The Commonwealth

Beyond Lending

Guillermo Perry

When he began this book in early 2008, Guillermo Perry argued that developing countries remained highly vulnerable to external risks such as commodity price declines, capital flow reversals, and natural disasters. The economic crisis that has since ensued confirmed Perry's analysis. It has also made his proposal more important than ever: multilateral development banks (MDBs) should move beyond lending to provide innovative risk-management tools for developing countries to manage volatility. The risk that MDBs will fall into complacency as the short-term demand for traditional loans increases during the crisis should not deter innovations to ensure long-term stability.Contents1. Causes and Consequences of High Volatility in Developing Countries2. The Role of Financial Insurance and Hedging3. Dealing with Liquidity Shocks and the Procyclicality of Private Capital Flows4. Dealing with Currency Risks5. Dealing with Commodity Price, Terms of Trade, and Output Risks6. Dealing with Natural Disaster Risks7. Why Multilateral Development Bank Practices Are So Far from Their Potential8. An Agenda Going Forward

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 9781933286327
• Publication Date: May 2009
• Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5-7 Working Days

Due Diligence

David Roodman

The idea that small loans can help poor families build businesses and exit poverty has blossomed into a global movement. The concept has captured the public imagination, drawn in billions of dollars, reached millions of customers, and garnered a Nobel Prize. Radical in its suggestion that the poor are creditworthy and conservative in its insistence on individual accountability, the idea has expanded beyond credit into savings, insurance, and money transfers, earning the name microfinance. But is it the boon so many think it is?Readers of David Roodman's openbook blog will immediately recognize his thorough, straightforward, and trenchant analysis. Due Diligence, written entirely in public with input from readers, probes the truth about microfinance to guide governments, foundations, investors, and private citizens who support financial services for poor people. In particular, it explains the need to deemphasize microcredit in favor of other financial services for the poor.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 9781933286488
• Publication Date: Dec 2011
• Availability: Temporarily out of stock: Usually despatched in 14-18 days

Emerging Africa

Steven Radelet

Emerging Africa describes the too-often-overlooked positive changes that have taken place in much of Africa since the mid-1990s. In 17 countries, five fundamental and sustained breakthroughs are making old assumptions increasingly untenable:• The rise of democracy brought on by the end of the Cold War and apartheid• Stronger economic management• The end of the debt crisis and a more constructive relationship with the international community• The introduction of new technologies, especially mobile phones and the Internet• The emergence of a new generation of leaders.With these significant changes, the countries of emerging Africa seem poised to lead the continent out of the conflict, stagnation, and dictatorships of the past. The countries discussed in the book are Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Mali Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, São Tomé and Principe, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 9781933286518
• Publication Date: Sep 2010
• Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5-7 Working Days

Cash on Delivery

Nancy Birdsall

Foreign aid has no shortage of critics. Some argue that it undermines development and inherently does more harm than good; others insist that aid must be seriously reformed to work properly. Cash on Delivery (COD) Aid proposes serious reform to make aid work well by forcing accountability, aligning the objectives of funders and recipients, and sharing information about what works.Public and private aid can improve lives in poor countries, but the willingness of taxpayers and private funders to finance aid programs depends more than ever on showing results. COD Aid is a funding mechanism that hinges on results. At its core is a contract between funders and recipients that stipulates a fixed payment for each unit of confirmed progress toward an agreed-upon goal. Once the contract is struck, the funder takes a hands-off approach, allowing the recipient the freedom and responsibility to achieve the goal on its own. Payment is made only after progress toward the goal is independently verified by a third party. At all steps, a COD Aid program is remarkably transparent: the contract, the amount of progress made, and the payment are disseminated publicly to highlight the credibility of the arrangement and improve accountability to the public. COD Aid is a new approach to foreign aid, but one that complements other aid programs and would ultimately encourage funders and recipients to use existing resources more efficiently.Cash On Delivery Aid: A New Approach to Foreign Aid explains the approach in detail and investigates its application in one sector: education. More specifically, the authors show how foreign aid agencies could use COD Aid to help developing countries achieve universal primary school education. The example illustrates how to deal with potential challenges of the approach—challenges that are no greater than those of traditional aid—and includes model term sheets for contracts that could be used for any COD Aid agreement.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 9781933286600
• Publication Date: Apr 2011
• Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5-7 Working Days

Greenprint

Arvind Subramanian

Beleaguered by mutual recrimination between rich and poor countries, squeezed by the zero-sum arithmetic of a shrinking global carbon budget, and overtaken by shifts in economic and hence bargaining power between these countries, international cooperation on climate change has floundered. Given these three factors—which Arvind Subramanian and Aaditya Mattoo call the "narrative," "adding up," and "new world" problems—the wonder is not the current impasse; it is, rather, the belief that progress might be possible at all.In this book, the authors argue that any chance of progress must address each of these problems in a radically different way. First, the old narrative of recrimination must cede to a narrative based on recognition of common interests. Second, leaders must shift the focus away from emissions cuts to technology generation. Third, the old "cash-for-cuts" approach must be abandoned for one that requires contributions from all countries calibrated in magnitude and form to their current level of development and future prospects.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 9781933286679
• Publication Date: Feb 2013
• Availability: Temporarily out of stock: Usually despatched in 14-18 days

Oil to Cash

Todd Moss

What should a country do if it suddenly discovers oil and gas? How should it spend the subsequent cash windfall? How can it protect against corruption? How can citizens truly benefit from national wealth? With many of the world's poorest and most fragile states suddenly joining the ranks of oil and gas producers, these are pressing policy questions. Oil to Cash explores one option that may help avoid the so-called resource curse: just give the money directly to citizens. A universal, transparent, and regular cash transfer would not only provide a concrete benefit to regular people, but would also create powerful incentives for citizens to hold their government accountable. Oil to Cash details how and where this idea could work and how policymakers can learn from the experiences with cash transfers in places like Mexico, Mongolia, and Alaska.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 9781933286693
• Publication Date: Jun 2015
• Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5-7 Working Days

The Power of Blended Learning in the Sciences

Oliver Dreon

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 9780940017467
• Publication Date: Mar 2019
• Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5-7 Working Days

Terrorism and International Relations

Daniel S. Hamilton

A Center for Transatlantic Relations SAIS and The Calouste Gulbenkain Foundation publicationInternational experts examine the nature of contemporary terrorism and its consequences. The authors discuss the internationalization of terrorism; its costs, causes, and networks; the global response; and implications for law, democracy, religion, the media, and international cooperation.Contributors include Yonah Alexander (Potomac Institute for Policy Studies), Daniel Benjamin (CSIS), Monique Canto-Sperber (Ecole Normale Superieur), Gareth Evans (International Crisis Group), Richard Falkenrath (Brookings Institution), Farhad Khosrokhavar (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales), Brigitte Nacos (Columbia University), Christine Ockrent (columnist), Stefan Oeter (University of Hamburg), Daniel Sibony (writer), Florence Taubmann (pastor), and Paul Wilkenson (Center for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, University of St.Andrews).

• Imprint: Center for Transatlantic Relations SAIS
• Format: Hardback
• ISBN: 9780976643487
• Publication Date: Jul 2006
• Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5-7 Working Days

Unconventional Crises, Unconventional Responses

Erwan Lagadec

Since the 1990s, North America and Europe have confronted a series of unconventional, catastrophic, or "hypercomplex" crises. On the one hand, the U.S. and Canada have faced 9/11, the anthrax crisis, the SARS outbreak, and Hurricane Katrina. Meanwhile, Europe has been hit by the "Mad Cow" disease, the 2003 heatwave, and 2007 forest fires in Greece. In addition, both sides were involved in the response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Events such as these have destabilized, or even overwhelmed, traditional mechanisms for planning, response, and recovery. They have called upon leaders and analysts to develop new frameworks of interpretation, strategic guidelines, and roadmaps for action. All too often, in the absence of such insights, response efforts have tragically fallen short, and have been followed by a litany of after-event reports that typically have failed to get to the root of the problem. To tackle this issue, the Center for Transatlantic Relations in 2006 launched the project "Unconventional Crises, Unconventional Responses" under the leadership of Dr. Erwan Lagadec. The project sets up a cross-sector, international platform of leaders and experts. Based on the results of a seminar convened in Washington, D.C. in March 2007, this book develops innovative diagnoses of current deficiencies in crisis-management concepts, and lays out proposals for reform.

• Imprint: Center for Transatlantic Relations SAIS
• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 9780978882181
• Publication Date: Jan 2008
• Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5-7 Working Days

The Eastern Question

Stefan Meister

• Imprint: Center for Transatlantic Relations SAIS
• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 9780990772095
• Publication Date: Jul 2016
• Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5-7 Working Days

Trading Places?

Andrew Rimmer

This book introduces the main concepts and trade facilitation reliefs that businesses must understand if they are to trade internationally with the least intervention and disruption from the Tax Authorities. It highlights the means of importing goods and arriving at the Customs value on which import duty and import VAT are computed. It also provides commentary on export procedures and the VAT treatment of intra-EC trading, including potential fiscal barriers to exploiting non-UK markets. Chapters on potential pitfalls and planning for international trade provide the reader with an overview of ‘Best-practice’ when looking to import or export goods.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 9781907444005
• Publication Date: Nov 2010
• Availability: Temporarily out of stock: Usually despatched in 14-18 days

ADR and Trusts

Grant Jones

Settling trust disputes without litigation can save all parties legal costs and maintain confidentiality (reducing the risk of unwelcome publicity). ADR and Trusts is a development from the authors' accredited mediation training course for the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). Part A introduces the reader to the different forms of dispute resolution, and examines the differences between arbitration and mediation of trust and fiduciary disputes.  Part B examines 27 jurisdictions and how trust law and ADR operates in each of them. Each profile addresses: arbitration law and practice, trust law, the mandatory requirements for mediation and the enforcement of ADR awards. Mediators, arbitrators, trust and estate planning practitioners, trust managers and anyone involved in trust disputes should all benefit from reading this book.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 9781907444586
• Publication Date: Jan 2015
• Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5-7 Working Days

VAT and the NHS

Martin Kaney

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 9781907444715
• Publication Date: Sep 2016
• Availability: Temporarily out of stock: Usually despatched in 14-18 days

A Walk Down the Fairway of Value Added Tax

Ian Fleming

This book is intended as a guide to the basic rules of VAT as they affect golf clubs for club secretaries, treasurers, finance committee chairmen and accounting practices that have golf clubs as their clients. The third edition includes a new chapter to cover claims  for overpaid VAT the consequences of the Bridport and West Dorset Golf Club case and new HMRC guidance.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 9781907444753
• Publication Date: Feb 2013
• Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5-7 Working Days

TUPE: Law & Practice

Wyn Derbyshire

  This guide provides analysis of the new 2014 TUPE Amendment Regulations including: the scope to “service provision changes” (i.e. outsourcing/contracting-out and in), as well as clarification of the Regulation 3; key changes relating to transfer dismissals and changes to terms and conditions; pensions obligations under TUPE; clarified ‘joint‘consultation rights; the confusing application of TUPE where the transferor is insolvent.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 9781907444821
• Publication Date: Feb 2014
• Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5-7 Working Days

Marylebone Lives

Carl Upsall

Marylebone has been home to its fair share of rogues, villains and eccentrics, and their stories are told here. Over the past 10 years the Marylebone Journal has printed historical essays on the people, places, and events that have helped shape the character of the area. The essays have been grouped into themes of: history, politicians and warriors, culture and sport , love and marriage, criminals, science and medicine, buildings and places, and the mad bad and dangerous to know ‒ those whose stories don't fit a convenient box but are too good not to tell. 

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 9781910151037
• Publication Date: Jun 2015
• Availability: In Stock - Despatched Within 5-7 Working Days