Can the Post-COVID FDI Boost the Indian Economy?

Ever since the liberation of trade policies in India, Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) has been crucial in the growth of the economy, both at the macro as well as sector level. The association between FDI and economic growth is an area of interest globally. The investment decisions are affected by several national and international events that add to the volatility of the number of inflows. COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the intensity of FDI inflows. But the strong resilience by our government manifested in crucial policy reforms and proactive decision-making minimized the impact. This article examines the potential impact of FDI on crucial macroeconomic variables using the Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model. Introducing the policy shock of $90 billion into the model, an increase of 5.68% per annum in GDP is estimated. Findings indicate that the impact of FDI shall be favourable to a large number of sectors mainly metals, construction, motor vehicle, computers, and electronics in terms of increased output, exports, and employment opportunities. The study offers logical implications for the policymakers to continue strengthening their moves to attract FDI.

Stakeholders’ Perspectives on Market-based Instruments and Trade Policies for Environmental Goods: Evidence from Malaysia

This article investigates policy constraints for the environmental goods sector in Malaysia based on the dimensions of market-based (including regulatory) instruments and trade policies. In-depth structured interviews with the government and key industry players are conducted, and six overarching themes constraining the efficacy of the instruments and policies were identified. The findings suggest that incentives and loans for this sector are skewed to manufacturers and low-risk projects, respectively. The major policy gaps in this sector are mostly related to procedural issues, namely non-transparent information, non-uniformity of requirements and complex documentation for certification, licensing and permits.

A Comparative Study of China's Competition Law and Cameroon's Competition Law; With Specific Regards to Challenges in the Implementation of Competition Law in China and Cameroon

This study aims to investigate and compare the competition laws of Cameroon and China, with a focus on the limitations and constraints of competition law implementation in Cameroon and China. By comparing the Competition Laws of China and Cameroon, the research intends to determine whether there are any limits in the implementation of Competition Law in Cameroon and China. To examine and get results for the research’s many goals and objectives, this study uses qualitative data analysis. Competition legislation has had a considerable impact on China's economy in recent years, and it will eventually have an impact on trade policies that are directly tied to the international market. During our research, we discovered that competition law regulations have an impact on national and international trade in each country. And we realized that Cameroon's competitiveness policies are in some ways behind the times in the twenty-first century. As a result, there is a growing need to look into the divergence between China's competition law and Cameroon's competition law in order to assist Cameroonian competition law authorities in updating and making structural changes to Cameroon's competition legislation. These revisions will improve Cameroon's national and international trade policies, but they will have a substantial influence on the country's current economy. There may be some takeaways for China's competitive law policymakers as well. There is no academic work of this kind after a vast range of research, and this will be a wonderful opportunity to introduce creative work to this academic sector. The Anti-Monopoly Law of China has greatly evolved in the past years and there has been amendments and structural adjustments in the past years, which is very great, because Competition Law plays a great role in the economic progress of each country. As a result, the purpose of this study is to identify any obstacles to the implementation of Cameroon's Competition Law (Law No.98/013 of 14 July 1998) and China's Anti-Monopoly Law (2008).

Unemployment in South Africa

South Africa has exhibited sustained high rates of open unemployment since the end of apartheid, when reliable statistical measurements became available. The lack of decent employment opportunities contributes to ongoing social and economic inequalities. This chapter examines the reasons behind the country’s high unemployment rates. After a brief analysis of unemployment trends and patterns, it discusses alternative explanations of South Africa’s employment problems, with a focus on structural causes arising from historical and institutional factors. The chapter also examines how policy choices post-apartheid have affected employment outcomes, including macroeconomic policies, trade policies, and labour market policies.

Research on Dynamic and Complexity of Duopoly Price Strategies between Low-Carbon and Nonlow-Carbon Products under Cap-and-Trade Policies

This paper studies the complexity of the pricing system for the production of low-carbon and nonlow-carbon products in a market composed of duopoly manufacturers under the cap-and-trade policies. Through nonlinear system theory and numerical derivation and simulation, it considers the influence of different market power structures, carbon trading prices, consumer environmental awareness, and other factors on price decisions, carbon emission decisions, profits, and system stability. The influence of price adjustment parameters and unit product carbon emission decision adjustment parameters on the complexity of the pricing system under different market power structures is analyzed. And, it was found that compared with the variable feedback chaos control method, the parameter adjustment chaos control method is more effective in controlling the pricing system in this paper. Our research provides management implications for market competition and operational decision-making for low-carbon and nonlow-carbon products.

The functionality of informal trade in the creation of political power

This article delves into the analysis of informal commerce as a means of power created from the street vendor's perspective. This paper aims to evaluate the expressions of the itinerant executors of the practice of informal trade as a means of creating power. To do this, the conception of analysis, using the local practices referring to informal trade, were analyzed as a means of economic sustenance and in the same way, understood among selected groups as illegal. However independent of the local context and the established place. The thesis that follows is that the street trade has a functional character in the obtaining of power by groups; ideological promotion and not just an economic justification. The main findings and results of the research demonstrated that the decisions of the executors of the practice are permeated by a motivation for the illegal practice, which wanders between what is economically necessary and politically permissible. The situation that determines the functionality and applicability of informal trade acts, underestimates compliance with the existence of local trade policies and regulations of social life and instead, they are recognized as legitimate as they belong to groups of political control. Therefore, it contributes to the defense of the hypothesis, based on demonstrating that the practice of ambulance is presented as a valve for attention to unemployment, while it is tolerated as a means of opportunity to the creation of political power independent of the local or regional context.

International Trade and Health in Thailand: A Scoping Review

International trade has become more complicated and is now related to more aspects of health and the health system. As Thailand is active in international trade and health, understanding what knowledge exists and determining the knowledge gap is essential for generating the necessary evidence in order to promote better understanding and allow evidence-based policy decisions to be made. This study reviewed the existence of knowledge on international trade and health issues in a scoping review, focusing on Thailand during the period 1991–2020. In total, 156 studies from seven databases and manual searching were included. Of these, 46% were related to trade in health services and 39% were linked to intellectual property, particularly access to medicines. This review found only a very small amount of research on other issues and did not identify any study on trade policies or products related to health and international trade and the environment. We therefore recommend that further studies should be carried out to provide more critical evidence—in particular, more research focusing on the impacts of trade on health-related goods and the analysis of the positive and negative impacts of international trade on industry is needed. Furthermore, better knowledge management through the publication of research findings and making them searchable on international databases will increase the visibility of international trade, increase our knowledge of health issues, and provide supporting evidence.

The Knife Edge Election of 2020: American Politics Between Washington, Kabul, and Weimar

This paper analyzes the 2020 election, focusing on voters, not political money, and emphasizing the importance of economic geography. Drawing extensively on county election returns, it analyzes how spatial factors combined with industrial structures to shape the outcome. It treats COVID 19’s role at length. The paper reviews studies suggesting that COVID 19 did not matter much, but then sets out a new approach indicating it mattered a great deal. The study analyzes the impact on the vote not only of unemployment but differences in income and industry structures, along with demographic factors, including religion, ethnicity, and race. It also studies how the waves of wildcat strikes and social protests that punctuated 2020 affected the vote in specific areas. Trump’s very controversial trade policies and his little discussed farm policies receive detailed attention. The paper concludes with a look at how political money helped make the results of the Congressional election different from the Presidential race. It also highlights the continuing importance of private equity and energy sectors opposed to government action to reverse climate change as conservative forces in (especially) the Republican Party, together with agricultural interests.