Maritime Commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Sea Commerce - Essay Example The late seventeenth century saw the entrenchment of the United Kingdom as the preeminent ace of the world oceans. Explicitly by 1880, UK had gladly displayed the world's biggest maritime and commercial armadas just as the greatest abroad domain the world has ever observed since Alexander the Great (Killingray 2004, p. 1). The Industrial Revolution and the extending slave exchange required an expanded exportation of produced products. Outside UK, the remainder of the world was flung in a worldwide arrangement of extending business. These required route laws, oceanic exchange laws and universal clash of laws to settle the expanding struggle and disputes between the gatherings to sea exchange for example the regular transporters , the shippers and the recipients who more often than not spoke to purchasers or merchants of items. Today, sea exchange has been entangled with the sea transportation of risky cargoes that achieves debasement on the planet natural and ecological framework also wanton pulverization, ruin and loss of lives. With the beginning of g

The Person I Admire Most Free Essays

THE PERSON I ADMIRE MOST â€Å" If you can’t exceed expectations with ability, triumph with exertion. â€Å" This is the way of thinking my mom consistently holds on, and the direction that drives us through life. In spite of the fact that she is no other than only a typical individual, she holds uncommon centrality and has the profound connection with me. We will compose a custom paper test on The Person I Admire Most or on the other hand any comparative subject just for you Request Now That is the reason she has consistently been a motivating model and the individual I respect most in my life. My mom drives an extremely basic existence with no extravagances. Neither does she has any longing for material increases nor any type of pleasure. Work, as she lets me know, is her most noteworthy delight. In spite of the fact that my mom is neither a major superstar nor the figure of national significance, I respect her from the profundities of my heart. I appreciate her for her scholarly capacity, initiative, well disposed conduct, graciousness and amazing cooking capacity. She gives moral responsibility and backing to alleviate my apprehensions and reinforce my boldness when I was defied with troubles. She acts simply like a knowing and honest companion to me. A quality that I appreciate most in her will be her magnanimous dedication to us. Her own advantages are of little significance to her where our own are included. The suppers will be prepared at the time we need them. She will forego a decent night’s rest without a mumble, nursing us when we are sick. At whatever point I needed to remain long in the night to get ready for the test, she would wake up to make an espresso for me in the 12 PM. What's more, she comes to check up my room each day when I sleep to guarantee that I rest soundly. Whenever I have strife with my dad she generally agrees with my stance and bolster me. My mother’s genuine love towards me is unfathomable. My mom has an undeclared way of thinking and she rehearses as opposed to lecture it. She accepts that haziness can't drive out obscurity; no one but light can do that. Similarly, abhor can't drive out despise; no one but love can do that. Remaining by this way of thinking, she regularly pardons our offenses and leads us back to the correct way with incredible persistence and guilty pleasure. What's more, she generally gives out her assets to the destitutes and devastated networks. She reveals to me that in spite of the fact that her assistance appears to be much the same as a drop in the sea, the sea will be less a result of that missing drop. The other factor for being my mom my optimal picture is her scholarly capacity and shrewdness. She has the gigantic information about the way of life and conventions. Regardless of all the household errands, she discovers time to peruse books containing instructive worth. Books, she says, are remarkably compact enchantment that can improve your psyches and develop your character. Similarly as we need food to endure, we need perusing to satisfy our spirit. After some time, I gradually came to comprehend what mother truly implies. Through books, I risked to bring an intriguing look into the lives of fruitful individuals, and figure out how they face the chances. Causing her a deep sense of impact, I start to locate my own reality in books and go to turn into a book sweetheart. To me, the best shelters in life isn't to be affluent, however to have a given, benevolent and caring mother. My mom goes about as a sparkling guide, lighting up the dull to guarantee we reach securely on shore. Her benevolent character regularly causes me to offer my most noteworthy distinctions towards her. I will welcome this incredible gift of God, and endeavor against hindrances or mishaps towards progress to satisfy my mother’s deep rooted dream. Instructions to refer to The Person I Admire Most, Essay models The Person I Admire Most Free Essays Worldwide law Main articles: Public universal law, Conflict of laws, and European Union law Providing a constitution for open global law, the United Nations framework was concurred during World War II International law can allude to three things: open universal law, private worldwide law or struggle of laws and the law of supranational associations. Open universal law concerns connections between sovereign countries. The hotspots for open universal law advancement are custom, practice and arrangements between sovereign countries, for example, the Geneva Conventions. We will compose a custom paper test on The Person I Admire Most or on the other hand any comparative theme just for you Request Now Open worldwide law can be framed by universal associations, for example, the United Nations (which was built up after the disappointment of the League of Nations to forestall the Second World War),[21] the International Labor Organization, the World Trade Organization, or the International Monetary Fund. Open worldwide law has an exceptional status as law on the grounds that there is no global police power, and courts (e. g. the International Court of Justice as the essential UN legal organ) come up short on the ability to punish rebellion. 22] However, a couple of bodies, for example, the WTO, have viable frameworks of restricting intervention and contest goals upheld up in terms of professional career sanctions. [23] Conflict of laws (or â€Å"private universal law† in common law nations) concerns which ward a lawful contest between private gatherings ought to be heard in and which jurisdiction’s law ought to be applied. Today, organizations are progressively equipped for moving capital and work flexibly chains across outskirts, just as exchanging with abroad organizations, making the topic of which nation has purview considerably additionally squeezing. Expanding quantities of organizations settle on business mediation under the New York Convention 1958. [24] European Union law is the first and, up until now, just case of a globally acknowledged lawful framework other than the UN and the World Trade Organization. Given the pattern of expanding worldwide financial combination, numerous territorial agreementsâ€especially the Union of South American Nationsâ€are on target to follow a similar model. In the EU, sovereign countries have assembled their clout in an arrangement of courts and political organizations. These organizations are permitted the capacity to authorize legitimate standards both against or for part states and residents in a way which is absurd through open worldwide law. [25] As the European Court of Justice said during the 1960s, European Union law comprises â€Å"a new legitimate request of universal law† for the common social and financial advantage of the part states. [26] Step by step instructions to refer to The Person I Admire Most, Papers

Elaine Kubiks summer in Southern Africa COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog

Elaine Kubiks summer in Southern Africa COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog One of the best parts of the MPA-DP program is the opportunity to spend three months in a developing country. The  Summer Field Placement is a requirement within the program, and proves to be an integral component of the graduate learning experience. While most of my cohort comes from a variety of different countries, or has had development field experience already, the Summer Field Placement becomes an opportunity to advance professionally with a recognized organization. I spent my summer in Maseru, Lesotho, a small enclave within South Africa. There I worked with an amazing organization called Jhpiego, working on their HIV outreach programs. Although it was challenging at first to see how my marketing and communications experience would relate to development work, I found my summer placement to be a worthwhile  learning experience. Check out my video below (its only 3:46 minutes)  to learn more about my summer placement and my life at SIPA!

A Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen - 889 Words

â€Å"A Doll’s House†, a revolutionary play written by Henrik Ibsen, shows the importance of women rights at a period and the time when they were neglected. Written in the nineteen century, the role of a woman was to stay at home, raise children and attend to one’s husband. Nora Helmer as the central character is portrayed as a victim, a trophy-wife to Torvald and oppressed by the society. As, the play progresses Nora keeps a secret from Torvald that eventually leads to dissolution of her marriage. After the surfacing of her secret, Nora discovers more than she had bargained for, expecting aâ€Å"miracle† she finds out what kind of man she is married to, a typical husband in the Victorian Era society, Nora is a dynamic character in this play. Though she faces many progressions and grows from one character into another. It is through her character progressions that she discovers that she has been living a lie and she decides to open a new chapter of her lif e slamming the entryway of pretense and the doll ideology. The first miracle Nora expects to happen is Torvald would come and save her after learning of the sacrifice she had made for him in the name of love. Few years earlier, Torvald was terribly sick and needed money to get away for a while. With no money Nora took it upon herself to do all that she humanly could to help her husband get well, even if it meant borrowing. Unfortunately she forges her father’s signature and now Krogstad fear of loosing his job at the bank threatenShow MoreRelatedHenrik Ibsen s A Doll House1563 Words   |  7 Pages In the play, A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen, the title itself symbolizes the dependent and degraded role of the wife within traditional marriages. Ibsen portrayed the generous nature root into women by society, as well as the significant action of this nature, and lastly the need for them to find their own voice in a world ruled by men. Ibsen wrote this play in 1879, this is the era where women were obedient to men, tend the children until their husband came home, and stood by the Cult of DomesticityRead MoreA Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen1717 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"A Doll, a Partner, and a Change† Social movement of women liberation toward equal rights and independence has been a big subject in human history. It happens not only in Europe but also all over the world. Though making progress, this movement has been advancing slowly and encountered backslashes from time to time. Maybe there is something deeply hidden which the society has not figured out yet, even women themselves. What do women want, freedom or good life? Most of the time, they are notRead MoreA Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen1291 Words   |  6 Pages A Doll s House by Henrik Ibsen, is a play that has been written to withstand all time. In this play Ibsen highlights the importance of women’s rights. During the time period of the play these rights were neglected. Ibsen depicts the role of the woman was to stay at home, raise the children and attend to her husband during the 19th century. Nora is the woman in A Doll House who plays is portrayed as a victim. Michael Meyers said of Henrik Ibsen s plays: The common denominator in many of IbsenRead MoreA Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen1288 Words   |  6 Pages Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is based in the Victorian society of the 19th century. It assesses the many struggles and hardships that women faced because of marriage â€Å"laws† that were crucial during that time period. The society was male- dominated with no equality. Nora is the protagonist in A Doll’s House and the wife of a man named Torvald. This play is about Nora’s voyage to recognizing her self- determination and independence. She transforms from a traditional, reserved woman to a new, independentRead MoreA Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen1298 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"There is beauty in truth, even if it s painful. Those who lie, twist life so that it looks tasty to the lazy, brilliant to the ignorant, and powerful to the weak. But lies only strengthen our defects. They don t teach anything, help anything, fix anything or cure anything. Nor do they develop one s character, one s mind, one s heart or one s soul.† (Josà © N. Harris). Nora Helmer’s choice to lie and deceive is inappropriate and wrong for women to do to her husband during this time period; itRead MoreA Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen1037 Words   |  5 PagesHenrik Ibsen s A Doll s House is a work of literature genius. This three-act play involves many literary technics that are undermined by the average reader such as the fact that the plot shows the main characters Torvald and his wife Nora live the perfect life. An ironic paradox based around the fact that Nora and Torvald’s relationship is the complete opposite of perfect. Also, bringing upon a conflict as well, appearance versus reality. These little hidden meanings within stories are what areRead MoreHenrik Ibsen s A Doll House Essay1501 Words   |  7 PagesHenrik Ibsen’s play â€Å"A Doll House† was set in the Victorian era, a time where women were highly respected. Women in this time period did not work, they had nannies to take care of their children and maids to take care of their homes. Many women had no real responsibilities, they spent their time having tea parties and socializing with their friends. Henrik Ibsen dared to show the realism of the Victorian era while everyone else would only focus on the romantic aspect. In the play, â€Å"A Doll House†Read MoreA Doll s House : Henrik Ibsen962 Words   |  4 PagesDrama Analysis A Doll’s House (Henrik Ibsen) And Trifles (Susan Glaspell) In comparing both dramas, the overwhelming aspect of convergence between both is the open discussion of gender identity. Both dramas make similar points about what it means to be a woman. Modern society in both dramas is constructed with men holding power over women. This is seen in Trifles in how men like George Henderson and Mr. Hale are myopic. The premise of the drama is how women worry over trifles, and the dismissiveRead MoreA Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen1421 Words   |  6 PagesIn A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen examines conventional roles of men and women in the nineteenth century. In the play, Nora exemplifies the conventional feminine standard during that period. She seems to be powerless and confines herself through high standard expectations, demonstrating what the role of a women would be as a wife and mother. The protagonist of A Doll’s House is a woman named Nora Helmer. Ibsen shows how Nora’s design of perfect life gradually transforms when her sec ret unravels. InRead MoreA Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen876 Words   |  4 PagesA Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen A Doll’s House takes place in the home of Torvald and Nora Helmer. Through conversation with Nora’s good friend Kristine Linde it is revealed that Mr. Helmer was ill around the same time Nora’s father died. Luckily Nora’s father left her enough money that Torvald and Nora could go on a life saving trip to Italy. But the truth comes out when we find out Nora’s father did not leave her a penny. We find out that Nora got a hold of the money through a loan but she signed

Prevention And Detection Of Accounting Fraud - 2577 Words

Prevention and Detection of Accounting Fraud @@@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@ October 21, 2014 Abstract: A client has requested information on the prevention and detection of accounting fraud. The research paper will cover descriptions of types and components of fraud. It will offer suggestions as to who would commit fraud and how it would be detected and prevented. The research paper should provide a general overview of the subject in layman s terms. Introduction The Accounts Payable Manager writes himself a check which he then allocates to a fake invoice. The cashier pockets twenty dollars occasionally without ringing in a sale. The owner of the business fails to report thousands of†¦show more content†¦When the individual falls short of this perceived status they then feel that they cannot share this failure and may succumb to the need to commit fraud. 2) Personal failure, the individual commits fraud to cover a personal failure. 3) Business reversals, problems arises from conditions beyond the control of the individual, such as economic downturns, inflation, higher interest rates. 4) Physical isolation, in this situation the trusted person has no one to turn to. 5) Status gaining, the individual feels that he has to maintain a certain level of status. 6) Employer-employee relations, the individual feels neglected, unappreciated or abused by the organization and commits fraud to extract a measure of revenge (Wells, 2011 pgs 15-16). According to Cressey’s research fraud is only committed if all three stages of the triangle exist. Therefore, there must be a perceived opportunity. This opportunity must exist for fraud to happen and the opportunity will present itself in two areas, general information of the how the business operates, it’s levels of anti-fraud protection, the area’s where opportunity may exist and technical skill. Technical skill is the second requirement; an employee who doesn’t have the expertise will not be able to commit an involved fraud, they may be able to steal money from the till but may not be able to cover up the theft. RationalizationShow MoreRelatedChapter 7 Reading Notes : Internal Control1095 Words   |  5 PagesInternal Control: †¢ Fraud is the act of deception in which a business including employees or management use to receive personal gain. †¢ Fraud occurs based on three aspects and they are based off the fraud triangle. - They include pressure, rationalization and opportunity - Reducing these three key aspects of fraud will reduce the act of fraud in a business †¢ Pressure: - Pressure entails financial pressure, where someone is financially unstable - A financial statement fraud could come directlyRead MoreWeek 1 Acc5561135 Words   |  5 Pagescovered will include: * The effect of occupational fraud and abuse on the company * U.S. governmental oversight of accounting fraud and abuse and its effect on the company Potential corruption schemes to be aware of in the company Recommendation of types of accounting evidence and methods of gathering such evidence to support the financial status review. Fraud deterrence occurs in several stages, and the key is to know that prevention is not to same as deterrence. First is the impact ofRead MoreImplementing A Comprehensive Audit Plan Essay1501 Words   |  7 PagesSeveral companies can benefit from finding ways to implement a comprehensive audit plan to reduce the likelihood of fraud occurring. Ideas associated with the SDLC and how to create phases that will fall in line with this execution are also detailed in this assignment. The SDLC assists in reducing fraud and cannot be applied lightly; this plan makes the process of fraud prevention and detection easier to succumb. Updating policies and procedures is an ongoing process that cannot go unkempt.â€Æ' EstablishingRead MoreUnderstanding Financial Statement Fraud And Financial Statements1730 Words   |  7 PagesUnderstanding Financial Statement Fraud Anna Gallagher American Public Universityâ€Æ' Understanding Financial Statement Fraud Financial statement fraud is any intentional or grossly negligent violation of generally accounting principles (GAAP) that is undisclosed and materially effects any financial statement. Fraud can take many forms, including hiding both bad and god news. Research shows that financial statement fraud us relatively more likely to occur in companies with assets of less than $100 millionRead MoreResearching Topics Of Interest Is A Key Starting Point For The Research Effort1538 Words   |  7 Pagessections include the formulation of potential topic areas of interest for my doctoral level research. Earnings Management: An Examination of Ethical Implications, Fraud, and the Related Impacts to Stakeholder Interests The first topic area involves an observation of how managers and accountants currently utilize loopholes in FASB accounting standards to present better earnings results to investors, creditors, and regulatory authorities. Many business professionals support earnings management as routineRead MoreWhat Management and Auditors Can Do to Help Prevent Fraud, Errors and Illegal Acts1157 Words   |  5 PagesJeff Sacks-Wilner Term Paper What Management and Auditors can do to Help Prevent Fraud, Errors and Illegal Acts Fraudulent, erroneous, and illegal acts committed by a public company, usually at a managerial or executive level, have been a very serious problem for many years and have prompted development of strict and updated regulations, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, in an attempt to prevent these occurrences. Unfortunately, these new or updated regulations are not enough to prevent theseRead MoreHow Technology Has Changed Our New Set Of Skills And Practices1040 Words   |  5 Pagesthereby making an attempt to balance three critical factors i.e. cost, innovation and risk. On parallel grounds, the domain of internal security is undergoing drastic changes that mandates banking institutions to embrace new set of skills and practices. Fraud can be categorized as a business risk – it is like a sword of Damocles over a bank’s future. This must change for the good. The rapid pace with which the technology is changing, like the recent explosion of cellular customers, is often entaile d byRead MoreMadoff Securities Inc., Had Limited Resources And Fragmented1198 Words   |  5 PagesMadoff Securities Inc., had limited resources and fragmented oversight. The fragmented oversight led to the lack of coordination in preventing fraud at the company. The company has fragmented regulatory system that allowed unscrupulous people to engage in misconduct. For instance, the regulatory oversight was unable to examine the broker dealer operations of Madoff Investment securities. The lack of resources also affects the ability of the company to deal with financial and credit crisis (HornufRead MoreFinancial Crimes1610 Words   |  7 PagesDepartment of Justice, Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) (Houck, Kranacher, Morris, Riley, Robertson, Wells, 2006). An understanding of effective fraud and forensic accounting techniques can assist forensic accountants in identifying illegal activity and discovering and preserving evidence. Forensic accounting is a science that deals with the application of accounting facts gathered through auditing methods and procedures to legal problems usuallyRead MoreChallenges Faced By The World Today1042 Words   |  5 Pagesthereby making an attempt to balance three critical factors i.e. cost, innovation and risk. On parallel grounds, the domain of internal security is undergoing drastic changes that mandates banking institutions to embrace new set of skills and practices. Fraud can be categorized as a business risk – it is like a sword of Damocles over a bank’s future. This must change for the good. The rapid pace with which the technology is changing, like the recent explosion of cellular customers, is often entailed by

A Persuasive Essay About the Influence Television Has on Children Free Essays

Obesity is a growing problem, and it is time for parents to step up to the plate and take responsibility for child obesity. Daniel Weintraub uses an emotional appeal, the article â€Å"The Battle Against Fast Food begins in the Home†, to mandate parents to take responsibility to protect their children against obesity. He states that even though the fast-food companies and the government contribute and influence childhood obesity, ultimately it is the parents’ responsibility for obesity in their children. We will write a custom essay sample on A Persuasive Essay About the Influence Television Has on Children or any similar topic only for you Order Now He provides several good points showing how parents are the ones to take the blame for the increasing problem. I believe that parents are indeed responsible for child obesity. Weintraub makes several good points on how parents should take responsibility and avoid obesity in their children. He does this by commanding parents to teach their children good habits, especially good, healthy eating and exercise habits. Also, he states that parents should protect children against bad things. In this case, fast-food is considered a bad thing since it does not only make children obese but causes a variety of medical conditions as well, so parents need to step up and protect their children against fast-food. Lastly, he believes that parents need to take responsibility since they are in the best position to educate their children. According to Daniel Wientraub, â€Å"It is parents–not the government, not the fast-food companies, not the video-game manufactures–are in the best position to fight the epidemic of overweight children. As you can see Weintraub believes that there is no one to blame for childhood obesity but the parents. Weintraub makes several good points, which induces parents to take responsibility and action for the matter. Even though Weintraub makes a good argument, he has a few weak points, because his opinions are too simple when there is more to it than what he presents. For example, Weintraub does not provide any sort of statistics, facts, or references. Also, you could argue that teachers, not parents, are in the best position to teach their children since they are well educated in the field of health and nutrition. After all, teachers are required to teach health class in school. Lastly, the whole article is just an emotional appeal in which Weintraub goes to the extremes and exaggerates. Weintraub says, â€Å"We have laws against leaving a loaded weapon where their children can find it and use it to hurt themselves or others. But no one seems to want to tell parents that they need to protect their children from unhealthy foods and from sloth. † Clearly, he exaggerates because it is almost absurd to compare the dangers of a firearm to the dangers of a french-fry. Overall, I agree with Weintraub and believe that parents are the ones responsible for childhood obesity. First of all, parents’ poor eating habits have a great influence in child obesity. Parents need to educate themselves in the nutrition field, to be able to offer a good, healthy diet and correct portion sizes to their children. Secondly, the lack of discipline by parents also contributes to obesity in their children. Parents are easily manipulated by their children, and as a result children get what they want. Parents need to make their children get some sort of exercise as well. Lastly, parents’ economic issues might lead them to buy fast-food, but fast-food is not as cheap as it seems. When you add up all the numbers it is inevitable to notice that the difference between fast-food and home cooked meals is minimum. According to a Yale survey, seventy percent of the cause to the rise in childhood obesity rests with the parents. As you can see, statistics have shown that parents are the responsible ones for obesity in children. Evidently obesity among children is a huge, dangerous problem, which parents need to take action of and help their children. It is a must for parents to teach their children about proper eating habits. Disciple also influences a child’s obesity and parents need to get a bit strict with their children. Lastly, economic issues should not lead parents to buy fast-food because it is not that cheap and very unhealthy. I believe it is time to stop blaming others. Parents need to get well educated, so they can provide good eating habits and decrease the growing problem of obesity in children. How to cite A Persuasive Essay About the Influence Television Has on Children, Essays

The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis in Bangladesh Essay Example

The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis in Bangladesh Essay The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis in Bangladesh 20-Aug-2010 Prepared by Mojadda Alfa Azam ID. : 10916047 Dept. : Accounting Information System EMBA, DU Course name: Micro Macro Economics Course no. : 4102 Acknowledgements I would like to give thanks to Prof. Dr. Tahmina Khatun, professor of AIS Department, EMBA, DU, for her continuous guidance and supreme supervision throughout the course. I am solely responsible for any remaining errors. Finally all praise to Almighty Allah for giving us the strength and courage to complete the course. . Background and Objectives Political instability, natural disasters, the global food and fuel price hikes: Bangladesh’s economy has withstood several challenges since 2006. The global financial and economic crisis is another challenge that is testing its resilience coming on top of the former adversities. The global financial crisis started in mid-2007 has culminated in widespread financial stress among major financial institutions si nce September 2008. The economic downturn has now degenerated into recession. Projections of the gross domestic product (GDP) provide a gloomy picture for 2009. The 2009 world growth forecast has been revised downward by 1. 0-1. 5 percentage points to -1. 0 to -0. 5 percent in March 2009 compared with the last IMF projection of 0. 5 percent made in January 20093. While developed countries were the first hit by the recession, developing and least developed countries (LDCs) have also started to feel the consequences of the crisis on commodity prices, trade volumes, access to international financial markets and job losses, though to various degrees. These developments have led to shifting the debate from the causes to the consequences and policy actions required to mitigate the adverse impacts of the crisis. 1. 1. The Legacy of the High Food Prices As most of the developing countries, Bangladesh has no hiding place as the impact of the global financial crisis could compound the impacts of the food price rises. Although the recent food security situation cannot be attributed solely to the food price rises, there is evidence in the literature that the food price crisis has sent a substantial number of households back to poverty, after a decade of progress. We will write a custom essay sample on The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis in Bangladesh specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis in Bangladesh specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis in Bangladesh specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The recent joint WFP/UNICEF/IPHN household survey suggests that 25 percent of the population has become food insecure as of December 2008, as many as the food poverty percentage of 1995-96. The most affected households are overwhelmingly headed by female (38 percent food insecure), they have higher dependency ratio (45 percent), the head of households are less educated (70 percent), and they have less assets (asset score of 4 against a national average of 9. 4). In terms of livelihood, household have barely 1 income earner (1. 8 on average), depend on agriculture wage labor (23. 7 percent), non agriculture wage labor (19. 1 percent) and casual labor (5. 2 percent). Most of them are landless (48. 6 percent) and net food buyers (39. 6 percent). The highest increases in the proportion of net food buyer households are non-agriculture wage laborers (59 percent), remittances earners (53 percent) and casual workers (55 percent). Female headed households included a much higher increase of th e proportion of net food buyer (64 percent) compared to male headed households (26 percent). On average, households spend 62. 2 percent of their budget on food, up from 52 percent in 2005. Unfortunately, such an increase of the food budget share is made possible at a high opportunity cost, using multiple coping mechanisms. In addition to eating less than 3 meals a day for adults and less than 4 meals a day for children under 5, 22 percent of households recourse to negative coping mechanisms such as cutting expenditure on health and 33 percent of them getting further indebted from the financial institutions. As a consequence, severe malnutrition rates increased. Severe acute malnutrition rate increased to 3. 4 percent in end-2008 from 2. 9 percent in 2007; severe underweight increased from 11. 8 to 12. 3 percent; and severe stunting increased from 16. 1 percent in 2007 to 20. 1 percent in end-2008 While the recent downturn of commodity prices may be seen as a relief for some of the affected households, the recession is likely to further worsen the situation of the most affected households who depend on agriculture and non-agriculture wage labor and casual labor. A review of literature by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD, 2009) reveals that the most vulnerable areas to the global financial crisis in Bangladesh are likely to be export- oriented sectors, manpower export, remittance and domestic resource mobilization. The livelihoods in these areas are the most affected by the food price rises. Bangladesh’s foreign exchange rely mainly on workers’ remittances (10 percent of the GDP) and ready-made garment (RMG) exports (more than 75 percent of total exports). 1. 2. Objectives of the Case Study Against this background, WFP initiated a rapid assessment of the impact of the financial crisis on households’ food security and livelihoods to enable better preparedness and appropriate and effective responses. This rapid assessment is part of a series of WFP country case studies to elicit how the global financial crisis is manifested in Bangladesh at macro-economic level as well as how the macro-level impacts are manifested on households’ living conditions4. More specifically, the assessment aims at: Understanding how the global financial crisis is being transmitted to the Bangladesh economy, particularly the performance of the channels through which the crisis is being transmitted. †¢ Assessing the extent to which the pass-through effects is trickling down at the household level, through key indicators such as remittances, wages, employment and commodity prices and ultimately the living conditions of households. †¢ Proposing act ions to strengthen responses and monitoring. 2 Methodology and Limitations In order to capture the impact of the current global financial crisis on households both secondary data analysis (SDA) and primary data collection are conducted. The assessment reviewed secondary data available and then conducted primary data. 2. 1. Data Collection, Collation and Review The SDA reviewed literature on the impact of the global financial crisis both at macro-economic level and on households’ incomes sources and food security. This information was used to provide an overview of the macro- economic vulnerability with insights into the country’s recent macro-economic performance. The macro-level analysis also aimed at gaining insights into how the global financial crisis transmits to the domestic economy. Key informants (KI) interviews were held from 12-18 March with senior government officials, development partners, NGOs, research institutions and leading members of the private sector (annex 1) to triangulate the secondary data review. The primary data collection was carried out through focus group discussions (FGD). The FGD helped to apprehend how households have been affected so far by the global financial crisis. They provided perceptions of vulnerability, including sources of incomes, expenditures, coping strategies, priority needs and responses, discriminated by sex. They also guided the discussions on the changes which occurred within the last few months. The field work took place between 22 March and April 04, 2009. Forty FGD were held (annex 2). Survey areas were identified through literature review of the dominant livelihoods that are most likely to be affected by the global financial crisis. Hence, areas with high concentration of migration and dependent on remittances in the North East and South East, areas with high concentration of agricultural labor and cash crops such as tea estates in the North East and shrimp farms in the South West and areas with high concentration of non agricultural unskilled labor (e. g. , garment industry) of the two biggest cities Dhaka (capital city) and Chittagong where selected. Two more locations were selected in Khulna and Rajshahi as control groups in both rural and urban areas to represent other categories of casual labor. From each selected location, two FGDs (female and male) were selected and interviewed separately. FGD participants were identified with the help of key informants (village heads, health and education workers, government employees) in each selected location. A team of five members comprising a supervisor, an organizer, a moderator, a note taker and a field writer interviewed the FGD participants. FGD materials included voice recorders and note books among others. A total of 304 individuals participated in the FGD discussions with an average of 8 participants per FGD. Table: Summary of FGD Composition Number of |Number of FGD |Number of | |participants per | |individuals | |FGD | | | |6 |8 |48 | |7 |7 |49 | |8 |19 |152 | |9 |5 |45 | |10 |1 |10 | |40 |40 |304 | |Average size of FGD = 8 | 2. 2. Limitations The findings of this study cannot be generalized to the whole population, mainly because of the purposive nature of sample and the small number of people participating in the survey. T he survey is designed to draw upon respondents’ perceptions of the impact of the global financial crisis. However, the possibility of multiple understandings of the situation makes it difficult to articulate the findings. The validity of the results may also be affected by ability of moderators to have control over the discussion process with participants. The moderator has to allow participants to talk to each other, ask questions and express doubts and opinions, while having very little control over the interaction other than generally keeping participants focused on the topic. By its nature focus group research is open ended and cannot be entirely predetermined. To reduce such a potential bias, the moderators received a 4-day training to facilitate recall and quantitative estimates to improve internal validity. The checklist was also translated into Bangla to improve interactions between the moderators and the participants and among participants. The reliability of focus groups’ perception may be weakened by internal cultural and hierarchical dynamics and lack of confidentiality within the group. As a result full participation of all may not have been ensured by the moderators. The effort made to select homogenous groups both by sex and livelihoods aimed at reducing this bias. 3. Macro-Economic Performance and Impact of the Global Financial Crisis 3. 1. Recent Economic Developments 3. 1. 1 GDP Growth Performance In recent years, Bangladesh enjoyed a substantial growth of the real GDP. The GDP growth stood at 6. 2 percent in FY08, slightly below the 6. 4 percent growth recorded in FY07. The GDP growth in FY08 was led by substantial growth in industry (6. 9 percent) and services (6. 7 percent) sectors while the agriculture sector grew by 3. 6 percent. However, in the backdrop of the current global crisis, there are some indications of uncertainties about the growth projection in FY09. Although the global financial crisis is yet to significantly affect the Bangladesh economy, all the projections converge on the fact that the GDP growth will be lower than the initial projection of 6. 5 percent in FY09 (annex 3). The central bank of Bangladesh (BB) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) set an optimistic target of the GDP growth of at least 6. 0 percent. The GDP growth of 4. 5 percent (lower than its earlier projection of 4. 8 to 5. 4 percent) projected very recently by the World Bank (WB) is the most conservative one. The latest projection of the annual GDP growth (5. 6 percent revised from its previous stand of 5. 5 to 6. 0 percent) made by Asian Development Bank (ADB) is between the government and the WB’s projections, based on recent signs of the impact of the global financial crisis on key sectors. 3. 1. 2 Inflation Patterns Although the trend in inflation is subsiding, it is still above the long-run path, making it difficult for the most affected and vulnerable households to cope with recent shockshigh food prices (2007-2008) and localized natural disasters (cyclone Sidr) in 2007. The 12-month average inflation stood at 8. 9 percent by end 2008 with a declining trend since August. While the softening of the inflationary pressure is likely to continue, it is important to keep in view that the current price fall in the global commodity market is largely due to changes in demand side factors while the global supply situation has remained unchanged. As such if the major economies, especially the advanced ones, succeed in recovering from the crisis within a relatively short period, the commodity markets may again experience tight conditions. It is also worth noting the potential disincentive of the price decline on domestic food commodity production. While the high food prices resulted in only a small percentage increase of the net sellers of food commodities (i. e. , 5 percent increase in the category of small farmers of 0. 5-2. acres), these winners are likely to become losers as a result of the global financial crisis. With the global financial crisis, potential income losses are also likely to affect the households identified by the recent WFP/UNICEF/IPHN as th e most affected by the food price crisis, namely non-agriculture, agriculture wage and casual laborers. 3. 1. 3 Performance of the Financial Sector The demand for credit has weakened between July-December 2008. The growth in the broad money (M2) at the end of December 2008 remained around the same level of 17. 6 percent in June 20085. However, both the domestic credit and private sector credit dropped significantly during the last six months reflecting weak credit demand in the economy. While the growth in domestic credit dropped to about 19. 3 percent in December from about 21. 0 percent recorded in June 2008, the growth in private sector credit mainly concentrated to trade and industry recorded a decline of about 3 percentage point to 21. 8 percent in December from about 24. 9 percent in June 2008. This pattern is an indication of relatively lower economic activities during the period. Interest rates such as deposits, lending, repo and reverse repo rates moved up relative to their levels in the first half (H1) of FY2008 6 . During the last six months, however, the Bank Rate (Discount Rate) and yields of government Treasury bills (T-bills)7 and bonds remained mostly unchanged. The commercial lending and deposit rates of the banks varied within a relatively wide margin during H1 FY2009 compared with the narrow margin variation during H1 FY2008. Commercial lending rate reached its peak of 13. 5 percent in December 2008 from a low of 12. 6 percent in September 2008. Commercial deposits rate, on the other hand, reached 7. 9 percent in December 2008 from 7. 3 percent in August 2008. Real lending and deposits rate exhibited increasing trend during H1 FY2009 due to the decelerating inflation rate of the period. The interest rates on the certificates of National Savings Directorate (NSD) for the duration of 3 and 5 years remained unchanged respectively at 11. 5 percent and 12. 0 percent during H1 FY2009. The major indicators of health of the banking system, such as the ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs), amount of actual provisioning, total deposits and advances, the ratio of capital adequacy, the interest rate spread (IRS), and indicators of profitability remained broadly stable and satisfactory during H1 FY2009. Given the low level of foreign capitalization, the countrys banking sector remained broadly unaffected from the ongoing global financial turmoil. However, it would be important to refresh the surveillance of the banking sector and revisit the financial sector management to counteract any potential adverse impact on the countrys banking sector. 3. 1. 4 Fiscal Performance During the July-December period of FY2009, the realized amount of revenue receipts fell short of its annual target. In the FY2009 budget, the target for revenue earnings was set at 11. 3 percent. During H1 FY2009, preliminary estimates show that total revenue and total expenditure stood respectively at 5. 9 percent and 8. 1 percent of GDP, resulting in a fiscal deficit of 2. 2 percent of the GDP (during H1 FY2009) against the yearly target of 4. 99 percent. The financing of the deficit amounted to Tk. 135. 8 billion of which Tk. 93. 1 billion was accommodated from domestic sources, including bank financing of Tk. 73. 6 billion while the remaining Tk. 42. 7 billion came from foreign sources. The implementation of the Annual Development Program (ADP) also remained very low at 1. 2 percent of GDP in H1 FY2009 compared with the yearly target of 4. percent of the GDP, due to slow execution rate of projects. The execution rate of the ADP is unlikely to improve beyond 70 percent by the end of FY2009 in June. 5 Broad money is considered to be the most inclusive measurement of the money supply in a given country. It involves the most liquid or cash components of money supply or non-ca sh components that can be converted into cash very easily. Broad money is a key economic indicator used to forecast inflation and the decisions of investors. 6 Repo (repurchase agreement) is a financial instrument used in the money market. It is a transaction in which one party sells securities to another while agreeing to repurchase those securities at a future date. Bangladesh Bank has introduced repo for banks and financial institutions, as an indirect monetary tool for day-today liquidity management to smoothen temporary and unexpected disturbances in the supply and demand for money. 7 T-bills (Treasury Bills) are short-term debt obligation backed by the government with a maturity of less than one year. 3. 1. 5 Performance of the Capital Market In the backdrop of the ongoing financial turmoil, investors shaky confidence might have played a role in the recent mixed performance of the capital market in Bangladesh. Stock prices showed significant upturn during the first half (January-June) of 2008 while the second half (July-December) witnessed a downward movement. Although the daily average turnover improved, different monthly average price indexes at Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) have declined, showing some fluctuations in 2008. Compared with December 2007, the monthly average of all share price index (DSI), DSEG, and DSE20 declined by 14. 1 percent, 12. 1 percent, and 8. 3 percent respectively in December 2008. 3. 2. Degree of Exposure to the Effects of the Global Financial Crisis The World Bank identified Bangladesh as highly exposed to the global financial crisis8. Almost 20 percent of the population was already leaving in the hardcore (i. e. food) poverty in 2005. The high food price crisis has sent ? of the population into food insecurity by end 2008. According to the World Bank, the capacity of the country to cope with the impacts of the financial crisis on poverty is constrained by limited leverage for larger fiscal deficits9 and moderate inflation at 8. 9 percent at end 2008. Despite efforts made by the government to mitigate the negative impacts of the high food prices on households, the implementation of the Annual Development Program (ADP) remained very low in 2008, raising some concerns about the country’s capacity to efficiently and effectively scale-up public expenditures to protect vulnerable groups and reduce poverty. Figure: Exposure of Countries to the Global Financial Crisis [pic] Source: World Bank, 2009 Bangladesh’s economy is increasingly exposed to global economic shocks, given its increased integration with the global economy during the last decade. The contribution of trade (export and import) increased significantly since 2001 from 33. 4 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) to 43. 4 percent in FY2008. About 85 percent of exports are destined to developed countries and roughly 60 percent of import originates from those countries. Exports take up 20 percent of the GDP in Bangladesh. Ready-made garment (RMG) is the main driver of exports, with a share of almost 80 percent of total exports (i. e. 16 percent of GDP). Almost half of the exports go to the European Union (EU), while 25 percent goes to the United States (US). The dependence on foreign aid has progressively reduced since the 1990s, while foreign direct investment remains low at 1 percent of the GDP over the last decade (2000-2009). Table: Bangladesh’s Degree of Openness to the Global Economy | |FY1981 |FY1991 |FY2001 |FY2007 |FY2008 | |(Export + Import)/GDP |13. 5 |16. 8 |33. 4 |43. 3 |43. 4 | |Remittances/GDP |1. 9 |2. 5 |4. 0 |8. 8 |10. | |ODA Disbursed/GDP |5. 8 |5. 6 |2. 9 |2. 3 |2. 4 | |ODA Disbursed/Export |158. 1 |100. 9 |21. 2 |12. 9 |13. 3 | | | | | | | | |Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)/GDP |- |0. 1 |1. 2 |1. 2 |0. 8 | The contribution of remittances has more than doubled since 2001 from 4 percent of the GDP to 10 percent in FY2008. Bangladesh is a huge labor surplus country, putting it on the supply side of the global labor market and at the fifth position among the top remittance recipient countries in the world. As a result, the economy is heavily dependent on migrants’ earnings in the Gulf countries and Western countries. In FY2007-08, total remittances (i. e. , USD8 billion) accounted for 10 percent of the GDP. As per the latest statistics, 5. 5 million Bangladeshis are currently working abroad. About 65 percent of these workers are semi-skilled (16 percent) and low-skilled (49 percent). Two-thirds of the migrants work in Middle East countries, mainly in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates (table 3). They constitute 25. percent of the total labor in those countries and contribute 63 percent of the total remittances inflow in Bangladesh. The remittances inflow from these countries doubled from USD2. 4 billion in FY2003-04 to USD4. 97 billion in FY2007-08, as a result of the construct ion boom in the Gulf, mainly Dubai. Table: Importance of Migrant Workers and Remittances | |Labor Force |Share of Bangladeshis in |Share in Total Remittance | | |(Million) |Labor Force (%) |Inflow (%) | |Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |6. 7 |27. |30 | |Kuwait |2. 2 |14. 2 |11 | |Qatar |1. 1 |10. 0 |4 | |United Arab Emirates |3. 3 |33. 4 |14 | |Bahrain |0. 5 |26. 2 |2 | |Oman |0. 9 |23. |3 | |Total |14. 7 |25. 3 |63 | The most recent data (July-December 2008) suggest that the pass-through of the ongoing global economic crisis into Bangladesh economy is real. Even though Bangladesh is not integrated to the global capital market, the economy is facing the second round effects of the global financial crisis. There is evidence that international trade, exports of manpower and inflow of foreign official development assistance (ODA) are being adversely affected (table 4). The major source of the potential adverse impact is emanated from the projected contraction of foreign aggregate demand. Recent trends in the volume of Cargo (export plus import) handled in the Chittagong (CTG) port decreased by 5. 3 percent during H1 FY2009. Table: Recent Developments in Trade, Remittances and Aid Flows | | | | | | | |Jul-Dec. 2008 |Jul-Dec. 2007 |Growth in |Growth in | | |(Provisional) |(Revised) |Jul. -Dec. 2008 |(FY08) | |1. Cargo (export plus import) handled in CTG | | | | | |port (000 MT) |13489. 0 |14244. 0 |-5. 3 |3. 4 | |2. Exports (fob) |7754. 7 |6495. 9 |19. 4 |15. 7 | |3. Imports (Settlement of LCs) |11115. 4 |9078. 4 |22. 4 |27. 6 | |4. Remittances |4504. 7 |3440. 5 |30. 9 |32. 4 | |5. Gross ODA inflow |898. 3 |903. 2 |-0. 5 |20. 4 | |6. Net ODA inflow |579. 6 |630. 0 |-8. 0 |25. 2 | |7. Foreign direct investment (FDI) |706. 0 |285. 0 |147. 7 |-18. 0 | |8. Change in reserve position |-361. 0 |437. 3 | | | |9. Change in exchange rate |-0. 42 |0. 3 | | | Sources: (1) Bangladesh Bank, (2) Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), (3) Chittagong Port Authority, and (4) External Resources Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance. 4. Perceived Impacts at Household Level Five divisions were covered namely Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi and Sylhet. To understand the impact of the global financial crisis, focus groups discussions (FGDs) were conducted in purposively selected locations to cover livelihood groups that are most likely to be affected by the financial, according to the macro-economic pass-through channels analyzed in previous sections. Hence, 40 FGDs were organized, 12 with remittance earners, 8 with garment workers, 12 with workers of export-oriented agriculture (shrimp and tea estate) and 8 control groups made up with casual workers not involved in the former activities (table 5). Overall, discussions did not reveal any major difference between control groups and other FGDs, suggesting workers of the most exposed sectors and casual laborers are similarly affected by the effects of the global financial crisis. Therefore, the next sections will not distinguish control groups from others. Given the small sample size, the next sections will not emphasize the analysis of the characteristics of individual livelihood groups either. Table: Geographical and Sectoral Coverage of FGDs |Sector of Activity |Division |District |No. FGD | | | |Sylhet Comilla Noakhali |4 | | | |Chandpur |2 | |Remittance earners |Sylhet |Maulvibazar |2 | | | | |2 | | | | |2 | | | |Dhaka |4 | |Garment workers |Dhaka |Gazipur |2 | | |Chittagong |Chittagong (Ctg) |2 | | | |Satkhira |4 | |Export oriented agriculture labourers (shrimp,|Khulna |Bagerhat |2 | |tea estate) | | | | | |Sylhet |Maulvibazar |6 | | | |Gaibandha |2 | |Control group rural (casual labour) |Rajshahi |Panchagarh |2 | | | |Rajshahi |2 | | |Khulna |Khulna |2 | |Total |40 | 4. 1. Impacts on Livelihoods and Incomes Based on discussions with the 40 focus group members, remittances are mentioned by 9 of 40 FGDs as the first income source of the communities, followed by unskilled non-agriculture daily labor (8 of 40 FGDs), work in tea estate (6 of 40 FGDs) and work in garment factories (4 of 40 FGDs). As the first source of income, 4 FGDs mentioned that remittances contribute to about 80 percent of their incomes. Unskilled non-agriculture dailylabor is the second main income source for 9 of 40 FGDs, , followed by agriculture daily labor (8 of 40 FGDs) and small businesses (6 of 40 FGDs). As a second source of income, the contribution of unskilled non- agriculture daily labor to income is estimated at 25 percent, according to 8 FGDs. Female FGDs reported more dependence on remittances as their main income sources, compared to male FGDs. Five of 20 female FGDs depend on remittances as their first source of income, compared to 4 male FGDs. Four female FGDs mentioned that remittances contribute to 80 percent of their incomes, suggesting female-headed household whose husbands are migrant workers are vulnerable to decreases of remittances. No male FGD reported such a high level of contribution of remittances to household incomes. Five of 20 female FGDs are also more dependent on unskilled non-agriculture daily labor as their second source of income, compared to 4 in 20 for male FGDs. By contrast, male FGDs are more dependent on agriculture daily labor (5 in 20 FGDs) as their second source of income compared to female FGDs (3 in 20 FGDs). In total, 4 in 40 FGDs mentioned work in garment factories as both their first and second source of incomes. Figure: Main Income Sources (Number of Respondent FGDs) Small business Day labor (agric. ) Unskilled day lab our (no n-agric. ) Earth-digging Fishing in deep sea/ river Garment worker Ho use-maid Skilled labour (non-agric. ) Remittance Rickshaw/ van/ cart puller Other services Tea worker Wood / bamboo/ f irewoo d seller Fish/ shrimp -processing worker There is a sense that activity changes witnessed by FGDs are being made at the expense of sustainable livelihoods. In response to whether households have changed activities in the past 6 months, 17 out of 40 FGDs (12 male FGDs and 5 female FGDs) answered positively. According to respondent FGDs, households most frequently changed their activity to daily labor, suggesting they are likely engaging in less regular livelihoods. The main reasons of livelihood changes are low purchasing power (9 FGDs) and reduced job opportunities (7 FGDs) suggesting households are likely facing the impacts of the global financial crisis on top of the lasting effects of the high food prices. Table: Activity Changes Observed over the Last 6 Months Before Type of activity change now Number of Respondent FGDs Earth-digging Selling firewood 1 Tea estate worker Earth-digging 1 Rickshaw-puller, Mason, Street-vendor Selling betel leaf and bidi (tobacco) 1 Day labourer 8 Agriculture farmer Day labourer 1 Unemployed Migrant worker 2 Worker in shrimp-hatchery Fishing in deep sea/river 2 Day laborer Small business 1 Total 17 4. 2. Impacts on Employment and Wages Job losses were mentioned by fish/shrimp processing, garment and migrant workers, though the magnitude of the losses is reported to be less than 25 percent, with 10 percent being the most frequently reported estimate. Of the 40 FGDs interviewed, 16 FGDs (10 male and 6 female FGDs) mentioned that job losses have taken place within their community during the last 6 months. Job losses were reported mainly in Chittagong and Khulna divisions, by 5 and 8 FDGs, respectively. In general, job cuts and reduced salaries are reported as the main reasons for job losses or for changing activities. Fish/shrimp processing workers are the most affected by job losses in Khulna due to diseases in hatcheries and reduction of exports. In addition job losses in the shrimp processing sector, especially in Khulna, are amplified by the normal seasonal break in shrimp producing activities. Reportedly, shrimp production covers only 6 months a year. As a result, workers in shrimp-hatcheries would normally seek additional jobs such as casual labor during the rest of the year. Salary decreases reported by garment workers are due to reduced buying orders from abroad and reduced payments on overtime. Job losses are engulfing the supply of labor as daily workers are also facing job scarcity, according to 5 FGDs interviewed in Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna and Rajshahi. As shown in figure 10, most of the respondent FGDs estimate that job losses are below 25 percent, except in Khulna where half of them mentioned the percentage of workers that have lost their job during the last 6 months could range between 50 and 75 percent. In Chittagong, respondent FGDs of the garment sector tend to estimate job losses below 10 percent. Relatively high proportions (between 25-75 percent) of job losses were reported by only 1 of 6 FGDs of the garment sector in Dhaka and 1 of 6 casual labor FGDs in Rajshahi. However, these figures cannot be interpreted as a general trend of the responses emerging from discussions with garment workers and casual laborers in these areas 4. 3 Impacted by the food price shock By mid-2008, food prices had increased by more than 200% since 2006 and more than 60% since January this year Between March 2007 and march 2008, prices of corn, rice, soybean and wheat increased by 31,74,87 and 130% respectively Rice price passed US$1000 in April 2008 A large proportion of population depends on agriculture. Per capita food production has been low and negative. Proportion of claries obtained from cereals is high. [pic] Table: Food price contribution to consumer price inflation in South Asian countries, 2008 | | | | | |Country |Overall inflation |Food price |Expenditure |Contribution of food | | | |inflation(a) |share of |prices to overall | | | | |food (in %) |inflation(b) | |(1) |(2) |(3) |(4) |(5) | | | | | | | |Bangladesh (April 2008) |9. 94 |11. 84 |64. 5 |7. 64 | | | | | | | |India (February 2008) |4. 60 |5. 0 |33. 4 |1. 94 | | | | | | | |Nepal (April/May 2008) |7. 50 |10. 00 |53. 2 |5. 32 | | | | | | | |Pakistan (May 2008) |19. 30 |28. 50 |41. 5 |11. 3 | | | | | | | |Sri Lanka (June 2008) |28. 20 |40. 06 |46. 7 |18. 71 | Source: Statistical Departments and Bureaus of different countries, 2008. (a) Includes beverages and tobacco. (b) Column (5) entries are calculated as (5) = (3) ? (4)/100. Table: The Impact of Rising Food Prices: Bangladesh (CGE Estimates 60% Rise) Macroeconomic Variables The effect of increase in food prices General Price level 2. 6% Real household income -1. 61% Welfare (equivalent variation) -0. 905 Real GDP -0. 787 Source: Adapted from ADB (2008a). There has been a considerable amount of controversy and debate over the impact of foo

1996 Mount Everest Disaster - Death on Top of the World

1996 Mount Everest Disaster - Death on Top of the World On May 10, 1996, a ferocious storm descended upon the Himalayas, creating perilous conditions on Mount Everest, and stranding 17 climbers high upon the tallest mountain in the world. By the following day, the storm had claimed the lives of eight climbers, making it- at the time- the greatest loss of life in a single day in the history of the mountain. While climbing Mount Everest is inherently risky, several factors (aside from the storm) contributed to the tragic outcome- crowded conditions, inexperienced climbers, numerous delays, and a series of bad decisions. Big Business on Mount Everest Following the first summit of Mount Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953, the feat of climbing the 29,028-foot peak had for decades been limited to only the most elite climbers. By 1996, however, climbing Mount Everest had evolved into a multi-million dollar industry. Several mountaineering companies had established themselves as the means by which even amateur climbers could summit Everest. Fees for a guided climb ranged from $30,000 to $65,000 per customer. The window of opportunity for climbing in the Himalayas is a narrow one. For just a few weeks- between late April and late May- the weather is typically milder than usual, allowing climbers to ascend. In the spring of 1996, multiple teams were gearing up for the climb. The vast majority of them approached from the Nepalese side of the mountain; only two expeditions ascended from the Tibetan side. Gradual Ascent There are many dangers involved in ascending Everest too rapidly. For that reason, expeditions take weeks to ascend, allowing climbers to gradually acclimatize to the changing atmosphere. Medical problems that could develop at high altitudes include severe altitude sickness, frostbite, and hypothermia. Other serious effects include hypoxia (low oxygen, leading to poor coordination and impaired judgment), HAPE (high-altitude pulmonary edema, or fluid in the lungs) and HACE (high-altitude cerebral edema, or swelling of the brain). The latter two can prove especially deadly. In late March 1996, groups assembled in Kathmandu, Nepal, and opted to take a transport helicopter to Lukla, a village located about 38 miles from Base Camp. Trekkers then made a 10-day hike to Base Camp (17,585 feet), where they would stay a few weeks adjusting to the altitude. Two of the largest guided groups that year were Adventure Consultants (led by New Zealander Rob Hall and fellow guides Mike Groom and Andy Harris) and Mountain Madness (led by American Scott Fischer, assisted by guides Anatoli Boukreev and Neal Beidleman). Halls group included seven climbing Sherpas and eight clients. Fischers group comprised eight climbing Sherpas and seven clients. (The Sherpa, natives of eastern Nepal, are accustomed to the high altitude; many make their living as support staff for climbing expeditions.) Another American group, helmed by filmmaker and renowned climber David Breashears, was on Everest to make an IMAX film. Several other groups came from around the globe, including Taiwan, South Africa, Sweden, Norway, and Montenegro. Two other groups (from India and Japan) climbed from the Tibetan side of the mountain. Up to the Death Zone Climbers began the acclimatization process in mid-April, taking increasingly longer sorties to higher elevations, then returning to Base Camp. Eventually, over a period of four weeks, the climbers made their way up the mountain- first, past the Khumbu Icefall to Camp 1 at 19,500 feet, then up the Western Cwm to Camp 2 at 21,300 feet. (Cwm, pronounced coom, is the Welsh word for valley.) Camp 3, at 24,000 feet, was adjacent to the Lhotse Face, a sheer wall of glacial ice. On May 9, the scheduled day for the ascent to Camp 4 (the highest camp, at 26,000 feet), the expeditions first victim met his fate. Chen Yu-Nan, a member of the Taiwanese team, committed a fatal error when he exited his tent in the morning without having strapped on his crampons (spikes attached to boots for climbing on ice). He slipped down the Lhotse Face into a crevasse. Sherpas were able to pull him up by rope, but he died of internal injuries later that day. The trek up the mountain continued. Climbing upward to Camp 4, all but only a handful of elite climbers required the use of oxygen to survive. The area from Camp 4 up to the summit is known as the Death Zone because of the dangerous effects of the extremely high altitude. Atmospheric oxygen levels are only one-third of those at sea level. Trek to the Summit Begins Climbers from various expeditions arrived at Camp 4 throughout the day. Later that afternoon, a serious storm blew in. Leaders of the groups feared that they would not be able to climb that night as planned. After hours of gale-force winds, the weather cleared at 7:30 p.m. The climb would go on as planned. Wearing headlamps and breathing bottled oxygen, 33 climbers- including Adventure Consultants and Mountain Madness team members, along with a small Taiwanese team- left at about midnight that night. Each client carried two spare bottles of oxygen, but would run out at about 5Â  p.m., and would, therefore, need to descend as quickly as possible once they had summitted. Speed was of the essence. But that speed would be hampered by several unfortunate missteps. Leaders of the two main expeditions had supposedly ordered Sherpas to go ahead of the climbers and install lines of rope along the most difficult areas in the upper mountain in order to avoid a slowdown during the ascent. For some reason, this crucial task was never carried out. Summit Slowdowns The first bottleneck occurred at 28,000 feet, where setting up the ropes took nearly an hour. Adding to the delays, many climbers were very slow due to inexperience. By late morning, some climbers waiting in the queue began to worry about getting to the summit in time to descend safely before nightfall- and before their oxygen ran out. A second bottleneck occurred on the South Summit, at 28,710 feet. This delayed forward progress by another hour. Expedition leaders had set a 2Â  p.m. turn-around time- the point at which climbers must turn around even if they had not reached the summit. At 11:30 a.m., three men on Rob Halls team turned around and headed back down the mountain, realizing they might not make it in time. They were among the few who made the right decision that day. The first group of climbers made it up the famously difficult Hillary Step to reach the summit at about 1:00 p.m. After a brief celebration, it was time to turn around and complete the second half of their laborious trek. They still needed to get back down to the relative safety of Camp 4. As the minutes ticked by, oxygen supplies began to dwindle. Deadly Decisions Up at the top of the mountain, some climbers had been summiting well after 2:00 p.m. Mountain Madness leader Scott Fischer did not enforce the turn-around time, allowing his clients to stay on the summit past 3:00. Fischer himself was summiting just as his clients were coming down. Despite the late hour, he continued up. No one questioned him because he was the leader and an experienced Everest climber. Later, people would comment that Fischer had looked very ill. Fischers assistant guide, Anatoli Boukreev, had inexplicably summited early on, and then descended to Camp 4 by himself, instead of waiting to assist clients. Rob Hall also ignored the turn-around time, staying behind with client Doug Hansen, who was having trouble moving up the mountain. Hansen had tried to summit the previous year and failed, which is probably why Hall made such an effort to help him up despite the late hour. Hall and Hansen did not summit until 4:00 p.m., however, far too late to have stayed on the mountain. It was a serious lapse in judgment on Halls part- one which would cost both men their lives. By 3:30 p.m. ominous clouds had appeared and snow began to fall, covering up tracks that descending climbers needed as a guide to find their way down. By 6:00 p.m., the storm had become a blizzard with gale-force winds, while many climbers were still trying to make their way down the mountain. Caught in the Storm As the storm raged on, 17 people were caught on the mountain, a perilous position to be in after dark, but especially so during a storm with high winds, zero visibility, and a wind chill of 70 below zero. Climbers were also running out of oxygen. A group accompanied by guides Beidleman and Groom headed down the mountain, including climbers Yasuko Namba, Sandy Pittman, Charlotte Fox, Lene Gammelgaard, Martin Adams, and Klev Schoening. They encountered Rob Halls client Beck Weathers on their way down. Weathers was stranded at 27,000 feet after being stricken by temporary blindness, which had prevented him from summitting. He joined the group. After a very slow and difficult descent, the group came within 200 vertical feet of Camp 4, but the driving wind and snow made it impossible to see where they were going. They huddled together to wait out the storm. At midnight, the sky cleared briefly, allowing guides to catch sight of the camp. The group headed off toward camp, but four were too incapacitated to move- Weathers, Namba, Pittman, and Fox. The others made it back and sent help for the four stranded climbers. Mountain Madness guide Anatoli Boukreev was able to help Fox and Pittman back to camp, but could not manage the nearly comatose Weathers and Namba, especially in the middle of a storm. They were deemed beyond help and were therefore left behind. Death on the Mountain Still stranded high on the mountain were Rob Hall and Doug Hansen at the top of the Hillary Step near the summit. Hansen was unable to go on; Hall tried to bring him down. During their unsuccessful attempt to descend, Hall looked away for just a moment and when he looked back, Hansen was gone. (Hansen had likely fallen over the edge.) Hall maintained radio contact with Base Camp through the night and even spoke with his pregnant wife, who was patched through from New Zealand by satellite phone. Guide Andy Harris, who was caught in the storm at the South Summit, had a radio and was able to hear Halls transmissions. Harris is believed to have gone up to bring oxygen to Rob Hall. But Harris also disappeared; his body was never found. Expedition leader Scott Fischer and climber Makalu Gau (leader of the Taiwanese team that included the late Chen Yu-Nan) were found together at 1200 feet above Camp 4 on the morning of May 11. Fisher was unresponsive and barely breathing. Certain that Fischer was beyond hope, the Sherpas left him there. Boukreev, Fischers lead guide, climbed up to Fischer shortly thereafter but found he had already died. Gau, although severely frostbitten, was able to walk- with much assistance- and was guided down by Sherpas. Would-be rescuers had attempted to reach Hall on May 11 but were turned back by severe weather. Twelve days later, Rob Halls body would be found at the South Summit by Breashears and the IMAX team. Survivor Beck Weathers Beck Weathers, left for dead, somehow survived the night. (His companion, Namba, did not.) After being unconscious for hours, Weathers miraculously awoke late on the afternoon of May 11 and staggered back to the camp. His shocked fellow climbers warmed him up and gave him fluids, but he had suffered severe frostbite on his hands, feet, and face, and appeared to be near death. (In fact, his wife had been notified earlier that he had died during the night.) The next morning, Weathers companions almost left him for dead again when they departed camp, thinking he had died during the night. He awoke just in time and called out for help. Weathers was assisted by the IMAX group down to Camp 2, where he and Gau were flown out in a very daring and dangerous helicopter rescue at 19,860 feet. Shockingly, both men survived, but frostbite took its toll. Gau lost his fingers, nose, and both feet; Weathers lost his nose, all of the fingers on his left hand and his right arm below the elbow. Everest Death Toll The leaders of the two main expeditions- Rob Hall and Scott Fischer- both died on the mountain. Halls guide Andy Harris and two of their clients, Doug Hansen and Yasuko Namba, also perished. On the Tibetan side of the mountain, three Indian climbers- Tsewang Smanla, Tsewang Paljor, and Dorje Morup- had died during the storm, bringing the total of deaths that day to eight, the record number of deaths in one day. Unfortunately, since then, that record has been broken. An avalanche on April 18, 2014, took the lives of 16 Sherpas. A year later, an earthquake in Nepal on April 25, 2015, caused an avalanche that killed 22 people at Base Camp. To date, more than 250 people have lost their lives on Mount Everest. Most of the bodies remain on the mountain. Several books and films have come out of the Everest disaster, including bestseller Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (a journalist and a member of Halls expedition) and two documentaries made by David Breashears. A feature film, Everest, was also released in 2015.

A Beginners Guide to Delphi Programming

A Beginners Guide to Delphi Programming Beginner developers eager to master the Delphi programming language should already be familiar with the basics of Microsoft Windows. Learning Delphi is easiest if you  approach it from a guided, tutorial-based frame of reference.   Foundational  Concepts Get started with a history lesson covering the evolution of  (Turbo) Pascal to Delphi 2005, such that Delphi evolved into a rapid-application-deployment framework intended to offer high-performance, scalable applications for online and mobile delivery. After that, explore the meat-and-potatoes of what Delphi actually is and how to install and configure its development environment. From there, explore the main parts and tools of the Delphi IDE. Hello, World! Begin your overview of application development with Delphi by creating a simple project,  writing code, compiling, and running a project. Then  learn about  properties, events, and Delphi Pascal  by creating your second simple Delphi application - allowing you to learn how to place components on a form, set their properties, and  write event-handler procedures to make components cooperate. Delphi Pascal Before you start developing more sophisticated applications by using the RAD features of Delphi, you should learn the basics of the  Delphi Pascal  language. At this point, youll need to start thinking carefully about code maintenance, including code commenting, and how to  cleaning your Delphi code errors - a discussion on Delphi design, run and compile time errors and how to prevent them. Also, take a look at some solutions to most common logic errors. Forms and Databases In just about every Delphi application, we use forms to present and retrieve information from users. Delphi arms us with a rich array of visual tools for creating forms and determining their properties and behavior. We can set them up at  design time  using the property editors and we can write code to re-set them dynamically at runtime.  Look at simple SDI forms and consider some good reasons for not letting your program auto-create forms. Delphi Personal  edition does not offer database support, but you can  create your own  flat  database to store any kind of  data - all without a single data-aware component. Managing Your Work While youre developing a large Delphi application, as your  program becomes more complex, its source code can become hard to maintain. Create your own code modules - Delphi code files that contain logically associated functions and procedures. Along the way you should explore Delphis built-in routines and how to make all the units of a Delphi application cooperate. The Delphi IDE (the  code editor) helps you effectively jump from a method implementation and a method declaration, locate a  variable declaration  using tooltip symbol insight features, and more.

Theory as Framework for Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Theory as Framework for Education - Essay Example just to deduce that the theories nursing theory provides ideas that support nursing research significant to nurses when incorporated in nursing education (Watson & Watson 2012). A useful nursing theory makes assumptions about health, behavior, target population, problem or an environment (De & Anderson 2008). Therefore, the useful nursing theory is characterized by logic, consistency with everyday observations, and support from previous research with related ideas and similarity of the situation to past situations (Watson & Watson 2012). Moreover, the theory must be able to improve the learners’ knowledge in the selected nursing area. Watson’s theory of human caring is a very useful theory in nursing education. The theory has abundant logic in its element of caring as it holds that the interpersonal relations of humans are the primary facets of caring (Watson & Watson 2012). Like most useful theories, the theory is based on the assumption that the standard and basis of nursing subsist in caring science as the basis of the nursing profession. The assumption is important through the connection it creates between the student and the patient (Watson & Watson 2012). Nevertheless, as the student has mentioned, the theory is based on ten creative aspects of every observation that supports nurses in their relationships with patients. To add on all that, Watson’s theory has support from previous research that shows that, to offer proper care to patients, nurses have to establish a relationship of care and love with the patients (Watson & Watson 2012). Therefore, Watson’s theory of human caring can ade quately guide nursing students in their interpersonal relationships with patients and care in addition to their knowledge (De & Anderson

Judaism paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Judaism - Research Paper Example Certain varieties of Judaism consider the idea that all Jewish teachings must strictly be adhered to (Wylen, 2000). Although, there are other forms of Judaism that believe teachings that encourage on how to usher a morality in human lives are obligatory, much less, essential; others can be considered as discretionary or optional. For the reason that Judaism is an assorted religion with an extensive range of beliefs and practices, it must not be presupposed that a Jew has certain types of beliefs or follows precise forms of religious practice (Eisenberg, 2004). Various types of Judaism are linked by an intense impression of "peoplehood" (ICS, 2013), a shared inheritance, tradition or custom, and collective values and standards. Judaism gives Jews with guidance on how to carry out their religion and inspire good values (ICS, 2013). These instructions descend from numerous bases that include Jewish sacred texts such as the Bible and the Talmud (ICS, 2013). Other Jewish texts such as the subsequent literary works written by rabbis and philosophers are also being used. Judaism is one of the most important religions that are still being practiced today. Thus, it sensibly important to dig in deeper to its historical derivations, and the significant figures, observance, teachings, and events that can be relatively associated with it. This paper shall elaborate on these categories, which should provide readers a general overview of Judaism. Judaism and Abraham One of the fundamental teachings of Judaism is the belief that there is only one God, a belief that is also known as ethical monotheism (Wylen 2000; ICS, 2013). Judaism teaches that there is a lone God who created the universe and everything that is in it; a Supreme Being who cherishes and tends humanity; a God who desires that His people will live ethical lives (ICS, 2013), which makes it a strong cause that having a profound understanding of Judaism is crucial in appreciating the historical lineage of the world. The Old Testament confirms that Abraham started off monotheism or the belief in one God, and was the first person to refuse idol worship. Abraham is a fundamental component of Judaism in that he was considered to be the Father of the Jewish people and that it was through him and his offspring that a covenant was handed on to succeeding generations (Pellach, 2006). The Abrahamic Covenant, which can be found in Genesis 12-17, elaborates three main issues: (1) God would bestow Abraham the Land of Canaan and make him the father of all nations and of his progenies; (2) God would create a great nation through him; and (3) God would yield a blessing to those who consecrate him and curse those who curse him. In Genesis 12:3 God says, â€Å"I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed† (New International Version). Abrahams covenant is particularly important because it serves as the source to the Bible and world history (Pellach, 2006). The basis of almost all Christian teachings is rooted on the belief that God has a chosen people, which will reveal themselves in the last days of the earth. Although, some people in various civilization and cultures believe that the covenant no longer applies today, the Bible reaffirms that Abrahamic covenant is still in effect. The Bible says, â€Å"He [God] remembers his covenant forever, the word which he commanded,

EU Economic And Monetary Policy Case Of Spain

EU Economic And Monetary Policy Case Of Spain This research paper aims to discuss how the EU has influenced economic and monetary policies of Spain and vice versa. This dual relationship is of utmost importance as we look at the costs and benefits the EMU has brought to Spain and the possibility of the long-standing inflation problem in Spain affecting EUs monetary policies. EU membership has undoubtedly largely influenced the economic policies and conditions of Spain. For example, Spains accession in 1986 forced the government and economic elites to adopt the necessary policies to embark on economic modernization. In addition, the European Monetary Union (EMU) Maastricht Treaty criteria resulted in Spain having to implement micro and macroeconomic policies like fiscal consolidation, central bank independence and wage moderation (Royo, 2006). Also, the current Greek debt crisis has also thrown the spotlight on Spain which is also undergoing a crisis of itself: competitiveness crisis. With this crisis in mind, it is highly unlike ly but still possible that EU might either choose to expel Spain from the euro area or undergo a series of policy reforms to deal with this crisis. This research paper will begin with an introduction of Spains accession into the EU, followed by the costs and benefits Spain experienced from complying with the EMU Maastricht Treaty. This will be followed by an investigation on the competitiveness crisis in Spain and its influence on the EU. Lastly, this paper will have a discussion on the possible economic and structural reforms that both Spain and EU should undertake to smoothen EU integration for both parties. Spains accession into the EU Before accession into the EU, Spains economy was of a protectionist nature. It remained largely outside the international economic trading area. However in the 1980s, Spain decided to integrate with Western Europe, and was enthusiastic in accommodating to the EC trade customs and rules in order to secure accession. Spain joined the EMU because it was economically beneficial then as the majority of Spains trading partners are in the EU. On January 1986, Spain joined the European community as a full member. Spain was a firm supporter of the European and Monetary Union from the very beginning and rushed to be a part of the European Monetary System (EMS) in 1989 (Sebastian Royo, 2003). The European Monetary Union was established with the purpose of creating and improves trade among European countries. Based on the accession agreement, the taxation policy of Spain was transformed dramatically. Firstly, Spain had to gradually remove custom duties as well as industrial tariffs on EC goods (US Library of Congress). Spains tax rebate on exports had to be removed too. In addition, Spain had to impose a value-added tax (VAT) which had affected Spain negatively in the 1980s. For instance, the introduction of VAT makes Spain a more expensive destination for inbound visitors/tourists and this will affect the Spanish tourism industry. 2.1 Implications of European financial integration on Spain More importantly, membership in the Economic Monetary Union has many implications on Spains domestic economic policies. This is because Spain now loses control of monetary and exchange rate polices to fix problems in its economy and have to rely on the EMUs monetary policy instead. The EMU is tasked with the objective to conduct policies to ensure and achieve stability and growth in the Euro zone (Trichet, 2005). European financial integration kick-started a series of reforms aimed at liberalizing and modernizing the Spanish economy. Accession to ERM and then EMU membership resulted in the reform of the tax system. This reform of the Spanish tax system includes the introduction of VAT as well as a reduction of import duties. This was accompanied by a fiscal consolidation process (reducing government budget and debt deficits). Membership in the EU which resulted in European financial integration has both positive effects and negative effects on the economy. The general consensus is that the economic outcome for Spains membership is still largely positive. For example, gross domestic product per capital (GDP) increased significantly from 1985 and 2005 (Elcano Royal Institute European Parliament Office in Spain, 2006). The Spanish economy has also enjoyed growth since accession. Furthermore Spain has received a large amount of funds since accession and has made use of these funds to finance regional cohesion projects and develop infrastructures to modernise the economy. In addition, with greater exchange rate stability, imports of goods and services in Spain rose significantly and thus there was a greater degree of openness in the Spanish economy. However there remain major differences in economic development between Spain and the leading economies in the EU. Financial integration due to EMU was not totally smooth-sailing for Spain. The financial integration, which resulted in industrial restricting, has adverse effects on the economy in the early 1980: it resulted in high unemployment. In addition, the 1992 EMS crisis was traumatic for Spain. The 1992 crisis originated from an increase in government spending in Germany. This coupled with contractionary monetary policy led to increase in interest rates which affected the rest of the members of the EMU. The result was a sharp decline in the growth rate of real GDP and Spain having to devalue thrice. Many jobs in Spain were lost in the crisis. Fortunately these effects were cushioned somewhat by an economic boom in Spain, the continuing fall in oil prices and large inflow of foreign direct investment into Spain as many foreign companies seek to grab a slice of Spains expanding consumer market (US Library of Congress). Therefore for Spain to seize the benefits of EU membership and enjoy economic growth as well as low inflation, it has to push forward its structural reforms as well undertake sound fiscal policies. Spain till now has succeeded in conducting sound fiscal policies. However its inherent problem of high inflation continues to threaten its competitiveness and hence its trade balance. This has not been resolved quickly partially because of complacency due to its early economic success in the EU (Royo, 2006). European financial integration of the EU which entails efficient free movement of capital, commitment to exchange rate stability as well as harmonization of capital taxes have many positive implications on the Spanish macroeconomic policies. One benefit is that free movement of capital results in a decrease in financial costs for companies and thus allowing companies to raise more resources. However European financial integration has its drawbacks too for Spain. For instance, such commitments come into conflict with the aim of the Spanish government to reduce inflation as such commitments tend to result in lower interest rates thus raising inflation rates. Nevertheless, EU membership has contributed to some extent in lowering inflation in Spain. The introduction of the Euro and the European Central Bank (ECB), have considerable success in limiting price increases. The ECBs main aim of its monetary policy is to keep inflation of those in the euro zone under control and achieves this b y raising interest rates. The ECB therefore sets long-term interest rates for all the EMU countries. Since entering the EMU and participating in the single currency, Euro, the Spanish economy has transformed in a starkly different manner as compared to its counterparts in the EU. Spains economic growth in terms of GDP and inflation rate has been significantly higher than the other member states in the EU (Andres, Hurtado, Ortega, Thomas, 2009). These differentials particularly the inflation differential is most probably caused by the convergence and the integration of foreign markets. In fact, the surrendering of a nations right to pursue autonomous monetary policy as a result of complying with EMU and ECB is one reason why Spain has problems reducing her traditionally high inflation rate. Therefore this is perhaps the reason why Spain is powerless to use initiatives like setting interest rates to control inflation. As mentioned previously, one of the most significant implications of EMU membership for Spain was the convergence of interest rates which resulted in extremely low interest rates in Spain. (Royo, 2006). The drastic decline of interest rates in Spain was necessary in order to secure entry into the EMU. In fact, this convergence of interest rates as a result of EMU membership has an indirect effect on Spains current account trade deficit. Low interest rates led to an explosion of credit and mortgages. This raises houses prices. Low interest rates cause savings to decrease and thus the saving rate is insufficient to finance investment projects, resulting in the private sector having a large trade deficit. Low interest rates also result in excess demand and leading to high goods and wage inflation. Therefore, although membership in the EU served as a primary trigger for the Spain to embark on liberalizing the economy and has largely improved trade, it also contributes to problems regarding Spains trade balance. This is because most of Spains trade partners (countries which Spain exports her products to) are in the EU. (Royo, 2006)This coupled with rising GDP, which increased at a faster rate than exports, resulted in a growing current account deficit. It is important to note that the high inflation problems and the rising current account deficit took place in a setting of fiscal stability (Ubide, 2007). Once again, membership in the EU has resulted in Spain having a lack of monetary and cyclical tools to achieve fiscal surplus and control rising inflation. Having the national currency in a fixed exchange rate due to the EMS thus caused Spain being unable to resolve these economic problems. In other words, if Spain is not a member of the EU and do not participate in the single currency, Euro, she could have devalue her currency with respect to other currencies and improve its competiveness of its exports, and thus improve her trade balance. 3.1 The Competiveness Crisis in Spain The Greek debt crisis has put the spotlight on the peripheral member states of the EU especially Spain. However Spain is undergoing another crisis which of a different nature as compared to Greece. Spains crisis is not due to a lack of budgetary discipline, but caused by the boom in domestic credit (due to convergence in interest rates in the EU). The membership in the EMU can be attributed to the boom in domestic credit leading to the construction boom in Spain. EMU reduced the cost of borrowing for households as real interest rates for households fall substantially. This is due to the reduction in the risk premium as a result of EMU membership. Therefore, reduced cost of borrowing for households led to an increased in number of houses built and thus a boom in the construction industry. The construction boom in the private sector was accompanied by poor economic performance in the other sectors; this resulted in instability as well as trade imbalance. From the late 1990s to 2007, Spain has displayed poor international cost competitiveness (as compared to the rest of the EU members) as a result a significant increase in cost of production especially in the tradable goods sector (Marzinotto, 2010).This significant increase in cost of production is caused by Spains real estate investment boom. Other factors that contributed to poor international cost competitiveness include wage indexation to past high inflation and extension of wages which are agreed at industry level (Marzinotto, 2010). In the 19809s, Spanish firms were facing intense competition from Latin America and the Far East on products like clothing, textile which are Spains main exports. These countries from the Far East and Latin America have leverage on Spain because they are able to produce these goods far cheaper than Spain due to their low wages (Royo, 2006). As a result, Spain is often overlooked by foreign investors who chose to set their operations in these countries instead. This situation worsened when the enlargement of the European Union to the central and eastern European countries materialized. This is because Spain has to deal with new competition from new members on industries which are labor-intensive which form the bulk of Spanish trade. This further affect the trade balance of Spain because these new members also are able to exploit their low wages thus are able to produce cheaper exports as compared to EU. It is a tough obstacle for Spain to resolve the resulting current account deficit because such trade imbalance exists independent of any utilization of sound fiscal policies. This is not only an important issue for Spain but also has an important influence on the EU. This is because the poor international competitiveness of Spain will affect the stability of the Euro too. 3.2 Spains crisis and its implications on the EMU Based on the current competiveness crisis of Spain, one of the unlikely options for Spain is to exit from the euro area. However such an option begs another central question: is a euro exit possible and how will the credibility of the euro being affected? Firstly, the credibility of the euro is unlikely to be threatened if countries like Spain and Greece exit from the euro zone. However in an event of a Spanish exit from the euro zone, it will lead to other troubled nations pondering over similar departures and such spill over effects will create an uncertain environment which is not conducive for further European financial integration. Nevertheless, such concerns may be redundant because the chances of Spain exiting the euro zone or any other member state doing likewise is extremely unlikely because of the difficulty in doing so. One important barrier to exit is the financial integration between the members of the EU has reached a significant degree thus cross-border assets are very high. Therefore an exit will result in massive upheaval (Willams, 2009). Of course there will be benefits for Spain to leave the euro as it implies regaining autonomy in pursuing independent monetary policy as well as exchange rate flexibility. However, the costs of withdrawal are high too. For instance, there will be a cut in access to finance as well as a sharp increase in funding costs due to a removal of funding by the EMU as a result of withdrawal. This thus suggest a likely situation where Spain will remain in the euro zone and attempt to deflate its housing boom without the use of independent monetary policy or currency devaluation. This crisis has wide implications on the EU. The EU cannot and will not hang these struggling economies out to dry. Therefore to fix the competiveness crisis in Spain, there is a need for the EU to make some changes or introduce some frameworks. One possible way in which the EU can manage this crisis is to introduce a system to monitor wage and price developments (Marzinotto, 2010). This is not exactly a novel avenue which the EU has not implemented before. One of the requirements of the Exchange Rate Mechanisms ERM (before the introduction of the euro) was that no member country could change its nominal exchange rate without the consent of the others due to its effects on competitiveness. This is not the case now. Member states can now change its real exchange rates via VAT increases and cuts in social security contributions (Marzinotto, 2010). Therefore in this avenue, the EU should regularly monitor the real exchange rates in the euro zone and should introduce initiatives whenever economic developments pose a threat to the stability and the operation of the EMU. In addition this European competiveness monitoring framework (Marzinotto, 2010) should have a euro-wide perspective and focus as Spains current account deficit means a surplus for another country. Therefore in the event of necessary adjustments, the EMU must take into consideration both the interests of the deficit and surplus member states. In addition to a monitoring framework, there should also be an alert procedure (Marzinotto, 2010)that will have an assessment whenever fluctuations in a countrys current account deficit exceed the predefined limits. In the alert procedure, the country that has flouted the predetermined limits will be assessed based on its efforts to correct this problem. If the assessment is negative, the commission will then propose initiatives to solve the problem based on a euro-wide focus. Nevertheless, despite these recommendations to help Spain and other similar countries to solve such competiveness crisis, the onus is for these countries to make a concerted effort to resolve it via national efforts. The Spanish government should implement a national competiveness monitoring framework (Marzinotto, 2010). This framework includes utilizing a range of policies for remedial action. However this will not be any easy task due to obligations to the EU. Policies that Spain is hindered from using due to euro membership include encouraging inward investment by offering tax incentives and cheap loans to investors as well as devaluation. Therefore there seems to be only supply-side policies which Spain can use to remedy the crisis. Supply-side policies are favourable because an improvement in supply-side performance tends to lead to sustained economic growth without a rise in inflation rate, ceteris paribus. However, a good supply-side performance alone is not sufficient and mus t be accompanied by a sufficiently high level of aggregate demand so the productive capacity of the economy can be utilized. The Spanish government can encourage an entrepreneurial culture by providing regional policy assistance for entrepreneurs and also helping these firms with regards to access to knowledge and advice. In addition, although Spain has managed to maintain a sound fiscal policy, it has not fully utilized the fiscal policy to deflate the housing boom. Spain can modify the tax treatments of interest payments on house loans to cool the domestic housing market. With higher cost of capital, the disposable income of a household will be affected thus leading to a reduction in excess housing demand. In fact Ireland has demonstrated that raising the cost of capital of households can be achieved by removing interest relief on mortgage interest payments, (Gerald, 2004) is possible within the EMU. This goes to show that the loss of independent monetary policy (as a result of EMU membership) to correct the crisis cannot be an excuse for failure. This is because a well targeted fiscal policy can be used effectively to reduce excess demand in the housing market. However such measures undertaken by the Spanish government may not be popular with the Spanish public. 3.3 Efforts by the Spanish government Spanish government launched the National Reform Program (OECD, 2007) in 2005 to identify challenges to the economy (as a result of indirect implications of EMU membership) and propose initiatives to solve these problems. Despite the intentions of the program, it has not been very successful in meeting the challenges. In addition, the tightening by the European Central Bank has not managed to cool the domestic demand in Spain by a small degree. Furthermore, although the housing market in Spain has showed some signs in slowing down, residential investment continue to form a significant part of Spains GDP and house prices are still steadily increasing (OECD, 2007). Industry productivity has not improved significantly thus inflation differential still persist between Spain and the rest of the euro zone members. As compared to other members of the euro zone, Spain has embarked on a fiscal consolidation policy with a more concerted effort. This is because of a need to counterbalance the effects of the current loose monetary policy conditions. Although ECB raised the interest rates in 2007, it had limited success in cooling the domestic demand in Spain. This is partially due to tax reductions on households which increase the households disposable income. Therefore Spain should continue or even enhance its restrictive fiscal stance to reduce pressure on the domestic demand. The Spanish government has also attempted to develop the rental housing market. However it has met with limited success. Therefore, it will be better to gradually phase away any forms of assistance which home owners can receive in order to balance the incentives between renting and purchasing and moderate demand pressures. (OECD, 2007). Another measure is to improve the legal security of relations between owners and tenants so as to improve the use of the housing stock (OECD, 2007). With the gradual decrease in EU transfers to Spain as a result of enlargement, there is an increasing need to have and manage the government budget effectively. The Spanish government has recognized this need and have adopted reforms to improve the management of the government expenditure and resources. The Spanish government limited the growth of government expenditure to below the projected rise in nominal GDP and also used tax revenue to reduce indebtedness (OECD, 2007). The government has also increased the accountability and responsibility of regions regarding their expenditure. This is achieved via increasing the control the regions have over the taxes imposed on their specific regions. This will have the effect of reducing the reliance by these regions on the central government for transfers. Therefore this delegation of responsibility will also enhance the regions revenue raising powers. However there are problems associated with such decentralization, there may be loss of in formation thus affecting efficiency. Therefore there have to be an independent agency to monitor and evaluate the polices of the various government agencies of the respective regions (OECD, 2007). In addition such assessments have to be transparent to the Spanish public. The Spainish government has also reformed the 2003 Fiscal Stability Law (OECD, 2007)in order to maintain fiscal stability and prudence in a decentralised system. According to the 2003 Fiscal Stability Law, each level of the government has to ensure that its accounts are permanenty in balance. In addition, the law assessed the cyclical position of the Spanish economy by monitoring its expected growth rate against it potential. Although this law seems has a great influence on maintaining fiscal stability, the government must execute this law with caution to prevent a situation of a pro-cyclical budgetary outcome where a loose fiscal stance is adopted when times are good and a restrictive fiscal stance when times are bad. Conclusion Since accession into the EU in 1986, Spain has enjoyed a positive economic growth. In addition, EU transfers had also allowed Spain to modernise and develop its economy as well as infrastructure. Although the financial integration process was difficult for Spain with the introduction of VAT and other measures, Spain accommodated its national policies to secure entry into the EMU. Despite Spain maintaining an environment of fiscal stability, the high inflation differerntial between Spain and the rest of the euro zone members threatens to harm Spains international competitiveness. This competition crisis can be partially attributed to the low interest rates set by the EMU thus leading to domestic credit boom and hence excess demand in the housing market. This is a central issue for both the EU and Spain as it has wide implications for both parties. Therefore it is likely that EUs economic policies and framework will be modified to include initiatives like a monitoring framework to mana ge the Spains crisis or other similar crisis by other member states in the future. In addition, although Spain is tied by its obligations to the EMU (which include not being able to devalue its exchange rate or pursuing an independent monetary policy to deflate its booming housing market), there are some supply-side policies and national reforms that Spain can pursue to reduce inflation. Lastly, remedial action by both the EU and Spain will invariably have implications on each other as well on the rest of Europe.