A decision-making approach for investigating the potential effects of near sourcing on supply chain

Purpose - Near sourcing is starting to be regarded as a valid alternative to global sourcing in order to leverage supply chain (SC) responsiveness and economic efficiency. The present work proposes a decision-making approach developed in collaboration with a leading Italian retailer that was willing to turn the global store furniture procurement process into near sourcing. Design/methodology/approach - Action research is employed. The limitations of the traditional SC organisation and purchasing process of the company are first identified. On such basis, an inventory management model is applied to run spreadsheet estimates where different purchasing and SC management strategies are adopted to determine the solution providing the lowest cost performance. Finally, a risk analysis of the selected best SC arrangement is conducted and results are discussed. Findings - Switching from East Asian suppliers to continental vendors enables a SC reengineering that increases flexibility and responsiveness to demand uncertainty which, together with decreased transportation costs, assures economic viability, thus proving the benefits of near sourcing. Research limitations/implications - The decision-making framework provides a methodological roadmap to address the comparison between near and global sourcing policies and to calculate the savings of the former against the latter. The approach could include additional organisational aspects and cost categories impacting on near sourcing and could be adapted to investigate different products, services, and business sectors. Originality/value - The work provides SC researchers and practitioners with a structured approach for understanding what drives companies to adopt near sourcing and for quantitatively assessing its advantage

Finding common ground A pragmatic budgetary instrument for the euro area Bertelsmann Stiftung Policy Paper 8 February 2019

We outline a pragmatic proposal for a budgetary instrument for the euro area in line with the decision of the December 2018 Euro Summit. It is based on a very simple principle: any new instrument should make the euro area function better as a currency union. This is the only way to justify a euro area instrument in the first place. This principle has two implications. First, duplication of existing tools needs to be avoided at all cost. In the current situation, we see a looming risk of layering a new instrument onto existing programmes such as EU structural funds, to which the new instrument would add no real value. Second, the two objectives set out in the Euro Summit decision – competitiveness and convergence – ought to be operationalized strictly in terms of their contribution to a better functioning of the euro area as a currency union

Substitution between Money and Near Monies in Switzerland

This paper investigates the substitutability between money and near-money assets during the period 1976 to 1996 in Switzerland. Financial developments have made a variety of instruments available to store wealth and conduct economic transactions. These developments have generated a near money component in households\u27 and businesses\u27 portfolio balances. It is important to evaluate the effect of near-money on money demand and the effectiveness of monetary policy. Towards this goal, five monetary assets: currency and demand deposits at commercial banks, demand deposits with the postal system, deposits on transaction accounts with banks, savings deposits and time deposits are considered. We evaluate the degree of substitutability among these assets using the Morishima elasticity. Results show that various monetary assets substitute for one another. Consistent with a high degree of diversification, the Morishima elasticity is significantly larger when adjustment takes place in the price of a relatively broader monetary asset as compared with a narrower one. Targeting a broad monetary aggregate captures a variety of assets that contribute to liquidity and aggregate demand, enhancing the effectiveness of monetary policy. Nonetheless, high elasticity of substitution between monetary assets has made it increasingly difficult to target money demand via changes in the interest rate. As a result, in 1999 the Swiss National Bank abandoned monetary targeting in favor of an expected inflation target

Brexit: Viable options to avoid crisis

Abstract This paper covers the viable options that the United Kingdom may take to avoid economic and political crisis as they exit the European Union. There are several benefits and detriments to the exit. Some benefits include economic and political freedom from a slowly degrading system and increased options for global expansion. Detriments include loss in Foreign Direct Investment and trade with their larger European Union partners. The options as they exit are to either join the European Economic Area or leave with no deal and set up trade agreements later. This paper draws on recent studies on the effects of Brexit on economics and politics and uses those studies to decide the least damaging option for the United Kingdom. Post-Script: Currently, England still faces many issues presented in this paper; however, as Brexit officially happened on January 28th, 2020, England does face a declining economy amidst the backlash from the official leave. Their current deals are still in effect until the end of 2020, and England will need to determine how they will approach future deals with the European Union. Keywords: Brexit, economic separation, crisis avoidance plans, European Union, United Kingdo

Current Debates over Exchange Rates: Overview and Issues for Congress

[Excerpt] This report provides information on current debates over exchange rates in the global economy. It offers an overview of how exchange rates work; analyzes specific disagreements and debates; and examines existing frameworks for potentially addressing currency disputes. It also lays out some policy options available to Congress, should Members want to take action on exchange rate issues

Count the Limbs: Designing Robust Aggregation Clauses in Sovereign Bonds

On August 29, 2014, the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) published new recommended terms for sovereign bond contracts governed by English law. One of the new terms would allow a super majority of creditors to approve a debtor’s restructuring proposal in one vote across multiple bond series. The vote could bind all bond holders, even if a series voted unanimously against restructuring, so long as enough holders in the other series voted for it. An apparently technical change, awkwardly named “single-limb aggregated collective action clauses (CACs)” promised to eliminate free-riders for the first time in the history of sovereign bond restructuring. It could also open up new possibilities for abuse. The markets might have rebelled. Instead, they yawned … and proceeded to adopt the new terms. We consider why such consequential contract change met with less resistance than its relatively modest predecessors, series-by-series and two-limb aggregated CACs. We focus on contract design, and the process by which it came about. Most of the essay is devoted to analyzing the key features of single-limb aggregated CACs and the considerations that shaped decisions about these features. We conclude with observations on contract reform in sovereign debt restructuring and the challenges ahead

The Freetown Declaration: Countercyclical Policy for Africa

In August 2009 the African finance ministers issued the Freetown Declaration, in which they committed their governments to “implement fiscal stimulus measures” to counter the effects of the international financial crisis on their economies.� This paper analyzes the feasibility of realizing this commitment. It considers the availability of policy instruments in the sub-Saharan countries for countercyclical intervention.� On the basis of this, the paper proposes a fiscal stimulus tailored to the conditions and constrains of the countries of the region.� In a majority of the countries the fiscal expansion could be financed domestically, in other countries governments would require additional external funding, and only for a few countries would a stimulus not be appropriate. >> Watch an interview with John Weeks on the economic basis ofsocial democracy

Financial Policies

This United Nations Policy Note on Financial Policies provides practical guidance on how to operationalize alternative equitable and employment-generating financial policies in National Development Strategies. This Policy Note has been developed in cooperation with UN agencies, and has been officially reviewed by distinguished academics/ development specialists such as Jose Antonio Ocampo, Jomo K.S. and Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz.financial policies, development planning