Promoting fair globalization in textiles and clothing in a post-MFA environment

The working paper reports on the current trade conditions in the textile clothing industry in the post Multifibre Agreement era. Additionally, the paper advocates for a fairer globalization, promoting better work conditions, labor wages and general social equality in producer countries

Linking Research and Policy: Assessing a Framework for Organic Agricultural Support in Ireland

This paper links social science research and agricultural policy through an analysis of support for organic agriculture and food. Globally, sales of organic food have experienced 20% annual increases for the past two decades, and represent the fastest growing segment of the grocery market. Although consumer interest has increased, farmers are not keeping up with demand. This is partly due to a lack of political support provided to farmers in their transition from conventional to organic production. Support policies vary by country and in some nations, such as the US, vary by state/province. There have been few attempts to document the types of support currently in place. This research draws on an existing Framework tool to investigate regionally specific and relevant policy support available to organic farmers in Ireland. This exploratory study develops a case study of Ireland within the framework of ten key categories of organic agricultural support: leadership, policy, research, technical support, financial support, marketing and promotion, education and information, consumer issues, inter-agency activities, and future developments. Data from the Irish Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Teagasc), and other governmental and semi-governmental agencies provide the basis for an assessment of support in each category. Assessments are based on the number of activities, availability of information to farmers, and attention from governmental personnel for each of the ten categories. This policy framework is a valuable tool for farmers, researchers, state agencies, and citizen groups seeking to document existing types of organic agricultural support and discover policy areas which deserve more attention

Integration of Blockchain and Auction Models: A Survey, Some Applications, and Challenges

In recent years, blockchain has gained widespread attention as an emerging technology for decentralization, transparency, and immutability in advancing online activities over public networks. As an essential market process, auctions have been well studied and applied in many business fields due to their efficiency and contributions to fair trade. Complementary features between blockchain and auction models trigger a great potential for research and innovation. On the one hand, the decentralized nature of blockchain can provide a trustworthy, secure, and cost-effective mechanism to manage the auction process; on the other hand, auction models can be utilized to design incentive and consensus protocols in blockchain architectures. These opportunities have attracted enormous research and innovation activities in both academia and industry; however, there is a lack of an in-depth review of existing solutions and achievements. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive state-of-the-art survey of these two research topics. We review the existing solutions for integrating blockchain and auction models, with some application-oriented taxonomies generated. Additionally, we highlight some open research challenges and future directions towards integrated blockchain-auction models

Corporate Governance Reforms in the Philippines: An Ethnographic Approach

This research investigates the impact of corporate governance reforms in Philippine institutions and firms. Literature reviewed looks at the macro and micro view of corporate governance theories and the prevailing business environment. The methodology of this research applies an ethnographic approach combining both deductive and inductive inquiries with a triangulated method using interviews, media articles and participant observation. Collection of the interview data occurred over four intensive months whilst in situ in Manila, Philippines. The data was then analysed using the NVivo qualitative analysis computer program. The results of my data collection and analysis are explained and distilled in six chapters. They are: - Chapter 4: Business and Corporate Governance Environment - Chapter 5: The Regulators - Chapter 6: Business Groups: The Owners of Companies - Chapter 7: The Board and Management: The Controllers of the Company - Chapter 8: The Government Financial Institutions - Chapter 9: Corruption The thesis concludes with a chapter on a summary of the research findings and recommendations for policy and practice