government sought to increase the efficiency of revenue collection from land and forests, and to maintain order. Because the colonial government minimized administrative costs, it paid frontline functionaries very poorly, placed them near the bottom of an extremely hierarchical bureaucratic structure and provided them with minimal promotion avenues. Frontline functionaries were not considered worthy of serious responsibility, expected to follow orders, had little education and training and were treated harshly by senior officials. Consequently, their performance was unsatisfactory. They were often corrupt and exploited the community.
Topic:
Government, Decolonization, and Bureaucracy
Political Geography:
South Asia and India