The promise of impressive economic growth has been a staple of electoral promises ever since the inception of parliamentary democracy in the UK. In recent years, this phenomenon has only gathered pace with both the Tories and the New Labour leadership claiming the ‘economic growth’ mantle as their own. Here, the implicit assumption is that…
Category: Economics
The most important criteria for assessing the performance of an economic system
The phenomenon of globalization has become ubiquitous in the new neo-liberal world order of the last few decades. This particular form of capitalism has steadily replaced socialistic and communistic forms of economic arrangement in many countries in the world. While proponents of this global economic model argue that this is the best possible system, there…
Should developing countries be exempted from WTO rules?
There are many sound supportive arguments for the view that developing nations have to be exempt from WTO rules. This essay will look into these in detail, while also presenting the rationale behind opposing viewpoints. Foremost among the arguments supporting exemption is the historical disadvantage suffered by developing countries. For example, most of the countries…
Arguments for and against total debt relief for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
The problem of Third World Debt has been a talking point in international political meetings for more than half a century now. The new world order that had emerged with the end of Second World War had divided the world into three distinct political groups. The first was led by the United States and its…
The relationship between rising affluence and reduction in waste emissions
Rising affluence has been associated with a reduction in the production of waste emissions within the UK. However, the waste emissions associated with the total consumption in the UK have risen. Can both these statements can be true? There is little doubt that contemporary industrial society is increasingly becoming more consumerist. The story of the…
Bernard Madoff: Scapegoat of an Economic Crisis
Throughout human history punishments have been meted out to people who are not guilty or only partially guilty. Actions that can invoke punitive action from the authorities include treason, fraud, crime, breach of trust, etc. Famous examples from recent centuries include Galileo Galilei, Charles Darwin, Bertrand Russell, etc, who were ostracized and punished for expressing…
The advantages and challenges of European integration for business in the 21st century
Introduction: With Europe being the epicentre of the two Great Wars of the last century, a robust arrangement of cooperation and mutual benefit was made imperative. With the collapse of the Berlin Wall, an opportunity was created for the erstwhile divided Europe to once again unite under a democratic framework. On the broader geo-political scale,…
Effects of Globalization
The word ‘globalisation’ is almost interchangeable with the term ‘economic liberalization’. Standing almost at the end of the 21st century, a question may arise in our mind –whether this open economy, a direct product of globalisation, has actually been a boon to the world’s economy including the social and economic scenario. Careful thought brings out…
Is ‘nationalization’ of banks a better option than bailing them out to the tune of a trillion dollars?
The ideal remedial action from the government would have been to press forward with nationalization of banks. But unfortunately, the political pressures faced by President Obama and the stimulus announcements made in Europe had ended those hopes. President Obama was careful not to alienate the conservative sections of the House of Representatives by acting against…
Is unequal distribution of wealth & income a causal factor in the Great Depression and the 2008 Wall Street collapse?
In economies where income and wealth are unevenly distributed, the supply-demand equilibrium is threatened. In both the cases of the Great Depression and the present crisis, this factor had played a major role. According to Paul Gusmorino, “the mal-distribution of income between the rich and the middle class grew throughout the 1920’s. While the disposable…