Friday, September 6, 2019
Trajectory of US Foreign Policy Essay Example for Free
Trajectory of US Foreign Policy Essay Introduction            The credo for â€Å"strong America and secured world†re-echoes the vision for retaining global alliances yet draws future challenges to US foreign policy in re-aligning socio-political confidence in the contemporary shift of political power.            The rise of third forces is critically perceived in the interplay of emerging political powers that may desolate convergence to US foreign policy. The perceptive basis of power shifting may in itself central to the change of US interstate (domestic) leadership and the clamor of the American people to reform the US foreign policies.  In contrast, the US economic, financial and military establishments can possibly absorb the vacillating pressure upon the change of political leadership. The reconfiguration in the trajectory of US foreign policy may absorb the vacuum of power within the confines of socio-economic-political individualism. This individualism may be depictive to walking down a narrow road that is less traveled, as there goes an excerpt from the song ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ (Elton John; in Taupin, B., 1973): â€Å"†¦So goodbye yellow brick road where the dogs of society howl, you cant plant me in your penthouse, Im going back to my plough†¦Ã¢â‚¬ From this pretext, what holds America’s foreign policy is to maintain the yellow brick road of economic and financial convergence ensuring the American people never to go back in the 1890’s US’ experience of great economic depression, in which today the US government controls its economic and political interests in a global landscape. This may be a classical overture leading to the contemporary challenges of US foreign policy, but an annotation to the modern political genre and re-structured geopolitical archetype in US’ shift of power.            This paper will discuss the contemporary interstate (domestic) political interactions and the intrastate (foreign) shifting of political powers relating to the trajectory and future challenge in US foreign policy. Methodology            The review of literature will guide the overall discussions of issues and will be the basis of analyzing the situation. The method will adopt a 2-prong approach in examining the trajectory and challenges of US foreign policy to situate (2) interstate factors, and (2) intrastate responses. Rationale            This section of the paper will present, review and discuss the January 2008 State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President George Bush in order to situate the interstate factors effecting the character-role of US executive, legislative, judiciary and military branches of government, and the intrastate affairs or foreign policy agenda.            President Bush’ 2008 SONA emphasizes the credo for â€Å"strong America and secured world†. The credo calls on the critical character-roles of US’ governmental agencies in advancing the socio-economic-political-cultural well-being of the state from domestic to foreign abode. As quoted from the speech of President Bush, he implored â€Å"expanding opportunity to protecting the country, as the US government have made good progress, and yet it has unfinished business in which the American people expect to get it done†(The White House, 2008).            The quotation highlights the empowerment of US economy to which has been faced with uncertainties as indicated by job shortage, depleted market in housing, hurdled distribution of healthcare benefits, and reduction of revenues from increased government spending. Basically, President Bush refers both private and public financial incapability and the global economic recession. As further emphasized, the economic agenda is to draw a more empowered financial establishment and labor market, in which Bush stressed out the making of top quality American product as what he calls to be proudly labeled as â€Å"Made in the USA†.            Science and technological innovations were also critically addressed by investing on research ingenuity and the unlimited development of scientific inventions and discoveries which aimed to create and provide â€Å"energy security.†Current technologies of adversaries must comply with human and environmental protection. President Bush reiterated the passing of the â€Å"No Child Left Behind Act†as encompassing the state immediate domestic need to education and urged US Congress for $300 Million scholarship budget.            On top of the domestic social-economic agenda for labor market, education, healthcare and revenue generation [through tax rebate package], President Bush cited the additional deployment of 3,200 Marines to Afghanistan, as he concluded that â€Å"homeward bound†soldiers out of the 20,000 troops deployed in the Middle East must be replaced to ensure maintenance of peace and security.            The rationale of President Bush 2008 SONA was founded on recouping domestic uncertainties and pursuing the unfinished business in Middle East. Literature review: the shaping of US foreign policy            As presented and discussed in the rationale section of this paper, the literature review will examine the variety of â€Å"actors†and â€Å"factors†that relates the shaping of US foreign policy. The rationale section will also form part of derivatives to the overall discussions. The traditional foreign policy elites As an overview prior to discussing the topic, we may cite a quotation from the Director of Policy Planning Richard Haas of the US Department of State that may similarly define the traditional foreign policy elites: â€Å"Of the many influences on U.S. foreign policy formulation, the role of think tanks is among the most important and least appreciated†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (US Department of State, 2002).            According to the electronic journal, ‘US Foreign Policy Elites in a Post-Cold War Information Age’ published by Mark P. Lagon in 1996, the â€Å"special expertise†inside and outside of government that absorbs academics, quasi-academics, journalists, and polemicists becomes political appoint ees and career bureaucrats are referred to as â€Å"elites†. The â€Å"elites†creates the â€Å"inner circle†or sphere inside and outside of government.  Another representation correlated to the definition, the media has a crucial role in binding the â€Å"elite grouping†by providing medium of communication (or forum) for setting agenda (Lagon, 1996).            The 21st century â€Å"elites†may be also categorized or defined as a â€Å"political technocrat†because they have the capability to analyze or study a political-economic situation and influence the pre-condition effect or scenario of a situation. The elites may be also representing the â€Å"power brokering†between the governmental affairs and the social groups in a civil society. In domestic and foreign relations, most of business men and affluent academicians are the most likeable appointee or delegate to represent governmental functions. One that may exemplify the â€Å"representation†is by appointing a diplomatic functionary. The diplomatic function works within a â€Å"script†of function effective to carry out the mission at diplomacy level. In other words, the diplomacy level could only be functional in mediation and arbitration, in which the role of a â€Å"middle man†patterns the diplomatic functions. We may also refer the â€Å"at large†elites as belonging from the top social hierarchy [categorized by its family wealth and social academic status], in which may be â€Å"enticed†or drawn by political-economic sentimentalism [merely sympathetic to a cause, social conviction and plain beliefs] that allies with national advocacy and lobbyist groups or political activism. The capability of â€Å"at large†elites may have a â€Å"vacillating tendency†at crucial political standpoint, wherein to â€Å"toss coin†meant knowing both sides (pros and cons) of a national issue. In poor and undeveloped countries, like the Philippines in Asia, it has become a common knowledge that the traditional elites [mostly represented by disgruntled politicians, adventurous soldiers, government retirees, and idealistic academicians] have its own political grouping [even maintaining bureaucracy] inside and outside the government. In this case, the capability to be well-integrated in both â€Å"camps†and political grouping (opposition and government) attributes the ability to situate, adapt and formulate political configuration, in which the prognosis equates to being a â€Å"think tank†. In the US, the traditional elites are those belonging from a confederate political backing [that is also known as interest groups] that carry out a â€Å"national interest†agenda may it be through electoral processes, lobbying and issue advocacy. From that point of view, the capability to create impact could be publicly supported. Moreover, the special scholastic skill to substantiate political issues or able to expand prolific deductions or analogies could influence the policy making initiatives. The affiliation between elites and the gen eral public in a democratic processes of policy-mak ing is involving mobilization and ratification, wherein the elites configures the outline of a pol icy and mobilizes public convergence in which the framing of a policy is set at the dispensation of the legislative, executive and judiciary branches of government [and even the military establishments] for interstate (domestic) or intrastate (foreign) implementation. US political culture and mass public opinion In a joint lecture in year 2006 conducted by Bruce E. Gronbeck, A. Craig Baird from the University of Iowa and John D. Lees from Manchester University in England, they defined the contemporary political culture and mass public opinion under two categories; popularity and populism. Accordingly, popularity is more central to the personalities and characters involving the issues (be it social, economic and political). On the other hand, populism is drawn as an action-oriented response invoking the right to redress grievances and holding of assemblies. Combining both popularity and populism as a public response or action toward an issue is considered a relevantly critical public interest undertaking. The significance of political culture and mass public opinion which compose popularity and populism flows in the typologies of â€Å"information†and constructively appears in the public life. One example is the flow of information of economic uncertainty [as communicated by media] is the indication of depleted housing market, scarcity of healthcare benefits and shortage of labor markets, which was outlined in the political-economic agenda of President Bush’ 2008 SONA.  In contrast, political and economic analysts believe that government indecisiveness draws more â€Å"hostile popularity†of political leadership, in which populism resort to civic action or civil defiance. Like any other countries (poor and rich), the political culture and mass public opinion is focus at the governmental leadership and performance. The civil society [as composing various groupings] is the bulwark of indispensable opinion and perception consistent to the so-called â€Å"participatory or popular democracy†. The political culture and mass public opinion therefore refers to the existence of democratic processes that describes the type, category and classification of framing a public policy. The interest groups and the ‘military-industrial complex’ The interest groups being generally defined and perceived as grouping of individual types and stakeholders for socio-political interest or convictions are not representing the government neither functionaries of a government office. The interest group has varied classifications, such as endorser and financier of political candidates, advocates and lobbyist for legislative policy agenda, social work composing the non-governmental organizations and political activists. These classifications of interest groups are also described as â€Å"pressure groups†in a civil society. The US-based Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) found that the â€Å"pressure groups†are vulnerable to collaborating with â€Å"domestic extremists†being classified as hate groups that allies with â€Å"left-wing†radical activists motivated by religious-racial-cultural conservatism. To cite, the incident on April 1995 truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City that accounted 168 deaths and wounded about 500 people has attributed to domestic terrorism, and suspected by the FBI as multi-perpetuated and politically motivated actions linking the â€Å"interest groups†of radical political activists opposing the World Trade Organization (WTO; in Fletcher, H., 2008). On the other hand, the military-industrial complex refers to the established institution of the US Armed Forces. However, a group of stakeholders [that are also classified as interest groups] acts as brokers, traders and suppliers of weaponry and armaments to the US Armed Forces. These stakeholders or interest groups also serve as a â€Å"pressure group†in dealing with the passing or enactment of a policy concerning homeland defense and most especially foreign security policy. The US war on Iraq and the continuing anti-terrorism campaign of the US government favors the stakeholders, in which the demand for supplying weaponry and armaments to the US Armed Forces categorically defines â€Å"profitable business in war†. The traditional and new media Based on the journal, ‘The Interaction of Traditional and New Media’, authored by John D. Leckenby and Everett D. Collier from the Department of Advertising, College of Communication at the University of Texas, the medium of communication has evolved the typologies of media outfit. The type of traditional and new media is classified in terms of technology, in which the information delivery and access through the Internet has typified the â€Å"traditional†and â€Å"new†medium of communication and updating to social developments. However, the classification does not necessarily feature the newest approach to bringing information and accessibility to consumers. As cited, the televisions broadcast and print media although classified as traditional [in the cyber age] still captures and captivates impact to public interest (Leckenby Collier, 2003). It maybe recalled that the coverage of television, broadcast and print media in Iraq has kept abreast the development of war around the world. It may be also a fact that the electronic or cyber media outfit relies from the â€Å"feedback information†of correspondents in Iraq. Otherwise direct satellite connection to the Internet could be most promptly delivered. At hindsight, a significant number of consumers to information are inaccessible or inadequate [and do not have computer facility] to use the Internet. To compare and contrast, the â€Å"new†media is based on the above definition on the use of cyber-technology that differentiates â€Å"traditional†, but not yet totally recognized as a habitual utility in a society. The societal significance of the â€Å"new media†outfit [using the Internet] may only be considered as an added feature to bringing about interactions of affluent group of people, financially supported political campaigns, and the attempt of the government to develop online transactions. In addition, the cyber-technology that pertains to E-commerce may be remotely attributed to â€Å"new media†with regard to journalism. What is then more significant [aside from classification] is the emerging venue or medium of both traditional and new media that bring about and reach out the development and trends of governance and public interest. Examining the White House and executive agencies The â€Å"White House†symbolizes the seat of power of the President of the United States. Political analysts even put satire to the white house as the home of many kitchens and chefs, wherein what is cooking inside the white house might be sourly, distasteful, and spoiled. The parallelism of this political satire may be referring to the consistent, efficient and effective role-modeling of the Chief Executive being the symbolical figure head of the White House. What is then bestowed upon the mandate of the President must be retained to the sovereign will of the people; the vox populi. Therefore, the mandate shall immerse in the life of the Executive Cabinet. Department of State The US Department of State (USDS) emanated from the year 1789 establishment of the Department of Foreign Affairs. Its primary mandate is to protect the global interests of the US government by managing about 250 US embassies and consulates throughout the world. The functionaries of USDS represent the US government to the United Nation (UN), NATO (North American Treaty Organization), UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), and the European Union. USDS also manages the issuance of travel advisory to its citizens at home and in abroad. In sum, the USDS may be referred to as a fortress of the US foreign relations, in which it accesses and reach out international boundaries. Through that, it serves as a pipeline and breadth of US’ foreign policies and diplomatic partnership. The USDS plays a vital role in US’ global governmental functions. Thus, the trajectory of US foreign policy can be substantively achieved at intrastate domains. Department of Defense Mandated to secure and protect the domestic abode, the US Department of Defense (USDOD) has expansive role in protecting the foreign interest of the US government. The claim for â€Å"soldier-heroes†has been brought in the US war to Iraq. President Bush addressed the USDOD as â€Å"champions†of restoring democracies from adverse governments around the world. In early 1960’s towards mid-1970, former President Nixon mandated the USDOD in deploying troops to Vietnam as â€Å"mandamus duty†of the President to participate in domestic war. However, it has proven the saying â€Å"not to fight an enemy in his own backyard†, wherein an approximate 58,000 US soldiers died in related combat operations. Today, the war in Iraq has accounted 20,000 US troops deployment, aside from the most recent calling of President Bush [in his 2008 SONA] to deploy 3,200 Marines. The USDOD maintains its â€Å"military-industrial complex†in collaboration with various international governments upon the US foreign policy to â€Å"secure the world†in pursuit of war against domestic and international terrorism. Intelligence Community The intelligence community (commonly called as IC) is described by Military experts as â€Å"eyes and ears†of the US government, wherein it gathers information, process information and package information as a derivative or aid for policy legislation. The labeling of â€Å"spying†has graduated from the post-cold war competition of mice-and-cat espionage activities of CIA to Russian KGB. The contemporary strategic approach is focusing on the open-source information gathering that uses the method of HUMINT (human intelligence). The IC reform has been outlined in the enactment of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA) of 2004. The creation of the Office of the Director for National Intelligence (ODNI) empowers the strategic and tactical approaches to processing the global information. Upon enactment of IRTPA, the Executive and Congress has accessed the â€Å"transparent undertaking†of the CIA and put the work into a new â€Å"twist†of domestic and foreign intelligence and enforcement that synergize and harmonize working relationship with the FBI, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the USDOD. Economic institutions  The Department of Treasury holds the coffer of the State. Just like the â€Å"yellow brick road†[partly discussed in the introductory section] that symbolizes the commercial district in New York, wherein the former seat of monetary transactions happens at Wall Street, it ensure and protect the financial wellbeing of the State and the US government financing of domestic and foreign projects. The role of the Department of Treasury is not limited to revenue generations, printing of receipts, bank notes, federal reserves, debt collections and banking. The versatile character of the Department of Treasury is to determine the financial viability of US foreign investments, in which fiscal management form part in shaping a feasible and optimal policy that protects the US interest. The US Congress and the Courts The legislative and judiciary has commonalities in policy undertaking. The only difference is the characterization of policy in terms of ratification and interpretation of law [with jurisprudential values] effecting and affecting the enforcement. The passing of the IRTPA of 2004 is regarded as a comprehensive policy enactment in US history of law enforcement. First, the reform in IC through establishment of ODNI has carried out significant enforcement in arresting â€Å"domestic terrorist†. Second is the empowerment of the President to enact on Executive Orders [as presidential decision] to harmonize the homeland defense system. And, third, the juridical justification of continuous deployment of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US Public Law endures the pursuit of foreign interest in a â€Å"witch hunting†expedition against the terrorist. The foreign ally governments receives the support to law enforcement, supply of weaponry and economic projects, somehow, the burden of vulnerability from so-called enemies are translated into committing of human errors in enforcement resulting human rights violations and domestic economic disturbance. It may be perceived that while US foreign policy instigates the war on terrorism, the host country or government suffers socio-economic-political derailment. Critical analysis on the character-role of shaping US foreign policy            This critical analysis is pertaining to the Executive branch of government that holds the key actors and factors relating the character-role of shaping US foreign policy.            The Executive Cabinet generally contains the governmental leadership. It may be said that the â€Å"office†itself is being protected and preserved but the â€Å"personality†(being the President) calibrate and spearhead the role-modeling. This means, the â€Å"political will†emanates from the personal character of a President. In the event of â€Å"changing the guards†as characterized by a governmental revamp, reorganization for new sets of political appointees and the change of leadership itself [through election], the reconfiguration process may take time to re-establish the political will.            Within the confines of the White House, the Defense, Treasury and ODNI are the three vital â€Å"guardians†of presidential decision [although Congress and the Courts of law collaborate]. It may be noted from the 2008 SONA of President Bush that the key elemental features of emphasis in delivering immediate governmental actions focuses and addresses selective governmental agencies, such as (1) the Treasury to handle the tax rebates and other fiscal management of economy; (2) the unfinished business in the Middle East as afflicted by political-economic reconstruction in Iraq, maintenance of security in Afghanistan and reconnaissance in Iran and Jordan for a potential stockpile of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), and mediation of conflict in North Korea; and (3) above all is the call for continuous empowerment of domestic and foreign policies being aligned to contemporary global challenges. Conclusion The trajectory of the US interstate and intrastate policy is may be perceived to be aligning the shift of political powers. One that describes the shifting is the domestic or national political leadership in 2008. From the point of view of election campaign in the US, political groupings and individualism may surface and is carried out upon racial equation. Although it is only a perception, the shifting of leadership [or changing of the guards] is earlier been held to be re-aligned in the overall governmental function contingent to protecting and preserving the US foreign interest. Second that describes the shifting is the emergence of â€Å"third force†political power at the global perspective. The third force may not be categorized likened to US but the proliferation of technologies in advanced weaponry and armaments may interchangeably interact in the global power sharing. The lull of silence in Iran and North Korea is yet unfolding much discoveries of the US.            As what the US being envisioned for â€Å"strong America and secured world†is a perseverance of its hero-in-history model at the global perception, in which recouping gaps and assessing unforeseen factors may supplant political indecisiveness amidst contemporary challenges. It may be therefore concluded that the trajectory of US policy widens the roadmap with symbolical trail as a cornerstone of gaining foreign alliances that shall keep America strong. References Fletcher, H. (2008). ‘Militant Extremist in the United States’. Council on Foreign            Relations. Retrieved 10 May 2008 from http://www.cfr.org/publication/9236/#10. Gronbeck, B.E., Baird, A.C. and Lees, J.D. (2006). ‘The Twenty-First Century            Reconstitution of American Political Culture’. Retrieved 10 May 2008 from http://www.uiowa.edu/~commstud/faculty/gronbeck/21st_reconstitution.pdf. John, E. and Taupin, B. (1973). ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’. MCA Music. Retrieved 10            May 2008 from            http://www.eltonography.com/songs/goodbye_yellow_brick_road.html. Lagon, M.P. (1996). ‘US Foreign Policy Elites in a Post-Cold War Information Age’.            Questia Electronic Journal Vol. 158. Retrieved 10 May 2008 from http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=LmRRTn5L9B6QHgvqf161MJQzGmPyt0yV65zLljpZzy4TGkvYDppP!1427019383?docId=95865979. Leckenby, J.D. and Collier, E.D. (2003). ‘The Interaction of Traditional and New Media’. Department of Advertising, College of Communication, University of Texas. http://www.ciadvertising.org/studies/reports/measurement/newmedia_chapter_print.pdf. The White House (2008). ‘Pres. George Bush State of the Nation Address’. Retrieved 10            May 2008 from http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/01/20080128-13.html. US Department of State (2002). ‘US Foreign Policy Agenda’. Electronic Journal Vol.7,            No.3. Retrieved 10 May 2008 from  http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itps/1102/ijpe/ijpe1102.pdf.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
An Analytical View of Women in Politics
An Analytical View of Women in Politics Achieving the goal of equal participation of women and men in decision making will provide a balance that more accurately reflects the composition of society and is needed in order to strengthen democracy and promote its proper functioningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Without the active participation of women and the incorporation of womens perspectives at all levels of decision-making, the goals of equality, development and peace cannot be achieved. Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 1995: Article 181 Women represent more than half of the worlds population and just less than half of the global electorate. Nevertheless, women constitute a marginal proportion of representatives in the worlds legislative bodies. In 2008, the average rate of female representation in national parliaments stands at a meager 18 per cent. India has of yet managed notably limited success in rectifying these imbalances, with women currently holding only 8 per cent of parliamentary seats. Although India was one of the first democratic nations to grant women the vote, women are neither represented in the legislative spaces nor contributing towards the formation of national laws. [1] I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved. B.R. Ambedkar Taking measures to enhance the status and visibility of women is critical for sustainable progress against the range of human development indicators, both because women are particularly vulnerable to social and economic marginalisation when resources are scarce, and because women are critical agents in the development processes. According to various international reports, development in India is being severely hampered by the breadth of the gender gap and limited female participation in traditionally male dominated institutions and social strata. There are countless studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of womens empowerment as a tool for development. For example, Kerala and Manipur have experienced rapid progress in improving health and reducing mortality and fertility rates the benefits of which affect men as well as women and in these states women also play a vital social and economic role. This correlation should not be surprising, given that nutrition and child health gener ally fall within the remit of the womans household decisions. Ultimately, healthy, educated and empowered women are more likely to raise healthy, educated and confident children and engage positively with the life of the community (UNICEF). To eliminate gender discrimination and promote female empowerment, womens decision making capacity must therefore be enhanced within the household, the workplace and the political sphere. Increased political influence should have reverberations for womens equality in the other two realms, which will in turn have implications for Indias performance against all milestones for social progress. Women and Reservation Reservation of seats is a basic, consistent and logical step towards both womens emancipation and inclusive development particularly for a government which promised that the equal access to participation and decision making of women in the social, political and economic life of the nation would be at the heart of its agenda [2] . The concept of democracy will only assume true and dynamic significance when political parties and national legislatures are decided upon jointly by men and women in equitable regard for the interests and aptitudes of both halves of the population. [3] Whilst there is no universally accepted definition of democracy, any functional analysis must include two fundamental principals: all members of the society must have equal access to power, and all members must enjoy universally recognized freedoms and liberties. The Indian model of democracy also prioritizes representation so as to avoid the pitfalls of majority rule. On this basis, there already exists a quota for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. It is clear from the statistics alone that women do not have easy access to traditional power structures. Their entry into public spaces is persistently disabled by prevailing historical constructions of gender, created and perpetuated by the dominant institutions such as family, religion, education and the State. Nevertheless, the nature of this relationship also means that the same institutions which created the imbalance can take responsibility for its repair. The final objective of reservation is to increase womens visibility in all policy decisions on the basis that all policy decisions affect women as well as men, and affect women differently to men. This applies equally to the harder issues such as trade, industry, agriculture, defence, employment etc., as it does to those softer issues which are traditionally assigned to women politicians. Political participation of all sections of society is essential for building a functioning and representative democracy. Women must therefore be present in new arenas of decision making, with their experiences, perspectives and visions of the future informing public debate. Reservation will provide elected women with the ability to compliment elected men in making the rules that apply equally to both sexes, and which women are equally expected to abide by. The World Economic Forums annual Gender Gap Report (2007) affirmed that there are just six countries Iran, Bahrain, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen performing worse against economic parameters, with women constituting a mere 3 per cent of legislators, senior officials and managers and making up 90 per cent of informal workers in the economy. Against other major indicators, there is also immense cause for concern: India has the largest number of maternal deaths in the world and shocking rates of female malnutrition, and a woman in India has lesser chance of survival than in all but 2 of 128 countries. The oft-discussed imbalance in the sex ratio can be attributed not only to female infanticide, as is often assumed but to sustained neglect from infancy of female health, nutrition and wellbeing. A girl child is up to 3 times more likely to be malnourished than her brother (UN), and is also significantly more likely to drop out of school before completing a full eight years of education. As well as passive neglect, violence against women and girl children is on the rise: the number of rapes per day has increased by nearly 700 per cent since 1971, and thousands of dowry deaths occur each year. [4] In 1990, the United Nations Economic and Social Council endorsed the implementation of measures to reach a target of 30% women in national legislatures by 1995. Nearly 20 years later, women occupy only 18% of parliamentary seats around the world, and at the current rate of progress it has been estimated that gender parity in parliaments will not be achieved until the turn of the twenty-second century (Norris: 2004). More countries are therefore deciding to implement a fast track route to tackling structural discrimination and increasing female participation. During the last 15 years, nearly 50 countries have introduced legal quotas for women, which guarantee a minimum representation of women in their highest decision making bodies. Percentage of women representatives in Parliament: Nordic countries 41.4% Americas 21.8% Europe (excluding Nordic countries) 19.1% Asia 17.4% Sub-Saharan Africa 17.2% Pacific 13.4% Arab states 9.6% In the high performing Nordic countries, no constitutional clause or law demands a high representation of women; rather, womens groups have exerted sustained pressure on the major political parties to voluntarily ensure increases in the number and caliber of female candidates being fielded through party lists. However, this was not introduced until women were already present in the Parliament, and already holding between 20 and 30% of the seats. Elsewhere, there have been numerous problems with implementation and enforcement of party quotas. In France, for example, many political parties have preferred to pay fines rather than put their women candidates up for election. In October 2003, Rwanda came closer than any other country to achieving parity between men and women in a national legislature, with reservation of seats securing 48.8% women in the Lower House and 34.6% in the Upper House. Taiwan has introduced an outwardly complicated but well-functioning system of reservation. In a ddition to a stipulated number of seats reserved specifically for women, there is also a policy of reserving every fifth seat in a district for the best performing female candidate. It is therefore in the interests of the parties to nominate women of the highest possible caliber so as to guarantee winning the womans seat. Moreover, the women are directly elected and are therefore treated as legitimate political actors. Currently, women ministers remain concentrated in social areas (14%) rather than legal (9.4%), economic (4.1%), political (3.4%) and executive (3.9%), and there are just 13 female heads of state across the globe [5] . The proponents of the policy of reservation state that although equality of the sexes is enshrined in the Constitution, it is not the reality. Therefore, vigorous affirmative action is required to improve the condition of women. Also, there is evidence that political reservation has increased redistribution of resources in favour of the groups which benefit from reservation A study about the effect of reservation for women in panchayats shows that women elected under the reservation policy invest more in the public goods closely linked to womens concerns A 2008 study, commissioned by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, reveals that a sizeable proportion of women representatives perceive an enhancement in their self-esteem, confidence and decision-making ability. Some opponents argue that separate constituencies for women would not only narrow their outlook but lead to perpetuation of unequal status because they would be seen as not competing on merit. For instance, in the Constituent Assembly, Mrs Renuka Ray argued against reserving seats for women: When there is reservation of seats for women, the question of their consideration for general seats, however competent they may be, does not usually arise. We feel that women will get more chances if the consideration is of ability alone. Opponents also contend that reservation would not lead to political empowerment of women because: Larger issues of electoral reforms such as measures to check criminalisation of politics, internal democracy in political parties, influence of black money, etc. have not been addressed, and It could lead to election of proxies or relatives of male candidates The recent UNO report shows that Women hold just over 18 per cent of the seats in parliaments around the world. This represents a 60 per cent increase since 1995 but it is still a long way to go to achieve equality with men in national legislative bodies. During 2008, parliamentary elections and renewals took place in 54 countries and womens representation increased to 18.3 per cent up from 17.7 per cent last year and 11.3 per cent in 1995, the Inter-Parliamentary Union report said. The U.N. Economic and Social Council had set a target of having a minimum of 30 per cent women lawmakers in all parliaments by 1995. According to the IPU, 15 per cent of parliamentary chambers reached the 30 per cent goal for the first time in 2008. That translates to 39 out of 264 chambers in 32 countries. Forty per cent of those chambers are in Europe, 33 per cent in Africa and 23 per cent in Latin America, the report said International conventions and Indias stand: The Constitution of India is a progressive document that guarantees equal rights for both sexes, and entitles women to enjoy economic, social, cultural and political rights on an equal footing with men (Article 325). It proceeds to consider the appropriate use of legislation to redress inequality and prevent the further infringement of womens fundamental democratic freedoms and human rights. Under Article 15 (3), the State is thereby empowered to make special provisions, legislative or otherwise, to secure womens socio-political advancement. Indian case law has already interpreted the Equal Protection provisions to allow for affirmative action for women. In addition, India is a signatory to a number of international agreements that support proactive state measures for womens political development: The Convention on the Political Rights of Women provides for equal political rights for women [6] . Under this Convention, states are obligated to ensure that women have the right to vote in elections, to be elected to publicly elected bodies, and to hold public office on equal terms with men. Women are entitled to be free from discrimination in the exercise of these rights. Articles 1 and 2 [7] provide for the right to vote and to be elected to publicly elected bodies, such as parliaments, established by national law. These are the basic rights which all people must have to express their interest and protect themselves against discrimination or deprivation of liberty. The Charter of the United Nations reaffirms in its preamble the principles of equal rights for men and women. The first General Assembly endorsed these rights when it unanimously adopted the resolution recommending that all member states, which had not already done so, adopt measures necessary to fulfill t he purposes and aims of the Charter in this respect by granting to women the same political rights as men. This convention spells out this recommendation in clear and practical terms, on which all parties in a country can unite. Article 3 [8] of this convention goes beyond the basic rights in articles 1 and 2 into the matter of public office. It provides that women shall be entitled to hold public office established by national law on the same terms as men, and to exercise all public functions in the same way. The object of this article to encourage opportunities for women in government service. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was ratified by India in 1993. Article 3 discusses appropriate measures, including legislation, to ensure the full advancement of women and Article 7 affirms that signatories should take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country. The Inter Parliamentary Unions (IPU) Universal Declaration on Democracy (1997) asserted that the achievement of genuine democracy presupposes a genuine partnership between men and women in the conduct of the affairs of society in which they work in equality and complementarily, drawing mutual enrichment from their differences. The Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), 1995 affirmed that womens persistent exclusion from decision making was substantially hampering the achievement of democratic transformation, womens empowerment and achieving the goals of sustainable development. The BPfA therefore endorses affirmative action for women in the political spheres. The Mexico Plan of Action (1975), the Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies (1985), the Beijing Declaration as well as the Platform for Action (1995) and the Outcome Document adopted by the UNGA Session on Gender Equality and Development Peace for the 21st century, titled Further actions and initiatives to implement the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action have been unreservedly endorsed by India for appropriate follow up. NATIONAL POLICY FOR THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN (2001) Goal and Objectives The goal of this Policy is to bring about the advancement, development and empowerment of women. The Policy will be widely disseminated so as to encourage active participation of all stakeholders for achieving its goals. Specifically, the objectives of this Policy include (i) Creating an environment through positive economic and social policies for full development of women to enable them to realize their full potential (ii) The de-jure and de-facto enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedom by women on equal basis with men in all spheres political, economic, social, cultural and civil (iii) Equal access to participation and decision making of women in social, political and economic life of the nation (iv) Equal access to women to health care, quality education at all levels, career and vocational guidance, employment, equal remuneration, occupational health and safety, social security and public office etc. (v) Strengthening legal systems aimed at elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (vi) Changing societal attitudes and community practices by active participation and involvement of both men and women. (vii) Mainstreaming a gender perspective in the development process. (viii) Elimination of discrimination and all forms of violence against women and the girl child; and (ix) Building and strengthening partnerships with civil society, particularly womens organizations. Women in local bodies: The Panchayat Raj, a system of self-governance, was introduced in 1959, following the submission of Balwant Rai Mehta Committee Report of 1957. The 64th Constitutional Amendment Bill was introduced in Parliament in 1989, which provided for 30% reservation for women. But it could not be passed. The Bill was defeated by a narrow margin in the Upper House. The Bill was reintroduced in September 1991, as the 72nd 73rd Constitutional Amendment Bills with an additional provision such as one-third representation for women in chairperson positions. The Bills were finally passed on December 1992. Ratified by half the states by April 1993, they came into operation as 73rd 74th Amendments to the Constitution of India on 24th April 1993. But very recently Union Cabinet approved a proposal for amending the Constitution to increase the women reservation in urban local bodies from one third to 50 percent. Increased representation of women is likely to yield significant benefits in terms of higher priority to womens issues in critical areas of urban Governance and service delivery such as water supply, sanitation, solid waste management, education and health etc. [9] Reservation policies clearly have a strong impact on womens representation. Women participate more in the political process in Gram Panchayat in which seats are reserved for women. In that Gram Panchayat, there are significantly more investments in drinking water, road construction, health, public toilets etc. Womens experience of being involved with the PRI has transformed many of them. They have gained a sense of empowerment by challenging men. They have become articulate and conscious of their power. They have used their elected authority to address, critical issues such as education, drinking water facilities, family planning facilities, hygiene health, quality of healthcare village development. They have also brought alcohol abuse domestic violence onto the agendas of political campaigns. In these and other ways, the issues that women have chosen differ from conventional political platforms, which are usually caste/ethnic/religion based. [10] Women Reservation Bill: In Valsamma Paul (Mrs) v. Cochin University and others, the Supreme Court had occasion to refer to the human rights of women and this is what it says: The human rights for women, including girl child are, therefore, inalienable, integral and an indivisible part of universal human rights. The full development of personality and fundamental freedoms and equal participation by women in political, social, economic and cultural life are concomitants for national development, social and family stability and growth cultural, social and economical. All form of discrimination on grounds of gender is violative of fundamental freedoms and human rights In 1996 the United Front government led by Deva Gowda introduced the reservation bill in the Parliament but the bill was rejected in an uproar with, some male politicians arguing that women should stay at home where they really belonged. The media had described the debate as the battle of the sexes. The Womens Reservation Bill is a powerful normative signal about the desirability of the empowerment of women. It comes against the backdrop of profound social change. Women have, by the dint of their capabilities and efforts, torn down so many barriers. [11] In 1993 the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution came into force, affecting the Indian rural governing bodies, the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). The Amendment, at focal point for this thesis, provides a 33% reservation for women as members and as chairperson in the PRIs three-tier system. The reservation has led to a tremendous mobilization of women in the countryside, resulting in one million elected representatives. [12] Women have already captured 40 per cent (numbering more than a million) of the seats in panchayati raj institutions, exceeding the constitutionally mandated one-third. It is good that the Government is all set to raise this to 50 per cent soon. However, women form only 15 per cent of the civil service, although many of them have risen to high positions in Government, bureaucracy, police, armed forces, professions, science and technology, business, industry and the corporate world. Their proportion in State and national representative institutions has regrettably been small, disabling them from making their full contribution to the political process in matching strength. Compared to men, they are found to be more assiduous, more result-oriented, more earnest, more successful in getting the best out of those they work with, more disciplined and more particular about adhering to norms of propriety, prudence and probity. [13] Conclusion: In C. Masilamani Mudaliar and others v. Idol of Sri Swaminathaswami Thirukoil [14] ,the Supreme Court construing Article 21 of the Constitution of India as encompassing the right to equality, to dignity and to development, held that women are entitled to enjoy all these and without it, the right of life would be shorn of its meaning and purpose. A democracy grants political sovereignty to the people: the people must therefore retain a fundamental belief in its ability to represent their needs and act in their interests. In terms of countering apathy, reservation for a sub-group of the population can open up the system and demonstrate that a democratically elected government works for them, and that is not just an elite bureaucracy functioning solely for the dominant sections of society. Indeed, economic and social empowerment cannot be sustained unless women are politically aware, active participants in all levels of decision making. It is thereby imperative that women are politically mobilised and engaged with political processes, and for this to happen they must believe that their voices are being heard within the legislative spaces. Womens political participation can provide the inspiration for women to take action on a vision of a better and more equal society, and to make meaningful contributions towards inclusive natio nal development. There can be no equal society until women help to elect lawmakers and make laws. There is an old saying that, educate one man only one man is educated. However when a woman is educated whole family is educated. Similarly when one woman is empowered whole family is empowered.
Law of One Price and Purchasing Power Parity | Analysis
Law of One Price and Purchasing Power Parity | Analysis Introduction The gradual emergence of globalisation in businesses has contributed towards a significant rise in international trade. Consequently, trading across countries has been prominent among businesses in order to seek higher growth opportunities available in the international markets (Michie, 2011). â€Å"Our willingness to pay a certain price for foreign money must ultimately and essentially be due to the fact that this money possesses a purchasing power as against commodities and services in that country†(Gustav Gassel, 1922). The applications and conversions of currencies have become vitally important in international businesses in order to obtain or forecast the substantial costs and revenues for the purpose of financial information. The concept of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) enables one to forecast the exchange rate of two different countries based on the assumption of similar purchasing power under law of one price of two countries’ currencies. However, various cruci al obstacles have been encountered in real life despite the concreteness of the proposed theories and one of the projected main concerns is to determine the price for a similar product across different markets and continents (Wang, 2009). According to the theory of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), one currency should be able to buy the same amount of products which can be purchased from other currencies. This concept suggests that the currencies should be valued in a way that it allows consumers to buy similar quantity of goods irrespective of the currencies that they utilise in making purchases (Manzur, 2008). According to the Law of One Price (LOP), consumers should be able to purchase similar or same kind of goods at the same price despite the utilisation of different currencies. Nevertheless, the application of LOP is considerably difficult and would not prevail in certain predicaments across different economies and countries despite the supportive underlying theories (Mezzera, 19 90). Conceptual Understanding of Law of One Price and Purchasing Power Parity Law of One Price and Purchasing Power Parity play a crucial role in determining the international trade mechanism. The concept of LOP indicates that the price for homogenous goods and services should be the same despite all locations. The theory behind LOP is established through the equilibrium pricing of a product. The equilibrium market price of a product is achieved when market participants realise the different pricing for an identical product in different locations, (assuming no transaction costs and other trade restrictions) and take advantage of the arbitrage opportunities. The principle of LOP is highly justified because differences in the price of the same products in two different markets would create the perfect opportunity for arbitragers to benefit by purchasing products in a lower priced markets and selling them in markets where there are sold at a higher price. The transactions among market participants create pressure through demand and supply effect in the two locati ons and would substantially eliminate such opportunities and hence create an equal and transparent price. As a result, the price for the same commodity traded in two different markets should be same if they are converted into a common currency (Ignatiuk, 2009). The concept of LOP asserts that if same goods enter each country’s market basket, the PPP exchange rate should prevail between the two countries to maintain the principle of one price despite the difference in currencies (Eicher, Mutti and Turnovsky, 2009). The Law of One Price (LOP): Pd=S*Pf Pd is price of the good in the domestic economy whereas Pf is the price of the good in a foreign economy and S* is the nominal exchange rate between the two economies. The concept of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) implies that the nominal exchange rate between two currencies should be equal to the ratio of aggregate price levels between two countries. This will create the similar purchasing power of one currency as compared to that of another. Therefore, according to PPP, exchange rates need to be adjusted between countries so that the exchange can be made equivalent to each currency’s purchasing power. The question arises immediate as there are two possible ways that PPP would hold to create the perfect equilibrium. Absolute purchasing power parity relates to the circumstances when the purchasing power of a unit currency is converted into foreign currency at the exchange rate in market, it is directly equal in the domestic and foreign economy (Taylor and Taylor, 2004). However , it is relatively hard to estimate the amount of identical goods in the baskets of the two different countries. Hence, it is more occurring to test relative PPP, which implies that the percentage change in the exchange rate over a given period just offsets the difference in inflation rates in the different countries over the time horizon (Taylor and Taylor, 2004). Therefore, if absolute PPP holds, then relative PPP must also hold, but if relative PPP holds, there is a probability that relative PPP might not hold as it is possible that at different levels of purchasing power of the two currencies, there are changes in the nominal exchange rates possibly due to the transactions costs (Isard, 1977). To consider whether the theory of perfect commodity arbitrage applies in the real world to create the law of one price, consider Figure 1 and Figure 2 which illustrate the notion of absolute PPP and relative PPP. For the relative data demonstrated in both the figures, it is evidently clear that neither absolute nor relative PPP seems to hold reasonably in the short run, thus does this imply that PPP does not hold in real life? According to the perfect commodity theory, equilibrium will appear and restore the differences between the relative prices which is clearly proposed by the principle of LOP by adjusting the exchange rates for the two locations. Hence, as far as this is concerned, perfect commodity arbitrage guarantees that each good is uniformly priced even with the initial difference of transaction costs between similar products in different locations, thus within a period of time in the long run,, the prices are adjusted to establish the perfect equilibrium of LOP, ensuring the same purchasing power in terms of currencies under the influence of PPP (Isard, 1977). Nonetheless, where does all the disputation arise concerning the practicality of LOP and PPP in reality? Analysis of the Proposition â€Å"In the assumed absence of transport costs and trade restrictions, perfect commodity arbitrage insures that each good is uniformly priced (in common currency units) throughout the world – the â€Å"law of one price†prevails’. In reality the law of one price is fragrantly and systematically violated by empirical data†(Isard, 1977). It is undeniably true that in the presence of perfect commodity arbitrage, each good will be substantially priced accordingly to demand and supply pressure in the assumed absence of transactions costs. However, the immediate response to this is that how practical and realistic is the assumption of transactions costs applicable to the principle LOP in order to create the exchange rate in PPP? The concept of LOP indicates that the prices for the identical products are the same across two countries, but this has not been the case in actual situation proposed by numerous scholars and researchers. The principle of LOP has been violated in actual practice and this has been supported by explanation that the transaction costs make it difficult to ensure same price for the identical products in two markets by creating a restriction in the equilibrium flow of the commodities known as the â€Å"border effect†(Rogoff, 1996). The transactions costs consist mainly of tariffs, taxes, duties and non-tariff barriers costs. For instance, the commodity that is priced lower in one market would involve transaction and transportation costs for participants to trade them in another market, and this will constitute to the additional costs of the commodity (Bumas, 1999). The volatility in the price differential would be progressively higher if the difference between the two countries is large. In addition, the transportation costs will increase due to the driving supply of arbitragers participating to transfer the commodity from one location with lower price to another with higher price, and the resulting impact would be differences in price disrupting the adjustment of arbitrage equilibrium (Clark, 2002). The study by Engel and Rogers (1996) have indicated that the price differential is greater in case of greater distance between the cities concerned, and it leads to substantial increase in the prices when they are compared in different countries proceeding to different continents. Furthermore, single or identical consumption of goods common to everyone is highly unrealistic because different consumers from different locations will have different preferences and choices, and it is always very difficult to have the same proportion of commodity identified in the comparing countries’ consumption basket (Clark, 2002). There is no guarantee that all commodities are traded between international economies and relatively to domestic economies, there are always substitutes in products if level of competitions is high but most of the cases, more differentiated goods are available compared to the product substitutes (Kim and Ogaki, 2004). Hence, when all these circumstances applied, the proportion of consumption from different locations concerning identical commodities in aggregate price indices will vary across countries. In sum, trading goods are more accurate drivers for the estimation of PPP compared to non-trading goods. This is because non-trading goods circulate within the domestic economy of that country and does not cross the barrier beyond international trade which involves additional transactions costs. Non-trading goods are more confined within the domestic economy compared to trading goods which are more expressed in exchange rates term when they are traded elsewhere around the world contributing towards the credibility of PPP. Hence, it is more useful to test with producer price index rather to use the consumer price index as suggested by the graphs in Figure 1 above. There is shorter deviation of PPP in producer price index compared to consumer price index in the short run from both the graphs. Hence, it often suggested that the PPP theory of exchange rates will hold at least approximately because of the possibility of international goods arbitrage. However, in real life, the practicalit y of PPP is disclosed to a visible amount of subjectivity and uncertainty as to which product is categorized as trading or non-trading goods, if identified, will it be the same around the world for the comparison of prices? Non-trading goods in UK might not necessarily be identical in US where that particular product might be a trading good for US instead and will this affect the producer price index, what about the LOP? To conclude the theory of PPP, there are definitely dreadful amount of assumptions underlying it to support its application and reliability. In real life, do all these assumptions prevail? Let’s examine and explore the credibility of the assumptions mentioned above by analyzing the Big Mac Index created by The Economists in 1986. As far as we know, Big Mac is a hamburger available from Macdonald’s Restaurant, the world largest fast food chain. What happens is that the price for a Big Mac in one country is divided by the price of a Big Mac in another country (both in domestic price) to obtain the Big Mac PPP exchange rate. This value is then compared and analyzed with the actual exchange rate in the market. The aim of this discussion is to determine the practicality of Big Mac index in real world in relate to the assumptions of PPP. The limitations are closely related to the assumptions mentioned above: †¢It is not possible to have the same price of a Big Mac from all around the world (results from the diagram below) due to different government tax policies, levels of competition and different transaction costs such as rental for different locations not just within particular area of a city, as well as different countries and continents. This will certainly add up to the costs of a burger and disrupt the notion of LOP. †¢Being the world’s largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, certain products need to be imported or exported by franchises all around the world to maintain the uniformity and the quality of the world’s prominent restaurant and this will certainly contribute to the different costs of the product disrupting the free movement of goods across borders. Source: Big Mac Index, The Economists 2013. Available at: http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index Furthermore, the assumption of single consumption is not possible in many countries, for instance, eating in McDonald’s Restaurant in some countries is relatively expensive compared to others and consumers would prefer eating in local fast food restaurants instead as a close substitute at a lower price. In addition, the demand for the consumption of Big Mac varies across different countries and this will not create an equal proportion of commodities in different countries’ basket. For example, buying Big Mac in China is not as high demand as buying Big Mac in the United States. The assumption made by PPP is highly unrealistic due to the disruption theory of LOP as it is not possible to have one common currency price for the same product demonstrated using the study of Big Mac Index. A similar investigation has been conducted by Haskel and Wolf (2001), they explored the deviations from the LOP by making use of the retail transaction costs in IKEA, a multinational Swedish furniture company. In performing the case study, samples were gathered comprising of 100 identical goods sold by IKEA in 25 countries. The outcome of the study indicated that there are significant common currency price divergences across countries for a given product. Conclusion In conclusion, according to PPP theory, the exchange rates should be adjusted in a manner where equal purchasing power is established with respect to a commodity in two markets. In the real world, this is highly unachievable and it is rather unrealistic to the extent that there is always difference in prices of the same goods. However, this scenario might contradict with the results and findings from Figure 1 and figure 2 as both the figures proposed that in the short run, PPP does not hold, whereas in the long run, the law of one price will prevail and PPP is therefore determinable. In practical applications this seems rather convincing as due to the matter of time, equilibrium will kick in and adjust the prices accordingly to the LOP. Nonetheless, one question still remains unanswered, how far can the LOP brings us towards the validity of PPP and determining the exchange rate between two countries? How certain are the assumptions of PPP on the data and findings by researchers and s cholars influence the outcome of the actual results obtained? As mentioned by Keynes (1923), â€Å"At first sight this theory appears to be one of great practical utility. In practical applications of the doctrine there are, however, two further difficulties, which we have allowed so far to escape our attention†. According to Keynes, the first difficulty is to make allowance for transport costs, imports and export taxes. The second difficult refers to the treatment on purchasing power of goods and services which do not enter into international level of trade. In sum, the theory of PPP derived from LOP is useful in theory for product pricing and the determination of exchange rate currencies, but as far as the limitations mentioned above is concerned, it should sensibly be considered as a guidance only rather than a direct application in real world. References: Apreda, R. and Pelzer, L.Z. 2005. Focus on Macroeconomics Research. Nova Publishers. Abildtrup, J. 1999. Modern Time Series Analysis in Forest Products Markets. Springer. Bumas, L.O. 1999. Intermediate Microeconomics: Neoclassical and Factually-oriented Models. M.E. Sharpe. Clark, E. 2002. International Finance. Cengage Learning EMEA. Engel, C. and Rogers, J.H. 1999. ‘Violating the Law of One Price: Should We Make a Federal Case Out of It?. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Eicher, T., Mutti, J.H. and Turnovsky, M.H. 2009. International Economics. Routledge. Haskel, J. and Wolf, H.C. 1999. Why Does the law of One Price Fail?: A Case Study. Centre for Economic Policy Research. Isard, P., 1977. How Far Can we Push the â€Å"Law of One Price†?. American Economic Review, 67 (5), 942-948. Ignatiuk, A. 2009. The Principle, Practise and Problems of Purchasing Power Parity Theory. GRIN Verlag. Jonsson, G. 1999. Inflation, Money Demand, and Purchasing Power Parity in South Africa. International Monetary Fund. Michie, J. 2011. The Handbook of Globalisation, Second Edition. Edward Elgar Publishing. Manzur, M. 2008. Purchasing Power Parity. Edward Elgar Publishing, Incorporated. Mezzera, J. 1990. Monopoly Profits and the Law of One Price: The Cost of Misapplied Theory, Volume 146. Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame. Rogoff, K. 1996. The Purchasing Power Parity Puzzle. Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 34 (2), 647-668. Ricci, L.A. and MacDonald, R. 2002. Purchasing Power Parity and New Trade Theory. International Monetary Fund. Silver, M. 2010. Imf Applications of Purchasing Power Parity Estimates. International Monetary Fund. Taylor, A.M. and Taylor, M.P. 2004. The Purchasing Power Parity Debate. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 18 (4), pp. 135-158. Wang, P. 2009. The Economics of Foreign Exchange and Global Finance. Springer.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Essay --
Introductory paragraph Nigeria has the largest population of any African country and it is the 6th in the world. Population Growth is the change in population overtime. Nigeria is also the most densely populated country in Africa, that means, nearly one in six Africans is a Nigerian. Nigeria’s population is unevenly distributed across the country and the world. In July 2001, Nigeria’s population was estimated at more than 123 million people about 345 people per square mile. The population growth rate is influenced by the interplay of the three main demographic processes of fertility, mortality and migration. The population growth of Nigeria can be analysed through the Antiquity of the population of Nigeria, the Current population, the Trends and the Future Predictions of the population of Nigeria. History The population growth of people in Nigeria started from the antiquity of Slavery, Tribes and Culture. Slavery was common in Nigeria long before the Europeans arrived. Slavery also known as â€Å"slave trade†started in Badagry, the second largest commercial town in Lagos, Nigeria. In the early 1500’s, people were being transported from Nigeria through Badagry, to North and South America. Slaves were brought from all corners and crannies of Nigeria mostly from raided villages and captives of war, who were also brought to Badagry for auctioning. Some of the main slavery countries from Europe that engaged in the slavery of Nigerians were England, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands. The slave trade became a major source of income for the Europeans. It is reported that Badagry conveyed no fewer than 550,000 Africans slaves to America during the period of the American Independence in 1787. The exact number of people taken from Nigeria ... ...lation but also its composition†(2001). Migration could cause a numerical decrease and increase in the population of Nigeria. At the same time, people also move into Nigeria to explore the natural resources such as Zinc, Gold, Tin, Ignite, Oil and Gas etcetera. Nigeria is also free from natural disasters like hurricane, typhoon and so on. Nigeria has a lot tourist attractions, and offers job opportunities to people. This makes people move into Nigeria, and therefore brings an increase in the population growth of Nigeria. The current population of Nigeria is 173,611,131. The Migration, Immigration and Causes are some of the things that influences the population growth of Nigeria. Figure 1/Nigerian Current Population. Source: www.tradingeconomics.com As seen from the table, Nigeria’s current population is 13.61 million. Nigeria has a growing population.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
The Giraffe: Big and Beautiful :: Informative Essays
The Giraffe-big and Beautiful Ever wonder about the different animals around the world? Ever wonder about their behaviors and features? This all has to do with zoology. Zoology is defined as the branch of biology devoted to the animals. Zoology can be viewed as a series of efforts to analyze and classify animals. Zoology basically explains everything having to do with the entire animal population. Zoology in an important field in the science world because it helps to explain all the different studies of animals. One important and what I feel is the greatest animal studied in zoology is the giraffe also known as Giraffa camelopardalis. The giraffe is the tallest animal averaging seventeen feet. Giraffes usually weigh about 2,500 lbs. Giraffes along with their extremely tall bodies have tongues usually fifteen inches long. Both sexes have two or four short, blunt, skin-covered horns. The coat has chestnut brown blotches against a brown background, markings that blend with the many different trees. As a giraffe ages, its color grows a darker brown. Each animal has a unique set of markings. Giraffes have keen sense of smell, seeing, and fantastic eyesight. A giraffe’s lifespan is up to twenty-six years in the wild and thirty-six years in captivity. Giraffes live on dry savannas and open woodland. They range south in the Sahara and in large numbers only in East Africa. Giraffes are herbivores, they eat mainly on leaves from acacia, mimosa, and wild apricot trees. Scientists have discovered many interesting facts about giraffes. One fact is that giraffes may have existed during the Quaternary period. This period is the division of geologic time in the Cenozoic period. Evidence has been found that the Sahara was occupied by giraffes and other land-grazing animals, during the later part of this time period. Scientists have found fossils and many other evidence that as soon as the dinosaurs disappeared, mammals like the giraffe appeared. Along with these interesting facts, scientists have discovered the giraffe’s different techniques for communication. Chemical communication is a powerful tool, particularly for ensuring reproduction, marking territory, and alerting prey against predators. A male giraffe, for instance, determines the best time to mate by nudging the female until she urinates and then checking the odor to determine if she is fertile. Communication is important among giraffes because it helps them to gather for good, care for their young, and mate. Most commonly, animal communication occurs between animals of the same species. The Giraffe: Big and Beautiful :: Informative Essays The Giraffe-big and Beautiful Ever wonder about the different animals around the world? Ever wonder about their behaviors and features? This all has to do with zoology. Zoology is defined as the branch of biology devoted to the animals. Zoology can be viewed as a series of efforts to analyze and classify animals. Zoology basically explains everything having to do with the entire animal population. Zoology in an important field in the science world because it helps to explain all the different studies of animals. One important and what I feel is the greatest animal studied in zoology is the giraffe also known as Giraffa camelopardalis. The giraffe is the tallest animal averaging seventeen feet. Giraffes usually weigh about 2,500 lbs. Giraffes along with their extremely tall bodies have tongues usually fifteen inches long. Both sexes have two or four short, blunt, skin-covered horns. The coat has chestnut brown blotches against a brown background, markings that blend with the many different trees. As a giraffe ages, its color grows a darker brown. Each animal has a unique set of markings. Giraffes have keen sense of smell, seeing, and fantastic eyesight. A giraffe’s lifespan is up to twenty-six years in the wild and thirty-six years in captivity. Giraffes live on dry savannas and open woodland. They range south in the Sahara and in large numbers only in East Africa. Giraffes are herbivores, they eat mainly on leaves from acacia, mimosa, and wild apricot trees. Scientists have discovered many interesting facts about giraffes. One fact is that giraffes may have existed during the Quaternary period. This period is the division of geologic time in the Cenozoic period. Evidence has been found that the Sahara was occupied by giraffes and other land-grazing animals, during the later part of this time period. Scientists have found fossils and many other evidence that as soon as the dinosaurs disappeared, mammals like the giraffe appeared. Along with these interesting facts, scientists have discovered the giraffe’s different techniques for communication. Chemical communication is a powerful tool, particularly for ensuring reproduction, marking territory, and alerting prey against predators. A male giraffe, for instance, determines the best time to mate by nudging the female until she urinates and then checking the odor to determine if she is fertile. Communication is important among giraffes because it helps them to gather for good, care for their young, and mate. Most commonly, animal communication occurs between animals of the same species.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Press Release Order Essay
The demand for International translation services has been constantly increasing for the past few years. Moreover, the growing number of Internet users every year has resulted into a similar and broader demand which is online translation. Basically, it is clear that these days, clients all over the world need quick and reliable technical translation services that they can easily access using the Internet. As a response to these demands, a leading translation company has recently expanded its business operation and has recruited professional translators who can fully meet the translation needs of clients from all around the globe. In a general meeting held last April 1st 2008, company Manager James Tate emphasized to the employees that the adequate staff replenishment in the company have made translation services more approachable. As Tate said in the meeting, â€Å"We are all human beings as well as our clients. Some of us question this fact because of enormous amount of orders, but it is unquestionable that our clients need permanent help and support, thus, we decide to help our support and translators’ teams in order to deliver effective services to our clients†. In the meeting, Tate further stated that the company’s current manpower that provides website translation service has constantly met the growing demands of clients in live support. According to Tate, the company is in the eventual expansive mode responding the world translation services, in which the company has grown and leading in both document translation service and foreign language translation. The manpower expansion of the company aims to deliver more professional translation services by adding twenty more high quality professional staff to double the translation capacities. Likewise, one of the important tasks in providing assistance to clients is the adequate maintenance of a live support. Tate believes that the live support is more significant in bringing about a personalized approach to clienteles and reaching out the services towards world translation. This kind of venture in international translation service has been a breakthrough of a reinvented industry using Internet technology. This venture operates like call center which is also a booming clientele-out-sourcing business. Likewise, the business in technical translation services is in the same league with other cyber technology innovations. In addition, some industrial technocrats perceive a looming demand in international translation services which may indicate vulnerability of competition, specifically by similar online business entities. One of the indications is the possible realignment of call centers into a one-stop-shop venture in business-process-outsourcing which may include technical translation services. This indication may not be a remote possibility reflective on the situation of the available technical manpower and academic professionals. Generally, the company’s online translation services would radiate a more definitive employment opportunity to absorb the people’s skills and potentials that are untapped by other industries and competing job markets. These skilled translators would then eventually become the cornerstone of a bigger and
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Parents and children in Romeo and Juliet Essay
Juliet is the daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet, a wealthy and well-respected family. Although young and members of opposing families in a long-standing feud, Juliet and Romeo fall instantly in love with each other, and marry in secret. Her parents remain unaware of their relationship, and are determined that she marries Paris; it is their hasty actions in bringing about the marriage to Paris against Juliet’s wishes that ultimately leads to the tragic death of the two young lovers. Lord Capulet and his wife are shown to care for Juliet, and at first it seems that Capulet is reluctant for her to leave the family home through marriage. He argues that Juliet â€Å"is yet a stranger in the world†; the word â€Å"stranger†shows that he feels she is too inexperienced to marry, and that she should perhaps be older and have had more life experience before marrying. This idea is continued when he encourages Paris to wait for â€Å"two more summers†to have passed â€Å"Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride†. It might be that Capulet is not ready to let his only living child leave, and is trying to delay the inevitable. Also, the imagery that Shakespeare uses here could highlight the idea that Juliet would be expected to be pregnant very quickly once married, and that her body is only just biologically able to get pregnant. â€Å"Ripe†is usually used to refer to fruit, being ready to be eaten; in this case, Capulet is referring to h er womb, perhaps, being able to bear children, which is reinforced when Paris tries to persuade Capulet by saying â€Å"Younger than she are happy mothers made†. Capulet shows, however, that Juliet is his priority as he is worried that she would be made miserable and spoiled by early motherhood: â€Å"too soon marred are those so early made†. This is different to Lady Capulet’s beliefs, as she encourages Juliet to marry as an indication of her social superiority: â€Å"Here in Verona, ladies of esteem,/Are made already mothers .†If Juliet delays getting married, in her mother’s eyes, it would be disapproved of, and maybe others would think there was perhaps something wrong with their daughter. She reminds Juliet that she â€Å"was your mother much upon these years†, so she feels that Juliet should follow in her footsteps, without thinking of Juliet’s best interest. Unlike Lord Capulet, she encourages Juliet to marry soon, but it coul d well be that based on his own experiences of marrying a woman who was very young, he recognises the damage it could do. I think that maybe Juliet’s mother changed once she was married, and Capulet perhaps regrets marrying her so young, which is why he doesn’t want Juliet to marry Paris.
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