Labor and Global Commodities: Introduction

2012 ◽  
Vol 81 ◽  
pp. 4-7
Author(s):  
Mae Ngai ◽  
Mary Nolan

Conventionally defined, “global commodities” refer to raw materials and basic foodstuffs—sugar, bananas, cotton, coal, bauxite—that are extracted or grown in one area of the world and sold on the world market for industrial or consumer use elsewhere. Labor historians focusing on the point of extraction/production or tracking the production and circulation of specific global commodities have gained insight into the development of global capitalism, in particular relations between colonized and colonizer, developing countries and advanced industrial countries. From Sidney Mintz's Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History (1986) to Mark Kurlansky's Cod: The Biography of the Fish that Changed the World (1998) scholars and general readers alike have found in studies of a single commodity a productive method for understanding social relations in the making of the modern world.

Kultura ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 9-27
Author(s):  
Aleksa Vukašinović

The paper presents a polemical examination of the possibility of achieving interculturalism in the context of Hegel's totality, as the truth and the state of the modern world. In considering this problem, we start from the basic concepts of Hegel's philosophy of Spirit, with the aim of providing insight into the key problems of totality in the Hegel's philosophical system. The dialectical relationship that operates within the Hegel's system of Spirit is considered, and the question of the philosophy of history is opened as a specific way of thinking about historical movement that directs us to re-examine the possibility of achieving interculturality in the modern global society. Overcoming the current historical totality - global capitalism, requires a re-confrontation with Hegel's philosophy and setting of a dialectic that exists at the core of the world in which we live. Also, the paper offers an attempt to consider alternative actions, steps towards the realization of the idea and practice of interculturality and the development of a dialectical response to the perverted Hegelian totality that marks the present.


Author(s):  
В.Н. СУРОВЦЕВ ◽  
Е.Н. ПАЮРОВА

Проанализированы проблемы на рынке молока и молочных продуктов России в условиях глобального экономического кризиса: перепроизводство молока в основных странах-экспортерах, снижение закупочных цен на сырое молоко, снижение цен на биржевые товары в мире и России в 2020 году, тренд на уменьшение спроса на молочные продукты на мировом рынке в среднесрочном периоде, снижение общего спроса на молочные продукты на внутрироссийском рынке при падении реальных доходов населения, изменение структуры потребления. Проведена оценка новых возможностей и угроз для развития отрасли: со стороны потребителей — рост цен на продовольствие, снижение доходов; с позиции производителей молока — снижение закупочных цен, рост требований к сырью для производства продукции с увеличенными сроками годности, дефицит рабочей силы, вероятное сокращение господдержки в результате снижения цен на углеводороды, попытки регулирования цен; со стороны перерабатывающих предприятий — сокращение спроса, снижение цен на готовую продукцию вслед за мировыми ценами. Обоснованы приоритеты инвестирования в молочном скотоводстве и основные формы совершенствования государственной поддержки отрасли, обеспечивающие эффективную адаптацию производителей молока к новым экономическим условиям, повышение устойчивости отрасли при усилении макроэкономических рисков. The article analyzes the problems in the Russian milk and dairy products market in the context of the global economic crisis: overproduction of milk in the main exporting countries, lower purchase prices for raw milk, lower prices for commodities in the world and in Russia in 2020, trend to reduce demand for dairy products on the world market in medium term, a decrease in total demand for dairy products in the Russian market with a decrease in the purchasing power of the population, a change in the structure of consumption. An assessment of new opportunities and threats to the development of the industry was carried out: on the part of consumers — rising food prices, lower incomes; from the perspective of dairy producers — reduction in purchase prices, increased requirements for raw materials for the production of products with extended periods, labor shortages, the likely reduction in state support as a result of lower prices for hydrocarbons, attempts to regulate prices; on the part of processing enterprises — reduction of demand, reduction of prices for finished goods following world prices. The investment priorities in dairy cattle breeding and the main forms of improving state support for the industry, ensuring the effective adaptation of milk producers to new economic conditions, increasing the sustainability of the industry with increasing macroeconomic risks, are substantiated.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Moore AM

Abstract Background The alcohol industry has taken a page from the tobacco industry play book in an attempt to resist regulation through delay, self-regulation and effective lobbying. The global alcohol industry is constantly seeking to increase sales of harmful products through widespread marketing, the targeting of young people, and resisting regulatory action. Methods An assessment of the number of lobbyists engaged in one form of another to influence members of Parliament in Australia is being conducted to provide an insight into the attempts to influence alcohol policy. This follows a scan of the lobbyists' register by Daube et al in 2018 that found the while the tobacco industry had 20 direct lobbyists and 14 indirect, the junk food industry 33 direct and 13 indirect, the most dominant was the alcohol industry with 43 direct and 23 indirect. A careful re-examination of the register in 2020 is expected to reveal an increase in these numbers. There will also be an examination of the State and Territory registers in an attempt to understand the overall numbers of people specifically attempting to influence governments. Discussion This particular examination is focussed on the Australian Parliament/s. However, the message will be similar world-wide. Companies such as Diageo have a significant share of the world market with net sales, for example, being 25% of scotch, 16% of beer and 11% of vodka. Their “Drinkiq” website claims “Diageo is committed to preventing and reducing alcohol abuse around the world”. However, other business websites illustrate that their prime objective is to sell more alcohol. Presentation The presentation will focus on the importance of countering the efforts of industry in increasing availability of alcohol. It will also provide a series of steps that public health advocates can take in order to persuade governments of the importance of protecting community health through appropriate regulation of the marketing and sales of alcohol. Key messages The alcohol industry seeks to increase sales while arguing it is protecting health. Public health advocates do have the tools to counter approaches by alcohol companies.


Author(s):  
Elena Yu. Frolova ◽  

The place in the rankings of agricultural exporting countries in world trade is estimated in terms of the volume of imports and exports of raw materials and food. However, to assess the efficiency of agricultural exports, it is important to analyze the value added of exported goods produced in the country. The position of the exporting country in global value chains is derived from the type of agricultural production, which in turn depends on the level of development of the national economy, the availability and breadth of use of modern high technologies. The article examines the concept of the development of world agriculture from the point of view of the formation of global value chains, set out in the report of the UN World Food Organization [1] in comparison with the political decisions of such countries as India and the People’s Republic of China in the development of agricultural and food exports. The paper analyzes the risks associated with the consolidation of developing countries as suppliers of agricultural raw materials, as well as the conditions and action plan that allow the country-exporter of agricultural raw materials to move to higher levels in the global value chains on the world market. This experience should be considered to make comprehensive and effective decisions on the formation of the export policy of agricultural products and food of the Russian Federation, considering the food security of the country.


Author(s):  
Natalia Tanklevska ◽  
Viktoriia Petrenko ◽  
Alla Karnaushenko ◽  
Kateryna Melnykova

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to determine the prospects of deep processing of corn in Ukraine, taking into account the restraining factors of development, on the basis of the analysis of the state and tendencies of functioning of the world market of corn. Methodology / approach. During the research, general scientific and special research methods were used, in particular: analysis and synthesis, scientific abstraction – in determining the purpose and formulating conclusions; comparative, calculation, statistical and graphical ones – in the assessment, analysis, comparison and establishment of patterns of the current state and trends in the production of corn and its deep processing; program-target one – to substantiate the factors of intensification of deep processing of corn in Ukraine. Results. The analysis was carried out and tendencies of world corn production were determined. The shares of countries-producers and countries-consumers of corn were calculated; their dynamics of changes were analyzed. Analysis of the dynamics of prices for corn grain on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange indicates that the price of raw materials is gradually declining, so agricultural enterprises that sell corn as a raw material, lose income from its production. The structure of corn use in different directions in the world was analyzed, and the structure of its use in the USA was considered in more detail. Factors of activation of deep processing of corn were identified. In Ukraine, deep grain processing as an industry is just beginning to develop, so it is worth processing corn, based on the experience of leading countries, such as the USA and China. Estimated costs for the construction of a modern plant for deep processing of corn and income from the implementation of this investment project were calculated. Originality/scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of the study is a comprehensive analysis of the world corn market; economic substantiation of expediency of corn processing in Ukraine; improving the system of factors to intensify the development of deep processing of corn in Ukraine. Practical value / implications. The practical value of the results of the study is that they will contribute to the formation of the concept of intensifying the development of deep processing of corn in Ukraine. The main results can be used by agro-industrial enterprises during the development of deep corn processing projects.


HERALD ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (20) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Alexandrovich Kolosov ◽  
Elena Alexandrovna Grechko ◽  
Xenia Vladimirovna Mironenko ◽  
Elena Nikolayevna Samburova ◽  
Nikolay Alexandrovich Sluka ◽  
...  

The advent of "world economic transition" and the formation of a multipolar world is closely linked, according to experts, with loss of globalization advances, which strengthens regionalism, increases diversification and fragmentation of the modern world, creating risks and threats to the world development. In this light studying the spatial organization of the global economy becomes more important, and at the same time that complicates the choice of priorities in the research activities of the Department of geography of the world economy, Faculty of Geography, Moscow State Lomonosov University in 2016-20, requiring a new research “ideology”. The article summarizes some ideas expressed by the department staff. It specifies that concept of territorial division of labor, as well as the defined set of key actors in the world economy and common assumptions regarding their contributions to its development needs a significant revision. The above firstly concerns giant developing countries, in particular rapidly growing China – a kind of locomotive entraining other developing states. Further, the impact of multinationals on the overall architecture and the territorial organization of the global economy becomes more and more tangible. This phenomenon requires the creation of a new scientific area of concern – the corporate geography as a tool to thoroughly investigate the transnational division of labor. Changes in the balance of acting forces are closely related to changes in industry composition and spatial organization of the global economy. The article raises the issues of development of such processes as tertiarization of the economy, reindustrialization and neoindustrialization, the latter being understood as an evolutionary transition to a knowledge-intensive, high-tech, mass labor-replacing and environmentally efficient industrial production. Basing on preliminary research from the standpoint of a relatively new methodological approach – formation of value chains – the vector of "geographical transition" " in their creation from developed to developing countries was designated. This means increasing complexity of the territorial structure of the world economy and an increase in the importance of semi-periphery. A spatial projection of globalization processes in the form of emerging “archipelago of cities”, which consolidates the international network of TNCs as the supporting node frame of the global economy requires close attention and analysis. The need of comprehending the study scope in the field of geography of the world economy in medium Atlas Information Systems (AIS), which in terms of functionality belong to the upper class of electronic atlases, is noted.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Reeder

Providing a comprehensive history of Italy from around 1800 to the present, Italy in the Modern World traces the social and cultural transformations that defined the lives of Italians during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The book focuses on how social relations (class, gender and race), science and the arts shaped the political processes of unification, state building, fascism and the postwar world. Split up into four parts covering the making of Italy, the liberal state, war and fascism, and the republic, the text draws on secondary literature and primary sources in order to synthesize current historiographical debates and provide primary documents for classroom use. There are individual chapters on key topics, such as unification, Italians in the world, Italy in the world, science and the arts, fascism, the World Wars, the Cold War, and Italy in the twenty-first century, as well as a wealth of useful features for students, including: * Comprehensive bibliographic essays covering each of the four parts. * 23 images and 12 maps Italy in the Modern World also firmly places both the nation and its people in a wider global context through a distinctly transnational approach. It is essential reading for all students of modern Italian history.


Author(s):  
Malyshev ◽  
Kushchevska ◽  
Bruskova

The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the global nanopowder market. Materials and methods. The study used such research methods as system-logical method, method of statistical generalization, comparative and factor analysis. Research results. It is known that nanopowders are obtained by chemical, physical, physico-chemical and mechanical methods. One of the major problems in the production of nanopowders is the tendency of nanoparticles to form aggregates and agglomerates that complicate the production of compact materials. To overcome the forces of agglomeration, a mechanical force or an increase in the sintering temperature must be applied. According to estimates from the consulting company Lux Research, in 2012, the nanotechnology market was $ 190.3 billion. Its annual growth is 15-17%. The world market leaders are the United States ($ 59 billion), Europe ($ 47 billion) and the Asia Pacific region ($ 9.4 billion). The US is the leader in both the commercial market and the number of publications (about 25,000 in 2015) and patents in nanotechnology (45% of patents). Following the results of 2015, more than $1.4 trillion worth of nanotechnology products were manufactured. In the structure of production of nanoproducts the chemical industry, scientific researches (intermediary products, as a rule, not serial) and electronics are leading. Global investments in nanotechnology in 2015 totaled $ 18.1 billion. This indicator increased by 18% compared to 2013. Corporate investments ($ 8.6 billion) became the main source of financing (public - only $ 8.3 billion). The leaders in terms of public investment are the US and the EU. Experts estimate that, by 2020, investment leadership may shift to Japan. Today, the leader in the nanomaterials market is the United States with a projected revenue level of 2018 of $ 1.46 billion. The main products on the world market for nanopowders are metal oxide powders. In the product group of metal oxides 4/5 the production volume accounts for the three most common types of raw materials: silica (SiO2), titanium dioxide (TiO2) and alumina (Al2O3). At the same time, silica occupies more than half of all production, alumina - 18% and titanium dioxide - 10%. The most available oxides are oxides of iron, zinc, cerium, zirconium, cuprum, magnesium, yttrium. The most complex oxides and mixtures are: tin oxide, barium titanate, cobalt carbide, silicon nitride and indium tin oxide. An analysis of the patents presented for nanopowder research has shown that the most promising area of ​​scientific development is aluminum and precious metal nanopowders. Conclusions. Analysis of the world nanopowder market makes it possible to identify the following indicators that characterize its development: the common problem in the nanomaterials market is high cost of production, low volume of production and accessibility for the end consumer; the most developed nanopowder markets: USA, Europe and Asia-Pacific; projected growth rates during 2015-2020 The three largest components of the nanomaterials market: energy, production of catalysts, structural materials - 60%, 13% and 30% respectively; production of metal oxide products prevails in the world market of nanopowders; the most common types of raw materials: silica) - more than half of all production, titanium dioxide - 10% and alumina - 18%.


Crisis ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.A.J. van Spijker ◽  
T. Graafsma ◽  
H.I.A. Dullaart ◽  
A.J.F.M. Kerkhof

Background: Intentional self-poisoning with pesticides is a serious problem in many developing countries. It is a commonly used method among South Asians all over the world. Aims: To describe the circumstances and characteristics of suicides in Nickerie, e, in order to gain insight into why South Asians commonly use self-poisoning. Methods: An exploratory psychological autopsy study was conducted among 19 survivors of 13 suicides in the Nickerie district in Suriname. Results: Impulsivity plays an important role in self-poisonings, as well as aggression and easy accessibility of pesticides. Conclusions: Possible answers to the question why South Asians often use self-poisoning as a method for suicide may be found in culture, upbringing, styles of communication and genetics. However, more research is needed to further explore these hypotheses.


2019 ◽  
Vol 105 ◽  
pp. 04049
Author(s):  
Tatiana Skryl ◽  
Evgeniya Shavina ◽  
Elena Dotsenko

The conditions for the transition to sustainable development and new industrial transformation for resource-dependent countries are closely linked. With the increasing volatility of the world market of raw materials and finance, the innovative modernization of the extractive industries, as the basis of the new industrialization of the economy, is experiencing significant difficulties. The article analyzes the problems of transition of the resource-dependent Russian economy to sustainable development, associated with the slowdown of the process of new industrialization in the context of the world market volatility. The authors assessed the new industrialization of the Russian economy following the 5-year period of sanctions imposed by Western countries. The article provides a theoretical review of the concept of the influence of sanctions on transition to sustainable development. The authors concluded that the mineral resources export-oriented strategy of the Russian economy still gives positive results, although the internal structure of the Russian economy has not changed significantly.


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