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When scholars investigate the legacy of John Maynard Keynes’s Treatise on Probability (1921) for the development of Keynes’s thinking, the attention usually focuses on the connections among Keynes’s probability theory, his conception of decision-making under uncertainty, and the theory of the functioning of the macroeconomic system that derives from it—through the marginal efficiency of capital, the preference for liquidity, and the self-referential functioning of financial markets. By contrast, this paper aims to investigate the connections between Keynes’s probability theory, on the one hand, and his economic policy recommendations, on the other. It concentrates on the policy recommendations defended by Keynes during the Great Depression but also after the General Theory. Keynes’s economic policy can be understood as a framework for decision-making in situations of uncertainty: fiscal policy aims to induce private agents to change their “rational” probability statements, while monetary policy aims to allow more weight to these statements.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s a process was started that would lead to the single currency in Europe. The choice made for its governance relied on an intergovernmental monitoring over convergence, based on the strict compliance to the Maastricht criteria. The White Paper of the Delors's Commission on Growth, Competitiveness, Employment was issued in September 1993 to face the new internal and external threats to the European economies. It provided a framework for policy-action that should accompany the building of the euro and help the European economy survive the challenges of globalization, sustainability and new ICTs. The paper aims to examine the White Paper of 1993, and to analyse the reasons why it was neglected and eventually set aside by the member States, thus weakening the long-term prospects of the European economy and the sustainability of the forthcoming European single currency.

The Bank Restriction Act of 1797 was the unconventional monetary policy of its time. It suspended the convertibility of the Bank of England's notes into gold, a policy that lasted until 1821. The current historical consensus is that it was a result of the state's need to finance the war, France’s remonetization, a loss of confidence in the English country banks, and a run on the Bank of England’s reserves following a landing of French troops in Wales. We argue that while these factors help us understand the timing of the suspension, they cannot explain its success. We deploy new long-term data that leads us to a complementary explanation: the policy succeeded thanks to the reputation of the Bank of England, achieved through a century of prudential collaboration between the Bank and the Treasury.

Australia released the newest edition of its Defense White Paper, describing Canberra’s current and emerging national security priorities, on February 25, 2016. This continues a tradition of issuing defense white papers since 1976. This work will examine and analyze the contents of this document as well as previous Australian defense white papers, scholarly literature, and political statements assessing their geopolitical significance. It will also examine public input into Australian defense white papers and the emerging role of social media in this public involvement. It concludes by evaluating whether Australia has the political will and economic resources necessary to fulfill its geopolitical and national security aspirations.

The Dutch pension system is generally looked upon with admiration. It scores higher marks for level of participation, level of pension income and sustainability than retirement provisions of most other countries. The Dutch state retirement pension is funded as a pay-as-you-go scheme, second-pillar pensions are collectively funded and third-pillar annuities have a fully funded basis too. The Dutch retirement reserve equals more than 100 per cent of the country's GDP and 90 per cent of the workforce is entitled to a corporate pension. The Dutch practice of a 50/50 split between pay-as-you-go and funded schemes gives a robust and balanced outcome for beneficiaries. The ‘EET’-system, that is, where pension contributions are exempt, accruals to the pension fund are exempt and actual pension income is taxed at the moment of payout, ensures that the tax revenue collected keeps pace with the ageing of the beneficiaries. Nevertheless, the Dutch system also has come under pressure where the Netherlands has to take measures like any other country. And this pressure, partly caused by the ageing population combined with the current and foreseeable economic conditions, painfully shows some of the shortcomings of the Dutch system. Does the Netherlands actually still have the world's best pension system? Maybe the Netherlands used to have sufficiently funded and well-organized pension schemes up until now, but this seems to be rapidly changing. This article intends to provide inspiring examples of dos and donts, which will give more insight in the Dutch system and could be useful for pension practitioners and policymakers in other countries.

The paper recycling of Japan started at the Heian era (794-1185). The recovered paper utilization rate of Japan is in a high level also in the world. The recovered paper utilization rate 56% target in fiscal year 2000 was achieved the one year ago. It is expected to be decided that a new utilization rate target was set up to be 60% in fiscal year 2005 by the Japan Paper Association, and enacted with 60% target in Ministry of Economy. Trade and Industry ordinance soon.Because how to be going to become the best way about the paper recycling based on the current state aiming at this new target in the future was examined variously, so reporting to here.

The demand for hydropower production, as a prominent sustainable development strategy, has created a boom in the number of planned hydropower projects, especially small ones. These projects are mainly located in post-socialist transition and developing countries. However, emerging evidence suggests that most of the projects remain on paper. One reason for this is prevalent corruption. In the literature, corruption has been identified in megaprojects but a significant number of hydropower projects are smaller in size. This leaves a literature gap and a subsequent lack of understanding regarding corruption and its potential connection to the absence of hydropower construction. We argue that it also creates a ‘safe space’ for corrupt actors who use the sector for personal gain. In this paper, we address this nexus of unfinished hydropower projects, sustainable development in transition countries, corruption, and lack of scholarly attention by presenting empirical evidence from Bosnia and Herzegovina. We highlight that sustainability goals associated with hydropower might be distorted, especially in transition countries as they are intermingled with hydropower projects that are embedded in complex bureaucratic structures. We conclude that focusing on the sector might improve its management, thus contributing to sustainable development, and also help to decrease the corruption risk.

This paper presents key findings of the assessment of progress made in the implementation of policies outlined in the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II, 2006–2009) for Ghana. The paper provides an assessment on programs such as the Multi Donor Budget Support, the linkage between the 2006 Annual Budget and the GPRS II, performance toward the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, and the African Peer Review Mechanism. The paper also discusses macroeconomic performance and economic governance in Ghana.

This paper discusses key findings of the first annual progress report on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) for Central African Republic. The first year of PRSP implementation was characterized by an unfavorable international economic environment, with its repercussions on the national economy. The various external shocks have led to instability in budget resources, a surge in inflation, an aggravated foreign trade deficit, and slowed growth. Despite this unfavorable economic cycle, with the help of its development partners, the government has established an institutional framework for PRSP implementation, monitoring, and assessment.

Executive Directors believe that the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) outlines a comprehensive framework for growth and poverty reduction in Ghana. The GPRS II rightly emphasizes private sector-led growth as key to broadening the country’s economic base. The GPRS II will benefit from analyzing the risks to the strategy such as inability to implement planed structural reforms, exogenous shocks and domestic factors, fiduciary weaknesses, and capacity limitations. A comprehensive macroeconomic framework that is consistent with the medium-term fiscal framework and growth assumptions is required.

This paper focuses on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper—National Strategy for Development and Integration (PRSP–NSDI) for Albania. The paper provides an overview of the key challenges facing the country. It presents a brief statement of the national vision, identifies the strategic priorities, and articulates the strategic goals to be achieved. The paper also summarizes the key points of each of the underlying strategies by strategic priority, and discusses the main changes in the distribution of resources across broad sectors that will be needed in the period 2007–13.

This paper focuses on Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy Paper–II (GPRSP II) for Cape Verde. The GPRSP II is formulated with reference to five major strategic aims concerning good governance, human capital, competitiveness, infrastructure building, and social cohesion. In identifying and pursuing these aims, the country seeks to improve its performance with respect to the established objectives and targets. The central objective of poverty reduction rests primarily upon structural policies linked to the promotion of inclusive economic growth, complemented by redistributive policies that are socially compensatory and focused on groups with high vulnerability.

This paper discusses the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP) of Grenada for poverty reduction in the interim period. It describes the country’s macroeconomic, structural, and social policies in support of growth and poverty reduction, as well as associated external financing needs and major sources of financing. It reviews the National Poverty Eradication Strategy and analyzes the monitoring indicators, risks and costing of the strategy. It assesses the national development plan aimed at attaining the Millennium Development Goals.

The key findings of Republic of Armenia’s Second Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper are reviewed. Macroeconomic and fiscal framework has been completely revised, taking into account the 2007 outcomes, tendencies developed during 2008, and challenges, particularly the projected increase of consumption prices and the GDP deflator. The structure of the economy has been reconsidered, targeting a larger share of industry and service sectors, mostly owing to the reduction in construction.

This Joint Staff Advisory Note reviews the latest Annual Progress Report (APR) on the implementation of the poverty reduction strategy (PRS) for Benin. The APR assesses progress in implementing the strategy during 2006 and the first half of 2007. The APR indicates that significant progress has been made in strengthening the macroeconomic framework. The APR highlights some improvement in social indicators but indicates that, at the current pace, Benin would not be able to reach all the Millennium Development Goal targets by 2015.