Comparative Public Finance Approaches to Natural Hazards Management

Author(s):  
Mohammed Alkhurayyif ◽  
Julie Winkler ◽  
Simon Andrew ◽  
Skip Krueger

An important challenge of natural hazards is that they inflict the greatest total economic damage in large, developed countries, where wealth is aggregated, but they create the greatest economic impact in smaller and developing countries, where a disaster caused by a natural hazard can easily overwhelm a national government’s ability to respond and its economy to recover. Thus, a common understanding in the literature is that the fiscal effect of a natural hazard is a function of the size of the disaster relative to the size of a nation’s economy at the time of the disaster. At the international level, the economic impact of disasters, for example, has been estimated to be US$2.9 trillion between 1998 and 2017, and approximately $945 billion of that occurred in the United States. With a 2019 gross domestic product (GDP) of $21 trillion, the total economic effect for those 20 years is close to 5% of the value of economic output for a single year. Developing country losses, on the other hand, can be overwhelming, especially as measured against the size of the economy. For example, Hurricane Maria’s impact on Dominica is estimated to have been approximately US$1.37 billion, which was equivalent to 225% of Dominica’s GDP. While an appreciation for the connection between the size of a national economy and natural hazards is clearly critical, the literature points to a number of additional factors that are important to understand about how government financial conditions are affected by natural hazards and vice versa. Debates continue about the role of foreign direct investment, government and private debt levels, investments in education, and internationally sponsored protective actions and insurance pools in improving the resilience of smaller and developing countries to disasters. For example, structural approaches to understanding the linkage between disasters and economic development suggest that countries with a limited number of sources of income have economies that are more vulnerable to disasters than more diversified economies, which might suggest that fiscal policies designed to increase economic diversity are important. Neoclassical approaches, on the other hand, argue that economic recovery is slowed by government intervention in the economy, and suggest that the best way for developing economies to recovery quickly is to reduce the amount of regulation in the economy. Whatever the theoretical approach, what remains most clear is the ongoing challenge of decoupling the emotional need to participate in responses to the human tragedy associated with disasters caused by natural hazards from the strategic imperative to invest in hazard mitigation at much higher rates globally and plan toward disaster risk reduction.

1975 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
A. R. Kemal ◽  
Zahira Alvie

In most of the developing economies, a rapid growth of G.N.P. invariably implies a larger import bill. Capital goods necessary for development have to be imported and a higher level of income in turn implies an increase in the import of consumption goods. On the other hand, demand for primary goods, which are main exports of developing countries, is inelastic. Moreover, the develop¬ing countries face serious problems in selling their manufactured products in the world market, partly due to their relatively inefficient industrial structure and partly due to the restrictive import policies of the developed countries. This results in a deficit in the balance of payments of many developing countries. To meet the deficit, import restrictions and export encouragement policies are followed instead of devaluation, which is resisted on both economic and non- economic grounds. This study has as its objective an analysis of the effects of the: devaluation of Pakistani rupee in May 1972, which changed the par value of Pakistan's rupee from Rs. 4.76 to Rs. 11.00 per U.S. dollar. Prior to the 1972 devaluation, imports were restricted through tariffs and quotas. In addition, certain pro¬ducts could be imported only under bonus and cash-cum-bonus lists. On the other hand, exports were encouraged through Export Bonus Scheme, Pay-As- You-Earn Scheme, and similar other incentives. These measures led to a multiple exchange rate regime. These measures may have had some beneficial effects in the short run but as Soligo and Stern [26] have shown over the long run, they led to a misallocation of resources. Pakistan devalued her currency in May 1972, as stated by the then Minister of Finance in his speech, to end the flow of foreign exchange abroad, stop over invoicing of imports and under invoicing of exports, correct the misallocation of resources, curb uneconomic import


2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Didier

ArgumentWhen the New Deal administration attained power in the United States, it was confronted with two different problems that could be linked to one another. On the one hand, there was a huge problem of unemployment, affecting everybody including the white-collar workers. And, on the other hand, the administration suffered from a very serious lack of data to illuminate its politics. One idea that came out of this situation was to use the abundant unemployed white-collar workers as enumerators of statistical studies. This paper describes this experiment, shows how it paradoxically affected the professionalization of statistics, and explains why it did not affect expert democracy despite its Deweysian participationist aspect.


2021 ◽  
pp. 006996672110638
Author(s):  
Jai Mohan Pandit ◽  
Bino Paul

This study investigates human resource management (HRM) practices in higher education institutions (HEIs) based on a comparative analysis of India and the US. Although higher education in India has grown over the decades, its quality, in general, has not kept up with global standards. On the other hand, many US universities have performed consistently well in international university rankings. Based on qualitative research collected from principal stakeholders of HEIs in India and the US, HRM practices and policies followed by them are presented and discussed. Data collection for the research study was through web interviews during the period August–October 2020. The study reveals that Indian public HEIs do not have professional HRM teams. Also, they are in a formative stage in autonomous and private institutions. On the other hand, many HEIs in the US have developed mature HRM systems. This difference resonates in attributes such as structure of HRM, recruitment and selection processes, training and development programmes, performance management, career progression and talent retention.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1967 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 586-589
Author(s):  
George Link Spaeth ◽  
G. Winston Barber

The prevalence of homocystinuria in patients with mental retardation institutionalized in the United States is about 0.02%; this is lower than a previous estimation from Northern Ireland (0.3%). On the other hand, about 5% of patients with dislocated lenses may be expected to have the disease. A silver-nitroprusside test which is almost completely specific for homocystine has been evaluated. It should be useful for screening.


2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (7) ◽  
pp. 2502-2507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mete Yilmaz ◽  
Edward J. Phlips

ABSTRACTAphanizomenon ovalisporumis the only confirmed cylindrospermopsin producer identified in the United States to date. On the other hand,Cylindrospermopsis raciborskiiis a prominent feature of many lakes in Florida and other regions of the United States. To see the variation in cylindrospermopsincyrBgene adenylation domain sequences and possibly discover new cylindrospermopsin producers, we collected water samples for a 3-year period from 17 different systems in Florida. Positive amplicons were cloned and sequenced, revealing that approximately 92% of sequences wereA. ovalisporum-like (>99% identity). Interestingly, 6% of sequences were very similar (>99% identity) tocyrBsequences ofC. raciborskiifrom Australia and ofAphanizomenonsp. from Germany. Neutrality tests suggest thatA. ovalisporum-likecyrBadenylation domain sequences are under purifying selection, with abundant low-frequency polymorphisms within the population. On the other hand, when compared between species by codon-based methods, amino acids of CyrB also seem to be under purifying selection, in accordance with the one proposed amino acid thought to be activated by the CyrB adenylation domain.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megersa Kelbesa

Many developing economies have seen a rise in e-commerce activity within their borders, and a decline in income from traditional industries as a result of COVID-19, meaning the digital economy offers a potentially unexploited source of tax revenue. . As a result, more developing countries may soon begin adopting some sort of digital tax. The economic activities which may be subject to the Digital Services Tax (DST) may vary from country to country. It will, therefore, be necessary for businesses operating in multiple jurisdictions across developing countries to keep up with the changes in digital taxes. Before implementing a DST scheme, developing countries are advised to perform an in-depth cost-benefit analysis and due considerations. Some developing (and several developed) countries have already unilaterally implemented a “provisional” DST system. Other developing countries are on the process of implementing DST or have simply announced that they will implement a DST soon. Although most of the countries so far actively working on DST (are rich countries, a growing list of developing countries are joining the process. Some examples include the following: Malaysia, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Argentina and, Chile. It is important to mention that the literature on DST is very limited – although growing, and the evidence base around the economic impacts is particularly scarce. This is partly due to the quite recent nature of DST implementation. The evidence is even scarcer for developing countries – Due to these limitations, this rapid evidence review looks at different types of available literature – including reports and blogs issued by international financial institutions and development agencies. The rest of the report will give an overview of key proposed approaches to tax the digital economy, provide a very brief account of the economic impact of DST, provide a brief mapping of the implementation of digital service taxes in developing countries, provide a brief description of each DST system and about the economic impact of the DST, finally a brief account or attributes of a “good” DST system.


M/C Journal ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Wolffram

The 'scholarly striptease', particularly as it is manifested in the United States, has attracted an increasing number of participants during the past decade. Unbeknownst to many, some academics have been getting their gear off in public; that is, publicly and provocatively showcasing their identities in order to promote their politics. While you might imagine that confessions about sexual orientation, ethnicity and pet hates could only serve to undermine academic authority, some American feminists -- and a small number of their male colleagues -- have nevertheless attempted to enhance their authority with such racy revelations. Nancy Miller's admission of a strained relationship with her father (Miller 143-147), or Jane Gallop's homage to the three 36-year-old men she had affairs with (Gallop 41), might make interesting reading for the academic voyeur (or the psychoanalyst), but what is their purpose beyond spectacle? The cynic might argue that self-promotion and intellectual celebrity or notoriety are the motivators -- and certainly he or she would have a point -- but within such performances of identity, and the metacriticism that clings to them, other reasons are cited. Apparently it is all to do with identity politics, that is, the use of your personal experience as the basis of your political stance. But while experience and the personal (remember "the personal is the political"?) have been important categories in feminist writing, the identity of the intellectual in academic discourse has traditionally been masked by a requisite objectivity. In a very real sense the foregrounding of academic identity by American feminists and those other brave souls who see fit to expose themselves, is a rejection of objectivity as the basis of intellectual authority. In the past, and also contemporaneously, intellectuals have gained and retained authority by subsuming their identity and their biases, and assuming an "objective" position. This new bid for authority, on the other hand, is based on a revelation of identity and biases. An example is Adrienne Rich's confession: "I have been for ten years a very public and visible lesbian. I have been identified as a lesbian in print both by myself and others" (Rich 199). This admission, which is not without risk, reveals possible biases and blindspots, but also allows Rich to speak with an authority which is grounded in experience of, and knowledge about lesbianism. Beyond the epistemological rejection of objectivity there appear to be other reasons for exposing one's "I", and its particular foibles, in scholarly writing. Some of these reasons may be considered a little more altruistic than others. For example, some intellectuals have used this practice, also known as "the personal mode", in a radical attempt to mark their culturally or critically marginal subjectivities. By straddling their vantage points within the marginalised subjectivity with which they identify, and their position in academia, these people can make visible the inequities they, and others like them, experience. Such performances are instances of both identity politics at work and the intellectual as activist. On the other hand, while this politically motivated use of "the personal mode" clearly has merit, cultural critics such as Elspeth Probyn have reminded us that in some cases the risks entailed by self-exposition are minimal (141), and that the discursive striptease is often little more than a vehicle for self-promotion. Certainly there is something of the tabloid in some of this writing, and even a tentative linking of the concepts of "academic" and "celebrity" -- Camille Paglia being the obvious example. While Paglia is among the few academics who are public celebrities, there are plenty of intellectuals who are famous within the academic community. It is often these people who can expose aspects of their identity without risking tenure, and it is often these same individuals who choose to confess what they had for breakfast, rather than their links with or concerns for something like a minority. For some, the advent of "the personal mode" particularly when it appears to contain a bid for academic or public fame signifies the denigration of academic discourse, its slow decline into journalistic gossip and ruin. For others, it is a truly political act allowing the participant to combine their roles as intellectual and activist. For me, it is a critical practice that fascinates and demands consideration in all its incarnations: as a bid for a new basis for academic authority, as a political act, and as a vehicle for self-promotion and fame. References Gallop, Jane. Thinking through the Body. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988. Miller, Nancy K. Getting Personal: Feminist Occasions and Other Autobiographical Acts. New York: Routledge, 1991. Probyn, Elspeth. Sexing the Self: Gendered Positions in Cultural Studies. London: Routledge, 1993. Rich, Adrienne. Blood, Bread and Poetry: Selected Prose 1979-1985. New York: W.W Norton, 1986. Citation reference for this article MLA style: Heather Wolffram. "'The Full Monty': Academics, Identity and the 'Personal Mode'." M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 1.3 (1998). [your date of access] <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/9810/full.php>. Chicago style: Heather Wolffram, "'The Full Monty': Academics, Identity and the 'Personal Mode'," M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 1, no. 3 (1998), <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/9810/full.php> ([your date of access]). APA style: Heather Wolffram. (1998) 'The full monty': academics, identity and the 'personal mode'. M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 1(3). <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/9810/full.php> ([your date of access])


Author(s):  
Muhammad Shah ◽  
Rab Nawaz ◽  
Muhammad Mahsud

Introduction. No doubt that the Iran-USA nuclear deal of 2015 got fame in the international politics. Some countries were in favor of such a deal and some were against this development. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has more concerns over the Iran nuclear deal, it feels that after the deal Iran will become a regional power and will increase its military and political power which will disturb the regional security and stability. As the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) itself provokes the creation of such conditions, thus their influence in the Middle East will be affected. Analysis. The article analyzes the concerns of Israel, implications for Turkey, the question why deal is beneficial for Pakistan, economic concerns of Saudi Arabia, implications for Persian Gulf and Middle East, economic implications for Turkey, economic opportunities for Pakistan. After the nuclear deal, Iran becomes a regional power and increases its political and economic influence in the region, especially in the Persian Gulf. The world says that Iran cannot get nuclear weapons after the deal because it has no such a capacity. However, according to some findings from the documents of the deal Iran is not blocked to become a nuclear power and the deal legitimizes the nuclear program. So, on the other hand after the Iran nuclear deal the regional political and economic environment is totally favorable to Iran. On the other hand, scholars believe that the United States of America (USA) operate in terms of diplomatic competition. From the economic standpoint, the deal will be favorable for Iran. Thus, some countries have objections related to the deal, while others express a positive attitude towards it. Results. Pakistan will be able to generate economic opportunities from Iran, especially with the help of Iran-Pakistan-India Gas pipeline project (IPI project). Consequences of the deal will be beneficial for the regional economic development of the Middle East and South Asia respectively.


Author(s):  
Gregg A. Brazinsky

This chapter shows how the PRC’s search for greater status brought with it new obligations. China’s desire to stand at the helm of an Eastern revolution compelled the CCP to offer assistance to other Asian revolutionaries. The chapter argues that this mindset was a key factor in Beijing’s decisions to enter the Korean War and provide training and assistance to the Viet Minh. The United States, on the other hand, sought to prevent the PRC from gaining stature through its role in these conflicts. It often cited deflating China’s prestige in Asia as a motive for both fighting on in Korea and aiding the French in Indochina.


2021 ◽  
pp. 260-294
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Guglielmo

Chapter 7 follows nonblack minorities through their training and service in the United States. America’s World War II military, from its top leaders to its enlisted personnel, simultaneously built and blurred a white-nonwhite divide alongside its black-white one. On the one hand, the blurring stemmed from a host of factors, including the day-to-day intermingling of troops, the activism of nonblack minorities, and, paradoxically, the unifying power of the black-white divide among nonblacks. On the other hand, this blurring had its limits. White-nonwhite lines cropped up in some of the same places black-white ones did and in some different ones, too, especially those related to national security and Japanese Americans. In the end, these lines remained in place throughout the war years, despite continuous blurring. They did so in part because of these racialized national security concerns and because of the power of civilian racist practices and investments.


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