Tag: Economics

Is Economic Recovery on the Horizon?

Navigating a mixed economic forecast, photo: (nz)dave/flickr

This week the ISN asks whether a global economic recovery could soon be in sight despite mixed economic indicators and rumblings of a ‘double-dip’ recession.

This ISN Special Report contains the following content:

  • An Analysis by Dr Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research about Europe’s prospects for economic recovery given belt-tightening austerity measures.
  • A Podcast interview with Dr Klaus-Jürgen Gern of the Kiel Institute discusses the forecast for global economic growth and the prospects of economic recovery in the US, Asia and Europe.
  • Security Watch articles about the impact of the Great Recession around the globe.
  • Publications on the financial crisis housed in our Digital Library from the likes of the Kiel Institute, the Center for Economic and Policy Research and much more.
  • Primary Resources, like the full-text of President Barack Obama’s speech on financial rescue and recovery of the US economy.
  • Links to relevant websites, such as the IMF’s World Economic Outlook website.
Categories
Uncategorized

Elusive Employment

Sign of a sickly job market in Chicago, photo: ChiBart/flickr

With unemployment in many parts of the world the worst of the post-World War II era, policymakers are scrambling for solutions. This week the ISN examines the long-term unemployment trends of this ‘Great Recession’ and puts forward some potential policy prescriptions.

This ISN Special Report contains the following content:

  • An Analysis by Dr Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, on the worst US unemployment figures in the post-World War II era – and why Europe is faring better.
  • A Podcast interview with Dr Johannes Jütting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development examines how workers in developing countries are adjusting to increasing job insecurity – namely by moving deeper into the informal labor market.
  • Security Watch articles about job security crises from Spain to Honduras, the US to India, and much more.
  • Publications housed in our Digital Library, including an analysis from the US Congressional Research Service on the current trend in long-term unemployment compared with that during previous recessions.
  • Primary Resources, like the US Bureau of Labor Statistics report on how governments measure unemployment.
  • Links to relevant websites, such as the International Labor Organization’s Youth Employment Network.
  • Our IR Directory, featuring Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing, a global research-policy network that seeks to improve the status of the working poor, especially women, in the informal economy.
Categories
Audio/Video

One Man’s ‘Burden’ is Another’s Refugee

Eritrean refugee in Sudanese camp, Khashm el Girba / photo: daveblume/flickr
Eritrean refugee in Sudanese camp, Khashm el Girba / photo: daveblume/flickr

Every year, 20 June marks World Refugee Day . The UNHCR notes that for the 42 million uprooted people around the world, “a shortage or lack of the essentials of life – clean water, food, sanitation, shelter, health care and protection from violence and abuse – means that every day can be a struggle just to survive.”

So how could this situation be improved? In the first of his lectures as part of the Reith Lecture Series 2009 , Harvard professor Michael Sandel discusses the idea of tradable refugee quotas. In this system, each country would be allocated a yearly quota based on national wealth. Then, states would be free to buy and sell these obligations – and, according to market logic, everyone benefits: Countries unwilling to accept refugees meet their obligations through outsourcing, those willing to accept gain a new source of revenue, and more refugees are rescued than would otherwise find asylum.

Continue reading “One Man’s ‘Burden’ is Another’s Refugee”