Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Do Integrated Circuits Make For An Integrated Supply Chain? A Network Analysis Of Trade Flows, Noah Martens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Integrated circuits (colloquially referred to as chips) are an increasingly critical commodity experiencing continuous and substantial rises in demand. These increases in demand recently resulted in shortages. This paper seeks to understand the market for chips and construct a framework by which a network analysis of trade flows can evaluate concentration in the international market for a particular product category. Leveraging this framework and proposing a new model, I evaluate the level and nature of concentration in the chips sector, as well as two key inputs to the manufacturing process, silicon and chip fabricators. I find moderate-to-high levels of concentration …

Free Trade Is Not Free: A Case For Fair Trade, Wardah Javaid Cheema

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To this day, mainstream economists favor free trade policies as the best way to generate economic development. They do so at the expense of their unjustified romanticization of reductionist classical trade theories. This thesis seeks to comprehend the constraints of traditional trade theories and their inability to be applied to practical contemporary problems. Further, contrary to the fundamental assumption of free trade theory, there is ample evidence of government intervention in free trade agreements. These interventions solely encourage and protect large corporations and investors rather than the actual development and sustainability factors, namely labor and the environment. It all adds …

Us Financial Expansions And Exchange Rate Determination, Matthew Brill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how US financial activity influences the exchange rates of foreign nations. Starting off by building on Currency Hierarchy and Minskyan dynamics, I look at how financial cycles generated in the US, the key economy, transmit liquidity towards economies on the periphery. Additionally, I use the increase in shadow banking asset accumulation relative to commercial banking asset accumulation as indicative of financial expansions in the US, and the driving force of financial cycles. Using vector autoregression (VAR) analysis I test the relationships between the ratio of US shadow banking assets relative to commercial …

Internationalization Of Higher Education In China: A Case Study Of The University System In Shandong, Ying Zhu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This case study explores the current situation and problems associated with the internationalization of China’s higher education institutions. The collection of research data was completed online from 12 universities in Shandong Province. This research shows that the organizational arrangements for the internationalization of higher education in China are diversified and improving gradually. Especially local non-research-oriented universities are more flexible and innovative in the specific organization and arrangement of internationalization. In addition, the research results also show that there are many difficulties and conflicts between academic and cultural integration in the internationalization of universities.

The Great Consensus After The Great Recession: The Case Of Jamaica, Anthony N. Iacovelli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine the efficacy of the International Monetary Fund’s Stabilization Program (IMFSP) as a tool for economic development. The Fund’s program utilizes an approach steeped in the Washington Conesus, which requires austere and demand side economic measures to be taken to achieve success. To determine efficacy, Jamaica was used as a case study, where special attention paid to the supply side economic consideration of human capital development in Health and Education. Additionally, this paper contrasted the IMF approach with a case study of Singapore and the Developmentalist approach to economic development. The research provided …

Plantation Economy Model As Developed By Lloyd Best And Kari Polanyi Levitt: The Case Of Jamaica, Paula-Leone Samuda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lloyd Best and Kari Polanyi Levitt created the Theory of the Plantation Economy as an analytical tool for understanding the causes of underdevelopment in the Caribbean region. The theory provides a break from the classical understanding of developing economies as simply pre-industrialized societies. Instead, the theory tracks uneven development through analysis of metropole-hinterland relations, which account for the legacy of slavery, colonialism, and mercantilism on the structure of the global economy. In doing so, Plantation Theory is able to draw a clear link between underdevelopment in the hinterland and development in the metropole. Examining the usefulness of the Theory of …

China’S One Belt One Road Initiative—A Debt Trap?, Qi Liu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Infrastructure has been a bottleneck for industrialization of developing countries. After decades of economic growth led by investment in infrastructure, China released its first global strategy in 2013, One Belt One Road (BRI), to improve infrastructure in less developed countries along the belt and road. Although economic development has been witnessed in some BRI members, large amount of investments from China raised concern over debt crisis from the Western world and host countries. Countries receiving loans from China are struggling to effectively manage the BRI projects. Some are renegotiating the investments with China and some BRI members even canceled them. …

The Eu Ets: A Critical Analysis, Marceline Grey Swan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Carbon markets, established via cap & trade programs, are the dominant means by which climate stabilization is currently being pursued worldwide, with many centered around the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme. As such, a critical analysis of the EU ETS & its effectiveness is crucial to assess whether the EU carbon market is an effective mechanism to achieve climate stabilization. The effectiveness of the overall program was evaluated via a determination of whether the EU ETS, & to a greater extent the EU carbon market, has allowed for emissions reductions in line with the goal for climate stabilization set by …

The Role Of The State In International Trade Theory And Policy: Historical Evidence From South Korea And Brazil, Sumaiya Nehla Saif

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the early 1980s, the economic performance of individual countries has been increasingly dependent on global dynamics. Neoliberal policies, including free trade, have been fostered by the global community for both mature and developing economies, led by the view that free markets constitute the driving force of economic growth and development. Accordingly, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) - in addition to the developments within mainstream economic theory - have contributed to portray the state as the carrier of inefficiencies and market distortions, which prevent the unfolding of economic freedom and …

Tides Of Cooperation: The Ebb And Flow Of Regional Cooperation In Latin America, Amaleia E. Kolovos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Regional organizations have developed into important global actors as they negotiate inter-regional trade agreements, regulate economic policies, and develop international security communities. States have much to gain from such regional cooperation efforts particularly in emerging regions such as Latin America. Such gains can include increased trade and economic relations, enhanced security, attracting external investment, and increasing bargaining power at the international level. With such gains to be had, one might expect states in these regions to regularly cooperate in order to achieve their common interests. However, this is clearly not always the case. Latin America has struggled for decades with …

Great Powers Have Great Currencies: Popular Nationalist Discourse And China's Campaign To Internationalize The Renminbi, Michael Stephen Bartee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Why did the Chinese government begin promoting the internationalization of its currency, the renminbi, after the 2008 global financial crisis? Only a few years earlier, Beijing balked at U.S. demands to reform its currency regime, which would require dismantling many of the country's long-preferred tools for promoting growth and maintaining domestic stability. Similar concerns about the dilution of monetary policy independence motivated previous rising economies Germany and Japan to proactively discourage the internationalization of their currencies. While China's central bank had long explored promoting greater international use of the renminbi, and such a policy would generate some benefits for China, …

The Viability Of Profit-Loss Sharing Models To Finance Small And Medium Enterprises: The Case Of Saudi Arabia, Alhanoof Alghamdi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to explore the role of profit-loss sharing (PLS) models to alleviate access to finance for small and medium enterprises in Saudi Arabia, in the light of the stringent requirements of traditional financial institutions, to ensure the growth and development of the SME sector. A central question of this study is the extent to which Islamic banks can adopt profit-loss sharing modes to finance SMEs. The main results present the barriers preventing Islamic banks from the application of profit-loss sharing that increase incidence of agency problems for such institutions. High asymmetry of information and the nature of Islamic …

Governing Militaries In Liberalizing Economies: China, Iran, Egypt, Loosineh Markarian Senagani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Why have some economically-active militaries of autocratic regimes gained more autonomy vis-à -vis their civilian elite as a consequence of economic liberalization processes adopted in 80s and 90s, whereas others have remained subordinate to civilian control? This dissertation examines the impact of economic liberalization since 1980s on civil-military relations (CMR) in autocratic regimes. Prior to liberalization, the centrally- planned governments of Egypt, Iran, and China utilized their militaries to implement economic development projects. Post-liberalization, these militaries expanded into new economic sectors like finance, banking, and trade. The expansion impacted the balance of CMR differently in each case. Egypt's military took …

Rethinking The Development Of The Automobile Industry In China, Chen Gu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Governmental industrial policies have significant influence on industrial performance. Many developing countries that lack capital and a good technology base use foreign direct investment (FDI)-dependent governmental policies to induce multinational corporations (MNCs) to invest in their indigenous immature industries. In this article, the Chinese automotive industry, which is regulated directly under the Chinese central government, is used to illustrate the interactions between the complex FDI-dependent governmental policies and the industrial development of developing countries. According to changes in Chinese automotive industry policy, the Chinese auto industry’s development process is divided into four phases: extremely passive FDI-dependent policy phase, partial strategic …

An Analysis Of The Appreciation Of The Chinese Currency And Influences On China's Economy, Lina Ma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, China's economy development has had more and more impact on the global economy. The Chinese currency continued to appreciate since 2005, which has had both positive and negative results on Chinese's economy. The Chinese government uses the monetary policy to control the inflation pressure, which could work counter to Chinese exchange rate policy. RMB appreciation also has some effects on the Chinese banking system. Through the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP), a global computable general equilibrium model, we analyze how, when there is RMB appreciation, the Chinese exports and imports, and Chinese employment and income inequality react. …

Transmission Linked To Structural Vulnerability: How Low-Income Countries Endured The Great Recession, Rachel F. Hartgen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The implosion of the 2008 financial crisis ignited fears that integration would transmit the crisis’ effects throughout the global system. Examining two countries, Bangladesh and Zambia, this project shows that low-income countries with relatively little integration also saw negative impacts. This occurred through three main transmission mechanisms: trade flows, rising prices and financial flows that could have possible long-term effects at the macro and micro level. The manner and impact of each transmission mechanism, however, varied among LICs according to each country’s individual structural economic and financial vulnerabilities. Bangladesh saw a delayed impact but did not avoid the crisis completely, …

China And The United States' Recovery From The Global Financial Crisis, Yufei Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Faced with the global financial crisis, which has a large impact on the world's economy, China and the United Stated took different actions to pull the economy out of it, based on the fairly different financial, fiscal, and even political systems they have. This thesis focuses on the comparison of the financial and fiscal systems and trade structures between the two different countries, and how these have impact on their stimulus packages, thus influencing the economic recovery as a whole.

The Social Determinants Of Hiv/Aids In Cambodia: Is It Too Early To Call Micro Medical Efforts A Success?, Matthew Aaron Sherwood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cambodia, a least developed country (LDC) with a recent history of civil war and genocide, has been widely considered to be a success story when it comes to the fight against HIV/AIDS. Within a few years of the first HIV positive blood test in the kingdom in 1991, it quickly became the country with the highest prevalence in the region, with estimates of as many as 4% of the population being infected at one point.

In recent years, Cambodia's HIV/AIDS infection rates have plummeted to below 1%, with most of the credit being given to the implementation of micro-medical measures, …

The Spectacle Of Neoclassical Economics: The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development Project And Exploitation In The Niger Delta And The Chad Basin, Nicholas A. Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, neoclassical economic literature has undergone a fundamental change of emphasis, from orthodox neoclassical to neoinstitutional theory. World Bank research and high-level policy departments have reflected this change by shifting from development as ‘structural adjustment’ to development as ‘governance’. I engage the case of the Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development Project (CCPDP) to argue that the neoclassical economic shift is a spectacle or exhibit, irrelevant in important ways to exploitation “on the ground.” Contrary to neoclassical economics and World Bank development rationales, the CCPDP is a hyper-documented project with a hyperrestricted scope, typical of commodity exploitation in Central Africa and …

The Development Drive Of North-South Versus South-South Ptas, Jose Luis Ramirez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The importance of PTAs in today's global economic order is unmistakable, especially during the last fifteen years when their proliferation has dramatically accelerated and their scope and structure have radically changed. However, the available theoretical framework (international trade theories) from which their developmental impact is assessed seems to be largely lagging behind. Hence, there is a crucial need for more realistic assessments of their embedded developmental features because an increasing number of developing countries are perceiving these agreements as one of the key instruments to propel their long delayed economic development. In this thesis, I strive to construct an alternative …

The Rogues Of 'Quoddy: Smuggling In The Maine New Brunswick Borderlands 1783-1820, Joshua M. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Smuggling has been an important problem in American-Canadian relations. Yet the nature of smuggling is little understood; it is by definition an elusive, secretive, and subtle practice. This dissertation explores smuggling as a social force within a border community on the United States-Canada boundary. Smuggling almost always involved the illicit crossing of political boundaries, and as such can be used as a means of studying popular attitudes toward the creation of national borders. Moreover, because smuggling is directly related to the transition to modem capitalism, this study sheds light on the roots of both American and Canadian economic development. The …