Downsizing the Federal Government

Downsizing the Federal Government

Author: Chris Edwards

Publisher: Cato Institute

Published: 2005-11-25

Total Pages: 263

ISBN-13: 1933995513

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The federal government is running huge budget deficits, spending too much, and heading toward a financial crisis. Federal spending soared under President George W. Bush, and the costs of programs for the elderly are set to balloon in coming years. Hurricane Katrina has made the federal budget situation even more desperate. In Downsizing the Federal Government Cato Institute budget expert Chris Edwards provides policymakers with solutions to the growing federal budget mess. Edwards identifies more than 100 federal programs that should be terminated, transferred to the states, or privatized in order to balance the budget and save hundreds of billions of dollars. Edwards proposes a balanced reform package of cuts to entitlements, domestic programs, and excess defense spending. He argues that these cuts would not only eliminate the deficit, but also strengthen the economy, enlarge personal freedom, and leave a positive fiscal legacy for the next generation. Downsizing the Federal Government discusses the systematic causes of wasteful spending, and it overflows with examples of federal programs that are obsolete and mismanaged. The book examines the budget process and shows how policymakers act contrary to the interests of average Americans by favoring special interests.


Beyond the City

Beyond the City

Author: David M. De Ferranti

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2005-01-01

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 0821360973

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The rural economy's contribution to development: summary of findings and policy implications; The rural contribution to development: analytical issues; The rural contribution to development: policy issues.


Water, Agriculture and the Environment in Spain: can we square the circle?

Water, Agriculture and the Environment in Spain: can we square the circle?

Author: Lucia De Stefano

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2012-10-17

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 0415631521

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"The world water problems are a due to bad governance, not to physical water scarcity." This book is inspired by this statement and explores whether it holds in a specific country, Spain, where climatic conditions – Spain is one of the most arid countries of the European Union - would fully justify saying that water problems are due to physical water scarcity. The metrification of water uses and their monetary value is a first important step in understanding how reallocation of water among users could help mitigating many of current water problems in Spain. However, water reallocation among users or from users to nature is far from simple. Initiatives portrayed as the solution to the water governance ‘jigsaw’ – e.g. water trade, improved water use efficiency, users collective action, public participation – are not free of difficulties and shortcomings. The book explores the growing need for maintaining Spain’s natural capital and the human component of water governance – people’s needs, wishes, (vested) interests, aspirations – that often determine the result of decisions and, sometimes, lead water management to a deadlock. This book takes a step forward in showing a more complex - and also closer to reality - picture of water governance in Spain.


The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Ecological and Economic Foundations

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Ecological and Economic Foundations

Author: Pushpam Kumar

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-12-20

Total Pages: 455

ISBN-13: 1136538798

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Human well-being relies critically on ecosystem services provided by nature. Examples include water and air quality regulation, nutrient cycling and decomposition, plant pollination and flood control, all of which are dependent on biodiversity. They are predominantly public goods with limited or no markets and do not command any price in the conventional economic system, so their loss is often not detected and continues unaddressed and unabated. This in turn not only impacts human well-being, but also seriously undermines the sustainability of the economic system. It is against this background that TEEB: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity project was set up in 2007 and led by the United Nations Environment Programme to provide a comprehensive global assessment of economic aspects of these issues. This book, written by a team of international experts, represents the scientific state of the art, providing a comprehensive assessment of the fundamental ecological and economic principles of measuring and valuing ecosystem services and biodiversity, and showing how these can be mainstreamed into public policies. This volume and subsequent TEEB outputs will provide the authoritative knowledge and guidance to drive forward the biodiversity conservation agenda for the next decade.


Impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture

Impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2019-01-06

Total Pages: 654

ISBN-13: 9251306079

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This report indicates that climate change will significantly affect the availability and trade of fish products, especially for those countries most dependent on the sector, and calls for effective adaptation and mitigation actions encompassing food production.


World Wildlife Crime Report 2020

World Wildlife Crime Report 2020

Author: United Nations Publications

Publisher: UN

Published: 2021-03-31

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9789211483499

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The report presents the latest assessment of global trends in wildlife crime. It includes discussions on illicit rosewood, ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales, live reptiles, tigers and other big cats, and European eel. The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has highlighted that wildlife crime is a threat not only to the environment and biodiversity, but also to human health, economic development and security. Zoonotic diseases - those caused by pathogens that spread from animals to humans - represent up to 75% of all emerging infectious diseases. Trafficked wild species and the resulting products offered for human consumption, by definition, escape any hygiene or sanitary control, and therefore pose even greater risks of infection.


Land Policies for Growth and Poverty Reduction

Land Policies for Growth and Poverty Reduction

Author: Klaus W. Deininger

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13:

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This volume synthesizes insights from the vast literature on land policy, taking due account of actual experiences in policy implementation, and suggests ways to design land policies that promote growth as well as poverty reduction.