Critics of the World Bank Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Critics of the World Bank - Case Study Example Still there remain a lot of issues that point out at the loopholes. Though the World Bank in known for its achievements over the past few decades, it has been subject to various criticisms over the years for its policies, functions and activities. The World Bank is attack from all sides by critics on grounds that it is not efficient, not accountable or responsible, not democratic or legitimate, and most importantly that the World Bank is not relevant in a global economy which is presently subjugated by private capital, production and ideas. This paper focuses on the critics faced by the World Bank. Ever since its establishment, it has been subject to various criticisms. At this stage it will be useful to give a brief overview of how the world bank functions and what are the divisions of World Bank. The World Bank is the largest public development institution in the world. The World Bank lends about US$ 25 billion each year to developing countries or various developmental activities with the main purpose of reducing poverty. The main goals of the World Bank, as outlined in Article One of its Articles of Agreement, are: "to assist in the reconstruction and development of territories of members by facilitating the investment of capital for productive purposes" and "to promote the long-range balanced growth of international trade and the maintenance of equilibrium in balances of payments by encouraging international investment ... thereby assisting in raising the productivity, the standard of living and conditions of labour in their territories" (Bretton Woods Project, 2005a). The World Bank is a group of five closely associated international organizations responsible for providing finance and advice to countries for the purposes of economic development and eliminating poverty. Its five agencies are: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD); International Finance Corporation (IFC); International Development Association (IDA); Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The World Bank's activities are particularly focused on economically backward developing countries. Each of these organizations has their own aims and objectives. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) aims to reduce poverty in middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries by promoting sustainable development through loans, guarantees, risk management products, and analytical and advisory services. The IBRD and IDA provide loans at preferential rates to member countrie s, as well as grants to the poorest countries for developmental activities. The main activities of the IFC and MIGA include investment in the private sector and capitalizing insurance respectively (Wikipedia, 2007). In the recent years criticism of the World Bank and the IMF on various issues has been a cause of concern to the Bank. These criticism in general centre on the fear about the approaches adopted by the World Bank and the IMF in defining their policies. Especially the socioeconomic impact these policies have on the population of countries who benefit themselves of financial assistance from these two institutions. To be more specific it can be said

Sex and Gender with Dr. Chantal Tetreault Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Sex and Gender with Dr. Chantal Tetreault - Essay Example Therefore, they subordinate men in almost all activities. So, the community expects them to be hardworking, loving and patient so that they can do their chores without any constraints. There exit a difference between sex and gender (Martin). In my own understanding, sex may be used to refer to either male or female. Therefore, people can be categorized as man or woman and boy or girl depending on the sex (Martin). Sex can also be used to categorize the functions of gender. Men can perform hard work for they have the muscles and the stamina while women are supposed to perform light chores (Martin). The readings have challenged me in that it has made me understand that women do a lot of work than men. Women therefore contribute much in the production of goods and services compared to men. The reading material has given an example of the Betsileo women in Madagascar who usually invest about a third of the hours invested in rice production in addition to their daily customary tasks (Gender: Exploring Culture Diversity). Separate genders have come out of the customary tasks to do what is considered as culturally bad. These activities range from leadership to other noble tasks. For example, the Williams sisters; Serena William and Vienna William have greatly been praised for their sport and have developed many agendas contributing to the positive focus on gender sensitivity in countries where they do put bars between men and

University education should be free Research Paper

University education should be free - Research Paper Example ss amount of money per public college student and state funding of the students and universities has been lowered or even cut to half as in California. â€Å"Education has long been seen as a principal source of economic mobility. But for years now public education, and especially public higher education has been under attack† (Reiff). Several educational reforms and financial planning could be carried out to make university education free for the students, because it would not only facilitate the students but also help in lowering the overall cost of educational budget. The fees for tuition, boarding have been inflating for the past 20 years, inspite of that the public universities have to make cuts in the various services and educational programmes in order to compensate for the deficiencies in the budget. Free university education for every person would be a possible solution to the current inflation and economic dearth. â€Å"Not means-tested, not cheap, not subsided, but free. For everybody† (Reiff). This could be made possible by implementing the tax payment, hypothetically 6 percent to the university which would provide the undergraduate degree. Those who earned more would pay more and who earned less would have to pay less, but at the end every person would have the privilege of having an undergraduate degree. Students will not have to work long hours in order to finance their university education, which not only affects their performance but also puts them under large debts they cannot pay (Reiff). Inability of United States to provide free higher education proves to be a downfall when compared to other developed countries which provide free university education. University education is not only an important determinant of the economic progress but also determines the employment rate in the state. â€Å"Currently, only 30% of Americans who start college or university end up graduating, and this represents a huge waste of time and money† (B. Samuels). If as

Public Health protection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Public Health protection - Essay Example Although bacteriology was apparently vital for the re-conceptualisation of infections, this process was in progress, and some studies show that there were no important purposes of the new knowledge of communicable diseases in the practice of public health (Lewis & MacPherson 2007). In Australia, when diphtheria was interpreted in bacteriological terms, an array of frequently conflicting public health practices and policies were sought in rapid progression. These succeeding public health processes consequently formed the partial bacteriological interpretation of diphtheria and of the control measures for contagious diseases (Lawson & Bauman 2001). From the beginning of ‘immunisation’ and notification obligations in the late nineteenth century, public health policy changed quite rapidly to mass swabbing movements in the early twentieth century, wherein ‘carriers’ were the major, nearly special, regard (Lawson & Bauman 2001). Detection of the failure of these movements since 1922 became the foundation of an executive plan towards mass immunisation, but its slow operation implied that immunisation only slowly replaced cleansing habits and carrier control as the primary preventive strategy. Each of these policies were products of bacteriol ogical understanding and methods, but embodied immeasurably various practices and ideas of prevention (Lewis & MacPherson 2007). Management of diphtheria fulfilled a vital function in the advancement of public health policies and institutions in Australia. Historians have diversely examined plague, typhoid, tuberculosis, smallpox, and scarlet fever as infections of political and cultural significance in the moulding of public health in British colonies and in Australia in the nineteenth century (Lewis 2003a). Nonetheless, the childhood infection of diphtheria has been deficient of the attention that practitioners think it deserves. Demonstrated statistically, politically and

The Strategic Route of Lexus Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Strategic Route of Lexus - Term Paper Example There have been huge sales of Lexus brand in different categories like hybrid, midsize premium and others. There are several models of Lexus. The focus is on Lexus GS model that is available in two variants: GS 300 and GS 460. These two are the premium products and have the capability to attract the consumers (Lexus, 2010). There is huge potential in the global market of the brand Lexus and the opportunity can be captured properly with an appropriate marketing strategy. The company needs to identify the primary and selected market for attaining more sales of Lexus. The brand Lexus GS model will be discussed in this paper regarding its potential in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) market. This research paper looks to determine the potential market of Lexus GS in the UAE market for the upcoming years (2011-2013). There are certain factors that have already been discussed and now it centers on the marketing strategy for Lexus GS. Marketing strategy is the key factor for the business success. There are two approaches i.e. primary and selective marketing strategies for the Lexus brand in the UAE market. The basic discussion of the paper is related to the type of demand that will be stimulated for the next three years. Both primary demand and selective demand will be focused upon the UAE market and one will be selected as a marketing strategy for Lexus. The UAE’s real growth for 2011 is expected to be 6.7%, 7% in 2012 and 6.7% in 2013. The per capita expected in 2011 is $43,030, $47330 in 2012 and $52160 in 2013. There is huge potential for Toyota Lexus market with increase in real growth and per capita income (Government of Ras Al Khaimah, 2009). According to Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), there were more than 1021880 registrations of new vehicles in the UAE market. The potential of the UAE market is estimated to be approximately 1542000.  

International Business Management - Eastern Europe Essay

International Business Management - Eastern Europe - Essay Example 2. The maximum rate of Income tax that could be levied after the tax holiday period of 10 years should be fixed at not more than 20 percent of the taxable earnings: In addition to benefit of the tax holiday period the developing countries normally offer concessional rates income tax for any joint venture arrangements. 3. Free conversion and free transferability of funds from and to Hungary to European or US destinations2: Though these facilities were available at the time of negotiation the Hungarian government should make a commitment for the uninterrupted continuance of these facilities, which is very important for the profitable functioning of the join venture arrangement. 4. Concessional duty rates on the import of engines and reduction in the VAT (Value Added Tax) being charged by the Hungarian Government: The import duty on engines depending on the size of the vehicle varied from 10 to 40 percent and there was an additional VAT of 25 percent charged by the Hungarian government. Though Hungary is a signatory to the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) the country was free to vary the duty and VAT structures as it may deem fit in the case of automobiles. Hence there is the need to get the government committed on the basic duty structures which is advantageous to GM Europe. In addition to the tax incentives it is also important that the Hungarian government should provide basic infrastructural facilities to fac... Hence there is the need to get the government committed on the basic duty structures which is advantageous to GM Europe. (ii) Provision of Infrastructural Facilities: In addition to the tax incentives it is also important that the Hungarian government should provide basic infrastructural facilities to facilitate the successful operation of the project. Such infrastructural facilities may include the provision of natural gas to the site in addition to the provision of water, electrical power as may be required, well maintained roads for easy transportation and hassle-free physical movement of engines, components and cars during import and export. (iii) Protection from Competition: In order to gain a distinct competitive advantage there should be a commitment from the Hungarian government that at least for an initial period of 5 years or so the import of cars needs to be banned. Since the Hungarian market was small and the affordability of Hungarian population was also less there is the need for this condition. The country could get other advantages in the form of generation of additional employment and development of local suppliers which need to be traded against the protection needed by the GM Europe for its joint venture in Hungary. Though at the start, the GM plant would be small the facility could be enlarged with modernizing and restructuring of the economy. This is usually the case with any developing economy where there are going to be economic reforms the local industry would naturally develop along with the measures for economic reforms. b. Issues to be raised with RABA: The following issues are to be discussed with RABA for possible acceptance as

Leisure and toursim policy - choosen topic is future of london toursim Essay

Leisure and toursim policy - choosen topic is future of london toursim and international toursim in general - Essay Example als and evening based economic activity driven by theatres, cinemas, restaurants, bars, public houses, nightclubs and casinos, all of which attract tourists and day visitors as well as residents. [1] On the other hand, it has to be noticed that tourism is not a clear-cut sector but an all-embracing and pervasive domain of service and industrial activities. It touches upon almost all spheres of national life within the country and that is particularly the reason why a sound state policy of tourism should be essentially formulated before any significant tourism investment projects are launched. As rightly put by MacCannell, tourism is an ideological framing of history, nature and tradition; a framing that has the power to reshape culture and nature to its own needs (MacCannell 1992). Regarding specifically the leisure activities, it has been found that the participation of the public to them is really significant. A characteristic example could be the case of U.S. where the participati on of people of all ages in the leisure activities is noticeable. More specifically, according to the 1994-1995 National Survey on Recreation and the Environment, most U.S. residents over 16 years old participate in fitness activities (68.3%), swimming, (54.2%), and walking (66.7%) (Cordell 1999). As for Britain it has been found [7] that the types of leisure activities preferred by the public are differentiated from that of U.S. with nearly nine in ten adult viewers in the United Kingdom to watch television every day of the week in 2003, with nearly a quarter of viewers watching it for two to three hours a day. UK residents made a record 42.9 million holiday trips abroad in 2004, an increase from 6.7 million in 1971; Spain was the most popular destination, followed by France [7]. In order to define tourism policy we should primarily describe tourism. In this context, according to a broad definition [6] tourism is a service industry, comprising a number of tangible and intangible