Towards A New Generation in Central American Trade: Proposals for Modernizing CAFTA-DR

To the surprise of many, the Trump Administration has signaled its intent to renegotiate the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). Why is the possible renegotiation of CAFTA-DR a surprise? CAFTA-DR has been largely favorable to the United States (U.S.)—the U.S. has enjoyed significant trade surpluses with CAFTA-DR countries since its ratification. CAFTA-DR has also promoted regional integration and co-production in Central America.Trade flows in and out of Central America have increased significantly. On balance, CAFTA-DR has benefitted all signatory nations from a trade standpoint, though it has left unaddressed a myriad of social, humanitarian, and governance issues. Consequently, as CAFTA-DR is renegotiated, U.S. policymakers can build upon these successes and also make sure to take particular care to shore up certain aspects that CAFTA-DR, in its current form, has fallen short. Of note, CAFTA-DR does not incentivize or mandate efforts to improve labor conditions in Central America, leaving millions of Central Americans facing sub-par working conditions and low pay. CAFTA-DR has also been inept to address environmental externalities associated with increased economic development, particularly in the manufacturing and natural resources sectors, which often pollute or cause environmental harms as part of their operations. Further, CAFTA-DR, like other regional trade agreements, has not fostered coalitions that were previously associated with multilateral trade agreements—preventing unification on key issues affecting trade flows, and preventing a cohesive response to social and environmental concerns

Equilibrium Psychology of “Equality-Inequality”: Cause or Effect?

Inequality is everywhere. The psychological balance of individuals who experience internal and external environments depicts the resilient capability. The equilibrium state of “equality-inequality” showcases causal-effect in psychological health and contributes to the inequality inheritance passed on to the next generations

Prosecuting Foreign Bribery in National Projects: A Multi-Phased Approach to Reduce Corruption

The gradual establishment of an international mechanism to review and prosecute allegations of corruption could help to deter fraudulent conduct. Fraudulent conduct often reduces the economic benefits associated with large-scale development or investment projects. These projects are generally awarded through contract bidding; the bidding outcome may be dictated by bribery and other corrupt behaviors by local officials overseeing the project. The money earmarked for the project may in turn be siphoned off to the bribe recipients for private gain, leaving citizens unable to appreciate the fruits of any such project. For this reason, reducing corruption should remain a key priority. Many national jurisdictions have a vested interest in reducing corruption, yet lack the capacity and political stability to reduce corruption through domestic efforts. International efforts to reduce corruption, as evidenced by previous attempts at developing new, topic-specific, stand-alone international courts, have also been insufficient. Mindful of the mixed results of previous anti-corruption efforts, this Article proposes a new anti-corruption framework, based upon a hybrid, multi-phased approach. The approach is pragmatic, flexible, cost-effective, and realistic

Alien Registration- Eon, Julia (Lovell, Oxford County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/21164/thumbnail.jp

Effects of Substrate Rugosity on Abundance and Gonad Condition of Purple Urchins (Strongylocentrotus Purpuratus) in the Intertidal Zone

In northern California, purple urchin (Strongylocentrotus Purpuratus) populations have exploded, leading to an invasion of the intertidal zone with potential consequences for those communities. We aimed to determine if there was a relationship between surface rugosity and urchin abundance and condition in this recently invaded habitat. We found that urchins took advantage of any intertidal habitat, as abundance was independent of surface rugosity. However, surface rugosity was related to urchin condition, with urchins on rougher surfaces in better condition than those on other surfaces. Rocky intertidal surfaces may therefore provide refugia for overabundant subtidal urchin populations