An Economic Assessment of the Myanmar Rice Sector: Current Developments and Prospects

In this study, the Myanmar rice economy is described in the context of the current political situation and state of national economic development. The forces that are changing rice production and exports are identified; however, the rate of development involves a complex integration of government intervention and politics, as well as availability of resources. Probable scenarios for rice production and export are projected based on recent growth trends and expected infrastructure development. The Arkansas Global Rice Model is used to integrate the Myanmar rice sector with the global rice market in developing projections

Globalization, Worker Insecurity, and Policy Approaches

[Excerpt] Today’s global economy, or what many call globalization, has a growing impact on the economic futures of American companies, workers, and families. Increasing integration with the world economy makes the U.S. and other economies more productive. For most Americans, this has translated into absolute increases in living standards and real disposable incomes. However, while the U.S. economy as a whole benefits from globalization, it is not always a win-win situation for all Americans. Rising trade with low-wage developing countries not only increases concerns of job loss, but it also leads U.S. workers to fear that employers will lower their wages and benefits in order to compete. Globalization facilitated by the information technology revolution expands international trade in a wider range of services, but also subjects an increasing number of U.S. white collar jobs to outsourcing and international competition. Also, globalization may benefit some groups more than others, leading some to wonder whether the global economy is structured to help the few or the many. The current wave of globalization is supported by three broad trends. The first is technology, which has sharply reduced the cost of communication and transportation that previously divided markets. The second is a dramatic increase in the world supply of labor engaged in international trade. The third is government policies that have reduced barriers to trade and investment. Whether these trends are creating new vulnerabilities for workers is the subject of increasing research and debate

Global Employment Trends: Brief, February 2005

[Excerpt] The global employment situation improved slightly in 2004. Global unemployment stood at 184.7 million at the end of 2004, down from a revised 185.2 million in 2003. Although the decline in unemployment is very small in percentage terms, this is a significant development, as it marks only the second time in the past decade that there was a year-over-year decline in total unemployment. In addition, the global employment-to-population ratio stabilized in 2004 at 61.8 per cent, from a revised 61.7 in 2003. The robust global economic growth rate of 5 per cent in 2004 undoubtedly played a large role in shaping these employment outcomes. The focus of this Global Employment Trends Brief is not only on increasing employment, but also on poverty alleviation and improving the conditions of work. This brief updates the labour market trends to 2004 and addresses six key labour market challenges that are on the horizon for 2005, which are expected to impact on the global employment situation and poverty reduction. These challenges are the December 26th Asian Tsunami disaster, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, agricultural productivity in developing economies, outsourcing of employment, working conditions in the informal economy, and youth employment—all of which require immediate attention and a sustained response by governments, international organizations and civil society if we are to achieve the goal of decent and productive work for all

Policy issues in the urban South

This paper will be dealing with elements of global regionalization and how it impacts economically on different groups of developing regions. It will highlight the spatial economic disadvantages Africa is facing in its quest to reconnect to the global economy. Moving its focus to urban South Africa, it will show how different sections of the country’s urban population are reacting to local economic conditions vis-à-vis current global economic trends. Based upon the structure of the informal urban economic sector in South Africa and how it has been impacting on the formal urban economic sector in the country over the past fifteen years, the paper will end with an assessment of the possible longer term effects the country’s ‘redesign city’-approach may have on urban economic structural changes in the future.

International investments prospects for the period 2007-2009. Possible effects on the Romanian economy

This paper is focused on the main underlinings from the prospects survey of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for the period 2007-2009 . These findings refer to the global trends in foreign direct investments (FDI) and determinants of future FDI flows; the prospective trends by host regions and countries; the FDI patterns by activities, home countries, modes of entry and the respective roles of globalization and regional integration. Particularly, this research has analyzed how the Romanian developing and transition economy should be affected by the inflows of world investments. UNCTAD has a controversy attitude about the FDI related prospects into South-East Europe and the CIS and it offers a mixed prospect for the period 2007-2009.globalization, foreign direct investment, emerging countries, regional integration

Impact of the MFA phase-out on the world economy

This study focuses on the possible impact of the MFA phase-out on the world economy. Starting from analyzing trends in world textile and apparel trade, the study found that the developing countries were a growing factor in world T&A trade in recent decades. Moreover, using trade data from 91 countries over 37 years, the study indicates a strong positive relationship between trade in textile and apparel and the standard of living. The study further focuses on the possible impacts of the MFA phase-out on the world T&A using an intertemporal, global general equilibrium model. The study found the the MFA phase-out would enlarge world trade of T&A and developing countries will further gain market share in world total exports. Even though the developing countries currently free from the MFA quota restraints may lose their market shares, as world T&A prices are lowered by improving the efficiency of world T&A trade post-MFA, consumers are better off by consuming cheap commodities.Markets. ,Industries Economic aspects. ,Living standards. ,Trade policy. ,

THE PERSPECTIVES OF MARITIME TRANSPORT IN EU AND ITS INTEGRATION IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

In a globalised economy transport is one of the most important factors linking the national economies and maritime transport is the main way to deliver goods in international trade. For any international company, choosing the appropriate transportation as part of the logistic solution is vital for its competitiveness. In the context of the economic crisis, CEE strategic location factors play an important role for regional companies which adapt and change their logistic services by developing new scenarios for the shipping industry in order to obtain a better position on the global market. In addition to a favourable geographical location CEE has several other important arguments, like sufficient harbours for developing container terminals to launch extensive container transport transit. The most important recent trends in logistics are shown, as well as the framework of the EU maritime transport.maritime transport, EU transport strategy, supply chain strategy

Global Employment Trends, January 2003

[Excerpt] The continuing economic and uncertain economic prospects have resulted in a grim global employment situation. Incorporating the most recent data available, this volume provides valuable analysis of the current labour market trends around the world and identifies the factors contributing to the downturn affecting many workers today. The impact of the global economic slowdown and the developments since 11 September 2001 have been different in the various regions of the world, and this report reveals how women and young people have been especially hard hit, particularly in the developing world. Covering Latin America and the Caribbean, East Asia, South-East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, the transition economies and industrialized countries, this volume focuses on the distinct labour market characteristics and challenges faced by each region and economic group. The report traces the various factors contributing to the global employment decline - such as the increase in employment in the informal economy, the decrease in employment in the informal economy, the decrease in employment in information and communication technology, as well as extensive job losses in the travel and tourism industries and the export and labour-intensive manufacturing sectors. Countries in fragile financial situations and those experiencing armed conflict and violence have also seen rising unemployment and poverty. Clearly the global employment challenges are many, and the information provides here offers a concise picture of the current situation and where economic growth and decent work opportunities are needed most around the world

Climate Change Mitigation Strategies in Fast-Growing Countries: The Benefits of Early Action

This paper builds on the assumption that OECD countries are (or will soon be) taking actions to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. These actions, however, will not be sufficient to control global warming, unless developing countries also get involved in the cooperative effort to reduce GHG emissions. This paper investigates the best short-term strategies that emerging economies can adopt in reacting to OECD countries’ mitigation effort, given the common long-term goal to prevent excessive warming without hampering economic growth. Results indicate that developing countries would incur substantial economic losses by following a myopic strategy that disregards climate in the short-run, and that their optimal investment behaviour is to anticipate the implementation of a climate policy by roughly 10 years. Investing in innovation ahead of time is also found to be advantageous. The degree of policy anticipation is shown to be important in determining the financial transfers of an international carbon market meant to provide incentives for the participation of developing countries. This is especially relevant for China, whose recent and foreseeable trends of investments in innovation are consistent with the adoption of domestic emission reduction obligations in 2030.energy-economy modelling, climate policy, developing countries