The impacts of neo-liberal policy on Indian peasantry = 非洲經濟及土地政策

The sustainability of small-scale cultivation, which largely characterizes Indian agriculture, though not in a homogeneous or undifferentiated manner, has been one of the important casualties of the trajectory of neo-liberal policies into which the country embarked upon in the early nineties. Driven by fiscal fundamentalism, this amounted to a veritable withdrawal of the state from economic operations, more so from agriculture. A host of policies adopted like the rationalization of input subsidies, downsizing of incentive pricing, decline in public investments, shrinking public extension services and contraction of institutional credit availability in rural areas all precipitated a widespread agrarian crisis with deflation in farm incomes and emergence of indebtedness among the peasantry (Patnaik, 2002; Reddy and Mishra, 2009; Banerjee, 2009)

Branes and Fluxes in D=5 Calabi-Yau Compactifications of M-Theory

We discuss Poincare three-brane solutions in D=5 M-Theory compactifications on Calabi-Yau (CY) threefolds with G-fluxes. We show that the vector moduli freeze at an attractor point. In the case with background flux only, the spacetime geometry contains a zero volume singularity with the three-brane and the CY space shrinking simultaneously to a point. This problem can be avoided by including explicit three-brane sources. We consider two cases in detail: a single brane and, when the transverse dimension is compactified on a circle, a pair of branes with opposite tensions.Comment: 14 pages, final versio

Trading Up: How Expanding Trade Has Delivered Better Jobs and Higher Living Standards for American Workers

Opponents of trade liberalization have sought to indict free trade and trade agreements by painting a grim picture of the economic state of American workers and households. They claim that real wages have been stagnant or declining as millions of higher-paying middle-class jobs are lost to imports. But the reality for a broad swath of American workers and households is far different and more benign. Contrary to public perceptions: Trade has had no discernible, negative effect on the number of jobs in the U.S. economy. Our economy today is at full employment, with 16.5 million more people working than a decade ago. Trade accounts for only about 3 percent of dislocated workers.Technology and other domestic factors displace far more workers than does trade. Average real compensation per hour paid to American workers, which includes benefits as well as wages, has increased by 22 percent in the past decade. Median household income in the United States is 6 percent higher in real dollars than it was a decade ago at a comparable point in the previous business cycle. Middle-class households have been moving up the income ladder, not down. The net loss of 3.3 million manufacturing jobs in the past decade has been overwhelmed by a net gain of 11.6 million jobs in sectors where the average wage is higher than in manufacturing. Two-thirds of the net new jobs created since 1997 are in sectors where workers earn more than in manufacturing. The median net worth of U.S. households jumped by almost one-third between 1995 and 2004, from $70,800 to$93,100. The large majority of Americans, including the typical middle-class family, is measurably better off today after a decade of healthy trade expansion

What should we do about China?

Former US Director of National Intelligence, Admiral Dennis C. Blair examines the changing role of China in the international system and the challenge it poses for policy makers. He highlights in this Centre of Gravity paper how China\u27s concerns about Taiwan are reducing, while its regional assertiveness and economic slowdown provide some caution. This paper presents policy recommendations for Australia and the US to better evaluate and engage China to help secure the Asia-Pacific Region.Executive summary5 years after a major report on US-China relations it’s worth revisiting our assessments. Most judgements remain valid, but some have changed significantly. Taiwan has moved from a primary issue to second order, though not forgotten. China’s regional assertiveness is concerning and should be examined closely. China’s economic development model has run its course; Beijing needs to provide leadership to usher in reform.Policy recommendationsAustralia and the USA should focus on a blended policy of cooperation with China, along with an insistence on international norms, and maintenance of alliance and military strength. Regular evaluations of China’s shifting capacity and interests, to identify what issues are of rising or declining significance for Beijing will be needed to be effective in engaging China and building a better future for the region

When the North Last Headed South: Revisiting the 1930s

macroeconomics, recession, financial crisis, historical economics