Agents Of Economic Growth Research Articles

COVID-19 and the invisible war: Is it the end of hospitality?

<p>The outbreak of the virus known as Sars-Cov2 [or coronavirus] has been significant blow that confirms a trend initiated after 2001 to the self-cannibalization or finishing of Western hospitality, but rather transforms the body itself and disposes it as a weapon to attack the other. As already mentioned, the old dichotomy between the tourist desired as an agent of economic growth and the immigrant feared as an unwanted guest gives way to a new landscape, where the tourist is seen—with some suspicion—as a potential enemy. Like the war against cancer in 1970, the war against local crime in the 1990s, and the war against terror in 2001, the world is now living a war against a virus. In this new world, classical hospitality gives way to an absolute hospitality where the hotel is recycled as a hospital.</p>

Cognitive capitalism, free labor, and financial communication: A critical discourse analysis of social media IPO registration statements

ABSTRACTThis article seeks to analyze the intersection among cognitive capitalism, free labor, and financial communication through a critical discourse analysis of social media companies’ initial public offering (IPO) registration statements. In so doing, it first sets up a theoretical framework by synthesizing cognitive capitalism and cultural political economy. Cultural political economy helps analyze critically the role financial communication plays in serving the interests of cognitive capitalism, the use of unremunerated immaterial labor to rescue the stationary capitalist accumulation regime. Then, a critical discourse analysis of social media IPOs, as a form of financial communication, aims to unravel how social media companies appropriate such notions as economic growth, innovation, connectivity, and community to advance their financial interests. Findings reveal that IPO statements deploy social media as an autonomous agent of economic growth and a virtuous venue for self-expression and community building, while at the same time effectively concealing the dual foundations of the social media economy, the wide use of free labor and the extraction of value via user data.

Human capital and exploit opportunity among Malaysia rural entrepreneurs: The mediating effect of opportunity discovery

Rural entrepreneurship plays significant role in a country regional development and become the main agent of lagging economic growth for many developing countries. Despite the significant contribution made by the entrepreneurs, until now limited of previous study that focused on rural entrepreneurs especially on the aspect of human capital and opportunity entrepreneurship. This study is therefore aims to explore the rural opportunity entrepreneurship in Malaysia. Specifically, this study try to determine the relationship between entrepreneurial human capital on exploit entrepreneurial opportunity for Malaysia rural entrepreneurs and the mediating effect of opportunity discovery on the relationship. To achieve the objectives this study relied on quantitative survey involved 345 respondents (rural entrepreneurs). Data captured from the survey were analysed using SPSS Version 20 for descriptive analysis and Smart PLS Version 2.0 Software for inferential analysis to explore the variables are related. The survey revealed that at the significant level 0.01 human capital has a positive relationship with exploit entrepreneurial opportunity and direct effect to entrepreneurial opportunity discovery. The entrepreneurial opportunity discovery is partially mediate between human capital and exploit entrepreneurial opportunity. The study concludes that human capital plays an important role or main element that contributes to the new venture creation in rural entrepreneurship. Hence, in the opportunity entrepreneurship rural entrepreneurs must consider entrepreneurial opportunity discovery aspects. This study makes a significant contribution to the research on rural entrepreneurship field, especially in relations to rural opportunity entrepreneurship.

The Legal Mandates of the cabei and of the caf as Agents of Economic Growth in Latin America

Sub-regional multilateral organizations are playing a rapidly increasing role in the suppliance of development finance to the countries of the Latin American (lac) region. However, though surprising, the wide and fast-growing role of sub-regional multilateral institutions in the international financial system has as yet received very little attention from an international legal perspective. The overall goal of this article is to fill this gap, and therefore to critically review the experience of lac countries with international sub-regional development and financial cooperation. In doing so, the article will stress in particular that the two most successful sub-regional financial institutions, namely the Andean Development Corporation (caf) and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (cabei) have shown the capacity to supply services to member countries in a timely way, with counter-cyclical effects and on a wider scale relative to other types of multilateral financing.

Residents' Attitudes Toward Casino Gambling in Kyrenia, North Cyprus: In Search of Theoretical Explanation?

This study attempts to explore the residents' perception of casino gambling tourism in the coastal resort city of Kyrenia in north Cyprus (TRNC). After the closure of casinos in Turkey in the 1990s, Kyrenia became a spatial choice by the gambling industry and with the cooperation of the government in north Cyprus, the city has become home to the casino gambling tourism that has mushroomed in and around the city. The casino gambling tourism has been perceived as an agent of economic growth by the investors from outside and the indigenous policy makers inside. To explore the residents' attitudes towards gambling in their community, a survey questionnaire was administered to a non-randomly selected sample of residents in Kyrenia, and Spearman's Rho correlation tests were used to explore the relationships between community concerns, socioeconomic concerns, and community attachment as main constructs to evaluate residents' attitudes towards casino gambling. Overall, 32 items were used to explore linkages between the mentioned three constructs/community concerns, and casino gambling-related attitudes. Results indicate that the residents, by overwhelming majority, are negative about casino gambling in their community. Whilst residents are not in favor of banning casino gambling, they perceive casino gambling not as an engine of economic growth, but rather as a political and economic project that has bypassed their concerns and alienated their rights to be involved and to participate in the process. Therefore, the results revealed that residents have not been an equal partner in the process and have remained an outsider to casino gambling—that employed and was implemented as a “growth machine.” The results also indicate that the “growth machine” theory stands tall and explains the case of Kyrenia in comparison to the economic dependency, social exchange, and to the community attachment theories. The study also provides an insight into residents' attitudes toward the issue of growth and development within a community as a result of a specific form of tourism—casino gambling.

Globalization and the Good Corporation

alization and the Good Corporation." It followed our first conference that took place in 2004 and examined new modes of corporate responses to social issues through voluntary codes of conduct and other initiatives. In the conference, our attempt was to engage in a dialogue that would lead to a better understanding of societal expectations of the corporation and especially the large multinational corporation in its impact on various factors of production, sociopolitical institutions, and people in rich and poor countries around the world. Equally important were the questions of the power or discretion available to private sector institutions in determining the distribution of wealth and income among various factors of production in a manner that is efficient, feasible, and above all, equitable. Recent trends in globalization have conclusively demonstrated that economic and socio-political problems of the 21st century would need to be confronted in the context of the inter-dependent nature of the world and its inhabitants. The emerging global economic order has once again brought capitalism and its principal actor, the large multinational corporation, to the apex of social institutions. Unlike the 1960s, when the multinational corporation was seen as a threat to national sovereignty and political freedom, the new world views the multinational corporation in a more positive role, i.e., as an agent of economic growth and social-political changes across nations. The nature of heightened societal expectations of the role of the modern corporation, however, remains unclear and unsettled. And yet, it must be addressed so as to bring about a sense of social equilibrium between business and other institutions of society. It is no longer possible or even instructive to view the world through the simple prism of right and wrong, good and bad, guilt or innocence. Instead, we are faced with the dilemma that pits one type of inequality over another, and giving more to one group while taking from the other. In such a world, the distinctions between the guilty and innocent have become ambiguous. We are faced with the realization that we are living in an increasingly interdependent society where individual good is not possible without thought for the common good. It makes no sense to separate moral principles from institutional behavior, political power from economic influence, and environmental values from material rewards. To do so is to divorce the social

Risk Based Supervision of Banks – Framework for Risk Assessment

With progressive deregulation and liberalization of the Indian financial sector, banks are increasingly exposed to various kinds of risk, both financial and non-financial. Efficiency of every bank depends on how effectively it is managing the risks and ensuring a competitive risk adjusted return on capital. For this, it is essential to have in place effective risk management and internal control systems, which are crucial to the conduct of banking business not only to lead the bank more profitably but also in compliance of prudential guidelines. In addition, a supervisor i. e. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also looks upon the systems and practices in banks in assessing, managing and controlling risks through Risk Based Supervision (RBS), wherein the supervisory resources are directed towards the areas of greater risk to the supervisory objectives which aim at protecting the interest of depositors, stability of the banking system and development of banks as agents of economic growth. Under the RBS approach, the supervisory process would also seek to leverage the work done by internal auditors/inspectors in banks. In this regard, in August 2001, RBI had brought out a discussion paper on “Move Towards Risk-Based Supervision of Banks” in which five significant areas have been identified for action on the part of banks and Risk-Based Internal Audit (RBIA) system is one of them. This paper focuses discussion on RBIA. In this paper, it is attempted to develop the framework for risk assessment as part of RBIA. The suggested framework is easy to understand and based on the on-site audit conducted by the internal auditor/inspector. Since banks are currently busy in preparatory work relating to switch over from internal audit/inspection to RBIA, the suggested framework is lot of relevance. Researchers in Audit and Inspection may like to refine the suggested framework.

State Enterprise and Italy's ‘Economic Miracle’: The Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi, 1945-1962

The Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (Eni) was one of Italy’s most important state-owned enterprises, a key actor in the country’s transformation from a primarily agrarian to an essentially industrial nation after the Second World War. This article focuses on the history of Eni from its inception in 1953 to the death of its founder, Enrico Mattei, in 1962; it details how, in the context of Italy’s ‘economic miracle’, Eni played an important role both as an agent of economic growth, through the supply of an inexpensive source of energy, and as one of the tools used by the party in power, the Democrazia Cristiana (Christian Democrats), to generate and maintain consensus.

The Factory Question and Industrial England, 1830–1860 by Robert Gray

TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 157 rapid and reliable determination, occupies prominent places in po­ litical agendas, as was the case in Frankland’s day. Russell misses the opportunity to draw parallels of this kind, except when dealing with mainstream developments in chemistry and chemical education. This, however, is only a minor criticism of an otherwise exemplary study, one that contributes much to our understanding of the public and private worlds ofVictorian chemistry, its rivalries, and its leading protagonist. Anthony S. Travis Dr . Travis is deputy director of the Sidney M. Edelstein Center for the History and Philosophy of Science, Technology, and Medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His recent publications include “Poisoned Groundwater and Contami­ nated Soil: The Tribulations and Trial of the First Major Manufacturer of Aniline Dyes in Basel,” Environmental History 2 (July 1997). The Factory Question and Industrial England, 1830-1860. By Robert Gray. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Pp. xiv+253; illustrations, tables, bibliography, index. $59.95 (cloth). Readers of Technology and Culturewill discover more about the lat­ ter than the former in this dense little volume. Its principal theme concerns controversies over regulating the length ofthe working day for juveniles and adult women in English textile mills. From that relatively narrow ground, the author addresses a broad range of is­ sues related to industrialization and its interpretation in contempo­ rary historiography. This cultural history approaches policy formula­ tion chiefly through analysis of rhetoric and symbolism, areas that offer academics a fertile field for insightful speculation and projec­ tion. Gray has drawn upon an impressive array of new monographs about the textile industries and communities in Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. A substantial portion of this recent litera­ ture has eluded the T&Creview process. Scholars interested in com­ parative textile history topics will find plenty to digest in the foot­ notes and select bibliography. The author intends to rescue the Industrial Revolution from the clutches ofeconomic history. During the reign ofMargaret Thatcher some practitioners of the dismal pseudoscience had disparaged the factory system as an agent of economic growth and a harbinger of social change. Gray does not attempt to refute the revisionists’ esti­ mates regarding incremental shifts in net national income and other indicators. Rather, following Maxine Berg and Pat Hudson, he relo­ cates the debate over the significance of industrialization to other terrain—the realms oflegal superstructure and social consciousness. The admirable introduction provides a tidy guide to the opposing 158 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE camps of contemporary historiography. Gray then moves through the two principal sections of his argument: first, the discourses cre­ ated or appropriated by various interests advocating, opposing, or vacillating about state intervention into the relations between textile employers and a portion of their work force; second, the evolution of regulatory practice as expressed through prosecutions under the 1833 Factory Act and subsequent extensions and modifications of its provisions between 1847 and 1853. Suffice it to say that the second section is more coherent, though less ambitious, than the first. In the exegesis of vocabulary and imagery we hear the voices of politicians, clergy, physicians, literati, cranks, and the occasional chorus of workers. Unfortunately for a study of this type, we do not hear enough of the original voices. Quotations are doled out rather sparingly, and between the snippets there stretches a vast acreage of interpretation ranging from sweeping generalization to elliptical microdetail. If this compressed mode of presentation is attributable to a publisher’s decision about the permissible length ofthis volume, then erring on the side of parsimony was an unfortunate decision. Gray is exceptionally sensitive to the subregional distinctions within the textile industry of the industrial North. He addresses, for example, the question of divisions among manufacturers over the issue of regulation. His impressive knowledge ofvariations in textile products and processes permits him to identify certain patterns of compliance with the Factory Acts as well as predispositions toward evasion of their provisions; not all offenders were backward rural mills whose proprietors disliked regulation because their throstle spinning frames and preparatory machinery could be tended effec­ tively by child labor. On the other hand, as Lindy Biggs observes in another context, some advanced factories...