Advantages and Disadvantages of Free International Trade

Advantages and Disadvantages of Free International Trade    Title of Coursework (please provide whole question) 2(a) Explain why free international trade can be good for countries’ economies, and examine the attempts to reduce trade barriers in the past decade. (maximum 1,000 words) 2 (b) What negative effects might free international trade have upon countries’ economies, and why might counties adopt protectionist policies? (maximum 1,000 words)    Question 2a, Explain why free international trade can be good for countries’ economies, and examine the attempts to reduce trade barriers in the past decade. Trade is a major engine of growth, both in developed and developing countries. Correspondingly, the opening of markets to allow for free trade internationally has been cited as a key factor boosting trade and economic growth globally over the years (OECD, 1999; 2003). There are a number of theories that highlight the reasons why countries should engage in international trade, and which cons equently enhance support for the argument for free trade. These include Adam Smith’s theory of absolute advantage, the theory of comparative advantage by David Ricardo, and other more recent theories (Mankiw, 2010). The theory of comparative advantage which is one of the most popular theories advocating free trade, posits that nations should specialise in the production of goods for which they have relative/comparative advantage, and exchange them for products from other countries with relative advantage in other products (Reuvid and Sherlock, 2011). Although this theory has some flaws, one of them being that it ignores limits in international demand that may exist for the specialised outputs of some countries (Reuvid and Sherlock, 2011), it nevertheless provides a strong argument for the promotion of free trade. Beyond theoretical reasons, statistics lend further support to the benefits of engaging in international trade. Sachs and Warner (1995), in a study to determine whet her nations open to trade are more prosperous, over a period from 1970 to 1989, reported that for developed countries, the rate of growth for open economies was 2.3% per year, and compared with 0.7% for closed economies. In developing countries, the gains were even higher, with a growth rate of 4.5% for open countries, as against 0.7% for closed countries. The OECD (2003) highlights other potential benefits of removing barriers to trade. They state that removing all tariffs on merchandise trade, and reducing the costs of trade by 1% of global trade value will boost overall welfare globally by over $170 billion a year, and this could add the equivalent of up to 2% to the current GDP of some regions. Other advantages of promoting free international trade through the removal of barriers are as follows: It gives customers greater choice by making available a wider variety of products, and also access to potentially cheaper and/or better quality goods. Removing price distortions encourag es the use of resources in a way that maximises the advantages offered by a country’s strengths/resources. In developing countries, these improvements in resource allocation and increased revenue from exports contribute to the national income and increase the resources available for further investments in development. It also enhances a country’s productivity and wealth (Love and Lattimore, 2009; Reuvid and Sherlock, 2011; The Economist, 2013b). These benefits have led to considerable attempts to reduce trade barriers, some of which shall be discussed subsequently.

Dye-Sentitised Solar Cells Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Dye-Sentitised Solar Cells - Essay Example ll (DSC), and their equivalence to process of photosynthesis5 6 Figure 2: Components of DSC11 10 Figure 3: common organic dyes with their conversion efficiency in DSC6 13 Figure 4: Molecular structures of Ruthenium based inorganic dye complexes18 14 Figure 5: Structure of Ru(II) NCS complex19 15 Figure 6 Photocurrent action spectra of bipyridine and Terpyridine dye along with photocurrent response of plain TiO2 films4 15 Figure 7: General structure of main betalain dyes extracted from red turnip and wild prickly pear. 1. Betacyanin, 2. Indicaxanthin. R1 and R2 = H (betanidin) or R1= ?-D-glucose and R2= H (betanin)14 17 Figure 8 Photoaction spectra of betalains from red turnip and wild prickly pear on transparent titania19 17 Figure 9: Photoaction spectra of Bchlorin 1 and Bchlorin 224 18 Figure 10: Iodide triodide redox couple25 19 Figure 11: Spirobifluorene4 20 Figure 12: Operation principle of DSC26 20 Figure 13 Current generation in DSC, step 1 21 Figure 14: Current generation in DSC, step 2 22 Figure 15: Current generation in DSC, Step 3, light absorption 22 Figure 16: Current generation in DSC, step 4 22 Figure 17: Current generation in DSC, step 5 23 Figure 18: Current generation in DSC, step 6 23 Figure 19 : Maximum voltage in DSC25 24 Figure 20: Kinetics of DSC operation. 25 Figure 21: A: Action spectra of Energy relay dye DCM alone and in combination with near IR sensitizing dye TT1; B: Molecular structure of DCM and TT128 27 Figure 22: porphyrin chromophore linked to dye29 27 Figure 23: Photocurrent density of TiO2 nanowires photoelectrode film as a function of measured potential (IPCE spectrum in inset)2 28 Figure 24: Absorptance spectrum (?) calculated from measured diffuse reflectance (Rd) and diffuse transmittance (Td) spectra of a cellulose template dye sensitized 6Â µm thick film of titania hollow fibers. APCE (absorbed photon to current conversion efficiency calculated from IPCE plot and ? plot 30 29 Figure 25: Hybrid nanosheets31 30 Figure 26 : Spectral response of photocurrent DSCs using T2/T- and I3-/I- as the electrolyte34 31 1.0 Introduction Energy is the basic need of all economies, whether developed or developing. For the past two centuries electricity requirements have been provided mostly by fossil fuels, which have two basic limitations: being non renewable and environmentally damaging . Considering the ever increasing demand of electricity that is expected to peak in coming years1 it has become imperative to explore alternative sources of energy which are not only renewable, but also eco-friendly. Of these, use of solar energy has been found to be practical and viable. The solar energy available to

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Ethics - Essay Example This paper aims to present a case study related to an ethical dilemma and the decision suggested to solve the situation. Additionally, it shall evaluate the decision from a viewpoint of utilitarianism, Kantian moral philosophy, Gandhism or Buddhism. The case study that I have selected for this paper is not my personal experience, but it pertains to one of my first cousin, Liana, who has been working as a journalism professor for many years. She has a good experience in her field and possesses a strong command over the subject (writing and sub-editing) as she has been teaching the subject in different institutions and also, holds a Masters degree in the subject. She is quite friendly and has always told me about her teaching ways and behavior that one must have with students in the class. She has always taught her students by maintaining a friendly environment and has always made herself available to help students with their problems within class or outside the class. She has develope d a good understanding with all students, and she has always intended to remain cooperative with them for their academic matters. Last year, at the end of the semester, she gave an assignment to all her students of reviewing five articles, which was to be submitted within 25 days. A day before submission date, one of her good and obedient students named David requested her to give him two extras days to complete and submit the assignment. David did not present any suitable reason for requesting an extension in the submission time. Thus, despite the fact that he was good student and always submitted his work on time, Liana did not grant him the permission to submit assignment after the submission day. For Liana, this situation was quite challenging and she considered this as an ethical dilemma for her as she was quite confused with her own decision. But, being loyal with the profession and honest with all other students of the class, unwillingly she decided not to grant him with extr a time. However, on the day of submission she received assignments from all students including David. She was happy that he had completed his work on time and she appreciated him in the class, but she noticed that he did not respond her properly. She was confused again and decided to check David's assignment before she can further comment on or think about this situation. Upon checking his assignment, she noticed that he had submitted plagiarized work. Out of five article reviews, two were completely plagiarized, while other three article reviews were well-written without plagiarism and other mistakes. Liana has been very strict with her students regarding the issue of plagiarism in their work and her students were aware of the fact and they have always avoided plagiarism to secure good marks in assignments and avoid disciplinary actions against them. In case of David, it was hard to believe that an above average student like him can plagiarize in two reviews in this manner. For an honest and generous teacher like Liana, it was an ethical dilemma to decide whether she should fail David in his assignment like she has done it before for all those who have submitted plagiarized work or she should give David marks on those three articles that he has completed without plagiarism. In this case, she was recalling David's request for granting him more time to complete the given assignment, but