|
Welcome
to the new monthly newsletter for journalists about the impact of
subsidies, produced in partnership by IPS
- Inter Press Service and GSI
- Global Subsidies Initiative.
THIS
MONTH'S FOCUS:
INVESTMENT INCENTIVES
|
Investment incentives are those subsidies
designed to affect the location of investments.
They are thus distinguished from production
subsidies, which are not based on investment,
but on normal production. This issue of the
IPS-GSI Subsidy E-newsletter reveals these
are often not transparent, unregulated and
harm the environment. |
|
|
|
ABOUT
THIS NEWSLETTER
Subsidies
—transfers of public money to private interests—
are so common that for the most part they
go unnoticed; they can also be arcane and
complex, posing tremendous challenges for
journalists. Yet, many experts believe that
subsidies are one of the most critical factors
in determining the sustainability of a government’s
economic, social and environmental policies.
Read more here about the organisations that
have partnered to bring you this newsletter,
and why.
|
|
|
|
Competing for business: A guide to investment incentives
By Kenneth P. Thomas
With the progressive dismantling of formal trade barriers as a result of many rounds of global trade negotiations, subsidies have become increasingly important as a way for governments to regulate economic activity within their territories. While subsidies are not necessarily bad policy, it is important to weigh their expected benefits against the possibility of efficiency, equity, or even environmental problems that may result.
|
More
information about subsidies
|
The Global Subsidies Initiative cooperates
with an international network of researchers
working on subsidy related issues. Journalists
working on stories that involve subsidies,
and who are in search of expertise, information
and support are invited to contact Javed Ahmad,
the GSI's Director of Communications, at info@globalsubsidies.org.
|
|
|
|
Kenneth P. Thomas - Bio
Kenneth P. Thomas is associate professor of political science and
fellow in the Center for International Studies, University of Missouri
- St. Louis (1991-present). He is the author of ‘Competing for
Capital: Europe and North America in a Global Era’ (Georgetown
University Press, 2000). He is completing a major study on investment
incentives for the Global Subsidies Initiative, to be released on
November 26, 2007.
SUBSIDIES
STORIES FROM IPS - RECENT ARTICLES
ENVIRONMENT-MALAYSIA: Soft Loans for Reforestation or Deforestation?
By Anil Netto
PENANG - With a dozen timber firms set to receive new government soft loans to finance ‘reforestation’ projects, critics are saying that the money will translate into logging subsidies for the timber lobby.
ENERGY: Biofuel Seen as Boost for Poor Farmers
By Abid Aslam
WASHINGTON - The world's rural poor could benefit from a boom in fuel wrung from crops, despite worries that an accompanying surge in food prices could result in more hunger, say environmental and food experts.
DEVELOPMENT: Mutiny Shakes U.S. Food Aid Industry
By Ellen Massey
WASHINGTON - One of the largest international aid organisations in the world turned the food aid industry on its head recently by declaring that they will turn down 46 million dollars in food subsidies from the U.S. government.
RELATED
WEB SITES
|
