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June 2006
Bribery & Corruption | Business & Entrepreneurship | Economic Development |Financial & Monetary Policy | Intellectual Property | Labor & Employment | Trade | WTO
Industries: Agriculture – Automobiles
B1 - In World Bank Corruption Fight, Independent Evaluation Is Key
Levine, Ruth
CGD Notes, Center for Global Development, April 2006, online edition, 2p
The author argues that independent impact evaluation of anti-corruption programs will be crucial to the success of the new World Bank campaign against corruption. As corruption-fighting programs are put into place, she writes, donor and recipient countries must request and fund careful, credible and independent third party evaluations. Ruth Levine is Director of Programs at the Center for Global Development (CGD). Fulltext
Business & Entrepreneurship
B2 - The Best Cities for Doing Business
Inc. Magazine, May 2006, online edition
Inc. Magazine's annual web-based evaluation of population
centers across the nation ranks cities according to job growth
and other signs of business vitality. The site provides statistics
and related articles on topics such as boomtowns and business
relocation back to 2004. Fulltext
B3 - Two Myths of Globalization
Gottesman, Edward A
World Policy Journal, Spring 2006, v23, #1, pp37-44
"Edward Gottesman discusses two globalization myths.
The first is that China is the 'next economic superpower' and
will be the largest economy in the world in 10, 20, or 30 years.
The second is that the current account deficit the U.S. has run
for a number of years (about a third of which has recently been
in trade with China) is 'unsustainable' and will result in some
global economic cataclysm." Edward Gottesman is an American
lawyer who has lived and practiced in London since 1962. He is
a former president of the American Chamber of Commerce (U.K.),
and a member of the President's Council on International Activities
at Yale University. Fulltext
B4 - Reforming the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank
Interview with Ngaire Woods
Challenge, May-June 2006, v49, #3, pp5-16
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank face twin crises. The sources of their funding are running dry, and criticism of their policies is widespread. The author argues that both institutions must be saved because they perform functions that no other institution can provide. Ngaire Woods is director of the Global Economic Governance Program at University College, Oxford, and Fellow in Politics and International Relations. Order article
Financial & Monetary Policy
B5 - U.S.: A Slowdown Investors Should Cheer, Not Fear
Cooper, C. James
Business Week, June 19, 2006, #3989, pp27
“Investors should always be careful what they wish for. This time they were hoping for a slowdown in the economy that would calm inflation fears and finally put an end to the Federal Reserve's two-year barrage of interest rate hikes. What they got is a new set of worries. Recent data, headlined by a surprisingly weak report on the May labor markets, show not only that the economy is cooling off but that growth is slowing sharply, at least in the second quarter. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's unexpectedly hawkish remarks on inflation in a June 5 speech only fueled those concerns.” James C. Cooper is Senior Editor with Business Week. Fulltext
B6 - Not All Deficits Are Created Equal
Tatom, John A.
Financial Analysts Journal, May/June 2206, v62, #3, pp12-19
“Recent academic and popular discussions of budget deficits rely
on a simplistic, and largely false, conception of the effects
of deficits. The effects depend on the source of the deficit and
on private-sector responses to it. Also important are whether
budget changes arise passively through the workings of the business
cycle and whether deficit-inducing policy actions are permanent
or transitory. The key expectations arising from the simple theories
connecting interest rates and deficits are precisely opposite
to what modern theory and evidence indicate.” John A. Tatom
is Director of Research at Networks Financial Institute, Indianapolis,
and Associate Professor of Finance at Indiana State University.
Order Article
B7 - Keeping Trade Secrets Secret
Hannah, David R.
MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring 2006, v47, #3, pp16-20
“Many people have only a vague idea of what exactly constitutes a trade secret. By definition, trade secrets are one type of intellectual property (the other types are patents, trademarks and copyrights). For information to be considered a trade secret, it must meet certain legal standards. […] Research has shown that the biggest threat to a company’s trade secrets does not come from spying competitors but from within: current and former employees.” This paper highlights eight common mistakes that companies make in regards to guarding their trade secrets – and offers strategies on how to avoid them. David R. Hannahis an Assistant Professor of Management and Organization Studies at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. Fulltext
B8- Here’s how to Make it Stop
Fishman, Ted, C.
Inc., June 2006, v28, #6, pp98-102
"William C. Jones Has Money Worries. Of Course, all CEOs worry about money, and as chairman of Cummins-Allison, a business that's been in his family for three generations, Jones frets about keeping his customers, paying his 1,000 employees, and financing his company's plans to keep growing. […] He worries that the United States isn't doing enough to ensure that the money that runs our economy is secure from the machinations of rogue foreign governments and crime rings that work every day to undermine the integrity of the dollar with counterfeits. Cummins-Allison is America's only domestic producer of advanced currency processing machines. […] Every day the company sees evidence that its competitors around the world will go to nearly any length to copy or to finagle a transfer (that is, a theft) of its core technologies." Ted C. Fishman is a journalist and has recently written a book on China. Fulltext
B9 - Issue Guide on Offshoring
Bivens, L. Josh
Economic Policy Institute Issue Guide, Updated May 2006, online edition, 15p
“Recent reports of the widespread offshoring (substituting
foreign for domestic labor) of white-collar jobs that were previously
insulated from foreign competition have attracted much public
attention. Although workers in manufacturing industries have long
been exposed to foreign competition, trends such as falling communication
costs, the rise of Internet commerce, and other technological
advances have made a much wider spectrum of jobs vulnerable to
relocation across national borders. This issue guide aims to provide
some insight into the economics of white-collar offshoring: its
causes, consequences, impact on the U.S. economy, and implications
for the future.” L. Josh Bivens is an EPI economist.
Fulltext
B10 - Just How Unethical is American Business?
Clement, Ronald W.
Business Horizons, July-August 2006, v49, #4, pp313-327
“This study of reports in the business news between
January 1, 2000 and June 30, 2005 found that as of 1999, 40 corporations
in the Fortune 100 had committed behaviors that could
be considered unethical. The behaviors of concern included three
types of fraud (accounting, securities, and consumer), discriminatory
practices, undisclosed executive pay, antitrust activities, patent
infringement, and other violations of the law. Based on the “unacceptability”
of the misdeeds committed, this article ranks the 40 firms into
three categories. Further, it uses the research on business ethics
and the behaviors of executives, boards of directors, and even
government officials to suggest why these unethical behaviors
were allowed to happen. Finally, it concludes with recommendations
for improving business behavior, and suggests important roles
for future business leaders and the broader American public.”
Ronald W. Clementm, Pittsburg State University, College of
Business. Order
article
B11 - Americas: Trading up?
Jiang, Kevin Z
Harvard International Review, Spring 2006, v28, #1, pp10-11
"The dream of free trade in the Western Hemisphere suffered
yet another blow on Nov 6, 2005, as the Fourth Summit of the Americas
in Mar del Plata, Argentina concluded with no progress for the
Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement. Hostile public
opinion, supported by government resistance to FTAA policies and
US-led free trade policies in general, was the main reason behind
the failure of the FTAA. The progress of the FTAA has also been
impeded by the rise of smaller regional free trade organizations.
The long-term future of the FTAA is uncertain. Many of the differences
that separate the US and some South American countries are the
same ones that held up the Doha round of WTO talks." Kevin
Z. Jiang is Associate Editor of the Harvard International Review.
Fulltext
Industries:
B12 - Enriching America's Heartland
Johanns, Mike
USA Today, May 2006, v134 #2732, pp16-17
This article is adapted from a speech given by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture at the 2006 Agricultural Outlook Forum on Farm Policy. It focuses on issues related to the complex portfolio that constitute U.S. farm policy. Mike Johanns, former governor of Nebraska, is Secretary of Agriculture. Fulltext
B13 - Can Organic Farming Feed Us All?
Halweil, Brian
World Watch, May/June 2006, v19, #3 pp. 18-24
For years, agricultural experts have argued that a widespread
conversion to organic farming would result in lower crop yields
and exacerbate the poverty of farmers in Third World countries.
But, as Halweil proposes in this article, previous studies may
have been based on faulty assumptions. Moreover, improved techniques
that track world food production data indicate the economic viability
of growing food without synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
Halweil describes the results and potential applications of studies
conducted by scientists from the University of Michigan, who compared
worldwide productivity of organic and non-organic farms. The article
also notes the social benefits organic farming can generate by
shifting the balance toward smaller, undercapitalized farms and
stabilizing rural labor forces, while decreasing water pollution
and soil erosion. Brian Halweil is aSenior Researcher at World
Watch and the author of “Eat Here: Reclaiming Homegrown Pleasures
in a Global Supermarket.” Fulltext
Automobiles
B14 - Alternative Fuels and Advanced Technology Vehicles: Issues in Congress
Yacobucci, Brent D.
The Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, CRS Issue Brief for Congress, IB10128, updated May 8, 2006, 14p
“In the 109th Congress, alternative fuels and advanced technology vehicles have received a good deal of attention, especially in the debate over omnibus energy legislation. High fuel prices, especially in response to hurricanes along the gulf coast, have focused that attention. Major topics of congressional interest include tax incentives for alternative fuel production; the future of ethanol and the fuel additive MTBE, including the establishment of a renewable fuels standard (RFS); and research and development of hydrogen fuel and fuel cells. Other topics include government vehicle purchase requirements; tax credits for vehicle purchases; promotion of biodiesel fuel; and incentives for hybrid electric vehicles.” Brent D. Yacobucci is with the Resources, Science, and Industry Division at CRS. Fulltext
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