Posts tagged…Resources
Auto rip multiple audio CDs in OS X
Sun, Apr 18 2010
So you want to rip your library of CDs to your computer. ITunes will automate this for you—loading and ejecting CDs as it fills up its library.
But what if you want a more accurate rip using the Accurate Rip database? What if you prefer not to store your music only in iTunes; for example because you prefer another player or you prefer to use the file-system rather than a proprietary library to…
Read more…Investment barriers stuff-up China relations
Mon, Jun 15 2009No one I know seriously questions the importance of China to Australia's external balances, especially now in the trough of a recession. Nor can we have any doubts about China's growing political, cultural and 'strategic' importance for us and our region of the world. So why would a government led by sinophile make such a terrible, embarrassing, stuff-up of its response to a proposal from a top…
Malcolm Turnbull on Chinalco’s bid for Rio
Sat, May 02 2009Malcolm Turnbull's wide-ranging speech to the Lowy Institute on the balance of power in Asia is thoughtful, well-aimed, and well-expressed. There is much to agree with.
But I disagree with all three of Mr Turnbull's arguments against the Chinalco bid for Rio (see below). Here's my main problem. The two parts of this sentence just don't belong together. They should be anathema to any liberal,…
Illustrated USDA economic research
Thu, Apr 09 2009This should be fun. Unfortunately the 'interactive' version loads slowly and has 'panes' that make it difficult to view the info-graphics. The (16.8mb!) downloadable version may be better. But the download crawled, so I gave up.
"This book contains a sampling of recent ERS research illustrating the breadth of the Agency’s research on current policy issues: from biofuels to food consumption to…
Teachers’ kits on WTO - Keeping the peace
Tue, Mar 17 2009
The final installment (for now) of my Teachers Kits on WTO, designed to help teachers in junior, middle and high schools deliver classes on WTO as part of, for example, a civics curriculum. The kits were commissioned by the WTO.
This installment concerns WTO dispute settlement: a subject that might be too advanced for junior school, so this kit contains class materials only for middle and high…
Spring-time for state captialists
Wed, Feb 18 2009It's much more than Rio and Oz Minerals. Now China is securing a 20-year supply from the stumbling Russian oil industry.
"The deal, the largest trade financing agreement between the two countries, alleviates the massive refinancing needs of Russia’s two state energy giants as they seek to weather the credit crisis with the country facing its first recession in 10 years. It will also provide…
Teacher’s Kit on WTO — Trade in Goods
Fri, Feb 13 2009
Time to continue my series of posts publishing the Teacher’s Kits on WTO, including class materials for Middle and Senior Schools, class exercises, and Teacher’s Notes.
Last time, I published links to the PDF files for the lessons called ‘About the WTO’. This time, two PDF files for lessons titled ‘Trade in Goods’.
Would ‘critical mass’ agreements in WTO be ‘fissile’ or ‘fusional’?
Mon, Apr 07 2008Here is the paper I presented today to the Melbourne University Center for Public Policy seminar on the Future of the Multilateral Trade System. It asks would 'critical mass' agreements—as recommended by the Warwick Commission—reinforce ('fuse') the WTO's Single Undertaking or would they tend to pull it apart ('fission')? I welcome your comments.
IMF Data Mapper
Sat, Feb 02 2008
Trade data sets are large and often difficult to interpret. Simplifying the data and showing policy-relevant relationships is important. The new IMF Data Mapper is a brilliant new on-line tool for doing just that
Click the thumbnail image to see an example map.
Activities in 2007
Mon, Dec 24 2007
A map (click for a better view), at no particular scale, of some of my activities in 2007. A lot of traveling, some outstanding meals—grilled Croker fish and wild greens in Abuja, barbecue mutton with sweetbreads in Karachi—some fascinating characters, and good friends. There were a couple of marathons (the SPS database; trade & tariff simulations on 51 grains markets) and at least one job that…
Inquit Database of SPS notifications
Tue, May 29 2007here to open the IQ SPS database in a new window”
I’ve built a new database of WTO notifications of Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures, covering all measures notified to WTO from September 1999 to April 2007 May 2007. [UPDATE] The database contains some 6,170 6265 records [UPDATE] of which about 150 corrections. On average, governments are notifying about 75 new measures every month. The rapid…
Access to the Inquit Standards Database
Mon, Feb 19 2007The Inquit database of SPS and TBT standards is still available has been retired and replaced with new database of SPS measures (see this story). The data on SPS measures and TBT measures had a number of errors due, mostly, to the inconsistent way that Members filled out their notifications in the first few years of the WTO system. The new datbase is much more accurate, and links directly to the…