Is Free Trade Fair Trade
Is Free Trade Fair Trade McConnel and Brue define free trade as "the absence of artificial (government imposed) barriers to trade among individuals and firms in different nations".1 Free trade has long been thought as the desirable model of trade that brings about prosperity to nations practicing it. However, I beg to differ and believe that free trade does not materialize its theoretical promises. Critical analysis of free trade theory reveals that free trade is anything but fair trade. I have attempted to analyze the classical and neoclassical models of free trade theory and identify inherent problems within the very concept of free trade. Careful analysis reveals that when applied to the contemporary world economy, the very postulates of these theories favor developed countries over the developing countries. David Ricardo has showed that relative cost difference is an important determinant of the theory of international trade. He founded the principle of comparative advantage, which suggests that under competitive forces, countries will ultimately produce goods, which provide them comparative advantage in terms of cost.2 This serves as the classical approach towards free trade and implies that countries should specialize in producing those commodities in which they possess a relative cost advantage. They will be more productive in making these goods and can trade them
History and Role of Trade Unions Report
FdSc Management of Construction Technologies Human & Resource Management (TCM 403) History Of Trade Unions (Employee Relations) Tom Hogarth Contents Introduction Various Roles of Trade Unions History Benefits to Employees Conclusion Bibliography Introduction Many workers in modern society are part of what we call 'Trade Unions'. In this report I intend to cover issues of employee relations and how they are important in problem resolution. To determine this, the following areas of Trade Unions are to be assessed in depth: The history of trades unions The various roles that trade unions play today Why employees feel that it is necessary to be a member of a trade union The aims and objectives of a trade union The strategy adopted for delivering those aims and objectives What political associations do they have What successes, if any that they have achieved in the employee relations field Various Roles of a Trade Union For workers in our modern society, a well-paid secure job is a major objective towards living a decent life, but their labour and wages are, for employers, an economic cost and productive resource. Therefore, employers always look to minimise these costs and look to exploit the resource to the maximum whenever the market allows them. This causes conflict to arise between the employer and employees when dealing with the terms and conditions of
Islamic Relief & Muslim Aid.
Islamic Relief & Muslim Aid Islamic Relief Worldwide, established in 1984, have spent £378,000 to help the refugees in Albania. This includes two plane loads of food, medicine, clothes, blankets and tents - one already sent last week to Albania and one plane load to be sent this weekend. They have allocated £1.25 million to be spent for the next six months. Islamic Relief are currently fully responsible to providing food, clothing, bedding, medical supplies, as well as meeting the accommodation needs of about 5,000 refugees at a camp in Shkodre, Albania's 2nd City. Islamic Relief already has a permanent base in Albania, established in 1992 and has been working to help the refugees since June 1998 when the refugees began arriving into Albania because of 'ethnic cleansing' by the Serbs. Another Muslim charity, Muslim Aid, which was established in 1985, announced on April 13, that it has allocated an additional £500,000, bringing a total of £1 million allocated for the Kosovar refugees in Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro. It had allocated £500,000 on March 31 for the humanitarian help. It has already distributed £110,000 worth of food and medicines. Muslim Aid is working closely with local organisation in the distribution of its aid. Muslim Aid received £10,000 donation for the relief effort from Dr Richard Stone, on behalf of Jewish Racial Equality Council and
The Motives of Foreign Aid: Ethical or Rewarding?
Jon Schneider Professor A. Dewan Ethical Issues in the Third World Development 3 April 2012 Program-Related Assignment and Comprehensive Assessment - Commerce Profile The Motives of Foreign Aid: Ethical or Rewarding? Introduction: Foreign aid is defined as a form of assistance provided by rich, developed nations to poor, underdeveloped countries. There are many different types of assistance that can be provided, including educational, agricultural, technical, scientific and financial assistance. Individuals, governments, private organizations and businesses can all send foreign aid to Third World countries. This essay in particular focuses on the different motives behind donating foreign aid. More specifically, it is the motives that governments and organizations have in providing foreign aid that are worth discussing. After assessing the reasons different governments and organizations donate foreign aid, the question can then be asked: do these administrations seem ethical when providing foreign aid, or are they simply rewarded? In order to answer this question, different types of motivations will be discussed. Then, different examples of countries/organizations and their specific motives for providing foreign aid will be demonstrated. The different motives will then be evaluated in order to answer the questions of whether these motives should be seen as ethical,
The Benefits of Trade
A nation's industries, commerce, standard of living, and all other aspects of its economy are closely intertwined with the economies of foreign nations, through avenues such as goods, capital, technology and enterprise. Rising global prosperity further encourages nations to commit to harnessing relations with others in 'a world shrinking and becoming a single place.'(Marx) Not a new conception, the phenomena 'Globalisation', poses real opportunities and more surreal threats. Many contemporary authors in the field of science, politics and economics alike have resounded differing assumptions that support and contradict this newly formed sense of unity. Milton Friedman, an established economist, proclaims the ideology of a free market where 'no external force, no coercion, no violation of freedom is necessary to produce cooperation among individuals all of whom will benefit' (Friedman, p 2) In this essay, siding with the view of Friedman, I will define the key concepts of the free market and macroeconomic growth via 'the invisible hand', before critically evaluating one of its most sacred assumptions, the hypothesis that an 'invisible hand' will rid the threats of current existence and allow 'all parties to benefit.' (Friedman, p 7) Through evaluating the scope of the free market I will firstly assess the responsibility of government through intervention and secondly evaluate
Russia and the World Trade Organization.
2.RUSSIA AND THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION Myth 1. WTO membership means complete exposure of the economy to global competition, leading to the displacement of domestic industry followed by mass unemployment. This myth rests on a number of assumptions: ??Current tariffs protect Russia's industry against competition. ??WTO membership will lead to a drastic reduction in this tariff barrier. ??WTO membership means that the government will lose the key instruments it uses to protect local industry. ??Opening the economy as required by WTO membership amounts to a death sentence for domestic industry. The truth is more complex: ??Current tariff rates are low, some 7-15 percent at the two-digit industry level, too low to be very effective by international standards. Moreover, customs administration functions so poorly that only about half the tariffs are collected. ??Joining the WTO will not necessarily lead to a reduction in tariffs. Tariff rates will be decided during accession negotiations, and some tariffs may even be raised. Because the rates are likely to be fixed once the accession agreement is signed, government and industry must think carefully about the levels of future tariffs. ??The government will not lose its ability to protect domestic producers. Members of the WTO are permitted to implement temporary defensive measures. Also, keeping the real exchange rate
How Is Christian Aid Working To Fight Poverty And Injustice In The World?
How Is Christian Aid Working To Fight Poverty And Injustice In The World? Christian Aid is a charity committed to helping countries and people in poverty. One quarter of the world is in poverty and they hope to half this. It was set-up in 1945 by churches in England and Ireland and started out supporting victims and families in World War Two. Then as they grew they started helping poorer people overseas. They aim not to merely give grants and encourage dependency but to try and help third world countries to become self-sufficient. They do this by helping to start long-term projects that will eventually result in the area becoming more stable and being in a position from which to build a better future with more opportunities. They also help people who have been more unfortunate. For example people who are suffering as a result of a natural disaster and maybe just need food or clothing. The majority of Christian Aids funds come from donations and money collected on Christian Aid week, which started in 1957 during this week people are asked to donate through door to door collecting. Most of the people who work for Christian Aid are volunteers and ordinary people. They are determined to reduce and if possible cancel third world debt. They have shown through Jubilee 2000 that they have the power to influence world leaders and make a real difference to people's lives. However
Globalisation: fair trade
In 1949 President Truman addressed the citizens of the United States of America saying; "More than half the people in this world are living in conditions approaching misery. Their poverty is a handicap and a threat both to them and to more prosperous areas. ... What we envisage is a program of development based on the concepts of democratic fair dealing..." (Kiely 1998, p25). However 61 years on 20,000 people a day are dying from the effects of hunger, studies have shown that in developing countries there are 790 million hungry people (Madely, 2000). Quite frankly this is unacceptable. So why is that countries that have millions of starving people are exporting food to countries that are witnessing epidemic rates of obesity? What sort of system would allow an eight year old child to work "before light... seven days a week " (McDougall, 2010) in one part of the world, while in another another boy attends school and indulges in many luxuries the other can only dream of? In March of this year the times revealed that in Madagascar over two million children are at work on the vanilla farms in Madagascar; thus Madagascan children are forfeiting rights to education, childhood and a future, while Western children indulge in ice-cream; the system that allows this is 'free-trade'. Some argue that the capitalist system pursues profit, cheap labour and available resources
Multinationals and world trade
Multinationals and World Trade IIB-M-001 International Trade Student Name: Siyuan Li Student ID: 2800712 Unit Coordinator: Nigel Grimwade Essay Question How has the rise of multinational company affected trade? Is Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) a substitute or does FDI complement trade? Introduction Multinational companies are growing dramatically and merged in many countries especially in 21th century. The rise of multinational companies facilitates word trade and economy. Many companies are engaged in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), because it can access new overseas markets, take the advantage of cost and also to locate a business function near clusters of similar or related companies. Therefore FDI has direct link with trade. FDI has grown in importance in the global economy with FDI stocks now constituting 28 percent of global GDP (From Wikipedia). The aim of this paper is to analyze how has multinational company affected trade? And explain in some extent FDI is substitute and complement to trade. Multinational companies are now found in many countries because these companies aim to maximize their profits. FDI and trade are clearly interlinked. Gross domestic profit allows a country to measure the outputs, and hence the effects that FDI is having upon the nation " if the unit increases, this means that the country is
International Trade Law
International Trade law This assignment will focus on the actions of two member states of the World Trade Organisation1 (WTO) to determine whether state A is within their right to subsides their shoe industries. The subsidies implemented have three parts; the first created a private law body called 'Organisation for the Protection of the National Shoemaking Industry'. This body directly limits the number of shoes imported from abroad. Second the private body was funded by state A to provide a number of loans to at least 100 shoe making production companies in the country. Third, previous loans given to the same companies have been written off as a result of the new policy initiated in the state A. Understandably state B were furious with state A and want countervailing measures brought against state A actions; and as compensation for any loss that may occur will be considering an import duty on state A shoe industry. The starting point of discussion is what effect will the WTO have on the two states? Or in other words what does it mean to be a member of the WTO? The WTO is the pinnacle recognition that promotes the understanding that international progression can only be achieved if a fair and free market trade are conducted by member states. The WTO is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which was created in 1947 and operates as a de facto
