Suchergebnisse

The article focuses on the important role of financial institutions in encouraging social security reform in Latin America. According to the article, financial institutions have had an indirect influence in Latin America, primarily through their support of the diffusion of structural adjustment policies & financial liberalization. References. B. Boyce

Die Verfasser gehen davon aus, dass die tatsächlichen Konsequenzen der globalen Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise lediglich durch die Berücksichtigung der Entwicklungen in den Schwellen- und Entwicklungsländern erfasst werden können. Dabei handelt es sich einerseits um die Verstärkung von Verarmungstendenzen in allen Weltregionen. Andererseits hat die Krise den Glauben an die Weltgesellschaft und an die 'Rettungs-Rezepte' der neoliberalen Ideologie stark beeinträchtigt. Vor diesem Hintergrund werden die Ursachen der Krise und ihre Dynamik analysiert. Dabei werden anhand von Daten der Weltbank die Verluste der einzelnen Weltregionen verdeutlicht. Anschließend werden Fehlentscheidungen internationaler Organisationen sowie die Folgen der Globalisierung kritisch untersucht. Auf dieser Grundlage werden relevante Empfehlungen hinsichtlich der Politik internationaler Institutionen abgeleitet. Zum Schluss werden die Beiträge des Sammelbandes präsentiert. (ICB)

Uses ethnographic data from Washington, DC, to illustrate how impoverished neighborhoods are becoming the new debt frontier. Mainstream banks have withdrawn traditional services &, with other financial institutions in conjunction with the decisionmakers in the poor communities, have made major investments in inner-city check-cashing stores, pawnshops, & high-interest credit card loans. Such exploitative credit practices have entrapped poor residents, who are, paradoxically, encouraged to embrace entrepreneurial activities that would lead them out of poverty. Case studies show the tragic effects of the resulting indebtedness & illustrate the inhumanity involved in such financial profiteering. L. A. Hoffman

The international diffusion of policy ideas & practices is a subject on growing interest, raising such questions as: Why are there increasingly such waves of policy innovation? What prompts one country to emulate another's changes? Is it the influence of powerful international actors like the World Bank? Is it the motivations & interests of domestic actors? And how freely do imitators adapt foreign models to the needs & characteristics of their own countries, rather than simply replicating them? Essays by leading academic experts & by policy practitioners with academic backgrounds address these important questions in this collection. Two chapters examine the influence of the international financial institutions. Then experts from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, & Mexico discuss how foreign models influenced their own decision making in crucial areas of social policy such as pensions, unemployment insurance, & health care. B. Boyce

Examines the origins & current characteristics of the antigovernment Patriot movement, seen as the greatest current domestic terrorist threat in the US, which draws together previously autonomous groups with loosely related social & political ideologies. The evolution of resistance to federal authority & antigovernment ideologies is traced, focusing on influential groups like the Ku Klux Klan & Silver Shirts & galvanizing events like the Ruby Ridge (ID) incident. The ideology, strategies, & patterns of criminal activity of the Patriots are analyzed. It is shown how the movement organizes through informal means like the Internet, Patriot publications, expos, & paramilitary training, & uses "leaderless resistance" cells to elude observation & prosecution. It is concluded that Patriot activities will continue targeting media outlets, financial institutions, abortion clinics, gay establishments, & civil rights groups, selected from a growing list of perceived enemies. T. Arnold

"The author surveys international reactions to the turmoil in Kyrgyzstan in March 2005 and the Andijan massacre in Uzbekistan in May 2005. While she discusses the behaviour of the neighbouring Central Asian states in the first part of the article, in the second part she analyses the responses of China, Russia and the United States, which are competing for influence in Central Asia, especially in the energy sector. In the third part the author examines the development of a post-Soviet multilateralism into a multi-vector one and the co-operation and integration of it into the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Shanghai Co-Operation Organization (SCO) and the OSCE. She also reflects on the mostly Western international organizations such as the European Union (EU) and international financial institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Finally she discusses the reactions of international human rights organizations." (author's abstract)

This chapter focuses on the effects of microlending institutions & microcredit delivery systems on the financial & socioeconomic empowerment of women in Pakistan, looking at how Pakistani women utilize the banking system & their attitudes toward the structure of the system. Of particular interest is the development of new microcredit facilities, their target populations, loan requirements, the financial patronage of these institutions, & how successfully these facilities meet the needs of their clients. The chapter concludes that microfinance services have played a significant role in the socioeconomic empowerment of women in Pakistan. 7 References. K. Larsen

This chapter focuses on the effects of microlending institutions & microcredit delivery systems on the financial & socioeconomic empowerment of women in Pakistan, looking at how Pakistani women utilize the banking system & their attitudes toward the structure of the system. Of particular interest is the development of new microcredit facilities, their target populations, loan requirements, the financial patronage of these institutions, & how successfully these facilities meet the needs of their clients. The chapter concludes that microfinance services have played a significant role in the socioeconomic empowerment of women in Pakistan. 7 References. K. Larsen

Explores the lack of response from the German political system concerning financial policy & its minimal changes in the sectoral governance mechanism despite sweeping changes in the international financial markets during the last quarter of the 20th century. The collapse of the Herstatt Bank in 1974, plus crises in other banks, could have altered the framework of regulation & power between government & the private financial sector, but little was changed other than the creation of the Basle Committee for international cooperation in banking supervision. First explaining the structure of the German banking industry, the historical development of banking supervision, & the supervisory institutions, this article explores the policy episode between 1974 & 1984. It is argued that the amount of self-regulation retained by the private sector has hindered the development of powerful institutions & bureaucracies for international competition & has left the German government uninformed as to the inner working of the financial sector. The emergence of the European Monetary Union, however, may dictate reform to solve deposit insurance problems. L. A. Hoffman

Considers the impact of 1980s-1990s transformations in global financial markets on capitalist diversity. Financial markets are described as a central mechanism through which diverse market processes are brought together in a single web. Currently, financial markets are undergoing a transformation in which they are being integrated at a global level. This process has reduced the ability of national political structures to regulate & stabilize their markets. It has also seriously eroded capitalist diversity. While the proper solution to this situation may be the development of international-level regulatory solutions, these have not been developed because of political difficulties. Better forms of regulation will require a strong international coalition, considerable political & legal autonomy on the part of the negotiators, a narrow technical focus, & that it be enforceable. Without the institution of transnational regulation, it is likely that the transnational financial structure will be run by a private regime located in the financial markets themselves. D. Ryfe

Der Beitrag zur ökonomischen Geschlechterforschung und -theoriebildung beschäftigt sich mit den Auswirkungen der Globalisierung auf die Konstituierung wirtschaftlicher Handlungsräume. Dabei weist die Autorin darauf hin, dass in diesem Prozess bisher die Chance nicht genutzt wurde, die Beteiligung von Frauen an der Wirtschaft anders als mit den üblichen Etiketten von der 'schwachen Frau', die es in der 'harten Wirtschaft' schwer hat, zu denken. Die Erörterung dieser Bestandsaufnahme gliedert sich in drei Schritt: Der erste Schritt beschreibt den Ansatz der geschlechtspezifischen Betrachtung der Ökonomie, der auf der theoretischen Grundannahme beruht, dass Geschlecht in der Ökonomie nicht nur auf der Mikro-/Makroebene konstruiert wird, sondern auf der Handlungs-, der Institutionen- und der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Ebene, z.B. auf der Haushaltsebene als Familienarbeitskraft oder Zweitverdienerin. Der zweite Schritt beleuchtet den Untersuchungsgegenstand der geschlechtsspezifischen Strukturierung ökonomischer Handlungsfelder bei Sektoren, Branchen, Institutionen usw. Der dritte Schritt veranschaulicht abschließend den frauen- und geschlechterforschungsrelevanten Punkt der Translokalität wirtschaftlicher Verbindungen im Zuge des Globalisierungsprozesses. Die Konstitution von sozialen Räumen, ethnoscapes, financial landscapes rückt hier in den Blickpunkt. Viele der globalen ökonomischen Verbindungen sind sozial eingebettet in geschlechtsspezifische Netzwerke, die meist in Verbindung mit transnationaler Migration konstituiert werden. (ICG2)

Der Beitrag zum EU-Verfassungsvertrag und damit zur Ausgestaltung der Europäischen Union befasst sich mit der Rolle der Bürger in dem Staatenverbund. Der Prozess des Meinungsaustausches zwischen den Bürgern und den gewählten Vertretern der Bürger in Parlamenten und Regierungen findet insbesondere in den meinungsbildenden Öffentlichkeiten und durch die Öffentlichkeiten der Institutionen statt. In diesem Zusammenhang wird hier untersucht, ob und in welchem Maß es eine europäische Öffentlichkeit gibt. Dabei wird ein normativer Begriff der Öffentlichkeit zugrunde gelegt und die These erörtert, wonach bei einer Analyse der europäischen Öffentlichkeit sehr viel stärker als bisher das Verhältnis zwischen den meinungsbildenden Öffentlichkeiten und den Öffentlichkeiten der Institutionen berücksichtigt werden muss. Denn die Art und Weise, wie innerhalb der Institutionen mit Öffentlichkeit umgegangen wird, bleibt nicht ohne Folgen für die Art und Weise, wie die Bürger über europäische Fragen debattieren. Im ersten der Teil wird begründet, welche Bedingungen im Bereich der Öffentlichkeit erfüllt sein müssen, damit aus der europäischen Polykratie allmählich eine Demokratie entstehen kann. Im zweiten Teil wird anhand empirischer Befunde beschrieben, wo es schon heute im realen Europa Ansätze für die Erfüllung dieser Bedingungen einer europäischen Öffentlichkeit gibt. Hierzu gehören Zeitungsartikel zur europäischen Verfassungsgebung am Beispiel von FAZ, Le Monde und Financial Times sowie die öffentliche Erörterung bzw. Kritik an der Arbeit des Europäischen Rates. Im abschließenden dritten Teil werden Vorschläge formuliert, die geeignet sein können, die vorhandenen Ansätze einer europäischen Öffentlichkeit auszubauen, und zwar: (1) Schaffung klarer Machtstrukturen und klarer Kompetenzaufteilung in der EU, (2) eine Stärkung der Kompetenzen des direkt gewählten Europäischen Parlamentes, (3) ein größerer Einfluss der nationalen Parlamente auf die Gestaltung europäischer Politik sowie (4) die Erweiterung der repräsentativen Demokratie in der EU durch direktdemokratische Elemente. (ICG2)

The ability of low-income households to acquire financial assets is investigated. A review of relevant literature on low-income households' patterns of wealth accumulation is performed. Several factors that impact low-income households' potential to accrue financial assets are identified: current consumption needs; demographic differences; the absence of institution-based incentives to save financial resources; government policies; & various psychological & sociological models. Data from the 1984-1987 & 1990-1993 Surveys of Income & Program Participation are then used to analyze low-income households' capacity to accumulate assets. Several findings are reported: variations in wealth accumulation were significant across groups with different ages, education levels, & racial backgrounds; the median wealth for Anglo American households' was almost four times higher than that of African American families; approximately 25% of households surveyed had net worths of less than $5,000; almost 20% of American households did not have transaction accounts, including almost half of African American families. It is contended that methods of accumulating assets are different than those used to increase net general worth in low-income households & that this study has significant implications for future policy creation. 17 Tables, 1 Appendix, 42 References. J. W. Parker

The ability of low-income households to acquire financial assets is investigated. A review of relevant literature on low-income households' patterns of wealth accumulation is performed. Several factors that impact low-income households' potential to accrue financial assets are identified: current consumption needs; demographic differences; the absence of institution-based incentives to save financial resources; government policies; & various psychological & sociological models. Data from the 1984-1987 & 1990-1993 Surveys of Income & Program Participation are then used to analyze low-income households' capacity to accumulate assets. Several findings are reported: variations in wealth accumulation were significant across groups with different ages, education levels, & racial backgrounds; the median wealth for Anglo American households' was almost four times higher than that of African American families; approximately 25% of households surveyed had net worths of less than $5,000; almost 20% of American households did not have transaction accounts, including almost half of African American families. It is contended that methods of accumulating assets are different than those used to increase net general worth in low-income households & that this study has significant implications for future policy creation. 17 Tables, 1 Appendix, 42 References. J. W. Parker

"The state of the dysfunctional and de-legitimized institutions of the current European order should be a major concern for the European Union. In the time of rising anxiety and global uncertainty, re-negotiating European order should be a priority of European policy makers. The major policy effect of the current financial crisis is paradoxical: both European policy elites and European publics are disappointed by the EU's performance as a security actor in making, yet nonetheless increasingly expect that the EU will and should play a bigger role in securing Europe." (author's abstract)