Trade Theory of Country Size Country size has some definite relation to international trade as to what is traded, how much is traded and so on. The classical trade theories do not go into country-by-country differences in size to deal with the lines of specialization. When a small and big country are involved, the small country may be pushed into specialization, but not the big one for all its need for the other product can’t be produced by the other small country, nor that small country take all export surplus of the big nation resulting from specialization. Thus a nexus exists between global trade and country size. Vastness of Country size and Variety of Resources go together: Size of a country is measured by the geographical space here. Big countries have vast space and hence more and diverse resources. With that they could be self reliant. Considering their size, their Continue reading
International Economics
Role of Government in Economic Development
Any country’s the prosperity and obstacles of economic growth results from activities of government. That means, government plays important role in economic activities. In free market economies government plays important activities. It has to perform role to prevent market failure. As we know that market does not yield economically efficient outcome every time as the result market fails to operate. In free market economy government has designed activities to stimulate and assist private enterprise and to regulate or control business practices so that their operations are consistent with the public interest. There are various forms of government regulation especially to regulate the activities of private firms. Industrial products are subject to Operating Regulations, governing plant and pollutant emission, product packaging and labeling, worker safety and health etc. Banks and Financial Institutions are subject to Financial Regulations, both the government as well as the control made by the Central Bank for Continue reading
Survival of the Fittest in Business
“The law is the survival of the fittest…. The law is not the survival of the ‘better’ or the ‘stronger,’ if we give to those words any thing like their ordinary meanings. It is the survival of those which are constitutionally fittest to thrive under the conditions in which they are placed; and very often that which, humanly speaking, is inferiority, causes the survival.” • Herbert Spencer At any given time, there may be firms of varying sizes and efficiency in an industry, possibly some making profits and others incurring losses. As long as industry is open for anyone to enter freely, an excess of price over the attainable average total costs will encourage the entry of new firms. As such new firms move in, they compete with existing firms and the most inefficient firms are eliminated. In the long-run, therefore, only those firms will remain in the industry, which Continue reading
Market Failure and Government Intervention
Market failure refers to a market that fails to provide efficient outcomes for the society. In other words, market works efficiently only when there exist perfect competition or when exclusion principle could be applied in the free market. Exclusion principle requires that, those who do not pay for as goods should be excluded from its consumption and those who derive any benefit from goods should bear its cost. In free market economy the main responsibility of the government is to prevent the market from failure. Market failure can be summarized in two ways: Market failures due to incentive or incentive failure Market failures due to structure or structure failure 1. Market failure due to incentive or incentive failure The market failure due to the presence of externalities is known as incentive failure. The free market mechanism does not function effectively when exclusion principle is not applicable. Exclusion principle requires that, Continue reading
Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) – Meaning, Types, Benefits and Risks
Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs), investment vehicles of Governments are increasingly seen in action through acquisition of either natural resources like oil and gas fields or equity holdings in MNCs. While the reasons for establishing a SWF may vary from commercial to strategic ones, SWFs’ influence on the countries and corporate is substantial. Since they mostly stay invested for a long-term they do not pose threat of pulling out in the short term and creating huge volatility in the financial markets. Since their investment corpus run to billions, by staying invested for a long time, they have a stabilizing effect on the capital market even during crashes and short term fluctuations. However, regulations and guidelines of the SWF also needs to be put in place in order to avoid it from exercising any soft control or strategic moves that may affect the sovereignty of the country allowing investments. Sovereign Wealth Funds Continue reading
Country Similarity Theory of International Trade
Country similarity theory was developed by a Swedish economist named Steffan Linder. Country similarity refers to what? Is it similarity of location or culture or political/ economic interests or technological capability (that is acquired advantage) or natural advantage or lack of it? Traditional trade theories speak of difference in demand or supply conditions or both as a necessary condition for trade between countries. That is, the traditional trade theories are built upon differences. But the country similarity theory is built of identical features of nations in trade. 8 out of top 10 trading partners of the USA are developed economies. Globally 11 out of 12 largest players in world trade are developed nations. Developed countries trade more with developed countries: Products of a developed country match demand and user conditions of another developed country only. Hence the similarity in development pace decides trade between countries. The reasoning is that a Continue reading