Myths And Realities Of Foreign Investment In Poor Countries

This book systematically explores the effects upon underdeveloped countries of direct foreign investments made by multinational corporations. The author pays particular attention to themes prevalent in the international political economy literature that depict foreign investment as alternately aiding or hindering economic development in the Third World. In constructing his analysis, Rothgeb treats the relationship between the multinational corporation and the underdeveloped host state as a political relationship, demonstrating that the results of foreign investment depend in large part upon the differing strengths of the actors in the relationship and how they use the advantages derived from their power. Following an introductory chapter which reviews the current status of research on the subject, Rothgeb turns to a consideration of how foreign investments affect host state foreign policy. He then addresses the domestic political and social effects of foreign investment and identifies four basic conceptions of the role played by foreign investment. Finally, Rothgeb focuses on economic growth, analyzing the ways in which multinational firms affect growth via their effects on capital availability, the degree to which the government plays a leading role in managing society, and changes in the composition of the local labor force. The author's conclusions regarding the political effects of foreign investment should be required reading for students of economic development and international relations, as well as for policymakers and executives of multinational firms.

In order to prevent increasing social and political disorders, the author argues that many countries with primary production and explosive urban growth will have to abandon dreams of development to adopt a policy of national survival based on the search for water, food, and energy security - and the stabilization of their populations."--BOOK JACKET.

An International Labor Office and European Commission publication Although the effect of trade on employment is a popular point of economic debate, there are very few factual assessments available. This book examines the most recent evidence and provides guidance for the design of tools to assess more accurately the employment impacts of trade. Trade and Employment argues for strengthening the micro-foundations of models used to evaluate the employment effects of trade and for including the informal economy and adjustment processes in modeling efforts. It emphasizes the role of governments in helping firms survive or grow, in providing social protection to protect against external shocks, in addressing gender equity, and in building physical infrastructure and human skills bases that facilitate export diversification. It is a valuable resource for all those interested in the debate on the employment effects of trade: workers and employers, academics and policymakers, and trade and labor specialists.

The first and definitive book of its kind, Joan Spero's The Politics of International Economic Relations has been fully updated to reflect the sweeping changes in the international arena. With the expertise of co-author Jeffrey Hart, the fifth edition strengthens the coverage of political and economic relations since the end of the Cold War, economic polarization in developing nations and the roots of economic decline in centrally planned economies. A new chapter on industrial policy and competitiveness debates further illustrates the changing dynamics of International Political Economy. Ideal as a supplement to the International Relations course or as the core text in International Political Economy, Spero and Hart's The Politics of International Economic Relations continues to give students the breadth and depth of scholarship needed to understand the politics of world economy.

There is no question that Africa is endowed with abundant natural resources of different magnitudes. However, more than a decade of high commodity prices and new hydrocarbon discoveries across the continent has led countless international organizations, donor agencies, and non-governmental organizations to devote considerable attention to the potential of natural resource–based development. Natural Resource–Based Development in Africa places a particular emphasis on the actors that help us understand the extent to which resources could be transformed into broader developmental outcomes. Based on a wide variety of primary sources and fieldwork, including in-person interviews and participant observations, this collection contributes to both scholarly and policy discussions around the governance and economic development roles of local entrepreneurs, transnational firms, civil society groups, local communities, and government agencies in Africa’s natural resource sectors. Natural Resource–Based Development in Africa explores the impact that these actors have on regional trends such as resource nationalism and local procurement policies as well as grassroots-related issues such as poverty, livelihoods, gender equity, development, and human security.

Recent generations have experienced dramatic improvements in the quality of human life across the globe. Wars between states are fought less frequently and are less lethal. Food is more plentiful and more easily accessed. In most parts of the world, birthrates are down and life expectancy up. Significantly fewer people live in extreme poverty, relative to the overall population. Statistics would argue that the human race has never before flourished as it has in this moment. And yet, even with this progress, we face a number of seemingly intractable challenges to the welfare of both states and individuals, including: Governmental instability undermining the lives of citizens, both within and beyond their borders; Persistent and recurring intrastate conflict due to ineffective conflict management strategies; Marginally successful development efforts and growing income inequality, both within and between nations, as a result of uncoordinated and ineffective global development strategies; Internecine conflict in multiethnic societies, manifested by exclusion, discrimination, and ultimately violence, the inevitable consequence of an insufficient focus on managing the inherent tensions in diverse societies; Global climate change with the possibility of catastrophic long-term consequences, following an inability to effectively come to terms with and respond to the impact of human activity on our environment. These challenges require a newly collaborative, intentional, and systematic approach. This book offers a blueprint for how to get there, calling for increased leadership responsibility, clarity of mission, and empowerment of states and individuals. It is designed to transform lofty but often vague agendas into concrete, measurable progress. It believes in the capacity of humanity to rise to the occasion, to come together to address these increasingly critical global problems, and offers one way forward.