As Americans choose a new president in 2016, populist anger dominates the campaign. To hear Donald Trump or Senator Bernie Sanders tell it, America is either a global doormat or a sham democracy controlled by the “one percent.” These dark narratives are caricatures, but they do stem from a real dilemma: America is stuck in a slow- growth trap that holds down wages and living standards. How to break this long spell of economic stagnation is the central question in this election.
Today’s populists peddle nostalgia for our country’s past industrial glory but offer few practical ideas for building a new American prosperity in today’s global knowledge economy. Progressives owe U.S. voters a hopeful alternative to populist outrage and the false panaceas of nativism, protectionism, and democratic socialism. What America needs is a forward-looking plan to unleash innovation, stimulate productive investment, groom the world’s most talented workers, and put our economy back on a high-growth path. It’s time to banish fear and pessimism and trust instead in the liberal and individualist values and enterprising culture that have always made America great.
PPI IN EUROPE: PPI Chief Economic Strategist Dr. Michael Mandel was in Brussels this week, where he was invited to speak at an event on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the Digital Single Market. The event was sponsored by the Swedish, Finnish, Irish and Estonian Permanent Missions to the European Union. While there, he and PPI Executive Director Lindsay Lewis held several meetings with the European Commission.
STATE AGs ABUSING POWER: In an op-ed for RealClearPolicy, Phil Goldberg, Director of the Civil Justice Center at PPI, details the evolution of the role of state attorney general over the last 20 years from mere law enforcer to general policymaker:
“Today, both Democratic and Republican AGs use litigation and the powers of the office to regulate. But with this new responsibility comes new opportunities to breach the public trust.
“A particularly alarming development is AGs’ increasing use of private law firms to sue companies under no-bid contracts where the firms get percentages of the settlements or awards. These arrangements were born out of tobacco litigation in the 1990s and have spread to all sorts of actions, leading to several scandals over the connections between AGs and the firms they hire.
“An aggressive way to address the politicization of the state AG is to have the AG selected by the governor, rather than through a popular election where he or she must raise campaign funds. The states that select their chief law enforcement officers this way have seen fewer scandals. For now, though, states should adopt legislation such as [the Transparency in Private Attorney Contract Act] to ensure that law-enforcement actions brought on behalf of the state put the public good above private profits.”
U.S. APP ECONOMY CAPITOL HILL BRIEFING: Please join PPI and TechNet next Thursdayfor a Capitol Hill breakfast briefing on “App Economy Jobs in the United States.” The event will feature remarks by Congressman Mike Bishop (R-MI), followed by a panel discussion featuring:
Dr. Michael Mandel, Chief Economic Strategist, PPI
Terry Howerton, CEO, TechNexus Venture Collaborative
Ron Klain, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Revolution, LLC
Linda Moore, President & CEO, TechNet
Brendan Peter, Vice President, Global Government Relations, CA Technologies
WASHINGTON—PPI President Will Marshall today released the following statement after a U.S. federal magistrate ordered Apple to help the Federal Bureau of Investigation unlock the encrypted iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters:
“The Progressive Policy Institute has long advocated a forceful U.S. response to the threat of jihadist terrorism. With the rise and spread of the so-called Islamic State, that threat has grown more acute than ever. That’s why we are usually inclined to give U.S. intelligence, military and law enforcement agencies the benefit of the doubt when they seek new tools to keep us safe.
“However, a federal court’s demand that Apple weaken encryption for its iPhones gives us pause. For many Americans, it may seem intuitively obvious that law enforcement should be able to ‘unlock’ a dead terrorists’ cellphone. But weaker encryption wouldn’t just apply to terrorists and criminals; it would jeopardize the privacy of any American with a smart phone.
“What’s more, other governments would doubtless follow Washington’s lead in demanding that phone makers develop software to help them get around encryption. We don’t want to endanger human rights and democracy activists around the world by giving dictators and authoritarian regimes new tools for surveillance and repression.
“We recognize that there is always a trade-off between privacy and security. To justify exposing the private communications of citizens to government scrutiny, U.S. security agencies would have to offer compelling evidence that gathering data from smart phones is essential to defusing the terrorist threat. In our view, they have yet to meet this burden of proof.”
During the seven years that the Trans-Pacific Partnership was being negotiated, critics repeatedly claimed that the trade agreement wouldn’t be about trade or cutting tariffs but, instead, would primarily advance the special interests of large multinationals. Economist Joseph Stiglitz, for example, warned that the TPP could “benefit the wealthiest sliver of the American and global elite at the expense of everyone else.”
The negotiations are now over, and the full text of the agreement, released on Nov. 5, tells a different story. Notably, the agreement includes groundbreaking provisions that better enable smaller businesses to prosper by exporting to the 12 countries that are in the partnership. The growing markets in these countries account for some 40% of the global economy.
Ninety-eight percent of America’s 300,000 exporters are small or medium-size enterprises (SMEs)—firms with fewer than 500 employees. Together they account for about a third of the $1.6 trillion in annual goods exports. And because only 5% of SMEs currently export, there’s a significant potential for growth.
Small businesses account for almost two-thirds of America’s net new jobs and—according to economists—are essential building blocks for economic mobility. Smaller firms that export are especially prolific creators of good jobs for diverse groups. Census Bureau data show that the average American women-owned exporter, for example, employs five times more workers and pays an average salary almost $17,000 more than women-owned non-exporters. Similarly, minority-owned exporters employ three times more workers and pay nearly $16,000 more.
Syria has become Barack Obama’s Iraq—a foreign policy debacle rooted in faulty assumptions about the utility of American power. Where George W. Bush overstated what U.S. military intervention could achieve in Iraq, Obama has underestimated the risks and costs of non-intervention in Syria.
The analogy will rankle many progressives, as well as conservative “realists” who have praised Obama’s doctrine of U.S. restraint. But any administration’s policies must be judged by their results, not the elegance of their conceptual underpinnings. And the results of Obama’s decision to stand aloof from the Syrian crisis have gone from bad to worse.
Despite declaring early on that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad must go, Obama in 2012 overruled his national security team — including then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — which urged him to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels not allied with jihadists groups. Having decided the previous year to pull all U.S. troops out of Iraq, Obama was not about to get sucked into Syria.
But power vacuums invite trouble, especially in the combustible Middle East. The Syrian caldron soon boiled over, morphing into a regional conflict as Iran and Hezbollah rushed to Assad’s rescue, while Saudi Arabia and Arab states came to the aid of Sunni rebels. Then came the hard-core Islamists of al-Qaeda and the even more fanatical spinoff, the Islamic State (commonly called Daesh), which proclaimed a new caliphate centered in Raqqa.
With the release of the full text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), America now has an important—and extensive—opportunity to review the agreement’s actual terms. Critics are certain to reprise old arguments, including those that blame trade for economic disruptions whose origins often lie elsewhere. And they’ll offer newer criticisms, including the claim that TPP isn’t really about trade or cutting tariffs but, rather, is a scheme to advance the agenda of large multinational corporations.
This latest charge will likely be news to the hundreds of thousands of small and mid-sized American firms that currently export—and the growing numbers of small entrepreneurs who are seeking greater opportunity through trade. America’s smaller exporters will note that the TPP has made small business trade a key point of emphasis, and that it includes groundbreaking provisions to boost their ability to export to key TPP markets.
Increasing exports by U.S. small business can also be a vital opportunity to promote stronger—and more inclusive—economic growth. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that export have higher sales, hire more employees, and pay higher wages than non-exporting SMEs. And because exporters account for only about one percent of all U.S. SMEs, America has significant untapped potential to support growth, good jobs, and economic mobility through increased small business trade.
But to meet this potential, it’s vital for the United States to reduce the extensive and often onerous foreign trade barriers that often keep SME traders on the sidelines. High duties and costs, customs red tape, unnecessarily complex regulations, and other barriers negatively impact American exporters of all sizes, but they can loom particularly large for small entrepreneurs that lack the resources, personnel, contacts, and extensive support networks of bigger competitors.
In this policy brief, we first review the TPP agreement and explain how it would eliminate significant trade barriers to U.S. small business and enable more American SMEs to prosper by exporting to fast-growing Asia-Pacific markets. We then highlight how the TPP’s support for small business trade can play a vital, broader role, helping to boost the overall economy and “democratizing” trade by assuring that trade’s significant benefits are shared more widely by more Americans.
Ed Gerwin, PPI Senior Fellow for Trade and Global Opportunity, was quoted by Ana Campoy of Quartz talking about the importance and influence of Obama’s proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership:
Aside from the lower tariffs that are part of any run-of-the-mill trade agreement, TPP has a whole chapter on international e-commerce, and another on small- and medium-sized companies. The specific provisions of the pact have not been released yet, but a public summary of its contents shows that the TPP ‘could be potentially transformative,’ Ed Gerwin, a trade expert at the Progressive Policy Institute, tells Quartz.
For example, the treaty promises to speed up the process of getting merchandise across borders by making import rules more easily accessible and transparent. If the agreement is approved, express packages would be expedited and customs officials would be encouraged to adopt time-saving measures such as electronic forms and signatures.
‘That stuff is a big deal,’ says Gerwin. ‘Having uniform rules is really important.’”
WASHINGTON— The Progressive Policy Institute issued the following statement in response to Secretary Clinton’s announced opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement:
“Progressives—and all Americans—seek an economic future with good jobs and more inclusive economic growth. The Trans-Pacific Partnership can help achieve both of these important goals. The TPP would expand U.S. trade to growing Asia-Pacific markets in innovative and important sectors where America is strong, supporting higher-paying jobs. At the same time, the TPP’s groundbreaking provisions on the digital economy and small business trade could boost export opportunities for American entrepreneurs and smaller exporters which, in turn, can help spread gains from trade more broadly throughout the American economy.
“The TPP would also help assure that this growing trade would happen under enforceable, high-standard commitments to protect labor rights, preserve the environment, ensure an open Internet, reduce corruption, and increase transparency. These and other TPP commitments would help level the international playing field for American exporters and their workers, while providing tangible help to workers and people in all TPP countries.
“In light of these and other anticipated benefits from TPP, PPI is disappointed that Secretary Clinton has expressed her opposition to the agreement—and we hope that she’ll reconsider this initial view once the TPP’s full text is released. Like any negotiated agreement, the TPP is certainly far from perfect. But it has significant potential to support smarter and more inclusive growth and to orient U.S. trade towards new markets, new opportunities and a rapidly changing global economy—and to do so in a way that advances key American values. And, as Secretary Clinton well knows, the TPP could also deliver critical geopolitical benefits for the United States and our key allies in the Pacific region.
“Many who routinely oppose new trade agreements—like those who repeatedly vow to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act—are often long on rhetoric and short on practical and achievable solutions. It would be unfortunate for a thoughtful leader like Secretary Clinton to make common cause with reflexive anti-traders—in both parties—whose zero-sum views on the global economy are rooted in the failed policies of the past. We hope, instead, that Secretary Clinton will work to support agreements to expand trade and other policies—including investments in education, training and infrastructure—that will help orient the American economy towards the future and bring trade’s undeniable benefits to more Americans.”
WASHINGTON— Ed Gerwin, Senior Fellow for Trade and Global Opportunity at the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), today released the following statement in response to Monday’s announcement that top trade officials from the 12 Trans-Pacific Partnership countries have successfully completed their negotiations:
“PPI welcomes Monday’s announcement that the United States and its 11 negotiating partners have successfully concluded negotiations on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement.
“If done right, modern trade agreements like TPP have significant potential to increase American exports to key foreign markets; to forge international consensus on high standards for open rulemaking, environmental protection, and labor rights; and to support digital commerce and other tools for broader and more inclusive trade.
“We appreciate the tireless efforts of Ambassador Froman, the Obama Administration’s trade team, and trade supporters in Congress in seeking a TPP agreement that will achieve these and other key priorities for the United States.
“We look forward to reviewing the text of the completed agreement. And we are particularly grateful to Congressional trade leaders—particularly Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Congressman Ron Kind (D-Wisc.), and other pro-trade Democrats—for writing strong, new rules that will assure an extensive, informed and transparent debate on the detailed provisions of the TPP.”
All political parties struggle to reconcile their core convictions with their desire to win elections. But apparently there’s one party so pristinely principled that it despises its own electoral successes.
I refer, of course, to Britain’s Labour Party. In choosing as its new leader Jeremy Corbyn, a long-time fixture of the hard-left fringe, the party has emphatically repudiated the winning ways of “New Labour.”
Corbyn is a throwback to the doctrinaire socialism of the 1970s and 1980s, which became linked in the public mind to crippling strikes by imperious labor unions, economic stagnation, welfare dependence, reflexive anti-Americanism and enthusiasm for “revolutionary” forces around the world. An iconic image of the era: the actress and prominent “Trot” Vanessa Redgrave holding a Kalashnikov aloft while dancing with PLO gunmen.
The party’s thralldom to the “looney left” paved the way for Margaret Thatcher’s ascension and kept Labour out of power for 18 long years. Finally, in the early 90s, a band of young reformers led by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown jettisoned the party’s tired collectivist dogma and launched a drive to modernize the party’s image and governing philosophy. Inspired by Bill Clinton’s success here, they borrowed heavily from his “New Democrat” playbook.
Blair led Labour to a smashing victory in 1997, and went on to win two more elections. He and Brown served as Prime Minister for 13 years — Labour’s longest run in government ever.
While popular with British voters, New Labour’s attempts to define a modern and pragmatic progressivism were anathema to the party’s left. They disdained Blair as a glib and soulless centrist willing to sell out Labour’s socialist ideals for a mess of electoral pottage. That disdain curdled into intense hatred when Blair later supported George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq.
International engagement is integral to PPI’s mission of policy innovation, going back to the “third way” dialogues we helped to launch back in the 1990s. In addition to multiple visits to Brussels and other European capitals over the past several years, PPI went to Australia last summer to unveil a unique study of the “App Economy” Down Under. Underscoring the value of such global outreach, the host for that July 2014 event, Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, just became Australia’s Prime Minister.
Extending our efforts in the Asia-Pacific region, we’ve just returned from a fascinating two-week foray to Japan, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Here’s a brief report on our trip, which centered on two new studies of the App Economy in Southeast Asia, as well as our work to support President Obama’s push for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
It began on Sept. 7 (Labor Day) in Tokyo, where PPI’s traveling party was briefed by top officials of Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) on Japan’s priorities for the TPP negotiations, Among other things, we discussed TPP’s importance in supporting increased trade by small and mid-sized U.S. and Japanese firms, and we emphasized TPP’s critical role in promoting the cross border data flows on which the global economy increasingly depends.
At the Ministry of Defense, we received a broad survey of regional security concerns, including China’s “creeping expansion” and island-building activities in the South China Sea. This briefing helped to provide context for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s controversial new security proposals, which are intended to allow Japan’s armed forces more latitude in joining mutual defense efforts in the region, including joint exercises with U.S. forces.
Energy also figured prominently in our talks. From directors of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy and Office for International Nuclear Energy Cooperation, we learned that the post-Fukushima shutdown of nuclear energy has left Japan importing an amazing 96 percent of its energy, leaving it hugely dependent on coal and Middle East oil. Little wonder that Japan is gradually bringing nuclear reactors back on line and trying to tilt its portfolio more toward natural gas and renewable solar and wind power. The United States could support these efforts by a key ally by lifting outdated restrictions on U.S. oil and gas exports.
Other key meetings in Tokyo included a wide-ranging conversation on U.S.-Japan relations and the progress of “Abenomics” with the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), as well as a roundtable discussion with the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan on the investment climate in Japan, the government’s efforts to stimulate economic growth, and the attempts to stimulate innovation in regenerative medicine.
PPI next traveled to Vietnam, a country in the throes of rapid economic development and modernization. In Ho Chi Minh City, we met with city officials eager to lower legal and regulatory barriers to foreign investors, as well as leaders of the city’s University of Technology and Education, an American-founded college that is trying to meet the economy’s insatiable demand for engineers and technicians.
If Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam’s business center, Hanoi is the seat of a government firmly controlled by the Communist Party. There, PPI released“Vietnam and the App Economy,“ a report by our chief economic strategist Michael Mandel. Using a methodology Mandel pioneered in measuring the number of U.S. app-related jobs since the introduction of the smartphone in 2007, the study shows that Vietnam ranks surprisingly high in app job growth – first, in fact, in Southeast Asia (including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines).
The report warns, however, that new regulations under consideration – for example, a rule that would prohibit data from leaving Vietnam – could crimp the development of the country’s nascent digital sector. What’s more, the wisdom of a heavy state role in certain sectors, such as telecom and mobile broadband, was the subject of some very spirited discussions with our hosts.
PPI’s visit and Dr. Mandel’s report were well-received in the Vietnamese media, gaining positive coverage from the Vietnam News Agency, ICT News Vietnam,Vietnam Breaking News, The Voice of Vietnam, andVietnamPlus.
PPI also released a second report, “TPP and the Benefits of Freer Trade for Vietnam: Some Lessons from U.S. Free Trade Agreements,”at an event organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi, which included leading Vietnamese economists and economic reformers. Written by Ed Gerwin, who directs PPI’s Trade and Global Opportunity project, the report shows how countries that use high-standard free trade agreements to enhance transparency and the rule of law, adopt higher labor and environmental standards, and make other key reforms often see significant growth in foreign investment, greater innovation, and broader participation in global commerce. Gerwin’s report garnered media coverage in The Hill and theCommunist Party of Vietnam’s Online Newspaper.
Our schedule also included meetings with top-level officials from Vietnam’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Information and Communication, and Science and Technology, as well as visits to Saigon Hi-Tech Park, the U.S. Embassy, Viettel Corporation, FPT Software, and Vietnam Silicon Valley.
From Hanoi it was on to our final destination, Indonesia. At a packedpublic forum in Jakarta hosted by Mastel, an association of leading Indonesian and foreign companies, we released another Mandel study, “Indonesia: Road to the App Economy.”That was followed by a roundtable featuring top Indonesian government officials, business leaders and economists. PPI’s core premise – that emerging market economies, such as Indonesia, should not overlook possibilities for growth arising from the intangible, or data-driven economy, as well as traditional, labor-intensive manufacturing – sparked a lively discussion.
The report and Dr. Mandel’s public comments were quoted inCNN Indonesia, Bisnis Indonesia (the leading business print newspaper in the country), Detik.com (the number one online news outlet in Indonesia), andKompas Online(the number one print newspaper by circulation).
The PPI delegation included Will Marshall, Michael Mandel, Lindsay Lewis, Cody Tucker, and Ed Gerwin. We will continue to find ways to engage on policy issues globally, as the new economy being fostered by U.S. innovation needs better international understanding and increased appreciation. We hope you will find the opportunity to join us in the coming year as we push for unique policy solutions at home and abroad.
JAKARTA—The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) today released a new policy report at a public forum in Jakarta, which measures the growing contribution of digital innovation to the Indonesian economy, compares the environment for investment in Indonesia to other locations in Southeast Asia, and warns of potential policy pitfalls and regulations that might harm future digital growth and economic prosperity in the country.
The report, “Indonesia: Road to the App Economy,” is an effort to measure the thousands of app-related jobs created in Indonesia since the introduction of the smartphone in 2007. Based on a methodology PPI Chief Economic Strategist Dr. Michael Mandel has developed to estimate app job growth in the United States, Great Britain, Australia, and Vietnam, the study is the first to quantify the number of Indonesian jobs directly related to the building, maintenance, support and marketing of applications for smart-devices.
“Up to this point, Indonesia has not been focused on app development. Nevertheless, the country has a rapidly growing number of app developers—these are the people who design and create the apps distributed domestically and internationally,” said Dr. Mandel, author of the report. “Moreover, Indonesian companies that do app development also have to hire sales people, project managers, database programmers, and other types of workers. Finally, each app developer supports a certain number of local jobs.
“In this paper, we estimate that Indonesia has roughly 22,000 App Economy jobs across the entire country. In addition, we show that Indonesia comes in third in our App Economy ranking of major Southeast Asia countries, behind Vietnam and just behind Singapore.
“Why is this important? The implication is that production of mobile apps—both for the domestic and global economies—could become an increasing source of growth in coming years for Indonesia. The Indonesian government is facing an important economic policy decision. Countries are better off nurturing a strong position in mobile app development. The key to growth is to be a creator of mobile apps, not simply a user. That strategy creates a workforce with the right skills and training to prosper in the global economy going forward.”
Indonesia’s growth rate has been slowing in recent years. In the second quarter, GDP grew 4.7% over the same quarter of the previous year, the smallest gain since 2009. Part of that slowdown is due to global economic weakness that has hurt commodity exports. However, that only points out the need to find another, more sustainable engine for growth for the Indonesian economy.
President Joko Widodo, in office since October 2014, seeks to transform Indonesia from an economy that imports manufacturing products such as telecommunications equipment into one that produces them. Indeed, his administration’s emphasis on production has included domestic content rules for smartphones using advanced networks, as a way of allowing Indonesia to participate in the global mobile revolution as producer rather than a consumer.
In this paper we take another perspective on Indonesia’s economy. Rather than focusing on hardware, we examine the potential of the production of mobile applications (“apps”) as a source of growth and jobs for Indonesia. The App Economy, as it is sometimes called, is the whole ecosystem of jobs, companies, and in- come connected with the production and distribution of mobile apps.
Many people mistakenly think of mobile apps as simply games or chat programs or social media. Games and social media are important—but in reality, they are only a small part of the App Economy. Apps are used by major multinationals, banks, media companies, retailers, and governments. As of July 2015, there were 1.6 million apps available for Android, and another 1.5 million available on Apple’s App Store.
App development is one route to economic success for a country such as Indonesia that has a large internal market. Today, many countries try to develop their manufacturing sector as a means to growth, emulating China and Korea. However, such a strategy necessarily requires a large investment in physical capital, not just for the factories but for the transportation infrastructure and power grid as well. Building and improving highways, rail lines, and ports is expensive and time consuming.
By comparison, mobile app development requires far less physical capital, and has the potential for paying off much more quickly. Moreover, going forward, mobile apps could be a major source of value-added and growth. What’s required is a skilled workforce and good telecom connections, both domestically and internationally. But once these are in place, a country such as Indonesia can become part of the global App Economy, creating good jobs and growth at home.
HANOI—The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) today released a new policy report highlighting how key reforms Vietnam would need to implement under the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) could ultimately provide important benefits for Vietnam itself. The report was made public at an American Chamber of Commerce event in Hanoi attended by influential U.S. and Vietnamese business leaders, as well as leading Vietnamese economic experts and proponents of economic reform.
“Vietnam is poised to benefit significantly from the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement,” said Ed Gerwin, PPI Senior Fellow for Trade and Global Opportunity and author of the report. “But TPP will also require Vietnam to undertake significant legal and regulatory changes in areas including transparency, the rule of law, labor and environmental rules, the digital economy, and rules for state-owned enterprises. These reforms in Vietnam will play a critical role in driving increased U.S. trade and commerce with a growing and vibrant Vietnamese economy.
“Those of us who believe strong trade agreements can promote inclusive growth and positive change need to continue to remind Vietnam that adopting these necessary reforms—and sticking to them—will also deliver tangible benefits for Vietnam and its people. PPI looks forward to continuing to be a constructive voice in this effort.”
In “TPP and the Benefits of Freer Trade for Vietnam: Some Lessons from U.S. Free Trade Agreements,” Gerwin uses the experience of past high-standard U.S. trade agreements to illustrate why undertaking these often-difficult reforms would also be in Vietnam’s self interest. Gerwin notes, “the adjustments required by high-standard [trade deals] can also promote foreign investment, technological advancement, innovation, broader participation in trade, and other key developments that—together with additional reforms—can drive stronger and more broadly shared economic development.”
Countries trade because trade delivers mutual benefits. New market-opening trade agreements like the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) can enhance the shared benefits of trade by eliminating barriers to expanded international commerce and deepening economic cooperation between partners. It’s not surprising, therefore, that a detailed economic simulation of freer commerce under the TPP finds that each of the 12 TPP countries would see aggregate income gains and increased ex- ports under a comprehensive TPP. A strong TPP agreement, in short, could be a win—times 12.
But governments and their leaders don’t simply operate in the aggregate. Despite trade’s undeniable overall benefits, not everyone benefits from trade—and beneficial agreements that increase trade and open markets can require sometimes- difficult economic adjustments.
For the United States, for example, the TPP could support more good-paying jobs for U.S. workers who produce and sell American goods and services to growing Pacific Rim economies that should see even stronger growth under TPP. At the same time, however, growing trade can lead to lost jobs and lower wages for some American workers, and will require a renewed U.S. focus on comprehensive solutions, including assistance and better training for lower-skilled workers.
Other countries will need to adjust as well. Japan, for instance, will require reforms to its farm sector, while Canada will need to upgrade its intellectual property rules to comply with global standards.
PPI Unveils Report Measuring Vietnam’s App Economy at Public Forum in Hanoi
Report estimates 29,000 App jobs in Vietnam
HANOI—The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) today released a new policy report at a public forum in Hanoi, which measures the growing contribution of digital innovation to the Vietnamese economy, compares the environment for investment in Vietnam to other locations in Southeast Asia, and warns of potential policy pitfalls and regulations that might harm future digital growth and economic prosperity in the country.
The report, “Vietnam and the App Economy,” is an effort to measure the thousands of app-related jobs created in Vietnam since the introduction of the smartphone in 2007. Based on a methodology PPI Chief Economic Strategist Dr. Michael Mandel has developed to estimate app job growth in the United States, Great Britain, and Australia, the study is the first to quantify the number of Vietnamese jobs that are directly related to the building, maintenance, support and marketing of applications for smart-devices.
“Vietnam has a rapidly growing number of app developers—these are the people who design and create the apps distributed domestically and internationally,” writes Dr. Mandel, author of the report. “Moreover, Vietnamese companies that do app development also have to hire sales people, project managers, database programmers and other types of workers. Finally, each app developer supports a certain number of local jobs.
“In this paper, we estimate that Vietnam has roughly 29,000 App Economy jobs across the entire country. In addition, we show that Vietnam has the top-rated App Economy in Southeast Asia (including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines).
“Why is this important? The App Economy is the whole ecosystem of jobs, companies, and income connected with mobile apps. The rise of the App Economy may offer low- and middle-income countries such as Vietnam a faster route to economic success.”
In addition, PPI’s mission to Vietnam includes meetings with: Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Vietnam Ministry of Information and Communication; Vietnam Ministry of Science and Technology; Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Investment; Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education; Saigon Hi-Tech Park Management Board; U.S. Embassy Vietnam; American Chamber of Commerce Vietnam; Viettel Corporation; FPT Software; and Vietnam Silicon Valley.
Please contact Cody Tucker at ctucker@ppionline.org with media requests or questions.
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The Progressive Policy Institute is an independent, innovative and high-impact D.C.-based think tank founded in 1989. Through research, policy analysis and dialogue, PPI develops break-the-mold ideas aimed at economic growth, national security and modern, performance-based government. Today, PPI’s unique mix of political realism and policy innovation continues to make it a leading source of pragmatic and creative ideas. PPI is a non-profit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) educational organization.
