Gov 365N/MES 323K

Questions for Class 23: April 15, 2008

Discussing the monarchies, here is an interesting article, just published, about "A Common European Approach to Sovereign Wealth Funds," i.e. lots of GCC money seeking investments - note that the GCC countries have accumulated some $1.8 trillion in reserves, supplied by those high oil prices since 1999. Today: Gulf SWFs to surge twofold by 2010 But speaking of oil, I also came across this article about Somaliland, a breakway part of anarchic Somalia a little like the Kurds of Iraq, trying now to consolidate their autonomy!

Let me add, as I prepare a presentation on Tunisia's adaptation to the economic challenges of globalization, a brief word about the country's problem of attracting sufficient private investment. In the World Bank's Country Assistance Strategy Progress Report for Tunisia (August 13, 2007), take a look at pages 3 and 4 and the Tunisian government's response at the end of the document, including its failed efforts, pp. 48-49, to censor the World Bank report. The WB says Tunisia is not doing enough political reform, hence the private investment shortfall. The WB thinks political freedom matters in this context, a point we have also been suggesting in class, and that GOT has been dragging its heels. Note also the non-performing loans of its commercial banking system - a situation that is improving very slowly. The World Economic Forum (representing those global capitalists who meet in Davos, Switzerland, every year) paints a slightly rosier picture of Tunisia in its latest Global Competitiveness Report, although its "tech nological readiness" and information infrastructure suffer in part because of the repressive political situation - a fact that WEF may prefer not to discuss as it might hurt business. The WB's "Knowledge for Development" dataset shows Tunisia behind some of the MENA but ahead of its neighbors.

From last class:

  1. What did you think of my Child The Foreigner?
  2. Who wants reform in Saudi Arabia? Compare and contrast Saudi needs with those of the less wealthy MENA countries? Is an entrepreneurial Saudi bourgeoisie ermerging?
  3. Compare and contrast the Saudi system with those of Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Why do you think Kuwait has a more developed parliament, periodic elections, and some ability of the elected deputies to block government initiatives?
  4. Again, from last week, how do the constraints on information and freedom of association in monarchies compare with those exercised in bully or bunker regimes?
  5. And with what impact upon the development of active local stock markets? (See your syllabus, with some graphs of relationships between wealth, economic reform, information, and stock market activity).

 

 P.S. Here is a Moyers video about US farm subsidies - very relevant to issues of free trade and globalization if you have time to look.