Showing papers on "Global public good published in 2008"

The Adoption of State Climate Change Policies and Renewable Portfolio Standards: Regional Diffusion or Internal Determinants?

Abstract: This paper draws upon policy innovation literature and quantitatively explains the adoption of state climate change policies, leading to a broader question—what makes states more likely to adopt policies that provide a global public good? First, existing empirical evidence relating to state climate change policy adoption is reviewed. Following this brief discussion, several analytic approaches are presented that test specific hypotheses derived from the internal determinants and regional diffusion models of policy adoption. Policy diffusion is tested as a function of the motivations, resources, and obstacles of policy change. Motivations for policy innovation include environmental conditions and demands of citizens. Resources include state financial and geographic resources, such as wind and solar potential. Obstacles include a state's reliance on carbon-intensive industries such as coal and natural gas. The results show that internal factors, particularly citizens' demands, are stronger predictors of states' policies than are diffusion effects from neighboring states.

Globalization, Market Civilization and Disciplinary Neo-Liberalism

Abstract: This synthetic, somewhat complex essay is an effort to sketch some of the main frameworks of political economy, governance and culture that characterize world order in the late twentieth century. Its specific aims are threefold.

The economics of reducing emissions from community managed forests in Nepal Himalaya

Abstract: The climate change agenda is more important in global politics today than ever before. This research set out to examine whether community forest management (CFM) can play a signifi cant role in reducing global emissions, by taking Nepal’s community forestry sector as a case. The thesis selects three community managed forests in Nepal’s Himalaya region to investigate the extent to which management of such forests by the local communities can successfully contribute towards reducing global atmospheric CO2 concentration (Chapter 1). The results of this analysis are used to make policy recommendations as regards the formulation of the new climate treaty that is expected to replace the Kyoto Protocol (KP) after 2012. The thesis shows that climate change can be viewed essentially as a market failure and explains that, as a result, global efforts to mitigate this change are also based on market mechanisms. It is certainly expected that the new treaty to replace the KP will be also market oriented. Climate is a global public good or common resource that requires international management, so the nations have jointly developed the KP to combat the dangers of climate change by regulating emissions. This has largely been done through a cap-and-trade mechanism. This limits the emission levels a country or an industry can emit and then allows individual countries or fi rms to buy and sell credits.

International agricultural research as a global public good: concepts, the CGIAR experience and policy issues

Abstract: Global Public Goods (GPGs) are becoming increasingly important in international development, but little attention has been given to their role in science and technology. Yet one clear example—also overlooked in most of the GPG literature—has existed for 35 years: the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Agricultural research in the poorer developing nations is largely conducted in the public sector and the CGIAR was formed to develop, with these nations, improved technologies and policies for their use in food production—international research spillovers. The process has worked well: the CGIAR has, perhaps unwittingly, been a leading provider of GPGs. But public funding for the CGIAR from international development agencies has become tighter and more restricted, threatening to weaken its global scientific capacity. Additional and more research-oriented funding sources are needed. Greater understanding of the GPG concept as it applies to research, both public and private, is needed at the policy level if these efforts are to be realised and endure. Published in 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

International students, export earnings and the demands of global justice

Abstract: Is it just to charge international students fees that are generally much higher than those paid by home and European Union students at UK universities? Exploring the ethical tension between universities’ avowed commitment to social justice on the one hand and selling education to foreign students at a premium on the other, we argue that increased global association and the reduced salience of the sovereign state make the education of international students an issue of global justice. If we view education as a global public good, the ethics of higher education provision call for reconsideration of both the current fee regime and of universities’ role in a competitive global economy.

Excluding the poor from accessing biomedical literature: a rights violation that impedes global health.

Abstract: Most biomedical journals charge readers a hefty access toll to read the full text version of a published research article. These tolls bring enormous profits to the traditional corporate publishing industry, but they make it impossible for most people worldwide--particularly in low and middle income countries--to access the biomedical literature. Traditional publishers also insist on owning the copyright on these articles, making it illegal for readers to freely distribute and photocopy papers, translate them, or create derivative educational works. This article argues that excluding the poor from accessing and freely using the biomedical research literature is harming global public health. Health care workers, for example, are prevented from accessing the information they need to practice effective medicine, while policymakers are prevented from accessing the essential knowledge they require to build better health care systems. The author proposes that the biomedical literature should be considered a global public good, basing his arguments upon longstanding and recent international declarations that enshrine access to scientific and medical knowledge as a human right. He presents an emerging alternative publishing model, called open access, and argues that this model is a more socially responsive and equitable approach to knowledge dissemination.

Post conflict transitions : an overview

Abstract: In the two to five years immediately following end of conflicts, United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations have succeeded in maintaining peace, while income and consumption growth rates have been higher than normal and recovery on key education and health indicators has been possible. Aid also has been super-effective in promoting recovery, not only by financing physical infrastructure but also by helping in the monetary reconstruction of post conflict economies. However, sustaining these short-term gains was met with two difficult challenges. First, long-term sustainability of peace and growth hinges primarily on the ability of post conflict societies to develop institutions for the delivery of public goods, which, in turn, depends on the capacity of post conflict elites to overcome an entrenched culture of political fragmentation and form stable national coalitions, beyond their immediate ethnic or regional power bases. Second, after catch-up growth runs its course, high levels of aid can lead to overvalued real currencies, at a time when growth requires a competitive exchange rate and economic diversification. Successful peace-building will, therefore, require that these political and economic imperatives of post conflict transitions be accounted for in the design of UN peacekeeping operations as well as the aid regime.

International democracy promotion: a role for public goods theory?

Abstract: The state of international democracy promotion is in flux. After more than fifteen years of increasing activity and with more organisations and resources devoted to promoting democracy than ever before, a mood of uncertainty surrounds democracy support's current performance and future prospects. The last decade has also seen the emergence of a new literature on global public goods theory, offering fresh analytical perspectives on pressing issues in international affairs like peace, security, development, and environmental sustainability. The future of democracy promotion will be determined chiefly by the realities of the political market place, in societies on both sides of the relationship. But could recent theorising about the market for global public goods offer some analytical support for making sense of its current condition and, by identifying the democratic peace as a global public good strengthen the case for greater international cooperation in promoting democracy as means to achieve that end?

Multi-Actor Global Funds: New Tools to Address Urgent Global Problems

Abstract: Multi-actor global funds (MGFs), as identified in this study, are emerging as an increasingly popular and important mechanism for the mobilization and distribution of international financial resources Several such funds already have annual disbursements that exceed the core budgets of major UN agencies, and new funds with even broader mandates are currently being proposed At first glance, these powerful instruments for globally co-ordinated action represent a departure from traditional forms of multilateral governance because non-state actors share decision-making powers and financing responsibilities with national governments, as in other forms of ‘networked’, multi-actor governance that are developing at the global level Yet comparatively little is known about the way these funds operate, whether they are desirable as instruments for financing major international initiatives, and what implications they might have more broadly for global governance This last question seems especially important, considering that, even though a key principle behind these funds is that they are ‘additional’ to existing sources of finance, the proliferation of MGFs may come at the expense of established international organizations — both in terms of resource flows and of their prestige in the international system

The Effectiveness of IMF Surveillance

Abstract: IMF surveillance of the international monetary and financial system is a global public good Its effectiveness depends critically on the dynamics that underpin the mechanisms governing the IMF and global finance These dynamics, in turn, reflect the interests and power of influence of countries (especially the largest), their cooperative attitude and international relations Assessing the effectiveness of IMF surveillance, therefore, demands a clear understanding of the IMF and global financial governance: improving the former requires strengthening the latter This study considers how the governance of the IMF and global finance can be reformed to increase the effectiveness of surveillance and to strengthen international financial cooperation The study proposes a configuration of governance with a clearer allocation of responsibilities and stronger mechanisms of power checks and balances It identifies new roles for the IMFC and the Executive Board, and calls for strengthening management accountability, in particular by decoupling the dual capacity of the Managing Director as chair of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer

The Adoption of State Climate Change Policies and Renewable Portfolio Standards

Abstract: The question of what makes policies that provide a global public good more likely to be adopted by states is addressed by the paper's quantitative explanation of how states adopt climate change policies, which draws on policy innovation literature. The author starts by reviewing existing state climate change policy adoption empirical evidence. Next, several analytic approach derived policy adoption regional diffusion models and internal determinants that test specific hypotheses are presented. Testing of policy diffusion is done as a function of policy change obstacles, resources, and motivations. Environmental conditions and citizen demands are some policy innovation motivations. State geographic and financial resources, including wind and solar potential, are some resources. Obstacles includes reliance on coal, natural gas, and other carbon-intensive industries by states. That internal factors, citizens' demands in particular, are stronger state policy predictors than neighboring states diffusion effects, are shown in the results.

Cooperation in local and global groups

Abstract: Multiple group memberships are the rule rather than the exception. Locally operating groups frequently offer the advantage of providing social recognition and higher marginal benefits to the individual, whereas globally operating groups may be more beneficial from a social perspective. Within a voluntary contribution environment we experimentally investigate the tension that arises when subjects belong to a smaller local and a larger global group. When the global public good is more efficient individuals first attempt to cooperate in the global public good. However, this tendency quickly unravels and cooperation in the local public good builds up. (author´s abstract)

The 'market' metaphor and climate change: an epistemological application in the study of green economics

Abstract: The paper proposes a critical discussion of the 'market' mindset that is centred on epistemological concerns relative to its increasing application to matters which predominantly involve moral choices. The issue of climate change is explicitly defined in terms of ethical responsibility to future generations and becomes a natural candidate to discuss the analytical relevance of incorporating the 'market' paradigm into the study of green economics. This investigation gathers factual data based on the search for market solutions in the economics of climate change. The main argument is developed along the representations of the 'market' metaphor in its perfect (market-clearing) and imperfect (market-failure) variants. Both theoretical arguments and observational data seem to offer convincing support to the view that the 'market' mindset plays a controversial role in devising feasible policy recommendations. If climate change can be seen as a global public good, expectations are that the voluntary initiatives to mitigate global warming are to be accompanied by the selfish pursuit of people's own material interest, with the remaining combinations between empathy and self-interest in between.

Global program funds at country level : what have we learned?

Abstract: Global Program Funds (GPFs), programs that channel funding to a specific development objectives across countries, have grown rapidly since 2000. Although in aggregate they are still small relative to global aid flows they have become significant in size and numbers in many recipient countries and in some countries they are a dominant source of finance for specific sectors. GPFs have been particularly important in health, environment, and education, and the authors expect similar trends in new areas of concern to donors such as climate change. The Paris Declaration of 2005 acknowledged the growing importance of global programs and the need to take specific actions to address 'insufficient integration of global programs and initiatives into partner countries' broader development agendas.' This paper, based on consultations with recipient countries (a workshop in Mauritius in June 2007 and recent visits to Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Uganda), reports on progress and remaining areas where more efforts are needed. The Accra high level forum will provide an opportunity for further discussion of GPFs in the development aid architecture.

The economics of climate change: an overview *

Abstract: This paper discusses the main economic challenges raised by climate change. Climate is a global public good, requiring a global perspective to deal with its consequences. In this context, and based on recently disclosed new scientific evidence, three main questions are addressed: (i) how much to emit (ii) what economic instruments to use, and, finally (iii) what are the consequences to the architecture of international agreements for the post-Kyoto era. The experience of the EU ETS in the context of Kyoto is also examined, as it represents a unique experiment with reputational impact on future design of climate change policy.

Financing Climate Change: Bailing out the environment in the long-term may be just as important as bailing out financial markets now. CEPS Commentaries, 7 October 2008

Abstract: Observing that the US Congress was able to reach agreement over support to the US banking sector within two weeks, Arno Behrens bemoans the fact that the US and other governments remain reluctant to contribute significantly to the global climate change bill. Instead of buying bad assets, however, he asserts that climate change mitigation is an investment in a global public good and in future prosperity. While cautioning against taking a hasty decision, he argues that there is a strong case to be made for increasing global resources for adaptation and mitigation with all due speed.

A review of Rodwan Abouharb and David Cingranelli (2007) Human Rights and Structural Adjustment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Abstract: This is a comprehensive, well-presented, carefully-researched study on human rights effects of structural adjustment programs (SAPs) conducted by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The study stands out as one of the first large-N, systematic quantitative studies in book form that employs multivariate models to test an issue that has thus far been dominated by case studies. The issue of SAPs and human rights is not just academic, but it carries the most serious policy implications. In this age of global governance, vociferous anti-globalization groups are even calling for the abolishment of the International Financial Institutions (IFIs). This would be a valid enough proposal if the IFIs do more harm than good—the issue cannot be treated lightly, and it calls for the best available empirical evidence to inform policy (Milner 2005). Abouharb and Cingranelli, however, provide mixed results—SAPs increase violations of human rights, but they also increase the level of democracy in the long-run. How to evaluate these results depends of course on more intense scrutiny, but these results remind us to keep in mind the relative trade off between short-term pain and long-term gain. But what if the short-term pain, if it exists at all, is really small and fully worth it in the long-run? Liberal institutionalists believe that institutions, such as the IMF and World Bank, provide a global public good by promoting economic stability, economic monitoring and advice, and ‘low-cost’ finance for cash-strapped poor countries. Others argue that global economic stability comes at the expense of the poor, reflecting the nature of an unfair global economic system. The pessimists view SAPs as a systematic package of restructuring enforced on the poor states at a time of economic vulnerability. The SAPs apparently push neo-liberal policies on the signatories, forcing hapless governments to remove subsidies for the poor, cut government spending on services, devalue the currency, all of which impose hardship on the most vulnerable, often for the benefit of Wall Street and the rich elite. These poor

Technology Diffusion, Abatement Cost, and Transboundary Pollution

Abstract: This paper studies countries' incentives to develop advanced pollution abatement technology when technology may spillover across countries and pollution abatement is a global public good. We are motivated in part by the problem of global warming: a solution to this involves providing a global public good, and will surely require the development and implementation of new technologies. We show that at the Nash equilibrium of a simultaneous-move game with R&D investment and emission abatement, whether the free rider effect prevails and under-investment and excess emissions occur depends on the degree of technology spillovers and the effect of R&D on the marginal abatement costs. There are cases in which, contrary to conventional wisdom, Nash equilibrium investments in emissions reductions exceed the first-best case.

Technology diffusion, abatement cost, and transboundary pollution

Abstract: This paper studies countries’ incentives to develop advanced pollution abatement technology when technology may spillover across countries and pollution abatement is a global public good. We are motivated in part by the problem of global warming: a solution to this involves providing a global public good, and will surely require the development and implementation of new technologies. We show that at the Nash equilibrium of a simultaneous-move game with R&D investment and emission abatement, whether the free rider effect prevails and under-investment and excess emissions occur depends on the degree of technology spillovers and the effect of R&D on the marginal abatement costs. There are cases in which, contrary to conventional wisdom, Nash equilibrium investments in emissions reductions exceed the first-best case.

Poverty, the Environment and Climate Change

Abstract: One of the most hotly debated issues on globalization is the actual path of world poverty and inequality and its relation to openness. The analysis of public goods of Chapter 5 is extended in a specific section to regional, international and global public goods.