International Economics Commons^™

Currency Wars And The Erosion Of Dollar Hegemony, Lan Cao

Lan Cao

Responsible International Citizenry In The Asian Century: Why Failure To Meet International Obligations Adversely Affects Australian National Interests, Danielle Ireland-Piper

Danielle Ireland-Piper

If Australia is to secure its financial and security interests in the Asian century, then it must build effective working relationship in the Asia-Pacific. To do so, Australia must build familial and not merely transactional relationship in Asia. In turn, this requires Australia to present as a responsible international citizen. This image of responsible citizenry, however, is difficult to achieve when the Australian Constitution permits race-based laws and Australia’s approach to regional asylum seeker management may violate international law. This is because the hypocrisy inherent in non-compliance impedes Australia's capacity to build meaningful relationship in the Asian region. in that …

Cartelizing Taxes: Understanding The Oecd's Campaign Against Harmful Tax Competition, Andrew P. Morriss, Lotta Moberg

Andrew P. Morriss

Formed in 1961 to promote global economic and social well-being, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has become the collective voice of rich countries on international tax issues. After an initial focus on improving commerce through addressing double taxation issues, the organization shifted to a focus on restricting tax competition and increasing automatic exchanges of tax information. In this paper we analyze the reasons for this shift in policy focus. After describing the history of the OECD's work on taxation, we examine the OECD's project against "harmful tax competition" as it has played out since its launch in …

Navigating The Expanding Universe Of International Treaties On Foreign Investment-- Creation And Use Of A Critical Index, Julien Chaisse

Julien Chaisse

Is The Wto Quietly Fading Away?: The New Regionalism And Global Trade Rules, Stephen J. Powell, Trisha Low

Stephen Joseph Powell

While scholars and governments alike view the liberalization of international trade as a positive development, they disagree on the medium that will accomplish this objective with the highest economic returns. Some experts believe that multilateralism through the 150+ member World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only way to achieve truly open and efficient trade. Others view multilateralism as but an aspiration and find that regionalism offers the only viable prospect for the meaningful further opening of markets. In light of what we label the "new regionalism," our paper explores in detail the positive and negative effects of regional trade arrangements …

Chinese Privatization: Between Plan And Market, Lan Cao

Lan Cao

No abstract provided.

Microfoundations Of The Rule Of Law, Gillian K. Hadfield, Barry R. Weingast

Gillian K Hadfield

Many social scientists rely on the rule of law in their accounts of political or economic development. Many however simply equate law with a stable government capable of enforcing the rules generated by a political authority. As two decades of largely failed efforts to build the rule of law in poor and transition countries and continuing struggles to build international legal order demonstrate, we still do not understand how legal order is produced, especially in places where it does not already exist. We here canvas literature in the social sciences to identify the themes and gaps in the existing accounts. …

Corporate Social Responsibility In A Remedy-Seeking Society: A Public Choice Perspective, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

Written for the Chapman Law Review Symposium on “What Can Law & Economics Teach Us About the Corporate Social Responsibility Debate?,” this Article applies the lessons of public choice theory to examine corporate social responsibility. The Article adopts a broad definition of corporate social responsibility activism to include both (1) those efforts that seek to convince corporations to voluntarily take into account corporate social responsibility in their own decision-making, and (2) the efforts to alter the legal landscape and expand legal obligations of corporations beyond traditional notions of harm and duty so as to force corporations to invest in interests …

When The Claim Hits: Bilateral Investment Treaties And Bounded Rational Learning, Lauge N. Skovgaard Poulsen, Emma Aisbett

Lauge N. Skovgaard Poulsen

Using the international investment regime as its point of departure, the paper introduces notions of bounded rationality to the study of economic diplomacy. Through a multi-method approach, it shows that developing countries often ignored the risks of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) until they themselves became subject to an investment treaty claim. Thus the behavior of developing country governments with regard to the international investment regime is consistent with that observed for individuals in experiments and field studies: they tend to ignore high-impact, low-probability risks if they cannot bring specific ‘vivid’ instances to mind.

The Dangers Of Diversity: Ethnic Fractionalization And The Rule Of Law, Michael Touchton

Michael Touchton

Research linking ethnic cleavages to economic underdevelopment is a hallmark of recent efforts to explain economic growth. Similarly, the rule of law as a credible commitment to property rights and contract enforcement is also identified with economic development. Rather than treating these factors as rival explanations for economic development around the world, I propose the rule of law as the causal mechanism through which ethnic fractionalization (EF) influences growth in many countries. I argue ethnic diversity negatively impacts the rule of law due to the prevalence of ethnically-based patronage networks in developing countries. Public officials, I argue, face greater incentives …

Dodd-Frank Act And Remittances To Post-Conflict Countries: The Law Of Unintended Consequences Strikes Again, Raymond Natter

Raymond Natter

The Dodd-Frank Act established a new Federal framework for the regulation of international remittance payments that originate in the U.S. However, the statute and implementing regulations may have the unintended consequence of disrupting the flow of remittance funds to post-conflict nations.

Applying Best Practice Principles To International Intellectual Property Lawmaking, Jeremy De Beer

Jeremy de Beer

This article applies the Max Planck Principles on Intellectual Property Provisions in Bilateral and Regional Agreements to several recently established or still-being-negotiated international lawmaking instruments. It identifies recent, fundamental changes and overarching patterns in the evolution in the procedures, institutions, and substantive outcomes of international intellectual property law- making. Specific analysis is provided of the Principles’ potential application to the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization (PAIPO), and the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or …

Legal Mechanization Of Corporate Social Responsibility Through Alien Tort Statute Litigation: A Response To Professor Branson With Some Supplemental Thoughts, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

This Response argues that as ATS jurisprudence “matures” or becomes more sophisticated, the legitimate limits of the law regress. The further expansion within the corporate defendant pool – attempting to pin liability on parent, great grandparent corporations and up to the top – raises the stakes and complexity of ATS litigation. The corporate social responsibility discussion raises three principal issues about how a moral corporation lives its life: how a corporation chooses its self-interest versus the interests of others, when and how it should help others if control decisions may harm the shareholder owners, and how far the corporation must …

Innovation Cooperation: Energy Biosciences And Law, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

This Article analyzes the development and dissemination of environmentally sound technologies that can address climate change. Climate change poses catastrophic health and security risks on a global scale. Universities, individual innovators, private firms, civil society, governments, and the United Nations can unite in the common goal to address climate change. This Article recommends means by which legal, scientific, engineering, and a host of other public and private actors can bring environmentally sound innovation into widespread use to achieve sustainable development. In particular, universities can facilitate this collaboration by fostering global innovation and diffusion networks.

Cancun Climate Negotiations, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, held from November 29 to December 11, 2010, in Cancún, Mexico, relaunched the United Nation's multilateral facilitation role.

Knowledge, Capabilities And Manufacturing Innovation: A Us-Europe Comparison, Stephen Roper, Jan Youtie, Philip Shapira, Andrea Fernandez-Ribas

Andrea Fernandez-Ribas

This paper presents a comparative analysis of factors contributing to the innovation performance of manufacturing firms in Georgia (USA), Wales (UK), the West Midlands (UK), and Catalonia (Spain). Enabled by comparable survey data, multivariate probit models are developed to estimate how various types of firms’ innovative activities are influenced by links to external knowledge sources, internal resources, absorptive capacity, and public innovation support. The results suggest the potential for mutual learning. For the European study regions there are insights about how universities in Georgia support innovation. For Georgia and Catalonia there are lessons from UK firms about better capturing potential …

The Importance Of Bits For Foreign Direct Investment And Political Risk Insurance: Revisiting The Evidence, Lauge Skovgaard Poulsen

Lauge N. Skovgaard Poulsen

Bilateral investment treaties (BITs) are typically presented as vital risk-mitigating instruments providing foreign investors with “credible commitments” that their assets will not be expropriated, discriminated against, or otherwise maltreated post-establishment. Accordingly, developing countries wanting to attract foreign investment should become more attractive destinations for multinationals when signing the treaties. A great number of studies and surveys indicate, however, that the vast majority of multinationals do not appear to take BITs into account when determining where - and how much - to invest abroad. Apart from reviewing such evidence, this paper discusses the feedback from a series of interviews. Firstly, BIT-negotiators …

Collaborative Community-Based Natural Resource Management, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

This article analyzes the importance of increasing civil society actor access to and influence in international legal and policy negotiations, drawing from academic scholarship on governance, conservation and environmental sustainability, natural resource management, observations of civil society actors, and the authors’ experiences as participants in international environmental negotiations.

O Fim Do "Privilégio Exorbitante": Comentários A Currency And State Power, De Benjamin J. Cohen [The End Of The "Exorbitant Privilege": Commentary To Currency And State Power, By Benjamin J. Cohen], Jefferson Alvares

Jefferson Alvares

Busca contextualizar o estudo Currency and State Power, de Benjamin J. Cohen, descrever sua estrutura conceitual e suas conclusões, e submeter a crítica a premissa de que o poder monetário é decorrência da flexibilidade macroeconômica que acompanha as moedas internacionais.

[The paper aims to set the background for the essay Currency and State Power, by Benjamin J. Cohen, to describe its conceptual framework and conclusions, and to subject to a critical appraisal the premise that monetary power is a result of macroeconomic flexibility, which stems from the international standing of a currency.]

The Effects Of Devaluation Of The Tenge Upon The Kazakhstan Economy, John Ja Burke

John JA Burke

This article examines the probable effect of the February 2009 devaluation of the Tenge on the Kazakhstan economy. Conventional wisdom holds that currency devaluation increases exports, protects domestic production, and preserves foreign exchange currency reserves. While the latter states the obvious, the causal relation between currency devaluation and increased export revenue and increased domestic production, though logically valid, requires the passage of time to measure. In the context of Kazakhstan, the question of devaluation and its effects also must be examined within the “Dutch Disease” model, as Kazakhstan is an oil dependent country. History teaches that devaluing the Tenge is …

Conflicting Sovereignties In The World Wide Web Of Contracts - Property Rights And The Globalization Of The Power System, Jean-Philippe Robé

Jean-Philippe Robé

No abstract provided.

Firms' Global Patent Strategies In An Emerging Technology, Andrea Fernandez-Ribas

Andrea Fernandez-Ribas

Despite international patenting can be a costly and risky investment, an increasing number of firms patent proprietary technologies in foreign countries. This paper explores trends of global patenting in a new domain of technology characterized by rapid globalization. The research setting consists of the population of U.S.-based Large and Small and Mid-Sized firms (SMEs) filing nanotechnology-related patent applications at the World International Patent Office (WIPO) during 1996-2006.

This paper appears in: Science and Innovation Policy, 2009 Atlanta Conference on Publication Date: 2-3 Oct. 2009 On page(s): 1-5 ISBN: 978-1-4244-5041-1 INSPEC Accession Number: 11035266 DOI: 10.1109/ACSIP.2009.5367863 Posted online: 2009-12-28 12:00:57.0

The Effect Of Treaties On Foreign Direct Investment: Bilateral Investment Treaties, Double Taxation Treaties, And Investment Flows, Lauge Skovgaard Poulsen

Lauge N. Skovgaard Poulsen

Review of: K. Sauvant, and L. Sachs, (eds), The Effect of Treaties on Foreign Direct Investment: Bilateral Investment Treaties, Double Taxation Treaties, and Investment Flows (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009).

Flying Passports Of Convenience, Karl T. Muth

Karl T Muth

This paper proposes an economic alternative to the legal construct of citizenship that currently dominates international law.

Strategic Considerations In The Emergence Of Private Action Rights, Reza Rajabiun

Reza Rajabiun

Competition Law And The Economy In The Russian Federation, 1990-2006, Reza Rajabiun

Reza Rajabiun

Competition Law As Development Policy: Evidence From Poland, Reza Rajabiun

Reza Rajabiun

Aspectos Legais Dos Mecanismos De Compartilhamento Monetário: Currency Board, União Monetária E Adoção De Moeda Estrangeira [Legal Aspects Of Currency-Sharing Mechanisms: Currency Board, Monetary Union, And Adoption Of A Foreign Currency], Jefferson Alvares

Jefferson Alvares

Aborda os aspectos jurídicos dos mecanismos que possibilitam a utilização de uma mesma moeda por mais de um Estado: o currency board, as uniões monetárias e a adoção de moeda estrangeira. Analisa as raízes sociais e jurídica da moeda; o papel da moeda na economia internacional, incluindo detalhes sobre os mecanismos de compartilhamento monetário; e as condições para a criação de uma área monetária unificada no Mercosul.

[The paper deals with the legal aspects of mechanisms that enable a single currency to be officially employed in two or more national economies: currency boards, monetary unions, and outright use of a …

Do R&D Programs Of Different Government Levels Overlap In The European Union?, Andrea Fernandez-Ribas, Isabel Busom

Andrea Fernandez-Ribas

Multiple levels of government currently design and implement research and innovation programs both in the US and in Europe. Empirical analysis of interdependencies among programs has not been fully explored, however. Our contribution is a first step in understanding potential complementarities across R&D programs. Using a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms, we study the determinants of firms’ participation in national and in European level research programs and test for differences across programs. Our results suggest that firms’ participation in European and national R&D programs is largely driven by different factors. We interpret these results as suggesting that, ex-post, there is …

The Place Of Human Rights Law In World Trade Organization Rules, Stephen Joseph Powell

Stephen Joseph Powell

WTO rules routinely are linked to the inability of nations to make meaningful progress in sharpening environmental and other human rights protections, for example, the failure of the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development to usher in any new treaties despite the bright promise of the Rio Earth Summit of the previous decade. The common brief of environmental, medical, and development interest groups is that the market principles of supply and demand, comparative advantage, and non-discrimination on which global trade rules are built have encumbered pursuit by nations of fundamental non-economic objectives that must in any reasoned legal hierarchy …