Cato Event Podcast

Zoning has shaped American cities since 1916, when New York City adopted the first comprehensive ordinance. It has remained a popular and widely used institution, particularly for homeowners wishing to protect the value of their homes. As values have soared in recent years, however, this protection has accelerated to the degree that new housing development has become unreasonably difficult and costly. The widespread Not in My Backyard (NIMBY) syndrome is driven by voters’ excessive concern about their home values and creates barriers to growth that reach beyond individual communities. Those barriers contribute to suburban sprawl, entrench income and racial segregation, retard regional immigration to the most productive cities, add to national wealth inequality, and slow the growth of the American economy. Zoning Rules, an update of Fischel’s 1985 classic book The Economics of Zoning, examines this history while offering solutions to the unintended consequences of zoning. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A heightened sense of anxiety on Europe's eastern border has renewed geopolitical concerns on the Continent. This panel will focus on the security rationale for TTIP, discuss the interplay between economic security and national defense, and describe the relative importance of geopolitical considerations to the launch and success of the TTIP. Panelists will discuss the implications of the TTIP for energy security, privacy protection, cybersecurity, NATO, and other policies at the intersection of economics and security.Moderated by: Bill Watson, Cato InstituteFran Burwell, Atlantic CouncilPhil Levy, The Chicago Council on Global AffairsPeter Rashish, Transnational Strategy Group Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Touted as the portion of the negotiations that could produce the largest economic gains, the regulatory coherence negotiations are complicated by several factors, including the level of technical detail involved, the reliance of negotiators on domestic regulators (who may have a professional interest in scuttling a deal) for expertise, and the wide disparity in approaches contemplated by U.S. and EU negotiators. Panelists will break down the negotiations and provide greater clarity with respect to the possibilities and probabilities.Moderated by: Simon Lester, Cato InstituteAlberto Alemanno, HEC Paris & NYU LawPer Altenberg, Swedish Board of TradeGreg Shaffer, University of California, Irvine School of Law Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Common to most trade negotiations are estimates of the likely economic benefits of a completed deal. Often, these estimates vary, as they are based on different assumptions in the models. Sometimes it is difficult to understand how estimates for an agreement with yet-to-be-determined provisions can have any credibility. Panelists will discuss the basics of the economic modeling that is common to estimating the benefits of trade agreements, describe how those estimates affect the negotiations, and explain divergences in the estimates of some of the most commonly referenced models.Moderated by: Hanna Norberg, TradeEconomista.comLaura Baughman, Trade PartnershipGabriel Felbermayr, Ifo InstituteGabriel Siles-Brugge, University of Manchester Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whether a TTIP deal is achieved depends on the tenor and substance of the U.S.-EU negotiations. But those negotiations are shaped, to a great extent, by the parameters established through domestic political processes. This session will feature an interview between a host and three discussants who will focus on some of the domestic political landmines within the United States and the European Union, as well as strategies to mitigate risks and bridge political divides.Moderated by: Dan Pearson, Cato InstituteJim Kolbe, German Marshall FundEdward Alden, Council on Foreign RelationsDamien Levie, Delegation of the European Union to the United States Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Moderated by: Dan Ikenson, Cato Institute Susan Danger, American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union (AmCham EU)Nancy McLernon, Organization for International Investment Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The TTIP and other mega-regional trade negotiations have been garnering attention for both their potential to liberalize trade and their potentially adverse impacts on the existing multilateral trading system. This panel will discuss the implications of the TTIP for the World Trade Organization and its member states. It will include discussion of the prospects for multilateralization of TTIP's provisions; accession by other WTO members, the potential impact on the WTO dispute settlement body, prospects for developing countries, and the implications for U.S. and EU relations with the big economies left out of these deals — such as China and Brazil — if the TTIP succeeds in writing a new gold-standard of trade rules.Moderated by: Joakim Reiter, UN Conference on Trade and DevelopmentVinod Aggarwal, University of California, BerkeleyJoost Pauwelyn, Georgetown University Law CenterHarsha Singh, International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is clear that the first tank of gas on the road to TTIP has run out. So where do we go from here? This panel will discuss the state of the negotiations, describe what lies ahead, and ask whether the United States and the EU have bitten off more than they can chew. If the negotiations were less ambitious in scope, would a final agreement be more achievable? Are there alternative architectures worth considering? Should we abandon the "single undertaking" approach and instead aim for a series of annual or biannual agreements? Should we consider including other countries that are closely integrated with the United States and the EU — such as Canada, Mexico, and Turkey — in the negotiations? If an agreement as currently proposed is achievable, what will it take to make it happen? And after such an agreement is reached, how daunting will the ratification processes be? What will it take to get to the final stage implementation?Moderated by: Inu Barbee, Georgetown UniversityMichelle Egan, American UniversityJohn Gillingham, Harvard University Center for European StudiesGary Hufbauer, Peterson Institute Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is at stake in these negotiations? Why are some issues more difficult to resolve than others, and how can compromise be reached? This panel will identify the low-hanging fruit, the sacred cows, and everything in between to provide a better understanding of the issues under negotiation, from the easiest to most difficult and consequential. Given the comprehensive nature of the agreement, there is room for debate on a number of topics, such as regulatory coherence, investor-state dispute settlement, privacy and data flows, financial services, government procurement, agriculture, services, labor and the environment, and, of course, tariffs. So what exactly is on the table, and what positions, if any, have both sides taken?Moderated by: Dan Ikenson, Cato InstituteSusan Aaronson, George Washington UniversityAxel Berger, German Development InstituteMarjorie Chorlins, U.S. Chamber of CommerceCeleste Drake, AFL-CIOIana Dreyer, BorderlexFredrik Erixon, ECIPE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations were launched to great fanfare in mid-2013 with the pronouncement that a comprehensive deal would be reached by the end of 2014 on a "single tank of gas." But after more than two years and 10 rounds of negotiations, an agreement is nowhere in sight and substantive differences remain between the parties. Despite a retreat from the original level of ambition, skepticism is mounting on both sides of the Atlantic that a deal will be reached anytime soon. What are the prospects for fulfilling the promise of a comprehensive trade and investment deal between the United States and the European Union? What exactly is under negotiation, and what is the strategy for advancing those negotiations? Would it make sense to exclude sacred-cow issues that will only bog down the negotiations? Is it wise to continue pursuing a single comprehensive deal for all issues on the table, or is it better to aim for a sequence of smaller agreements? Should a deal include other closely integrated countries, such as Canada, Mexico, and Turkey? How will TTIP affect the multilateral trading system, relations with the BRICS countries, and prospects for developing countries?Those and many other questions will be addressed through panel presentations, roundtable discussions, and debates by more than 30 trade experts from around the world at a conference hosted by the Cato Institute. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.