Geography and exporting behavior : evidence from India

This paper examines locational factors that increase the odds of a firm's entry into export markets and affect the intensity of its participation. It differentiates between two different sources of spillovers: clustering of general economic activity and that of export-oriented activity. It also focuses on the effect of the business environment and that of institutions at the spatial unit of districts in India. The study disentangles the within-industry effect from the within-firm effect. A simple logit specification is used to model the probability of entry. The analysis is based on a panel of manufacturing firms in India, which allows for the introduction of firm-specific controls and a battery of fixed effects. The findings suggest that exporter-specific clustering, general economic agglomeration, and institutional factors affect firms'export behavior.Microfinance,Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Water and Industry,Economic Theory&Research,E-Business

Essays in trade and economic geography

This thesis tests the predictions of theoretical models of trade and economic geography using micro-data from India. As part of a large, poor and rapidly developing country, Indian households receive a disproportionate share of attention from development economists. However, there remain large gaps in the understanding of its other microentities – firms. In Chapter 1, I use detailed panel-level data on 8,253 manufacturing firms from 1990 to 2008 and demonstrate how firms that export differ from their counterparts who cater to the domestic market. After identifying the extent to which the act of exporting drives these differences, I provide evidence that Indian exporters performed better than nonexporters at the outset, and that exporting positively impacts further productivity increases. In Chapters 2, 3 and 4, I focus on how economic activity in India organises itself along economic geography factors. Chapter 2 studies firms in the Indian informal sector, who have largely escaped close scrutiny before. Using data from national sample surveys on over 4 million manufacturing and services enterprises, I find that firms choose to locate in particular districts across the country. I show that existing agglomeration within these locations, such as that of intermediate buyers and suppliers, is driving the location decisions of new firms. In Chapter 3, using previously inaccessible data on inward FDI, I find that foreign investors also show evidence of clustering and that existing agglomeration and the business environment jointly drive this behaviour. In Chapter 4, I collect data from the Indian Patent Office and my analysis concludes that regional innovation is largely a function of public research and development and economic clustering. In summary, this thesis uses new data and robust methodological approaches to provide important economic insights into the workings of firms in India and the factors affecting their productivity and their location decisions

Growth, Openness and the Socially Disadvantaged

We offer a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of poverty by social groups in India since 1983 and study the impact of growth and openness on the headcount ratio. We show that at the national level poverty has declined with every successive quinquennial survey in both rural and urban areas for the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and the non-Scheduled (NS) population. We conclude that there is no statistically significant evidence whatsoever that rising per-capita incomes and increased openness have hurt any of the three broad social groups. Beyond this bottom line, we find that per-capita income has a negative and statistically significant effect on poverty levels for the SC, non-Scheduled groups and all groups taken together. The effect on poverty levels for the SC is negative but statistically insignificant. We also find the effect of one or more measures of openness on poverty reduction to be positive and statistically significant in rural and urban areas and in both regions taken together for the SC and non-Scheduled groups, although for the ST the effect is statistically significant in urban areas only

"Balancing the Partner's Contribution" - Analyzing the Risks and Benifits in the case of an Indian Joint Venture.

Joint Venture is used as it has the tendency to evolve where there is a need to implant hierarchy to enable future strategic decision-making in cases where single firm alternatives are inferior or prohibited. (Kay,N.M. 1997) A Joint Venture can be defined an agreement between two or more firms, leading to the establishment of a separate legal entity. The firms may be held responsible for their own individual tasks for which they have special expertise, knowledge or past achievements. For instance, a new firm might be responsible for supplying inputs for a subset of the firms, conducting research and development activities or downstream activities such as marketing and distribution of the products. The participants in a Joint Venture agree to share capital, human resources, risks, profits, technology that may be needed for the formation of the separate entity under shared control. Fuji-Xerox is an example of a successful joint venture. The Post World War II diversification strategies of large corporations and the existence of globalization have led to a rapid proliferation of strategic alliances. The presence of an increasing number of alliances between firms is especially felt in the case of developing countries. Countries like India and China now provide the best examples for alliance strategies that result in a Joint Venture, or in Business Process Outsourcing, Mergers etc. as these countries stand on the cusp of explosive growth. Thus, I take the opportunity to analyze the potential risks and benefits for the partners of a joint venture and evaluate how they can deal with the delicate issue of balancing their individual contributions into the alliance with their returns from it. I will analyse the case of an Indian Joint Venture involved in textile manufacturing, where I have previous work experience for almost 3 years. This Joint Venture consists of 3 main participant firms who shere the same general cultural background (that is, they all belong to the same nation, namely, India) but who might have differences in terms of their individual objectives and expectations with regard to the alliance. This research will, therefore, mainly reflect on whether all partners benefit equally from their participation in the common venture and highlight a number of potential limitations and factors that might determine the success or failure of the Joint Venture. In analysing the case study, I will particularly emphasize the limitations as they may relate directly to the the failure of a Joint Venture. It has been estimated that one fourth of all joint ventures last less than 3 years and the average life span for such cooperative alliances is about 7 years. Several studies have reported failure rate as high as 80 percent, failure that usually leads to their dissolution or acquisition by one of the partners (Gulati et all, 1994). Many researchers have mainly stressed the drawbacks which relate to International Joint Ventures, and highlighted factors such as Cultural Differences, Language barriers, Political Uncertainty and Instability etc. In order to differentiate my study from the mainstream, and to provide an original contribution I have chosen to highlight the difficulties and limitations that are further involved and exist in a national Joint Venture. In my research I would like to highlight the key topics of trust amongst the partners, their motives and their processes of partner selection as the literature on Joint Ventures indicate their relevance for the maintenance of a sound balance between partners' contributions and returns. Moreover, the shifts in partners' bargaining power which might emerge during the life of the Joint Venture and may cause insecurity, thereby undermining its probability of success, is another critical aspect that I would like to incorporate in my study. Reseach methodology: The Case Study According to Fitzpatrick (1998), in order to contribute to understanding complexity, researchers have to choose from a range of possible methodologies and cast aside entrenched theoretical & ideological positions. For my research I would like to adopt a fundamentally qualitative research method. Quantitative research methods are, in fact, useful for answering questions like how many, how often and how much. Moreover, qualitative research methods are useful in understand peoples' behaviours and their attitudes. Qualitative research methods would provide a more in depth analysis and make the research more meaningful by assisting me in better understanding the motives of the joint venture under study and the reasons of its failure. As previously stated, I will be analysing the case of the alliance strategy of a textile manufacturing company in India called Avis Industries (P) Ltd.* This organisation has textile manufacturing units in the cities of Mumbai and Surat and markets its product throughout India. The company entered into a Joint Venture with one of its main buyers and formed a separate entity called Avis Impex (P) Ltd. This particular Joint Venture lasted for little more than a year after which the partner who was initially the buyer opted out and started a competing parallel firm called the Lotus creations (P) Ltd.* in the field of manufacturing. Lotus creation (P) Ltd. had gained all its knowledge about the production process, the suppliers and the buyers in the industry through the participation in the Joint Venture, and therefore this case appears to be particularly suited to the study of the problems and risks associated with the need to maintain a balance between partners in a Joint Venture in terms of their respective contributions and returns. Data Collection The research will involve a mix of primary and secondary sources. My main source of primary data will my own experience and contact with the firm constituting the case study. Since I was working in Avis Industries (P) Ltd., I will use my detailed knowledge of that company and past experience as a participant observer in the firm and its involvement with the Joint Venture. Also, data will be collected through interviews with the directors and executives of the firm. This will enable me to understand the complex circumstances under which the manufacturing firm entered into the Joint Venture and also the circumstances leading to the venture being dissolved in such a short span of time. Secondary sources for my research would be equally important. Sources such as books, journals, past researches and dissertations, financial and economic times, electronic database, company reports and agreements or contracts (if available), and various search engines and meta search engines will be useful for me to outline the key framework within which my research will be conducted. It will also be useful in successfully analyzing and interpreting the primary data in the most appropriate manner. Conclusion The reason alliances are formed at all is that most participants expect to get better payoffs than they would without the alliances (Gulati et all,1994). The main aim of the research is somewhat similar to the above statement i.e, to determine whether all partners benefit equally by participating in a Joint Venture. In context to the above, I will try to address to following pertinent issues through my research: a) Understanding the concept of Joint Venture- its evolution and benefits b) Analyzing the case of Avis Impex (P) Ltd. c) To understand the keys issues such as partner selection, trust and motives behind entering into a joint venture. d) Limitations involved in the joint Venture

Acute necrotizing pancreatitis in a pregnant female diagnosed after caesarian delivery: a case report

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a rare event in pregnancy, occurring in approximately 3 in 10,000 pregnancies. The spectrum of AP in pregnancy ranges from mild pancreatitis to serious pancreatitis associated with necrosis, abscesses, pseudocysts and multiple organ dysfunction syndromes. A 21 years old, primigravida presented to labour room at 33 weeks 2 days of gestation with complaint of abdominal pain. Per vulval finding showed pin-point vagina. (patient had history of transverse vaginal septum, and was operated for the same before conception). Patient was operated for caesarian delivery and Fenton’s repair done. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed signs of acute necrotizing pancreatitis with peripancreatic collection. AP in pregnancy remains a challenging clinical problem to manage. The general management of AP in pregnancy is supportive

Novel Coronavirus 2019: A Recent Update

Since last year of December 2019, a virus has been identifying in china’s city of Wuhan, virus name Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Disease is a very scary Disease. This disease is a challenge for Human for cure.  These virus are effected all over the world’s country like America, Brazil, Turkey, China, Italy, Iran, India, Canada Russia etc., this virus first time reported in relation to the Huainan Seafood Wholesale Market (South China Seafood City Food Market) in Wuhan, China. This market gained media attention after being identified as a point of origin of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic. This virus have the common sign & symptoms like pneumonia and show symptoms of  fever, headache, joint pain, Common cold, chills, shortness of breath, cough severe pneumonia, dyspnea, renal insufficiency. The detection of 2019- SCoV-like viruses in tiny size, live wild mammals in a market indicates a route of inters species spreading, although the natural loch is not known. This theory assembles a study of the molecular biology fundamental of these infectious agents, with particular prominence on the nature and identify of viral receptors, viral RNA synthesis, and the molecular interactions governing viral assembly

Global Pandemic Conditions and List of Possible Medications and Vaccines for the Treatment of COVID-19: A Review

At the end of December 2019, a novel coronavirus was identified which caused severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with a disease known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The virus first originated in the city of Wuhan in China, causing symptoms such as pneumonic plague, which began in the Wuhan and then spread throughout the world with high transmission efficiency. Special precautions and care are needed such as leaving the public area, covering your mouth with a mask, not shaking hands, washing hands, and sanitation from time to time. Infection due to SARS-CoV-2 shows several symptoms, one of which is very often the patient shows difficulty breathing. Currently, COVID-19 has been declared a global pandemic and has almost attacked all countries in the world, including in India which has one of the largest human populations in the entire world. One of the challenges in handling COVID-19 is the unavailability of drugs or special vaccines to treat the disease, so clinical practitioners and academics are currently testing various drugs to see how they affect the COVID-19 patients. Some of the drugs tested provide effective mechanisms against SARS-CoV-2, such as chloroquine, remdesivir, lopinavir, and vaccines under development. These drugs are still being tested and are now at the forefront to combat the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This review article will discuss all kinds of ins and outs of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, including the transmission method, how to prevent it, as well as various drugs and vaccines currently used in handling COVID-19