|
September/October 2006
American Economy | Economic Development | Globalization | Financial & Monetary Policy |Intellectual Property | Labor & Employment |
Industries: Automobiles
Innovation: Science & Technology
B1 - Reaganomics: How's It Going?
DeMuth Christopher
National Review, September 11, 2006, v58, #16, pp36-38
The article examines the effects of Reaganomics on the U.S. economy. The economic policies of former United States President Ronald Reagan emphasized the advantages of private markets and the disadvantages of government spending. Mr. DeMuth is the president of the American Enterprise Institute. Fulltext
B2 - Is the United States Bankrupt?
Kotlikoff, Laurence J.
, Thakor, Anja
Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, July-August 2006, v88, #4, pp235-249
The authors arugues that remaining open to foreign investment can help stave off bankruptcy and radical reform of U. S. fiscal institutions is essential to secure the nation's economic future. The paper offers three policies to eliminate the nation's enormous fiscal gap and avert bankruptcy: a retail sales tax, personalized Social Security, and a globally budgeted universal healthcare system. Laurence J. Kotlikoff is a professor of economics at Boston University and a
research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Anjan Thakor is the John E. Simon Professor of Finance at the Olin School of
Business at Washington University in St. Louis. Fulltext
B3 - Investing in the Youth Bulge
Jimenez, Emmanuel Y., Murthi, Mamta
Finance and Development, September 2006, v43, #3, pp40-43
The authors say that many developing countries are experiencing the largest "youth bulge" in history. The authors discuss the risks and opportunities that this youth bulge can have on economic growth and poverty reduction. They recommend focusing on policies and goals that promote high employment, such as achieving universal primary and secondary education, making reforms in the trade and labor markets, and improving the investment climate for human capital. With the right investments, they write, developing countries can turn their large youth populations into a boon. Emmanuel Y. Jimenez is Sector Director, East Asia and Pacific Human Development, at the World Bank. Mamta Murthi is a Lead Economist, Europe and Central Asia, at the World Bank. Fulltext
B4 - Fast Track Forever?
Mastel, Greg, Shapiro, Hal
International Economy, Summer 2006, v20, #3, pp50-55
"The authors note that there has been a nearly five-fold increase in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) since fast-track negotiating authority was reestablished in 2002 by the Trade Promotion Authority Act. Fast-track authority is due to expire in 2007, and historically there have been long breaks before being reinstated, they state. Although it is possible to negotiate FTAs without fast-track authority, say the authors, it is much more difficult and prone to delays -- which discourages trade and is detrimental to both U.S. trade policy and global growth. Therefore, they recommend that some form of permanent fast-track authority be established. A permanent fast track would need to include mechanisms to improve the balance of powers between the President and Congress, they write; additionally, it should provide more guidance on determination of specific authority to negotiate." Greg Mastel was Chief International Trade Adviser-the lead Senate staff person-on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee during the drafting and consideration of the 2002 Trade Act. Hal Shapiro was Associate General Counsel in the office of the U.S. Trade. Fulltext
Financial & Monetary Policy
B5 - The U.S. Dollar and Prosperity: Accidents waiting to Happen
Brenner, Reuven
Cato Journal, Spring 2006, v26, #2, pp317-332
"
Development in the rest of the world depends on the U.S. because America continues to be the engine of the world economy and the U.S. dollar is the main reserve currency. During the last decade, the U.S. dollar has experienced wide fluctuations. The significant upward movement in the U.S. dollar during the late 1990s brought financial, political, and social havoc in countries that either pegged their currencies to the dollar or had currency boards, Argentina's case being the most prominent. Besides anchoring monetary policy to the price of gold, there are other ways to make central banks credible, by separating monetary policy from domestic politics. Monetary mismanagement can cause unemployment and inflation, or far worse symptoms of instability, both in the US and abroad". Reuven Brenner holds the REPAP Chair in Economics at McGill University's
Desantels School of Management, is an Adjunct Scholar at the Cato Institute, and
a partner at March Strategic Partners. Fulltext
B6 - Will Emerging Markets Escape the Next Big Systemic Financial Crisis?
Rogoff, Kenneth
Cato Journal, Spring/Summer 2006,v26, #2, pp337-341
For the past four centuries, emerging market debt crises have broken out like clockwork, but in today's world emerging market debts are near record lows and most countries are able to borrow liberally on international capital markets. Rogoff summarizes both the optimistic and the pessimistic views of globalization's impact on the financial future of emerging markets. He concludes globalization has helped yield a deeper and more sustained expansion than in the past, but he also expects emerging market debt crises are likely to recur during the next decade. Kenneth Rogoff is Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Economics at Harvard Univeristy. Fulltext
B7 - The 2006 Globalization Index
Kearney, A.T.
Foreign Policy, November/December 2006, online edition, 9p
It’s a small world, and globalization is making it smaller, even in the face of conflict and chaos. For the sixth year, Foreign Policy, in collaboration with A.T. Kearney, sorts out globalization’s winners and losers. Fulltext
B8- 2006 Report to the President and Congress on Coordination of Intellectual Property Enforcement and Protection.
National Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordination Council (NIPLECC), Annual Report- September 2006, online edition, 168p
The National Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordination Council (NIPLECC) is composed of representatives from the Departments of Commerce, Homeland Security, Justice and State, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the U.S. Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Enforcement. The report reviews the actions and initiatives that the U.S. government has taken over the past year to combat the rising tide of global counterfeiting and piracy. NIPLECC notes that anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting efforts are important because of the critical role intellectual property (IP) plays in the country's economic strength and the health and safety of consumers.
Highlights of the 2006 report include:
* The expansion of the STOP! (Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy) education outreach events for small and medium-sized businesses, including China-focused programs.
* The development of the StopFakes.gov website and improvement of online resources for innovators and industry.
* Administration leadership that led to the development and announcement of a G8 Statement on Combating IPR Piracy and Counterfeiting.
* The launch of the U.S.-EU Action Strategy for the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights.
* The growth in the Commerce Department's IP attaché program in China and the posting of new regional attachés in Brazil, Russia, India, Thailand and the Middle East.
* Working with Canada and Mexico as part of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) to strengthen IP protection.
* The continued utilization by USTR of the Special 301 process and other trade tools, including World Trade organization (WTO) tools as appropriate, to seek resolution of U.S. concerns regarding IP protection and enforcement. Fulltext
B9 - Labor Force Characteristics of Second-Generation Americans
Mosisa, Abraham
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review, v129, #9, September 2006, pp10-19p
“This article examines the labor force status, occupations, and earnings of second- and third-and-higher-generation workers by a variety of demographic characteristics including age, sex, race or ethnicity, educational attainment, and family status. It also looks at the labor market situation of the two groups that make up the second generation — persons whose parents are both foreign born (foreign parentage) and persons who have one native-born parent and one foreign-born parent (mixed parentage).” Abraham Mosisa is an economist in the Division of Labor Force Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fulltext
B10 - The State of Working America 2006/2007
The Economic Policy Institute, October 2006, online edition, various pagings
Prepared biennially since 1988, the Economic Policy Institute's flagship publication sums up the problems and challenges facing American working families, presenting a wide variety of data on family incomes, taxes, wages, unemployment, wealth, and poverty — data that enables the book's authors to closely examine the impact of the economy on the living standards of the American people. The State of Working America 2006/2007 is an exhaustive reference work that will be welcomed by anyone eager for a comprehensive portrait of the economic well-being of the nation. Fulltext
Industries:
Automobiles
B11 - Driving GM’s New Hydrogen Car
Voelcker, John
IEEESpectrum, September 2006, online edition
“Hybrids are now an accepted part of our vehicle landscape, with electric cars powered by lithium-ion batteries on the horizon. But General Motors and other manufacturers are also looking much further ahead, toward a future where our personal transport—what we might call “a car”—is powered exclusively by hydrogen fuel cells. GM has spent a decade working on fuel-cell cars, with several concept vehicles along the way.” In an effort to completely reinvent the automobile for the 21st century, GM now presents a drivable prototype less than two years after the concept was presented Detroit’s January 2005 North American International Auto Show.” John Voelcker covers auto technology for IEEE Spectrum, Popular Science, and other media. Fulltext
B12 - Americans and Their Cars: Is the Romance on the Skids?
Taylor, Paul, Funk, Cary, Craighill, Peyton
Pew Research Center, August 1, 2006, 18p
“Any nation with more passenger vehicles than licensed drivers has a pretty serious love affair with the automobile. But the romance seems to be cooling off a bit -- a casualty of its own intensity. Today 69% of American drivers say they like to drive, down from 79% in a 1991 Gallup survey.” According to this report it appears to be the result of a longer term trend. Paul Taylor is the Executive Vice President, Cary Funk is the Senior Project Director, and Peyton Craighill is the Project Director. Fulltext
Innovation:
Science & Technology
B13 - Science and Technology Policy: Issues for the 109th Congress
Gottron, Frank
CRS, Report for Congress, RL32837, Updated September 1, 2006. online edition, 51p
Science and technology underpin and pervasively influence a wide range of issues confronting the nation. Deciding how much federal funding to invest in basic and applied research, and in research and development (R&D), and determining what programs have the highest priority, could have implications for homeland security, new high technology industries, government/private sector cooperation in R&D, and myriad other areas. This report briefly discusses key science and technology issues being debated in the 109th Congress. Frank Gottron, is Coordinator Resources, Science, and Industry Division, CRS reports. Fulltext
|
