 |
 |
|
|
PIIE Update Newsletter
September 1, 2010
"Top Think Tank in the World" in 2008
as determined by
the first comprehensive
global survey of over 5,000 such institutions. |
|
|
|
|
Unsubscribe
|
Subscribe |
RSS |
Comments
|  |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
FEATURED |
| |
| |
Policy Brief 10-21
The Road to a Climate Change Agreement Runs Through Montreal
[pdf]
Richard J. Smith
|
| | |
| |
The 1987 Montreal Protocol to address ozone layer depletion was a pivotal agreement in the history of global environmental negotiations. It established a process that remains an important precedent for dealing with global environmental problems, including global warming. What made the negotiation of that agreement such an iconic event, and what useful lessons does it hold for climate change negotiators?
Richard Smith cites a number of factors that were critical to the success of the Montreal Protocol. For example: (1) the United States played a leadership role from the beginning, including banning the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in most aerosols and appointing a chief negotiator with responsibility for developing the US position well before the negotiations began; (2) from the outset all countries that were parties to the agreement, both developed and developing countries, made specific commitments to reduce the production and use of ozone-depleting substances; and (3) the protocol set up a procedure for regularly reviewing and revising its provisions at follow-up meetings, thus accommodating new information rapidly and efficiently. A central lesson that climate change negotiators should learn from the Montreal Protocol is that it set a process in motion, which ultimately led all parties to the agreement making the necessary commitments to arrest and eventually reverse the deterioration of the stratospheric ozone layer.
Clearly, climate change negotiators face a more complex and far-reaching challenge today. The phaseout of ozone-depleting chemicals and related infrastructure involved major industries such as refrigeration, electronics, fire fighting, and aerosols and cost billions of dollars. But reducing greenhouse gas emissions will require fundamentally rethinking the present carbon-based societies and taking steps that will affect virtually every aspect of economic activity. Despite this significant difference in the impact on the economic structure of the countries concerned, however, there are similarities between the two challenges, and climate change negotiators would be well advised to reflect on the Montreal Protocol and the lessons that can be learned from it.
>>
Read full policy brief [pdf]
|
| |
Op-ed
What Actions Should the Fed Be Taking?
Joseph E. Gagnon
|
| | |
| |
Deflation is increasingly viewed as a more serious risk for the US economy than inflation. The case is strong for additional monetary stimulus, but what form should it take? The Fed should take three actions to help control deflation: (1) lower the interest rate paid on bank reserves to zero; (2) bring down rates on medium-term Treasury securities by 0.50 to 0.75 percent; and (3) establish a full-allotment lending facility that would increase the stimulative effects of these actions by allowing banks to borrow at terms of up to 24 months at a fixed interest rate of 0.25 percent. This three-step policy could reduce unemployment as much as a two-year, $500 billion fiscal package while actually reducing the federal budget deficit—and it can be reversed quickly if deflation is no longer a problem.
>>
Read full op-ed
|
| |
Op-ed
Four Steps to US Fiscal Health
Simon Johnson and James Kwak
|
| | |
| |
This year the United States has a $1.3 trillion budget deficit and the Congressional Budget Office predicts that Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other future healthcare programs will grow until they consume nearly all tax revenues by 2035. Without serious attempts at fiscal consolidation, these factors spell trouble for both the US and world economies. Comprehensive tax reform including a value-added tax (VAT), carbon pricing, a tax on the financial sector, and reducing healthcare costs are needed to bring about long-term fiscal sustainability.
>>
Read full op-ed
|
| |
Op-ed
Let's Make a Deal: How to Bring the Doha Trade Talks to a Close
Gary Clyde Hufbauer and
Robert Z. Lawrence
|
| | |
| |
As the world emerges from the global economic crisis of the past two years, it is clear that private investment is needed to create the financial assets that will replace mortgages and government bonds while generating jobs and providing capital for future growth. This type of private investment, however, will not be put forth at the current global business confidence levels. Concluding the Doha Round trade negotiations would be a much needed shot in the arm for global confidence and would enable the world to recover more quickly from the Great Recession by resulting in a potential payoff to the 22 Doha participants of up to $280 billion each year.
While many point a finger at the challenge of getting 153 WTO members to reach consensus on an agenda that includes dozens of items, the reality of the situation is much simpler: If China and the United States were on board, other major players would feel pressure to join in. The authors recommend that China agree to join the WTO's Government Procurement Agreement and bind its provincial administrations and the central government to its rules and that the United States phase out cotton subsidies and put a $9 billion cap on all of its agricultural subsidies and grant China market economy status.
>>
Read full op-ed
|
| |
Op-ed
Assessing India's United Progressive Alliance Government
Arvind Subramanian
|
| | |
| |
Growth in India is on autopilot and is unlikely to be disrupted by a lapse in government control or to be boosted by policy reforms. With governance reforms out of the question for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, it should focus on strengthening the public sector balance sheet and allow other reforms to be driven by growth. Strengthening the public sector balance sheet during an economic boom is a crucial lesson from the recent global economic crisis, and high growth and low interest rates in India make balance sheet consolidation necessary and attainable. While modest, the provision of the necessary resources to survive economic crises is an important item for the UPA to address.
>>
Read full op-ed
|
| |
Op-ed
Let's Get Privatization Right This Time Around
Anders Åslund
|
| | |
| |
The 1992 privatization of Russia's economy allowed the successful construction of capitalism that led to the average annual growth of 7 percent from 1999 to 2008. Currently, Russia is in need of another round of privatization in order to reduce the size and influence of government-run companies. Anders Åslund suggests a privatization plan combining public offerings of the majority of company shares and open auctions of individual companies and assets.
>>
Read full op-ed
|
Peterson Perspectives Interviews
Discord at the International Monetary Fund
Edwin M. Truman explains why the Obama administration decided this summer to provoke a fight over IMF governance and how it might be resolved.
Pakistan's Floods: A Humanitarian and Strategic Challenge
Mohsin S. Khan assesses the damage in Pakistan, the prospects for recovery, and the threat to Western interests and to Pakistan's democracy.
PIIE Noted in the News and on the Web
CNBC
Banking on Bank Lending
CNBC's Steve Liesman discusses the state of the banking sector and what it will take to boost lending with Dino Kos, former NY Federal Reserve Bank; Michael Mussa, Peterson Institute for International Economics, and Meredith Whitney, Whitney Advisory Group. The discussion was part of CNBC's special report "The Long Road: America Looks for Recovery" taped at Jackson Hole.
Washington Post
Neil Irwin's Must Reads
Neil Irwin, economics reporter for the Washington Post, recommends listening to Michael Mussa's interview, "Is the Economic Recovery Sputtering to a Close?"
International Business Times (Australia)
Study Confirms Undervalued Yuan Responsible for China Surplus
The International Business Times summarizes the main points in William R. Cline's Policy Brief, "Renminbi Undervaluation, China's Surplus, and the US Trade Deficit."
|
| |
|
|
|
RealTime Economic Issues Watch Global Financial Crisis |
|
 |
|
|
|
Peterson Institute for International Economics
1750 Massachusetts Avenue, NW | Washington, DC 20036-1903
Tel: 202-328-9000 | Fax: 202-659-3225 | www.piie.com
To unsubscribe from this list, please send a blank email to webmaster@piie.com.
|
|
|
|
