| August 2006
Business &
Entrepreneurship | Corruption | Economic Development | Financial & Monetary Policy| Intellectual Property | Labor & Employment |
Industries: Agriculture |Automobiles |Biotechnology |
Innovation: Science & Technology |
Business & Entrepreneurship
B1 - Women in Business: A Demographic Review of Women’s Business Ownership
Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration 2006, August 2006, online edition, 48p.
“During the five years between 1997 and 2002, women-owned firms grew by 19.8 percent while all U.S. firms grew by seven percent.” This and other facts about women in business are the findings of a new report by the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. “Focusing on the special characteristics of women owned businesses and women’s economic wellbeing, this report provides newly released information on women in the work force and women-owned businesses, including women’s population statistics, their labor force participation, age, education, occupation, work schedules, average personal and household income, business ownership, and business dynamics.” The Office of Advocacy is engaged in initiatives to strengthen and advocate for small firms through research efforts. Fulltext
B2-
Breaking the Chain: The Anti-Trust Case against Wal-Mart
Lynn , Barry C.
Harper's Magazine, June 2006, v313, # 1874; pp29-37
“ It is now twenty-five years since the Reagan Administration eviscerated America's century-long tradition of antitrust enforcement. For a generation, big firms have enjoyed almost complete license to use brute economic force to grow only bigger. And so today we find ourselves in a world dominated by immense global oligopolies that every day further limit the flexibility of our economy and our personal freedom within it.” In this article the author examines the department store Wal-Mart and the company’s handling of anti-trust issues. Barry C. Lynn is a Senior Fellow at the New American Foundation. Fulltext
B3 - Anticorruption In Transition 3 -- Who Is Succeeding ... And Why?
Anderson, James; Gray, Cheryl
World Bank, July 2006, online edition
“Anticorruption in Transition 3 (ACT3) is the third in a series of World Bank reports tracking levels of corruption in enterprise-state interactions since 1999. The report draws on the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS), a joint initiative of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the World Bank. The BEEPS survey, conducted most recently in 2005, covers 26 former socialist countries and Turkey, as well as five western European comparator countries. Despite positive findings, the report emphasizes important reasons to strengthen and accelerate reforms. It stresses that corruption is not falling in all countries or all sectors, and that even the most successful reformers still tend to have higher levels of corruption than in Western Europe. Corruption continues to weigh most heavily on new private firms that are the engine of growth and employment in the region.” Fulltext
B4 - Today’s Golden Age of Poverty Reduction
Bhalla, Surjit S.
International Economy, Spring 2006, v20, #2, pp22-25, 58
International Economy, Spring 2006, v20, #2, pp22-25, 58
In this article, the author argues that the claims that globalization increases poverty and inequality is simply false. In the last twenty years, over billion people have moved out of poverty, he notes. “Poverty as a share of population has decreased by approximately 4% every twenty year from 1820 to 1950.” The increase in poverty that organizations like the World Bank report are based purely on the number of poor, he explains, so while increased population does mean more poor, the numbers fail to reflect the even larger increase in number of people who have moved out of poverty. Surjit S. Bhalla is the head of the hedge fund Oxits Research & Investments in New Delhi, India. He has previously worked for the World Bank, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. Fulltext
B5 - Monetary Policy: Current Policy and Conditions
Labonte, Marc; Makinen, Gail E
CRS Report, July 28, 2006, online edition, 16p
“Monetary policy can be defined broadly as any policy relating to the supply of money. Since the main agency concerned with the supply of money is the nation’s central bank, the Federal Reserve, monetary policy can also be defined in terms of the directives, policies, statements, and actions of the Federal Reserve, particularly those from its Board of Governors that have an effect on aggregate demand or national spending. The nation’s financial press and markets pay particular attention to the pronouncements of the chairman of the Board of Governors, the nation’s central banker. The reason for this attention is that monetary policy can have important effects on aggregate demand and through it on real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), unemployment, real foreign exchange rates, real interest rates, the composition of output, etc.” This report outlines the monetary policy of the United States. Marc Labonte is Specialist in Macroeconomics, Government and Finance Division, Gail E. Makinen, Economic Policy Consultant, Government and Finance Division with the Congressional Research Service. Fulltext
B6 - Who's Afraid of Nathan Myhrvold?
Varchaver, Nicholas
Fortune, July 10, 2006, v154, #1, p110-118
“The article reports on Nathan Myhrvold, a former Microsoft chief technology officer, who is now known as a "patent troll." He has founded Intellectual Ventures, a company that plans to purchase or invent patents and then license them to manufacturers. Others in the technology business believe he plans to use the patents to sue companies and generate revenue." Nicholas Varchaver is a senior writer at Fortune. Fulltext
B7 - Hot Skills, Cold Skills
Collett, Stacy
Computerworld, July 17, 2006, v40, #29, pp22-24
“The article discusses what the IT workforce will look like in the U.S. in 2010. The author predicted that IT departments will be populated with versatilists, rather than IT gurus. She explains that versatilists are those with a technology background who know the business sector inside and out, can architect and carry out IT plans that will add business value, and can cultivate relationships both inside and outside the company. Regarding the expertise in areas such as financial engineering, technology and mathematics, many Internet industry are hiring math, financial analysis, engineering and technology gurus who will devise imaginative algorithms to fulfill users' online needs.” Stacy Collett is a contributing writer for Computerworld. Fulltext
B8 - International Comparisons: How Does the United States Stack Up?
Mishel, Lawrence; Bernstein, Jared; Allegretto, Sylvia
Chapter 8 from the upcoming “The State of working America 2006/2007”, Webposted July 25, 2006 ,36p
“The performance of the U.S. economy—high productivity growth and relatively low unemployment -- has many European policy, political, and economic analysts vying to emulate key features of the U.S. economy, including weaker unions, lower minimum wages, less-generous social benefit systems, and lower taxes. The international comparisons in this analysis can shed light on this ongoing debate about the advisability of exporting the U.S. model.” Lawrence Mishel, Jared Bernstein and Sylvia Allegretto are with the Economic Policy Institute. Fulltext
B9 - The Height of Inequality
Crook, Clive
The Atlantic Monthly, September 2006, v298, #2, pp36-37
As many studies have shown, income distribution in the United States and other industrialized countries is skewed. While the top 10 percent in the society are extremely rich, the vast majority of the work force has an income below average. “Over thirty five years, the rise in wages and salaries in the wide middle of the income distribution was 11 percent. The rise in wages and salaries at the top of the income distribution was 617 percent.” In Crook’s opinion this income growth for the richest segment of society is not due to wise investments. Instead, he asserts that “the highest earners are now capturing most of the gain in national income caused by economy-wide productivity growth. […] [This] suggests that a huge proportion of the economy's productivity gains are neither being passed on to consumers through lower prices—which would have the effect of raising real incomes very broadly—nor being distributed to investors as profit, nor even being used to raise the wages of most employees in industries seeing rapid productivity growth. Rather, they're being diverted to a comparative handful of employees.”
Clive Crook is senior editor of The Atlantic. Fulltext
Industries:
Agriculture
B10 - Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators (AREI), 2006 Edition
Wiebe, Keith; Gollehon, Noel
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Economic Research Service (ERS). July 2006
This 2006 edition of Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators (AREI) examines U.S. farmers' production and conservation practices, the resources they use, and the conservation programs that help shape their choices, as well as the economic conditions and policies that influence agricultural resource use and its environmental impacts. Each of the 28 chapters provides a concise overview of a specific topic with links to sources of additional information. Keith Wiebe and Noel Gollehon are subject specialists with USDA’s Economic Research Service in Washington, DC. Fulltext
Automobiles
B11 - Discover The Alternatives: A Progress Report On Enhancing Energy Security
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, June 2006, online edition, 12p
“The report documents that there are now 8 million alternative fuel autos on U.S. roads, including 3.8 million ethanol-capable autos, 3.6 million diesel vehicles and 280,000 hybrids. The new study also shows that investments in ethanol and biofuels are increasing at a fast pace, including an expanding network of biorefineries. Additionally, new clean diesel is being made more available to the public at retail fueling stations across the country. The auto industry continues to invest heavily in longer-term solutions such as hydrogen and fuel cells, and the first hydrogen autos will be on the road by the end of 2006. Automakers invested $39 billion globally on research and development in 2005. More consumers than ever are considering buying an alternative fuel auto, and the public rates fuel efficiency as a far more important decision factor in vehicle purchase than only a few years ago. Half of the states have enacted consumer incentives to encourage consumers to buy such autos, and the 2005 Energy Bill included tax incentives for consumers buying certain alternative fuel vehicles.” The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers is a trade association including BMW Group, DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motos, Mazda, Mitsubishi Motors, Porsche, Toyota and Volkswagen. Fulltext
Biotechnology
B12 - Scary Food
Miller, Henry I., Conko. Gregory
Policy Review, Jun/Jul 2006.,#137; pp61-70
While the media and public closely follow issues surrounding food security, many scandals involving allergens, toxins and other substances go unnoticed. The authors point to food biotechnology to stop the pollution of food through natural contaminants. “Scientists agree that gene-spliced crops and foods are not only better for the natural environment than conventionally produced food crops, but also safer for consumers. Several varieties now on the market have been modified to resist insect predation and plant diseases, which makes the harvested crop much cleaner and safer. Ironically, in their eagerness to avoid biotechnology, some major food companies may knowingly be making their products less safe and wholesome for consumers, which places them in richly deserved legal jeopardy. […]Food biotechnology provides an effective — and cost-effective — way to prevent many of these injurious scenarios, but instead of being widely encouraged, it is being resisted by self-styled environmental activists and even government officials. Henry I. Miller, M.D., is a Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Gregory Conko is Director of food safety policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Fulltext
Innovation:
Science & Technology
B13 - Human Cloning
Johnson, Judith A. & Erin D. Williams
CRS Report, July 20th, 2006, online edition, 27p
“In December 2005, an investigation by Seoul National University, South Korea, found that scientist Hwang Woo Suk had fabricated results on deriving patient matched stem cells from cloned embryos -- a major setback for the field. In May 2005 Hwang had announced a significant advance in creating human embryos using cloning methods and in isolating human stem cells from cloned embryos. These developments have contributed to the debate in the 109th Congress on the moral and ethical implications of human cloning. Scientists in other labs, including Harvard University and the University of California at San Francisco, intend to produce cloned human embryos in order to derive stem cells for medical research on diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and other diseases. President Bush announced in August 2001 that for the first time federal funds would be used to support research on human embryonic stem cells, but funding would be limited to “existing stem cell lines.” Judith A. Johnson is a Specialist in Life Sciences, Domestic Social Policy Division, Erin D. Williams is a specialist in Bioethical Policy, Domestic Social Policy Division with the Congressional Research Service. Fulltext
B14 - The Search for Artificial Intelligence
Bethell, Tom
The American Spectator, Jul/Aug 2006, v39, # 6; pp26-36
The article focuses on the search for artificial intelligence in the U.S. In the summer of 1956, a two-month conference at Dartmouth College set out to explore the conjecture that every aspect of learning can, in principle, be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it, or that computers could do what the mind does. […]Fifty years after the Dartmouth conference, the computer science people are still working on these problems. Computers have not yet passed the Turing test. A "significant advance" has been made in solving some problems "now reserved for humans." But the advance belongs in the realm of what is called "applied" artificial intelligence. Computers can do useful things like multiplication and division, and they are also very good at chess. An IBM program beat the world chess champion. As to machines forming abstractions on their own, there has been no progress.” This article examines artificial intelligence research in the past 50 years. Tom Bethell is Senior Editor of The American Spectator and author of the new book: The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science. Fulltext
B15 - Nanotechnology: A Research Strategy for Addressing Risk
Mayer, Andrew D.
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, July 2006, online edition, 45p
A recent inventory developed by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies indicates that approximately 300 nanotechnology-enabled consumer products identified by companies from 15 countries are presently on the market. Currently there also are an estimated 600 nanotechnology raw materials, intermediate compoments and industrial equipment items used by manufacturers. This report is a first attempt to offer a blueprint for systematically exploring the potential risks of nanotechnology. It makes recommendations on what research should be done and who should lead the research efforts. Andrew D. Mayer is Chief Science Advisor for the project on emerging nanotechnology at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Fulltext
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