The free trade debate: the illusion of security versus growth

Free trade

Managing Cyber Risk and Security In Cloud Computing

Cloud computing provides outsourcing of resources bringing economic benefits. The outsourcing however does not allow data owners to outsource the responsibility of confidentiality, integrity and access control, as it still is the responsibility of the data owner. As cloud computing is transparent to both the programmers and the users, it induces challenges that were not present in previous forms of distributed computing. Furthermore, cloud computing enables its users to abstract away from low-level configuration such as configuring IP addresses and routers. It creates an illusion that this entire configuration is automated. This illusion is also true for security services, for instance automating security policies and access control in cloud, so that individuals or end-users using the cloud only perform very high-level (business oriented) configuration. This paper investigates the security challenges posed by the transparency of distribution, abstraction of configuration and automation of services by performing a detailed threat analysis of cloud computing across its different deployment scenarios (private, bursting, federation or multi-clouds). This paper also presents a risk inventory which documents the security threats identified in terms of availability, integrity and confidentiality for cloud infrastructures in detail for future security risks. We also propose a methodology for performing security risk assessment for cloud computing architectures presenting some of the initial results

After the Death of Inflation: Will Fiscal Drag Survive?

Declining inflation rates might have negative consequences for tax revenues. Phenomena like the inflationary bracket creep in a progressive income tax system do not work any longer. With this background the paper analyzes the extent of fiscal drag for OECD countries since 1965. Some considerations on the role of money illusion and indexation in this context lay the theoretical base followed by a descriptive view on the relation between inflation, growth and tax revenues in the past decades. A framework is presented that allows for the classification of fiscal structures with regard to the type of fiscal drag. The subsequent econometric analysis is performed for total and disaggregated government revenues. The results reveal that an end of inflation would have a negative impact on tax revenues for a number of OECD countries. The results also back theoretical considerations on inflation?s impact on different kinds of taxes: This impact tends to be positive for individual income taxes and social security contributions, it is neutral or negative for corporate income, property and indirect taxation. The paper concludes that both declining inflation and recent trends in tax reforms can be expected to limit the potential for future fiscal drag. --bracket creep,fiscal drag,indexation,inflation,money illusion,Olivera-Tanzi effect,taxes,Wagner?s law

On Fifty Million Floating Pension Records in Japan

There arose a serious pension record-keeping problem in Japan from May 2007. Around 50 million pension records of social security were found to be floating, not being integrated to the unified pension numbers. The pending records are due to human errors made by enrollees, their employers and agencies. There has been no integrated collection of taxes and social security contributions in Japan, and additionally no monitoring organizations have been effectively implemented in pension administration. The general public was under the illusion that government officials were able to do and did everything correctly without committing any errors. However, human errors are inevitable anywhere. Regular and prompt examinations over possible errors are required for proper record-keeping of pensions. Upon any no-match identified, an interactive notification and confirmation with correction should follow in due course. The trustworthy government with its competent and neat implementation is, thus, the basis for any pension system.

Insecurities of the old and marginalized: Inflation, oil shocks, financial crisis and social security

The paper examines the impact of recent inflation and financial shocks on the vulnerable, and explores policy design to reduce both future shocks and vulnerability to shocks. Inflation affects the typical savings cum pension portfolio and the specific consumption basket of the old, as prices of services rise compared to manufactured goods. Money illusion and habit, which tend to increase with age, aggravate the psychological trauma associated with inflation. The decline of traditional sources of social security marginalizes those without savings, in the context of sustained rural urban and international migration. Trends determining inflation-domestic and global, institutional change, and greater openness explain why inflation has been moderate in India, compared to other emerging markets. Since the polity is averse to high inflation, and commodity price shocks are moderating, high inflation will not persist. But the shocks demonstrate the importance of food price inflation for aggregate inflation in populous South Asia. Therefore improvements in agricultural productivity, with supportive buffer stock, fiscal and monetary policy are critical to lower the level of chronic inflation. Regulatory changes to reduce excessive risktaking in financial markets and the aggravation of inflation from speculation are examined. Finally, other policy measures to improve security for the old and keep them an active, vital part of the community are drawn together.Aged, Inflation, Oil shocks, Financial crisis, Social security

Insecurities of the old and marginalized : Inflation, Oil Shocks, Financial Crisis and Social Security

The paper examines the impact of recent inflation and financial shocks on the vulnerable, and explores policy design to reduce both future shocks and vulnerability to shocks. Inflation affects the typical savings cum pension portfolio and the specific consumption basket of the old, as prices of services rise compared to manufactured goods. Money illusion and habit, which tend to increase with age, aggravate the psychological trauma associated with inflation. The decline of traditional sources of social security marginalizes those without savings, in the context of sustained ruralurban and international migration. Trends determining inflationdomestic and global, institutional change, and greater openness explain why inflation has been moderate in India, compared to other emerging markets. Since the polity is averse to high inflation, and commodity price shocks are moderating, high inflation will not persist. But the shocks demonstrate the importance of food price inflation for aggregate inflation in populous South Asia. Therefore improvements in agricultural productivity, with supportive buffer stock, fiscal and monetary policy are critical to lower the level of chronic inflation. Regulatory changes to reduce excessive risktaking in financial markets and the aggravation of inflation from speculation are examined. Finally, other policy measures to improve security for the old and keep them an active, vital part of the community are drawn together.Aged, inflation, Oil shocks, financial crisis, social security

The future of the UN after Iraq

The UN cannot stay the same after Iraq. It is clear that Security Council can no longer keep up the illusion of a reliable guardian of the world peace and security. Croatia’s experience with the UN and Security Council reveals its weakness, indecisiveness and inconsistency. So, do we really need the UN or not? The UN represents the most important organization for global coordination. However, the changed circumstances meant a different treat to peace and security. The probability of global and interstate conflicts lessened, but the number of intrastate conflicts grew. Battles in the war against terrorism can be won by military power, but winning the war requires a global partnership. In the name of a new, more efficient UN, we should all make some compromises

Rise of the Renter Nation: Solutions to the Housing Affordability Crisis

Private homeownership cannot serve as our only model for decent, stable housing. While the most recent speculative bubble raised the proportion of homeowners nationwide to 70 percent of all households, this gain was an illusion that vanished as the market collapsed. A longer view reveals that for three decades before the bubble began in the mid-1990s, homeownership rates hovered around 64 percent, despite massive federal and market support. Further, the historic average obscures important and severe racial disparities in homeownership rates, which have never exceeded 50 percent for black and Latino populations. Yet, policy and even much of the progressive analysis of the housing crisis seem incapable of acknowledging -- much less acting on -- these realities. The result is a national dialogue about the housing crisis that all but ignores the growing renter class, where the crisis is concentrated, and retains a myopic focus on private ownership. The following report is a reality check. It attempts to redirect the conversation and provide an agenda for genuine housing security for all