Global Commodity Markets, Chinese Demand for Maize, and Deforestation in Northern Myanmar

This paper makes a significant contribution to understanding the logic of deforestation in Northern Myanmar and connects global trends and regional political economy with local environmental changes. Methodologically, through a combination of remote sensing GIS analysis, for which we use a newly available Myanmar Forest Change dataset produced by TerraPulse and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, as well as on-the-ground field research observations and interviews with farmers, this paper examines how the expansion of maize plantations in the northern part of Myanmar has implications for deforestation in the region. It argues that a combination of global commodity price shock around 2011–2012 plus easy market access to China generated strong incentives for local farmers to increase the cultivation of maize. The paper contributes to how we understand the environmental impacts of Chinese demands for agricultural products in Southeast Asia.

First to React Is the Last to Forgive: Evidence from the Stock Market Impact of COVID 19

The COVID 19 pandemic has had wide-ranging and severe effects on global economies. Stock markets as usual were the first to react, with drop rates as much as the global financial crises of 2008. This study uses daily data to model the dynamic impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on the first affected countries’ stock market indices and the global commodity markets. The panel least squares Vector Auto-Regressive (VAR) estimation results confirm the negative short-termed impact of the virus spread rate on the returns of the stock market indices. The spread rate is also significant to explain changes related to the prices of platinum, silver, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), and Brent crude oil.

PORTS OF EASTERN BALTIC AND RUSSIAN TRANSIT POLICY: COMPETITION AND COOPERATION

The ports of the Baltic States have handled Russian cargoes for many years. Thus, there is no apparent need for Russia to reroute all freight flows to domestic ports. Eastern Baltic ports were just recently considered competitors, but the current geopolitical situation has drastically reshaped the framework for regional transport cooperation. Competition and cooperation strategies are often equally acceptable for the ports of the Eastern Baltic. Yet volatility in global commodity markets, the unstable positions of leading exporters and importers, and changes in the economic and political environment call for new strategies and forms of collaboration. This study aims to understand to what degree port authorities in the Eastern Baltic can combine competition and cooperation policies when formulating their development concepts and handling transit cargoes. The article draws on official statistics and Russian and international publications on the theory and practice of transport routing and the functioning of hub infrastructure. The methods of case study and statistical and comparative analysis are adopted to outline the current situation in the ports of the Eastern Baltic and a variety of ways for the ports to attract more cargo flows from Russia. The article tests the hypothesis that Eastern Baltic port authorities should pursue a co-opetition strategy. The study concludes that, in the immediate future, this strategy can be employed only in cases of extraordinary circumstances, for example, at peak loads.

Assessment of the Impact of Globalization on the Development of the Russian Transport System

Research background: The article describes the main trends in the globalization of economic processes, analyses the economic situation of world commodity markets, considers factors that influence the development of the transport system of Russia, defines the transport component in the cost of bulk cargo transported by Russian railways, presents a conceptual model of its formation for the purpose of improving tariff policy and competitiveness. A study of the dynamics of market conditions helps to identify factors that increase the efficiency of interaction between cargo-forming enterprises and organizations with the transport complex, develop and justify a system of measures to increase the efficiency of the transport system and ensure the sustainability of the national economy, as well as identify factors that contribute to globalization and the integration of production processes of transnational structures into the world economic system. Purpose of the article: To develop a methodological approach to assessing the impact of global commodity markets in the context of the globalization of economic processes on the development of the transport system of Russia. Methods: Analysis, classification, deduction, economic and mathematical modelling. Findings & Value added: The developed conceptual model for assessing the impact of global commodity markets in the context of the globalization of economic processes on the development of the country’s transport system contributes to the improvement of the tariff policy in the field of freight transportation, creates favourable conditions for increasing freight volumes for both transit and export-import cargoes.

Blaming in the Boom and Bust

In Australian mining towns like Moranbah, relationships between labour, capital and the state have long been defined by struggles over housing amidst cascading cycles of boom and bust linking global commodity markets to local real estate. Most recently, the emergence of ‘fly-in-fly-out’ labour arrangements, partially in response to rampant real estate speculation, have challenged mine workers’ rights to housing and community. Focusing on the schadenfreude that accompanied the public vilification of one failed, small-time real estate speculator as a case study who is contrasted with the figure of the Cashed-up-Bogan, this article shows how accusations of greed are mobilized to political effect. While greed’s tendency to emerge discursively as an accusation might make it seem like an attractive critical discourse, its putative connections to embodiment and the visceral give it an individualizing tendency that allows it to be wielded more easily against persons than institutions, undermining broader structural critiques.

POST-CRISIS RESUMPTION OF EFFICIENCY OF THE BANKING SYSTEM IN UKRAINE

Introduction. Being influenced by deindustrialization of the national economy, the growth of its openness and dependence on development of the global commodity markets, as well the absence of relevant legislation and fair judiciary, the banking system of Ukraine is usually affected by negative external and internal shocks. Such situation leads to the emergence of protracted crises. The article analyses theoretical aspects of efficiency of a banking system, substantiates the main reasons of a decrease of efficiency of the banking system in Ukraine under conditions of the economic crisis, and considers prospective directions for solving problems concerned with the post-crisis resumption of efficiency of the domestic banking system. Purpose. The article’s purpose is to examine theoretical peculiarities of efficiency of a banking system, reasons of deterioration of efficiency of the banking system in Ukraine, and to form practical recommendations regarding post-crisis resumption of this system. Method (methodology). The author applies the following methods: methods of retrospective analysis in researching the main reasons, which have led to a decrease of efficiency of the banking system of Ukraine; methods of analogy and comparison for substantiating tendencies of changes in indicators of the banking system and macroeconomics; methods of statistical analysis for analysing number series of indicators of an exchange rate, the balance of payments, operative efficiency of the banking system; methods of synthesis and systematization in forming recommendations regarding enhancing efficiency of the domestic banking system. Results. The author substantiates the theoretical essence of a notion of banking system efficiency; indicates and substantiates pivotal reasons for a decrease of efficiency of the banking system of Ukraine during the crisis. The author has developed a set of recommendations regarding post-crisis resumption of efficiency of the domestic banking system through the foundation of a hospital bank, as well as optimization of the interest rate policy and mechanism for refinancing the National Bank of Ukraine.