rafmacalaba/datause-encoder-data huggingface dataset:
Proposed strategy for a regional
            exchange rate arrangement in post-crisis East Asia
After discussing major conceptual, and
            empirical issues relevant to the exchange rate policies of
            East Asian countries, the authors propose a regional
            exchange rate arrangement designed to promote intra-regional
            exchange rate stability, and regional economic growth. They
            argue that: 1) For developing countries, exchange rate
            volatility tends to significantly hurt trade and investment,
            making it inadvisable to adopt a system of freely floating
            exchange rates. 2) Given the high share of intra-regional
            trade, and the similarity of trade composition in East Asia,
            exchange rate policy should be directed toward maintaining
            intra-regional exchange rate stability, to promote trade,
            investment, and economic growth. 3) the current policy of
            maintaining exchange rate stability against U.S. dollar as
            an informal, uncoordinated mechanisms for ensuring
            intra-regional exchange rate stability is sub-optimal. A
            pragmatic policy option - conducive to a more robust
            framework for cooperation in monetary, and exchange rate
            policy - wold be a coordinated action to shift the target of
            nominal exchange rate stability, to a basket of tri-polar
            currencies (the U.S. dollar, the Japanese yen, and the
            Euro). This alternative would better reflect the
            region's diverse structure of trade, and foreign direct
            investment. The authors envision no rigid peg. Instead, at
            least initially, each country could choose its own formal
            exchange rate arrangement - be it currency board, a crawling
            peg, or a basket peg with wide margins. At times of crisis,
            the peg might be temporarily suspended, subject to the rule
            that the exchange rate would be restored to the original
            level as soon as practical. Only in extreme circumstances,
            would the level be adjusted to reflect new equilibrium conditions.
Implementation of Uruguay Round
            commitments : the development challenge
At the Uruguay Round, developing
            countries took on unprecedented obligations not only to
            reduce trade barriers, but to implement significant reforms
            both of trade procedures, e.g., import licensing procedures,
            customs valuation and of many areas of regulation that
            establish the basic business environment in the domestic
            economy, e.g., technical, sanitary and phytosanitary
            standards (SPS), intellectual property law. Implementing
            such reforms are investment decisions in that implementation
            will require purchase of equipment, training of people,
            establishment of systems of checks and balances, etc. This
            will cost money and the amounts of money involved are
            substantial. Based on World Bank project experience in the
            areas covered by the agreements, an entire year's
            development budget is at stake in many of the least
            developed countries. Least developed country institutions in
            these areas are weak, and would benefit from strengthening
            and reform. However, the authors' analysis indicates
            that the World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations reflect
            little awareness of development problems and little
            appreciation of the capacities of the least developed
            countries to carry out the functions that SPS, customs
            valuation, intellectual property, etc. regulations address.
            The content of these obligations can be characterized as the
            advanced countries saying to the others, "Do it my
            way!" The authors touch at the beginning on another
            important point. Because of their limited capacity to
            participate in the Uruguay Round negotiations, the WTO
            process has generated no sense of "ownership" of
            the reforms to which WTO membership obligates them. From
            their perspective, the implementation exercise has been
            imposed in an imperial way, with little concern for what it
            will cost, how it will be done, or if it will support their
            development efforts.
Disorganization or self-organization
            : the emergence of business associations in a transition economy
The transition from plan to market
            provides a rare opportunity for insight into the endogenous
            development of economic institutions. Economic activities
            under the Soviet regime were coordinated by a central
            authority. Soviet coordinating mechanisms were disrupted
            during the transition period, leading to an increase in
            firms' transactions costs. Blanchard and Kremer (1997),
            among others, emphasize the negative impact of this
            "disorganization" on output behavior at the
            beginning of the transition. Although their argument is
            correct, the authors believe that their work and similar
            analyses stop short of fully characterizing the transition
            by concentrating only on reform's disruptive effects.
            The authors start where the earlier work ends, examining the
            business associations that emerged spontaneously in response
            to the transition's challenges. They provide empirical
            evidence that institutions that help coordinate production
            and trade emerge spontaneously in a widely
            "disorganized" environment. Using a largely
            unexplored set of firm-level data, they document the
            emergence of business associations at the beginning of the
            transition and provide evidence that these new coordinating
            institutions mitigated the initial decline in output.
            Building on the growing literature on complexity and
            transaction costs, they interpret the emergence of these
            informal institutions as the firms' rational attempt to
            coordinate activities in a decentralized economy. In other
            words, the creation of complex organizations such as
            associations is the spontaneous result of a natural tendency
            in every system to create order at the edge of chaos.
            Business associations are more likely to emerge where there
            is disorder to provide their members with stability,
            coordination, and the information needed to improve performance.
World fossil fuel subsidies and
            global carbon emissions in a model with interfuel substitution
The author presents a simple empirical
            framework for estimating the level of world fossil fuel
            subsidies and analyzing their implications for carbon
            dioxide emissions. The author extends Larsen and Shah (1992)
            by applying a simple model with interfuel substitution,
            using a more detailed sectoral data set that includes energy
            prices and consumption for an expanded sample of countries.
            The author concludes that substantial fossil fuel subsidies
            prevail in a handful of large carbon-emitting countries. The
            fiscal implications for some countries are significant - as
            much as 10 percent of GDP in some countries. World subsidies
            are estimated to be more than $210 billion, or 20 to 25
            percent of the value of world fossil fuel consumption at
            world prices. Removing such subsidies, the author estimates,
            would reduce national carbon emissions by more than 20
            percent relative to baseline emissions in some countries. It
            would reduce global carbon emissions by 7 percent.
Factors affecting private financial
            flows to Eastern Europe, 1989-91
This paper aims at identifying and
            summarizing some of the factors which influence the
            market's differing perceptions of Czechoslovakia,
            Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Poland.  Information on
            market perceptions was obtained as a result of numerous
            interviews with commercial banks and a few investors active
            in central and eastern Europe.  The first section summarizes
            and compiles cross-country findings in the following areas:
            (a) the importance of the Soviet umbrella; (b) indicators of
            relative indebtedness; (c) a summary of funds flowing to the
            region, by source, from 1989 onwards; (d) a discussion of
            the maturity profile of commercial debt, in particular the
            magnitude of short-term debt; (e) project finance and direct
            foreign investment:  who are other private creditors?  What
            factors influence the amount of project finance available?;
            (f) the institutional setup of the emerging financial
            sector; and (g) long-term commercial flows, in particular
            bond finance:  access to the Eurobond market for medium- and
            long-term funds.  The rest of the paper contains further
            details for individual countries.  All data have been
            provided by commercial banks or country reports issued by
            the Institute of International Finance, since these figures
            are used by private lenders when assessing the prospects of
            a particular borrower.
OECD trade barriers faced by the
            successor states of the Soviet Union
Using a comprehensive World Bank -
            UNCTAD data base on tariff barriers NTBs), the authors
            examine the incidence of Organization for Economic
            Cooperation and Development (OECD) trade barriers to exports
            of the former Soviet Union (FSU). OECD markets have grown
            steadily in importance in the past decade and now receive
            more than half of FSU exports. And additional trade could
            help the FSU republics make the transition to market
            economies. Overall OECD tariffs that the FSU republics face
            are 70 to 90 percent higher than the average paid on all
            goods imported, but their worst effect is the result of the
            margins of preference they give other (non-FSU) exporters.
            For example, because of a special EFTA-EC protocol,
            manufactures are traded duty-free between countries in these
            blocs, while similar (competing) FSU goods may face duties
            of 20 percent or more. No significant trade expansion will
            occur until nontariff barriers are liberalized in
            NTB-"ridden" products groups of interest to FSU
            exporters. Sectors in which NTBs are particularly important
            include fish, fruit, sugar, vegetables, beverages, textiles,
            clothing, and ferrous metals. OECD trade barriers on some
            FSU commodity exports provide high levels of "effective
            protection" that constrain the efforts of the newly
            independent states of the FSU (NISs) to increase domestic
            commodity processing. Although the United States has granted
            most-favored nation status to the NISs (excluding
            Azerbaijan), and the European Community recently signed the
            Agreements on Trade, Commercial, and Economic Cooperation
            with the Baltic states, these developments have not
            substantially improved their market access. Because of
            geographic proximity and the existing transportation
            network, the European market is the most important OECD
            market for most NISs. But under present EC arrangements, NIS
            products are subject to higher tariffs and more restrictive
            nontariff barriers than exports from EFTA members, Lome
            Convention signatories, or former European CMEA members (the
            Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia).
            Lower wage rates in many NISs may not be sufficient to
            compensate for their generally lower productivity and the
            losses in value added (triggered by higher tariffs) that
            exporters have to absorb to compete in protected markets.
            Except for exports of energy and industrial raw materials
            trade opportunities for many products in which the newly
            independent states of the former Soviet Union might have a
            comparative advantage are greatly restricted by OECD tariffs
            and nontariff barriers.
Restructuring of enterprise social
            assets in Russia : trends, problems, possible solutions
Public enterprises in the formerly
            socialist countries have provided many social services to
            employees and the public, services that divert them from
            their core activities, raise their costs, and keep them from
            being competitive. How to deal with these social assets is a
            major problem in enterprise restructuring: large insolvent
            enterprises that provide many social services in a community
            often have the bargaining power to delay bankruptcy
            procedures and force the state to continue subsidizing them.
            But users of social services are not protected from
            enterprise managers' arbitrary actions or from a
            general deterioration in the level of services provided. As
            enterprises are restructured, the public sector must become
            involved in: 1) protecting critical services, such as
            kindergarten, that might otherwise disappear as enterprise
            funding is reduced; 2) facilitating reform of housing and
            health services, among others; 3) guaranteeing
            citizens' access to public services; and 4) reducing
            costs by rationalizing the management and provision of
            services. The authors analyze policy options in the
            restructuring of enterprises' social assets. They argue
            that the options differ depending on the benefits. Some
            benefits should remain as part of a traditional labor
            compensation package, and others should be privatized or
            transferred to municipal governments. Housing, especially,
            and child care facilities are services enterprises should
            not be in the business of providing.Divesting enterprises of
            housing is a transitional strategy on the way to
            transferring its ownership and management to the private
            sector. Unfortunately, the rules of the game under which
            municipal governments divest enterprises of housing are
            nontransparent and entirely under municipal control, and
            vested interests have many ways to postpone or block
            divestiture - even though most enterprise managers welcome
            it because it will reduce their costs and administrative
            burden. Social spending by Russian enterprises represents as
            much as 20 percent of gross wage costs. Shifting and
            reducing those costs requires smart financial and tax
            planning, sound regulations, and housing reform (including
            greater cost recovery), among other things.
Open economies work better! Did
            Africa's protectionist policies cause its
            marginalization in world trade
In the mid-1950s sub-Saharan Africa
            accounted for 3.1 percent of global exports. By 1990 this
            share had fallen to 1.2 percent. The authors of this report
            find that Africa's extensive loss of competitiveness
            played a key role in its decline in world trade. If Africa
            had merely retained its 1962-64 OECD (Organization for
            Economic Cooperation and Development) market shares, its
            exports now would be 75 percent higher. Africa's
            problem was two-pronged: (1) it experienced declining market
            shares for its major export products, which, in turn, were
            of declining relative importance in world trade; and (2) it
            was unable to diversify its export base. Empirical evidence
            developed by the authors shows that external protection has
            not played a major role in this decline; in fact, OECD trade
            preferences gave Africa an advantage over many exporters.
            Trade restrictions and domestic policy interventions often
            create a bias against tradables, especially exports, that
            prevents the achievement of otherwise attainable growth
            rates. Import barriers in Africa are far higher than in
            developing countries with faster export growth, and appear
            to work against potential export products. If the region is
            to reverse its unfavorable export trends, it must adopt
            trade and structural adjustment policies that help make it
            competitive and help African exporters capitalize on foreign
            trade opportunities.
Capital control liberalization and
            stock market development
The authors address two questions: What
            happens to stock market size, liquidity, volatility, and
            integration with world capital markets after capital
            controls are liberalized? And what is the relationship
            between those indicators of stock market development and
            regulations about information disclosure, accounting
            standards, and investor protection?  An analysis of data on
            stock markets in 16 developing countries suggests the
            following: a) stock markets become larger, more liquid, more
            integrated internationally, and more volatile after controls
            on capital and dividend flows are liberalized; b) easy
            access to information about firms is positively associated
            with the size and liquidity of stock markets; and c)
            countries that officially establish internationally accepted
            accounting standards and laws to protect investors do not
            have substantially better- functioning stock markets than
            countries that do not adopt those official standards.
Tradable water rights : a property
            rights approach to resolving water shortages and promoting investment
In most countries, the state owns the
            water and hydraulic infrastructure, and public officials
            decide who gets water rights, how the water is to be used,
            and how much will be charged for its use.  The authors of
            this paper compare administered systems of water allocation
            with a system of tradable water rights, and argue that water
            allocation by administrative edict has resulted in costly,
            large-scale inefficiencies in the supply and use of water,
            even with an adequate institutional framework.  Secure
            property rights, on the other hand, have been shown to have
            a powerful positive effect on investment and efficiency,
            although only a few countries have tried to take advantage
            of the allocative efficiencies of a market to assign water
            resources    among users.  The authors argue that in order
            to ensure implementation of an effective water market
            system, attention should be paid to:  (i) ensuring
            stakeholder participation in designing and implementing the
            new legislation; (ii) deciding on new rules for the initial
            allocation of rights and for how new rights should be
            allocated; (iii) establishing a public registry and block
            titling; (iv) setting up or strengthening water user
            associations; (v) protecting against the development of
            potential monopolies; (vi) ensuring that trades do not
            infringe on the water rights of existing users; and (vii)
            establishing appropriate environmental laws.
Egypt and the Uruguay Round
The Uruguay Round will generally have a
            limited impact on Egyptian policies affecting goods,
            investment, and services. It will have a more significant
            impact on intellectual property, although this will take up
            to a decade to materialize fully. Insofar as this reflects a
            continuing defensiveness against liberalization, it does not
            bode well for a country that will be facing growing
            competitive pressures as the world economy becomes more
            integrated. But Egypt's Uruguay Round commitments do,
            to a large extent, lock in the policy changes pursued by the
            government since the late 1980s. In this respect, they are
            quite significant. Maximum tariffs have been established for
            almost all tariff lines, and the gap between these
            "bindings" and the level of applied tariffs is in
            most cases relatively small. This constitutes a level of
            commitment that substantially exceeds that developing
            country average. The government is negotiating a more
            far-reaching agreement with the European Union to liberalize
            trade on a reciprocal basis. Commitments by Egypt in the
            Uruguay Round can be seen as facilitating implementation of
            a Euro-Mediterranean Agreement. Such an agreement could
            facilitate further nondiscriminatory liberalization of
            Egypt's trade regime. Of particular importance in this
            connection is opening service markets to greater
            competition, where much remains to be done.
Inflation, growth, and central banks
            : theory and evidence
The author reviews the theory and
            evidence on inflation and growth and provides additional
            empirical evidence for a large cross-section of countries.
            The evidence, he reports, suggests a robust negative
            relationship between inflation and growth. He argues that
            inflation limits growth mainly by reducing the efficiency of
            investment rather than its level. But this finding is
            difficult to explain using traditional theories that rely on
            the effects of inflation on employment, which are not
            supported by the data. Explanations focusing on the effects
            of inflation on the allocation of talents and the
            functioning of financial markets may help in understanding
            better the long-run relationship between inflation and
            growth. The author also reviews the theoretical and
            empirical literature on how central banks affect inflation
            and output growth. An independent central bank can be
            effective in reducing inflation if the public perceives that
            it is tough on inflation. But inflation persists because the
            cost of reducing it is high - the most evident cost being
            the loss of output from disinflation. The author concludes
            that although serious progress has been made in recent years
            in assessing empirically how central banks affect
            macroeconomic performance, the results are still
            inconclusive. The empirical evidence shows a negative
            correlation between inflation and central bank independence,
            especially in OECD countries, but the effects on growth are
            less conclusive. It is fair to say that the bulk of the
            evidence suggests that central bank independence produces
            lower inflation at no real costs.