| May 2006
Bribery & Corruption | Financial
& Monetary Policy | Global Economic Growth | Intellectual Property | Trade |
Industries: Agriculture
– Automobiles
B1 - The Long War against Corruption
Heineman, Ben W.; Heimann, Fritz
Foreign Affairs, May/June 2006, v85, #3, pp. 75-86
This article discusses corruption among government officials and
corporations on an international scale. Corruption is widely acknowledged
to distort markets, undermine the rule of law, damage government
legitimacy, and hurt economic development. Methods for stemming
the flow of corruption include the enactment of legislation and
administrative regulations, such as freedom-of-information laws,
and the reinforcement of positive cultural values. According to
the authors, the global anticorruption movement has gained ground
since the mid-1990s, but its key agents, developed and developing
countries, international organizations, and multinational corporations,
must do more to prevent and punish misbehavior systematically.
Ben W. Heineman, Jr., is a Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center
for Science and International Affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School
of Government. Fritz Heimann, a Co-founder of Transparency International,
was Chair of Transparency International-USA from 1993 to 2005.
Order Article
B2 - Why Spending has got to Give
Henderson, David R
Policy Review, Apr/May 2006, #136; pp3-11
“Federal spending rose from about 18.5 percent of gross domestic
product (GDP) at the end of the Clinton administration to 20.3
percent by the end of George W. Bush’s first term -- during the
watch, that is, of a Republican president and a Republican Congress.
Of course, much of this increase is in defense spending and homeland
security. But President Bush has not chosen guns at the expense
of butter: He has opted for both. He did not veto even a single
spending bill. David R. Henderson is a research fellow at
the Hoover Institution and an associate professor of economics at
the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Fulltext
B3 - The return of US Saving
Feldstein, Martin
Foreign Affairs, May/Jun2006, v85, #3, pp87-93
"The U.S. savings rate has been falling for decades. But
that downward trend will likely soon be reversed, as factors such
as rising mortgage interest rates force American to start saving
more. The change will ultimately be for the better, but in the
short term it could cause serious problems for the United States
and its trading partners unless they start preparing immediately."
This article discusses the U.S. savings rate and the global economy.
Martin Feldstein is George F. Baker Professor of Economics
at Harvard University and CE0 of the National Bureau of Economic
Research. Order Article
B4 - A banner year
McGirt, Ellen
Fortune, April 17, 2006, v.153, #7, pp192-195
“The article reports that despite the problems of 2005, which
included war, high fuel prices, monetary uncertainty, a large
deficit, a new chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, and Hurricane
Katrina, the U.S. largest corporations set records for both revenues
and profits. Reasons for this trend include the fact that long-term
interest rates remained low, which kept the housing market going
and consumer spending up. Also, financial institutions benefited
from the calm macroeconomic environment and had good profit growth."
Fulltext
B5- How State Policies Can Raise Economic Growth
Moudud, Jamee
Challenge; Mar/Apr2006, v49 #2, pp33-51
"The article considers the policy responses in economic literature
that dispute the wisdom of a neo-liberal economic policy in a
Keynesian economy... Economist Jamee Moudud advocates what he
calls supply-side activism. It is not tax and spend. It is certainly
not cut and run. Rather, it is tax and invest. And he makes a
very strong case for why the U.S. economy needs this approach
badly." Jamee Moudud is Assistant Professor at Sarah
Lawrence College, as well as NASDAQ Visiting professor in the
Graduate Programm in International at the New School, and a research
associate at the Jerome Levy Economic Institute of Bard College.
Order Article
B6 - Joseph Stiglitz and the Critique of Free Market Analysis
Houseman Gerald
Challenge; Mar/Apr2006, v49 #2, pp52-62
The article reviews the economics of Joseph Stiglitz, who has
refuted one of the defining ideas of capitalism and free enterprise,
Adam Smith's "invisible hand." Stiglitz pioneered information
economics, which states that behind every transaction there is
a disequilibrium of information positioning one party in a superior
position in the bargain. Stiglitz consequently believes that the
information gap is most likely to harm people, the poor, the uneducated
and consumers, on an individual level. Information inequality
has led Stiglitz to be concerned with developing countries, which
are now rejecting the failed notion of "free enterprise."
Stiglitz is a pragmatist who rejects ideological solutions, yet
his ideas have yet to be taken up by mainstream politicians."
Gerald Houseman is Professor of political economy at Washington
State University. Order
Article
B7 - World Economic Outlook 2006: Globalization and Inflation
World Economic Outlook Database, April 2006, online edition
"While the central focus of World Economic Outlook is a comprehensive
review of recent global developments, forecasts and risks, and
current policy recommendations, it also contains analytical chapters
providing an in-depth analysis of a variety of topical policy
issues that help underpin the policy advice. The IMF is making
these analytical chapters available to the public through the
IMF's website about one week before the full WEO document is formally
released, to provide them with greater visibility. The published
version of the WEO will of course continue to contain all chapters." Fulltext
B8 - Stormy Days on an Open Field: Asymmetries in the
Global Economy
Birdsall,Nancy
Working Paper, Center for Global Development, 02/16/2006,
online edition, 32p.
"Openness is not necessarily good for the poor. Reducing
trade protection has not brought growth to today’s poorest countries,
and open capital markets have not been good for the poorest households
in emerging market economies. In this paper I present evidence
on these two points. First, countries highly dependent on primary
exports two decades ago, despite their substantial engagement
in trade and a marked decline in their tariff rates in the 1990s,
have failed to grow. Second, within high-debt emerging market
economies the financial crises of the last decade, whether induced
by domestic policy problems or global contagion, have been especially
costly for the poor (in welfare terms if not in terms of absolute
income losses). I discuss the asymmetries in the global economy
that help explain why countries and people cannot always compete
on equal terms on the “level playing field” of the global economy.
This paper is updated from a paper presented at the 2002 G-20
Workshop on Globalization, Living Standards, and Inequality in
Sydney, Australia. It is also forthcoming in a Jubilee Conference
Volume of the World Institute for Development Economics Research.”
Fulltext
B9 - O'Connor's Copyright Legacy
Dames, K. Matthew
Information Today, Apr2006, v23, #4, pp20-21
In a landmark decision (Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone
Services) on intellectual property, the Supreme Court Justice
Sandra O’Connor and her colleagues ruled in 1991 that the replication
of public information, as found in telephone directories, constitutes
no violation of copyrights. “O'Connor explained that current copyright
law emphasized originality above all else, and that Rural's compilation
of names, addresses, and phone numbers did not meet the statutory
standards of originality. […] But database protection legislation
is not a dead issue given the investment eBay, the National Association
of Realtors, Google, and others put into creating, maintaining,
and updating their compilations of original and factual material.
To this end, O'Connor's legacy--through Feist-will continue to
have a prominent place in the domestic policy debate.” . Matthew
Dames, doctorate of jurisprudence, holds an M.L.S. and is the
executive editor of CopyCense, an online publication that covers
the intersection of business, law, and technology. He also is
an adjunct professor at Syracuse University's School of Information
Studies. Fulltext
B10 - Not exactly counterfeit
Parloff, Roger
Fortune Online, May 1, 2006
Based on the experience of several companies, the article describes
a fairly new challenge Western companies face when trying to protect
their products from counterfeiting - the so-called "Third
or Midnight Shift". Western companies outsource the production
of their goods to factories overseas, thereby entrusting their
intellectual property to contractors all over the world. Licensed
contractors fill the order during the day shifts, but run extras
at night, which they sell for their own profit. Stopping this
practice turns out to be very difficult, as an example of a lawsuit
by the shoe manufacturer New Balance against a Chinese factory
owner illustrates. Roger Parloff is a Fortune Senior Writer.
Fulltext
B11 - Intellectual Property for the Technological Age
Epstein, Richard A.
The Manufacturing Institute, the research and education arm
of the National Association of Manufacturers, University of Chicago
and the Hoover Institution, April 2006. 79p
Patents, copyrights and trade secrets play a critical role in
producing technological creativity, innovation and economic growth
in the United States and elsewhere. This study responds to objections
to IP laws, including claims they are static, freeze innovation,
and are too cumbersome and costly. Epstein maintains, “Exclusive
intellectual property rights are essential to technological innovation
and do not create undesirable monopolies, as misguided critics
claim. Rather, strong IP laws work to secure the rapid introduction
of competing technologies that expand market options.” Software
engineers, pharmaceutical researchers, filmmakers, recording artists,
and other creators and innovators cannot thrive in economies where
they are constantly being pirated. The proper management of creativity
and innovation can positively impact both developed and emerging
economies. Richard A. Epstein, Professor of law at the University
of Chicago and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. Fulltext
B12 - Free Trade Agreements: Impact on U.S. Trade and
Implications for U.S. Trade Policy
William H. Cooper.
Congressional Research Report, Library of Congress, Washington
D.C.; Updated April 19, 2006, 19 p.
“In the last few years, the United States has engaged or has proposed
to engage in negotiations to establish bilateral and regional
free trade arrangements (FTAs) with a number of trading partners.
[…] FTAs are now a significant U.S. trade policy tool. Their rapid
emergence raises some important policy issues for the second session
of the 109th Congress.” William H. Cooper is Specialist in
International Trade and Finance, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and
Trade Division of the Congressional Research Service of the Library
of Congress. Fulltext
Industries:
B13 - The First Decade of Genetically Engineered Crops
in the United States
Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge; Caswell, Margriet
Economic Information Bulletin No. EIB-11, April 2006, 36 p.
“Ten years after the first generation of genetically engineered
(GE) varieties became commercially available adoption of these
varieties by U.S. farmers is widespread for major crops. Despite
the benefits, however, environmental and consumer concerns still
limit the acceptance of GE crops, particularly in Europe. This
report focuses on GE crops and their adoption in the United States
over the past 10 years and examines the views of the three major
stakeholders of agricultural biotechnology: biotech firms, farmers,
and consumers.” Both authors are agricultural economists with
the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.
Fulltext
Automobiles
B14 - The U.S. Auto Supplier Industry in Transition
Klier, Thomas H. ; Rubenstein, James M.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Essays on Issues, Chicago
Fed Letter, May 2006, no. 226, 4p.
“Evolving relations between carmakers and their parts suppliers
have resulted in local, regional, and international shifts in
the location of production.” This article takes up “ongoing structural
changes, which are affecting the prospects for the U.S. auto industry’s
continued concentration in the Midwest.” Thomas H. Klier is
senior economist in the research department at the Federal Reserve
Bank of Chicago. James M. Rubenstein is professor at Miami University
of Ohio. Fulltext
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