scholarly journals The Rhetoric of Foreign Aid and the Need for International Trade: Challenges and Possibilities for Developing Nations. A Critical Perspective

Author(s):  
Umaru Tsaku Samuel

This paper attempts to critically examine foreign aids by donor nations and agencies to the developing nations, and at the same time, examine international trade to show that the latter is better off. The study utilized dependency theory of underdevelopment to analyze why foreign aids have not being a spring board for development in developing nations. The paper found out that foreign aids over the years have not engendered development because of the conditionalities attached to such aids which come in the form of grants, loans, assistance etc. These further keep developing nations down as it is difficult to find examples of unequivocal success from receipt of official foreign aids. The reasons are not far-fetched. Since the 1940’s when official foreign aids started flowing, the motive seems to satisfy the donor interests and has little or nothing  to do with egalitarian development and poverty reduction in developing nations. In view of this, international trade is far better to the developing nations, and same should be encouraged despite their disadvantaged position in global capitalist equation. The paper concluded that despite the fact that globalization and neo-liberalism favour the owners of big Corporations, mostly in advanced countries of the world, developing countries can still make some gains from international trade by looking inwards, rather than relying on foreign aids which have not been contributing in alleviating poverty and inequalities, but used to reward military and political allies and to promote private enterprise and unequal free trade.

Author(s):  
O. Damola Adejumo-Ayibiowu

Globalization integrates the whole world into a global village. The opening up of economies to international trade is expected to lead to growth and poverty reduction. However, the benefits of globalization have been disproportionately skewed towards developed economies. Despite opening its economies to foreign goods and integrating to the global market, Africa remains the poorest region in the world. Xenophobia in Africa has particularly been a major concern as African migrants within the continent have been experiencing various forms of hostilities and xenophobic attacks. Many authors agree that globalization and economic inequality contribute to this trend. This chapter analyzes from an Afrocentric perspective, the various social, economic, and historical context in which globalization and other European capitalist quests in Africa affect migration pattern in the continent and contribute to xenophobia in Africa. This chapter provides an Afrocentric critique of the idea of globalization which mainly promotes free trade and capital but restricts the movement of African labour.


Author(s):  
Rafael Rosa Cedro

This article explores three distinct analytical approaches that offer insights for reflection on the issue of international trade – comparative advantages, dependency theory and GCC/GVC analyses – as a way of providing a critique of the functioning of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its alleged defense of free trade as an engine for development.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (17) ◽  
pp. 28-44
Author(s):  
Husnija Tahirović

The subject of this research is a scientific contribution to the promotion of free trade in underdeveloped countries and developing countries, both in theoretical and practical terms. Bearing in mind that the world trade is a young scientific area that has evolved from skill through the methodology of dealing with people in organizations to forms as professions and scientific discipline. Experience shows that developing countries that have understood this and started using scientific achievements in the field of international trade business and free trade, have in practice achieved far faster development than other underdeveloped countries. The promotion of free trade in developing countries is more decades in the circles of interest for numerous economic theorists and practitioners, bearing in mind the fact that free trade is the first-rate factors of the economic development of each country. This paper presents a contribution to the analysis of the competitiveness of free trade in developing countries and persistent analysis compared to developed countries. The paper points to the importance of membership in the World Trade Organization, which entails access to the market, benefits, relief and exemption from customs duties. The starting assumption is that the competitiveness of the economy of countries that are underdeveloped or in development is at a very low level. Therefore, an increase in competition between undeveloped countries would be conditional on an increase in exports and thus developed a more favorable environment for attracting foreign direct investments. This is why the basic message of this scientific research paper is that, with cooperation with international monetary, financial and trade institutions, allow developing countries to open their markets and seize the benefits of engaging in international trade flows . Therefore, on the work of the paper a special emphasis is placed on cooperation with the World Trade Organization, the WTO. The theoretical and empirical foundation of this scientific and research work stems from the realization that investments in the development of free trade are an increasingly significant factor of growth and development of each economy. The experience shows that countries that save on these activities are the ones who are working too little for their present and not for their future. The lack of investment in the promotion of free trade is reduced in the final instance to poverty in the quality of economic development. And the quality of planting and future economic growth is based on programmed production, redistribution and allocation of quality scientific programs with calculated effects on labour productivity, savings and prosperity. Investing in improvement and cooperation with international trade institutions of the current and future leaders of undeveloped countries provides answers to evolving challenges. Improving foreign trade is one of the most cost-effective investments of an underdeveloped state. Knowledge and expertise in the field of foreign trade are the fundamental determiners of the development of the most solemn, the vreiority and the quality of human life in these countries. The entire future of one country is based on science, education and knowledge that liberate the social, economic and cultural difference.Chinese foreign direct investment in the world has long and successful tradition. Over the past decade, China has become one of the largest exporters of foreign investment in the world, including European countries. China's investment in Europe brings a number of benefits in terms of technology, know-how, improving the reputation of existing brands, establishing a logistical market in the European market. Looking from the viewpoint of the host countries, the inflow of Chinese investments brought new economic opportunities, especially in those European countries that had poor economic growth, faced with high unemployment after the Euro crisis. This paper presents global trends of Chinese foreign direct investment, the motives that have prompted Chinese investors to invest in European countries, the needs of the EU for Chinese investment, and good example of attracting Chinese investments in Serbia.


Ultimately, the necessity to supply food, energy, habitat, infrastructure, and consumer goods for the ever-growing population is responsible for the demise of the environment. Remedial actions for pollution abatement, and further technological progress toward energy efficiency, development of new crops, and improvements in manufacturing processes may help to mitigate the severity of environmental deterioration. However, we can hardly hope for restoration of a clean environment, improvement in human health, and an end to poverty without arresting the continuous growth of the world population. According to the United Nations count, world population reached 6 billion in mid October 1999 (1). The rate of population growth and the fertility rates by continent, as well as in the United States and Canada, are presented in Table 14.1. It can be seen that the fastest population growth occurs in the poorest countries of the world. Despite the worldwide decrease in fertility rates between 1975–80 period and that of 1995–2000, the rate of population growth in most developing countries changed only slightly due to the demographic momentum, which means that because of the high fertility rates in the previous decades, the number of women of childbearing age had increased. Historically, the preference for large families in the developing nations was in part a result of either cultural or religious traditions. In some cases there were practical motivations, as children provided helping hands with farm chores and a security in old age. At present the situation is changing. A great majority of governments of the developing countries have recognized that no improvement of the living standard of their citizens will ever be possible without slowing the explosive population growth. By 1985, a total of 70 developing nations had either established national family planning programs, or provided support for such programs conducted by nongovernmental agencies; now only four of the world’s 170 countries limit access to family planning services. As result, 95% of the developing world population lives in countries supporting family planning. Consequently, the percentage of married couples using contraceptives increased from less than 10% in 1960 to 57% in 1997.


2021 ◽  
pp. 775-812
Author(s):  
Alan Boyle ◽  
Catherine Redgwell

This chapter looks at the relationship between the World Trade Organization (WTO) and international trade in terms of international environmental law. Twenty-five years after the WTO system came into operation it appears that neither trade law nor environmental law have trumped each other. Rather, there has been a process of accommodation which is still ongoing. The chapter ends by making some conclusions on the arguments presented in this book and the issues currently being faced. The current policy of encouraging free trade cannot always be made environmentally friendly and this will always be the case. The problem becomes clear if we consider climate change. Free trade and globalisation by nature exacerbates the difficulties of regulating environmental issues. In addition, one of the key problems with sustainable development as a concept is that there has been too much emphasis on development, and not nearly enough on sustainability, then a policy of promoting free trade is part of that problem.


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhi Chatterjee ◽  
Daniel Burmester ◽  
Alan Brent ◽  
Ramesh Rayudu

Recent reports from international energy agencies indicate that more than a billion of the population in the world is deprived of basic electricity provisions, confined mainly to the remote communities of developing nations. Microgrids are promoted as a potential technology for electricity provisions to off-grid rural communities, but have failed to reach their value proposition in the context of rural electrification access. In view of the rampant rural electrification issues, the objective of this paper is to furnish an understanding of, and advance the knowledge into, methods to facilitate the design and development of microgrid systems for remote communities in developing countries. The methodology involves an integrative review process of an annotated bibliography to summarise past empirical or theoretical literature. As such, this research is based on evaluation attributes, and identifies the challenges and barriers for remote microgrids through an analysis of 19 case studies. The paper concludes by proposing key aspects that need to be considered for developing a framework to improve the sustainability of electricity provisions for off-grid rural communities in developing countries.


2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Binger

AbstractThe following response to the essays by Dietrich, Kesselring and Schefczyk discusses impartiality and foundations of special duties; utilitarianism, foreign aid, NGOs and human rights; and ethical aspects of free trade and the World Trade Organization.


2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
SOHA SAID ◽  
MICHAEL GEARY

Obstetric haemorrhage has been recognised as a major cause of maternal death as long as physicians have studied and written about childbirth. Until the 20th century, however, little was possible in the way of effective treatment. Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is still a frequent cause of death in many parts of the world. Even in developing countries, it remains the 3rd biggest killer of women in childbirth, despite considerable advances in medical care in the last half-century. The modern management of PPH may include a team of anaesthetists, haematologists, vascular surgeons, gynaecologists and radiologists.1Clearly, this change represents an advance which has saved and will continue to save countless lives, not only in the developed world where such teamwork is routine, but also in developing nations that are desperately looking for ways to reduce maternal mortality as part of their efforts to comply with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by the year 2015.2


2003 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-74
Author(s):  
Lalit Mohan Kathuria

“The Multi-Fibre arrangement (MFA) dealing with international trade in clothing and textiles, is being phased out to be in line with WTO rules. This phase out is being seen as favouring developing countries and only criticism focuses on the European countries and USA who are holding up the process. However, if we look at from the point of view of workers rather than countries, a different picture emerges. For workers East and West, North and South this means constant insecurity and deteriorating conditions of work. The Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) could thus become another mechanism through which companies are able to use the agenda of trade at the cost of workers.”


Author(s):  
Oyelami Olufemi Moses

Aims: This article reports the various application areas of the spoken dialogue system in the developing world to determine if the system could be used to bridge the digital divide prevalent in these regions of the world. The work also aims to identify in which developing nations is the system currently being put to use. Study Design:  A survey of twenty articles on the subject matter was carried out and their domains of the application were identified. The different forms of the evaluation carried out on them were also identified towards determining their outcomes positivity for bridging the digital divide. Various comments made of the different evaluations were also considered in determining the suitability of spoken dialogue systems in bridging the digital divide. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, Bowen University, Iwo, Nigeria, between February 2013 and October 2019. Methodology: The different domains of the works, the different forms of the evaluation carried out on the systems, the various comments consequent upon the testing of the systems by the participants and the developing countries where those works were carried out were identified. A position was now taken based on the results obtained.   Results: Nine of the works are in the healthcare domain, three in agriculture, one in banking, one in aviation, one in secretarial work, one in the accuracy of recognition, one in education and three having multiple domains. The various comments and results from the evaluations all point towards the system’s suitability for bridging the digital divide. The spoken dialogue system is currently being used in only six developing nations of the world. Conclusion: Consequent upon the results obtained, it is clear that spoken dialogue systems can be used to bridge the digital divide in the developing world and that other application areas not yet covered could be explored for the benefits of the citizens of these regions, especially the digitally disadvantaged ones.


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