Where in the world are we today? And tomorrow?
In 2018, the EU, together with its Member States, was the third-largest development assistance donors for Vietnam, with a total amount of €425 million (18.1% of all ODA disbursements). Among many things, the EU budget has particularly been instrumental in: installing/upgrading 395 health centres,immunising at least 97% of children under 1 year of age,expanding health... Continue Reading →
The Netherlands is the most competitive country in Europe, according to the Global Competitiveness Report 2019. The country shows consistently high levels of performance in macroeconomic stability, health and infrastructure quality. The Dutch people benefit from a highly developed innovation ecosystem, supported by a highly skilled workforce, vibrant business dynamism and advanced innovation capability. The... Continue Reading →
Thanks to the EU-Korea FTA, the EU is now Korea’s third-largest trade partner and its third-largest export market (after China and the US); the EU is Korea’s second-largest import market (after China). As for FDI, the EU is the largest investor in Korea, with over 7.1 billion USD in 2019. As of 2019, EU companies... Continue Reading →
“Efficiency comes through optimal adaptation to an existing environment, while resilience requires the capacity to adapt to disruptive changes in the environment.” Efficiency and resilience have long been opposite concepts in various fields, including business management and public administration. The chart below further illustrates that the concept of sustainability could be expressed as a trade-off... Continue Reading →
As far as the European market is concerned, the New Member Countries (NMC) have significant advantages over their extra-EU competitors. This argument is based on two sets of strong evidence: (1) statistics indicating the share of imports originating from inside and outside the EU, and (2) distinct benefits that NMCs enjoy but are not attainable... Continue Reading →
Special economic zones (SEZs) are widely adopted by developing countries today. Shenzhen SEZ was one of the most successful, serving as a locomotive in economic reform of China. However, many more have failed. This essay examines the positive consequences and negative consequences of SEZs. It also investigates whether SEZs are an appropriate and efficient tool... Continue Reading →
The Pragmatic Globalist 