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Research Area
Trade, Globalization, and Development Policy Economics
Mercatus Center research seeks to understand the consequences – both intended and unintended – of U.S. policy in other countries and improve the state of knowledge to which these policies refer, thereby fostering solutions that promote a freer, more prosperous, and civil society. Through in-depth case analyses and field study Mercatus scholars work to develop advanced approaches rooted in a knowledge of the market process. Research focus includes: international economic development and the impact of foreign aid on global prosperity, entrepreneurship and the conditions that enable or inhibit a dynamic economic marketplace, the effects of trade and globalization, the political economy of reform and development, and specific area studies.
Scholars and Faculty
Richard Wellings , Deputy Editorial Director, Institute of Economic Affairs
Recent Publications
A Matter of Life and DeathJune 27, 2008 In this article, Enterprise Africa! lead researcher Karol Boudreaux notes South Africa urgently needs to reform its labor market to halt the violence aimed at immigrants. |
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Pay For ItJune 19, 2008 In a recent Forbes Magazine article, Enterprise Africa! scholar Tyler Cowen claims that privatized water services, though not perfect, offer promising advances in meeting the needs of poor consumers |
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Urbanisation and Informality in Africa's Housing MarketsJune 9, 2008 A maze of regulations and administrative barriers has imposed high transaction costs on formal-sector housing entrepreneurs. By raising the costs of providing low-income housing, African governments bear much responsibility for driving formal-sector entrepreneurs out of the housing market and for driving their citizens into slums. |
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A New Call of the Wild: Community-Based Natural Resource Management in NamibiaMay 1, 2008 The Namibian government is currently addressing twin goals of environment protection and rural economic development by means of an innovative policy of community-based natural resource management. This policy, implemented by a legislative amendment in 1996, is helping to revive a previously decimated environment. At the same time, the policy is empowering local people. |
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Book Review of Paul Collier's "The Bottom Billion"May 1, 2008 In this book review, Karol Boudreaux notes that Paul Collier makes a strong case that the world’s billion poorest people face unique challenges that call for strategic development assistance. In the end, however, Ms. Boudreaux emphasises that what is needed most is sustained entrepreneurship. |
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Empowering the Poor through Property RightsApril 14, 2008 As a member of the Working Group on Property Rights of the U.N. Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, chaired by Madeleine Albright and Hernando de Soto, Enterprise Africa! lead researcher Karol Boudreaux contributed to chapter two of Making the Law Work for Everyone Volume II, titled, “Empowering the Poor through Property Rights.” |
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Fair Trade Proponents Should Have More HumilityPhilip Booth January 29, 2008 |
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'Promise' of Africa Goes UntoldPeter Parisi January 21, 2008 Much of the news that comes out of sub-Saharan Africa routinely involves civil wars, poverty, famine and government corruption, but "there's a lot of promise in Africa," says Karol Boudreaux, lead researcher for Enterprise Africa. |
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Mercatus On Policy - Planting Seeds of HopeJanuary 14, 2008 Despite tremendous worldwide economic progress over the past 50 years, hunger and food insecurity remain the daily reality for people around the world. In Africa alone, millions struggle against the ravages of hunger. However, one innovation, the Combi-Pack is showing great potential to reduce hunger and poverty among smallholder farmers in South Africa. |
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Mercatus On Policy - Conserving CommunitiesJanuary 10, 2008 While many countries in Africa, such as Kenya, struggle with declining wildlife populations, Namibia’s wildlife numbers are on the rise thanks to an innovative program called Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM). |
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Recent Events
Taxing Alternatives: Poverty Alleviation and the South African Taxi/Minibus IndustryStart: March 24, 2006 10:00 AM This press conference was held at the Free Market Foundation offices in South Africa to launch the innaugural Enterprise Africa! publication, Taxing Alternatives: Poverty Alleviation and the South African Taxi/Minibus Industry |
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The Effects of Property Titling in Langa Township, South AfricaStart: May 25, 2006 10:00 AM A press conference is planned for the launch of the second Enterprise Africa! research publication, The Effects of Property Titling in Langa Township, South Africa. This publication is part of our ongoing efforts to uncover enterprise-based solutions to poverty. This follows our first publication launched in March, Taxing Alternatives: Poverty Alleviation and the South African Taxi/Minibus Industry. |
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Resource Bank 2006: Entrepreneurship - The Driving Force of DevelopmentStart: April 20, 2006 08:00 AM Frederic Sautet, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, spoke at the 2006 Resource Bank to share the progress made by Enterprise Africa! and shed light on the importance of entrepreneurship in reducing the effects of poverty. |
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Mercatus Center Chief of Staff Retreat 2006: Enterprise Africa!Start: February 24, 2006 09:00 AM Karol Boudreaux, Senior Fellow at the Mercatus Center, spoke about Enterprise Africa! at this year's Chief of Staff Retreat. She informed policy makers in attendance about the progress of the project as well as the central role of entrepreneurship in reducing the effects of poverty. |
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Association of Private Enterprise Education 31st Annual ConferenceStart: April 2, 2006 Karol Boudreaux, Senior Fellow at the Mercatus Center, spoke about Enterprise Africa! at this year's Chief of Staff Retreat. She informed policy makers in attendance about the progress of the project as well as the central role of entrepreneurship in reducing the effects of poverty. |
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