China’s foreign direct investments within the ‘16+1’ cooperation formula: strategy, institutions, results. OSW Commentary Number 191|27.11.2015

The ‘16+1’ formula of cooperation between the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and China was launched in 2012. One of its priorities involved increasing the inflow of China’s foreign direct investments (FDI) to the region. China has been interested in carrying out investments which are likely to help Chinese companies gain competitive advantage in areas such as advanced technologies, recognizable brands and distribution channels. The following sectors were identified as areas of priority importance in CEE: construction and modernisation of transport infrastructure, including motorways; development of the network of railways, airports and sea ports; energy, in particular renewable sources of energy and nuclear energy; companies trading in commodities; the food production sector. China’s strategy mainly involves purchasing existing companies, preceded by cherry picking the most favourable candidates for investment, rather than making large greenfield investments.

Institutions and Growth in Europe. CEPS Working Document No. 421, April 2016

This paper provides empirical evidence in support of the view that the quality of institutions is an important determinant of long-term growth of European countries. When also taking into account the initial level of GDP per capita and government debt, cross-country institutional differences can explain to a great extent the relative long-term GDP performance of European countries. It also shows that an initial government debt level above a threshold (e.g. 60-70%) coupled with institutional quality below the EU average tends to be associated with particularly poor long-term real growth performance. Interestingly, the detrimental effect of high debt levels on long-term growth seems cushioned by the presence of very sound institutions. This might be because good institutions help to alleviate the debt problem in various ways, e.g. by ensuring sufficient fiscal consolidation in the longer-run, allowing for better use of government expenditures and promoting sustainable growth, social fairness and more efficient tax administration. The quality of national institutions seems to enhance the long-term GDP performance across a large sample of countries, also including OECD countries outside Europe. The paper offers some evidence that, in the presence of good institutions, conditions for catching-up seem generally good also for euro-area and fixed exchange rate countries. Looking at sub-groupings, it seems that sound institutions may be particularly important for long-term growth in the countries where the exchange rate tool is no longer available (and where also sovereign debt is high), and less so in the countries with flexible exchange rate regimes. However, this result is preliminary and requires further research. The empirical findings on the importance of institutions are robust to various measures of output growth, different measures of institutional indicators, different sample sizes, different country groupings and to the inclusion of additional control variables. Overall, the results tend to support the call for structural reforms in general and reforms enhancing the efficiency of public administration and regulation, the rule of law and the fight against rent-seeking and corruption in particular.

O direito ao próprio direito: modelos latino-americanos de autonomia política indígena

O objetivo deste trabalho é saber se o direito indigenista, como denominarei o direito estatal que diz respeito aos povos indígenas, reconhece a legitimidade do direito indígena, como denominarei o direito produzido pelos povos indígenas, nas experiências colombiana, boliviana e brasileira. A escolha da Bolívia se justifica pelo fato de as Constituições recentes deste país e do Equador serem consideradas um novo marco do constitucionalismo pluralista ao refundarem suas ordens buscando superar a ausência indígena constituinte. Já a Colômbia se destaca entre os países que, sob a influência recente do Convênio 169, incorporaram expressamente o pluralismo jurídico em suas Constituições. A jurisprudência produzida pela Corte Constitucional do país a respeito do direito indígena é considerada exemplar e inspiradora dos desenvolvimentos mais recentes na Bolívia. O trabalho está voltado para dois aspectos do tema: a autonomia jurisdicional, ou a capacidade para julgar conflitos conforme as normas e procedimentos próprios, e os mecanismos de controle de tais decisões. A metodologia do trabalho abrange revisão bibliográfica, seleção e análise documental de decisões judiciais e textos legais. Argumento que a acomodação de autonomias políticas e ordens jurídicas de diferentes culturas depende da criação de meta-instituições e metarregras que solucionem conflitos e promovam a coordenação entre os direitos, permitindo que os grupos se relacionem de maneira equitativa, controlem a dinâmica de suas identidades culturais e se sintam parte de uma mesma comunidade política. A prática das instituições brasileiras, no entanto, está muito mais voltada a aplicar o direito estatal aos índios do que a exercer controle sobre o direito indígena, o que indica que o paradigma da assimilação prevalece sobre eventuais concepções multiculturais de Estado e sociedade, ainda que o direito legislado apresente regras que reconhecem o pluralismo jurídico. Em outras palavras, as instituições estatais enxergam os indígenas como pessoas que percorrem o caminho da incapacidade jurídica à capacidade plena à medida em que se familiarizam com a cultura dominante, e não como pessoas que podem transitar entre diferentes ordens jurídicas. Por outro lado, a experiência recente de países latino-americanos que se abriram ao pluralismo jurídico mostra um caminho difícil e repleto de questões em aberto. As que mais se destacam são a possibilidade de violações de direitos humanos por autoridades indígenas e a tensão entre centralização política e autonomia política. Em relação ao primeiro caso, o aspecto crucial é saber quem deve julgar as violações e sob quais critérios, além de evitar decisões culturalmente enviesadas. Já o segundo caso depende da superação de traços autoritários relacionados ao governo central e da predominância das estruturas estatais já consolidadas, tanto no nível central quanto no nível local, sobre as instituições mantidas pelos povos indígenas. Ainda há um descompasso entre o discurso constitucional de igualdade entre as ordens jurídicas e a prática de subordinação das ordens indígenas às instâncias estatais.

Why Do Some International Institutions Contain Strong Dispute Settlement Provisions: New Evidence from Preferential Trade Agreements

To understand why some international institutions have stronger dispute settlement mechanisms (DSMs) than others, we investigate the dispute settlement provisions of nearly 600 preferential trade agreements (PTAs), which possess several desirable case-selection features and are evoked more than is realized. We broaden the study of dispute settlement design beyond “legalization” and instead reorient theorizing around a multi-faceted conceptualization of the strength of DSMs. We posit that strong DSMs are first and foremost a rational response to features of agreements that require stronger dispute settlement, such as depth and large memberships. Multivariate empirical tests using a new data set on PTA design confirm these expectations and reveal that depth – the amount of policy change specified in an agreement – is the most powerful and consistent predictor of DSM strength, providing empirical support to a long-posited but controversial conjecture. Yet power also plays a sizeable role, since agreements among asymmetric members are more likely to have strong DSMs due to their mutual appeal, as are those involving the United States. Important regional differences also emerge, as PTAs across the Americas are designed with strong dispute settlement, as are Asian PTAs, which contradicts the conventional wisdom about Asian values and legalization. Our findings demonstrate that rationalism explains much of international institutional design, yet it can be enhanced by also incorporating power-based and regional explanations.

The leopard's claw : a thrilling story of love and adventure from a European castle through the West African jungle, disclosing a deep insight into the quality and spiritual influence of African social institutions and conditions, and revealing a profound psyschic [sic] interpretation of African inner life, all clustered about the mysterious function and significance of the leopard's claw /

Mode of access: Internet.

Penetration of the political institutions of Guatemala by the international Communist movement: threat to the peace and security of America and to the sovereignty and political independence of Guatemala.

Mode of access: Internet.

Data pertinent to the establishment of minimum wage rates under the Fair labor standards act for employment newly covered by the amendments of 1966 in educational institutions in Puerto Rico /

"WH67-418."

Credit for marginal groups; a study of the principal private sector credit institutions providing loans to marginal groups in the countries of the Dominican Republic, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, and Guatemala.

"Sponsored by: Pan American Development Foundation, in cooperation with: CUNA International, Inc. [and others]"

Export trading company legislation : hearing before the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions Supervision, Regulation and Insurance of the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, second session, September 30, 1980.

Item 1013

Inter-American Development Bank loans to Guatemala : hearing before the Subcommittee on International Development Institutions and Finance of the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, first session, December 8, 1981.

Item 1013-A, 1013-B (microfiche)