The International Monetary Fund has often been criticised on account of its tendency to be lenient in loan conditionality to certain countries that it considers important. This research seeks to...Show moreThe International Monetary Fund has often been criticised on account of its tendency to be lenient in loan conditionality to certain countries that it considers important. This research seeks to narrow in on the effect of economic importance from the perspective of western donor states on IMF loan efficacy. Apart from providing a gap in the research, this topic is deemed important because of its value for developmental economics and upcoming issues in that field. Moreover, the results allow concrete policy decisions to be made. Employing a bivariate and multiple linear regression analysis, this paper seeks to answer the question what is the effect of the perceived economic importance of states for western actors on the efficacy of loans by the IMF? In foreshadowing results, this paper finds that a higher economic importance, and high rates of accountability and corruption, lead to a lower efficacy of IMF loans. It is argued that this is the case because of the moral hazard issue, time-inconsistency problem, and the structure of the IMF. The model does however lack full robustness.Show less
Plastic carrier bags are a big source of plastic pollution all around the world. To combat environmental degradation, Kenya has adopted a ban on plastic bags in 2017. This action has made Kenya...Show morePlastic carrier bags are a big source of plastic pollution all around the world. To combat environmental degradation, Kenya has adopted a ban on plastic bags in 2017. This action has made Kenya join the forefront of global environmental policy with regards to plastic pollution. Despite the accompanied strict penalties, the Kenyan ban on plastic bags is globally regarded as an environmental success story. Nonetheless, there are various other positive and negative effects of the ban. This thesis examines the social, environmental, and economic effects of the plastic bag ban in Kenya to determine how effective the 2017 ban has been. These three factors are intertwined and affect one another, sometimes leading to indirect negative side effects of an initial positive consequence. Taking all of the effects of the ban into account, this thesis concludes that although the environmental intentions behind the ban were to reach sustainable development in Kenya, there have been many negative consequences of the ban that have lowered its success.Show less
This thesis investigates the origins of the 2019 Algerian revolution, attributing it to the failure of the government to stimulate equitable economic growth and unemployment, and widespread...Show moreThis thesis investigates the origins of the 2019 Algerian revolution, attributing it to the failure of the government to stimulate equitable economic growth and unemployment, and widespread corruption amongst the ruling elite. The research applies the late-rentier paradigm, arguing that Algeria underwent a period of supposed reforms in the early 2000s in reaction to an earlier crisis of legitimacy during the 1980s and 1990s.Show less
In recent years, remittances, the sum of money sent by migrant workers to families back home, have emerged as the major source of external development finance. In 2007, remittances from migrant...Show moreIn recent years, remittances, the sum of money sent by migrant workers to families back home, have emerged as the major source of external development finance. In 2007, remittances from migrant workers doubled the size of Direct Foreign Aid and in 2017 migrant sending countries received over US$450 billion, 10 times more than what they’ve received 20 years earlier. Despite the wide range of studies conducted on the monetary effects of labour migration and remittances through the neoclassical immigration theory lenses, which claims that international migration “is a win-win situation”, less attention is drawn onto the moral hazard problem and the culture of dependency that the same issues bring about. Guided by the research question: What are the effects of Overseas Filipino Workers’ remittances on public service provision in the Philippines? My research aims to engage the reader into a critical re-thinking process of the nature of migration and remittances. I wish to argue that it is pivotal to consider the wider concept of labor migration and the burden relegated by migrant-sending governments to “their” citizens on the move. If remittances “do the job”, what is the role of the State? Is it the diaspora's to provide for their country? The underlying scope of the thesis is to test whether skepticists' speculations that remittances “are not a panacea” but rather a strategy for governments to decrease their accountability towards their citizens and ultimately to evaluate whether the public moral hazard problem holds to the Philippine case too.Show less
