Economic Policy Commons^™

The Rise Of The Global Middle Class, Homi Kharas

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

As part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West presented a lecture titled, "The Rise of the Global Middle Class" by Brookings senior fellow in global economy and development, Homi Kharas.

For the last two hundred years, ever since the start of the Industrial Revolution, the most successful economies in the world have developed large, stable middle classes. With globalization, the expansion of the middle class has accelerated to a historically unprecedented speed. But global consumerism is scaling faster than the adaptation of institutions, ecosystems, and social norms. Brookings senior fellow Homi Kharas discusses his most recent book, …

Advancing Climate Transition Through Fiscal Tools: The Role Of Carbon Taxation And Fuel Subsidy Reform, Farah Amgad Zayed

Theses and Dissertations

This study highlights how fiscal policy tools can accelerate Egypt's climate transition, with emphasis on carbon taxes and fossil fuel subsidies reforms. It investigates how fiscal tools can reduce carbon emissions and promote economic development by primarily relying on qualitative interviews with policymakers, consultants, representatives of the private sector, and civil society actors, paralleled with some descriptive and comparative analysis. The results show that even though Egypt has made significant strides in advancing green transition, including updating the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), introducing the first African Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM), as well as phasing out fossil fuel subsidies gradually, institutional …

Implementing Gross National Happiness In Bhutan As A Development Model And Governance Tool – Perspectives Of Policy Influencers, Tashi Dorji, Angus Morrison-Saunders, David Blake

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Bhutan’s development philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH) prioritises the collective wellbeing of its people over economic growth through a multidimensional index that informs policy. While GNH has received global recognition, persistent challenges in conceptual clarity and practical implementation are argued and debated. This qualitative study examines the role and utility of GNH as a development model and its implementation as a multifaceted governance tool in Bhutan. The findings reveal that GNH is conceptualised in diverse ways, ranging from personal happiness to a more generic communal philosophy. While its strengths lie in its culturally grounded framework, key limitations include a …

Grain-Washing: The Issue With Corn Ethanol As A Sustainable Aviation Fuel, Emily J. Rinn

Scripps Senior Theses

Decarbonizing the aviation sector remains one of the most prevalent obstacles in reducing the United States’ significant contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. Launched in 2021, the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge aims to supply enough fuel to meet 100% of demand by 2050 through reducing its production costs and enhancing its sustainable practices. Corn ethanol feedstock has been proposed to make up as much as half of all SAF production in the 2030 benchmark. This thesis explores the assemblage of corn ethanol – from its true environmental impacts, role in the future SAF market, to research claiming corn …

Cbe Waves Newsletter: August 2022, Various

Newsletters

The Summer 2022 Center for the Blue Economy Waves Newsletter includes the following articles:

• A "How To" Guide for Creating Ocean GDP Accounts for NON-Economists
• The hidden landscape: Maritime cultural heritage of the Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges with implications for conservation on the high seas
• Introducing the 2022 Center for the Blue Economy Summer Fellows
• Virtual Reality to the Rescue--two new climate change applications
• Celebrating the Biden-Harris Whole-of-Government Ocean Climate Action Plan
• Celebrating the Inflation Reduction Act--biggest spending on climate change in US history
• Student and alumni profiles
• Out of the Arctic podcast created by IEP MIIS student …

Practicing Sustainability In Consumer Choices, Cynthia Pugh

Sustainability Conference

Practicing Sustainability in Consumer Choices

The issue of sustainability is a global one impacted daily by individual choices. The foundational principles of sustainability and the unified efforts of the global sustainability goals are presented to define the world we want. Sustainability is an intentional core of any product akin to safety by design. This presentation will describe the concept of sustainability by design, designing at all levels, with good intentions and with the goal of abundance.

Due to the availability of corporate sustainability information such as the Global Reporting Initiative or Corporate Social Responsibility, one can comparatively research the …

China's Food Pagodas: Looking Forward By Looking Back?, Yifei Li, Dale Jamieson

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In this Article we provide a close analysis of the Chinese Dietary Guidelines – the Food Pagoda. Our focus on the dietary guidelines is motivated by two main considerations. First, the guidelines represent the most comprehensive, nationwide, state sponsored effort to educate the people of China about food. Like citizens in most countries, Chinese people are presented with numerous, often competing, messages from scientists, food gurus and online influencers. The dietary guidelines are different in that they are backed by an entire suite of governmental resources for nationwide dissemination through hospitals, schools, public billboards, TV and radio ads, among others. …

Addressing Food Insecurity In Egypt: Towards Sustaining Food Access For All/ الأمن الغذائي في مصر نحو استدامة وصول الغذاء للجميع, Alaa Mazloum, Abdelrahman Rizk, Norhan Muhab, Zainab Asal

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

This policy paper sheds light on the current challenges that Egypt faces to ensure food access for all. In attempts to underscore the root causes of food insecurity in Egypt, this paper looks at the country’s geographical and agricultural national policies, food pricing, household expenditures on food as well as the challenges imposed on the country by climate change. These factors directly challenge the country’s ability to achieve food security for all by 2050. Although the Government of Egypt (GoE) launched pro-poor policies that aim at reducing the economic burden on vulnerable groups, the government needs to explore other feasible …

Empowering Rural Participation And Partnerships In Morocco’S Sustainable Development, Yossef Ben-Meir

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This essay explores the vast potential for participatory and sustainable human development in Morocco. Though Morocco is a country with many diverse resources, it remains burdened by severe levels of poverty and illiteracy, and now growing social discord. There have recently been increased public calls for participatory development programs designed and implemented by and for local people. The essay identifies six existing Moroccan Frameworks intended to initiate decentralized human development programs, and critically examines their efficacy. Ultimately, the purpose of the article is to suggest a new model to implement these Frameworks with maximum impact. The six Frameworks deal with …

Future Importance Of Maritime Activities In Bangladesh, M Gulam Hussain, Pierre Failler, Subrata Sarker

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Blue Economy is a concept of economic growth through the sustainable utilization of ocean resources with technological inputs to improve livelihoods and meet the growing demands for jobs without hampering the health of the ocean ecosystem. This paper offers an overview of current maritime key activities, major trends and scenarios, future blue economy development activities with economic and social importance, ecological importance and blue economy policy framework. This paper also focuses on the major constraints and challenges. The current maritime key activities include extraction of living and non-living resources, land based activities, trades and transportation, shipbuilding and ship breaking, tourism …

The Correlation Between Energy Cost Share, Human, And Economic Development Using Time Series Data From Australasia, Europe, North America, And The Brics Nations, Ryan Roberts, Josephine Kaviti Musango, Alan Colin Brent, Matthew K. Heun

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

This paper investigates how a change in a region's energy cost share (ECS), a ratio of a region's energy expenditure as a fraction of its gross domestic product (GDP), affects the region's social and economic development. Nations from four regions of the world, namely Australasia, Europe, North America, and the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) were chosen for this study. Using time series data from the period of 1978 to 2010, the annual ECS of each country was compared to the year-on-year GDP change, as well as the components of the human development index (HDI). High …

Characterizing The Ocean Economies Of Guam, American Samoa, And The Commonwealth Of The Northern Mariana Islands, Charles Goodhue, Charles Colgan, Kate Quigley, Jefferey Adkins, Christopher Hawkins, Doug Lyons, Camille Martineau, Jennifer Zhuang, Jean Tanimoto

Publications

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) Economics: National Ocean Watch (ENOW) provides an annual time series of select employment, establishment, wage, and gross domestic product data for all 30 U.S. coastal and Great Lakes states as far back as 2005. As detailed in Section 4 of this report, ENOW covers 47 six-digit NAICS industries across the following six ocean- and Great Lakes– dependent sectors of the economy:

• Living resources
• Marine construction
• Marine transportation
• Offshore mineral resources •
• Ship and boat building
• Tourism and recreation

ENOW data play an important role in characterizing and determining the relative importance of the …

An Assessment Of The Sharing Economy And Its Policy Solutions Through The Lens Of Sustainability, Chloe An

Pomona Senior Theses

This senior thesis in environmental analysis explores the promise of sustainability of the sharing economy, its shortcomings from this positive potential, and possible policy solutions to help it reach its fullest, positive potential. At its core, the sharing economy enables shared access to goods and services that would otherwise sit in idle or underutilized capacity – popular platforms such as Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, and craigslist all fall within the sharing economy. By enabling affordable and convenient access to goods that would otherwise sit idle, the sharing economy encourages maximal use of a good that already exists rather than seeking out …

Northeast Ocean Planning Baseline Assessment: Marine Resources, Infrastructure, And Economics, Hauke Kite-Powell, Charles Colgan, Porter Hoagland, Di Jin, Vinton Valentine, Brooke Wikgren

Publications

This document summarizes the status of coastal and marine resources in the Northeast region of the United States, and how these resources generate economic and ecological value. The Northeast region, for ocean planning purposes, includes the coastal counties of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and the New York counties (bordering Long Island Sound) of Queens, Bronx, Suffolk, Nassau, and Westchester. The coastal and marine natural resources and coastal infrastructure of the Northeast, and the economic activities and cultural/recreational services that rely them, directly and indirectly support more than 500,000 jobs and $40 billion in economic value (GDP) …

Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness: Measuring What Matters, Laura Musikanski, Carl Polley

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

This essay focuses on ways in which the governments of Bhutan and the United Kingdom are measuring subjective well-being as well as on how other governments including Norway, Spain, China, Canada, and New Zealand, are exploring the development of subjective well-being indicators. It concludes with recommended actions to aid in the formation of a consistent and comparable subjective well-being indicator for use by governments globally. The third in a series for which the purpose is to provide information to grassroots activists to foster the happiness movement for a new economic paradigm, this essay builds on the previous essays, Happiness in …

2015 Congresional District One-Page Ocean Economies Summary Report, Kildow, Charles Colgan, Yunguang Chen

Working Papers

No abstract provided.

The Potential Economic Impacts Of The Proposed Central Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Jason Scorse, Dr. Judith T. Kildow

Publications

The U.S. National Marine Sanctuary designation process is being reopened after 20 years, and coastal communities across the country are being encouraged to submit nominations. In response, there is a proposal for a new California Central Coast Marine Sanctuary, stretching from the Channel Islands to the northern tip of San Luis Obispo County. This report provides our best estimates from available and extrapolated information, of the potential economic impact on San Luis Obispo County, if this proposed National Marine Sanctuary becomes a reality.

Communities seek Sanctuary designation for many reasons, including the preservation of unique cultural and natural resources, permanent …

A Study On Rebuilding The Classification System Of The Ocean Economy, Dr. Kwang Seo Park

Working Papers

Many ocean countries have estimated and released the size of the ocean economy or industry. However it is difficult to compare the ocean economy among countries because the definition, classification standard and scope differ by each country. This study aims to provide concrete practical proposals for the definition, classification standard and scope of the ocean economy. With regard to the definition of the ocean economy, a combination of industrial and geographical perspectives is considered at the same time. As a result, the ocean economy is defined as the economic activities that directly or indirectly take place in the ocean, use …

The Role Of The Ocean Industry In The Chinese National Economy: An Input-Output Analysis, Rui Zhao

Working Papers

The Ocean Economy Accounting System (OEAS) was established in China in 2006. However, the economic indirect and induced impact of the ocean economy as part of the Chinese national economy has not been completely understood at the national or regional level. Activities in the marine sector not only affect the industries in this sector but also influence other sectors through inter-sector linkages. This paper employs input-output (I-O) analysis to examine the role of the ocean industry in the economy of Tianjin, China for the year 2007. This paper represents the first effort to quantify the inter-industry linkage effects on China's …

Blue Growth In The Middle Kingdom: An Analysis Of China’S Ocean Economy, Rui Zhao, Stephen Hynes, Guang Shun He

Working Papers

A nation’s economy has been described as a mechanical engine comprised of interconnected, moving parts [1]. In China, the ocean economy is now seen as a critical component of that engine. Following the reform of economic trade policy, especially in the period 2001-2010, China’s ocean economy has been growing rapidly, in line with national GDP. Also, as the second largest economy in the world, China is paying more and more attention to the sustainable development of its ocean economy. One important reason for this is that since joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), Chinese trade with other nations has steadily …

Towards Developing Indicators Of Environmental Sustainability For Kathmandu, Nepal, Published Version, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Sustainability is now considered one of the key objectives in urban planning. However, due to inappropriate planning, weak institutions, limitation of resources, and poor implementation of policies, many big cities in the developing countries have become even less environmentally, economically and socially sustainable than they were in the past. Historically, the Kathmandu valley enjoyed a unique tradition, rich heritage and a moderate state of sustainability in all areas, particularly in the environmental arena. However, the rapidly expanding and modernizing cities in the valley are facing serious problems of sustainability in all fronts: economic, social, environmental and ecological. Whereas environmental and …

A Survey Of Seafood Traceability And Sustainability In The United States— Processes, Regulations, And Current Initiatives, Nancy A. Olsen

Working Papers

The global seafood industry currently lacks a standardized, widespread method to easily trace the chain of custody of products that they purchase. With global overfishing leading to declining fish stocks around the world, it is vital for seafood providers to have the ability to identify and buy products from sustainable fisheries that are well managed, target abundant species, and fish in environmentally responsible ways. This paper analyzes public and private initiatives that seek to provide product traceability. In summarizing the current status of seafood traceability, stakeholders agree that are a number of challenges with trying to piece together so many …

The Emergence Of A Standards Market: Multiplicity Of Sustainability Standards In The Global Coffee Industry, Juliane Reinecke, Stephan Manning, Oliver Von Hagen

Management and Marketing Faculty Publication Series

The growing number of voluntary standards for governing transnational arenas is presenting standards organizations with a problem. While claiming that they are pursuing shared, overarching objectives, at the same time, they are promoting their own respective standards that are increasingly similar. By developing the notion of ‘standards markets,’ this paper examines this tension and studies how different social movement and industry-driven standards organizations compete as well as collaborate over governance in transnational arenas. Based on an in-depth case study of sustainability standards in the global coffee industry, we find that the ongoing co-existence of multiple standards is being promoted by …

Innovation And Entrepreneurship: The New Drift In Federal Policy, Mark Muro

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Several defining characteristics will shape the post‐Great Recession economy:The “next” economy will be export‐oriented, lower‐carbon, and innovation‐fueled The next economy will also be metropolitan‐led:Which means regions belong at the center of national innovation and entrepreneurship policy. There is no single American economy, but a network of 366 metropolitan economies that compete with other economic regions around the world

Las Vegas As The American Milan: Economic Growth In The World Economy, Robert E. Lang

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Milan as a Metaphor:
- Milan Makes Stuff and is a Tech City
- Milan’s Specialty as a World City is Design and Trade
- Milan is Not a Museum—Unlike Some Other Italian Cities that have Inspired Las Vegas such as Venice and Florence
- Design Needs Flair—We Got Plenty of That and it Plays to a Key Strength

The Next Las Vegas Boom, Robert E. Lang

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

The Great Recession—Where are We Now?

- U.S. Employment

- U.S. GDP by Type

- U.S. Household Net Worth

- U.S Retail Sales