Why transparency undermines economy

Byrne offers a novel interpretation of the idea that the mind is transparent to its possessor, and that one knows one’s own mind by looking out at the world. This paper argues that his attempts to extend this picture of self-knowledge force him to sacrifice the theoretical parsimony he presents as the primary virtue of his account. The paper concludes by discussing two general problems transparency accounts of self-knowledge must address

Pascal Lamy on regional trade agreements

The paper discusses in particular the role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regarding Regional Trade Agreements (RTA) and Regional Integration Agreements (RIA) as well as the benefits and limitations of these agreements. Examples are given which outline on the one hand the successful developements which have taken place, but also points on failures in setting up or benefitting from those agreements. It stresses also the need for unified action at the WTO itself

Leadership and Corruption in Russia, 2000-2004

The paper defines the key features of corruption and perception of corruption in Russia under Putin. It provides a comparison of trends of corruption perception index in the CIS region and CEE countries and focuses on specifics of President Putin’s policies in application. The analysis questions the assumptions about informal practices and formal institutions and offers interpretations of the dependence of Putin’s regime on the ‘unwritten tules’

The False Promise of Gleneagles: Misguided Priorities at the Heart of the New Push for African Development

The Gleneagles Summit, for all its good intentions, gave rise to unrealistic expectations. The heavy emphasis on aid and debt relief made Western actions appear to be chiefly responsible for poverty alleviation in Africa. In reality, the main obstacles to economic growth in Africa rest with Africa's policies and institutions, such as onerous business regulations and weak protection of property rights. Africa remains the poorest and least economically free region on earth. The West should do all it can to help Africa integrate with the rest of the world. It should eliminate remaining restrictions on African exports and end Western farm subsidies. Africans, however, will have to make most of the changes needed to tackle African poverty

The Case for Mandatory Ownership Disclosure

The use of equity derivatives to conceal economic ownership of shares (“hidden ownership”) is increasingly drawing attention from the financial community, as is the exercise of voting power without corresponding economic interest (“empty voting”). Market participants and commentators have called for expansion of ownership disclosure rules, and policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic are now contemplating how to respond. Yet, in order to design appropriate responses it is key to understand why we have ownership disclosure rules in the first place. This understanding currently appears to be lacking, which may explain why we observe divergent approaches between countries. The case for mandatory ownership disclosure has also received remarkably little attention in the literature, which has focused almost exclusively on mandatory issuer disclosure. Perhaps this is because most people assume that ownership disclosure is a good thing. But why is such information important, and to whom? This paper aims to answer these fundamental questions, using the European disclosure regime as an example. First, the paper identifies two main objectives of ownership disclosure: improving market efficiency and corporate governance. Next, the paper explores the various mechanisms through which ownership disclosure performs these tasks. This sets the stage for an analysis of hidden ownership and empty voting that demonstrates why these phenomena are so problematic.ownership disclosure; market efficiency; corporate governance; monitoring; hidden ownership; empty voting; hedge fund activism

Democracy and Growth Reconsidered: Why Economic Performance of New Democracies is not Encouraging

There are two innovations as compared to the previous literature on democratization and growth. First, not only the level of democracy is taken into account, but also changes in this level in the 1970s-1990s as measured by the political rights indices of the Freedom House. Second, the distinction is made between the rule of law and democracy, the rule of law being defined as the ability to ensure order based on legal rules; it is measured by the rule of law, investors’ risk and corruption indices. It is found that democratization in countries with strong rule of law (liberal democracies) stimulates economic growth, whereas in countries with poor rule of law (illiberal democracies) democratization undermines growth. In illiberal democracies institutions are weaker, shadow economy is larger and macroeconomic policy is less prudent.Economic growth; democracy; rule of law

Kept in the Dark: Poor Reporting on New York City's Recovery Zone Bond Deals

In June 2009, the "Recover NYC" program was unveiled to help select projects that applied for Recovery Zone Facility Bonds (RZFB), a bond program authorized as part of the Recovery Act. While the program seemed to have good intentions, the vague requirements related to job quality, how the projects were to assist unemployed or underemployed New Yorkers, and how the projects would help the city's sustainability efforts, made it difficult to measure the program's success. Indeed, the objectives were so vague that merely allocating the bonds became a benchmark of success by economic development officials.This report details RZFB projects and is a real-life example of how projects receiving discretionary subsidies make their way through the public -- and not so public -- application process. Accountability begins with transparency, an area that is lacking in the RZFB program. We conclude that economic development officials need to make the process of allocating subsidies more accessible to New Yorkers, to encourage more public participation in future projects, and to hold these projects accountable for creating good jobs

The Second Great Transformation: Human Rights Leapfrogging in the Era of Globalization

Whether globalization improves or undermines human rights is not a matter that can be observed in the short term. Globalization is the second “great transformation” spreading capitalism over the entire world. Many of its short-term effects will be negative. Nevertheless, its medium and long-term effects may well be positive, as it impels social changes that will result in greater moves to democracy, economic redistribution, the rule of law, and promotion of civil and political rights. Capitalism is a necessary, though hardly sufficient condition for democracy: democracy is the best political system to protect human rights. This does not mean that the non-Western world will follow the exact same path to protection of human rights that the Western world followed. No international law obliged the West to protect human rights during its own era of economic expansion. Thus, the West could practice slavery, expel surplus populations, and colonize other parts of the world. Genocide and ethnic cleaning were not prohibited