Thursday, January 30, 2020
Explain why the open war Essay Example for Free
Explain why the open war Essay World War 1 had begun in August with both sides certain that their sudden attacks with cavalry and infantry would create a war of rapid movement, which would bring them a swift victory. The ending of this possibility and build up towards a stationary war of fixed entrenchment was not only due to the failure of the Schlieffen Plan and Plan XVII, but the problems in communications, problems faced through tactics and strategies and the role of the commanders throughout the planning and progression of the war. The possibility of further outflanking movements was gone. The initially hastily constructed trenches of the allied forcers took on a more permanent look as two massive armies consisting of over 4 million men faced each other over 800 kilometres of continuous trench lines from the coast of Belgium to the Swiss border. For the next four years, the rival commanders struggled and blundered in an attempt to find a way to break the stalemate, which had emerged by the end of 1914. In order to break the stalemate there were two major offensives remembered from 1916, which both failed but were attempts none the less. Both sides had become aware that it was easier to hold a defensive position than it was to launch an offensive. However, this did not stop them, launching repeated disastrous offensives, relying on weight of men, artillery and supplies to crumble the opposition through attrition and each side endeavored to weaken the other. The generals decided only a big push would be able to break through the enemy lines and restart the war of rapid movement. This was not achieved until the attrition of 1915-18 finally weakened the German lines in mid-1918. The Schlieffen Plan, originally devised by Alfred von Schlieffen, the then German Army Chief of Staff, in 1905, was the German Plan which would they would implement to avoid a war on two fronts. Schlieffen argued that France had to be defeated as soon as possible in the event of a great European War. If that were to happen, Schlieffen realised that Russia and France would be unwilling to continue fighting. In addition, Schlieffen estimated that it would take Russia six weeks to mobilise her forces in preparation for war against them. Thus, he reasoned that Germany would have six weeks in which to defeat France and surrender. On August 2nd 1914 the Schlieffen Plan was put into effect and the German Army began its advance upon France through Belgium. The delicate plan was upset with the early arrival of the British Expeditionary Force under Sir John French, significant resistance by the Belgian Army, resistance of the Belgians and the early arrival of Russian Forces. The German implementations and strategies relied too heavily on the Schlieffen Plan itself. The plan greatly depended on speed and movement, the strict deadline of 42 days was impractical, this unreasonable goal was pushed further away from the Germans. General von Moltke did not follow through the original Schlieffen Plan; instead, he had shifted the numbers of the planned armies and therefore altered the balance for the plan to work. All these events led up to the Battle of the Marne, the first major battle on the Western Front. The French Allied victory at this battle marked the failure of the Schlieffen Plan, and the death of any German hope for a quick decisive victory. The German forces were not only to blame for the reason of stationary war during 1914, the problems with the French Plan XVII also contributed to the fact.
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Web Page Creation Report :: Computer Science
Web Page Creation Report In order to create my web pages, I used a program called FrontPage Express. This allowed me to create web pages without learning the language they are written in, HTML. To start with, I created a new directory for the website to go in to. I did this by clicking on File>New>Folder. I then renamed the folder just created to Computerstore. Into that folder, I created five more folders, and renamed them Images, INP, OUT, MPU and STO. These were for the four different sections of products and for the images. My next task was to create the index page. In FrontPage Express, I created a new page by clicking on File>New>Normal Page. I then right-clicked on the page and selected page properties. I could then change the background colour. After I found that none of the preset colours were suitable, I created a custom colour by entering different amounts of Red, Blue, and Green until I found a colour that I liked. I then added this to the custom colours list so I could use it on the other pages. I then set all of the text and hyperlink colours to black so that all the text on the page would the same colour. Whilst I was in page properties, I added the page title that would be shown at the top of the browser by typing the title I wanted into the title box. With the properties set how I wanted, I could lay out the page. I wanted to add a table on the page, to contain the hyperlinks to the other pages. To do this, I clicked on Table>Insert Table, and entered the size of table I wanted, as shown to the left. I then formatted the table by right clicking on the outline, and selecting Table Properties. I added a border of size 10, aligned the table to the centre, and coloured the border navy, as shown to the right. I clicked OK and went back to the home page. I added the section names into the table, and added a two-line title. Using the defaults, the page looked like the image to shown above. I then formatted all of the text into a different font, Franklin Gothic Heavy. I then changed the size of the first line of the title to the largest, size 7, and underlined it. My newly formatted homepage now looked like this. I saved the file into the main directory as index.htm. In order to create the index pages for the sub-directories, I used the homepage as a template. For each index page, all I would need to do was to change
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
How has the role of the nation-state changed in a globalised society?
Introduction There has been considerable debate about whether globalisation has changed the role of the nation-state. While a somewhat nebulous concept, a nation-state can be defined as a geopolitical entity deriving its legitimacy through the service of a sovereign population or nation (Holton 2011; Croucher 2004). Globalisation can be loosely understood as the increasing political, cultural, and economic interaction of international populations (Al-Rodhan et al. 2006). This essay will look at the changing role of the nation-state in the modern period of globalisation (post-WWII), although there is certainly much to be said about earlier periods. In terms of structure, it will begin by considering economic, political, and cultural changes. This will be juxtaposed by the following section outlining arguments that downplay the relationship between globalisation and the nation-state. It will be concluded that the nation-state has undergone substantial change in the globalised world, but that there remains a great deal of structural continuity. Globalisation has the changed the economic role of the nation-state in several respects. Cerny (1995) suggests an erosion of the ability to provide all three main kinds of public good: regulatory, productive/distributive, and redistributive. One ââ¬Ëgoodââ¬â¢ in the first category is a stable currency, the control of which has traditionally fallen within the remit of the national banks or their equivalents. This is still theoretically true, but today foreign governments, organisations, or even individuals can play a critical role because of globalisation. One need only consider Black Wednesday (16 September, 1992) in Britain, when George Soros ââ¬Ëbroke the Bank of Englandââ¬â¢ by short-selling the pound, or the gradual accumulation of American dollars by China due to the latterââ¬â¢s trade surplus, to see how globalisation has stripped the nation-state of much of its power in terms of controlling currency. In the world o f rapid communication, especially via the internet, the situation has become even more difficult to control (Goksel 2004; Evans 1997; Cerny 1995). In addition, globalisation often means the presence of numerous foreign firms within national borders, which can lead to currency fluctuations as a result of foreign remittances. The rapid transfer of economic instability across borders, as was the case during the global financial crisis (2007-8) or the financial crisis in East Asia (1997-8), shows how the role of the nation-state in maintaining economic order has been eroded more generally (Goksel 2004). It is argued by Strange (1997) and others that the balance of economic power has shifted in favour of multinational corporations (MNCs). They believe this process began in earnest in the 1960s and 1970s because of foreign direct investment (FDI) from the USA, but that it has increased since the 1980s due to the influence of Japanese and Western European FDI. The recent revelation that th e Trans-Pacific Partnership might bring in legislation allowing MNCs to override American national laws, by appealing to an international tribunal, suggests that there might soon be a significant reduction in the economic powers of the nation-state (Carter 2012). It is impossible to speak of the economic effects of globalisation without also discussing the political consequences. The most important forces in this respect are the supranational bodies to which many nation-states now belong, such as the EU (European Union), which regulates the labour markets, industrial organisation, business practices and trade conditions of its member states. Moreover, the majority of member states have relinquished their former currencies in favour of the Euro, which has meant transference of monetary policy over from sovereign national banks to the European Central Bank (ECB) (Goksel 2004). There are a significant number of other trade blocs (customs unions, common markets, monetary unions) across the globe, such as NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) or the SAARC (South American Association for Regional Cooperation), which operate under similar conditions. These are symptoms and perpetuators of globalisation, all of which represent a diminishment of the economic independence of nation-states. In the 20th century there has been a blossoming of trade blocs, but it should be noted that they go back long before the era of modern globalisation, with the first probably being the 13th-century Hanseatic League (Milner 2002). Large political collectives have had a significant effect on the role of the nation-state in other respects. The stateââ¬â¢s role in the globalised world often now includes broader, international objectives focused on sweeping environmental, social, economic or other concerns (Evans 1997). The EU has a budget to which member states must contribute, which further reduces the economic sovereignty of participating nation-states (Wolf 2001; Holton 2011; G oksel 2004). Likewise, groups such as the G7, G8, and G20, which consist of the largest economies in the world, impose new obligations on nation-states, related to issues such as energy consumption, ozone depletion, or acid rain, among others (Goksel 2004). Some of obligations date back many decades, such as the United Nationsââ¬â¢ (UN) Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 1948. The importance of supranational political actors in particular can perhaps best be seen in the security sphere. Historically, the defence of the populous has been one of the central roles of the nation-state, and to certain extent the main justification for its power (Held 1998; Held and McGrew 1998). It is noted by Strange (1997) that this obligation has largely been removed in some cases from the hands of individual nations, which rely instead on multilateral agreements. As Goksel (2004: 2) puts it, ââ¬ËArmies are often kept not so much to enforce terr itorial claims or to extend them, but rather to maintain civil order.ââ¬â¢ The stateââ¬â¢s role in providing defence has been altered in order to allow it to fit into a new system of global defence agreements. The traditional military role of the nation-state, which focused on ââ¬Ëthe acquisition, employment and use of military force to achieve national goalsââ¬â¢, has been abandoned in many cases today (Held 1998: 226). In a certain sense this is fitting because there are now many global security concerns, such as terrorism, that require multilateral cooperation in matters of intelligence gathering. This has diminished the traditional role of the nation-state in guiding its own defence policy, but in some cases it has enhanced its position. For example, Hobsbawm (2007: 137) believes that by exaggerating the terrorist threat American has been ââ¬Ëinventing enemies that legitimise the expansion and use of its global powerââ¬â¢. Globalisation has perhaps expanded and diminished the security role of the nation-state, depending on where one looks. In either case, however, there has been change. There is also a cultural argument to be considered. The nation-state has been an important locus of identity for individuals and communities for centuries. How long exactly is a matter of fierce controversy, and this topic has divided IR (international relations) scholars into three dominant schools: the primordialists, the ethnosymbolists (e.g., Smith 1987, 1995, 2009), and the modernists (e.g., Hobsbawn 1990; Anderson 1983; Gellner 1983). In any case, it is argued by modernists such as Hobsbawm (1990) that the nation-stateââ¬â¢s role as a cultural and social identifier is gradually being eroded as supranational alternatives emerge. This is supported by the fact that in a globalised society flows of information and ideas are rapid, unpredictable, and unrestricted by national boundaries. Platforms such as the internet, for example, are the great facilit ators of new forms of indentify that chip away at the traditional position of the nation-state (Hobsbawm 1990). It is not universally accepted, however, that the role of the nation-state has changed in the globalised world. There has been particular criticism of the idea that globalisation might lead to the ââ¬Ëend of the nation-stateââ¬â¢ or otherwise drastically diminish its role, arguments synonymous with the modernist school of International Relations (e.g., Evans 1997; Strange 1997; Ohmae 1995; Hobsbawm 1990; Gellner 1983). Holton (2011) argues that nation-states are still the most important of the actors in the global sphere, despite the influence of supranational organisations. For Holton, it is simply the case that the role of the nation-state has to be reframed in global terms. He does, however, acknowledge that some have experienced a curtailment of their economic and political role through a lack of bargaining power, as the cases of the budgetary crisis in EU member states, such as Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain, reveal. Hirst and Thompson (1996) do not believe that any trend towards a more globalised world (something they are sceptical of in the first place) has had a significant impact on the nation-state. They note that while decisions are often passed on to multinational bodies, it falls to individual countries to make decisions within this framework. One might argue, however, that arguments such as this underestimate the independence of self-contained, highly secretive governing bodies such as the European Commission. Hirst and Thompson (1996) are particularly critical of the suggestion that globalisation has diminished the role of the nation-state, contending instead that the enhanced ââ¬Ëpossibilities of national and international governanceââ¬â¢ have actually strengthened it. Gilpin (2000) takes a similar line, arguing that many of the changes in the role of the nation-state cannot be attributed to increasing globalisation. Rather, they are part of a pattern dating back to before WWI when the Gold Standard was in place. Indeed, the Gold Standard is a relic of the pre-globalisation world, yet it stripped the state of currency control nearly to the same extent as modern monetary unions (Gilpin 2000). Through this lens, the ââ¬Ëstate may be reverting to its 19th-century role in the economyââ¬â¢, which suggests that many of the changes seen today would be equally operative in the ââ¬Ëpre-globalisationââ¬â¢ world. Goksel (2004) argues that although globalisation has changed the role of the nation-state, it is important not to view this as something that was guaranteed to happen. In this sense he argues against the ââ¬Ëdeterministic approachââ¬â¢ of scholars such as Strange (1997). This is valid observation with reference to certain elements of globalisation, and it is true that in theory no nation-state is obliged to submit powers to supranational organisations. However, it is not valid wi th regard to issues such as the dissemination of technology, where the role of the state in controlling national information was always going to be diminished as the world become more globalised. Goksel (2004: 11) also points to the fact that in a very basic way the role of the nation-state has remained the same as ââ¬Ëthere are structural obstacles to the withering away of the state. Votes have to be cast somewhere, taxes have to be paid to particular authorities, which can be held accountable for public services such as education and health. Moreover, states continue to create a regulatory environment for their economies.ââ¬â¢ Arguments such as these highlight the importance of not overstating the case for globalisation as a force for change. In conclusion, the role of the nation-state has been reformed by the globalised world. There are a few possible exceptions to this, such as the highly insular North Korea, but such cases are anomalies. In economic terms, there has been a tendency either for the state to lose power to supranational bodies, or to have it eroded by global forces largely beyond its control. The same is true of the political sphere, in which nation-states have generally found their freedoms curtailed by wider forces, or in some cases extended due to advantageous positioning within multinational organisations, such as is the case with the United States and the UN. Nevertheless, there has been an element of structural consistency in the role of nation-states insofar as they are still the predominant actors in international politics, and most of the functions of supranational and other bodies rely on them. The nation-state remains indispensible and arguments that suggest its demise are overstated. The boundaries of this debate, however, are far from fixed, as the proposed legislation related to corporations and the Trans-Pacific Partnership demonstrates. No doubt it is too early to predict the future of the nation-state in the globalised world, but it has certainly undergone change so far. Word count: 1986 Reference List: Al-Rodhan, R.F. Nayef and Stoudmann, G. (2006). Definitions of Globalization: A Comprehensive Overview and a Proposed Definition http://www.sustainablehistory.com/articles/definitions-of-globalization.pdf [Retrieved 06/01/2014] Carter, Z. (2012) Obama Trade Document Leaked, Revealing New Corporate Powers and Broken Campaign Promises. Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/13/obama-trade-document-leak_n_1592593.html [Retrieved 05/01/2014] Cerny, P. G. (1995) Globalisation and the Changing Logic of Collective Action, International Organization, 49 (4), pp. 595-625 Croucher, S. L. (2004) Globalization and Belonging, Lanham, Md.: Rowman &? Littlefield. Evans, P. (1997) The Eclipse of the State?: Reflections on Stateness in an Era of Globalisation, World Politics, 50, pp. 62-87 Gellner, E. (1983) Nation and Nationalism, Blackwell: Oxford Gilpin, R. (2000) The Challenge of Global Capitalism, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press Goksel. N. K. (2004) Globalisation and the State, Centre for Strategic Research http://sam.gov.tr/globalisation-and-the-state/ [Retrieved 06/01/2014] Held, D. (1989) Political Theory and the Modern State, Stanford California: Stanford University Press Held, D. and McGrew, A. (1998) The End of the Old OrderReview of International Studies, 24 Hirst, P. Q. and Thompson, G. (1996) Globalisation in Question: The International Economy and the Possibilities of Governance, Cambridge: Blackwell Hobsbawm E. (1990) Nations and Nationalism since 1780, Cambridge University Press Hobsbawm, E (2007) Globalisation, Democracy and Terrorism, London: Abacus Holton, R. J. (2011) Globalization and the Nation State, (2nd ed.) Basingstoke: Palgrave, Macmillan Milner, H. V (2002) International Trade in Carlsnaes, W.; Risse, T., Simmons, B. A., Handbook of International Relations. London: SAGE Publications. Ohmae, K. (1995) The End of the Nation State: The Rise of Regional Economies, London: Harper Collins Shaw, M. (1997) The state of globalisation : towards a theory of state transformation. Review of International Political Economy, 4, 3, pp. 497-513 Smith, A. D, (2009) Ethno-symbolism and Nationalism: A Cultural Approach, Routledge Strange, S. (1997) The Erosion of the State, Current History, 96 (613), pp. 365-369 Wolf, M. (2001) Will the Nation-State Survive GlobalisationForeign Affairs, Vol. 80, 1, pp. 178-190
Monday, January 6, 2020
Saturday, December 28, 2019
Risk Management Of Public Debt In Emerging Countries Finance Essay - Free Essay Example
Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2441 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Overall objective of public debt management is to reduce the countrys fiscal vulnerability by stabilizing the debt ratio dynamics at some desirable level (Melecky 2007). The traditional approach to public debt management analyzes debt sustainability in the absence of risk. The risk management approach, in contrast, shows that risk is minimized if a debt instrument provides insurance against variations in the primary budget and the debt ratio due to uncertainty about output and inflation (Bloomenstien 2005). Donââ¬â¢t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Risk Management Of Public Debt In Emerging Countries Finance Essay" essay for you Create order Risk management, which lies at the heart of government debt management, makes crucial link between the formulation and implementation of debt management strategies (Wheeler 2004). Importance of public debt risk management as appropriate tool of debt control was confirmed by financial crises from the nineties and especially the late 2000s recession, which leave many economies worldwide, both developed and emerging, with high budget deficits and public and external debts. Managing risks associated with sovereign debt is particularly challenging in emerging market economies compared to more advanced economies due to the volatility in the macro environment, as well as the complexity of the debt structure and the underdevelopment of financial markets, which make it harder to use more advanced risk management tools (Bloomenstein 2004). More specifically, particular issues of sovereign debt risk management in EMCs include: Lack of natural stabilizers. EMCs lack the natural stabilizing structural characteristics that allow the use of effective counter-cyclical policies (Garcia and Rigobon 2004). Inefficient government bond market. Emerging debt managers often face difficulties or impossibilities to borrow in nominal terms in the domestic currency in the long-run, which results in less options for fiscal adjustments and more dependency from captive lending agreements. This phenomenon is well-known as original sin (Eichengreen, Hausmann and Panizza 2002). Limitations to benefit from risk-sharing. Many emerging markets are not in the position to benefit from efficient international or domestic risk-sharing, neither to share a significant degree their risks with their creditors (Bloomenstein 2005). High risk of contingent liabilities. Emerging market economies faces high risk of contingent liabilities World Bank Study of public debt dynamics shows that the realization of (implicit and explicit) contingent liabilities contributes nearly 50% to the increase i n public debt in a sample of 21 emerging markets (Anderson 2004). 3. LITERATURE REVIEW Public debt management as the general framework of the public debt risk management has been rarely issue of academic analysis until last two decades, although it has been practiced as a part of economic policy for centuries. Early academic papers in this field were primarily dealing with debt management objectives. Tobin (1963) regard government debt management primarily as a tool for macroeconomic stabilisation, with minimisation of interest costs coming secondary. Baro (1979) recommended tax smoothing as government debt objective, claiming that, if there is a sharp rise in government expenditure during a recession, this should not be compensated with tax increases, but rather be absorbed by a temporary deterioration of the budget balance. Consideration of tax smoothing as debt management objective became first mainstream line of academic reasoning about public debt governance and open the discussion on the issue of optimal debt structure that should provide a hedge against mac roeconomic shocks to the government budget, that is, by choosing a portfolio of securities with returns that co-vary negatively with government consumption and positively with the tax base and, thus, output (Lucas and Stokey, 1983; Barro, 1995; Bohn, 1990; Missale, 1997). Licandro and Masoller (2000) provide analytical solution for the optimal debt structure. Due to the Stabilization and Growth Pact that was introduced to European Monetary Union, budget deficit of member countries has been limited to 3%, thus Missale (2000) set the analytical solution for the optimal debt structure stating budget deficit to GDP as objective function. In general, budget stabilization or tax smoothing approach provides important insights in decision making process in public debt management and emphasized importance of the correlation matrix between key macroeconomic variables like inflation, GDP growth and interest and exchange rates for the optimization of debt structure. However, tax smoothing ap proach as public debt management objective was criticized in terms of their practical accuracy. Alesina, Roubini and Cohen (1997) argue that debt managers ignore the budget stabilisation approach because budgetary policy is not driven by tax smoothing motives. They claim that governments put up with the welfare losses caused by tax rate fluctuations. De Haan and Wolswijk (2005) attribute the lack of practical application of the budget stabilisation approach to the fact that countries find it difficult to investigate how the various macroeconomic variables affect the debt costs and the balance. Furthermore, it is not known what shocks (demand or supply shocks) a country may expect. As a result, it is practically impossible to determine the right hedge for the budget balance in advance. Additional critics that could be addressed to this approach is that it says little about exposure of debt portfolio to risk and costs of debt. New mainstream line of academic reasoning has started a t the beginning of the century, when Sweden Debt Management Office (Bergstrom and Holmlund, 2000) introduced new approach to debt management that set minimization of debt costs an objective of public debt management and employs stochastic process modeling in order to capture stochastic nature of risk factors. Power to the rise of new approach was given by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which Guidelines for the Public Debt Management, issued in 2001, states that the main objective of public debt management is to ensure that the governments financing needs and its payment obligations are met at the lowest possible cost over the medium to long run, consistent with a prudent degree of risk. In practical sense, it means that governments should look for such debt structure that minimize potential loss of adverse shocks and market movements by efficient management of the risks. Additionally, Guidelines clearly stated six types of the risk that governments should manage . Cost minimization approach was widely accepted by debt management authorities worldwide and included as public debt management objective in associated strategies (Wheeler, 2004, pp. 14-15). Correspondingly, large number of academic papers dealing with minimization of a government loss function based on numerical approach has emerged. According to Melecky (2007), recent numerical approaches can be broadly grouped regarding the indicators they produce: Cost at risk (CaR) approach. The main indicator of interest that concerns this group is the CaR measure, whereby cost is typically measured as a ratio to GDP. The standard parts of the simulation the CaR computation is a framework simulating the paths of the underlying economic financial variables which are modeled using usual approaches like term structure modeling of interest rates (Bodler 2002, 2003) or autoregressive modeling of stochastic variables (Bergstrom and Holmlund, 2000). Default probability based on specified go vernments debt-to-GDP default ratio. This approach again uses simulated paths of economic variables and the debt structure to compute the corresponding government debt-to-GDP ratios, but switch the focus from CaR computation to sustainability of debt, using different stochastic modeling approach like Vector Autoregression models (Garcia and Rigobon, 2004) or system of Brownian motion (Xu and Ghezzi, 2004). Default probability based on a distress barrier. This approach work with an explicit measure of sovereign credit risk derived from a contingent claim analysis (Gapen, Gray, Limand Xiao (2005), Gray, Merton and Bodie (2005)) The first comprehensive research that discusses issues of risk management of public debt was conducted by the Organization for the Economic Cooperation and Development (2005), comprising both theoretical advances in the area and debt management authorities practices. However, this research encompasses mostly industrialized countries, paying a little atten tion to the developing and EMCs. Issues of risk management of public debt in emerging market countries still remain insufficiently covered field, although it has been argued that there is significant difference between volatility of macro variables between developed and emerging economies (Bloomenstein and Santiso, 2007). 4. RESEARCH GOALS Structure and level of government portfolio is driven by the government borrowing requirements, which are results of the broader fiscal and monetary policy of the country. Once the borrowing requirements are determined, the question that arises is whether risk management tools, which have been broadly used by business financial institutions like commercial banks or investments fund, could be efficiently applied to the public debt portfolio in order to minimize its costs. The main issue of the thesis is to assess the efficiency of the risk management approach to the mitigation of risk of public debt and the predictability of public debt costs and government loss. Tools for measurement of risk exposure of the public debt are considered and compared in order to investigate whether they could capture complexity of macro environment in EMCs. Then, dynamic modeling of the government loss function is analyzed trough the simulation models to assess robustness of the loss paths to the ad verse market movements. Further, contribution of the risk management approach to the optimization of the debt structure toward insurance of long-term sustainability and identification of appropriate instruments that should be used to hedge risk exposures is investigated. The major research questions based on general research framework are: Which measurement of the risk exposure is more appropriate to use for the assessment of the public debt riskiness? Does risk management approach to public debt management lead to the efficient cost-risk optimization of public debt portfolio? Which types of risks are mostly mitigated by application of risk management approach? Is it possible to structure public debt portfolio to be robust against shocks of supply or demand or sharp changes in interest and exchange rates? Do financial derivatives contribute to the mitigation of public debt risks? The following working hypotheses, which could be amended or refuted in the research process, are derived from the research questions: Risk measure based on VaR approach efficiently capture market risk of government portfolio loss. Application of VaR approach to the dynamic modeling of government loss is more efficient than Vector Autoregression Model (VAR) approach in terms of explanatory power. Optimal structure of the public debt lies at the efficient frontier reflecting risk-cost trade-off. Interest rate, exchange rate and rollover risks are successfully mitigated by risk management tools. Mitigation of operational risks and contingent liability risks are not affected by risk management tools. Maturity of the debt is affected by use of the interest or currency swaps as hedge instruments. The analysis will contribute both to the academic and economic policy fields. Within the academic field, it will give deeper insight how correlations between key macroeconomic variables, original sin and limited choice of market instruments and limited use of the financial instruments affect the efficient applicability of risk management tools to public debt management. Further, it contributes to the public debt offices of the EMCs, which have recognized the importance of the introduction of more sophisticated tools for quantification of the public debt risk. 5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The research design follows the deductive approach, starting with the review of the existing theoretical and empirical work as a basis for the operationalization of the hypotheses. In the second stage of the research, hypotheses are empirically tested; nature of the research hypotheses does not require collecting of primary data, thus for the empirical testing only secondary data provided by the relevant financial institutions and statistical offices are considered. In the theoretical part of the research, two sources of literature will be primary used. First, key academic papers published in renowned journals such as Journal of Political Economy, American Economic Review or Journal of Monetary Economics, on the subject of public debt management are reviewed. However, due to the relatively recent origins of the academic, review of already published academic papers is accompanied with numerous working papers which are still under the consideration of the expert public. Second, as the field of public debt is inevitably connected with economic policy practice, large number of public debt strategies, reports and policy papers issued by countrys debt offices and international organizations like World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and Bank for International Settlements is reviewed to complete theoretical and practical advances in the research field. The empirical part of the project starts with the descriptive analysis of secondary data on public debt and other macroeconomic parameters of EMCs. Relevant database will consists of monthly time series of necessary variables. Primarily source of the data will be International Monetary Fund and World Bank statistical data, accomplished with data of national banks and country statistical offices. The central part of the empirical research will be based on the regression analysis and Value-at-Risk analysis. Regarding the time horizons, analysis is longitu dinal, as it is imposed by the nature of the proposed analytical tools. The dependent variable which is modeled is cost of public debt as a measurement of government risk of loss. Independent variables include all macroeconomic variables grounded as relevant by the existing theory subjected to public debt management, as real GDP, public sector borrowing requirements, inflation, interest rates, country risk and exchange rates. In addition, Monte Carlo models are employed to simulate the dynamic of the debt costs, and back testing analysis is used to assess efficiency of the proposed model. Selected countries for the empirical analysis are Hungary, Poland and Czech which are widely recognized as the European EMCs by the world most prominent financial analytic entities. Focus of the empirical research on the only European countries, although practical in the term of data availability, diminish the power of generalization that is implied by deductive approach. However, the conclusion s of the research will be representative for the other emerging economies from the Central and Eastern Europe, regarding the similarity of transition character of their economies. 6. STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS Beside the introduction and conclusion chapters, Thesis consists of two parts, theoretical and empirical. Problem background, research framework and structure of the thesis are presented in the introduction. Theoretical part is divided in three chapters, each dealing with the critical review of the important findings of the existing literature. First chapter deals with the foundations of public debt management as general framework for the managing of the costs and risks of government finance. Second chapter defines risk management tools and discuss the role and various application of them within the public debt management framework. Third chapter analysis previously mentioned specific issues of public debt related to the EMCs. Empirical part consists of four chapters. First chapter gives cross-country analysis of the EMCs public debt risk management policy practices. Second chapter deals with the development of the hypothesis based on the overall literature review from the first part, supported with the findings for the investigated EMCs countries. Third chapter presents methodology, data and limitations of the research. Fourth chapter presents findings of the analysis in line with their critical discussion and implications. Conclusion part gives the comprehensive summary of the most important findings of the thesis and recommendations for the further research issues.
Friday, December 20, 2019
The Moral Distinction Between Civil And Political Rights
Maurice Cranston on the moral distinction between civil/political rights and social/economic rights. ââ¬Å"economic, social and cultural rights have been seen as requiring high levels of investment, while civil and political rights are said simply to require the State to refrain from interfering with individual freedoms. It is true that many economic, social and cultural rights sometimes require high levels of investmentââ¬âboth financial and humanââ¬âto ensure their full enjoyment. However, economic, social and cultural rights also require the State to refrain from interfering with individual freedoms, for instance trade union freedoms or the right to seek work of oneââ¬â¢s choosing. Similarly, civil and political rights, although comprising individual freedoms, also require investment for their full realization. For example, civil and political rights require infrastructures such as a functioning court system, prisons respecting minimum living conditions for prisoners, legal aid, free and fair elections, and so on.â⬠Civil/Political rights: safety and justice, no discrimination or oppression. Physical and mental integrity. Social/Economic rights: right to work, paid vacation, welfare. Rights of a certain group of people Disagree on values ââ â no universalism doesnââ¬â¢t make sense Strong/weak duties with harm/sacrifice the state typically has todo something in order to protect rights. No police, no property Cranston thinks that the rights in the UDHR on the civil-political list fall on theShow MoreRelatedAre There Any Natural Rights?1143 Words à |à 5 PagesPatrick Hart in the text ââ¬Å"Are there Any Natural Rights?â⬠argues, that if there are any moral rights, then there exists at least one natural right, the equal right of all men being free. 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Moral judg-mentRead MorePolitical and Economic Liberalism1666 Words à |à 7 PagesPolitical liberalism emphasizes the social contract, in which citizens make the laws and they all agree to abide by those laws. It is supported on the belief that individuals know what is best for them. Political liberalism grants political representation to all adult citizens regardless of sex, race, or financial status. It highlights the ââ¬Å"rule of lawâ⬠and favors liberal democracy. It works on the principle that individuals are the foundation of rules and civilization. Furthermore, society andRead MoreThe Classical Liberalism Theory1016 Words à |à 5 Pagesbeliefs: All human beings have intrinsic dignity and worth, all individuals have intrinsic natural rights; including right to live, liberty, pursuit of happiness, and property ownership, social arrangements and governments are human constructs; their justification is the establishment of order, to promulgate justice, and to guard and enhance natural rights. Despite the fact that human being are equal in rights and dignity, our disparity in talents, interests and other qualities is a valid and essentialRead MoreThe Civil Rights Movement Essay1624 Words à |à 7 Pages The Civil Rights Movement lead nonviolently by Martin Luther King in the 1960s is an important era to examine when analyzing the extent to which the ideology of Carl Schmitt remains relevant to domestic conflict outside of the interwar period. 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The work of Locke focusses on establishing civil society, choice of leadership and right of the people to resist oppressionRead MoreShould Laws Protect Individual Liberty or Benefit Civil Society1716 Words à |à 7 PagesJurisprudence explores what would be the simplest manifestation of law so as to create a civil society society where both individual liberty and normative goals are practiced. Should the the aim of law be primarily centered on the protection of individual liberty or, instead, the normative goals geared toward the benefit of of civil society? The laws in any society ought to not be centered on normative goals it ought to conjo intly defend individual liberty. The current approach by the legal systemRead MoreMartin Luther King s Letter From The Birmingham Jail1710 Words à |à 7 Pagesfrom the Birmingham Jailâ⬠addresses the issue of individual civil rights. In the context of the racially segregated south, Martin Luther King argues that civil rights are not being protected for the power minority. An oppressed group has their civil rights unprotected and thus are marginalized; an oppressed individual does not have equal civil rights to an oppressed individual and it is this difference that creates the distinction between the oppressed and unoppressed. King mentions examples of howRead MoreIndividualism1503 Words à |à 7 PagesEnterprise, an the pursuit of Profit. Or Synonyms of Individuals are Independence, Self Direction, Self Reliance, free thinking, Free though, Orginallity. Individualism Individual is the moral stance, Political Philosophy, Ideaology, or Social outlook that enfaces the moral worth of the individual. Individualist promote the exercises of oneââ¬â¢s m goalââ¬â¢s desire and so value Independence Self reliance evocate that interest of the individual should achieve precedence over theRead MoreThe Social Contract ( P153-224 ) Essay1275 Words à |à 6 Pagesmeant to act as a response to the problem to which the social contract is supposed to be the viable solution. According to him the ill-favoured state of circumstances that exist in the contemporary societies are laid out in his account of the moral and political progression of human beings from the peaceful and utopian time of the state of nature where there was equality amongst men to the conditions of inequality, competition and conflict that the contemporary societies suffer from. Consequently in
Thursday, December 12, 2019
Business Law Trade Clauses Inemployment
Question: Discuss about the Business Law for Trade Clauses Inemployment. Answer: 1. Issue The basic issues that originate from the given factual situations are: Whether there is a valid contract between the father and Richard? Whether Richard has any right in law against his father for weekly allowance? Law The above two issues can only be resolved when the basic elements which govern the formation of a valid contract can be analyzed. In Australia, the law of contract governs the elements which are required for the establishment of a valid contract. The law specifies that when an offer is made by an offeror is accepted along with consideration and the parties are capable and have legal intent to abide by the contract, then, a contract is said to be formulated. Thus, from the above definition, the basic elements which are required for the formation of a valid contract are: (The Law Handbook 2016) Offer An offeror is the person who initiates an offer. The intention of the offeror to do or not to any act when communicated to another person (offeree) with a hope of approval, then, such communication is called an offer. An offer must be made by an offeror and must be communicated to an offeree to be valid. An offer can be oral or written and can be made to one person or to the world at large Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co (1893). However, an offer is only valid when it is clear and without any ambiguity. An unclear offer has no relevance in law (Payne v Cave (1789). (Clark, 2012) Acceptance When the offeror by complying all the legal principles makes a valid offer to an offeree, then, if such an offeree gives his assent to the same, then, it is called an acceptance Latec FinanceLtdv Knight(1969). A valid acceptance only exists when it is made by an offeree to an offeror. An acceptance without the knowledge of an offer is no acceptance. Also, an acceptance must correspond to an offer in order to be valid and binding. (Gillies, 2004). Once an offer and acceptance is made then it results in the formation of agreement which when coupled with capacity, intention and consideration makes a valid contract. Capacity of the parties when a valid offer and acceptance is made by the parties, then, in order to make a valid contract it is necessary that the promises which are exchanged must be made by the parties who are capable to exchange the promises. The parties are capable when they are mentally stable, not unsound and have attained that majority age, that is, they are eighteen years of age Re Walker(1950). If the parties are not capable as per the law of the land, then, the mutual exchange of promises by such parties are not valid and the contracts made by such parties has no relevance in law and makes the contract voidable. But, if a minor enters into a contract with another party and the basis of the contract is for the necessity of the minor of for the benefit of the minor if for the employment of the minor, then, in such cases, the contract are considered to be valid and cannot be rescinded. Such contracts have legal sanctity in law ((De Francesco v Barnum(1890) Nash v. Inman (1908). (Moles Sangha 1998). Intention to create legal relations The offeror and offeree when makes an offer and acceptance respectively, then, it is a settled law that such exchange of promises are binding upon the parties only when such promises are made with a legal intention, if there is absence of legal intent then there is no contractual relationship between the parties even when all the other contractual elements are present (Ermogenousv Greek Orthodox Community of SA Inc (2002). Normally when a contract is of commercial nature then the parties are assumed to be legally intent whereas in domestic relationship the legal intent is absent Air Great Lakes Pty Ltd v KS Easter (Holdings) Pty Ltd (1989). But, this general theory can be disapproved by providing evidence to establish the same. (McKendrick Liu, 2015). Consideration - when the parties makes an offer and the other parties accepts the same, then, it is very necessary that such promises must be supported by consideration (Coulls v BagotsExecutor Trustee Co Ltd. (1967). A consideration is a value in money or kind which must support the promises to make them enforceable in law. a contract without considerations are not enforceable and are gratuitous in nature. (Gillies, 2004). Thus, all the elements of contract must always be present in any contractor to make it binding. Application The analysis of law is now applied to the facts of the case. It is submitted that the father has asked Richard to keep the yard clean. The father used to hire the Gardner for the same job at $350. However, the same job is now offered to Richard at $ 200. Thus, an offer is made by the father to Richard. Richard was a poor student and in order to earn the money he agreed to the said offer. Thus, a valid acceptance is made by Richard. This exchange of offer and acceptance is supported by a valid consideration of $ 200. Also, both Richard and father are major and are of sound mind, thus, are capable to make a contract. Finally, the relationship of father and Richard are non-commercial, thus, generally there is no contract between the two. But, it is submitted that the father made an offer to Richard because he is getting the same job done at much cheaper rate and thus intent to abide by the same. Also, Richard agreed to the job because he was poor and intent o abide by the job to earn money. Thus, both the parties wish to abide by the contract legally. So there is presence of all the contractual elements to establish a valid contract between the two. Conclusion Thus, there is a valid contract between father and Richard and thus Richard can sue the father to claim his weekly allowance. 2. Issue The basic issue that originates from the given factual situation is Can Joe liable to the clause that is incorporated by Frre Bros in the employment contract? Law The application and relevance of non-compete or restrain clauses made part of the employment contract are analyzed in the given part. Clauses which limit or restrict the rights of the employee to indulge in similar kind business which is undertaken by an employer are called restrain or non-compete clauses Write v Gasweld(1991). These are the clauses which are normally relied upon the employer and are made part of the employment contract. Law has given consent to the application of non-compete clauses in employment contract upon various grounds. Such as: (Doherty, 2016). That the reason for the incorporation of the clause is to restrain the employee and such restrain is considered to be valid only when the restrain is for a particular duration which is of a certain time limit. In Smith v Nomad Modular Building Pty Ltd (2007), the court held that the basic retrain of time limit on the employees if up to one year which may be extended up to three years if there are justified reasons to support the same. However, a limitation beyond such time period is not considered to be valid unless and until there are justified reason to support the same. Likewise, a restrain is only permitted to be imposed upon the employee when it is for a specific geographical area. A restrain that an employee will never work in particular areas is not valid and cannot be imposed upon an employee in law. Whenever an employers incorporating a non-compete clauses in an employment contract then it is necessary that such clauses must protect the good will of the company (Stenhouse Australia v Phillips (1974). The basic reason for the implementation of the non-compete clause is that if the employee is permitted to indulge in the similar kind of business then it will certainly affect the goodwill of the company which is earned by the company with hard work and labor. (Gibson Fraser, 2014) Further, the clauses are considered to be very essential when such clauses protect the legitimate interest of the employer. If the clauses have no relevance to protect the interest of the employer but are only made part of the employment contract in order to harass the employee then such clauses has no relevance in law and must not be made part of the employment contract (Woolworths Limited V Mark Konrad Olson (2014) The restrain clauses are also considered to be valid when such clauses protect the confidential information of the company. It is many a times analyzed that if the employee is permitted to indulge in similar kind of business without any time or place restrain, then, such an employee uses the relevant information which is acquire by such an employee while working for his ex-employee (AGA Assistance Australia Pty Ltd v Tokody (2012). And such information is used by the employee for his own benefit which not only hampers the confidentiality of the company but also affects the goodwill of the company in the market. (Hopgood Ganim 2016) Thus, because of the above laid down reasons, it is very necessary that the incorporation of restrain or non-compete clauses are considered to be valid. However, It is not always that the restrain clauses are considered to be valid. Many a times, if it is found that the incorporation of the clauses has breached the public policy or have hampered the legitimate interest of the employee or is of such a lengthy duration that affects the employee in every regard without justifications from the employer, then, in such situations, the clauses are considered to be invalid in nature Nordenfeldt v Maxim Nordenfeldt Guns and Ammunition Company (1894). (Mayor 2016) If the employer has to rely on the clause then it is very necessary him to prove that that application of clauses is very necessary for his legitimate interest. Otherwise the clause has no relevance in law. The law is now applied to the facts of the case. Application Frre Bros and Joe have entered into an employment clauses according to which Frre Bros is an employer and Joe is appointed by Frre Bros. Frre Bros has employed Joe to his acting services for a period of five long years. The employment contract also contains clauses that if Joe undertakes any acting project with any other company apart from Frre Bros, then, the contract is considered to be violated. However, Joe violated this restrain clause of the employment contract and made a contract with Pretty Picture. It is submitted that the contract with five long year restrain is very lengthy and if Frre Bros wants to rely on the same then it is very necessary for Frre Bros to prove that the clause is required to protect its legitimate interest and confidentially of the company. Otherwise, the clause is not valid and is not imposed upon the parties. Conclusion It is thus concluded, that the restrain clauses made part of the employment contract by Frre Bros is only considered to be valid when the clauses protects the legitimate interest, confidentiality and goodwill of Frre Bros. otherwise, Joe can avoid the clauses as the same is for a very long duration and thus hampers Joes legitimate interest and is against public policy. Reference List Brown M (2016) non-compete clause https://www.mayerbrown.com/files/uploads/Documents%5CGuide%20to%20Restrictive%20Covenants/MB_rest_cov_asia.pdf. [Viewed on 11th September 2016]. Clark, J. (2012). Australian Contract Law. Agreement. (online). Available at: https://www.australiancontractlaw.com/law/formation-agreement.html. [Viewed on 20th September 2016]. Doherty, JC. (2016) Non-compete and restraint oftradeclauses inemploymentcontracts (online). Available at: https://www.fglaw.com.au/non-compete-employment/. [Viewed on 20th September 2016]. Gillies, P. (2004). Business law. Federation Press. Gibson, A Fraser, D. (2014) Business Law 2014. Pearson Higher Education AU. Hopgood Ganim (2016) Non-compete Clause (online). Available at: https://www.hopgoodganim.com.au/page/Publications/Industrial_and_Employment_Law_Alert_Recent_court_case_provides_clues_to_successfully_enforcing_non-compete_restraint_obligations_-_31_Aug_2012/. [Viewed on 20th September 2016]. Moles Sangha (1998) consideration (online). Available at: https://netk.net.au/Contract/04Consideration.asp. [Viewed on 20th September 2016]. McKendrick, E Liu, Q. (2015). Contract Law:Australian Edition. Palgrave Macmillan The law HandBook (2016) Elements of contract (online). Available at: https://www.lawhandbook.org.au/07_01_02_elements_of_a_contract/. [Viewed on 20th September 2016]. Case laws Air Great Lakes Pty Ltd v KS Easter (Holdings) Pty Ltd (1989). AGA Assistance Australia Pty Ltd v Tokody (2012). Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co (1893). Coulls v BagotsExecutor Trustee Co Ltd. (1967). De Francesco v Barnum(1890). Ermogenousv Greek Orthodox Community of SA Inc (2002). Latec FinanceLtdv Knight(1969). Nash v. Inman (1908). Nordenfeldt v Maxim Nordenfeldt Guns and Ammunition Company (1894). Payne v Cave (1789). Re Walker (1950). Smith v Nomad Modular Building Pty Ltd (2007). Stenhouse Australia v Phillips (1974). Write v Gasweld(1991). Woolworths Limited V Mark Konrad Olson (2014).
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