Paul Brenton - Böcker

Incorporating new empirical data and using a wide variety of methods such as econometrics, general equilibrium and case studies, this detailed volume provides a thorough investigation into the causes of the deterioration in the relative economic fortunes of less-skilled workers across various countries, with a focus on the role of globalization. It reveals how in the past thirty years, the decline in the wages and employment of less-skilled workers relative to skilled workers in Europe and North America has coincided with an acceleration in 'globalization'. The latter's rapid pace is indicated by the strong growth in both world trade and foreign direct investment which, in turn, have been stimulated by various factors such as reductions in trade barriers a drastic decline in the costs of communication and transportation and the internationalization of production. Although it is now widely held that the main cause of this rise in inequality seems to be a shift in demand towards higher skilled workers, this book aims to shed light on whether it is trade or technology that is primarily responsible for this demand shift. Importantly, the studies in this book describe how globalisation and technological change are interacting rather than separate forces. Topical and timely, this significant book will be a valuable read for academic researchers, analysts and professional economists in the policy making community.

Incorporating new empirical data and using a wide variety of methods such as econometrics, general equilibrium and case studies, this detailed volume provides a thorough investigation into the causes of the deterioration in the relative economic fortunes of less-skilled workers across various countries, with a focus on the role of globalization. It reveals how in the past thirty years, the decline in the wages and employment of less-skilled workers relative to skilled workers in Europe and North America has coincided with an acceleration in 'globalization'. The latter's rapid pace is indicated by the strong growth in both world trade and foreign direct investment which, in turn, have been stimulated by various factors such as reductions in trade barriers a drastic decline in the costs of communication and transportation and the internationalization of production. Although it is now widely held that the main cause of this rise in inequality seems to be a shift in demand towards higher skilled workers, this book aims to shed light on whether it is trade or technology that is primarily responsible for this demand shift. Importantly, the studies in this book describe how globalisation and technological change are interacting rather than separate forces. Topical and timely, this significant book will be a valuable read for academic researchers, analysts and professional economists in the policy making community.

This report addresses carbon labeling schemes, a high-profile issue and one that has important economic implications for developing countries. Carbon accounting and labeling instruments are designed to present information on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from supply chains. These instruments have become an important awareness-raising channel for governments, producers, retailers and consumers to bring about the reduction of GHGs. At the same time, they have emerged as a crucial element of supply chain management, trade logistics and, potentially, trade regulations between countries. But the underlying science of GHG emissions is only partially developed. Many of these schemes are based on rudimentary knowledge of GHG emissions and have mainly been designed by industrialized countries. There is a concern that these systems do not accurately reflect production processes in developing countries, and that they may even shift consumer preferences away from developing country exports. The report includes an analysis of current and emerging carbon labeling schemes and an assessment of available data, emissions factors and knowledge gaps of carbon footprinting methodologies.The report also analyzes carbon accounting methodologies for sugar and pineapple products from Zambia and Mauritius according to PAS 2050 guidelines, to illustrate whether these schemes accurately represent the production systems in developing countries. The report concludes with a series of recommendations on how carbon footprint labeling can be made more development-friendly

African exporters suffer from low survival rates on international markets. They fail more often than others, incurring time and again the setup costs involved in starting new relationships. This high churning is a source of waste, uncertainty, and discouragement. However, this trend is not inevitable. The high “infant mortality” of African exports is largely explained by Africa’s low-income business environment and, once properly benchmarked, Africa’s performance in terms of exporter failure is no outlier. Moreover, African exporters show vigorous entrepreneurship, with high entry rates into new products and markets despite formidable hurdles created by poor infrastructure, landlocked boundaries for some, and limited access to major sea routes for others. African exporters experiment a lot, and they frequently pay the price of failure. What matters for policy is how to ensure that viable ventures survive. Research carried out for this book demonstrates that governments can and should help to reduce the rate of failure of African export ventures through a mixture of improvements in the business environment, as well as well-targeted proactive interventions. The business environment can be made more conducive to sustainable export entrepreneurship through traditional policy prescriptions such as reducing transportation costs, facilitating trade through better technology and workflow in border management, improving the effectiveness of banking regulations to ensure the availability of trade finance, and striving for regulatory simplicity and coherence. In addition, governments can help leverage synergies between exporters. Original research featured in this book shows that African exporters improve each other's chances of survival when a critical mass of them penetrates a given market together. They also benefit from diaspora presence in destination markets. With adequate donor support and private-sector engagement, export-promotion agencies and technical-assistance programs can help leverage those synergies.|African exporters suffer from low survival rates on international markets. They fail more often than others, incurring time and again the setup costs involved in starting new relationships. This high churning is a source of waste, uncertainty, and discouragement. However, this volume shows that this is not inevitable. The high “infant mortality” of African exports is largely explained by the difficulty of Africa’s low-income business environment—once properly benchmarked, Africa’s performance in terms of exporter failure is no outlier. Moreover, as in other low-income countries, African exporters show vigorous entrepreneurship, with high entry rates into new products and markets in spite of the formidable hurdles created by poor infrastructure, landlockedness for some, and limited access to major sea routes for others. African exporters experiment a lot, and frequent failure is a price to pay for experimentation. What matters for policy is to ensure that viable ventures survive. Research carried out for this volume demonstrates that governments can and should help to reduce the ""high infant mortality"" of African export ventures through a mixture of improvements in the business environment and well-targeted proactive interventions. The business environment can be made more conducive to sustainable export entrepreneurship through traditional policy prescriptions such as reducing transportation costs, facilitating trade through better technology and workflow in border management, improving the effectiveness of banking regulations to ensure the availability of trade finance, and striving for regulatory simplicity and coherence. In addition, governments can help exporters leverage synergies between exporters. Original research carried out for this volume shows that African exporters improve each other’s chances of survival when a critical mass of them penetrate a given market together. They also benefit from the presence of national diasporas in the destination markets. With adequate donor support and private-sector engagement, export-promotion agencies and technical-assistance programs can help leverage those synergies.| Nothing affects the modern economy (and society) more than decisions made in the market place, especially, but not only, decisions made by consumers. Although it is not startling to suggest that decisions made in production are affected by choices consumers make, consumers have long been viewed, not only by academic economists, as individual, isolated rational actors that make or refrain from purchases purely on the basis of narrow financial considerations. Markets are not and never were morally neutral. Market relations have always had an often taken-for-granted moral underpinning. The moralization of the markets refers to the dissolution and replacement of the conventional moral underpinnings of market conduct, for example, in the music market, financial markets, and corporate governance. It further implies not only the heightened importance of new ethical precepts, but the significant change in the role of moral ideals in market behavior. These profound transformations of economic conduct are accompanied and co-determined by societal conflicts. The moralization of markets represents thus a new stage in the social evolution of markets. The book is divided into four parts, in which the twelve chapters, written by contributors from different social science disciplines, deal with the context of the moralization of the markets; the major social institutions; and present case studies that examine European and American attitudes and behavior towards tobacco and GMO; expansion of the private and ethics in business; and how workers respond to the new corporate norms. This volume will be of interest to sociologists, economists, social scientists, and the general consumer alike.

While trade can exacerbate climate change, it will also be a central part of the solution by enhancing both mitigation and adaptation. This report explores the intersection between trade and climate change and the policies that offer the right economic incentives for attaining sustainable growth and poverty reduction through trade.