Free trade strategy

Economics What are the advantages and disadvantages of adopting a free trade strategy by a country? This assignment will look the free trade strategy by a country and how it helps different countries it will also look at how it helps countries develop, the barriers/restrictions which stop trade and the role of the world trade organisation on trading. Without international trade we would all be much poorer there would be some items like pineapples, coffee, cotton clothes, foreign holidays and uranium that we would simply have to go without. Then there would be other items like wine and spacecraft we could produce only very inefficiently. International trade has potential to benefit all participating countries. Totally free trade however may bring problems to countries or to groups of people within those countries. Many people argue strongly for restrictions on trade. Textile workers see their jobs threatened by cheap imported cloth. Car manufacturers worry about falling sales as customers switch to Japanese models or other East Asian ones. Absolute advantage is where a country is able to produce more cheaply in absolute than another country e.g. if France can produce wine with less resources than the UK, and the UK can produce gin with less resources than France, then France has an absolute advantage in wine an the UK in gin. Production of both wine and gin will be

  • Word count: 1968
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Law of Financial Services.

IF260 Law of Financial Services Coursework Due date: 3 December 2003 By: Daniel Mckeown Student Number: M206765 Course: BA Banking & Finance No of words: 2676 The Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA) was passed on the 31 July 1974 and took effect on the 20th May 1985. The CCA was based on a report by a committee that was headed by the late Lord Crowther in 1971. The main body of work for the CCA was conducted by Sir Frances Bennnion. His work was titled "Consumer Credit Control" and in the main was the CCA. The CCA replaced the Hire-Purchase Act 1964, Money Lenders Act 1900 and the Pawnbrokers Acts 1872, 1922 and 1960 it also filled in the gaps left by those acts.1 In the UK during the 1960's/70's there was a huge increase in the market for consumer credit. Previous to the CCA there was very little in the way of regulation in the consumer credit industry that protected the individual. The result of this was that many unscrupulous individuals and firms could offer money lending to individuals. The individual could be charged very high amounts of interest. The result was if an individual was unable to pay then repayments they could face legally proceedings and have their property seized. The CCA was introduced so as to stop unscrupulous firms and individuals from operating and to offer greater protection to individuals purchasing using credit. The

  • Word count: 3106
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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This critical review will focus on the Moran article, 'The Pie and the Crust' which puts under consideration the context of widespread television program formatting.

This critical review will focus on the Moran article, 'The Pie and the Crust' which puts under consideration the context of widespread television program formatting. Hence, it would be valuable at first then to define formatting in the television sense and state that a format is simply a plan for the organization and arrangement of a specified production. This plan or format does not have to be followed rigidly, although the basic concept is usually taken and modified to suit cultural requirements. Moran sees format as "...a loose and expanding set of program possibilities" which enforces the notion that formatting is not just a simple process of licensing a format and screening the program. Moran's main arguments seem to fall under four main categories; economical, cultural, social and political. That is to suggest that television formatting relates to the four categories in significant ways, economically formatting occurs due to simple financing - it is a lot cheaper to buy a pre-thought up format then to develop a new idea, whilst formatting also represents a low-level risk as generally established formats are purchased which perhaps feature a history of success elsewhere. Culturally and socially, Moran's arguments involve the licensing of formats globally and more specifically the question why do some countries "...Produce their own version of a television program such as

  • Word count: 945
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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To what extent do major sporting events act as a focus for inward investment?

To what extent do major sporting events act as a focus for inward investment? Inward investment is the capital attracted to a region or a country from beyond it boundaries. (Source Skinner, Malcolm the complete A-Z Geography handbook second edition page 160) For major sporting events to be successful the government needs to play a key role to help actually pay for the bid to host the event. They also need to attract both domestic and international organisations to help to finance the event. There are a number of important sporting events occurring annually all over the world. The sporting industry has become very profitable in recent times. One reason it has grown quite significantly is because of globalisation. For example the premiership is an English football league which can be viewed on a global scale because of Rupert Murdoch's television empire BSkyB= UK Fox broadcasting company= USA Fox sports Australia = Australia Fox television stations = USA Foxtel= Australia SKY PerfecTV! = Japan STAR= Asia/all over the world Stream= Italy Figure 1. The table shows the television companies he owns in different countries. (Source http://www.newscorp.com/operations/television.html march 2003) All of these broadcasters show major sporting events in one way or another which can be viewed globally. There is intense competition to host these major sporting events because of

  • Word count: 2278
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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A case study of a Bulgarian woolen textile firm "Wooltex AD".

BULGARIAN TEXTILE INDUSTRY A CASE STUDY OF A BULGARIAN WOOLEN TEXTILE FIRM "WOOLTEX AD"1,2 Industry Background Wooltex AD is the biggest joint stock company for the production of wool textile in the country. It has a full production cycle from the input of washed raw wool to the finished fabric, including a small tailoring workshop. Wooltex AD is located in a relatively large town in the central-east part of Bulgaria. The town, with a high concentration of wool and cotton fabric production, is considered to be one of the three main textile centers (Sliven, Kazanlak, Gabrovo) in Bulgaria. It is also the town with the country's earliest traditions in organized industrial wool textile production. The town's first wool processing factory was established in 1834, and was the first modern industrial enterprise in Bulgaria. By the beginning of the twentieth century, seven such factories were in existence. Wooltex' history started in 1891, with the establishment of "Antov & Mishkov"3, a private company. The company was nationalized in 1947; the communist government took over the company from its owners and ran it as a state-owned enterprise. At that time "Antov and Mishkov" was the biggest textile company in the country, and had modern (for its time) machinery and equipment, a full production cycle, and a developed wholesale network in Sofia. In the 1940s, it employed no

  • Word count: 5397
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Sources of financial pressure for the nhs

Economic Policy 0528431 Due: 9th May 08 What are the main sources of the financial pressures on the National Health Service in the UK? How might governments seek to deal with these pressures? The National Health Service (NHS) is the "publicly funded healthcare system in the UK". It is the healthcare provider for the majority of people that reside in the UK. Created due to intervention from the government in healthcare markets, it was established in 1948 to provide free and basic healthcare for the poor and underprivileged people of Britain. It is considered the biggest establishment in Europe and is referred to by the World Health Organisation as "one of the best health services in the world". The cost of the NHS was much higher than expected and certain measures had to be enforced to deal with its cost escalation. The NHS is funded largely by general taxes and national insurance payments. It is widely acknowledged that the NHS is in dire need of funding and financial investment because at the end of each financial year the organisation is in multi-million dollar arrears with each year's figure steadily rising. The financial year ending in 2006 saw the NHS in a £512 million deficit, which is more than double the figure of 2005. (www.nehl.nhs.uk). If this figure is not enough to convince one of the NHS' shortfalls, one would only have to take a walk through a

  • Word count: 2440
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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During the past few years, Japan, the world's second largest market next to the United States, has undergone dramatic changes in many long-standing systems and practices.

Executive Summary During the past few years, Japan, the world's second largest market next to the United States, has undergone dramatic changes in many long-standing systems and practices - ranging from industry deregulation and labor mobility to policies on the presence of foreign businesses in Japan. From the standpoint of a multinational corporation such as MediTech Inc., country risk analysis is the assessment of factors that influence the likelihood that a country will have a healthy investment climate. A favorable business environment depends on the existence of a stable economic and political system whereby entrepreneurship is encouraged and free markets predominate. Under such a system, resources are most likely to be highly utilized, and people will have the greatest incentive to take risks in productive ventures (Shapiro, 2002, p. 142). Japan being one of the world's wealthiest nations with per person GDP of approximately $23,400 (adjusted for purchasing power discrepancies) is also the nation with the largest elderly population after Italy. Consistent with the country's status as a high-income, developed nation, the leading causes of death in Japan are malignant neoplasms, heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases, pneumonia and accidents (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 1999). Given that, medical devices and equipments such as MRI, CT and image read

  • Word count: 3784
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Document Analysis of Witte's Economic Policy Reform. Sergei Witte, the author of this document of economic policy reform was appointed to the position of Minister of Finance in 1893.

Document Analysis of Witte's Economic Policy Reform. Sergei Witte, the author of this document of economic policy reform was appointed to the position of Minister of Finance in 1893. He was appointed Minister of Finance during the reign of Alexander III to help Russia's struggling economy. Witte was a very influential Minister of Finance achieving the ultimate goal of putting Russia on the gold standard in 1897.1 This was one of the main reasons as to why this document was written in 1899, because Russia could now implement radical economic policies due to the foreign investment it received because it had the gold standard. Witte was an admirer of Western European style economies, and did not approve of Russia's policy of exporting raw materials and importing finished goods. By halting the policy of exporting raw materials and importing finished goods, Witte believed that this would be a fundamental factor in the industrialisation of Russia. Lionel Kochan believed that Sergei Witte was one of the most important men in Russia in pioneering its eventual success to industrialise.2 Although Kochan was an admirer of Witte, many western European historians believed that Witte's reforms hindered and not helped Russia's economy, such as domestic industries which did not benefit from contracts and subsides.3 The document of economic reform was addressed to the Tsar, Nicholas II. This

  • Word count: 1049
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Doing business in emerging economics

BUSINESS OPERATIONS IN EMERGING ECONOMIES The past 50 years has witnessed the development of China's investment and cooperation with Africa. When China established diplomatic relations with Egypt in 1956, the trade between China and the entire Africa continent was merely 12 millions US dollars. Until 1980, although following the Opening- up policy, the volume of trade was still no more than 1.13 billion US dollars. However as the China's economy fast developed in the recent 10 years and the economic and trade conditions improved in African countries, the relations and cooperation between the two have surged to a new peak. Since 2001, the value of the bilateral trade has increased at the annual rate of 40%. And in 2005, the figure reached 39.74 billions US dollars, with China' export of 18.68 billions and import of 21.06 billions respectively, twice as much as that in 2003. And in 2006, it soared to 55.5 billions, in which export form China was 26.7 billions and import was 28.8 billions. China has established investment projects in 49 African countries and has overtaken UK and emerged the third largest trade partner with Africa after the US and France. And in the African continent, it is estimated by the IMF that the economic growth rate of Africa was approximately 6%, the climax of the last 30 years. And it is believed that China's investment played an important role in it.

  • Word count: 3410
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Explain the main instruments of macro economic policy - Fiscal Policy

Explain the main instruments of macro economic policy Fiscal Policy Fiscal policy is the use of government expenditure and taxation to manage the economy. The main changes in fiscal policy happen once a year in the Budget. It is in the Budget that the Chancellor sets the levels of taxation and government expenditure for the next fiscal year. The fiscal year runs from 5th April one year to 4th April the following year. This is why the budget is usually in March. The changes come generally into effect in the following month. Fiscal policy can be used in various different ways. It may be used to try to boost the level of economic activity when the economy is flagging a little. In this case it is called reflationary policy. Alternatively the economy may doing a little too well and in need of slowing down. In this case deflationary policy is called for. The final use for fiscal policy is as a tool of supply - side policy To help imagine how these policies work think of the economy as a balloon. The air in the balloon is the level of demand or economic activity. If the balloon is a little low and short of air you want to reflate it, but if it is over-expanded and in danger of bursting you deflate it. The same is true of the economy, though when it is over-expanded instead of bursting we get other problems such as higher inflation and a large balance of payments

  • Word count: 4237
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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