Since the EPZ was set up in 1966, it has attracted foreign investment, introduced technology, opened up foreign trade and provided employment opportunities. When EPZ was first set up, it had every kind of investment-rewarding regulations, ¡§One-stop Window¡¨ administrational measures, so it could attract a lot of foreign and overseas Chinese capitals. But, after 2 years, the 68-hectare area was not enough for using. The EPZA has continuously expanded the zones up to 9 so far: the total area is about 576.81 hectares. The EPZs are export-oriented, their products are all exported, and the professions have increased step by sep, including trade, logistics and warehouses, software consulting and related industries. Its capital resources were mainly from Europe, U.S., Japan and Hong Kong, but converts into domestic mostly now, with 47.79%, the highest ratio. The Zones¡¦ industrial structure also changed from the original garments, plastics and leather with more than 55% to electronics & electric machinery with 80% the most now. The Export Processing Zone Administration (EPZA) has also coped with the era trend changes by innovating the policies and functions, such as efforts in zone transformation, deregulations, trade liberalization and industrial clustering. As the accumulations of Taiwan¡¦s capital and technology and the enormous changes both in global politics and economy, the in-zone enterprises have also changed the industrial structures and production processes, walk out the OEM shadows and walk in the ODM, so as to produce and do marketing by themselves and to expand the markets. They have transformed from labor-intensive industries of garments, plastics, leather to capital-intensive high-tech industries of IC, LCD, optics, precise tools, information software and digital content and so on. When Taiwan¡¦s producing costs are rising little by little, the enterprises form all over the world are moving to the mainland China and the booming southeastern Asian countries to reduce costs and grip the markets. It is the question how to mold the more suitable investment environment to lure the Taiwanese enterprises come back home and the foreign investment turn around to Taiwan. This study made the in-depth interviews and did the questionnaires to scholars, government agencies and the industrial circle for over 30 copies. This study also analyzes the key factors of attracting investment by AHP hierarchical analysis method. The results revealed that, firstly, the enterprises¡¦ interactions and the neighboring of customers, the benefits of industrial cluster and the completion of supply chain of down and up stream, are vital to attract investment. Secondly, the completion of the in-zone infrastructure is the most important key factor for attracting investment. Thirdly, The EPZA ¡¥s favorable measures and administrative efficiency are also the prior considering factors. This study suggested that the administration units should upgrade the functions of their in-zone administrative steps, build the modern facilities of the infrastructure and attach importance to the living functions, strengthen the cooperation between industries, governments and schools, and propagate the investment-rewarding measures offered by governments to the enterprises, so that the governments¡¦ good policies can truly do favors to the in-zone enterprises, and thus construct the zones¡¦ better investment environment and attract investment.

After gaining independence from Pakistan in 1971, the Bangladesh state moved from a mainly state-managed sector to a privatised one based on export-oriented industrialisation. Under this policy, the production of garments for export emerged in the mid-1970s to later become the most lucrative export earner for Bangladesh, underlining the fact that it has become an important world exporter of garments. In developing into the only multi-billion- dollar manufacturing export in the country, this industry has created employment for more than a million workers most of whom are young females from the impoverished rural areas of Bangladesh. This is socially significant because, for the first time, it marked the entry of Bangladeshi women into formal manufacturing employment. This thesis attempts to examine the origins and development of this export garments industry, with specific reference to the role of women workers in this process. In so it endeavours to contextualise these issues by arguing that the changes that it endeavours can be best explained according to a Marxist class analysis and by reference to a colonial history characterised by ongoing exploitation in an emerging manufacturing sector and by ongoing resistance to such exploitation by an emerging industrial workforce. Additionally, in examining the development of this industry, the thesis also sets out to show how the industry is the product of a conjuncture of forces, including an emerging capitalist class, a weak state, foreign capital and international state formations such as GATT and the ILO. / Finally, by testing some of the prevailing hypotheses in the literature that deals with third world women workers, the thesis examines the impact of this industrial development on the place of women in Bangladeshi society. More specifically, it attempts to demonstrate that, contrary to the dominant view, such workers are not necessarily passive; nor are they reluctant to engage in trade union activity. Instead, it endeavours to show that, in the case of the export garments industry in Bangladesh, the young women workers have over time learned to exercise their rights and to participate in industrial activity, largely, and ironically because the centralisation necessary for labour and quality standards has also created the conditions for the proletarianisation of the women workers.

The rapid economic development of the Asian Tigers in the 1980s, mostly based on export oriented policies, has inspired scholars to study the contribution of Export Processing Zones (EPZs) to economic transformation and countries around the world to implement EPZs with the expectation of duplicating the few success stories. The results in terms of economic and social progress of these policies have however been mixed, if not negative for number of countries, partially due to a non adaptation of the model to the changing domestic and international environment. For a developing country like Burkina Faso which has been for a long time looking for solutions to significant economic growth that impact the living conditions of its citizens, a successful export oriented strategy could pave the way to the development of its current week industrial base. However, although the business environment of Burkina Faso seems to allow the adoption of such a strategy, designing a realistic and realizable EPZ regime is a sine qua non for setting the basis of its success. Moreover, the implementation of the project is subject to a strong commitment and cooperation between the Government and external partners that need to be convinced of the worthiness of their investment.

Undeniable geopolitical significance of the Russian Far East renders development of the region a matter of national priority for the entire 21st century. Enormous untapped potential of the region is not limited to the range of possibilities offered by export of its natural resources. Developing a non-resource export potential of the Russian Far East offers a way of ensuring sustainable economic growth - a key component of regional, and national, competitive capabilities. At the core of Michael E. Porter's book "The Competitive Advantage of Nations" is a model of national competitive advantage that introduces the concept of business clusters as drivers of economy. Applying Porter's analytical framework and building on recent experience of government-driven innovative cluster development in Russia, the thesis seeks to propose an economically sound model of International Medical Education Cluster for the Russian Far Eastern Federal District. The cluster will support Russia's engagement with Asia and complement one of the world's largest and fastest growing industries - that of healthcare - by addressing one of its most acute needs, namely the growing worldwide shortage of healthcare personnel. The proposed model capitalizes on federal policy of internationalisation of Russian higher education,...

This text will take you on a journey to the Far East – Bangladesh to be more specific. Inspring 2008 I went there to find some answers to the question of wages. I wanted to know if achange in focus from minimum wages to living wages could be achievable. The question willunfortunately remain unsolved at the end of the essay. To predict the future would beimpossible. Instead three possible scenarios are presented. The likelihood of each and everyscenario is later discussed. The conclusions at the end of the essay are based on an analysis ofthe theories presented and the interviews proceeded.The starting point for the research is the relocation strategies of corporations, which areoutlined in the background chapter. This chapter also contains information about the garmentindustry in Bangladesh. The main research question is if there can be a shift from minimumwages to living wages in Bangladesh. In order to bring clarity to the question, three subquestions have been used. The first question looks into how wages are determined in theexport-oriented garment industry in Bangladesh. The second question concerns thecorporations’ responsibility for their workers. The third, and last, question addresses howcultural dimensions influence the corporations and how wages are set. To find the answers tothe sub questions I divided the research into four main topics: “Wages – Minimum and LivingWages”, “Morality, Ethics and Business Ethics”, “Employees as Stakeholders of theCompanies” and “The Cultural Dimension”. The topics are dealt with in separate chapters.The chapters contain a theoretical overview, as well as the information gathered from theinterviews.The chapters are followed by a further analysis of the empirical findings. The chapter onwages contains an in-depth explanation of the difference between minimum wages and livingwages. In the conducted study all workers were paid the minimum wage in coherence with thelaw. This wage was however much lower than what the definition of a living wage declares.Therefore many workers did over-time in order to reach a higher standard of living. Businessethics and the stakeholder theory will be used to discuss the opportunities and limitations ofthe responsibility of the corporations for their workers. The scholar Hofstede’s system ofmeasuring national cultural values will be used to look into specific cultural aspects.According to his system, Bangladesh has a high ranking in power distance, a low ranking inindividualism and a middle ranking in masculinity. These three dimensions will be discussed;both correlations and exceptions found in this study will be presented.The three possible scenarios for a change are presented in the conclusions. Firstly, theminimum wages could be changed into living wages, if the government decides on raising thewages of the garment workers. Secondly, the mentality amongst management could provide asolution to the change in focus. If managers could find advantages in paying their workersmore, it would open up for a brand new wage system. Thirdly, changes could come from theworkers themselves, through unification in the regard. This has however been valued as lesslikely to happen, because of the power distance prevailing in the country. / Program: Textilekonomutbildningen

A União Européia e os Estados Unidos são os dois maiores importadores e exportadores mundiais de produtos agroindustriais. O Brasil é um dos mais dinâmicos fornecedores mundiais destes produtos. O país detém a terceira posição no ranking dos maiores exportadores mundiais e apresenta, desde 2002, o maior superávit comercial agroindustrial do mundo. A UE e os EUA poderiam importar ainda mais se não impusessem proteções de fronteira para seus produtos sensíveis. Picos tarifários, tarifas proibitivas, escaladas tarifárias, tarifas específicas, quotas tarifárias e salvaguardas especiais são os mecanismos de proteção analisados neste trabalho. Embora dirigidas para uma minoria de produtos, essas proteções são de grande relevância para o Brasil. As barreiras tarifárias foram analisadas sob três perspectivas: (i) das relações entre as barreiras e as políticas de apoio ao setor agrícola na UE e nos EUA; (ii) da inserção dos produtos brasileiros nesses mercados e (iii) da aplicação de um modelo de equilíbrio parcial para simulação dos efeitos sobre as importações diante de cenários de redução tarifária. O modelo de equilíbrio parcial baseia-se na elasticidade-preço cruzada da demanda por importação. Foram simuladas duas situações: reduções de 50% e de 100% nas tarifas. O modelo foi executado para uma seleção de produtos que fosse, ao mesmo tempo, sensíveis para UE e EUA, e de interesse do Brasil. Os seguintes setores foram analisados: açúcar e álcool, carne bovina, carne de frango, carne suína, suco de laranja, café torrado e solúvel, óleo de soja e fumo em folhas. Os resultados agregados mostram que as importações norte-americanas cresceriam 94% em valor (US$ 4,8 bilhões) e as européias 55% (€ 3,1 bilhões) para o cenário de 100% de redução tarifária. O modelo permite concluir que, caso as proteções de fronteira fossem efetivamente reduzidas, ambos os mercados demandariam volumes significativamente maiores de produtos que são exportados pelo Brasil. Conclui-se também que acordos de livre comércio como a Área de Livre Comércio das Américas (ALCA) e o Acordo UE-Mercosul, bem como as negociações multilaterais, se promoverem a liberalização dos mercados agrícolas, trarão ganhos inegáveis de comércio para o agronegócio brasileiro. / The European Union and the United States are the two largest world importers and exporters of agricultural products. Brazil is one of the most dynamic supplier of those commodities. Among the main agricultural exporters, Brazil is the third one and, since 2002, the country has had the largest agroindustrial trade balance surplus in the world. The EU and US would import even more if they were not allowed to impose border protection on their sensitive products. Tariff peaks, prohibitive tariffs, specific tariffs, tariff escalation, tariff quotas, and especial safeguards are the mechanisms analyzed by this work. Although these restrictions protect a small amount of products, their impact is huge on Brazil. The tariffs barriers were analyzed in three perspectives: (i) of the relations between the European and North-American policies to protect their agricultural sector and the barriers imposed; (ii) of the performance of the Brazilian agricultural exports in the previously mentioned foreign markets, and (iii) concerning different tariff reduction scenarios, of the utilization of a partial equilibrium model to quantify the effects on agricultural. The partial equilibrium model is based on price elasticities of import demand with respect to domestic prices. Two tariff reduction scenarios were simulated: 50% reduction and 100% reduction. The simulation model were run for a selection of products. Only products that could be considered not only sensitive for EU and US, but also relevant for Brazilian exports were selected. Sugar and ethanol, bovine meat, poultry meat, swine meat, orange juice, roasted coffee, instant coffee, soybean oil and unmanufactured tobacco were the sectors analyzed. The aggregated results show that the US imports would increase 94% (4,8 US billion) and EU imports 55% (3,1 € billion), in the case of 100% tariff reduction. The modeling results lead to the conclusion that, in the case of effective border protection reduction, both markets would demand higher quantity of products that are exported by Brazil. If agreements between the Free Trade Area of Americas and the EU-Mercosur, as well as the multilateral negotiations, end up promoting agricultural market liberalization, Brazilian agribusiness will profit enormously in terms of its trade.

A União Européia e os Estados Unidos são os dois maiores importadores e exportadores mundiais de produtos agroindustriais. O Brasil é um dos mais dinâmicos fornecedores mundiais destes produtos. O país detém a terceira posição no ranking dos maiores exportadores mundiais e apresenta, desde 2002, o maior superávit comercial agroindustrial do mundo. A UE e os EUA poderiam importar ainda mais se não impusessem proteções de fronteira para seus produtos sensíveis. Picos tarifários, tarifas proibitivas, escaladas tarifárias, tarifas específicas, quotas tarifárias e salvaguardas especiais são os mecanismos de proteção analisados neste trabalho. Embora dirigidas para uma minoria de produtos, essas proteções são de grande relevância para o Brasil. As barreiras tarifárias foram analisadas sob três perspectivas: (i) das relações entre as barreiras e as políticas de apoio ao setor agrícola na UE e nos EUA; (ii) da inserção dos produtos brasileiros nesses mercados e (iii) da aplicação de um modelo de equilíbrio parcial para simulação dos efeitos sobre as importações diante de cenários de redução tarifária. O modelo de equilíbrio parcial baseia-se na elasticidade-preço cruzada da demanda por importação. Foram simuladas duas situações: reduções de 50% e de 100% nas tarifas. O modelo foi executado para uma seleção de produtos que fosse, ao mesmo tempo, sensíveis para UE e EUA, e de interesse do Brasil. Os seguintes setores foram analisados: açúcar e álcool, carne bovina, carne de frango, carne suína, suco de laranja, café torrado e solúvel, óleo de soja e fumo em folhas. Os resultados agregados mostram que as importações norte-americanas cresceriam 94% em valor (US$ 4,8 bilhões) e as européias 55% (€ 3,1 bilhões) para o cenário de 100% de redução tarifária. O modelo permite concluir que, caso as proteções de fronteira fossem efetivamente reduzidas, ambos os mercados demandariam volumes significativamente maiores de produtos que são exportados pelo Brasil. Conclui-se também que acordos de livre comércio como a Área de Livre Comércio das Américas (ALCA) e o Acordo UE-Mercosul, bem como as negociações multilaterais, se promoverem a liberalização dos mercados agrícolas, trarão ganhos inegáveis de comércio para o agronegócio brasileiro. / The European Union and the United States are the two largest world importers and exporters of agricultural products. Brazil is one of the most dynamic supplier of those commodities. Among the main agricultural exporters, Brazil is the third one and, since 2002, the country has had the largest agroindustrial trade balance surplus in the world. The EU and US would import even more if they were not allowed to impose border protection on their sensitive products. Tariff peaks, prohibitive tariffs, specific tariffs, tariff escalation, tariff quotas, and especial safeguards are the mechanisms analyzed by this work. Although these restrictions protect a small amount of products, their impact is huge on Brazil. The tariffs barriers were analyzed in three perspectives: (i) of the relations between the European and North-American policies to protect their agricultural sector and the barriers imposed; (ii) of the performance of the Brazilian agricultural exports in the previously mentioned foreign markets, and (iii) concerning different tariff reduction scenarios, of the utilization of a partial equilibrium model to quantify the effects on agricultural. The partial equilibrium model is based on price elasticities of import demand with respect to domestic prices. Two tariff reduction scenarios were simulated: 50% reduction and 100% reduction. The simulation model were run for a selection of products. Only products that could be considered not only sensitive for EU and US, but also relevant for Brazilian exports were selected. Sugar and ethanol, bovine meat, poultry meat, swine meat, orange juice, roasted coffee, instant coffee, soybean oil and unmanufactured tobacco were the sectors analyzed. The aggregated results show that the US imports would increase 94% (4,8 US billion) and EU imports 55% (3,1 € billion), in the case of 100% tariff reduction. The modeling results lead to the conclusion that, in the case of effective border protection reduction, both markets would demand higher quantity of products that are exported by Brazil. If agreements between the Free Trade Area of Americas and the EU-Mercosur, as well as the multilateral negotiations, end up promoting agricultural market liberalization, Brazilian agribusiness will profit enormously in terms of its trade.

The first chapter summarises basic characteristics of the export credit insurance, particularly focusing on the export credit insurance with state support. The second chapter summarises the issue of export credit insurance as a tool of export-oriented politics. The third one describes international organisations and international regulations affecting export credit insurance with state support. Tha last chapter summarises developement of export credit insurance from the beginning to the present time including contemporary economic crisis.

This thesis concerns with problematic of FX risk management in a mid-sized export-oriented company. The theoretic part of the paper explains fundamental and origin of FX risk and summarizes process of its management with emphasis on specifics of mid-sized companies. Further, selected hedging techniques and instruments are introduced. With employment of available statistics and analysis, main advantages and disadvantages of hedging are demonstrated. For practical application of theory presented, real data from mid-sized company are used. After analyzing financial and accounting statements, concrete risks arising from exchange rate volatility are identified. Finally, concrete recommendations for the management are offered, which could lead to lowering FX exposure and reducing impact of changes in exchange rates on economy of the firm.

Diploma thesis Position of Germany in the context of current economic problems of European Union is focused on characteristic of status of economy and competitiveness of Germany. This analysis will lead to the most important challenges, which will contribute in the development of current German economy and its linkage to economy of European Union. The first chapter is focused on current status of German economy from the view of main economic indicators like analysis of economic power of population, gross domestic product and business environment. The second chapter pays attention to analysis of competitiveness from the view of labour market, market of goods and services and investment position of Germany. The third chapter is starting point for the previous chapters and determines the main challenges of German economy in presence which are gaining importance to the future not only of Germany, but also of European Union. The final part of my thesis is focused on possible solutions of these challenges, that can help not only to the German economy, but also to the economy of European Union to become one of the most competitive economy of the world.