Run-Up to Bali: A Whole Lotta Carbon Emissions

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in ,, at 11/30/2007 10:40:00 AM
In the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali from 3-14 December 2007 where a successor to the Kyoto Treaty will be on the drawing board, I've decided to put up some features that place the challenges in establishing a global carbon trading regime into focus. I'm sure you're aware of Kevin Rudd's election as Australian PM and his stated intention of signing on to Kyoto which further isolates the US as the only developed country enviro-renegade. Yet, a few developed countries which have already signed on to Kyoto don't seem to be happy campers right now. Bloomberg points out that Japan, Italy, and Spain have been...
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Different Views on China in Africa

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in ,, at 11/30/2007 03:05:00 AM
Regular IPE Zone readers are probably aware of my pessimistic views on Chinese involvement in Africa. To sum it up, it's meet the new boss, same as the old boss--the yellow man's burden has replaced the white man's burden. Self-interest, not altruism drove outsiders to Africa then and the same holds true now. Of course, there are many other points of view. Let's view some of them. For the economic angle, I highly suggest this recent IMF paper by Jian-Ye Wang on "What Drives China's Growing Role in Africa?" The author focuses on economic motivations, particularly China's voracious need for raw materials to power its industrial...
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China Backs Down in Subsidies Case

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in ,, at 11/29/2007 07:08:00 PM
US Trade Representative Susan Schwab has come to an agreement with her Chinese counterparts over the subsidies case filed at the WTO Dispute Settlement Body. Yes, China engaged in all sorts of posturing, but at the end of the day, it backed down. Score one for the USTR [U-S-A! U-S-A!] The National Association of Manufacturers is understandably elated as well. It seems American politicians are keen on capitalizing on these gains by ramming through all sorts of legislation aimed at making China "play fair." Will China also give in on the intellectual property dispute, for instance? You could argue that China is keen on not angering...
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Automakers, Retailers Take On Indian Market

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 11/29/2007 03:44:00 PM
Markets in the Western world are near saturation--that is a common theme you get from carmakers Nissan-Renault and retailer Metro AG in the stories that follow. The opportunities lie in fast developing countries, especially India, China, and Russia. It's an oft-heard line, but the challenges are many. The so far unconsolidated Indian auto market practically asks that foreign automakers seek out many partnerships with several local firms since they are unsure which ventures will pan out. Meanwhile, foreign retailers are also not allowed to open up their own stores and must tag up with local entities.We begin with the latest...
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Wolfensohn: The End of Development

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 11/29/2007 01:03:00 AM
James Wolfensohn, World Bank president from 1995 to 2005, has remained active after his spell at the controversial international financial institution. In 2005, he set up a strategic consulting firm focused on emerging markets that bears his name, Wolfensohn & Associates. In 2006, he became the chairman of Citigroup's International Advisory Board. Clearly, Wolfensohn still has an affinity for taking a "big picture" view of international matters, particularly development. Though he doesn't say so explicitly, James Wolfensohn appears to be touting--you guessed it--the end of development. According to him, "the North-South...
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Marx, Globalization, and EU Labor

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 11/28/2007 02:20:00 AM
Cool Papa Marx strikes again. Just in case you thought the IPE Zone had gone all neoliberal on you, here's news to stir every left-leaning reader and worry even the most rabid pro-globalizer. It's a pattern which repeats itself in other parts of the developed world, especially the US of A: Labor's share of income (GDP) in the European Union has fallen to yet another all-time low. If you apply a classic Marxist critique, the inherent contradictions of capitalism are becoming evident: capitalism is such that there is a tendency for the bourgeoisie or capitalist class to accumulate an ever-greater share of the fruits of production...
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A Sino-Japanese Enviro-Economic Jellyfish Quarrel

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 11/28/2007 01:58:00 AM
As a SpongeBob SquarePants fan, I find jellyfish rather charming. Japanese fishermen, however, do not. Regions which have traditionally been fishing grounds in Japan have been inundated by jellyfish which are making it difficult to catch fish. They destroy fishing nets, poison fish, and generally make life hard for anglers. Who's to blame? Why, of course, that universal bogeyman for what ails the world, China. From a 2005 Economist article:The jellyfish spawn along the coasts of the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea and some drift towards Japan. It usually takes two months or more for the first to reach the Japanese island of Tsushima, in the middle of the strait between South Korea and Kyushu. This year, however, the jellyfish arrived a month earlier than usual, in August, and in big numbers. In May and June, heavy rains in the basin of the Yangtze river had created an enormous flow of fresh water, and this jet had sluiced the jellyfish towards Japan...No one knows the exact...
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WPP's DC Lobbying "Monopoly"

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 11/28/2007 01:08:00 AM
Left...right...center: whatever your avowed political predisposition, there's likely someone at one of WPP's lobbying firms who's willing to fight for your cause in the hallowed halls of Congress, at a price. The UK-based WPP is one of the world's largest marketing services companies, offering public relations, advertising, and most importantly for this post, political lobbying. The Financial Times has an interesting story on how various lobbying firms under the WPP umbrella feature several influential Beltway figures including Hillary Clinton's point man Mark Penn, Michael Whouley, Dan Bartlett, Norman Mineta, and Anne Wexler...
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On Women as Sex Tourists in Kenya

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in ,, at 11/27/2007 01:16:00 PM
Sex tourism is definitely within the subject realm of international political economy, incorporating IPE topics such as gender relations, tourism, and, yes, trade. One of our IPE instructors here at the University of Birmingham does research work on the topic, so this recent Reuters article on older English women becoming sex tourists in Kenya caught my attention. Much of the coverage in the past has focused on this phenomenon in the Caribbean [1, 2, 3, 4]. Now, attention seems to be shifting to Kenya. The questions raised, however, remain the same:Is sex tourism by women any better or worse than sex tourism by men?Does it...
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