Reference Update

January/February 2007

ECONOMIC AND TRADE

1. "East Asian Regional Architecture: New Economic and Security Arrangements and U.S. Policy"
Dick K. Nanto
CRS Report for Congress. September 18, 2006, 42 pages
The report examines the developing regional architecture — the trade, financial, and political arrangements among countries of East Asia — and what that implies for U.S. interests and policy.

2. “Can America Still Compete or Does It Need a New Trade Paradigm?"
Martin Neil Baily and Robert Z. Lawrence
Policy Briefs in International Economics, December 2006, 9 pages
The paper focuses on why foreign demand for American goods and services has grown more slowly than the U.S. demand for foreign goods and services. The authors argue that protectionist trade policies are costly and usually ineffective. They state that the rising trade deficits can not be sustained over the long term, and the U.S. needs appropriate macroeconomic policies which would provide for the needed adjustment.

3. “Vietnam is the New Star in the Global Equity Space”
The Economic Times, 19 February 2007, 4 pages
Vietnam's stock market has enjoyed the sort of performance over the past 12 months that it may never be able to repeat. When the market capitalisation of a country's stock market goes up 15 times in a year, there are two possible conclusions: its time has come, or its time came and went.  This article analyses the stock market in Vietnam.

4. “Vietnam: Here we go, WTO”
Economist Intelligence Unit , 19 February 2007, 3 pages
Vietnam’s economic prospects in 2007 will inevitably be dominated by the afterglow of its recent entry to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This, combined with a continuation of the stellar GDP growth the country has enjoyed over the past few years, should ensure that 2007 is eventful.

5. “Strategic planning perspectives—spring 2007”
Economist Intelligence Unit - Business Asia, 19 February 2007, 4 pages
Despite mildly weaker export prospects, Asia is set to enjoy another year of buoyant economic growth—tempered, perhaps, by a few political wobbles.  Although the Economist Intelligence Unit’s forecasts point to slightly lower rates of GDP growth across most of the region this year compared with 2006, in part this is because last year’s exceptional performance provided such a high base.

6. "Can Corruption and Economic Crime Be Controlled in Developing Economies, and If So, Is the Cost Worth It?"
Gjeneza Budima
Journal of Financial Crime, Volume 13, Issue 4, 2006, 12 pages
This paper examines corruption as the most ancient and common type of economic crime, and its significance in a developing country's progress. It seeks to elaborate on why developing countries are more prone to corruption and more open to investments by criminals, and whether such criminal activities can be controlled by developing societies and states in transition.

7. "Utilities Reforms and Corruption in Developing Countries"
Antonio Estache
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4081, December 2006, 30 pages
The paper shows that “privatization” in the energy, telecommunications, and water sectors, and the introduction of independent regulators in those sectors, have not always had the expected effects on access, affordability, or quality of services. It also shows that corruption leads to adjustments in the quantity, quality, and price of services consistent with the profit-maximizing behavior that one would expect from monopolies in the sector.

8. "New Innovation Challengers: The Rise of China and India"
Dan Steinbock
The National Interest, January/February 2007, 7 pages
China and India may have yet caught up with the top ten innovator countries in absolute terms, but those leading innovator nations have fallen behind in the relative growth rates. The emerging innovation strengths in China and India are examined.

9. "Industrial Revolution 2.0"
Antoine van Agtmael
Foreign Policy, January/February 2007, 7 pages
According to Antoine van Agtmael, a renowned economist, Western protectionism has been a hindrance for Western companies. Protectionist policies in a globalizing economy generally has led to a false sense of security, a reluctance to streamline, and a lack of innovative thinking in industries such as steel, automobiles, electronics and cement.

REGIONAL SECURITY

10. "U.S. Strategic and Defense Relationships in the Asia-Pacific Region"
Bruce Vaughn
CRS Report for Congress, January 22, 2007, 37 pages
What changes in U.S. strategic and defense relationships in the Asia-Pacific region, if any, are needed to respond to major developments in the region, particularly China’s emergence as a major power, the continuing potential for inter-state conflicts, and the struggle against militant Islamists?

11. "The 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review and National Security Strategy: Is there an American Vision in East Asia?"
Michael McDevitt
Issues & Insights, January, 2007, 20 pages
This paper examines the White House's 2006 National Security Strategy (NSS) and the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). It provides a general overview of the strategic vision for East Asia that is likely to guide the Bush administration during its final two years.

12. "Great Power Gambits to Secure Asia’s Peace"
Hugh White
Far Eastern Economic Review, January/February 2007, 5 pages
Asia is in an era of peace, but will it be as peaceful in the next quarter-century or rocked and impoverished by major conflicts among major powers? What can be done to help make sure that it is not? The author warns that securing peace in Asia will take effort and sacrifice from the great powers.

13. "The Three-Quarters Mark"
Richard N. Haass
The National Interest, January/February 2007, 4 pages
The article comments on the challenges faced by the Administration of U.S. President George W. Bush as he enters the final two years of office. Even though those challenges are numerous and difficult to contend with, the author offers solutions.

14. "China's Anti-Satellite Weapons and American National Security"
Hon. Jon Kyl
Heritage Lecture, February 1, 2007, 12 pages
America's space platforms are the strategic center of its defense architecture, and China wants them eliminated. The author points out that China's new anti-satellite weapons programs are targeted exclusively on the United States, a capability that constitutes unmistakable evidence of intent.

GLOBAL ISSUES AND ENVIRONMENT

15. "The Thirteenth Tipping Point"
Julia Whitty
Mother Jones, November/December 2006, 10 pages
The article argues that humanity is ignoring global warming at the risk of its own genetic demise. Animals can cooperate to ensure their own survival and the survival of their species. Humans tend to look only to their immediate gratification, leading them to ignore the dangers global warming presents to their children.

16. "Quick Fixes for the Environment: Part of the Solution or Part of the Problem?"
Thomas Sterner
Environment, December 2006, 9 pages
When faced with large-scale environmental problems that need immediate attention – such as flooding – society has tended to address the symptoms rather than find fundamental solutions. Should we continue to go for the quick fixes, or should we focus on the real causes of disasters?

17. "A Fowl Plague"
Danielle Nierenberg
World Watch, January/February 2007, 6 pages
The article discusses the factors responsible for the spread of avian flu. The media, national governments, and development agencies used to blame small rural and urban poultry farmers for the spread of the disease. A study has indicates that the real culprit may be factory farming and the globalized poultry trade and transport of livestock.

18. "How Green is Your PC? E-Waste Solutions Lag behind Production"
Michael Border
Smart Computing, March 2007, 3 pages
What happens to obsolete PCs and other equipments? This article tries to find out which manufacturers are recycling wisely and which ones aren't.

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

19. "A Reading Road Trip around Copyright: An Annotated Tour of Copyright Resources"
K. Matthew Dames
Online, January/February 2007, 5 pages
More recent discussions about copyright emphasize copyright's potential either as a barrier to personal creativity or a savior of a national economy. In reality, copyright is at neither end of that spectrum. Instead, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. This article collects some of the best resources that effectively and accurately represent that middle ground where copyright is a delicate balance between consumer and creator.

20. "Beyond the News"
Mitchell Stephens
Columbia Journalism Review, January/February 2007, 6 pages
Editors and news directors today fret about the Internet, and all now see the huge threat the Web represents to the way they distribute their product. Internet not only makes news available much faster than print; it’s free of charge. The author offers a solution: sell something besides news.

21. “Email is Evolving — Are You?”
Leslie Stebbins
Searcher, February 2007, 5 pages
Has email taken control of your life? The author suggests some strategies to help you dig out from under the email deluge and take back the time you spend sorting out essential communications from the spam.

22. "The Future of Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: The Survey Says..."
Kyong-Jee Kim and Curtis J. Bonk
Educause Quarterly, Number 4, 2006, 9 pages
The authors assert that online learning environments are a “perfect e-storm” and questions where online learning is headed. They surveyed instructors and administrators in postsecondary institutions, mainly in the United States, to explore future trends of online education, including the changing roles of online instructors, student expectations and needs related to online learning, pedagogical innovation, and projected technology use.

U.S. SOCIETY AND CULTURE

23. "Immigration Nation"
Tamar Jacoby
Foreign Affairs, November/December 2006, 16 pages
The United States is far less divided on immigration than the current debate would suggest. An overwhelming majority of Americans want a combination of tougher enforcement and earned citizenship for the 12 million illegal immigrants in the country. Washington's challenge is to translate this consensus into sound legislation that will help repair the nation's broken immigration system.

24. "The Global Race for Knowledge: Are We Losing?"
Christopher Clausen
The Wilson Quarterly, Autumn 2006, 30 pages
American universities are the envy of the world, but the world is racing to catch up. Everybody now recognizes that knowledge is a key to economic growth. The authors take a hard look at the strengths and weaknesses of the American university, and at efforts to close the gap in China, Germany, and India.

25. “Academic Libraries Are Alive and Thriving”
Miriam A. Drake
Searcher, January 2007, 5 pages
How can academic libraries be prevented from eroding into passive services and revived digitally to continue as active and interactive services for college campuses? Drake addresses this issue in a discussion with four academic library directors.

26. "Political Engineering in the Asia-Pacific"
Benjamin Reilly
Journal of Democracy, January 2007, 16 pages
This essay examines how regimes across the Asia-Pacific region have increasingly attempted to engineer their political systems to encourage more predictable elections, aggregative parties, and stable governments.

27. "Democracies of the World, Unite"
Ivo Daalder and James Lindsay
The American Interest, January-February 2007, 11 pages
Declaring that the current U.S. foreign policy regime does not engage in multilateralism enough to prevent dangerous developments which lead to international security threats, the author calls for a Concert of Democracies to bring together the world's established democracies in a single institution dedicated to joint action, to manage the global politics of the 21st century.

28. “Inside the Issues for 2008”
James Pindell
Campaigns & Elections, January 2007, 1 page.
In the next few months, Americans and the world will know more about the field of candidates hoping to be the next U.S. President. This short article provides a nice summary of issues those candidates will be talking about and how they will use these issues to differentiate themselves.

29. "The President that Congress Created"
David Nather
CQ Weekly, January 1, 2007, 7 pages
Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President of the United States, was the first appointed President and had spent nearly a quarter-century in Congress – longer than any other President in history. He died in December 2006 at the age of 93. This article explores his life and legacies.

TRANSLATED DOCUMENTS
 
Following articles are from “Transforming the Culture of Corruption” - An Electronic Journal of the U.S. Department of State, December 2006

30. Principled Responsibility: Transforming the Culture of Corruption
Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State
The United States is proud to support those who advance the fight against corruption by promoting honest governance and integrity, restoring the public's trust, anchoring market integrity, and nurturing a free media and open society.

31. Addressing Corruption Through International Treaties and Commitments
John Brandolino and David Luna
Anticorruption and Governance Initiatives, Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, U.S. Department of State
By agreeing on mechanisms to fight corruption, the international community is opening the doors for increased multilateral and bilateral cooperation on important but traditionally local fronts.

32. Combating Kleptocracy
In 2006, to combat high-level corruption, the United States implemented the National Strategy to Internationalize Efforts Against Kleptocracy.

33. Shedding Light on Corruption: Sunshine Laws and Freedom of Information
Donald F. Kettl, Director
Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania
Regulations against corrupt practices and legislation to increase government transparency have reduced corruption by examining government closely to weed out waste, fraud, and abuse.

34. Effective Anticorruption Approaches
U.S. Agency for International Development, Office of Democracy and Governance
Good governance and accountability create conditions that lift people out of poverty, raise education and health levels, improve the security of borders, expand the realms of personal freedoms, nurture sound economic and sustainable development strategies, and create healthier democracies.

35. The Costs of Corruption
John Sullivan and Alexsandr Shkolnikov
Center for International Private Enterprise
Corruption, while benefiting a few individuals, is costly to society, the private sector, and governments in the long run.