After the influx of Central American unaccompanied child migrants to the U.S. southern border in 2014, the Northern Triangle governments of, Honduras, and Guatemala, and El Salvador, partnered with...Show moreAfter the influx of Central American unaccompanied child migrants to the U.S. southern border in 2014, the Northern Triangle governments of, Honduras, and Guatemala, and El Salvador, partnered with the Obama administration to implement the Alliance for Prosperity plan, a development initiative introduced by Northern Triangle governments to stem irregular migration through promoting regional economic growth and security. To support the Plan, the U.S. financed $1 billion in foreign aid assistance and programming. In reality, the Alliance for Prosperity plan was a continuation of the same neoliberal economic model in existence between the U.S. and Northern Triangle region for decades, which has been found to secure national security and business interests over that of inclusive growth among Central American societies. Considering President Biden’s $4 billion commitment to build on this model, the case study that follows seeks to explore through qualitative analysis the hypothesis that the previous Alliance for Prosperity plan was used to perpetuate neocolonial mechanisms of economic dependency, resource extraction, and territorial control, to undermine the Plan’s objective to inspire inclusive growth among the Central American people. The findings reveal that the Plan perpetuates neocolonialism by consistently implementing policies that exacerbate local inequalities and neglecting to enforce measures of transparency and accountability. Maintaining the status quo affords the U.S. favorable economic and security interests while at the same time ensuring the dominance of a Central American elitist class. Both partners lack an incentive to change development approaches, serving as an explanation to why foreign aid to address the Central American migrant crisis has undermined its own efforts.Show less
This analysis seeks to find out whether state support measures have resulted in increased inequality in the Russian agricultural sector in the last 10 years. Based on firm-level data, several...Show moreThis analysis seeks to find out whether state support measures have resulted in increased inequality in the Russian agricultural sector in the last 10 years. Based on firm-level data, several measures of inequality are constructed in section 4. All measures point to an increase in industry concentration, particularly in the livestock subsector. Several factors which may offer possible explanations for this increase are presented in section 3: stakeholders have a preference for larger farms, transaction costs for land and markets were higher for smaller farmers, and agricultural support measures give more support to larger farms. Lastly, the top 5 agroholdings in Russia were described. These holdings had particular advantages: special access to regular state support, excellent access to capital, and alternative state support in quasi-legal ways.Show less
This thesis analyzes the impacts of over-financialization and illegality on Malta's economic development. This is done through examining Malta's four different financialization strategies between...Show moreThis thesis analyzes the impacts of over-financialization and illegality on Malta's economic development. This is done through examining Malta's four different financialization strategies between 2013-2019 to investigate their impacts on Malta's economic development by applying the theory of Finance Curse. These impacts are analysed in terms of three risks: political, economic and societal, to study the net contribution of financialization to Malta. The result shows that the net growth of Malta's economy is lower when illegality intertwined with financialization due to the exposure of the three risks.Show less
In this research, I discuss whether Islamic principles may serve as a valid alternative approach for economic development. Specifically, I test whether being an Islamic country since the Islamic...Show moreIn this research, I discuss whether Islamic principles may serve as a valid alternative approach for economic development. Specifically, I test whether being an Islamic country since the Islamic revival of the 1970s affects the country’s total factor productivity (TFP). Using statistical methods of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression on cross-country data between 1974–2017, I find that the Islamic revival of the 1970s in Muslim countries is not associated with the countries’ total factor productivity (TFP), measured as the relative value against the benchmark of the United States’ total factor productivity (TFP).Show less
Amidst an ever-changing international order, and the growing importance of the role of the business in international relations, it is important to analyze the foundations of the business...Show moreAmidst an ever-changing international order, and the growing importance of the role of the business in international relations, it is important to analyze the foundations of the business communities. Businesses function in diverse ways, from working in close relations with the state to diminishing physical boundaries through the reach of Multinational Corporations. The role of business is increasingly under focus, due to its role in facilitating mainly economic benefits, but also cultural, social, and even political ones. The mobility of businesses and their limitless access to innovation allows them to become a perfect candidate to attract and influence massive amounts of consumers globally, making it one of the more crucial actors in international relations today. While businesses were traditionally looked upon as simply being economically potent, the perspective has now shifted to how businesses influence culture, social and political affairs. According to the research, Western corporations functioned in more adhocracy-style management with moderate control due to their attention to flexibility and differentiation with competitors; n environment rooted in more individualization then collective thought. The analysis highlighted that for Japanese corporations, Japan’s national culture of consent has oriented Japanese corporations towards a more clan-like management style with a focus on the external market (competitiveness), as well as being an organic process that understands the needs of the individual. The analysis provides a unique opportunity to analyze the extent of how much corporate culture is influenced by the state's input on culture in Japanese corporations. While such classification appears convincing, their classificatory approaches nonetheless raise several questions such as: what does corporate culture really mean? While these authors interchangeably use tradition and culture, is culture really rooted in tradition? Or is it a dynamic tool that can be invented for the purpose of others in relation to the dichotomy that exists between the “organic” dynamism of culture vs. its bureaucratic purposes? How is the Japanese case so unique, and how significant is it? At the core of Japanese developmentalism, there exists a clear distinction between tradition and culture and is essential to building a Japanese national identity. This was because culture utilized aspects of tradition to reinvent what Japanese culture meant at the time based on external factors. The success of the Japanese developmental state model is attributed to the state’s creative appropriation of tradition, yet this shows that the term can be used as a tool to further the state’s ambitions.Show less
The rising prominence of Chinese aid has aroused both enthusiasm and worry among those concerned with economic development. Some believe that China’s approach to aid offers developing countries a...Show moreThe rising prominence of Chinese aid has aroused both enthusiasm and worry among those concerned with economic development. Some believe that China’s approach to aid offers developing countries a better alternative than traditional methods of aid, that have arguably failed to stimulate economic development among emerging economies. Others believe that China threatens the international aid architecture, and its engagements in the developing world represent a “neo-colonial” relationship with recipient countries. Yet, despite these contesting debates, very little empirical research tests China’s effectiveness in stimulating economic development in developing economies, specifically their engagements in South Asia. This research hopes to use the China-Pakistan economic corridor as a case-study to analyse China’s engagements in Pakistan, a topic not currently discussed in mainstream international relations. Using Ezeala-Harrison’s theory of economic definition to test China’s developmental efforts in Pakistan, the findings of this study critique China’s aid patterns in developing countries, and hope to reveal the deeper underlying motivations behind China’s investments in Pakistan, and in extension, their engagements with the developing world.Show less
Bachelor thesis about the effects of Chinese FDI on Brazil´s economic development with representative case studies from Brazil´s petrochemical, - electric power transmission,- and telecommunication...Show moreBachelor thesis about the effects of Chinese FDI on Brazil´s economic development with representative case studies from Brazil´s petrochemical, - electric power transmission,- and telecommunication industry. Based on a multidisciplinary approach grounded in business, economics, public policy and political economy the hypothesis that Chinese FDI leads to deindustrialization in Brazil via (1) facilitating commodity exports through infrastructure provision and (2) incentivizing the import of manufactured Chinese goods by creating technological dependencies. Key findings include that even though Chinese investment is mostly resource-seeking and conducted by Chinese SOEs in the Brazilian energy sector, the presence of national Champions such as Eletrobras and Petrobras with high innovative capacities might still lead to technological spillovers. So, do complementary technological expertise and Brazilian capital needs. However, a conservative industrial policy paired with an expansionary fiscal policy enabled rent-seeking behavior and culminated in the Lava Jato scandal, which substantially hampered Brazilian absorptive capacities. Especially in the telecommunication sector a clear link between Chinese FDI and Brazilian deindustrialization was evident, as investment incentivized technology imports from China. Nonetheless, the outlook is mixed as academics predict a shift from resource-seeking to efficiency-, and asset-seeking investment, which has yet to materialize but might yield more positive externalities in the future.Show less
Between 1990 and 2010, approximately during the democratic governments of president Cardoso and Lula, Brazil witnessed a strong improvement in economic development. During this period, poverty...Show moreBetween 1990 and 2010, approximately during the democratic governments of president Cardoso and Lula, Brazil witnessed a strong improvement in economic development. During this period, poverty rates had fallen in astonishing numbers, while inequality levels declined significantly. This thesis investigates to what extent the neoliberal economic policies implemented by Cardoso, and the neo-structural economic reforms instituted by Lula, resulted in the economic development that Brazil experienced during the said period. The main hypothesis of the thesis is that both economic models have been complementary in facilitating economic development in Brazil. The first chapter of the thesis concerns itself with defining the most important concepts and terminology related to the topic under investigation, such as ‘economic development’, ‘neoliberalism’ and ‘neo-structuralism’. Then in the second chapter, the paper will deal with the historic context of the economic problems Brazil faced before the economic development, and how Cardoso and Lula sought to deal with these problems. Finally, using social and economic indicators relevant to economic development, a comparative analysis will be made between the influence that Cardoso’s neoliberal economic policies, and the influence that Lula’s neo-structural economic reforms had on the long term economic development of Brazil. The thesis concludes by stating that the comparative analysis has demonstrated that the two economic models, neoliberalism and neo-structuralism respectively, were indeed complementary in achieving Brazil’s long term economic development. The relevance of this research to the wider academic debate is that it has provided some insight into the extent to which neoliberalism and neo-structuralism can be complementary in the facilitation of economic development for countries still in the early stages of development.Show less
