https://research-methodology.net Necessary knowledge to conduct a business research Fri, 10 Feb 2023 13:22:11 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://rm-15da4.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-logoBRM-32x32.jpg https://research-methodology.net 32 32 https://research-methodology.net/destructive-impacts-of-colonialism-on-chinas-slow-growth-of-output-per-person-between-the-1840s-and-the-1940s/ Tue, 13 Dec 2016 04:04:34 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=8963 This essay critically analyses the level of destructive impact of colonialism on China’s growth output between the 1840s and the 1940s. The essay contains the contrast of opposite arguments regarding the topic and supports the argument confirming destructive impact of colonialism on China’s growth output between the 1840s and the 1940s by providing relevant and valid justifications. A study of economic history can provide valuable knowledge to economic theorists and practitioners in terms of dealing with economic challenges of present and the future. An in-depth analysis of factors causing the level of economic growth to slow down in particular is necessary so that these factors can be dealt with to fuel economic prosperity in any given region. Colonialism can be defined as “the control or governing influence of a nation over a dependent country, territory, or people” (Colonialism, online, 2016). While forming new colonies may prove to be a profitable strategy for powerful countries in many levels, economies that become victim to colonialism experience a set of substantial economic and social setbacks such as loss of sovereignty in terms of using economic resources, and negative impact upon cultural identity. The essay starts with assessing the level of China’s economic growth between the 1840s and the 1940s providing evidences why it was slow for this specific period. This is followed by discussions of colonialism and its negative impacts on the level of China’s economic growth between the 1840s and the 1940s. In order to adhere to the specified word limit for this essay political implications of colonialism are not addressed in this essay, and the main focus have been made on effects of colonialism on national economics using the case study of China. Moreover, an alterative viewpoint on the issue is also explored in this essay by assessing the impact of…]]> https://research-methodology.net/an-analysis-of-the-world-bank-approach-to-reducing-global-poverty/ Fri, 02 Dec 2016 02:31:42 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=8949 Rapid technological development during the last several decades coupled with a series of breakthroughs in information technology has immensely contributed to the development of national economies for a wide range of countries with positive implications on standards of life of people. At the same time, global poverty still remains one the most pressing issues with almost half of the world – more than 3 billion people living on less than $2.50 a day (Shah, 2016, online). The issue of global poverty is periodically addressed by a set of organisations such as World Bank, One International, WHO, CARE and others, as well as, within the framework of The Group of Twenty (G20) forum. This article represents a critical assessment of the role of World Bank in particular in dealing with global poverty. The article starts with the general discussions about the World Bank and its current contribution in eliminating global poverty. This is followed by analysis of criticism of World Bank performance in dealing with global poverty. Moreover, this article identifies potentials for World Bank to deal with global poverty more effectively. The World Bank Group is an international financial institution that pursues its mission of ‘Help Reduce Poverty’ with the participation of 188 countries. The World Bank Group consists of five organisations that are The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), The International Development Association (IDA), The International Finance Corporation (IFC), The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Each of these organisations contributes to World Bank mission in a unique way. It is important to clarify that generally the term ‘World Bank’ refers to only IBRD and IDA, and these two organisations along with IFC, MIGA, and ICSID are incorporated within the World Bank Group. Within the scope of this…]]> https://research-methodology.net/the-collapse-of-the-soviet-union-major-reasons-and-implications/ Mon, 30 May 2016 10:47:57 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=7807 Introduction Described as the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century by the current president of Russia Vladimir Putin (BBC, 2005, online), the collapse of the Soviet Union has caused profound changes in global political and economic affairs, impacting the lives of hundreds of millions of people. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) has been formed in 1922 and it has enjoyed the culmination of its influence in the global scale following its victory in World War Two within the period from mid 1960s to mid 1980s being able to send the first man to the outer space in 1961 and achieving relative stability in the standard of life of member state citizens. Initially, Soviet Union comprised only six member states in 1922 – Russian, Ukrainian, Byelorussian, Azerbaijan, Georgian and Armenian Soviet Socialist Republics; however its size has been gradually increased during the following two decades until 1941 to reach the numbers of member states to 15 through expanding into Central Asia and Balkan states. Nevertheless, due to the range of reasons discussed below the existence of USSR came to its end officially in 1991. Although more than two decades have passed since the collapse of the USSR this topic is regularly explored in academic levels due to its importance and impact to the formation of present geo-political situation. This essay attempts to analyse the major reasons and implications of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Economic, cultural, social and political factors contributing to the collapse of the Soviet Union are discussed in this essay and implications of this event on regional level for former USSR blog countries, as well as, on the global landscape are assessed. Economic factors contributing to the collapse of the Soviet Union Assessment of economic factors that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union…]]> https://research-methodology.net/foreign-aid-and-growth-in-africa/ Wed, 25 May 2016 04:31:51 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=7762 Introduction Foreign aid can be defined as “any action by a government or citizen of one country, which helps to promote economic development in another country” (Kazimbazi and Alexander, 2011, p.28). Many countries situated in Africa do receive substantial amount of foreign aids from other countries, international organisations and private philanthropists. Foreign aid is mainly provided in the forms of financial aid, technical support and food aid. According to Wall Street Journal (2009), over the past 60 years the amount of foreign aid provided to Africa has exceeded USD 1 trillion and foreign aid has been provided to deal with a wide range of serious problems such as extreme poverty, fighting with HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, internal conflicts and abuse of human rights, child labour and human trafficking etc. This essay critically analyses the topic of foreign aid and growth in Africa in general and in Uganda in particular. The essay starts with discussions of means and methods of delivery of foreign aid to Uganda. This is followed by analysing the benefits of foreign aids and level of dependency of Uganda on foreign aid. быстрые микрозаймы онлайн Moreover, the opposite viewpoint addressing the disadvantages of foreign aid to Uganda and an overview of popular arguments of sceptics of foreign aid have been included in this essay. The essay is concluded by discussing a range of alternatives to foreign aid in order to achieve economic development in Uganda. Republic of Uganda has more than 34,5 million population with the life expectancy of 54 years for men and 55 years for women (BBC Uganda Profile, 2013). Comprising 241,038 square kilometres, Uganda is bordered with Kenya in the east, Tanzania and Rwanda in the south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the west (Barlas and Yong, 2010). Today Uganda is faced…]]> https://research-methodology.net/what-is-the-united-nations-how-effective-is-the-united-nations-in-global-governance/ Mon, 16 May 2016 08:48:46 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=7728 1. Introduction This article attempts to answer the question What is the United Nations? Moreover, the article represents a detailed analysis of the level of effectives of the UN in global governance. The article starts with discussing the role of functions of the UN, explaining the roles and functions of each UN’s six organs in an individual manner. This has been followed by identification of gaps in global governance and discussions about the role of the UN in terms of the extent of filling each gap. Furthermore, the article critically analyses the overall level of effectiveness of the UN in global governance and discusses the potentials for increasing the level of effectiveness in the UN in global governance by proposing a set of recommendations. Increasing level of integration and cooperation between counties in various levels creates a need for reputable international bodies that could assist in facilitating international relations, and more importantly, deal with disagreements and conflicts that may occur in international relations. The reality of the present nature of global governance is the outcome of conflict between the need to introduce global rules and regulations, and the willingness of retaining control over national boundaries. The is a set of reputable international organisations currently operating in the global scale such as The United Nations, The World Trade Organisation,  The World Bank, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and others, and each of these organisations engages in global governance with varying levels of effectiveness depending on their aims and objective, resources, sources of funds and other factors.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   The United Nations (UN) is an international organisation “committed to maintaining international piece and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights” (UN at a Glance, 2016, online). Founded on October 24, 1945, the UN comprises 193 member…]]> https://research-methodology.net/how-can-we-better-understand-the-ideology-of-washington-consensus-2/ Sun, 15 May 2016 10:13:17 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=7733 Introduction There always have been disparities between countries in terms of the levels of economic developments and this tendency is most likely to continue in the future. However, there have been attempts by highly developed countries to assist the level of economic development of developing countries through various programs involving financial aids and recommendations. A set of policy recommendations proposed by the US to developing countries has been known as Washington Consensus, and there are mixed opinions about the implementation and outcome of these recommendations (Bandelj and Sowers, 2010). This article critically analyses the ideology of Washington Consensus. The article starts with discussions about factors and circumstances that have caused the emergence of Washington Consensus. This is followed by discussing positive implications of Washington Consensus for certain countries by referring to relevant facts. Moreover, the article highlights major points of criticism of Washington Consensus and the attempts to assess the level of their validity of these points and discusses reasons and circumstances for introduction of Post-Washington Consensus also known as Washington Consensus II. The article is completed by attempting to the future of Washington Consensus prescriptions in modern dynamic global geo-political environment. Emergence of Washington Consensus The term of Washington Consensus has been coined by in 1989 by John Williamson to label “list of ten policies that more or less everyone in Washington would agree were needed more or less everywhere in Latin America” (Williamson, 2008, p.14). Williamson had specified these ten reforms proposed to Latin American countries as a greater level of fiscal discipline, re-ordering of public expenditure priorities, taxation reforms, liberalisations of interest rates, increasing the levels of competitiveness of interest rates, liberalisation of trade, liberalisation of inward foreign direct investment, privatisation, deregulation, and property rights. Latin American countries were facing severe economic challenges throughout the 1980s, and this…]]> https://research-methodology.net/escalating-role-of-family-as-a-social-structure/ Fri, 10 Oct 2014 12:22:20 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=6028 Family as a cell of society plays an integral role in facilitation of its functioning in an effective manner. As the most basic unit in society, families can have preventive impact in relation to a wide range of issues such as drug addiction, teenage pregnancy, dealing with stress etc. In other words, neglecting the value of families as the smallest and ancient social institution in society can have highly negative implications for the society at various levels, as well as, having negative effects on the state of national economy in direct and indirect manners. Alternative basic units in society to traditional families include people living alone, single parents, different forms of collective living arrangements, and others. However, the majority of sociologists adopt a skeptical approach about the levels of positive contribution of alternative basic units in society as opposed to traditional families consisting of two parents and one or more children for justified reasons. Escalating role of family as a social structure impose significant challenges to benefits derived from family social institution to the society in the future. A set of factors impacting the decline of popularity of families mainly in developed countries such as UK and USA in a traditional sense with two parents and one or more children include certain demographic tendencies such as ageing population, increasing numbers of couples without children, and household fission i.e. “the tendency for households to split, because of divorce and earlier independence for children” (Spicker, 2014, online). Moreover, a tendency of prioritising career over family amongst young people possesses further threat to the role of families and associated social and personal values in the future. It is important for a state to assume an instrumental role in terms of promoting and reinforcing formation of families in traditional sense in society. This role…]]> https://research-methodology.net/brief-chronology-of-great-recession-of-2007-8/ Sat, 30 Aug 2014 05:44:34 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5964 Explanation of the outbreak of the Great Recession of 2007-8 in a chronological order is necessary in order to provide detailed information about the case study, and link discussions and analysis in following chapters to specific events within the chronology. Date Event 2007 AugustOctober December Funds freezed by the US Federal ReserveRecord high at Dow Jones Official start of the recession in the US 2008 MarchJuly September   October     November Collapse of Bear SternsGDP fall of 0.6% confirmed Denmark as the first European economy to face recession Record unemployment rate in the US during the last 5 years Takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac US President George Bush signs USD 700 billion bailout fund Singapore is the first Asian country to face recession with the economy shrinking 6.3% Hong Kong confirmed as the 2nd Asian country to face recession 2009 JanuaryFebruary June GDP fall of 1.5% in 4thquarter of 2008, confirms the beginning of recession in the UKObama stimulus package signed Issue of Greece’s budget deficit emerge 2010 JanuaryApril October UK economy comes out of recession with a GDP growth of 0.1%Creation of 162,000 job in the UK Greece and Ireland are bailed out in the EU as a result of adoption of austerity measures 2011 April    May Portugal asking for the EU help in dealing with its financesPlanning of a permanent rescue fund in EU by leaders of its members The loss of US AAA credit rating Approval of EURO 78 billion bailout for Portugal by EU leaders Chronology of the Great Recession of 2007-8 Source: Roberts (2009), Heng (2010) and Hetzel (2012) References Heng, M.S. (2010) The Great Recession: History, Ideology, Hubris and Nemesis, World Scientific Hetzel, R.L. (2012) The Great Recession: Market Failure or Policy Failure, Cambridge University Press Roberts ,M. (2009) The…]]> https://research-methodology.net/factors-contributing-to-increase-of-chinas-hegemony-a-brief-literature-review/ Mon, 25 Aug 2014 05:28:33 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5959 While there is a consensus amongst authors regarding rapid hegemonic rise of China opinions divide about sustainability of this tendency in long-term or even medium term perspectives. On one hand, there are authors such as Zhang (2012), Sobel (2012) and Joseph (2013) who express firm belief about the sustainability of Chinese hegemony. This group of authors refer to the strong competitive advantage of economy of China that is expanding beyond the cost advantage of resources to compete with producers from developed countries on quality levels. On the other hand, a range of authors such as Catley and Mosler (2007), Balogun (2011) and Nye (2011) adopt a sceptical approach about sustainability of hegemony of China in long-term perspectives. This specific group of authors justify their stand by stating that China’s hegemonic rise is directly conditioned by its volume of exports, and sustainability of volume of export depend on a wide range of internal and external factors that are becoming increasingly volatile. Nevertheless, the literature review has found a set of political, economical and social factors that contribute to the rise on the level of hegemony of China. Each of these factors is discussed below in greater details.   Political Factors Political factors contributing to the rise of China’s hegemony are closely associated with damages to the reputation of present world hegemon – the USA through unsuccessful engagement in a series of foreign wars (Catley and Mosley, 2007, Zhang, 2012, Joseph, 2013) and a range other factors discussed below. Zhang (2012) argues that financing overseas wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya is draining national economy of the USA.  Moreover, eagerness of the US President Barack Obama to initiate military engagements in Syria is most likely to have highly detrimental impacts on the level of national economy. Moreover, US government sponsors a range…]]> https://research-methodology.net/literature-review-on-us-hegemony/ Thu, 21 Aug 2014 05:06:37 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5953 According to Nye (2011) wars and military conflicts between countries are never going to cease in the future because confrontionism is deeply rooted in human genes. Generally, the debate regarding hegemony can be divided into two broad and opposing categories. On one hand, supporters of Habermas such as Catley and Mosler (2007), Russett (2011) and Baker (2011) do believe that it is possible for countries to engage in international relations without dominant power in an effective manner. On the other hand, supporters of Foucault such as Schake (2009), Balogun (2011), and Nye (2011) argue that international relations cannot be facilitated without power, but the nature of power can be represented in various formats. In other words, according to this stance hegemonic power will always influence international relations; however, the level of evidence of this influence varies according to a range of factors. Lee (2010), Russett (2011) and Baker (2011) find positive correlation between rising military power of a state and its hegemonic ambitions. Table 2.1 illustrates major hegemonic wars during the last several centuries and contains information about their results. Hegemonic War Duration Results Thirty Years’ War 1618 – 1648 Defeat of Habsburg Wars of Louis XIV 1667 – 1713 Defeat of France Napoleonic Wars 1792 – 1814 Defeat of France; Emergence of Britain as hegemon World War I 1914 – 1918 Defeat of Germany World War II 1939 – 1945 Defeat of Germany; Emergence of the USA as hegemon Table 2 Hegemonic wars during last several centuries and their results Source: Lee (2010) US Hegemony in the 20th Century and Its Perception by other Countries According to Catley and Mosler (2007) the US hegemony has mainly started after the World War II of 1939 – 1945. Specifically, Catley and Mosler (2007) link this fact to the chosen stance of…]]> https://research-methodology.net/ogranski-and-kuglers-power-transition-theory-1980/ Mon, 18 Aug 2014 05:05:07 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5949 Initially introduced by Ogranski in 1968, and further developed by Ogranski and Kugler (1980), the framework of Ogranski and Kugler’s Power Transition is based on the assumption that international order is hierarchically structured. According to this framework there are countries that are satisfied with their position in a hierarchical structure of the world order, at the same time when certain countries are not satisfied. Accordingly, Ogranski and Kugler’s Power Transition theory states that counties that are not satisfied with their positions in hierarchical structure of international order may develop hegemonic ambitions and initiate international conflicts. Moreover, Ogranski and Kugler (1980) divide the process power transition into the following three stages: The stage of potential power. This stage is associated with gaining access to reserves and competitive advantages, and increase in the level of their utilisation to fuel economic growth in the country. Nowadays, countries such as Indinesia and Singapore can be specified to be in the stage of potential power. The transitional stage is marked with the utilisation of newly gained sources of competitive advantage in an active and extensive manner to become a hegemonic state. China and India can be specified to be on transitional stage to hegemony. Power maturity is the stage where hegemonic decline is highly probable due to a range of reasons that primarily relate to the loss of competitive advantage in the global marketplace. The USA and the UK can be mentioned to illustrate the instances of power maturity.]]> https://research-methodology.net/hegemonic-stability-theory/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 11:06:27 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5940 The theory of hegemonic stability relies on multiple perspectives such as liberal, historical and structural (Sobel, 2012).  According to hegemonic theory high level of openness and stability of international system can be maintained when there is a single hegemonic country that meets the following requirements: a)      Hegemonic country must possess sufficient amount of resources in order to allow the country to engage in leadership; b)      Hegemonic country must be enthusiastic in terms of pursuing policies that pursuing policies needed to create and maintain free economy. Hegemonic models are divided into three different categories by Joseph (2013) in the following manner: Benevolent hegemon. For this type of hegemon common interests prevail over self-interest of a hegemonic state. Moreover, benevolent hegemonic model is closely associated with absolute advantages of countries. According to Joseph (2013) individuals who believe in liberal values consider hegemon to be benevolent in most cases Mixed motives and strategies hegemon. Involving both, absolute and relative advantages, mixed hegemon pursues common and personal benefits in a simultaneous manner. Joseph (2013) specifies mixed hegemon as the most common model of hegemonic states. Exploitative hegemon is perceived to be based purely on self-interest of hegemonic states and may involve the use of coercion to enforce compliance with the wills of hegemonic states. There is a consensus amongst authors about highly negative effects of the model of exploitative hegemon to other countries. References Joseph, J. (2013) Hegemony: A Realist Analysis, Routledge Sobel, A.C. (2012) Birth of Hegemony: Crisis, Financial Revolution, and Emerging Global Networks, University of Chicago Press]]> https://research-methodology.net/macroeconomic-implications-of-hegemony-a-brief-literature-review/ Tue, 15 Jul 2014 00:00:02 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5937 Literature review has found a debate about the impacts of hegemony to an open economic system. On one hand, authors such as Catley and Mosler (2007), Russett (2011) and Baker (2011) confirm positive role of hegemonic states in achieving macroeconomic stability in global scale. The main justifications behind this stance relate to hegemon serving as role model for other states and playing an instrumental role in creation and facilitation of monetary and trade regimes. Supporters of this viewpoint offer various examples to justify their view. Specifically, these examples include positive implications of the British hegemony in the 19th century to trade liberalisation, and reductions on the level of free trade in the global scale after the decline in British hegemony 1875 onwards (Catley and Mosler, 2007). Moreover, Russett (2011) argues that absence of hegemonic state within the period between the two World Wars has resulted in intensification of economic protectionism in many countries, and the situation has escalated to give rise to the emergence of the Great Depression. Russett (2011) further argues that macroeconomic stability has been achieved in many countries only after the emergence of the US as a powerful hegemon upon the completion of the World War II. According to this approach, the role of hegemonic states in global macroeconomics can be represented through the following points (Baker, 2011). a)      Maintaining stabilised macroeconomic situation; b)      Enforcement of free economy rules though the use of influence; c)      Encouraging other counties to eliminate barriers to international trade; d)     Contributing to the growth of national economies of other countries through imports On the other hand, sceptical approach towards the benefits of hegemonic states to macroeconomic stability and international trade has been expressed by Schake (2009) and Nye (2011). According to this group of authors bargaining and cooperation between countries is more…]]> https://research-methodology.net/hegemony-and-its-increasing-importance-a-brief-literature-review/ Mon, 14 Jul 2014 00:46:33 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5933 In simple terms hegemony can be defined as “the predominant influence, as of a state, region, or group, over another or others” (The Free Dictionary, 2014, online). Alternatively, hegemony can be defined as “the leadership by a single stronger partner of other less strong, but still autonomous partners, undertaken for the mutual benefit of all parties concerned” (Warner, 2006, p.3). Catley and Mosler (2007) specify power to play a significant role in terms of distinguishing between the notions of hegemony and colony. Specifically, according to Catley and Mosler (2007), the while the term of colony relates to direct use of power, hegemony is associated with indirect use of power. It can be further elaborated that direct power relates to intimidation in physical and psychological levels, whereas indirect power is exercised through legislature and tends to be latent (Schake, 2009). In its basic form Warner (2006) considers hegemony as a struggle for authority and closely associates hegemony with power. Moreover, the role of power in hegemony has been stressed by Schake (2009), Nye (2011) and Zhang (2012). Basically, authors refer to positive correlation between power of a country and the level of its hegemony. Nye (2011) introduces the idea of smart power and defines it as “the combination of the hard power of coercion and payment with the soft power of persuasion and attraction” (Nye, 2011, p.xiii). Schake (2009) stresses the importance of context of any particular situation when analysing the extent and use of power, and convincingly argues that analyses for the use of power should not be conducted without taking into account unique aspects of any given situation. The name of Antonio Gramsci has featured in every source of secondary data analysed during the literature review that addresses the topic of hegemony in an adequate levels of depth.  Gramsci…]]> https://research-methodology.net/main-forms-of-intellectual-property-protection-available-to-companies/ Tue, 20 May 2014 00:15:22 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5872 Main forms of intellectual property protection available to companies include patents, trademarks, design copyright and trade secrets and important aspects of using these intellectual property protection techniques are discussed further below: Patenting is one of the most popular forms of intellectual property protection. Types of intellectual properties to be protected by patents relate to methods and processes that facilitate working of things (Davies and Cheng, 2011). Patents can be divided into two categories: utility patents and design patents and patents have been initially developed in order to assist inventors to recoup research and development expenses before competitors with the same products enter the market. Patent litigation issues are commonplace between multinational companies in general, and businesses in computing, consumer electronics and software industries in particular. For example, during the year of 2012 alone HTC, Taiwan-based global smartphone designer and manufacturer have been involved in ten patent litigation lawsuits (Annual Report, 2012). The importance of protection of intellectual property is duly understood by many multinational companies. For example, Pepsico publicly announces that “we protect our intellectual property rights globally through a combination of trademark, copyright, patent and trade secret laws, third-party assignment and non-disclosure agreements” (Annual Report, 2012, p.47). Moreover, one of the most recent cases of patent infringement lawsuit involve long-standing dispute between two global computer and consumer electronics manufacturing companies – Apple and Samsung. The dispute relates to Samsung’s use of technology that has been previously used by Apple for its IPhone and IPad products and patented. According to the verdict issued by a US Federal jury, Samsung Electronics has been ordered to pay Apple USD 290 million compensation (Martin, 2013). Implications of this particular lawsuit are significant at the global scale, because it illustrates severe negative financial and brand image damage implications of patent violation practices. Trademarks represent…]]> https://research-methodology.net/rentierism-in-iran/ Sat, 15 Mar 2014 00:08:12 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5751 Iran was the first state in the Persian Gulf to find oil in 1908, and since 1920s petroleum has served as the main industry in Iran. There is a general consensus in the literature that the overthrow of the Shah of Iran and the revolution in Iran in 1977 came as a great surprise to many individual and organisational observers. This revolution has been political, as well as, cultural. Increasing levels of rentierism in Iran under the rule of Shah, at the same time when neglecting the needs and concerns of ordinary people can be specified as one of the major factors contributing to the emergence of revolution. Specifically, it has been noted that “after the mid-1960s, this state did not need to wrest taxes from its own people, and the economic basis of its revenues was an industry oriented primarily to exports, and employing only a tiny percentage of the domestic labour force” (Skocpol, 1994, p.244). However, it can be argued that the level of rentierism in Iran has changed only a little after the revolution due to a range of reasons such as high levels of corruption, leadership incompetence, and lack of motivation from the government leadership. Moreover, Gordon et al. (2008) assess the average degree of rentierism in Iran for the period between 1972 and 1999 to be 55 per cent. According to Gordon et al. (2008) rentierism has been causing deep economic structural weaknesses in Iran and this along with political uncertainty and environmental vulnerabilities represent complex challenges for Iran in short-term and long-term perspectives. Negative implications of rentierism are also noted by Duero (2009), who links rentierism in Iran to the issues of unemployment and underemployment, demographic problems and the issues associated with patterns of energy production and consumption. It has been assessed that government’s…]]> https://research-methodology.net/socially-desirable-merit-goods-analysis-of-primary-education-in-the-uk/ Wed, 15 Jan 2014 00:12:23 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5334 This report represents a brief assessment of various aspects of primary education in the UK as an important merit good. The report starts with assessing the role of the UK government in providing primary education and this is followed by analysis of possibilities for private sector to provide primary education. Moreover, the report includes discussions of positive externalities of primary education and assesses the possibilities of market failure if the provision of primary education was left to provide to free market. Socially desirable merit goods are “goods that society deems so valuable that everyone should have them” (Frischmann, 2012, p.45). There are two basic characteristics of merit goods: the value of the good is not usually fully appreciated at the time of consumption, and consumption of merit goods has positive effects to other individuals (Economics Online, 2013). 1. Introduction 3 2. The Role of Government in Providing Primary Education 3 3. Private Sector as Provider of Primary Education 4 4. Positive Externalities of Primary Education 5 5. Provision of Primary Education by free Market and Possibility of Market Failure 7 6. Conclusions and Recommendations 9 References 10 How do I receive the report? Once payment is made you will receive a link to you e-mail you have registered with on Pay Pal or the e-email you have entered when specifying bank details to download the report. The report is downloaded in PDF format. The link will stay active for 7 days. How can I use the report to complete my academic assignment/research? Reports and essays offered by research-methodology.net are professionally written samples in their respective areas. Reports and essays are intended to be used as guides and sources of secondary data for reference purposes. I did not receive the link/I can not download the report? If you have any difficulties…]]> https://research-methodology.net/increasing-level-of-youth-unemployment-in-uk/ Sat, 21 Dec 2013 13:24:06 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5163 This paper represents a case study report devoted on the issue of increasing levels of youth unemployment in the UK. The report starts with a brief description of relevant existing key policies. This is followed by the identification of gaps on youth unemployment that need to be addressed. The report also contains discussions about relevant policy goals and the extent of their alignment with government preferences. Moreover, relevant policy options analyses are included in this report with detailed explanations of two the most suitable and appropriate policy options taking into account present economic and political circumstances in the UK. The report is concluded by making recommendations regarding the implementation of a specific policy option with detailed explanations provided. Youth unemployment is proving to be a serious challenge in the UK with highly negative short-term and long-term economic and social implications. Specifically, nearly 1.5 million, or more than 20 per cent of young people in the UK are found to be not engaged in education, employment or training (ACEVO, 2012). Moreover, according to estimations, the net present value cost of youth unemployment for the next ten years is going to amount to £28 billion (ACEVO, 2012). A wide range of negative implications of youth unemployment include negative impact on national economy for short-term and long-term perspectives, negative impact on future earning potentials of youth involved, detrimental impacts on mental and individual health of young individuals involved (Gregg et al., 2011), and increase in the level of anti-social behaviour within the society (Howell, 2005). The major reasons for increasing levels of youth unemployment in the UK have been specified as the recent global economic and financial crisis, failure in the UK immigration policies (Sunley et al., 2011), and systematic employment policy failures (Furlong, 2012). 1. Introduction: Nature of the Problem 1 2.…]]> https://research-methodology.net/multiple-stream-model-of-policy-and-its-application-to-tesco-packaging-policy/ Fri, 04 Jan 2013 01:56:01 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=2871 Multiple Stream Model developed by Kingdon (1984), on the basis of refining garbage can framework, represents an alternative approach to policy process and perceives it in terms of three different streams: a problem stream, policy stream to address the problem, and the political stream. According to this theoretical framework “the streams are usually independent, but windows of opportunity sometime open that allow for the streams to interact” (Crank, 2003, p.35). First, the problem stream relates to the source of the issue that necessitates introduction of a policy. As it has been partially discussed above, the problem stream for Tesco packaging policy is directly related to increasing status of sustainability issues in media, and consequently consumers in UK and elsewhere becoming more sensitive towards the issues related to sustainable development. Second, the policy stream involves evaluations and analysis of a wide range of policy ideas and proposals directed to the solution of the problem. In Tesco, the policy to be adopted as a response to the problem needed to balance the profitability of business operations with the creation of ‘green’ image fir the brand. In other words, Tesco strategic level management faced with the task of positioning the company as a ‘green’ in a cost effective manner. Third, the political stream includes various elements such as relevant government legislation, the influence of various non-government organisations and pressure groups and others. It is important to mention that while UK government encourages multinational business such as Tesco to behave in a socially responsible manner, there is a lack of legislation that specifies the extent of ‘greenness’ businesses need to adhere to (Horrigan, 2010). Therefore, Tesco possesses a great level of freedom in terms of government legislation when formulating its packaging policy. However, there are additional elements of political stream such as non-government organisations…]]> https://research-methodology.net/stages-model-of-policy-process-and-its-application-to-tesco-packaging-policy/ Wed, 02 Jan 2013 03:39:25 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=2869 One of the popular definitions of policy reads as “a statement by government – at whatever level – of what it intends to do about a public problem” (Birkland, 2010, p.9). Accordingly, the issues of policy process are mainly discussed in the literature in relation to government policies. Tesco packaging policy is based on the following five key principles: being fit for purpose, using the lightest materials in terms of weight, using materials from the most sustainable sources, maximising the opportunities for recycling and recovery, and designed in a way that the lowest carbon impact can be achieved (Waste and packaging, 2012, online).   According to Peters (2009) the Stages Model of Policy Process consists of the following stages: issue emergence, agenda setting, alternative selection, enactment, implementation and evaluation. All of these stages can be analysed in an individual manner in relation to the packaging policy of Tesco. Issue emergence of the policy process is an initial stage when specific problems are identified that need to be dealt with. Issues that require the introduction of relevant policies may arise fuelled by a wide range of reasons such as disasters, or any other dramatic changes. In terms of Tesco packaging policy this stage corresponds with increasing role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) aspect of the business in general, and the level of ‘greennes’ in particular. In other words, defined as responsibilities of business towards society apart from profit maximisation (Blowfield and Murray, 2008), CSR has emerged  as a crucial aspect of the business to be dealt with by Tesco. The agenda setting stage of policy process corresponds with the issue growing to an extent that it requires immediate and due attention. It has been stated that “agenda setting occurs when the key players focus on an issue  problem, which can be…]]>