Implementing the Humanitarian-development-peace nexus in a post-pandemic world: Multilateral cooperation and the challenge of inter-organisational dialogue

Engaging with the UN Secretary General's call for a more effective, networked and inclusive approach to multilateralism (Our Common Agenda, 2021), this paper discusses the main challenges to the implementation of the Humanitarian-Development- Peace Nexus concept. Institutionalised by the UN in 2016, such cross-policy effort at global governance has been neglected by the IR and IPE literatures. To start filling this gap, the paper identifies strengths and weaknesses of multilateral inter-agency cooperation on the Nexus approach. Based on previous research on inter-organisational performance and regime complexity, it investigates select evidence from three organisations (UN, EU, World Bank), in pre-and post-COVID-19 contexts. Identifying tangible elements of experimentalist governance in the HDP global endeavour, the paper concludes with a synthetic overview of the comparative advantages that each organisation offers to implement the Nexus

Trademark protection or protectionism?

This paper explores the extent to which discrimination against foreign applicants in the trademark registration process can be used as a"behind-the-border"barrier to imports. Prima-facie evidence shows that in some developing countries the ratio of trademark registration to applications is much higher for national than for foreign applicants, which is consistent with the notion of discrimination against foreign firms. The authors develop a simple model that suggests that incentives to discriminate are stronger when foreign firms produce products that are close in quality to the product produced by domestic firms. This hypothesis is then tested and empirically confirmed in three of the four countries in their sample, suggesting that discretion and discrimination in the trademark registration process can sometimes be used as a protectionist tool.Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Markets and Market Access,Public Health Promotion,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Access to Markets,Markets and Market Access

The global distribution of trademarks - some stylized facts

Trademarks are words, signs, symbols, or combinations thereof that identify goods as manufactured by a particular person or a company, therefore allowing consumers to distinguish between goods originating in different sources. Trademarks belong to the wider family of intellectual property rights (IPRs), and once registered benefit from legal protection against unauthorized use by entities other than the legal owner. While some suggest that cross-border registrations of IPRs may be associated with welfare transfers from developing to industrial countries, surprisingly little is known about an important component of the global IPR system, namely, the worldwide distribution of trademark registrations. This study provides the first step in filling this gap in the literature. Its purpose is to present some new stylized facts which emerge from the analysis of a dataset compiled by the authors based on the statistical information published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Questions of interest include the distribution of trademarks between countries of different income levels, the share of trademark registrations accounted for by foreign residents and its variation across different income groups, the extent to which poor countries participate in the international trademark system, and the distribution of registrations across different sectors of the economy.Environmental Economics&Policies,Fiscal&Monetary Policy,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Economic Theory&Research,Income,Economic Theory&Research,Income,Environmental Economics&Policies,Fiscal&Monetary Policy,Health Economics&Finance

Maternal characteristics during pregnancy and risk factors for positive HIV RNA at delivery: a single-cohort observational study (Brescia, Northern Italy)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Detectable HIV RNA in mothers at delivery is an important risk factor for HIV transmission to newborns. Our hypothesis was that, in migrant women, the risk of detectable HIV RNA at delivery is greater owing to late HIV diagnosis. Therefore, we examined pregnant women by regional provenance and measured variables that could be associated with detectable HIV RNA at delivery.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A observational retrospective study was conducted from January 1999 to May 2008. Univariate and multivariable regression analyses (generalized linear models) were used, with detectable HIV RNA at delivery as dependent variable.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall population comprised 154 women (46.8% migrants). Presentation was later in migrant women than Italians, as assessed by CD4-T-cell count at first contact (mean 417/mm³versus 545/mm³, respectively; p = 0.003). Likewise, HIV diagnosis was made before pregnancy and HAART was already prescribed at the time of pregnancy in more Italians (91% and 75%, respectively) than migrants (61% and 42.8%, respectively). A subgroup of women with available HIV RNA close to term (i.e., ≤30 days before labour) was studied for risk factors of detectable HIV RNA (≥50 copies/ml) at delivery. Among 93 women, 25 (26.9%) had detectable HIV RNA. A trend toward an association between non-Italian nationality and detectable HIV RNA at delivery was demonstrated by univariate analysis (relative risk, RR = 1.86; p = 0.099). However, by multivariable regression analysis, the following factors appeared to be more important: lack of stable (i.e., ≥14 days) antiretroviral therapy at the time of HIV RNA testing (RR = 4.3; p < 0.0001), and higher CD4+ T-cell count at pregnancy (per 50/mm³, RR = 0.94; p = 0.038).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results reinforce the importance of extensive screening for HIV infection, earlier initiation of antiretroviral therapy and stricter monitoring of pregnant women to reduce the risk of detectable HIV RNA at delivery. Public health interventions should be particularly targeted to migrant women who are frequently unaware of their HIV status at the time of pregnancy.</p

State Control and the Effects of Foreign Relations on Bilateral Trade

Do states use trade to reward and punish partners? WTO rules and the pressures of globalization restrict states’ capacity to manipulate trade policies, but we argue that governments can link political goals with economic outcomes using less direct avenues of influence over firm behavior. Where governments intervene in markets, politicization of trade is likely to occur. In this paper, we examine one important form of government control: state ownership of firms. Taking China and India as examples, we use bilateral trade data by firm ownership type, as well as measures of bilateral political relations based on diplomatic events and UN voting to estimate the effect of political relations on import and export flows. Our results support the hypothesis that imports controlled by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) exhibit stronger responsiveness to political relations than imports controlled by private enterprises. A more nuanced picture emerges for exports; while India’s exports through SOEs are more responsive to political tensions than its flows through private entities, the opposite is true for China. This research holds broader implications for how we should think about the relationship between political and economic relations going forward, especially as a number of countries with partially state-controlled economies gain strength in the global economy

Complexity and Dilemmas of the EU Migration Policy

Materiale soggetto a Copyright_Condiviso su autorizzazione d.Autore per scopo di studio esclusivamente destinato agli studenti frequentanti Corso RI AL-MZ 2018_L SID_Vietata qualsiasi diffusione e riproduzione per ogni altro scop