This paper develops a methodology for predicting the impact of trade liberalization on exports by industry. Predictions for industry-level changes in trade for the United States and Korea following the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) are made. As a test for our methodology, we show that it performs significantly better than the applied general equilibrium models originally used for the policy evaluation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Impact of Trade Reform
While the W-T-W editors struggle to define the bitcoin, venture capitalists in Silicon Valley are rushing to invest in bitcoin related startups. The Financial Times reports. Silicon Valley Catches Bitcoin Fever
Apple is building a huge, 5 billion dollar campus in the suburbs in California. Bikers in the mountains behind Denver work in New York via the internet. New York’s Mayor Bloomberg built Silicon Alley. United stayed in Chicago when it merged with Continental. Does the internet free you to live in Xanadu? The Impact of Location
News around this move by the finance minister of the tiny British crown dependency has a curious mix of definitions of the bitcoin, which soared to over $1200 today.
An independent company will provide the Bitcoins. If the price plunged, neither Alderney nor the Royal Mint would lose anything. The company would put the Bitcoins in an escrow account at an agreed price. Meanwhile, the Royal Mint would take customers’ orders for its minted Bitcoins and receive money from those coin sales. The virtual Bitcoins backing the physical coins would be held in digital storage facilities by Alderney.
The Mint would issue the commemorative Bitcoin, paying for the value of the gold content itself. Alderney would receive royalties from sales of the coins.
Coins could be redeemed for sterling at any point in Alderney for the price of a Bitcoin on that day.
It seems to be currency (it is backed by sterling), it is called a ‘commemorative coin’ by the mint, and if worse came to worse, could be melted down for the small amount of gold the coin itself contains. So it is currency, commemorative and gold rolled into one…what? Alderney to Manufacture Bitcoins The Financial Times Reports:
ALDERNY, LITTLE MORE THAN A ROCK
You may be able to use bitcoins on Amazon and Ebay. Will gold be next?
An Indian man in Bangkok’s Chinatown bought two god bracelets on Yaowarat Road in Bangkok for $15,000. In his native Mumbai they are worth $16,500. They can travel in a computer bag or “if you are really worried about customs”, he says pointing at a shop which sells plain golden necklaces, “you buy those and put them around your wife’s neck.” Earlier this year the Indian government imposed quotas and increased taxes on gold imports, but it takes more than that to limit Indians’ love of gold. Although the country’s statisticians report that Indians officially buy a lot less of the precious metal—148.2 tonnes from July to September, a third less than in the same period last year—there has been a surge in gold smuggling. Bitcoins and Gold as a Currency or Commodity Exchange
Implementing change too fast risks “reform fatigue” in Greece, the country’s prime minister has warned, in a fresh sign of resistance to pressure from international lenders for further cuts to wages and pensions. In an indirect reference to the troika – the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund – Antonis Samaras warned that: “You don’t climb to the top of a mountain vertically. You ascend from one plateau to another. Reform in Greece? OECD News Item
Chinese entrepreneurs are like entrepreneurs everywhere, but they navigate a particular topography and learning more about how they do this may help entrepreneurs wanting to do business in China. Chinese Entrepreneurs
Bitcoin could be regulated as a commodity if market volatility continues, academics and financial industry players warned at a Senate hearing today.
Speaking at a subcommittee hearing organized by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, a representative from a financial industry technology round table also called for more regulation for virtual currencies. Bitcoin Regulation
The oldest profession came under attack from the radical feminists and the left decades ago. Different countries have approached ‘the problem’ differently. Under the Social Democrats, who will be Angela Merkel’s new coalition party, the profession was made more attractive and theoretically safer. Merkel’s party is not so enthusiastic about their approach. Who knows what will happen. One thing is for sure. Even in bleak economic times, people in this profession can find work. Prostitution Flourishing in Germany
An Icelandic entrepreneur says his company may have a novel solution to the world’s water shortages: Transport the North Atlantic island’s abundant supplies in supertankers to where they’re needed. Entrepreneur in Iceland to Sell Water
