Social and Political Drivers of the Reorientation of U.S. Trade Policy: The Case of U.S. Withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse Liss

Previous sociological studies demonstrated that U.S. multinational corporations (MNCs) had durable political power to motivate U.S. trade policy. However, why did the United States switch from a “free trade” to an “America First” trade agenda? Economists and political scientists argue that protectionist voters elected the protectionist candidate—Trump. An alternative sociological explanation is that U.S. MNCs lost political power to competing stakeholder groups. The article uses qualitative and quantitative methods to test these competing theories using the case study of the U.S. withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The article argues that both theories are necessary, and neither are sufficient. The United States withdrew from the TPP because increasing negative effects of trade and investment in the United States reshaped trade politics, especially on the republican side; however, power relations between stakeholder groups had to shift as well. U.S. MNCs lost political influence over trade policy to new domestic manufacturing organizations and their networks with labor and fair trade coalitions.

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas D. Cook ◽  
Werner W. Wittmann

The history of program evaluation in the United States over the last 25 years is used to abstract themes that may be of importance to the development of evaluation in Europe. The themes relate to (1) the organizational context of evaluation, particularly as regards the tension between the different roles of the social scientist and the auditor; (2) the dependence of evaluation on politics, which entails that research findings be selectively used, and that evaluation questions serve some political interests more than others unless active steps are taken to make evaluations broadly accountable and their results widely disseminated; (3) the reality that most understandings of evaluation emphasize describing what programs have actually achieved, whereas some program planners want it to refer to the ex-ante task of analyzing what the results of a future program might be if it were to be implemented; (4) the mutually supportive roles that both qualitative and quantitative methods have to play in evaluation once the trap is avoided of assuming the supremacy of either one of these method types over the other; and (5) the limited value that can usually be assigned to the results of individual evaluations when compared to what careful literature reviews can accomplish. We argue that a flourishing evaluation culture requires strong methods, strong theory about the nature of evaluation and its links to use, plus continuous updates of what evaluations have discovered in different substantive areas. Today, North American evaluation is perhaps best characterized as applied social-science methods - and this may be too narrow a conception for evaluation to continue flourishing.


2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Williams Utz

The prevalence of diabetes in the United States is higher among those living in rural/nonmetropolitan statistical areas than in urban centers. Managing this complex chronic illness is complicated by factors such as limited access to care, low socioeconomic status, aging, and membership in a racial or ethnic minority group. A review of the literature was conducted focusing on research about rural Americans with diabetes by searching databases of CINAHL, PubMed, and MEDLINE, and selecting articles in English that were published between 2000 and 2007. Search terms included: nursing, research, rural, rural nursing, rural health services/programs, and diabetes care. Additional search strategies included journal hand searching and networking. Twenty-six research reports were found and included qualitative and quantitative methods and program evaluations. All regions of the United States were represented except the Northwest. The vast majority of research reports were of descriptive studies (n = 16), with program evaluation reports (n = 7) and studies testing an intervention (n = 3) also represented. The quality of each study is examined and summarized.


2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morris Kalliny ◽  
Angela Hausman ◽  
Anshu Saran ◽  
Dina Ismaeil

Purpose The purpose of this paper is threefold: to extend the animosity model developed by Klein et al. (1998) by adding cultural and religious animosity constructs, to provide a tool with which to measure the cultural and religious constructs and to provide explanations, and thus an understanding, of how cultural and religious differences impact consumer intention to purchase. Design/methodology/approach Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to test the model. Findings The cultural and religion animosity scale is created. Originality/value This fills a gap in the literature where there is not currently a scale to measure cultural or religious animosity.


Author(s):  
V. Iordanova ◽  
A. Ananev

The authors of this scientific article conducted a comparative analysis of the trade policy of US presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. The article states that the tightening of trade policy by the current President is counterproductive and has a serious impact not only on the economic development of the United States, but also on the entire world economy as a whole.


2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry Bosworth ◽  
Susan M. Collins

This paper examines U.S. goods trade with China, focusing on the performance of exports. Throughout the analysis, we explore whether U.S. trade is unusual by contrasting it with trade from Japan and the EU-15.1 The issue is examined from three perspectives: the commodity composition of exports, the role of multinational corporations (MNCs), and the determinants of trade as specified in a formal “gravity model.” As an initial point of departure, we show that the commodity composition of U.S. exports to China is similar to the pattern of exports to the world as a whole, and that the operations of U.S. MNCs have only minor implications for trade with China. Consequently, we emphasize the estimation of a set of “gravity equations” that explore the role of market size and distance from the United States. Distance exerts a surprisingly large effect on trade. Finally, although exports to China may be a small share of U.S. GDP, they are relatively substantial compared to U.S. exports to other countries. In other words, the measure of U.S. trade performance in China is distorted by the low level of its exports to all countries. We present evidence that the United States underperforms as an exporter relative to a peer group of high-income European countries and Japan.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 496-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Wright ◽  
Angela Ai ◽  
Joan Ash ◽  
Jane F Wiesen ◽  
Thu-Trang T Hickman ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective To develop an empirically derived taxonomy of clinical decision support (CDS) alert malfunctions. Materials and Methods We identified CDS alert malfunctions using a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods: (1) site visits with interviews of chief medical informatics officers, CDS developers, clinical leaders, and CDS end users; (2) surveys of chief medical informatics officers; (3) analysis of CDS firing rates; and (4) analysis of CDS overrides. We used a multi-round, manual, iterative card sort to develop a multi-axial, empirically derived taxonomy of CDS malfunctions. Results We analyzed 68 CDS alert malfunction cases from 14 sites across the United States with diverse electronic health record systems. Four primary axes emerged: the cause of the malfunction, its mode of discovery, when it began, and how it affected rule firing. Build errors, conceptualization errors, and the introduction of new concepts or terms were the most frequent causes. User reports were the predominant mode of discovery. Many malfunctions within our database caused rules to fire for patients for whom they should not have (false positives), but the reverse (false negatives) was also common. Discussion Across organizations and electronic health record systems, similar malfunction patterns recurred. Challenges included updates to code sets and values, software issues at the time of system upgrades, difficulties with migration of CDS content between computing environments, and the challenge of correctly conceptualizing and building CDS. Conclusion CDS alert malfunctions are frequent. The empirically derived taxonomy formalizes the common recurring issues that cause these malfunctions, helping CDS developers anticipate and prevent CDS malfunctions before they occur or detect and resolve them expediently.


2021 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 745-790
Author(s):  
Susann Sturm

This study examines the complexity of Canada's corporate income tax system from the perspective of multinational corporations and compares it with the complexity of the US system, also taking into account measures of complexity for 19 other member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The author finds that with regard to the Canadian tax code, the most complex laws are those on corporate reorganization, transfer pricing, and controlled foreign corporations, and with regard to the Canadian tax framework, the most complex areas are tax audits, tax-law enactment, and tax guidance. In comparison with other OECD countries, Canada is remarkably similar to the United States. Both countries have a medium level of overall complexity, and both have a more complex tax code but a less complex tax framework than other countries. However, a closer examination of the Canadian and US tax codes and tax frameworks reveals some significant differences in complexity levels, particularly in respect of certain tax laws.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-81
Author(s):  
E. V. Kryzhko ◽  
P. I. Pashkovsky

The article examines the features of the US foreign policy towards the Central Asian states in the post-bipolar period. The imperatives and constants, as well as the transformation of Washington’s Central Asian policy, have been characterized. It is shown that five Central Asian states have been in the focus of American foreign policy over the past thirty years. In the process of shaping the US foreign policy in Central Asia, the presence of significant reserves of energy and mineral resources in the region was of great importance. Therefore, rivalry for Caspian energy resources and their transportation routes came to the fore. In addition to diversifying transport and logistics flows and supporting American companies, the US energy policy in Central Asia was aimed at preventing the restoration of Russia’s economic and political influence, as well as countering the penetration of China, which is interested in economic cooperation with the countries of the region. During the period under review, the following transformation of mechanisms and means of Washington’s policy in the Central Asian direction was observed: the policy of “exporting democracy”; attempts to “nurture” the pro-American elite; striving to divide states into separate groups with permanent “appointment” of leaders; involvement in a unified military system to combat terrorism; impact on the consciousness of the population in order to destabilize geopolitical rivals; building cooperation on a pragmatic basis due to internal difficulties and external constraints. Central Asian states sympathized with the American course because of their interest in technology and investment. At the same time, these states in every possible way distanced themselves from the impulses of “democratization” from Washington. Kazakhstan was a permanent regional ally of the United States, to which Uzbekistan was striving to join. The second echelon in relations with the American side was occupied by Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. A feature of the positions of the Central Asian countries is the maximum benefit from cooperation with Washington while building good-neighborly relations with Russia and China, which is in dissonance with the regional imperatives of the United States. In the future, the American strategy in Central Asia will presumably proceed from the expediency of attracting regional allies and stimulating contradictions in order to contain geopolitical rivals in the region.


2006 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 243-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Muirhead

Abstract The articulated foreign economic policy of the Conservative government of John Diefenbaker following its election in June 1957 was to redirect trade away from the United States and toward the United Kingdom. This policy reflected Diefenbaker's almost religious attachment to the Commonwealth and to Britain, as well as his abiding suspicion of continentalism. However, from these brave beginnings, Conservative trade policy ended up pretty much where the Liberals had been before their 1957 defeat-increasingly reliant on the US market for Canada's domestic prosperity. This was a result partly of the normal development of trade between the two North American countries, but it also reflected Diefenbaker's growing realisation of the market differences between Canada and the United Kingdom, and the impossibility of enhancing the flow of Canadian exports to Britain.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document