v Lessons in using data to improve education: An Australian example By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 13 Feb 2017 22:32:40 +0000 When it comes to data, there is a tendency to assume that more is always better; but the reality is rarely this simple. Data policies need to consider questions around design, implementation, and use. To offer an illustrative example, in 2010 the Australian Federal government launched the online tool My School to collect and publish… Full Article
v Discussion | Carbon, Coal and Natural Resources – An Australian perspective with Dr. Brian Fisher By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 29 Mar 2017 05:01:48 +0000 This discussion was on topics spanning coal, natural resources and their valuation, regulation, and more – an Australian perspective. Key Speaker: Dr. Brian Fisher, AO PSM, Managing Director, BAEconomics Pvt. Ltd., Australia Discussion points: How is resource allocation done, and exports viewed (especially of coal)? How has thinking on a carbon tax evolved (Australia has… Full Article
v Australia’s pathway to innovative growth lies with its universities By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 30 May 2017 22:02:59 +0000 Fifteen years from now will Australia be known for its global contribution in commodities or its repositioning as a rising star in innovative growth? If Australia is to become a rising star, it will require a set of structural reforms at the federal level in areas such as education, tax regulation, and industrial policy. Yet… Full Article
v Preventing violent extremism during and after the COVID-19 pandemic By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2020 17:41:51 +0000 While the world’s attention appropriately focuses on the health and economic impacts of COVID-19, the threat of violent extremism remains, and has in some circumstances been exacerbated during the crisis. The moment demands new and renewed attention so that the gains made to date do not face setbacks. Headlines over the past few weeks have… Full Article
v How is the coronavirus outbreak affecting China’s relations with India? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 12:02:00 +0000 China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has reinforced the skeptical perception of the country that prevails in many quarters in India. The Indian state’s rhetoric has been quite measured, reflecting its need to procure medical supplies from China and its desire to keep the relationship stable. Nonetheless, Beijing’s approach has fueled Delhi’s existing strategic and economic concerns. These… Full Article
v Clouded thinking in Washington and Beijing on COVID-19 crisis By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 18:41:17 +0000 In 2015, an action movie about a group of elite paratroopers from the People’s Liberation Army, “Wolf Warrior,” dominated box offices across China. In 2020, the nationalistic chest-thumping spirit of that movie is defining Chinese diplomacy, or at least the propaganda surrounding it. This aggressive new style is known as “wolf warrior diplomacy,” and although… Full Article
v Pakistan’s dangerous capitulation to the religious right on the coronavirus By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 20:00:05 +0000 Perform your ablutions at home. Bring your own prayer mats, place them six feet apart. Wear masks. Use the provided hand sanitizer. No handshakes or hugs allowed. No talking in the mosque. No one over 50 years old can enter. No children allowed. These guidelines are part of a list of 20 standard operating procedures that Pakistan’s… Full Article
v The coronavirus has led to more authoritarianism for Turkey By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 20:00:26 +0000 Turkey is well into its second month since the first coronavirus case was diagnosed on March 10. As of May 5, the number of reported cases has reached almost 130,000, which puts Turkey among the top eight countries grappling with the deadly disease — ahead of even China and Iran. Fortunately, so far, the Turkish death… Full Article
v Trump, the Administrative Presidency, and Federalism By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 04 Nov 2019 19:01:24 +0000 How Trump has used the federal government to promote conservative policies The presidency of Donald Trump has been unique in many respects—most obviously his flamboyant personal style and disregard for conventional niceties and factual information. But one area hasn’t received as much attention as it deserves: Trump’s use of the “administrative presidency,” including executive orders… Full Article
v Brookings Papers on Economic Activity: Spring 2019 By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA) provides academic and business economists, government officials, and members of the financial and business communities with timely research on current economic issues. Contents: On Secular Stagnation in the Industrialized World Lukasz Rachel and Lawrence H. Summers A Forensic Examination of China's National Accounts Wei Chen, Xilu Chen, Chang-Tai Hsieh,… Full Article
v Behavioral Science & Policy, Volume 5, No. 1 By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: The success of nearly all public- and private- sector policies hinges on the behavior of individuals, groups, and organizations. Today, such behaviors are better understood than ever, thanks to a growing body of practical behavioral science research. However, policymakers often are unaware of behavioral science findings that may help them craft and execute more effective… Full Article
v Autonomous Vehicles By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 14 Feb 2020 21:37:14 +0000 Better public policies can make the road smoother for self-driving vehicles and the society that soon will depend on them. Whether you find the idea of autonomous vehicles to be exciting or frightening, the truth is that they will soon become a significant everyday presence on streets and highways—not just a novel experiment attracting attention… Full Article
v Think Tank 20 - Growth, Convergence, and Income Distribution: The Road from the Brisbane G-20 Summit By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0500 Full Article
v Convergence or Divergence: Discussing Structural Transformation in Africa during the G-20 By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 14:35:00 -0500 The G-20 Summit begins in Brisbane, Australia this Saturday, November 15. Leaders are descending on the city to tackle the biggest economic challenges facing the planet. A major theme of the discussions will likely be convergence—the rapid approach of average incomes in low- and middle-income countries towards those in advanced economies—and its sustainability. In a recent brief in the Brookings Global Think Tank 20 series, I explore this issue in the sub-Saharan African context, examining what has been holding the region back, how Africa might reach the rapid convergence seen by other emerging economies, and if and how convergence might be sustained. For my full brief, see here. As most know, despite the “growth miracles” happening on the continent, sub-Saharan Africa still has a long way to go. Africa’s economic growth started much later and has gone much slower than the rest of the developing world; thus its per capita income gap against advanced economies still remains quite large. In fact, Africa hasn’t even converged with other emerging economies (see Figure 1). In addition to slow growth, Africa faces many, many challenges: Conflict-ridden countries still face a declining income per capita, and inequality is rampant. While Africa’s poverty rate is dropping, its share in global poverty is not: In 1990, 56 percent of Africans lived on under $1.25 a day, meaning that they represented 15 percent of those in poverty worldwide. Over the next 20 years, the region’s poverty rate dropped to 48 percent, but its share of global poverty doubled. At this rate, many predict that by 2030 Africa’s poverty rate will fall to 24 percent, but represent 82 percent of the world’s poor (Chandy et al., 2013). Of the utmost importance for convergence, though, is the issue of structural transformation in the region. If sub-Saharan Africa can reduce its reliance on unproductive and volatile sectors, it will build a foundation on which economic growth—and convergence—can be sustained. Current African Economies: Agriculture, Natural Resources and Services Currently, African economies are characterized by a reliance on natural resources, agriculture and a budding services sector. Natural resources are, and will likely continue to be, major drivers of Africa’s economic growth: About 20 African countries derived more than 25 percent of their total merchandise exports in 2000-2011 from them. Unfortunately, this dependence on natural resources comes hand-in-hand with challenges such as financial volatility, rent-seeking behavior, and a loss of competitiveness, among many others—making a turn away from them necessary for long-term, sustainable growth. Similarly, most African economies depend heavily on the low-yield agriculture sector—its least productive sector and with the lowest income and consumption levels. While labor has been moving out of the agriculture sector, it is moving into the services sector. From 2000-2010, the agriculture labor force share fell by about 10 percent while services grew by 8 percent (McMillan and Harttgen, 2014). While much of the movement into the services industry has been into productive areas such as telecommunications and banking, most service sector jobs in sub-Saharan Africa are informal. Although informal activities offer earning opportunities to many people, they are often unstable and it is far from clear that they can be an engine of sustainable and inclusive high economic growth. In addition, growth in the services sector overall has historically not shown the economic returns that industry has. If policymakers can enhance productivity in the services sector, then growth could take off even more rapidly, but until then, the highly productive manufacturing sector will be the key to Africa’s convergence. (For more on this, see the attached PowerPoint presentation.) The Missing Piece: African Industry Industrialization in Africa is low: Manufacturing–the driver of growth in Asia—employs less than 8 percent of the workforce and makes up only 10 percent of GDP on the continent (Rodrik, 2014). In comparison to the 8 percent growth in the services sector from 2000-2010, manufacturing saw only 2 percent growth (McMillan and Harttgen, 2014). In addition, the region’s manufacturing sector is dominated mostly by small and informal (and thus less productive) firms. Since the research has shown that industry was key to the explosive and continued growth in Asia and Europe, without concentration on or support of the manufacturing sector, African economies are not likely to replicate those convergence dynamics (Rodrik, 2014). Thus, Africa’s slow pace of industrialization means that, in addition to its late start time and its past sluggish growth, the region has another obstacle towards convergence. There is hope, however; there are already hints that structural transformation might be happening. The recent rebasing of Nigeria’s economy revealed some important new trends. There, the contribution from oil and gas to GDP fell from 32 to 14 percent, and agriculture from 35 to 22 percent. At the same time, the telecommunication’s contribution sector rose from 0.9 to 9 percent, and manufacturing from 2 to 7 percent. Achieving a successful economic transformation will help capitalize on improved growth fundamentals and achieve high and sustained per capita growth rates. However, for such a process to yield lasting benefits, it is crucial to better understand the ongoing structural changes taking place in Africa. This is an important task for economists studying Africa and, in addition to achieving a “data revolution,” both meta-analysis and case study methods can be useful complements to the current body of research on the continent. References Chandy, Laurence, Natasha Ledlie, and Veronika Penciakova. 2013. “Africa’s Challenge to End Extreme Poverty by 2030: Too Slow or Too Far Behind?” The Brookings Institution, Washington D.C. April 2013, http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2013/05/29-africachallenge-end-extreme-poverty-2030-chandy McMillan, Margaret and Ken Harttgen. 2014. “What is Driving the Africa Growth Miracle?” NBER Working Paper No. 20077, April. http://www.nber.org/papers/w20077 Rodrik, Dani. 2014. “An African Growth Miracle?” NBER Working Paper No. 20188, June. http://www.nber.org/papers/w20188 Downloads Download the related powerpoint Authors Amadou Sy Full Article
v U.S. Economic Engagement on the International Stage: A Conversation with U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Nathan Sheets By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 08:30:00 -0500 Event Information December 3, 20148:30 AM - 9:30 AM ESTFirst Amendment LoungeNational Press Club529 14th St. NW, 13th FloorWashington, DC Register for the EventThe world’s top economies had much to discuss at the G-20 summit in Brisbane, Australia last month, including reinvigorating global growth, the reduction of trade barriers, financial regulation reforms, and global infrastructure. The G-20 meeting took place at a key time for U.S. international economic policy, as it came on the heels of President Obama’s prior stops at the APEC summit and the ASEAN summit. As the U.S. joins its G-20 colleagues in aiming to boost G-20 GDP by an additional 2 percent by 2018, there remain many questions about how G-20 countries will follow through with the goals set in Brisbane. On December 3, the Global Economy and Development program and the Economic Studies program at Brookings welcomed U.S. Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs Nathan Sheets in his first public address since being confirmed in September. Following the recent G-20 meeting, Sheets discussed his perspectives on priorities for international economic policy in the years ahead across key areas including trade, the international financial architecture, and the United States’ evolving economic relationships. Join the conversation on Twitter using #GlobalEconomy Video U.S. Economic Engagement on the International Stage: A Conversation with U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Nathan Sheets Audio U.S. Economic Engagement on the International Stage: A Conversation with U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Nathan Sheets Transcript Uncorrected Transcript (.pdf) Event Materials 20141203_sheets_international_economic_engagement_transcript Full Article
v Four Charts Explaining Latin America’s Decade of Development-less Growth By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 15:12:00 -0500 Editor’s Note: In the report “Think Tank 20: Growth, Convergence and Income Distribution: The Road from the Brisbane G-20 Summit” experts from Brookings and around the world address interrelated debates about growth, convergence and income distribution, three key elements that are likely to shape policy debates beyond the ninth G-20 summit that was held on November 15-16 in Brisbane, Australia. The content of this blog is based on the chapter on Latin America. Read the full brief on Latin America's growth trends here. A figure says a thousand words. And, looking at Figure 1, which shows the population-weighted average income per capita in emerging economies relative to the U.S., there could be no doubt in anybody’s mind that since the late 1990s something rather extraordinary happened—a phenomenon with no antecedents in the post-WWII period—that propelled emerging economies into an exponential process of convergence. Needless to say, this phenomenon had enormous consequences for the welfare of millions of citizens in emerging economies. It lifted more than 500 million people out from poverty and extreme poverty, and gave rise to the so-called emerging middle class that grew at a rate of 150 million per year. So, it seems that something rather extraordinary happened in emerging economies. Or did it? Let’s look again. When China and India are removed from the emerging markets sample, Figure 1 becomes Figure 2a. In Figure 2a, one can still discern a period of convergence starting in the late 1990s. But convergence here was not nearly as strong—relative income is still far below its previous heights—and it occurred after a period of divergence that started in the mid-1970s after the first oil shock, in the early 1980s with the debt crisis, and in the late 1980s with post-Berlin Wall meltdown in Eastern European economies. This pattern is actually characteristic of every emerging region including Latin America (see Figure 2b). Only Asia differs markedly from this pattern—with China and India displaying exponential convergence since the late 1990s, while the rest of emerging Asia experienced a sustained but much slower convergence since the mid-1960s. From a Latin American perspective, the relevant question we need to ask is whether the recent bout of convergence that started in 2004 after a quarter of a century of relative income decline is a break with the past or just a short-lived phenomenon? In order to address this question from a Latin American perspective, we study the arithmetic of convergence (i.e., whether mechanical projections are consistent with the convergence hypothesis) and the economics of convergence (i.e., whether income convergence was associated with a comparable convergence in the drivers of growth). According to our definition of convergence,[1] since 1950, growth-convergence-development miracles represent a tiny fraction of emerging countries. Only five countries managed to achieve this: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. In other words, convergence towards income per capita levels of rich countries is an extremely rare event. But where does Latin America stand? Based on growth projections for the period 2014-2018, not a single Latin American country will converge to two-thirds of U.S. income per capita in two generations. Unfortunately, the arithmetic does not seem to be on the side of the region. What about the economics? To answer this question, we analyze whether Latin America’s process of income convergence in the last decade was also associated with a similar convergence in the key drivers of growth: trade integration, physical and technological infrastructure, human capital, innovation, and the quality of public services. Figure 3 illustrates the results. In contrast to relative income, during the last decade, LAC-7 [2] countries failed to converge towards advanced country levels in every growth driver. The overall index of growth drivers—the simple average of the five sub-indexes—remained unchanged in the last decade relative to the equivalent index for advanced economies. By and large, the latter holds true for every LAC-7 country with exceptions like Colombia (the only country that improved in every single growth driver in the last decade) and Chile (the country in the region where the levels of growth drivers are closer to those of advanced economies). Latin America had a decade of uninterrupted high growth rates—with the sole exception of 2009 in the aftermath of the Lehman crisis—that put an end to a quarter of a century of relative decline in income per capita levels vis-à-vis advanced economies. However, high growth and income convergence were largely the result of an unusually favorable external environment, rather than the result of convergence to advanced-country levels in the key drivers of growth. Fundamentally, the last was a decade of “development-less growth” in Latin America. With the extremely favorable external conditions already behind us, the region is expected to grow at mediocre rates of around 2 percent in per capita terms for the foreseeable future. With this level of growth, the dream of convergence and development is unlikely to be realized any time soon. To avoid such a fate the region must make a renewed effort of economic transformation. Although the challenges ahead appear to be huge, there is plenty of room for optimism. First, Latin America has built a sound platform to launch a process of development. Democracy has by-and-large consolidated across the region, and an entire generation has now grown up to see an election as the only legitimate way to select national leaders. Moreover, it is for the most part a relatively stable region with no armed conflicts and few insurgency movements threatening the authority of the state. Second, a sizeable group of major countries in Latin America have a long track record of sound macroeconomic performance by now. Third, the region could be just steps away from major economic integration. Most Latin American countries in the Pacific Coast have bilateral free trade agreements with their North American neighbors (11 countries with the U.S. and seven countries with Canada). Were these countries to harmonize current bilateral trade agreements among themselves—in the way Pacific Alliance members have been doing—a huge economic space would be born: a Trans-American Partnership that would comprise 620 million consumers, and have a combined GDP of more than $22 trillion (larger than the EU’s, and more than double that of China). Were such a partnership on the Pacific side of the Americas to gain traction, it could eventually be extended to Atlantic partners, in particular Brazil and other Mercosur countries. In the last quarter of a century democracy, sound macroeconomic management and an outward-looking development strategy made substantial strides in the region. If these conquests are consolidated and the same kind of progress is achieved in key development drivers in the next 25 years, many countries in the region could be on the road to convergence. [1] We define convergence as a process whereby a country’s income per capita starts at or below one-third of U.S. income per capita at any point in time since 1950, and rises to or above two-thirds of U.S. income per capita. [2] LAC-7 is the simple average of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela, which account for 93 percent of Latin America’s GDP. Authors Ernesto TalviSantiago García da RosaRafael GuntinRafael XavierFederico GanzMercedes CejasJulia Ruiz Pozuelo Full Article
v Implementing the post-2015 agenda and setting the narrative for the future By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 14 Sep 2015 14:19:00 -0400 2015 is a pivotal year for global development; this fall is a pivotal moment. Meetings this fall will determine the global vision for sustainable development for 2030. Three papers being released today—“Action implications focusing now on implementation of the post-2015 agenda,” “Systemic sustainability as the strategic imperative for the post-2015 agenda,” and “Political decisions and institutional innovations required for systemic transformations envisioned in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda”—set out some foundational ideas and specific proposals for political decisions and institutional innovations, which focus now on the implementation of the new global vision for 2030. This blog summarizes the key points in the three papers listed below. Fundamentals for guiding actions, reforms and decisions 1) Managing systemic risks needs to be the foundational idea for implementing the post-2015 agenda. The key political idea latent but not yet fully visible in the post-2015 agenda is that it is not a developing country poverty agenda for global development in the traditional North-South axis but a universal agenda based on the perception of urgent challenges that constitute systemic threats. The term “sustainable development” by itself as the headline for the P-2015 agenda creates the danger of inheriting terminology from the past to guide the future. 2) Goal-setting and implementation must be effectively linked. The international community learned from the previous two sets of goal-setting experiences that linking implementation to goal-setting is critical to goal achievement. G-20 leader engagement in the post-2015 agenda and linking the success of the G-20 presidencies of Turkey (2015), China (2016), and Germany (2017) would provide global leadership for continuity of global awareness and commitment. 3) Focus on the Sustainable Development Goals must be clear. Criticism of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as being too defuse and too detailed is ill-founded and reveals a lack of political imagination. It is a simple task to group the 17 goals into a few clusters that clearly communicate their focus on poverty, access, sustainability, partnership, growth, and institutions and their linkages to the social, economic, and environmental systemic threats that are the real and present dangers. 4) There must be a single set of goals for the global system. The Bretton Woods era is over. It was over before China initiated the creation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB). Never has it been clearer than now that maintaining a single global system of international institutions is essential for geopolitical reasons. For the implementation of the post-2015 agenda, all the major international institutions need to commit to them. Proposals for political action and institutional innovations In a joint paper with Zhang Haibing from the Shanghai Institutes of International Studies (SIIS), we make five specific governance proposals for decision-makers: 1) Integrating the SDGs into national commitments will be critical. The implementation of the post-2015 agenda requires that nations internalize the SDGs by debating, adapting and adopting them in terms of their own domestic cultural, institutional, and political circumstances. It will be important for the U.N. declarations in September to urge all countries to undertake domestic decision-making processes toward this end. 2) Presidential coordination committees should be established. To adequately address systemic risks and to implement the P-2015 agenda requires comprehensive, integrated, cross-sectoral, whole-of-government approaches. South Korea’s experience with presidential committees composed of ministers with diverse portfolios, private sector and civil society leaders provides an example of how governments could break the “silos” and meet the holistic nature of systemic threats. 3) There needs to be a single global system of international institutions. China’s Premier Li Keqiang stated at the World Economic Forum in early 2015 that “the world order established after World War II must be maintained, not overturned.” Together with a speech Li gave at the OECD on July 1st after signing an expanded work program agreement with the OECD and becoming a member of the OECD Development Center, clearly signals of China’s intention to cooperate within the current institutional system. The West needs to reciprocate with clear signals of respect for the increasing roles and influence of China and other emerging market economies in global affairs. 4) We must move toward a single global monitoring system for development targets. The monitoring and evaluation system that accompanies the post-2015 SDGs will be crucial to guiding the implementation of them. The U.N., the OECD, the World Bank, and the IMF have all participated in joint data gathering efforts under the International Development Goals (IDGs) in the 1990s and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the 2000s. Each of these institutions has a crucial role to play now, but they need to be brought together under one umbrella to orchestrate their contributions to a comprehensive global data system. 5) Global leadership roles must be strengthened. By engaging in the post-2015 agenda, the G-20 leaders’ summits would be strengthened by involving G-20 leaders in the people-centered post-2015 agenda. Systemically important countries would be seen as leading on systemically important issues. The G-20 finance ministers can play an appropriate role by serving as the coordinating mechanism for the global system of international institutions for the post-2015 agenda. A G-20 Global Sustainable Development Council, composed of the heads of the presidential committees for sustainable development from G20 countries, could become an effective focal point for assessing systemic sustainability. These governance innovations could re-energize the G-20 and provide the international community with the leadership, the coordination, and the monitoring capabilities that it needs to implement the post-2015 agenda. Authors Colin I. Bradford Full Article
v China’s G-20 presidency: Comparative perspectives on global governance By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 22 Mar 2016 01:30:00 -0400 Event Information March 22, 20161:30 PM - 4:30 PM CSTReception Hall at Main Building, Tsinghua University Register for the EventAs China presides over the G-20 for the first time, the country has the significant opportunity to impact a system of global governance under increasing stress. At the same time, while enduring the costs and realizing the benefits of its leadership role, China can address critical issues including innovation, global security, infrastructure development, and climate change. Even as China recently has made its own forays into regional institution-building with the launch of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, its G-20 presidency presents a new platform from which the country can advance its own agenda as part of a broader global agenda. As the first and second largest economies in the world, the United States and China can benefit enormously by understanding each other’s perspective. Think tanks like the Brookings-Tsinghua Center have been playing an important role in this bilateral and multilateral exchange of views. On March 22, in celebration of the 10th anniversaries of the Brookings-Tsinghua Center and the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings, Tsinghua University hosted a conference to examine how China can realize the 2016 G-20 theme of “an innovative, invigorated, interconnected, and inclusive world economy.” The event began with introductory keynote remarks on the substantive advancements China and the United States have made in think tank development and people-to-people diplomacy, followed by an additional set of keynote remarks and panel discussions presenting Chinese and American perspectives on the G-20 agenda and the state of global governance. Event Materials Chinas G20 Presidency Transcript Full Article
v China’s G-20 presidency: Where geopolitics meets global governance By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 12 Apr 2016 14:45:00 -0400 For the past several years, international affairs have been analyzed through two lenses. One lens has focused on geopolitics: in particular, the question of how great power relations are evolving at a time of redistribution in the world’s economic and now also political power. The second lens considers the framework of global governance, especially the question of whether or not the existing formal and informal institutions have the tools and the ability to manage complex global challenges. China's presidency of the G-20 bridges the issues of global governance and great power relations. At a basic level, the G-20 will set a tone for how major powers attempt to tackle the challenges that confront us all. China’s assumption of the G-20 chairmanship in 2016 marks an important symbolic threshold. It is the first time a major non-Western power will chair the world’s premier body for international economic cooperation—not to mention one of the world’s most important geopolitical bodies, as well. China’s presidency comes at an important time in the substance of the G-20’s agenda, too, as a slowing Chinese economy is integral to the dynamics of an overall slowing global economy. As such, this event offers an opportunity to reflect on geopolitics and global governance—and the way forward. In short, what is the state of international order? Heading down a bumpy road? There is little doubt that we are at an important inflection point in international order. For the past 25 years, the international system—with its win-win economic structures—has been relatively stable. But this order is under challenge and threat, and it is eroding. We risk the rise of a lose-lose international system, encompassing a deterioration of the security relations between great powers, and a breakdown of the basic structures of international cooperation. That may be the worst-case scenario, but it is a plausible one. Countries must be vigilant about preventing this outcome. Even though the established powers and the so-called emerging powers (clearly China is an emerged power) may not hold the same views about the content of international order, all sides have a stake in pursuing intense negotiations and engaging in debate and dialogue. It is imperative that parties find a middle ground that preserves key elements of the existing order while introducing some degree of adaptation, such that this order does not collapse. For the past 25 years, the international system—with its win-win economic structures—has been relatively stable. But this order is under challenge and threat, and it is eroding. A version of this kind of negotiation may occur later this year. Japan’s presidency of the G-7 will begin just ahead of China's presidency of the G-20, putting important issues into sharp relief. As the older, Western-oriented tool for managing global issues, the G-7 still focuses on global economics but increasingly tackles cross-cutting and security issues. The G-20 is the newer, multipolar tool through which both emerged and emerging powers collaborate—but, so far, members have limited their deliberations to economic issues. The two processes together will reveal the tensions and opportunities for improvement in great power relations and in geopolitics. Of particular note is where political and security issues fall on the dockets of these two bodies. Although the G-20 did tackle the Syria crisis at its St. Petersburg meeting in 2013, political and security issues have otherwise not been part of the group’s agenda. But these topics form an important part of the landscape of great power politics and global governance, and they are issues for which we find ourselves in very difficult waters. Tensions between the West—particularly Europe—and Russia are running high, just as disputes are mounting in Northeast Asia. The question of America’s naval role in the Western Pacific and China’s claims of a nine-dash line are serious flash points in the U.S.-China relationship, and we should not pretend that they are not increasingly difficult to manage, because they clearly are. I believe it is shortsighted for the G-20 not to take up some of these tense security issues. These are not part of the formal agenda of the G-20, but they should be. Although many economists may disagree with me, I believe it is shortsighted for the G-20 not to take up some of these tense security issues. The group’s argument has been to focus on economic issues, for which there are shared interests and progress can be made, which is a fair point. But history tells us that having difficult, tense issues involving a number of stakeholders leads to one of two scenarios: either these issues are managed in a credible forum, or tensions escalate and grow into conflict. There is no third option. Moreover, these are not issues that can be resolved bilaterally. They have to be settled in a multilateral forum. In 2016, Japan will take up the issue of the South China Sea in the G-7—a scenario that is far from ideal, since key stakeholders will not be present. Even so, the G-20 refuses to take up security issues, leaving countries without an inclusive forum to deal with these tense security concerns. Of course, they could be raised in the U.N. Security Council, but that is a crisis management tool. We should be building political relations and involving leaders in preventing great power conflict, all of which, by and large, does not happen at the U.N. But it could happen at the G-20. With great power comes great responsibility A better dynamic is at work with respect to the issues of climate change and global energy policy. The Paris climate accords are counted as a major breakthrough in global governance. To understand how the outcome in Paris was achieved, we have to look again at great power relations. What really broke the logjam of stale and unproductive negotiations was the agreement struck between President Xi and President Obama. Their compact on short-lived climate pollutants transformed the global diplomacy around climate change, yielding the broader agreement in Paris. [G]reat power status primarily entails a responsibility to act first in resolving tough global challenges and absorbing costs. Why did the U.S.-China agreement on climate change facilitate the Paris climate accords? The United States and China did not impose a framework, nor did they insist on a particular process or stipulate a set of rules. What they did was lead. They acted first and they absorbed costs. This is the essence of the relationship between great power politics and global governance. Great power status confers a certain set of privileges, not least of which is a certain degree of autonomy. To that end, the United States has avoided multilateral rules more than other countries, and other countries may aspire to that status. But the larger point is that great power status primarily entails a responsibility to act first in resolving tough global challenges and absorbing costs. That is how great powers lead through a framework of global governance. In today’s world, where global governance will necessarily be more multipolar than in the past, we have to find new approaches to sharing the burdens of moving first and absorbing costs. That is, far and away, the most likely way to maintain a relatively stable but continuously adapting international order—one that is empowered to tackle global challenges and soothe geopolitical tensions. Authors Bruce Jones Full Article
v Japan’s G-7 and China’s G-20 chairmanships: Bridges or stovepipes in leader summitry? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 18 Apr 2016 10:00:00 -0400 Event Information April 18, 201610:00 AM - 11:30 AM EDTFalk AuditoriumBrookings Institution1775 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC 20036 Register for the EventIn an era of fluid geopolitics and geoeconomics, challenges to the global order abound: from ever-changing terrorism, to massive refugee flows, a stubbornly sluggish world economy, and the specter of global pandemics. Against this backdrop, the question of whether leader summitry—either the G-7 or G-20 incarnations—can supply needed international governance is all the more relevant. This question is particularly significant for East Asia this year as Japan and China, two economic giants that are sometimes perceived as political rivals, respectively host the G-7 and G-20 summits. On April 18, the Center for East Asia Policy Studies and the Project on International Order and Strategy co-hosted a discussion on the continued relevancy and efficacy of the leader summit framework, Japan’s and China’s priorities as summit hosts, and whether these East Asian neighbors will hold parallel but completely separate summits or utilize these summits as an opportunity to cooperate on issues of mutual, and global, interest. Join the conversation on Twitter using #G7G20Asia Audio Japan’s G-7 and China’s G-20 chairmanships: Bridges or stovepipes in leader summitry? Transcript Uncorrected Transcript (.pdf) Event Materials 20160418_g7g20_transcript Full Article
v Coping with the Next Oil Spill: Why U.S.-Cuba Environmental Cooperation is Critical By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 18 May 2010 11:22:00 -0400 Introduction: The sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform and the resulting discharge of millions of gallons of crude oil into the sea demonstrated graphically the challenge of environmental protection in the ocean waters shared by Cuba and the United States.While the quest for deepwater drilling of oil and gas may slow as a result of the latest calamity, it is unlikely to stop. It came as little surprise, for example, that Repsol recently announced plans to move forward with exploratory oil drilling in Cuban territorial waters later this year. As Cuba continues to develop its deepwater oil and natural gas reserves, the consequence to the United States of a similar mishap occurring in Cuban waters moves from the theoretical to the actual. The sobering fact that a Cuban spill could foul hundreds of miles of American coastline and do profound harm to important marine habitats demands cooperative and proactive planning by Washington and Havana to minimize or avoid such a calamity. Also important is the planning necessary to prevent and, if necessary, respond to incidents arising from this country’s oil industry that, through the action of currents and wind, threaten Cuban waters and shorelines. While Washington is working to prevent future disasters in U.S. waters like the Deepwater Horizon, its current policies foreclose the ability to respond effectively to future oil disasters—whether that disaster is caused by companies at work in Cuban waters, or is the result of companies operating in U.S. waters. Downloads Download Map of the North Cuba BasinDownload Full Paper Authors Robert MuseJorge R. Piñon Full Article
v 20200302 Vox Suzanne Maloney By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 02 Mar 2020 14:34:31 +0000 Full Article
v What COVID-19 means for international cooperation By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 06 Mar 2020 17:16:37 +0000 Throughout history, crisis and human progress have often gone hand in hand. While the growing COVID-19 pandemic could strengthen nationalism and isolationism and accelerate the retreat from globalization, the outbreak also could spur a new wave of international cooperation of the sort that emerged after World War II. COVID-19 may become not only a huge… Full Article
v The rule of law is under duress everywhere By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 17 Mar 2020 15:17:31 +0000 Anyone paying attention to major events of the day in the United States and around the world would know that the basic social fabric is fraying from a toxic mix of ills — inequality, dislocation, polarization, environmental distress, scarce resources, and more. Signs abound that after decades of uneven but steady human progress, we are… Full Article
v COVID-19 uncertainty and the IMF By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 14 Apr 2020 19:54:32 +0000 In the run-up to this week’s Virtual Spring Meetings, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stepped up and provided much-needed leadership to assure countries and financial markets that they have the resources and tools necessary to help address the worst global economic crisis since the institution was created in 1945. But, precisely because the IMF… Full Article
v Turkey and COVID-19: Don’t forget refugees By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 20 Apr 2020 18:13:49 +0000 It has been more than a month since the first COVID-19 case was detected in Turkey. Since then, the number of cases has shot up significantly, placing Turkey among the top 10 countries worldwide in terms of cases. Government efforts have kept the number of deaths relatively low, and the health system so far appears… Full Article
v Aid wars: U.S.-Soviet competition in India By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 01 Mar 2018 07:29:24 +0000 The issue of development aid has significant contemporary relevance. Today, many longstanding donor countries like the United States debate the efficacy of aid, while new donors such as China and India explore the possibility of using economic assistance for political purposes. As David Engerman, Professor of History at Brandeis University, shows in his new book… Full Article
v The fourth political revolution? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 06 Mar 2018 09:15:00 +0000 Full Article
v Red Sea rivalries: The Gulf, the Horn of Africa & the new geopolitics of the Red Sea By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 15 Jan 2019 13:00:38 +0000 "The following interactive map displays the acquisition of seaports and establishment of new military installations along the Red Sea coast. The mad dash for real estate by Gulf states and other foreign actors is altering dynamics in the Horn of Africa and re-shaping the geopolitics of the Red Sea region. Click on the flags in… Full Article
v What do we know about the coronavirus and the global response? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 10 Feb 2020 20:04:36 +0000 David Dollar is joined in this special episode of Dollar & Sense by Amanda McClelland, the senior vice president of the Prevent Epidemics team at Resolve to Save Lives, to discuss the severity of the Wuhan coronavirus and the Chinese response to prevent the disease from spreading. McClelland, who worked on the response to the… Full Article
v The Development Finance Corporation confirms the new chief development officer—what’s the role? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 10 Feb 2020 20:50:25 +0000 The Board of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) just confirmed Andrew Herscowitz to the position of chief development officer (CDO). A career USAID foreign service officer, Andrew has spent the past seven years directing Power Africa. It is hard to think of a more relevant background for this position—two decades with USAID, extensive… Full Article
v Higher power to deliver: The overlooked nexus between religion and development By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 25 Feb 2020 22:12:32 +0000 Why did some world-leading economists recently meet the Pope? It wasn’t, contrary to what one might think, to confess the sins of bad economic policy. Still, when such a meeting took place in early February, the conversation was serious. Invited by Pope Francis, thought leaders and decisionmakers in economics and global finance gathered for a… Full Article
v Can the US solve foreign crises before they start? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 13 Mar 2020 16:35:22 +0000 Full Article
v To end global poverty, invest in peace By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 18 Mar 2020 13:15:37 +0000 Most of the world is experiencing a decrease in extreme poverty, but one group of countries is bucking this trend: Poverty is becoming concentrated in countries marked by conflict and fragility. New World Bank estimates show that on the current trajectory by 2030, up to two-thirds of the extreme poor worldwide will be living in… Full Article
v Yemen’s civilians: Besieged on all sides By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 31 Mar 2020 12:30:29 +0000 According to the United Nations, Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Approximately 80 percent of the population—24.1 million people—require humanitarian assistance, with half on the brink of starvation. Since March 2015, some 3.65 million have been internally displaced—80 percent of them for over a year. By 2019, it was estimated that fighting had claimed… Full Article
v COVID-19 and school closures: What can countries learn from past emergencies? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 31 Mar 2020 15:59:56 +0000 As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads around the world, and across every state in the U.S., school systems are shutting their doors. To date, the education community has largely focused on the different strategies to continue schooling, including lively discussions on the role of education technology versus distribution of printed paper packets. But there has been… Full Article
v Latest NAEP results show American students continue to underperform on civics By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 27 Apr 2020 18:31:24 +0000 Public schools in America were established to equip students with the tools to become engaged and informed citizens. How are we doing on this core mission? Last week, the National Center of Education Statistics released results from the 2018 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) civics assessment to provide an answer. The NAEP civics assessment… Full Article
v The COVID-19 cost of school closures By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 16:12:26 +0000 In mid-April, UNESCO reported 192 countries had closed all schools and universities, affecting more than 90 percent of the world’s learners: almost 1.6 billion children and young people. While some governments are starting to order teachers and students back to work, education—one of the most important drivers in human capital investment—continues to be largely closed… Full Article
v Recognizing women’s important role in Jordan’s COVID-19 response By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 18:47:07 +0000 Jordan’s quick response to the COVID-19 outbreak has made many Jordanians, including myself, feel safe and proud. The prime minister and his cabinet’s response has been commended globally, as the epicenter in the country has been identified and contained. But at the same time, such accolades have been focused on the males, erasing the important… Full Article
v Avoiding the COVID-19 slump: Making up for lost school time By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 14:53:48 +0000 In 1996, Harris Cooper of Duke University and his colleagues first reported on the effects of what came to be known as summer slide, or summer slump. Over the summer months, when children are not in school, those from under-resourced communities tend to lose roughly 30 percent of the gains they made in math during… Full Article
v 5 traps that will kill online learning (and strategies to avoid them) By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 22:55:06 +0000 For perhaps the first time in recent memory, parents and teachers may be actively encouraging their children to spend more time on their electronic devices. Online learning has moved to the front stage as 90 percent of high-income countries are using it as the primary means of educational continuity amid the COVID-19 pandemic. If March will forever… Full Article
v How school closures during COVID-19 further marginalize vulnerable children in Kenya By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 15:39:07 +0000 On March 15, 2020, the Kenyan government abruptly closed schools and colleges nationwide in response to COVID-19, disrupting nearly 17 million learners countrywide. The social and economic costs will not be borne evenly, however, with devastating consequences for marginalized learners. This is especially the case for girls in rural, marginalized communities like the Maasai, Samburu,… Full Article
v During COVID-19, underperforming school districts have no excuse for standstill on student learning By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 17:14:22 +0000 During the COVID-19 pandemic, only 44% of school districts are both providing instruction online and monitoring students’ attendance and progress. Kids in these districts have a good chance of staying on grade-level during the coronavirus shutdown. Kids in the majority of districts, which are either providing no instruction or offering instruction but not tracking progress,… Full Article
v Supporting students and promoting economic recovery in the time of COVID-19 By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 16:00:37 +0000 COVID-19 has upended, along with everything else, the balance sheets of the nation’s elementary and secondary schools. As soon as school buildings closed, districts faced new costs associated with distance learning, ranging from physically distributing instructional packets and up to three meals a day, to supplying instructional programming for television and distributing Chromebooks and internet… Full Article
v Webinar: Valuing Black lives and property in America’s Black cities By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 17:07:59 +0000 The deliberate devaluation of Black-majority cities stems from a longstanding legacy of discriminatory policies. The lack of investment in Black homes, family structures, businesses, schools, and voters has had far-reaching, negative economic and social effects. White supremacy and privilege are deeply ingrained into American public policy, and remain pervasive forces that hinder meaningful investment in… Full Article
v Webinar: Great levelers or great stratifiers? College access, admissions, and the American middle class By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 13:23:37 +0000 One year after Operation Varsity Blues, and in the midst of one of the greatest crises higher education has ever seen, college admissions and access have never been more important. A college degree has long been seen as a ticket into the middle class, but it is increasingly clear that not all institutions lead to… Full Article
v Webinar: The impact of COVID-19 on prisons By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 13:46:55 +0000 Across America, incarcerated people are being hit hard by COVID-19. The infection rate in Washington, D.C., jails is 14 times higher than the general population of the city. In one Michigan correctional facility, more than 600 incarcerated people have tested positive — almost 50% of the prison's total population. In Arkansas, about 40% of the… Full Article
v Webinar: Reopening and revitalization in Asia – Recommendations from cities and sectors By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: As COVID-19 continues to spread through communities around the world, Asian countries that had been on the front lines of combatting the virus have also been the first to navigate the reviving of their societies and economies. Cities and economic sectors have confronted similar challenges with varying levels of success. What best practices have been… Full Article
v Webinar: Reopening the coronavirus-closed economy — Principles and tradeoffs By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2020 13:55:02 +0000 In an extraordinary response to an extraordinary public health challenge, the U.S. government has forced much of the economy to shut down. We now face the challenge of deciding when and how to reopen it. This is both vital and complicated. Wait too long—maintain the lockdown until we have a vaccine, for instance—and we’ll have another Great Depression. Move too soon, and we… Full Article
v Webinar: Policing in the era of COVID-19 By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: The consequences of the novel coronavirus pandemic stretch across the entirety of government services. Major police agencies have reported absentee rates as high as 20% due to officers who are either themselves afflicted with the virus or in need of self-quarantine. Reported crimes are generally down in America’s cities as a result of the many… Full Article