PS5 final key terms
Nativism
"intense opposition to an internal minority on the grounds of its foreign (i.e., "unAmerican") connections" (Higham). It presents itself through realistic threat perception (loss of resources), symbolic threat perception (less legitimate than realistic, use of implicit appeals that are often racial, and are used by politicians to use racist appeals without appearing racist). There is not reputable evidence for realistic threats other than some inconsistent support for labor market threat. The causes for variation in nativism are unclear, but it does a good job of explaining public opinion and doesn't clearly explain policy.
Stopler-Samuelson Immigration Model
**falls under neoclassical** Low skilled laborers will migrate from a low skill labor abundant state where wages for low skilled labor are low and wages for high skilled labor are high. Conversely, high skilled laborers will migrate from a low skill labor scarce state, where wages for low skilled labor are high and wages for high skilled labor are low. High skill is defined by having at least some college education, and low skill is high school or less.
Five reasons people migrate
1 The neoclassical model (wages) 2 New economics 3 Dual labor markets 4 Networks 5 Politics - both drivers and carriers
Domestic actors' exchange rate interests
1. Governments have less agency with fixed exchange rates, while they greatly facilitate international trade/investment/travel etc, they eliminate a government's ability to have its own monetary policy and get the country out of a recession by lowering interest rates, overall making the central bank much less influential - import/export markets might want government to make selling their products easier - can't on fixed rates. For example, in Argentina's 2001 crisis the peso was tied to the USD for 10 years, and the government was unable to lower interest rates and depreciate the currency to stimulate the economy, and many Argentinians also didn't want exchange rates to change because their mortgages would rise. The Eurozone crisis of 2008 could have also been avoided had Greece, Ireland, Spain, and Portugal been able to depreciate their currencies to stimulate their economies. Both examples show important advantage of floating rates, as it gives the government more freedom to pursue its own monetary policies, BUT con of floating rates is that changes in the exchange rate can impose costs on those engaged in international trade and investment, hurting international economic exchange; volatility (frequent big shifts) makes international finance more difficult 2. Consumers and businesses whose economic activities are not solely domestic prefer floating rates because they are indifferent to currency fluctuations but want government to affect national economy if it needs to. Those with international economic concerns favor fixed rates because too much volatility will harm their activities. Because strong exchange rate allows consumers to buy more of the world's products but makes domestic goods more expensive to foreigners, manufacturers and farmers usually complain about strong currency because it leads to a surge of cheaper imports and hurts exports. Weak currency helps producers and hurts consumers, strong currency hurts producers and helps consumers - this is the reason governments avoid depreciation before an election (will hurt national consumers). Governments with many firms and internationally trading citizens, government gets pressure to stabilize currency (Europe trades a lot, strong supporters of the Euro, France and Italy invest less across borders and were thus less enthusiastic), governments tried to US trade, investment and tourism likely to fix their currency to USD, but larger self sufficient economies did not fix. For example, China in 1979 was very successful in keeping their currency weak over long periods to stimulate exports, as they controlled capital flows and the domestic market for foreign currency, also had large reserves of USD overseas so it wasn't spent in China. This did create problems, though - at home, weak currency taxed consumers to benefit export producers, low purchasing power for citizens; internationally, trade partners felt artificial weakness of renminbi was unfair trading.
Ongoing innovations in international human rights institutions that may have important implications for the future
1. Transitional justice 2. Individual petition 3. The International Criminal Court (ICC) 4. RTAs with human rights clauses
International law
A body of rules that binds states and other agents in world politics and is considered to have the status of law. It is established by states either through custom or convention as a way to facilitate international cooperation. It is both a body of rules, woven together by one of more unifying principles (sovereignty). They have the status of law through primary (do's and don'ts) rules and secondary (rules about how rules are made) rules. They are distinct from norms in that norms can contradict secondary rules (R2P violates sovereignty in a way that laws could not). They are often results of long negotiation in order to facilitate cooperation. For example, UNCLOS was enacted in 1982, took 9 years of hard negotiation, and didn't come into force until 12 years later. Overall, international law is composed by treaties, judicial decisions (sometimes) and customary international law.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
A declaration, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, that defines a "common standard for achievement for all peoples" and forms the foundation of modern human rights law. Although governed by soft law, it is considered the authoritative standard of human rights. Its 30 articles form four pillars - dignity, liberty, equality, and brotherhood. The third pillar focuses on political, social, and economic equality - a second generation of rights from the Industrial Revolution. This development occurred in tandem with the defining of genocide and the subsequent treaty with clearly defined obligations and precise rules (the Genocide Convention - the first piece of hard international human rights law). Would become codified into hard international law in the International Bill of Rights (the ICCPR and the ICESCR)
Most favored nation status
A general provision of reciprocity in which countries that grant each other MFN status agree to extend the same confessions they provide to their other MFNs (ex. Tariff reduction given to all MFN countries), linking negotiations between two countries to all their multilateral trade relations. There are two ways states can get around this - national security (Japan putting tariff on rice imports because saying rice is a national security interest to Japan), US corn and wool OR cultural patrimony (if country has cultural need to produce the good).
adjustable peg
A monetary system of fixed but adjustable rates. Governments are expected to keep their currencies fixed for extended periods but are permitted to adjust the exchange rate from time to time as economic conditions change. The Bretton Woods system is an example.
reasons international trade policy varies over time
A nation's interests may change if for example a nation's ability to compete in world markets improves, giving rise to more actors favorable to trade and reducing actors opposed to trade - institutions also may change. Secondly, the American experience of going from fiercely protectionist to leading liberalization, and how they may be shifting back due to the threat of China as a trading power (domestic institution of the Electoral College gives midwest increased power in elections, they are affected strongly by trade policy. Democratization in developing countries is also often associated with trade liberalization (ex Bolivia in the 1980s, seen significant increase in its exports of zinc and other mined minerals).
quantitative restrictions/quota
A nontariff barrier to trade that limits the quantity of a a foreign good that can be sold domestically (reduced quantity leads to inflated prices of that good). Because the reduced quantity typically causes an increase in its domestic price, it makes the product more expensive to the consumer (similar effect to tariff).
boomerang model
A process through which NGOs in one state are able to activate transnational linkages to bring pressure from other states on their own governments. Domestic NGOs that are blocked from influence within their own state can appeal to other transnational NGOs which can press their own government or an international organization to press the resistant state to change its policy.
Individual petition
A right that permits individuals to petition appropriate international legal bodies directly if they believe a state has violated their rights. This was developed most prominently in the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) that preceded the ICCPR and led to the creation of the European Court of Human Rights and the right to individual petition. Individuals in all member states possess the right to petition for redress. Without individual petition, states are gatekeepers that can block international courts from hearing cases that they might lose. This right is now present in many human rights treaties like the ICCPR, and is one of three important innovations that may change the future international human rights regime.
Export-Oriented Industrialization
A set of policies, originally pursued in the late 1960s by several East Asian countries, to spur manufacturing for export, often through subsidies and incentives for export production. The governments of South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and the British colony of Hong Kong encouraged their manufacturers to produce for foreign, especially American, consumers; they used low cost loans, tax breaks to exporters, and a very weak currency to make their products artificially cheap. They differed from other third world countries by pushing industry outward rather than inward. This approach meant relying on volatile international markets, but did force manufacturers to create quality products that would be competitive on the world market. By the late 1970s, the four "Asian Tigers" were flooding world markets with toys, clothing, furniture, and other simple manufactures. For example, South Korea's exports skyrocketed from 1970 to 1979, 90% of the increase was manufactured goods because their government heavily pursued heavy industrial development by sponsoring modern steel mills, chemical factories, and a new auto industry - by the 1980s South Korea had the world's largest shipyard and machinery factory. This model became the dominant strategy throughout the developing world after the debt crisis in the early 1980s showed states that ISI was making the consequences of the debt crisis much worse, whereas EOI countries had less trouble because they were able to increase exports to service their debts, whereas ISI countries had trouble generating revenue to service their debts.
depression
A severe downturn in the business cycle, typically associated with a major decline in economic activity, production, and investment; a severe contradiction of credit; and sustained high unemployment. For example, in Thailand, during the 1997 debt crisis they implemented severe austerity measures, and the economy collapsed and unemployment doubled in two years and the Thai people felt this was extremely unfair as the money borrowed did not help them directly and yet they were being asked to pay the debt.
recession
A sharp slowdown in the rate of economic growth and activity - can be caused by austerity measures implemented to allow the government to continue paying debts to foreign creditors.
norms life cycle
A three stage model of how norms diffuse within a population and achieve a taken for granted status. Finnemore and Sikkink posit this three stage cycle to help us understand how TANs shape norms, interests, and political outcomes. In the first stage, norms entrepreneurs work to convince people to embrace beliefs, and framing is important (FGM used to show violence against women, traditionalists framed it as outside of colonial purview). In the second stage, norms cascade occurs as number of adherents passes tipping point beyond which idea gains enough support to become universal; conformity can occur via coercion or socialization. Lastly, the third stage is when norms are internalized or become so widely adopted that they acquire taken-for-granted quality that makes conformity almost automatic (slavery).
What category of immigration makes up most documented immigration? → A and B family reunification A. immediate relatives of US citizens B. Family sponsored preferences C. Asylees D. diversity E. refugees F. employment based preferences
A) immediate relatives of US citizens→ A and B family reunification (67% combined, 46% A, 21% B)
Diplomatic immunity is best described as: A. customary international law B. an international organization C. domestic law
A. customary international law
Wealth of Nations
Adam Smith's 1776 classical economics text that argued that specialization (division of labor) was central to making societies wealthier rather than mercantilism, and that self sufficiency (an isolated market) slows economic growth
Eurozone crisis
After the 2008 crash, borrowers couldn't service their debts and created the most serious sovereign debt crisis since the 1930s. The 4 principle eurozone debtors were Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain; in Spain and Ireland, households borrowed to finance a major housing and construction boom, when prices fell their governments started heavily borrowing from abroad; Greece had been running budget deficits since the creation of the eurozone, with the government relying heavily on foreign borrowers. The leaders put together a trillion euro package, and in return demanded austerity measures in the debtor states. This caused massive protest, and it took 10 years for the economies to recover. This caused anti-European integration sentiment, and is an example of how international finance is a salient political issue.
bilateral investment treaties
Agreements between two countries that offer protections to each other's investors. They codify the conditions for private investment across borders, and most of these treaties include provisions to protect an investment form government discrimination or expropriation without compensation, as well as mechanisms to resolve disputes. Yet, these treaties are not nearly as institutionalized or influential as the something like the IMF.
Washington Consensus
An array of policy recommendations generally advocated by developed-country economists and policy makers starting in the 1980s. This complex of policies was a product of pressure from the IMF and the World Bank to change their economic policies in return for having their debts restructured. The policies adopted in various degrees by LDCs were trade liberalization (to make national producers more competitive in world markets), privatization of government enterprises to investors for maximum efficiency, fiscal and monetary policies to avoid large deficits and high inflation, and openness to foreign investment and international capital flows. China and India have grown rapidly since they turned toward world markets, and Eastern and Central European countries also adopted these policies after the collapse of the USSR.
fixed exchange rate
An exchange rate policy under which a government commits itself to keep its currency at or around a specific value relative to another currency or commodity such as gold. The gold standard is a monetary system that fixed exchange rates to gold. Yet, while fixed exchange rates create a sort of international stability, it forces the country to commit itself to the policies necessary to maintain the set rate. For example, if a currency was projected to depreciate against other currencies, the government would increase interest rates to have money coming into the country, and this increase in demand for the currency would make the exchange rate go back to the set level.
The World Bank
An important international institution that provides loans at below market interest rates to developing countries, typically to enable them to carry out development projects. Headquartered in DC, it gets most of its money by borrowing on major financial markets at very low rates, as its bonds are guaranteed by the governments of the markets it borrows from. Because it borrows at much lower interest rates, it can relend at very low to nonexistent rates. It is oriented towards essentials of broader economic growth and development. The World Bank and IMF are writing off debt of the most heavily indebted countries.
monetary policy
An important tool of national governments to influence broad macroeconomic conditions such as unemployment, inflation, and economic growth. Typically, governments alter their monetary policies by changing national interest rates or exchange rates. Usually implemented by a central bank.
Effects of currency collapse on governments
Argentina 2001 was too rigidly tied to the dollar and was entrenched in a 3 year recession, and Eurozone in 2008 faced the same crisis. As the government faces pressure to devalue fixed currency, people start losing faith in their ability to keep rate stable, giving investors strong reason to sell that country's currency (don't want to hold onto asset that will lose value, and exchange their money for foreign currency). But also, domestic companies many not want currency to change because they borrowed in a foreign currency. Eventually, conflicted government usually devalues the currency, burden of foreign-currency debt rises, turn into economic and banking crises
international monetary regime
Arrangement, formal or informal, that is widely accepted to govern relations among currencies that is shared by most countries in the world economy. These are created by the interactions between national government decisions to float or fix their currencies. The two principle features of the regime are that it makes clear whether currency values are expected to be fixed, floating, or both (current regime is based on floating rates), and agrees about whether there will be a mutually accepted benchmark against which currency values are measured - common base or standard to which currencies can be compared, and 3 standards have been used overtime (commodity standard, which uses good with value of its own as basic unit ie gold standard; commodity backed paper standard, in which national governments issue paper currency with fixed value to gold/silver ie Bretton Woods; and a national paper currency standard, where currencies are backed by commitments of government to support them, don't commit to fixed standard but to keeping that currency valuable.
Commodity Cartels
Associations of producers of commodities (raw materials and agricultural products) that restrict world supply and thereby cause the price of the goods to rise. These associations were much more successful in influencing change, as they had much more leverage. For example, when the Arab members of OPEC doubled the price of oil to get an upper hand in negotiation, they were most successful as there are few substitutes for oil and they avoided collective action problems because of the few members and their ability to keep oil off the market. After the 2008 financial crisis, G20 Financial Ministers and the Central Bank Governors included representatives from 9 developing countries to help address the crisis.
What is the immigrant population in the United States? A. 7 percent B. 14 percent C. 21 percent D. 28 percent E. 35 percent
B. 14 percent→ the 21% has their kids added
Capital and labor are similar because: A. Both are typically abundant at the same time. B. Both likely move toward places where they are scarce. C. Both factors typically organize against liberalization. D. Both can easily overcome the collective action problems because they are small groups.
B. Both likely move toward places where they are scarce.
What is the hidden consensus theory? A. Democratic and Republican consensus that immigration policy is currently broken B. Democratic and Republican consensus for immigration policy based primarily on economic skills C. Democratic and Republican conflict over immigration policy D. Democratic and Republican consensus that we need more vetting for immigrants
B. Democratic and Republican consensus for immigration policy based primarily on economic skills
Why are interactions in an international monetary regime a Prisoner's Dilemma? A. Each government has an incentive to cheat by appreciating its currency; the result is competitive appreciations, which leave all governments worse off. B. Each government has an incentive to cheat by depreciating its currency, and the result is competitive devaluations which leave all governments worse off. C. Each government faces a choice between fixing its currency's exchange rate or letting the currency float freely. D. Each government is trapped by the rules of the international monetary regime.
B. Each government has an incentive to cheat by depreciating its currency, and the result is competitive devaluations which leave all governments worse off.
What are nonderogable rights? Rights that: A. are respected without the need for international treaties B. cannot be suspended for any reason C. will take effect only during times of war D. are not derived from Western legal and moral principles E. have been rejected by most international organizations and groups
B. cannot be suspended for any reason
reasons for foreign investment and borrowing
Banks, corporations, and individuals make investments overseas to make money, and those with capital want to move their money from capital rich countries to capital poor ones (Heckscher Ohlin - where land/labor are scarce, they are more expensive, and where land/labor are plentiful it is cheap). Corporations invest rather than trading because they may be able to produce for a local market and avoid tariffs and import costs, as well as retain specific advantages like technology and brand name while gaining access to cheaper local factors of production. Borrowers pay higher interest rates for something in short supply, for example in 2014 interest rates on short terms loans were less than 2% in the US, and in Latin America they were 10% or higher. A greater scarcity in capital, as well as higher interest rates in developing countries encourage capital to move from richer to poorer countries. Mexico is poor in capital while US is rich in capital, thus profits and interest rates are higher in Mexico, which helps explain why American investors have, over time, accumulated investments worth over $300 billion there. Yet, these types of investments are risky, which is the reason that international investment is mostly among rich countries.
infrastructure
Basic structures necessary for social activity, such as transportation and telecommunication networks, and power and water supply. This falls under domestic factors that affect development, as it is a public good that governments can provide to boost development by allowing trade and exchange, as well as domestic investment. Social infrastructure includes public health and sanitation, education, and urban planning, which overall allow citizens to focus their efforts on economic activity in a productive way.
Why can't the host country just agree to initial bargain over the investment?
Because bargaining leverage shifts once investment is made, like all commitment problems.
bargaining interaction between MNCs and host countries
Because both sides want a greater share of the benefits from FDI, a bargaining interaction ensues. The host country uses its ability to tax and regulate as its bargaining weapon, and the MNC uses its ability to withhold capital, technology, expertise, and jobs are its weapons. FDI in the raw materials sector has become controversial, as there are high rates of nationalizing profits. For example, the US based International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) Corporation in Chile attempted to keep socialist Allende from being elected in fear of nationalization of investment, and resulted in a coup that destroyed one of Latin America's most stable democracies and brought the murderous Pinochet to power. This result fueled resistance towards MNCs, and the most sweeping resistance came from developing world, where MNCs were increasingly excluded from specific industries beginning in the 1960s. This resistance eroded in the 1980s due to the debt crisis and increasing acceptance for global economic integration, but although restrictions lightened MNCs are still seen by many as economically, culturally, and politically undesirable. While there are no international institutions solely to monitor FDI, codes of conduct have been proposed and bilateral investment treaties have been created to fill the gap. Overall, although institutions have not been created to mediate interactions, since the 1980s interactions have been generally less contentious then they were before, and sovereign lending is more heavily debated overall. Overall, bilateral investment treaties are used for FDIs, and IMF is used for Portfolio Investment.
What was the basis for many of the rights in the UDHR? A. The Bible B. The United Nations Charter C. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal D. The constitution of the Soviet Union E. The International Court of Justice
C. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal
If a country adopts a fixed exchange rate, which tool(s) has it lost to combat economic recessions? A. The ability to spend money. B. The ability to place tariffs on imports. C. The ability to lower or raise interests rates through a central bank. D. The ability to use foreign currency.
C. The ability to lower or raise interests rates through a central bank.
Why did restrictions on immigration increase during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the United States? A. Immigration was so low that it was not even noticeable before then. B. Economic crises and depressions made immigration controversial then. C. The changing racial composition of the average immigrant changed and led to opposition then. D. Unions gained power then and were better able to influence policy.
C. The changing racial composition of the average immigrant changed and led to opposition then.
US-China trade war
China subject to steel and aluminum tariffs, as well as China specific tariffs from the US (tit for tat)
reciprocity
Concept by which a concession granted by one government is met by the other (linkage politics binds agreements).
Network theory
Contends that migration is based on information and ties to other countries or states. Networks provide information on how to mitigate (Which transportation companies to take;if irregular migration, how to find a smuggler/ where to cross; Where to stop on the route), on opportunities abroad (jobs, housing, schools), the benefits of migration (tangible things like better housing or intangible), and money (remittances often finance migration). Clustered migration patterns in receiving countries, friends and family that join migrants later, and remittances for migration all support this theory. The institutions theory adds to this theory, as migration creates institutions that thrive off of migration (ie travel, labor recruiters, refugee resettlement organizations) and lobby the government to keep immigration open.
Politics explanation for migration
Contends that politics act as both drivers and barriers to migration. Migration is driven by violence (but can also inhibit ability to move), and barriers to migration include legal ability to enter and rights/climate.
Multinational corporations (MNCs)
Corporations that engage in foreign direct investment, therefore maintaining managerial control over their foreign investments. MNCs may want to establish themselves overseas to gain access to local market/resources. Some FDI is driven by resource location (US may be more effective at oil drilling than Angolans), may get cheaper transportation costs, etc., and they often place different components of their production in different countries (labor intensive work where labor is plentiful and cheap like Vietnam, while work that requires skilled labor goes to human capital rich countries like Ireland). The home countries/governments of MNCs often support foreign activity, but FDI can be controversial in countries from which it originates because "outsources" jobs, and labor unions often want more control over "sweatshop labor." Countries let MNCs in because they bring in managerial, technological, and marketing skills that might not be available in the foreign country, as well as bringing investment capital. Less developed countries may not be able to profit from their resources without the expertise of MNCs, and also profit from the jobs it provides the locals and taxing the MNC profits. Yet, countries may be against letting MNCs in because FDI doesn't adequately benefit the host country, as they often have lower GDPs nationally than the corporation alone and have trouble monitoring the activity of the MNC. When countries are extremely poor they love FDI, but over time may no longer need it.
Less developed countries (LDCs)
Countries at a relatively low level of economic development. Geographic location (landlock, disease, distance from markets, etc), domestic factors (lack of public goods like infrastructure and property insecurity), and lack of strong domestic institutions can impede the development of a state.
General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
Created in 1947 as one of the Bretton Woods international trade institutions designed to oversee liberalization of trade relations, especially among developed countries, for more than 40 years. By the early 1990s, GATT's loose structure seemed insufficient and was thus succeeded by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995.
bargaining in international finance
Credibility issues are at the center of bargaining between foreign investors and host countries. Bargaining weapon available for debtor is the threat to default or suspension of payment on the debt, forcing the creditor to reduce the burden of debt. A bargaining weapon available for creditor is that they can cut off debtors from future lending, freeze debtor government bank accounts or taking other government owned property. These interactions are plagued by incomplete information, as the threat to default can lead to the creditor threat to retaliate.
International repercussions of currency collapse
Currency crises are not isolated, can transfer from one country to another 19th century US crises often had repercussions around the industrial world. Europe 1992 crisis when Germany (the standard) devalued their currency, led European nations to subsequently devalue, damage repaired quickly, Mexico 1994 rebellion and assassination of presidential candidate led to currency crisis and thus banking crisis (when peso was strong, many banks/companies borrowed in dollars, devaluation of peso triggered mass bankruptcies), East Asia in 1997, Europe 2011-2015 a number of eurozone states borrowed heavily after euro was created, then recession brought them into debt they couldn't pay.
Which of the following is an example of individual petition? A. Nicaragua sues the United States in the World Court over U.S. mining of its port B. A Spanish judge issues an arrest warrant for former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet C. A Kurdish immigrant asks to be granted refugee status in Germany, because of human rights abuses suffered in Turkey D. A person with a same-sex partner files a petition with the European Court of Justice alleging that her government has violated her rights.
D. A person with a same-sex partner files a petition with the European Court of Justice alleging that her government has violated her rights.
The Gold Standard was a monetary system in which: A. The exchange rates of major currencies retained nearly the same value with respect to the U.S. dollar. B. The exchange rate of the U.S. dollar was periodically adjusted in response to currency crises in its allies' economies. C. Exchange rates were allowed to change according to their market price. D. The exchange rates of the major currencies were fixed to gold.
D. The exchange rates of the major currencies were fixed to gold.
If delegation is high and law is imprecise, there is a risk that: A. no one will know who has the power to enforce the law. B. states will not understand the benefits of the law. C. diplomats will not consider the law when negotiating. D. the "third party" may create new law to fill in legal gaps
D. the "third party" may create new law to fill in legal gaps
delegation
Degree to which third parties, such as courts, arbitrators, or mediators, are given authority to implement, interpret, and apply international legal rules, to resolve disputes over the rules, and make additional rules. States are generally reluctant to delegate significant legal authority to third parties, as the power to interpret law and/or make new law has the potential to bind states in ways they would not want. Dispute settlement ranges from being handled by international courts (broad jurisdiction, binding decision making powers, ability to set precedent ie ICC) to limited dispute settlement bodies with more narrow mandates and national vetoes of decisions (GATT), and the least authoritative - arbitrators and mediators.
austerity measures
Domestic measures implemented by international financial institutions to ensure the payment of foreign debts. These can be an increase in taxes, or cuts in welfare/government services. These can cause uprisings from the labor, business, and other sectors of the state, and even cause recessions or depressions. For example, in Thailand, during the 1997 debt crisis they implemented severe austerity measures, and the economy collapsed and unemployment doubled in two years and the Thai people felt this was extremely unfair as the money borrowed did not help them directly and yet they were being asked to pay the debt. Another example is Portugal, as many Portuguese citizens blamed German chancellor Angela Merkel for the austerity measures in order to receive emergency loans from eurozone partners during the crisis (mural depicting Merkel using Portuguese leaders as puppets).
What can change support for immigration according to the evidence presented in the Mo talk? A. Humanizing appeals B. Empathy appeals C. Perspective taking with immigrants D. Learning facts and figures E. All of the above
E. All of the above
Which of the following can explain why people move? A. Wages B. To provide remittances to their family C. Dual labor markets that provide them jobs D. Networks E. All of the above
E. All of the above
Import Substituting Industrialization
Economic policies mainly pursued by most developing countries from the 1930s to the 1980s to reduce imports and encourage domestic manufacturing, often through trade barriers, subsidies to manufacturing, and state ownership of basic industries. This model was a reaction to the collapse of foreign markets during the Great Depression, and belief that accelerated industrialization would aid broader development because modern societies were believed to require a manufacturing base. This, as the global depression was ending, decolonization efforts influenced the effort to develop industry. After 1945, almost all the long independent developing nations of Latin America and newly independent Asian and African countries reduced global economic ties. While these policies reflected view that engagement with the world economy could be an impediment to national economic development (Brazil and Mexico rapidly developed car industries through ISI between 1950-1970), also revealed that the industries it encouraged were not efficient and had difficulty selling goods abroad, leaving manufacturers making products of low quality that were not competitive on the global market. This aversion against producing for export not only was unprofitable, but they were subsequently unable to buy goods on the world market, leaving them vulnerable to crises like the oil crisis in the 1970s. The popularity of ISI was in decline by the 1980s. Examples of ISI are Latin America, Brazil, and Mexico.
How are violations of human rights punished?
Economic sanctions are often used to punish violators of human rights. The instances in which sanctions were used to punish violations show which rights states care most about (ex US sanctions of South Korea, Chile, Argentina, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Brazil for detention and treatment of political prisoners)
explain.
Effect of a tariff on the domestic market. The quantity the domestic supplier is willing to produce with the tariff is higher, and the price the consumer will pay will be higher. Pt is the price of the import plus the tariff, and Pw is now the cost. Qdt is the amount supplied by international producers with the new import price (lower demand for consumers because of a higher price), and Qst represents the quantity supplied by domestic producers with the tariff (a lower quantity and a higher demand from consumers because of the lower price). The quantity of the demand with the tariff will be lower than without the tariff, making the producer surplus greater and the consumer surplus smaller. The area between Pt and Pw is the lost consumer surplus due to the limitations the tariff brought. C is the revenue made from the tariff, and the dark blue areas are the deadweight loss. So, if the world price was $20, and the tariff raised that price to $35, all the consumers that would have bought hats at the world price are losing. The lost consumer surplus would be $15, and the area of the space between Pt and Pw. C is the revenue from the tariff. Higher demand with lower quantity, and a higher amount is produced by the domestic supplier, and the difference between the quantity demanded and the quantity supplied with the tariff is the government revenue, whereas the difference between the quantity demanded overall from an international market and the quantity demanded with the tariff is deadweight loss, as well as the difference between the quantity supplied by the domestic market and the quantity supplied with the tariff is also deadweight loss. A = producer surplus, the light shaded blue is the consumer surplus, and world producer surplus decreases while the domestic producer surplus increases.
European settlers' survival's affect on development (Acemoglu, Johnson, Robinson)
European settlers engaged in predatory policies in geographical areas where they could not survive, and engaged in state building where they were able to survive; this could be a factor in the explanation for the divergence in development outcomes across the world.
Do International Human Rights Make a Difference?
Evidence on the impact of international human rights is mixed because those that are most likely to sign human rights agreements are also those most likely to respect human rights. The agreements alone are not decreasing violations, but also there is a need to consider that efficacy can't be observed through the results of treaties. International law places the burden of enforcement of the victims of the crime who are typically politically powerless - this makes the efficacy inherently flawed. The most negative affect of international agreements on practice, according to James Vreeland, is that multiparty dictatorships that sign the Convention against Torture use torture at higher rates than those who do not sign it. This highlights the fact that these regimes are pressed to sign by their domestic political opponents, who they then exact torture upon. Others have contended that human rights agreements are effective in tandem with other factors like domestic political institutions, strong domestic courts and rule of law, large NGO contingents, expected tenure of political leaders, and legal standards of proof for rights violations.
The Ricardo Viner Model assumes: Free trade is good for workers Factors of production are specific to a particular industry Factors of production are mobile across industries Technology displaces workers
Factors of production are specific to a particular industry
default
Failing to make payments on a debt - during the Great Depression, nearly every state had to default, and sometimes people in debtor nations prefer that their government default in order to force a reduction in the debt burden. Creditor nations often step in with trillions of dollars to help debtor nations pay back their debts under the belief that if the crisis proliferated, it would spread to other nations and eventually hurt the creditor. For example, in 1994 the US government bailed out Mexico, amassed controversy, after this Congress enacted measures to limit the authority of the executive branch for bailouts. The default in Mexico was self reinforcing due to the fact that stopped making payments to creditors because those same creditors stopped lending out of fear
In capital abundant foreign countries, does capital favor or oppose FDI? And labor (the scarce factor)?
Favors and opposes, respectively.
Types of exchange rate regimes
Floating, pegging, replacing one currency with another, fixing
Dual Labor Market explanation
Focus on receiving state society and pull factors, rather than the individual or family. The modern industrial economy has a need for seasonal/temporary labor, and the demographics of receiving states show that the population is getting much older on average. This is empirically supported by the fact that migrants tend to work on the lowest rung, and the complimentary unwillingness by workers in receiving states to take certain jobs (ex Alabama farms). There is evidence that these factors correlate with other economic factors like structural inflation.
Foreign Aid's Effect on Development
Foreign aid is unlikely to play a major role in overcoming problems of development for 2 reasons - firstly, amounts of aid are quite small and are unlikely to grow (and little popular support for aid from MDCs). Secondly, corrupt governments are likely to use aid for narrow purposes, not used to alleviate poverty but more for geopolitical and military reasons that do not affect development; aid is unlikely to solve underlying problems in developing countries, although innovative efforts at institutional reform with certain conditionality. The incentives of the donors sending the aid also needs to be assessed.
Group of 77
Founded in 1964 by 77 founding countries (now 130 members) that wanted to use their collective power to reform the economic order in favor of the developing world - this was a form of resistance towards biased international institutions like the WTO and the IMF. They called for the New International Economic Order, which included curtailing the rights of investors in the developing world (FDI), revising trade agreements to favor products of the developing world, and increasing the influence of LDC governments in international institutions. Little progress was made this way, and LDCs ended up being most successful using their access to natural resources like oil to strengthen their bargaining position (OPEC Arab members).
Why don't the beneficiaries of depreciation (exporters and import competing industries) always lobby for it?
Free rider/collective action problems, as the benefits are too widespread. If all countries depreciated, none would have the profit.
Short history of International monetary regimes
Gold standard from 1870-1914, which depended on Britain, France, and Germany to keep stable, but the costs of being on gold made actors less enthused as silver would have devalued the dollar and made exports more competitive and made domestic products more expensive (system lasted 1870s-1914). The Bretton Woods Monetary System from the end of WWII @ Bretton Woods to the 1970s, in which the USD was tied to gold, and the rest of the exchange rates floated in relation to the dollar. This was seen as a middle ground between the gold standard rigidity and interwar insecurity, and kept exchange stable enough to encourage international trade and investment. This system relied heavily on global cooperation, and the IMF was central to this regime; failed because there were fundamental disagreements between countries adn the US government was unwilling to make the sacrifices necessary to keep the dollar fixed to gold. Thirdly, since 1973, system based on floating rates among major currencies, requires that major powers work together, IMF serves as a venue for coordination and crisis management; problematic in that exchange rates fluctuate widely in ways that are unpopular in smaller countries (usually link their currencies to a major power), absence of established order has led some countries to create regional systems.
"What Americans Really Think About Trade" Alexandra Guisinger
Guisinger argues that trade has been conflated with globalization, and most Americans that are more protectionist believe that China is the US' #1 trading partner, and those that knew Canada is the #1 trading partner of the US were less protectionist. She also finds that there is a gender and racial gap in trade preferences, as women tend to be more protectionist than men, and that racial minorities are more protectionist than white people (women and minorities more concerned with structural employment issues that free trade may pose than white people are, leading to their protectionist sentiment). She argues that independent research, rather than listening to politicians that often racialize their sentiments to reach certain demographics, is the most unbiased way to learn about your own trade preferences.
Hard vs. Soft Law
Hard law is obligatory, precise, and delegates substantial authority to third parties like international courts, whereas soft law is aspirational, ambiguous, and doesn't delegate significant power to third parties. Soft law is not a failure of lawmaking, but rather reflects choices by states to write law they are currently prepared to accept. Soft law can also become hard law when states gain more experience and write more detailed treaties (FCCC → Kyoto Protocol)
Peters' Trade Based Explanation
He argues that the choice to open/close trade changes the domestic political context in which immigration policy is made (affects composition of firms in economy and need for low skilled labor - trade restrictions in labor scarce countries led to increased production in labor intensive industries). Businesses have incentives to push for open immigration when trade is restricted, and when trade is opened there is a decrease in labor intensive production as labor intensive firms go out of business - these firms will no longer push for immigration. Diverges from the majority of literature in that it argues for an integrated view of foreign economic policy. Historically, the fact that post WWII states opened trade but continued to resist immigration supports the fact that increasing trade openness had led to increasingly restrictive immigration policies. Overall, this article argues that international factors cannot be ignored because they affect a nation's economy, and immigration policy cannot be understood without examining trade and vice versa. Trade openness, international competition, firm mobility, and technology affect the total number of firms lobbying and the total amount of political capital spent. This then affects policymaker's decisions, which are also informed by preferences of others in the polity and their own interests, which therefore informs immigration policy.
Domestic institution's affect on development
Helps explain why resource rich countries are developmental disaster, in which initial wealth gives rise to poverty, as governments can be easily and lucratively exploited and may not develop institutions outside of those associated with that resource OR that when countries get massive influxes of money, there are incentives for people to use those funds for corrupt purposes. In contrast, countries with few natural resources have no other option than to develop institutions to make the economy more productive.
In the US, which branch of government is likely to be the most protectionist? President Senate House of Representatives Judiciary
House of Representatives (smallest, most concentrated constituencies)
Why do Businesses like Immigration?
If immigrants are substitutes for native labor, more immigration decreases competition for workers and allows them to pay lower wages across the board with fewer benefits and worse conditions. If immigrants are complementary to native workers, they benefit from cheaper immigrant labor for manual and routine tasks, along with an overall more efficient allocation of labor. Business support for low skill immigration also changes with globalization, as open trade can lead firms to close and therefore may be somewhat resistant to immigration, and as firm support declines policymakers may restrict immigration to appease other groups like native laborers and nativists.
Felter and Renwick "The US Immigration Debate"
Immigrants make up 14% of the United States population, and their children increasese that total to 27%. Mexico is the most common country of origin, but South and East Asian immigrants are on the rise. Overall, immigrants who overstay their visas make up a significant portion of the 11 million undocumented population, outnumbering those who cross the border ilegally. Family reunification is the reason most immigrants are granted permanent residency, and the US domestic economy would decline without immigrants (make up 45% of domestic employees). In terms of public opinion, 76% of Americans think immigration is a good thing, as 81% support path to citizenship, and among Republicans there is more support for a path to citizenship than for a border wall. While Obama attempted to provide temporary legal relief to undocumented immigrants - DACA offered renewable, 2 year deportation deferrals and work permits and DAPA for parents, the Supreme Court killed the Program in 2016. Furthermore, iimmigrants advocacy groups criticized Obama for deporting 3 million people over his 8 year tenure (and yet Republicans didn't feel Obama was firm enough, as he focused deportation of undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records). Trump has proposed a border wall and to end catch and release practices, as well as stronger interior enforcement and the Muslim Ban. His zero tolerance policy at the border has led to child separation, and unsanitary conditions at CBP facilities due to overcrowding. There is still variation in state policy towards immigrants, for example CA allows them to apply for drivers' licenses and get in state tuition, but states like Arizona allows police to question anyone they suspect is undocumented; this has sparked a debate about states' obligation to abide by federal policies.
Aspects of immigration policy
Immigration entry policies include quotas (by national origin, family, skill), point systems, asylum policy, refugees, and temporary versus permanent residence policies. Immigrants rights policies define citizenship, language/ability to start businesses/labor rights, and family rights. Most people believe immigrants lead to lower wages and more unemployment, which may drive policy and explain the global decrease in immigration. Yet, immigration should follow the opinion of the median voter, as those societies that have to worry less about the opinion of the average citizen are less open (autocracies more open than democracies), but there are also problems with the median voter theorem because voters don't always hold coherent positions, care about the issue, and representatives don't always care about the median voter but their base (collective action favors small interest group positions that may oppose immigration). States with stronger unions typically have more restrictive policy tend to have stronger unions, but the change in union strength is less likely to predict changes in policy (as shown by 1924 weak unions when strong quotas implemented). Also, unions are now much more pro-immigration and are increasingly comprised of immigrants.
Types of Development Models
Import Substituting Industrialization and Export Oriented Industrialization.
Lotus Case
In 1927, French and Turkish ships collide in the ocean, resulting in the destruction of the Turkish ship and death of Turkish sailors, Turkey prosecutes and convicts a French sailor. Consequently, France sues Turkey in the Parliamentary Court of International Justice. The court found that Turkey did not violate international law, establishing the precedent that a state cannot its jurisdiction outside of its territory unless an international treaty or customary law permits it to do so.
IMF intervention
In the East Asian crisis in 1997, following crises in Russia and Brazil in 1998-1999, in 2001 in Argentina, and since then, intervention by the IMF alone was insufficient without creditor governments stepping in directly. Critics charged that taxpayers were forced to bail out foolish investors and government, but financial leaders insisted on the need for a quick response.
nonderogable rights
In the ICCPR, the suspension of some rights in case of social/political emergency are permitted, but these rights have been identified as ones that cannot be suspended for any reason. These include freedom from torture, recognition as a person before the law, and more. Although these are not specifically enforced, TANs have supported these rights heavily, and human rights TANs are the primary monitors of government activity, especially when free press is suppressed.
Current US Distributional Effects from trade
Increasing trade openness in the US from 1960-2015, with increasing income inequality. Yet, national income per capita is rising per person, which real wages in manufacturing (labor intensive) have been stagnant since the early 70s. Income growth has been unequal, as the top 20% have had recent concentrated income growth. Real wages have risen with education (human capital), but voter concentration on economic topics because low skilled voters dominate elections through the electoral college (high education, medium income counties swayed towards Hillary Clinton, low educated, high income towards Trump
Transnational Advocacy Networks (TAN)
Individuals or groups that seek to advance principled standards of behavior for states and other actors. The actors that make up these networks may include international and domestic NGOs, local social movements, philanthropic organizations, media, churches, trade unions, and consumer and other civil organizations. They promote norms to alter interests and change interactions at both the individual and state levels, using information to define interests (facilitate cooperation and influence preferences of individuals). They also promote moral values (slavery, landmines, FGM), and the number of TANs has grown to over 1,000 in 2003. Lastly, they act as endorsers (allowing informational shortcut to allow legislators and voters to make decisions) and monitors (allow states to indirectly monitor each other by being a trustworthy 3rd party, and call attention to violations).
Norms Entrepreneurs
Individuals or groups that seek to advance principled standards of behavior for states and other actors. These actors make up TANs, aiming to persuade others to share their commitment. Example of norm entrepreneurs is the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a group of 100s of NGOs around the world fighting use of landmines. Supporters of norms often hold their governments accountable.
Refugee
Individuals recognized under the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees as a person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual residence, has a well-founded fear of being persecuted because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership to a social group or political opinion; and who cannot return for fear of persecution. Burden sharing has been a huge issue in refugee hosting, as mostly poor countries host, and the UNHCR doesn't have the budget.
What can induce a positive attitude shift towards immigration policy?
Individuals with stronger humanitarian values - concern for the well-being of others - tend to have greater amounts of support for permissive immigration policies, and humanistic appeals can encourage a more permissive immigration policy. Perspective-taking online game was found to reduce antipathy towards refugees and decreased vote intentions for the most racist political parties in Poland. This game assigned players to imagine life as a refugee and answer questions like what they would take with them on their journey as they flee persecution in their war-torn country found to induce more inclusionary behavior towards Syrian refugees. Yet, attempts to increase empathy can actually backfire, increasing the amount of negative sentiment toward immigrants among those who are less approving of immigrants (polarizing). US Informational campaigns can improve survey respondents' perceptions of immigrants, but not their willingness to accept more immigrants into the country (backlash to refugee data among Republicans). Previous studies have found that frequent, but brief intergroup contact with non English speaking immigrants has been found to increase feelings of cultural threat and hostility toward immigrants. Mo and Conn (2018) found that extended intergroup contact can induce a reduction in prejudice and increase their recognition that immigrants are maltreated. Lastly, Mo bridged a gap between immigration sentiments and feelings towards human trafficking to attempt to transfer the high levels of concern about human trafficking onto sympathy for immigrants because strict immigration laws are linked with increased trafficking (take more risks to get across the border, more likely to be taken advantage of by predators); the data showed there was no both negative spillover onto feelings about human trafficking from immigration, and there was positive spillover onto the immigration issue, as attitudes became more positive when human trafficking was connected. However, misinformation makes this bridging very difficult, as Trump has claimed to be fighting human trafficking through the border wall.
Role of Developed Countries in development outcomes
Interests conflict often between LDCs and MDCs - the colonizers versus the colonized, primary products are price sensitive while manufactured goods are often produced by oligopolistic firms that control markets, meaning the terms of trade deteriorate for primary product producers in LDCs. Lastly, the rules of international institutions have been written by developed countries, and rules of trade are often designed to serve the interests of more developed countries. For example, the protections for American agriculture from the WTO severely undercut poorer countries, and cotton from the US raising world supply of cotton and lowering the price, driving down prices received by LDCs who may be producing at a lower price but don't have the economic support to be competitive. Economic institutions like the IMF, World Bank, and WTO reflect the interests of the richest countries that support them, IMF widely criticized by LDCs as a tool of rich countries (US and EU respectively have enough votes to veto any resolution), WTO ignores initiatives of LDCs to break down protectionist trade barriers by richer countries (ex want openness to agricultural trade but blocked by domestic farmers in richer countries).
international migration's effect on international finance relations
Labor is a factor of production that moves across border the same way that capital does, and can leave one country to work for a corporation elsewhere. Whether General Motors moves a factory to Mexico and hires local workers, or moves to Detroit, Mexican workers may migrate as the capital does - the politics of immigration are a part of the broader economic integration. While international labor movements in recent years have been large, they are overall proportionally smaller than during the 19th and 20th centuries, and in almost every developing country immigration is a politically contentious issue because higher wages in richer countries attract labor from poorer countries (skilled/human capital and unskilled). Unskilled workers migrated from Italy and Sweden to the US 100 years ago, and now immigrate from El Salvador and Morocco to the US for the same reason. In line with Heckscher - Ohlin, countries with abundant unskilled labor will export it into countries with scarce unskilled labor, meaning there are incentives for there are economic incentives for labor rich countries like China to export labor intensive goods and labor. This economically causes a reduction in wages of local unskilled workers in labor scarce countries. Yet, immigration benefits those in receiving countries as employers gain from paying lower wages (agricultural sector in US), and the economy overall benefits from having a larger labor force with lower wages. The domestic distributional effects along with national political institutions like the Electoral College explains policy changes toward immigration, and concerns about immigration have been central to Brexit and the rise of Donald Trump in the US. The political economy of immigration brings concerns about the potential cost of social programs that immigrants may use because they are generally poorer than natives, but they generally pay taxes which makes overall net economic observations of this trend difficult to quantify.
Hamlin "Illegal Refugees: Competing Policy Ideas and the Rise of the Regime of Deterrence in American Asylum Politics"
Literature about increasing resistance of Western States to large numbers of asylum seekers lacks theory about the mechanisms behind the rise of deterrence policies - using 52 interviews and database of 444 articles, Hamlin argues that when the Cold War ended and presented a critical juncture (either become more or less accepting), the anticommunist hold on the asylum program was loosened and the early 90s brought reforms to expand the program and made decision making more transparent, but these changes overlapped with asylum boom that put heavy costs of receiving states and accepting asylum seekers lost geo-political appeal. From 1980-1990, those fleeing communism were sympathized with, whereas Latin Americans were labelled illegal immigrants. \Subsequently, a regime developed that aligned with domestic politics of border control (both institutional and ideological strains led to the sudden demise of the dominant policy making regime and made room for the regime of deterrence). For example, in 1994 Clinton deployed the Coast Guard to stop Cuban asylum seekers from arriving in the US (former presidents had let them in), showing that after the collapse of USSR asylum seekers were recategorized, but others argue that policy change is best understood in the context of choices that precluded the 1990s. Bureaucratic issues restrictionist immigration trends, and a rise in deterrence led to asylum being pulled into enforcement. There is also a cultural distinction between old and "new refugees," who are regarded with suspicion that they are seeking economic opportunity rather than fleeing persecution. Yet, this distinction is dangerous because it inherently assumes that all those who deserve asylum will be unaffected by policies of deterrence, and that the true refugees will be realized - not the reality of the system. Argument about whether modern asylum seekers are "real refugees" reinforces a false idea that the divide between migrants and refugees are real, rather than political constructions by receiving States (even if trend looks similar from a distance, all deterrence policy has mechanisms specific to each State).
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Major international economic institutions established in 1944 at Bretton Woods to manage the international monetary system. It gradually reoriented itself to focus on the international financial system after the Bretton Woods monetary regime , especially debt and currency crises. Their members are both creditors and borrowers, and all have a vote on its activities but these votes are proportional to the member's financial contributions to the IMF resources (their quota). The US provides 18% of the IMF's total resources, and the EU member states provide 32%, meaning the the EU (collectively) and the US can veto fund actions (because IMF decisions require an 85% supermajority). There have been complaints that the EU and US influence over the IMF has been unfair, and that the IMF is largely a tool and its richer and more powerful members at the expense of exploiting poorer countries, but those rich members have argued that their contribution gives them the right to do so. In 2010, G-20 countries agreed to give over 6% voting share to "dynamic developing countries." In theory, the IMF can have access to $1.5 trillion dollars, but it has never come close to demanding this much from its members, but the fact that it can mobilize such large sums of money so quickly has made it so powerful, and uniquely fit to intervene in debt crises. The austerity measures demanded by the IMF in exchange for inexpensive loans are intense, but assure that the debtor country is "certified" as being in compliance with IMF norms and is therefore attractive to creditors. For EX, Indonesia's agreement with the IMF during the 1997 Asian financial crises demanded subsidy cuts and therefore increased prices of necessities like electricity and forced shutdowns of Suharto's banks (dictator had cronies running the banks). The crisis in 2008 drew many creditor states to the fund, and lent to Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and Ukraine. The fund facilitates cooperation through standards of financial/economic behavior and increased access to information, as well as acting on behalf of the collective creditor nations, which would be difficult to work out without such an institution (solves collective action problems). The IMF is unusual in that it negotiates directly with governments, whereas most international institutions are solely intermediaries between countries; it is also unique because its involvement is closely tied to relations between debtor government and private international entities (doesn't represent private firms, but normally an understanding that it will facilitate cooperation and is sometimes explicitly stated).
If a country can produce a good more cheaply than another country, does it have a comparative advantage in that product?
Maybe
history of trade openness in US
Mercantilist policies during the colonial era protected domestic producers, and then moved into trade liberalization from 1860s to 1914, but with WWI breakout, international trad relations were in crisis and closure and then Great Depression hit, US moved towards freer trade in the 1930s after a long history of protectionism (US generally protects the steel industry more than other industries). Tariffs decrease dramatically after WWII for developed countries. Previously, producers with intense interests and institutions that magnified their influence led to high tariffs. GATT/WTO transforms trade policy-making in nearly all member countries.
Bretton Woods Monetary System
Monetary system negotiated in 1944 that lasted until the 1970s based on a fixed exchange rate and gold standard for the US, and on a "fixed but adjustable rate" for other currencies that were on the dollar standard. This is an adjustable peg that required that governments keep currency values fixed for a relatively long period but permitted them to alter currency rates if needed.
The Gold Standard
Monetary system that prevailed between 1870 and 1914, in which countries tied their currencies to gold at a legally fixed price. This made the dollar interchangeable with any other currency on the gold standard, making most of the world share a currency.
Regional monetary arrangements
Most EU countries trade and invest with each other, making them want to limit exchange rate fluctuations starting in 1973, leading them to work toward creating a stable currency (fixing EU rates essentially meant tying to the German currency bc biggest economy and committed to keeping its currency stable). To adjust, some countries needed to implement austerity measures (cutting wages, higher taxes), and difficulties came when Germany needed to adjust its currency domestically. The whole currency bloc needed to make a choice between raising interest rates and going into recession or keep interest rates low and force them to leave the peg this led to crisis because countries broke peg to Deutschmark. This led the Eurozone to be formed, as this type of crisis could be somewhat avoided with a common currency - in 2002 the euro became Europe's circulating currency. As of 2018, 19 of 27 EU countries share the Euro (UK was never a eurozone member because wary of not having agency to save itself from recession through adjusting rate, but is closely fixed to the euro). Other regional currencies in 14 central and West African countries, 8 carribean islands.
Marial Boatlift
Natural experiment to figure out what happens with immigration in terms of wages in the receiving country. When Castro opens emigration, 125,000 Cubans leave and most go to Miami - a 20% increase in the low skill workforce in Miami followed. The results show that wages increased or were unaffected for everyone with at least a high school education, and wages were probably unaffected for those without a high school degree.
Procedural norms
Norms that define how decisions involving multiple actors should be made - they are analogous to secondary rules in international law. While these norms are more robust on the domestic level, as internationally these norms give more powerful states a larger voice in diplomacy despite the principle of sovereignty.
Constitutive norms
Norms that define who is legitimate actor in situations. For example, there is no law for states needing flags to be recognized, but these norms informally define what a state is.
regulative norms
Norms that govern the behavior of actors in their interactions with other actors - the nuclear taboo is an example, as countries that have them do not use them against countries that do not have them, making it clear that retaliation alone cannot explain why states do no use them.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
One of the two ways capital can be invested in foreign lands - these investments are made by a company that owns and manages facilities in another country; for example, a Toyota truck factory in Thailand is an FDI - different from foreign portfolio investment because the investor maintains managerial control and bears risk of the investment. This is controversial because it can impose real costs on both parties, the corporation and the foreign government, because there is a conflict of interest in the distribution of the profits. Domestically, FDI is controversial because flows in factors of production substitute for trade in goods
Portfolio investment
One of the two ways capital can be invested in foreign lands. This investment comes in the form of bonds, liquid investments, and company stocks that give the investor a claim on some income but no role in managing the investment (ex loans, shares of stock). A substantial portion of the portfolio investment that goes to developing countries is sovereign lending - loans from private financial institutions to sovereign governments (if government provides a guarantee for loans made to private firms in foreign countries, these too can be sovereign loans).
The international Criminal Court (ICC)
One of three ongoing innovations for the future of the international human rights regime. It was established in 1988 as the court of last resort for human rights cases that has jurisdiction only if the accused is a national of a state party, if the crime took place on the territory of a state party, or the UNSC has referred the case to the prosecutor. The ICC can act only when a state cannot or will not act itself. Research suggests that the ICC can deter at least the most egregious human rights violations in some circumstances, specifically reducing state sponsored violence and rebel group abuses. Yet, others find that involvement by the ICC in a conflict prolongs the strife and killings, as the risk that the leader who loses the conflict will face arrest and prosecution by the court incentivizes them to fight on. Critics have also found that all the cases have been from Africa, yet severe violations occur elsewhere; this may suggest that the court only prosecutes cases where the major states do not have significant interests. The US is also highly critical of the court, as there is a fear of frivolous and politically motivated prosecutions of American military personnel. Critics fear that the ICC has been delegated too much power to interpret imprecise laws, leading to a possibility of the ICC creating new law. Lastly, Article 98 of the ICC exempts a country from handing over a foreign national if it is prohibited by bilateral agreement with the national's country of origin. Under Bush, over 100 countries have signed these agreements with the US under threat of losing American economic/political support.
In capital scarce host countries (receiving), does capital favor or oppose FDI? And labor (the abundant factor)?
Opposes and favors, respectively.
Internally displaced person (IDP)
Person forced to leave their home due to conflict, but who has not crossed an international border.
Asylum seeker
Person seeking international protection but whose refugee status is yet to be determined.
Factor endowments affect on development (Engerman and Sokoloff)
Plantations and labor intensive mining history in Central America has led to a lower level of development overall than the small scale farming history of North America did.
Categories of foreign capital investment
Portfolio investment and foreign direct investment
History of refugee and Asylum seeking policies in developed states
Pre WWI they were nonexistent, interwar period there was an increasing recognition of refugees and some cooperation between states, from WWII to 1991 the refugee regime was created as a product of an influx of Eastern bloc refugees who were less likely to spark nativist resistance (wealthy, white, high skill) , and since then there have been increased restrictions on asylum seeking but an increase in resettlement. In Europe and Australia, the Cold War saw more openness to refugees, the 1980s had more restrictions with new ease of travel with Jet Age, and since the 1990s, there has been more and more deterrence.
Bank for International Settlements
Predecessor of the IMF that was established in 1930 to oversee relations between Germany (debtor nation) and its creditors. Its members included the world's principle central banks that attempted to cooperate financially. By the 1940s, there was a common view that some form of international financial institution might be beneficial to the resolution of sovereign debt problems.
What is the redistributive effect of trade protection?
Protecting trade allows industries that are not doing well in the global economy, either because comparatively they are not competitive or do not have an ample factor of production. Protectionism often helps a small group economically at the expense of the larger group because the domestic price of the commodity goes up while allowing the domestic industry of that product to be better off.
immigration policy over time
Really open during the 19th century, did not have restrictions in the US until the 1880s , countries like Canada and Australia paid people to come, and few restrictions in Europe and Japan. The late 19th/early 20th century saw increasing restrictions in New World, Europe, and Japan. The 1920s/1930s saw a closure, with most restrictions were based on national origin/race. The 1950s-1970s saw a moderate opening, with guest worker programs in Europe, and from the 1970s to now have seen an increased closure but policies have become generally more "race neutral" with the end of White Australia, White Canada, White New Zealand policies alongside an increase in point systems, and restrictions.
purpose of international institutions in trade
Represent principle systematic attempts to bring order to contemporary international trade policy, reduce cost of joint decision making and help governments resolve disputes. The WTO, NAFTA, and even bilateral treaties between countries are all examples.
International treaties
Second mechanism for making international law, and they are negotiated and ratified by states after typically originating in conventions that facilitate cooperation. Some agreements are easily reached, such as the first Geneva Convention, and some are more difficult, like UNCLOS. These agreements differ in scope of obligations, precision, and delegation. Once finalized, the agreement must be ratified by each member state in accordance with its domestic constitutional provisions. The member states voluntarily take on the constraints of international law, but is not a violation of sovereignty. Those agreements from international conventions have clear secondary rules.
floating exchange rate
Second type of exchange rate which allows the currency's value to change more or less freely according to market forces or other factors. This is the type of regime in place for the USD, the Japanese yen, and the euro.
How can domestic political institutions affect trade policy?
Smaller groups/sectors often will be better able to organize and get trade barriers in their favor than larger groups (collective action problems). For example, steelworkers benefit at the expense of vast mass of American consumers of goods made with steel. Politicians with local political constituencies tend to be more responsive to local interest groups, while nationally elected politicians have less reason to cater to particularistic concerns (members of Congress traditionally more protectionist, president more free trade leaning). Thus, the House of Representatives, because they are responsible for their small constituencies, are likely to be fiercely protectionist. The US government has compensated those that have lost out from national trade policy in order to avoid changing policy.
Why Do States Sign Human Rights Agreements?
Some newer democracies sign human rights treaties to solidify the new regime and shun their abusive past, inturn making backsliding more costly. More established democracies have less of a tendency to ratify human rights agreements, as they have less need to bind themselves through international agreements and are reluctant to cede authority to treaty to oversee practices. Self interest also motivates states to sign, as they believe they are protecting the global order by standing against human rights abuses (US intervention in Haiti's internal political unrest in 1994 was necessary due to the refugees flooding Florida due to the spillover of their civil conflict). Yet, the trend of established democracies' refusal to sign is seeming to reverse itself, as established democracies are beginning to see the contradiction inherent in advocating for human rights for other countries without committing to upholding them domestically. The US remains a visible outlier in its continued reluctance to accept international human rights accords. Lastly, some states sign human rights treaties due to pressure of linkage from other countries - for example the EU makes prospective members sign treaties before being accepted, which is why Turkey is not in the EU.
Why do states violate human rights?
Some violations result from a lack of state capacity or lack of control over military/police to stop violations. The US at Abu Ghraib is an example of this. In other cases, states violate human rights to defend their national security. For example, suppression of violent uprising, or fear of alliance with foreign government resulted in violations like the Red Scare or Japanese Internment. It can also be a result of an attempt to preserve their own rule. This was the case in Argentina's Dirty War in 1976, which "disappeared" political opponents). Autocracies and unstable democracies more likely to violate human rights than established democracies, where political competition is respected and channeled through regular elections. Torture is highest in multiparty autocracies, and in single party autocracies opponents are suppressed and fewer acts of torture are "necessary."
sovereign lending
Specific type of portfolio investment (investor gets income but no managerial role in the investment) in which loans go from private financial institutions to developing countries. If the domestic government provides a guarantee for loans made to foreign private firms, these can also be sovereign loans (just needs to be between a firm and a foreign government). Historically the most important and most politically conflictual component of international investment has been private lending to foreign governments.
Norms
Standards of behaviors for actors within a given identity; they define what actions are right or appropriate under particular circumstances. They also act as a type of institution that restrain states, and may be codified into law. They shape the behavior of states like international law does, but lacks the secondary rules that gives law its status. There are three broad categories of norms - constitutive, procedural, and regulative. Norms become institutionalized when accepted as morally right and adopted by large proportion of population, but norms may change. Institutionalization typically begins with individuals or groups who want to advance a principle standard of behavior for states/other actors (TANs)
dumping
Strategic trade practice of selling below cost of production to drive out competitors (ex US Canada dispute since the 1980s, US accused Canada of charging their lumber producers artificially low prices to harvest wood, constitutes unfair subsidy to country's exports of soft wood lumber, and Canadians denied the charge).
Section 301 tariffs
Tariffs based off of the intellectual property practices of Chinese firms, allowing the President to unilaterally impose tariffs based off of protecting the US from unfair foreign trade practices. This is based off of Huawei, a Chinese technological firm allegedly in violation of economic sanctions on Iran and have been accused of espionage, intellectual property theft or forced transfer, and benefiting from state subsidies to make them stronger on the global market. The US pushed for tariffs to correct these alleged violations under Section 301.
Neoclassical model of immigration
The "cash rules everything around me" theory of migration that contends that people move to take advantage of economic opportunities elsewhere (based on wages). Empirical evidence for the model shows that low skill immigration has seen large flows from relatively low skill labor abundant states to low skill scarce states, for example Mexico to US flows, Turkey to US flows, Mozambique to South Africa flows, and Bolivia to Brazil flows. It also is supported empirically by European migration to the New World during the 19th and 20th centuries that resulted in increased wages in Europe, lower wages in the New World, and flows ceased when wages equalized. ****Yet, there has been little migration from high skill labor abundant states to high skill labor scarce states - doesn't this contradict the Stopler Samuelson explanation? If so, which is correct?
two ways of predicting trade policy preferences
The Stopler Samuelson approach (Abundant factors of production and producers who use those factors intensively gain from freer trade; scarce factors of production and producers who use those factors intensively lose from freer trade., EX expansion of software industry raises demand for engineers more than it raises demand for unskilled labor.), and the Ricardo Viner approach (emphasizes specific sectors of the economy, such as steel industry or cotton farmers).
International Bill of Rights
The UDHR, ICCPR, and ICESCR collectively. Together, these three agreements form the core of the international human rights regime. While it is an extensive body of international rights law, it is still controversial and has varying degrees of national support for different provisions. As international human rights norms have not yet been internalized, individuals and states still act on human rights and enforce laws when it is in their self interest.
How does the WTO monitor a country's compliance? What is the benefit of monitoring?
The WTO monitors compliance in two ways. One, the members must report actions taken to restrict trade as well as any regional trade agreements they enter (NAFTA). Secondly, countries that believe foreign exporters/importers are not complying with the rules can file a complaint with the WTO (Dispute Settlement Body composed of all member states and a panel of experts - if found guilty they must comply or be subject to sanctions). Monitoring assures all members that their counterparts are being honest and fair in their trade interactions, and are more willing to remain involved and not cheat agreements if they know that other members are being held to the same standards.
international Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
The agreement that details the basic civil and political rights of individuals and nations. This, along with the the ICESCR, codified the UDHR and became half of the International Bill of Rights. The ICCPR defines in more precise terms the political and civil rights claimed in the UDHR, affirming the right to life, liberty, and freedom of movement, presumption of innocence, and forbids torture, slavery, and arbitrary arrest.
International Covenant of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
The agreement that reiterates and affirms the economic, social, cultural rights of individuals and nations, including the right to earn a living wage, equal pay, and prohibition of child labor. All countries that signed have to submit reports on progress, and this, along with the ICCPR, codified the UDHR and became half of the International Bill of Rights.
Bracero Program case study
The agricultural guest worker program with Mexico from 1942-1964 was primary for farmers in the South and Southwest during WWII when there were massive labor shortages. The traditionally understood reason the program ended is that the civil rights movements and labor abuses caused its downfall, but the development of the cotton harvester after WWII that came into use in the 1950s and 1960s meant that farmers no longer needed many workers. This shows that, as Peters contends, changes in the domestic political context in which policy is made are huge determinants of resulting immigration policy.
Obligation
The degree agents are legally bound by international law; high obligation agreements must be respected even if it contradicts domestic law, and require reparations to the injured party if breached. Even high obligation law also may have escape/contingency clauses, like the Framework Convention of Climate Change. Low obligation agreements are merely aspirational, such as early human rights law.
Precision
The degree to which international legal obligations are fully specified - more precise rules narrow the scope for reasonable interpretation. This dimension is also used as a tool by states to retain control over international law. Less precise law reflects continuing disagreement between states over the terms while ensuring that bargaining will not come to a close and that states will continue to negotiate.
Two principle mechanisms for making international law
The first mechanism is custom, or accepted practice, which is carried out by states on the basis of a subjective belief that an action is a legal obligation. The second mechanism for creating international law is international treaties, which are negotiated and ratified by states.
What are the two sources of threat to immigration?
The first source is cultural, as there is evidence of high prevalence and magnitude of ethnocentrism, xenophobia, and belief that immigrants threaten national identity. Secondly, there is an economic source of threat; there is weak evidence that people are opposed to immigration mainly due to labor market competition (low in prevalence, high in magnitude - the tech industry is most heavily impacted by immigrants and are not more opposed to immigration. There is mixed evidence that people are opposed to immigration because of the potential fiscal impact of immigrants who may benefit from public goods like healthcare.
central bank
The institution that regulates monetary conditions in an economy, typically by affecting interest rates and the quantity of money in circulation. If the central bank wants to restrain the economy, typically because prices are rising and there is concern about inflation, it raises interest rates; this makes it harder to borrow and restrains demand. The Federal Reserve is the US central bank.
World Trade Organization (WTO)
The most important international trade institution, established in 1995 as the successor of GATT. the WTO is a more structured, formal, more encompassing version of GATT with the same goal of economic liberalization. It has been enormously successful in reducing barriers between member countries, both GATT and WTO arranged series of "rounds" during which member states negotiate reductions in trade barriers under loose rule of reciprocity, all have equal vote but talks are dominated by largest trading states (US, the EU, and Japan) - they have agenda setting powers and outside options (developing countries have more trouble getting what they want). The conflict at the Doha round in 2001 showed the conflict between developing members and the rich countries that controlled the WTO - developing members accused the rich world of ignoring their concerns, as their principle demand of liberalizing agricultural trade went ignored and blocked by farmers in powerful countries. The WTO monitors compliance by making members report actions taken to restrict trade as well as any regional trade agreements they enter (NAFTA), as well as allowing countries to file complaints against other actors when they believe a violation is occurring, and the Dispute Settlement Body composed of all member states and a panel of experts decides on whether they are guilty or not. If found guilty they must comply or be subject to sanctions. President Trump's administration's criticism of the WTO has led to fear about the future of the WTO, as America's role changing would threaten the whole system. The WTO has 164 members (22 countries are negotiating in) Decisions are made by the entire membership, typically by consensus (majority vote is also possible) The WTO's agreements are ratified in state parliaments.
international migration
The movement of people across international borders to work, to settle, to join their family, to flee persecution/ poor economic circumstances/ environmental degradation/ natural disasters.
migration
The movement of people from one place to another
Two ways to get refugee status
The person may be resettled, in which they have fled their country and probably live in a refugee camp and register with the UNHCR, who then works with governments to resettle refugees. Resettlement is essentially a lottery, especially as compared to past years in US, as there were 25 million refugees and the US accepted 0 in 2019 and have agreed to take only 18,000 in 2020.The alternative way to get status is by applying for asylum; the applicant must be present at the border or in the state they want to gain refugee status in, have their claim adjudicated while they may wait in detention, may be able to resume work, or gain access to social welfare benefits. If their claim is successful, they get refugee or another status, and if not they are deported. This is extremely difficult, as there are a backlog of cases, and applicants have to prove persecution in a situation where many of them fled without documents or the government is withholding documentation. Therefore, this system relies on testimony from survivors and demands unrealistic consistency in their accounts.
exchange rate
The price at which one currency is exchanged for another. These can be either fixed, meaning the rate does not change, or floating, meaning they change as the global markets change. The currency itself appreciates or depreciates. For example, when the dollar goes up in value against another currency, it appreciates, and when the dollar decreases in value it depreciates.
RTAs with Human Rights provisions
The proliferation of RTAs with human rights provisions is one of four optimistic innovations for human rights. Nearly all RTAs contain human rights provisions, and this is so promising because almost every country is in one RTA. These are effective because they link a country's compliance with human rights to the material benefits of market access. Unlike human rights agreements in general, and even soft RTAs, these hard provisions have a significant, if small, effect on the level and extent of human rights violations.
concessional finance
The smaller, less controversial part of international finance - this is money lent to developing countries by government agencies and IGOs. Rich countries lend to poor countries at below market interest rates, and this is different because it is typically lent at interest rates well below those available in the marketplace (World Bank loans at no interest at all). These loans are more a form of aid than they are investments. Many of the countries thar borrow these funds wouldn't be able to borrow from private creditors because they are unwilling to take the risk of defaulting, so most countries in Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia borrow from North American, European, or Japanese governments, or from institutions like the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank. Much government to government concessionary debt has been cancelled, and the World Bank and IMF are writing off debt of the most heavily indebted countries. Debt forgiveness has been called for on behalf of the poorest countries, but would come at the expense of the rich nations' taxpayers.
"Hidden Bias"
The theory that skills preferences of immigrants is moderated by racial prejudice, as the skills premium has shown to be less necessary for a Canadian immigrant than for a Hispanic immigrant.
New Economics of Migration
Theory that migrants still like making money, but they have goals more oriented towards the family unit when deciding to migrate. The key is risk and diversification, and crop insurance, futures market, unemployment insurance, and capital markets that allow migrants to invest in school and business. Relative deprivation is part of this theory. The data shows increased remittance during times of bad harvest or economic crisis; these remittances were spent on capital improvements, like increasing farm land, increasing inputs on farms, small busineses, and human capital in education and healthcare.
The "Hidden Consensus"
There is consistent evidence that high skilled immigrants are preferred by both Democrats and Republicans, and this evidence has been used to support the argument that people are making economic determinations about the net benefits of their entry vis a vis low skill immigrants. If true, from a public policy perspective, these findings suggest that the U.S. could easily transition to a Canadian or Australian-style immigration system based on skill and economic need, as recently suggested by President Trump.
Enforcement provisions in international law
These vary widely, with 40% economic and human rights laws including noncompliance punishment, whereas less than 10% of environmental law includes these provisions.
institutions in international finance
They play an important role in debtor-creditor interactions, as they encourage cooperation and fill in gaps in information on both sides. The Bank for International Settlements was established in 1930 to oversee relations between Germany (debtor) and its creditors. This was succeeded by the IMF, which was established at Bretton Woods, and now oversees international financial affairs (mostly concerned with financial crises in developing nations). The World Bank and NGOs also contribute to international finance through concessionary loans. Much government to government concessionary debt has been cancelled, and the World Bank and IMF are writing off debt of the most heavily indebted countries.
firm based trade theory
Third (more obscure) explanation for trade policy preferences that rests on the fact that few companies run international trade - most productive firms in the exporting industry are likely to support trade liberalization (General Motors, Walmart, General Electric, Google).
Explain
This graph represents welfare in autarky. Where the supply and demand meet is the equilibrium price, the price and quantity at which both producers and consumers can participate. Say Q is 4,000 hats and P is $35. The consumer surplus is the idea that a consumer is willing to buy a hat for $40 but bought it for $35 (the equilibrium price). The producers that are willing to sell hats for $20 but instead sell them for $35 have a producer surplus.
regional trade agreements (RTAs)
Trade institutions between individual countries in a region that may have formed in reaction to concern about the organization and process of the WTO. They have increased in the last 20 years, and the most prominent three are the EU (started as 6 countries in a customs union now 28 nations), NAFTA (US, Canada, and Mexico) and Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay), many are bilateral, others have dozens of countries. Some people see these institutions as a deterrent of trade with nonmembers.
Prisoner's Dilemma in trade
Two countries both have incentives to cheat by protecting their markets (closed markets/high tariffs), as they can protect various interests, domestic groups, and have optimal tariffs while benefiting from the other country's open market. For example, between the US and China, both of their best options are to cheat while the other opens their market. This has created a tit-for-tat norm between the US and China in the form of tariffs against each other (Section 301 tariffs and Steel and aluminum tariffs)
Customary international law
Type of international law that usually develops slowly, over time, as states recognize practices as appropriate and correct. State practice + opinio juris = customary international law. The law of diplomatic immunity is a classic example, as the practice became law by custom because it was in the interests of home and host countries. It was codified into law at the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Freedom of the seas was also an accepted customary international law long before it was codified at UNCLOS. Lastly, crimes against humanity also developed as customary law and was codified in the ICC in 2002. Secondary rules for customary law, however, remains vague, as it is unclear how many countries must recognize a practice as legitimate and the amount of time it must be in practice before being codified - this is the reason most customary law is being codified into international agreements.
Steel and Aluminum tariffs
Under the Trump administration, there is a 25% tariff on 80% of steel imports, a 10% tariff on 95% of aluminum imports in order to protect the steel and aluminum industries, even though it hurts consumers of steel products. Some states were given the opportunity to prove that they were not a national security threat (because Trump used national security as a reasoning for enacting the tariffs) through the implementation of new trade deals (e.g. NAFTA or voluntary export restraints (for the EU although it does not work like this) Canada, Mexico, and EU then did face these tariffs). American American Steel Workers came out against the tariffs (also Canadian repped), prices went up.
explain
Welfare effect with free trade. Pw represents the world price of hats, which is lower than the domestic price for hats, Qs is the quantity that the domestic supplier is making at the higher price, and the QD is the quantity that the consumers want at the lower price. The producer surplus is lower because the world price is lower (so, if the Pw is $20, all the producers that need to sell hats for more than $20 to profit are losing out. A represents the amount that the consumer gains from free trade. B represents the shortage - the result is dead weight loss, and is fulfilled with imports (the quantity demanded versus the domestic quantity supplied). A and B combined is the increase in consumer surplus due to imports, and simultaneously represents the loss in domestic producer surplus due to free trade. This area means that those that were willing to buy hats at $45 (P) but bought it for $20 at the world price were winning.
depreciate/devalue
When a currency decreases in value compares to other currencies. This makes domestic producers more competitive on the world market, and consumers have to pay more for foreign goods. For example, an American in an Italian hotel in March 2017 would have paid $105 a night for a room (charge 100 euros a night, and 1 euro was $1.05, but when value of dollar depreciates, had to pay $124 a night because 1 euro now = $1.24) - same occurs when goods are bought and sold across borders (£100 italian shoes = $105 in USA plus shipping costs, more expensive ($124) as USD depreciates.
appreciates
When a currency increases in value relative to other currencies. When a currency appreciates, it helps domestic consumers participate on the global market because foreign currencies are worth less in value than before the host value appreciated. It also makes domestic products more expensive on a global market, hurting domestic producers. For example, if a pair of Italian shoes was £100, and $1= £1, they would have had to pay $100, but if the dollar appreciated and $1= £2, they would pay $50 for the shoes. Higher interest rates in the US increase the demand for the USD and lead to appreciation, because higher incentive for investors to invest because larger pay off. Anything that makes a country's goods/services more attractive to foreigners will increase demand for that country's currency and lead to its appreciation.
Three conditions under which states take action on human rights
When faced with domestic pressure to do something to stop human rights abuses, and the more extreme violations lead to more insistent demands; they also to intervene when subject to pressure from TANS' boomerang effect and increased information about violations from TANs like Amnesty International are given to the public . When acting against violations serves larger geopolitical interests. For example, the Helsinki Accords against the USSR and the Iraq War. When the gap between principle of sovereignty and international human rights law can be bridged. For example, Apartheid intervention was also categorized as an anti-colonial struggle and thus fell under the right to self determination in the ICCPR and ICESCR.
compliance with international law
While international law is generally followed, and enforcement provisions may incentivize compliance, the enforcement ultimately depends on national self help, which limits the effectiveness. For example, the WTO cannot punish violators itself, nor can it mandate other states punish violators. Rather, each victimized country must decide whether it wants to seek and carry out retribution for violation. Reciprocity increases compliance, as violations can be retaliated against in the future (ex. Treatment of POWs), and domestic courts also increase compliance when they enforce international law. States comply when the gains from cooperation are greater over the long run than the benefits of defecting in the short run. Lastly, compliance constituencies within states have interests in ensuring their governments follow the rules, like export industries' interest in compliance with WTO rules.
Which of the following is an example of FDI? a) Firestone (a U.S. tire manufacturer) builds a plant in Liberia. b) An American buys stock in BMW (a German auto maker). c) A German citizen buys bonds in India. d) Venezuela defaults on a loan.
a) Firestone (a U.S. tire manufacturer) builds a plant in Liberia.
The trade protection that the United States steel industry receives has which of the following effects? a) It raises the cost of steel for American consumers. b) It lowers the profits of American steel companies. c) It lowers the prices of products made with steel, such as cars and appliances. d) It increases the sales of foreign steel products in the United States.
a) It raises the cost of steel for American consumers.
Which of the following U.S. tariffs are NOT currently in effect? a) Section 301 tariffs on some China goods. b) Tariffs on all foreign products. c) Tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. d) Both (a) and (c).
b) Tariffs on all foreign products.
A bilateral investment treaty: a) guarantees investment between two countries. b) affords protections to investors between two countries. c) prevents investment between two countries. d) limits immigration between two countries to encourage international capital movements.
b) affords protections to investors between two countries.
Which of the following is sovereign lending? a) A government lending money to a private firm. b) A private firm lending money to another private firm. c) A private firm lending money to a government. d) Britain's Queen Elizabeth lending money to Donald J. Trump
c) A private firm lending money to a government.
International institutions can: a) Establish shared rules and expectations. b) Reinforce power relations and potentially produce bias. c) Force non-signatories to abide by their rules using an international police force. d) Both (a) and (b).
d) Both (a) and (b).
Heckscher-Ohlin Theory
describes the basic economic characteristics of a country in terms of material and human resources it possesses, and theorizes that a country will export goods that make intensive use of the factors of production in which it is well endowed (ex labor rich countries will export goods that make intensive use of labor) and import those that make intensive use of the country's scarce resources. The factors of production they describe are land for agricultural production, labor (generally unskilled), capital for investment (refers to machinery and equipment with which goods are produced and to the financial assets necessary to employ this machinery and equipment), and human capital (skilled labor). Poor agricultural nations tend to import their farm machinery from capital rich industrialized nations, China and India export their labor intensive manufactures to North America and Western Europe, importing capital intensive goods (and machinery) needed to operate domestic factories. For example, China is well endowed with labor so they export toys, clothes etc, and Indonesia's primary exports are textiles and clothing. The desire for name brands contradicts this theory, as North America both imports cars from Europe and exports cars to Europe, reflective of European consumer interest in American car branch and American consumer interests in European car brands. This argument also overlooks the strong trade relations countries with the same/similar currencies or geographically close countries may have despite their abundant factor of production. The US today is relatively abundant in capital and human capital, intermediate in land, and relatively scarce in unskilled labor.
Stopler-Samuelson Theorem
explanation for who will support/oppose protection - predicts that trade protection benefits the scarce factor of production (counterpart to the argument that more trade helps the abundant factor) - reducing trade in a labor rich country harms labor and helps the scarce factor. Owners of the scarce factor of production to be pro-protection and the owners of the abundant factor of production to be anti-protection/pro free trade - actors attitudes are not fixed, but depend on country's resources of land, labor, capital, and human capital (skills). For EX, Bangladesh (labor rich and capital scarce) mainly uses labor to export clothing and leather goods and imports capital intensive products like machinery - trade barriers making capital intensive goods more expensive to import, and domestically producing machinery takes away from the labor-intensive sector, raising demand for capital and reducing demand for labor, helping owners of capital and hurts workers (investors will support protection and workers will oppose it). In the US (labor scarce and capital rich) imports labor intensive goods like clothing and exports capital intensive goods like airplanes; protection raises the price of labor intensive imports, boosting the wages of unskilled workers.
bargaining in the international monetary regime
has to provide predictability in currency values (if unpredictable, international economy wouldn't work well) - common regime internationally is a Pareto improvement (public good), but not automatic or easy because of conflicting interests. This often leads actors into a Prisoner's Dilemma, as they have reason to want to cheat and adjust favorably to other nation's exchange rates, whereas they also want others to cooperate.
trade barriers
impediments to the import of foreign goods - the most common being a tariff (tax on imports levied at the border and paid by the importer, raises the price of the import directly so a consumer of an imported good has to pay more for it), and another common form of trade barrier being a quantitative restriction or quota, which limits the quantity of a foreign good that can be sold domestically (reduced quantity leads to inflated prices of that good). there are also nontariff barriers to trade such as regulations targeted at foreign goods or requirements that governments purchase from national producers - still shelters domestic producers from foreign competition (european regulations on GMOs, one of most famous between US and Mexico on yellowfin tuna because catching dolphins). Protected domestic industries benefit from trade barriers and are the winners, whereas consumers of the imported good (ex car industry losing in the steel trade barrier), exporters (US farmers oppose barriers to Chinese goods to avoid Chinese retaliation against billions of dollars of American farm goods that China imports), and citizens (1980s societies blamed stagnation of economic on their government's trade controls) lose.
transitional justice
in the 1980s, the emphasis shifted from criminal prosecution of individuals who violated human rights law to noncriminal and nonjudicial forms of reconciliation. This includes reparations, memorials, institutional reforms, and lustration (policy of limiting members of previous regime from participating in government). The most difficult part is amnesty in exchange for confession, as it conflicts with the prosecutorial process of crimes against humanity under international law. The most successful conditional amnesty granting followed the end of apartheid, and was common in Latin America's democratic transition in the 1980s. There is still an underlying tension between international human rights law and the desire of countries to move beyond their pasts through transitional justice. This is one of the four ongoing innovations in international human rights institutions that may have important implications for the future.
Prisoners of conscience (POCs)
individuals imprisoned for peaceful expression of their beliefs, as defined by Amnesty international. The focus of Amnesty International is shared by many human rights organizations, and their focus on a narrow scope of rights and publicization of violations have allowed them to influence notions of what human rights are.
How can international trade overcome problems of strategic interaction?
international institutions facilitate free trade by changing the structure of domestic interests, solving coordination problems, and enforcing a standard of behavior. They help overcome the variety of collective action and other strategic problems that hinder international trade relations (WTO to NAFTA, to bilateral treaties between countries) as they promote transparency, and transparency leads to trade cooperation (information, iteration, linkage all explain why countries are more likely to have friendly, collaborative trade relations in some circumstances and not others). Linkage, iteration, and information are brought on by international trade, which is facilitated by international institutions, and those factors help overcome tit for tat strategic interactions. Also, trade agreements between smaller groups of actors make monitoring and enforcing agreements much easier, and deter problems of strategic interaction. The US and Canada are a good example of having international trade disputes, but because they are so linked and have iterated interactions, they negotiated settlements and resolved their dispute.
The Ricardo Viner (Specific Factors) Approach
predicting trade policy preferences that focuses on why whole industries often act together - the key feature that differentiates it from the Stolper Samuelson approach is that some factors of production are tied to a specific industry, so the relevant actors are not classes but industrial sectors. EX capital in the steel industry takes the form of steel factories and machinery, and the manufacturers don't care about the profits of capital in general but rather about the profits available only in steel (interests of individuals comes from the sector of the economy in which they are employed) - a worker/manager in an industry that faces stiff import competition will be protectionist, whereas someone in an export industry will want free trade (economic sectors over factors).
nontariff barriers to trade
regulations targeted at foreign goods or requirements that governments purchase from national producers - still shelters domestic producers from foreign competition. This can be a quota, or can be regulations that favor domestic over imported products, or other measures that discriminate against foreign goods/services. EX "Buy American" laws that govern what state/local governments can buy, european regulations on GMOs, one of most famous between US and Mexico on yellowfin tuna because catching dolphins).
Human rights
rights that all individuals possess by virtue of being human, regardless of status as citizens of particular states. This dates back to John Locke's natural rights that informed the French and US revolutions; Article 55 (respect for human rights) was the first international step toward regulating how governments treat their citizens, and was added to the UN charter after WWII and the Holocaust.
tariff
tax on imports levied at the border and paid by the importer, which raises the price of the import directly so a consumer of an imported good has to pay more for that specific good. Need EX
The Rohingya Case Study
the UN launched a fact finding mission on Myanmar in 2017, using various kinds of evidence to identify genocide (arial photos). Two P5 members of the UNSC have refused to follow through on the mission's recommendations, and China and Russia are vying for influence in the region (pipeline and railroad project in Myanmar). This makes clear that intervention to protect human rights are not isolated from geopolitical motivations.
absolute advantage
the ability to do something better than other countries (unlike comparative advantage, this is compared to all other economies/actors in the world).
comparative advantage
the core concept of the economics of trade - it applies the principle of specialization to countries, as like people they should do what they do best, and a nation gains the most by specializing in producing and exporting what it produces most efficiently so it can earn as much as possible to pay for imports they need. This led to the conclusion that each country is best off producing what it produces best in return for imports of things it is not good at producing. Any single country is best off specializing in that good it is comparatively best at producing and exchanging for those goods it is comparatively less adept at producing.It does not depend upon absolute productivity but rather on relative productivity (among goods).
protectionism
the use of specific measures to shield domestic producers from imports, has long been one of the most common government trade policies worldwide. EX Protectionism was high in the US during the mercantilist period of the 18th century, in which exports were maximized and imports were minimized. The US moved towards freer trade in the 1930s after a long history of protectionism (US generally protects the steel industry more than other industries). Smaller groups/sectors often will be better able to organize and get trade barriers in their favor over larger groups due to collective action problems (EX steelworkers benefit at the expense of vast mass of American consumers of goods made with steel).