Research Projects

Vinod K. Aggarwal. Professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley

The Transatlantic Relationship in a Post-Transatlantic World: Responding to Russia

For the first time in a century, a set of large, populous and increasingly wealthy states – China, India and Russia – are on the cusp of achieving great-power status. These powers are entering an international system still governed by a “Western” conception of order and based on the primacy of post-World War II rules, drawn from liberal models of capitalism and democracy practiced in the U.S. and in Western Europe. In this context, the most important and most uncertain question facing the West over the next decade is this: What will be the relationship between the EU and the US vis-à-vis these rising powers? Will the transatlantic relationship hold and become stronger, faced with this new geopolitical and geo-economic challenge? Or will the US and the EU compete for economic and political advantage? The first phase of this three-year project seeks to examine these questions with respect to the rise of Russia and the political, economic and security issues that this shift raises for the transatlantic relationship.

Christopher K. Ansell. Professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley

European Infections Disease Response Capacity

The World Health Organization reports that new infectious diseases appear more frequently and spread more rapidly than in the past due to factors such as climate change, globalization, and international migration. SARS, AIDS, and the Avian FLU have revealed the devastating potential for emerging infectious diseases to develop into global pandemics. This project explores the capacity of both the public and private sector in the U.S., China, and Europe to respond effectively to these infectious disease challenges. Using a scenario conference, interviews with relevant actors, and a survey, the project will identity these three regions to respond in a timely and appropriate manner to emerging threats.

Jack Citrin, Heller Professor of Political Science; Director, Institute of Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley

The Political Integration of Immigrants in Europe and North America

International migration is a central feature of a globalized world. Economic pressures and opportunities as well as political convulsions have been transforming the demography of European countries as well as the settler societies of North America. Political elites and governments generally have been favorable to immigration, in part because of the ballast newcomers give to welfare states in aging societies. Yet public opinion is decidedly more skeptical, if not hostile. Popular attitudes easily mobilized by right wing and nationalist parties thus act as a brake on public policy. One important debate in both academic and political circles regards the impact of public policies on the integration of immigrants and their families into the receiving countries. Research is needed to explain the effects of varying policy regimes in assisting acceptance by members of the receiving societies as well as how policy regimes interact with individual attitudes to facilitate or impede the socioeconomic, cultural and political integration of immigrants. This project starts by linking country-level policy data and aggregate data about the demography of these countries over time to survey data regarding individual attitudes. The second phase of the project focuses on immigrants themselves, asking how the spatial concentration of immigrants both facilitates their political mobilization while slowing the pace of cultural assimilation.

Barry Eichengreen, Professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley

Managing Euro Adoption in the New Member States

This project takes as a given that the new Member States of the European Union will adopt the euro in due time; it asks not whether this is a good thing but how they should manage the transition. In particular the project will analyze the boom-bust problem that has afflicted other rapidly-growing catch-up economies adopting the ero (such as Portugal, Spain, Ireland, and Greece). The common pattern experienced by these countries is a decline in real interest rates with adoption of the euro and the import of monetary policy credibility from the European Central Bank, which sets off a consumption binge and housing boom, leading to problems of real overvaluation and eventually a crash. The project will inquire whether the new Member States are similarly at risk of these destabilizing dynamics. Modeling approaches will include (a) undertaking a correlation analysis not only of catch-up economies that experienced boom-and-bust cycles but the whole host of euro adopters, 9b) conducting a panel-data based econometric analysis of the determinants of credit growth in middle-income countries, and (c) completing a detailed study of the Polish case. The study will conclude with policy recommendations for new Member States like Poland contemplating eventual euro adoption.

Philip Martin, Professor of Agriculture and Resource Economics, UC Davis

High-Skilled Foreigners: EU Blue Cards and US Green Cards

This project compares policies toward highly skilled foreigners in North America and the EU. The US mostly relies on a demand-approach to select skilled foreigners – if a US employer requests or sponsors a foreigner, he/she can get a temporary or immigrant visa, provided that visas remain. Most EU countries use a supply selection system, looking at the characteristics of individuals to determine who can enter. The project will result in a proposal for a multiyear comparative project.

Guest Speakers, Workshops, Student Opportunities

EUCE Guest Interviews - Conversations with History
Harry Kreisler, Executive Producer and Host.

Margot Wallstrom
Jocelyne Cesari