Research Handbook on Sovereign Wealth Funds and International Investment Law

Research Handbook on Sovereign Wealth Funds and International Investment Law
Author: Fabio Bassan
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 453
Release: 2015-06-29
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1781955204

Research on the role of sovereign investments in a time of crisis is still unsatisfactory. This Research Handbook illustrates the state of the art of the legal investigation on sovereign investments, filling necessary gaps in previous research. Current

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia
Author: International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 48
Release: 2012-09-18
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1475510632

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter and has employed its spare capacity to help stabilize the global oil market, providing important support to the global economy. The associated increase in oil revenues has resulted in sharply higher fiscal and current account surpluses and provided room to accelerate initiatives to address pressing social issues, including a shortage of affordable housing and unemployment. Spillovers from higher growth and fiscal spending, together with increased financial assistance, have positively impacted the region.

New Global Economic Architecture

New Global Economic Architecture
Author: Masahiro Kawai
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 275
Release: 2014-11-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1783472200

Policymakers, academics, think tanks and practitioners will benefit from the international perspective of the book, particularly those interested in the influential Asian architecture. This book is also a useful reference tool for students of macroecon

Achieving Effective Social Protection for All in Latin America and the Caribbean

Achieving Effective Social Protection for All in Latin America and the Caribbean
Author: Helena Ribe
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 140
Release: 2010-06-22
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 082138399X

This study highlights the interaction between social protection programs and labor markets in the Latin America region. It presents new evidence on the limited coverage of existing programs and emphasizes the challenges caused by high informality for achieving universal social protection for old age income, for health, for unemployment risks and for anti poverty safety nets. It identifies interaction effects between SP programs and the behavioral responses of workers, firms and social protection providers, which can further undermine efforts to expand coverage, summarizing evidence from recent work across the region. It argues for a re-design of financing to eliminate cross subsidies between members of contributory programs and subsidies that effectively tax income from formal employment. Instead, it advocates well-targeted, tax-funded tapered subsidies to provide incentives to the savings efforts of low income workers, coupled with an effective safety net for the extreme poor who have no capacity to contribute to financing their own social protection arrangements. It also argues for the consolidation of programs and harmonization of benefits packages across different insurers. The book develops an overall conceptual framework and presents in-depth analysis of the main SP sectors of pensions, health, unemployment insurance and safety net transfers.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia
Author: International Monetary Fund
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 46
Release: 2011-09-21
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1463904274

Over the last few decades, the economy of Saudi Arabia has strengthened, as oil prices increased with the rebound in global economic activity. Despite this, vulnerabilities to a sustained decline in the oil price have increased. Executive Directors have commended the authorities for their continued stabilizing role in the oil markets. They have encouraged in creating more job opportunities for nationals and improving access to housing finance. They have encouraged the central bank to continue in strengthening the regulatory and supervisory framework.

Republic of Azerbaijan

Republic of Azerbaijan
Author: International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 83
Release: 2016-09-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1475536496

This 2016 Article IV Consultation highlights that the economic performance in Azerbaijan has been impaired by a number of negative shocks. Lower oil prices, weak regional growth, currency devaluations in its main trading partners, and a contraction in hydrocarbon production rapidly erased the large current account surplus the country enjoyed during the oil boom years. Near-term economic prospects remain weak. Under current policies, growth is expected to contract in 2016 and remain sluggish in the next few years, while inflation is expected to gradually decrease. The current account balance should improve as the devaluations work to limit imports and support nontraditional exports.

Citizens' Wealth

Citizens' Wealth
Author: Angela Cummine
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2016-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 030021894X

A wide-ranging analysis of a powerful but controversial new economic tool that has rapidly eclipsed the size of the hedge fund market In 2006, Chile teemed with protesters after finance minister Andrés Velasco invested budget surpluses from the nation's historic copper boom in two Sovereign Wealth Funds. A year later, when prices plummeted and unemployment soared, Chile's government was able to stimulate recovery by drawing on the funds. State-owned investment vehicles that hold public funds in a wide range of assets, Sovereign Wealth Funds enable governments to access an unprecedented degree of wealth. Consequently, more countries are seeking to establish them. Looking at Chile, China, Australia, Singapore, and numerous other examples, including a comparative analysis of Britain and Norway's use of oil revenues, Angela Cummine tackles the key ethical questions surrounding their use, including: To whom does the wealth belong? How should the funds be managed, invested, and distributed? With sovereign funds--and media attention--continuing to grow, this is an invaluable look at a hotly debated economic issue.

Strategic Investment Funds

Strategic Investment Funds
Author: Shanthi Divakaran
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2022-06-20
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1464818703

Strategic investment funds (SIFs) have gained prominence over the past two decades as governments and other public sponsors globally have increasingly co-opted the investment fund model to further policy objectives. Since 2000, more than 30 SIFs have been formed at the national level, typically to boost economic growth through infrastructure or small and medium enterprise investment. In the current COVID-19 pandemic environment, governments have frequently turned to sovereign investment vehicles to address the economic effects of the pandemic, echoing the emergence of new SIFs in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. However, SIFs are not devoid of challenges, and the setup and operation of such funds can be fraught with risks, particularly in contexts of weaker governance, inadequate rule of law, and limited financial market regulation. The intent of 'Strategic Investment Funds: Establishment and Operations' is to provide guidance to practitioners and policy makers considering a SIF model where little widely available, practice-based experience has been documented and disseminated. The book provides a reference for policy makers who are creating or strengthening the operations of SIFs, particularly as governments examine the value of such funds as a policy instrument in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Higher Education in Latin America

Higher Education in Latin America
Author: World Bank
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 420
Release: 2005
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780821362099

Based on studies of higher education in seven countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, and Peru), the volume identifies opportunities for raising Latin America's profile on the global stage"--Jacket.

Political Handbook of the World 2022-2023

Political Handbook of the World 2022-2023
Author: Tom Lansford
Publisher: CQ Press
Total Pages: 2257
Release: 2023-04-25
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1071853074

The Political Handbook of the World 2022-2023 provides timely, thorough, and accurate political information, with more in-depth coverage of current political controversies than any other reference guide. The updated 2022-2023 edition continues to be the most authoritative source for finding complete facts and analysis on each country′s governmental and political makeup. Tom Lansford has compiled in one place more than 200 entries on countries and territories throughout the world, this volume is renowned for its extensive coverage of all major and minor political parties and groups in each political system. It also provides names of key ambassadors and international memberships of each country, plus detailed profiles of more than 30 intergovernmental organizations and UN agencies. And this update will aim to include coverage of current events, issues, crises, and controversies from the course of the last two years.