By the start of 1980s, currents of change were detected in the global economic order, with nationalism and protectionism being replaced by neo-liberalism and free flow of capital. Even as elites from the West promoted this new economic order, the process was facilitated by respective business leaders from nations across the world. (Tyvela, 2004, p.156)…
Category: Economics
Does free trade cause development?
Free trade is a buzzing concept in modern times, with all governments across the world proclaiming to promote it. Indeed, the last thirty years or so of global economic integration is based on free trade principles – also referred to as laizzez-faire capitalism. Definitely, there are many advantages to be availed as a result of…
The five supply-chain strategies
Supply Chain Management (SCM) has become an integral part of many manufacturing companies’ production processes. SCM came to be recognized as crucial to the success of a business especially if there is high competition within the industry and room for inefficiencies are low. First pioneered by Japanese automobile companies like Toyota, SCM is essential in…
Different techniques for improving service productivity
As manufacturing industries are steadily replaced by services industries, the concept of productivity assumes new meanings and dimensions. Improving productivity automatically reduces costs incurred by companies, thereby boosting the bottom line. As a consequence, the company has more resources at its disposal to spend on R&D and supplementary services. So, there is incentive for managers…
The Search for 100 Million Missing Women
The author duo of Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner have made economics accessible to the general reader through their popular work Freakonomics and its sequel. Continuing on with the spirit of scholarly adventure, they yet again unfold unexpected correlations in understanding odd phenomenon. In the article in question, originally published in Slate magazine…
Do we need American hegemony to build and maintain the global capitalist economic order?
In the era past World War II, America established itself as one of two superpower nations. With the Soviet Union providing counterbalancing power, America waged a diplomatic war (Cold War) to assert and spread its ideological content. This ideological confrontation manifested in two forms: 1. between communism and liberal democracy, 2. between socialism and capitalism. …
Amartya Sen: His contribution to ‘welfare economics’
Amartya Sen is a Nobel Prize winning economist of Indian origin, who has made vital contributions to the field of development economics. One of his major seminal contributions is ‘social choice theory’, but his contributions extend to ‘welfare economics’ and studying the problems of poverty as well. Born in a country with one of the…
How does neo-Marxist or post-Marxist theories of ideology differ from the classical Marxist tradition?
In a recent BBC online poll for finding the greatest thinker of the Millenium, Karl Marx came first. That Marx beat Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin and Stephen Hawking among other leaders in their fields amounts to a big statement of Marx’s relevance in the new millenium. The relevance of the results is magnified when we…
The problem of slavery in today’s world
One of the convenient myths being perpetrated is that slavery no longer exists in modern societies. As the experience of black Americans clearly shows, attaining nominal legal recognition as freed people need not translate into real, meaningful independence. The condition of black Americans before 1861 and in the decades after it were not drastically different….
Hypothetical Proposal to the President as a member of the Economic Committee
As a member of the Economic Committee, I urge the President to reconsider America’s trade relations with Cuba and start a new era of economic co-operation and trust. There are good reasons why such reconsideration is warranted. Much has changed since the Cuban revolution that occurred in the middle of last century. At that time,…