Economic Liberalization Research Articles

Strategies of Green Industrial Policy: How States Position Firms in Global Supply Chains

The resurgence of industrial policymaking—particularly for emerging low-carbon industries—challenges social science theories that expect such interventions from centralized states or suggest that different kinds of states specialize in various forms of innovation policy. Interventionist forms of industrial policy have made a comeback among liberal economies. Coordinated economies now make use of market-driven strategies. This paper argues that the new generation of industrial strategies is shaped by the industrial development challenges that policymakers face at the sectoral level. It proposes a new theoretical framework that distinguishes between the policy orientation (targeted or open-ended) and the central agents driving financial and technological decision-making (governments or firms). We show that the choice of strategy is shaped by the level of uncertainty and the position of the domestic industry in global supply chains, that is, whether global supply chains are emerging or mature and whether the domestic industry is an entrant or incumbent.

Impact of Quality Service Delivery Challenges on Customer Satisfaction in the Banking Industry: A Case of Stanbic Bank, Zambia

Since Zambia's 1991 economic liberalization, there has been notable growth in the retail banking sector. Quality search is perhaps the most critical consumer trend in recent years because consumers are now more demanding than ever. Customers have diverse options in an era of rapid global change, often relying on brand names for complex financial services. Hence, it becomes imperative to delve into the challenges surrounding quality service delivery and customer satisfaction. A mixed methods approach was adopted, and involved 340 bank customers who attended a questionnaire and 20 customers and bank staff who participated in in-depth interviews. . The study found that the majority (43.8%) of customers were generally satisfied with the services at the bank. The study also found that tangibility and assurance were the service quality dimensions that highly influenced customer satisfaction perception at Stanbic Bank. Tangibility had a positive influence on customer satisfaction (β=0.153), and a p-value (0.028) less than the selected level of significance (0.05), an indication of the influence of tangibility on customer satisfaction. The study concluded that customer satisfaction and loyalty depended on the quality of services the bank provided. At the same time, the study's practical implications suggest that the bank should focus on improving reliability, responsiveness, and empathy to enhance customer satisfaction.

Partisan of the Absolute State: Arnold Ruge, Liberalism, and the Hallische Jahrbücher

Abstract This article considers the political theory and political theology of Arnold Ruge during the years he edited the Hallische and Deutsche Jahrbücher, paying special attention to his relationship with a variety of “liberalisms” circulating at the time. It argues that Ruge's central and consistent commitment was to the “absolute state,” which he described as “an end in itself.” Such a state, Ruge believed, would constitute a space in which citizens could realize their public freedom. I show how Ruge constructed this approach through critical engagements with three forms of liberalism: the Romantic nationalist liberalism of Ernst Moritz Arndt; the ethical pluralist liberalism of Franz von Flourencourt; and the pragmatic economic liberalism of Karl Biedermann. I conclude with reflections on Ruge's 1843 “Eine Selbstkritik des Liberalismus.”

Communication Strategy for Deliberalization of Islamic Thought at UNIDA Gontor

Liberalism, when viewed from its development, has two main streams that mutually use the term liberal. Classical liberalism or economic liberalism emphasizes individual freedom in carrying out activities in the economic field, and social liberalism, emphasizes the state's role in defending individual rights, usually formed as anti-discrimination laws. In addition to the trend of liberalization which emphasizes economic, political, and social rights, liberalism is also found in the field of religious thought. Indeed, liberalism in Western civilization's social and political fields has slowly separated religion from social and political affairs. Religion has no place in social and political interests. Concepts such as pluralism, multiculturalism, feminism, gender equality, democratization, humanism, freedom, and human rights are several layers of elements in the liberalization movement. Even theses and dissertations in Islamic universities are written to seek Islamic justification for these concepts. To stem this massive liberalization movement, researchers take the example of preventing the liberalization of Islamic thought in Islamic tertiary institutions, namely at the University of Darussalam (UNIDA) Gontor. This type of research is qualitative, with in-depth interview data collection techniques, and data analysis techniques namely triangulation of data sources (results of interviews and previous research). The result of this research is that UNIDA Gontor uses a curriculum based on the Islamization of Science. In addition, Islamization activities are also carried out through weekly student discussions guided by mentors, bi-weekly studies for lecturers and staff, scientific papers written by students and lecturers, and community service activities.

The au pair as a mediating springboard: the shifting aspirations of Chinese youth in migration

Since the 1980s, China has undergone a dramatic transformation through reforms and economic liberalization. Among these, the theme of migration has also developed. To complement this context, relying on an empirical study of young Chinese au pairs in Germany implemented in 2019, this paper aims to build a migration picture of au pairs’ youth transitions in a transnational context. The Au Pair programme is a 1-year cultural exchange project experienced by youth between the ages of 18 and 27 who exchange simple household chores for accommodation in a host family in a foreign country with the purpose of learning language. This study reveals that prior to joining the program, participants held a positive perception of Germany and the program. However, their experience in Germany led to a complex evaluation of this journey. Participants had to re-evaluate their visions of the future and adjust their initial idealized notions of the international experience. The ever-changing aspirations that arise in a dynamic social environment drive the shift and reshaping of the migration process and promoting unexpected personal development. The Au Pair experience acts as a springboard, giving these young people a buffer to (re)orientates for the future.

Climate Change Induced Migration: A Gendered Conceptual Framework

An emerging body of research explores the relationship between climate change and migration. Much of this literature has been gender-blind, but where gender has been considered, the literature suggests that migration responses have differed between men and women. Existing theoretical approaches to migration do not provide a conceptual framework for understanding these differences. In this paper, we ask how existing conceptual frameworks explaining migration might be combined and extended to specifically incorporated gendered climate impacts and responses, and we propose such an extended conceptual framework. Specifically, this paper does three things. First, it critically reviews existing theoretical frameworks on migration through a gender lens. Bringing insights from feminist economics and related empirical research to bear on existing frameworks explaining migration, we identify five pathways through which gender differences can influence climate-induced household decision-making about migration. Building on this, we propose a gender-aware conceptual framework to explain the gendered decision-making processes behind climate change-induced migration.

The motivating and mobilizing effects of inequality on civil conflict: Focusing on trade-induced labor market shocks

This article has two aims: (1) to identify the causal effect of income inequality on civil conflict and (2) to find the mechanism in which disadvantaged individuals can mobilize collective violence. Applying the Heckscher-Ohlin and Stopler-Samuelson theorems, this study hypothesizes that workers in land-rich countries – those who face contracted demand in the labor market and consequently a larger income disparity – will have a lower opportunity cost to engage in conflict as trade expands. Exploiting exogenous spatial variation in inequality due to the country’s factor endowment, together with time variation in tariffs arising from the economic liberalization, the work of this research documents a statistically significant and economically meaningful causal effect of inequality on civil conflict. Secondly, to identify the mobilizing effect of inequality, I test whether higher disparity in income distribution within an ethnic group breeds more rebellions initiated by the group. Esteban and Ray’s model claims that an increase in income inequality within an ethnic group makes collective violence more likely, because the poor within the group provide conflict labor, and the rich within the group provide resources for violence. By merging international census data that cover 115 million individuals from 221 ethnic groups with the groups’ conflict records, the analysis empirically identifies that when holding total ethnic income constant, within-group inequality that is proxied by the unemployment rate is strongly correlated with the group’s propensity to initiate armed conflicts. Shedding new light on the prevailing scholarly discord that exclusively chooses either one of class and ethnic cleavages as sources of intrastate violence, the findings of this study imply that if trade-induced labor market shocks increase within-group inequality, it motivates workers to participate in rebellions by lowering their opportunity cost of fighting and mobilizes ethnic collective violence by allowing the ethnic leaders to recruit combatants at a lower cost.

Bollywood in the neoliberal era: changing discourses on multiculturalism, terrorism, and nationalism in ‘Dil Se … ’ (1998) and ‘Fanaa’ (2006)

ABSTRACT Indian nationalism has remained, for long, an important subtext to Bollywood cinema. However, whether Bollywood cinematic output could be considered as Indian national cinema has encouraged very divisive academic discourses. When Bollywood received the status of an Industry in 1998 in keeping with the promise made in the BJP 1998 electoral manifesto (Bharatiya Janata Party, 2016, p. 232–233), it appeared that the benefits of Economic Liberalisation could finally be enjoyed by the Bombay film establishment. By focusing on Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se … (1998) and Kunal Kohli’s ‘Fanaa’ (2006) this paper shall explore in detail how the nascent neoliberalism affected the discourse of Indian nationalism on the Bollywood screen through binary formation, and Othering of minorities; and how such strategies were incorporated within Hindutva style of communal identity formation in the wake of the political discourses engendered by the 2001 Parliament Attack.

Confronting well-being and mental health in the ‘therapeutic university’: implications for educators, students and the curriculum

ABSTRACT This is a conceptual paper that examines the emergence of the ‘therapeutic university’ and considers its potential implications for policy and practice in Higher Education (HE). Concern over the well-being and mental health of university students both in the United Kingdom (UK) and internationally has recently intensified in media, academic and political spheres, to the extent that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are increasingly offering a diverse range of ad-hoc initiatives and practices based on the language and techniques of an equally diverse popular psychology. An emotionally oriented ‘therapeutic university’ (TU) is emerging from a complex intertwining of policies of social liberalism, specifically widening participation, and policies of economic liberalism which seek to cultivate the higher education (HE) sector as a competitive marketplace. While the TU might appear to offer the potential to alleviate mental health conditions, these therapeutic practices are frequently conceived as self-evidently good and rarely subjected to any critical scrutiny. This article explores three inter-related sets of concerns regarding the implications of the TU for educators, students and the curriculum and, through an exploratory account, illustrates these trends from our own lived experiences of working within a TU. Framed by insights from critical pedagogy, we critically analyse the current well-being agenda in the British HE sector and how this positions educators as ‘agents of well-being’ rather than ‘agents of criticality’.

Historical Perspective of Industrial Relationship in Nigeria

This study provides a comprehensive examination of the evolution of industrial relations in Nigeria, tracing its historical development from the colonial era through post-independence fluctuations, military rule, structural adjustments, and contemporary global influences. It highlights the interplay between colonial legacies, nationalism, authoritarian governance, economic liberalisation, and globalisation in shaping Nigeria's labour landscape. Analysing the various eras—Colonial, Post-Independence, Military Interregnum, Structural Adjustment, Return to Democracy, and Contemporary Global Influences—the study underscores the dynamic interactions among government policies, employer strategies, labour union activities, and international forces. It delves into the challenges of political interference, corruption, legal inadequacies, global labour standards, and economic transformations. The study emphasises the importance of resilience, adaptability, and collaborative dialogue in navigating the complexities of industrial relations towards ensuring labour equity and economic progress in Nigeria's continuously evolving socio-economic.

The Cultural Consequences of Market Transition: An Empirical Examination of Rising Materialism in Twenty-First-Century China

This study examines how markets affect personal culture in the context of postsocialist China. Drawing on several bodies of literature, I argue that China’s transition to a market economy promotes materialist values via two causal pathways. First, market transition entails a process of economic liberalization, which accentuates economic incentives and exacerbates existential insecurity. Second, market transition also entails a process of commodification that, by immersing individuals in market relations, crowds out intrinsic motives and normalizes the pursuit of material self-interests. My empirical analysis uses repeated cross-sectional data from a large-scale national survey to demonstrate the effect of market transition through the lens of work values. Taking advantage of China’s regional variations in the pace of institutional change, I show that, between 2005 and 2015, provinces where market transition had made greater progress tended to experience a sharper rise in materialist work values. Additional analyses reveal significant differences in work values between state-sector employees and workers in the market sector, and that the relationship between market transition and materialist values extends beyond the work domain. These findings contribute to the theoretical literature on the cultural consequences of markets and the empirical knowledge on cultural change in contemporary China.

Shifting ruralities: a case study of higher education, tourism and youth in Banjar sub-district, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh

ABSTRACT This paper examines the educational and livelihood trajectories of mainly upper caste youth in the quickly changing Shanti Valley, Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh. This, against the backdrop of economic liberalisation, and the spread of urbanisation and higher education in India in the last two decades. It shows that while higher education has limited attraction for area youth in terms of work and livelihood, what is really transformational is the metamorphosis of the valley from a space dominated by horticulture and agriculture to a site with expanded tourist arrivals. Youth entry points into tourism appear to follow family trajectories, as young people move away from farming as a sole and primary occupation, via such new non-farm employment. Further, as young people and their families come to engage with tourism, the knowledge for such endeavours comes from numerous sources, with higher education being only one route to such learning. Tourism, and the spread of mediated encounters mean that ‘urbanised’ forms of life and living are increasingly visible as the valley is reconstructed as a hybrid global-local space. However, as the local landscape metamorphoses, there are widespread concerns about ecological futures, raised by youth and their families alike.

EMPIRICAL INSIGHTS INTO THE INFLUENCE OF FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT ON CAPITAL MARKETS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

The rise of capital markets around the world has paved the way for new research on the relationship between financial development and capital market performance. This becomes relevant as capital markets are now more accessible to foreign capital flows as a result of economic liberalization and globalization. Therefore, this study intends to provide empirical evidence of the impact of financial development proxied by three parts, namely financial access, financial efficiency and financial stability based on critical mass theory. Operationally, this study uses a sample of 6 countries in ASEAN with an annual observation period from 2007 to 2022. With the characteristics and structure of panel data, this study uses panel regression analysis with a total data of 672 observations (country-years). The analysis used also applies a fixed-effects model (FEM) at the country (Country-FE) and year (Year-FE) levels. The results show that there is a positive association between financial access and capital market performance, a negative association between financial efficiency and capital market performance, and a positive association between financial stability and capital market performance.

Article: The 2019 BLEU Model BIT: BLEU’s Vision of the Future of Investment Protection

This article compares the 2019 BLEU model bilateral investment treaty with the older 2002 version. After an overview of the BLEU’s role as a major actor in international investment law, the authors argue that the changes introduced by the 2019 Model BIT reflect the EU’s policy towards foreign investment protection. The drafters of the 2019 Model BIT were inspired by the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and trade Agreement and the European Commission’s proposal to establish a Multilateral Investment Court. The 2019 Model BIT marks a shift from liberalization of foreign direct investment (FDI) to the protection of the sovereign powers, in particular the State’s right to regulate, and the curtailing of investment protection presented as a response to the investment protection system’s misuse and abuse by investors. By placing certain limitations to substantive standards of protection, placing strong emphasis of sustainable development objectives and advocating a reform of the investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS), the 2019 BLEU Model BIT puts forward a vision for the future of investment protection that departs from the Washington Consensus of economic liberalization but also enables the investment protection system to survive in the face of the so-called backlash against ISDS and the criticism of civil society.

India’s Agrarian Crisis and Changing Countryside

A mass protest by farmers camped outside New Delhi in 2020–21 persuaded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to repeal laws that aimed to further liberalize Indian agricultural markets. The protests reflected the depth of an ongoing agrarian crisis in the Indian countryside. The Green Revolution introduced in the 1960s and the economic liberalization of the 1990s deepened rural inequalities, creating fertile ground for right-wing populism. More recently, however, economic vulnerability has catalyzed a reassertion of farmer and rural identities over religious affiliations.

EXCHANGE RATE REGIMES AND ECONOMIC POLICIES: AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

This research paper provides a comprehensive analysis of exchange rate regimes (ExRRs) and their implications for economic policies particularly for the Indian economy. The study investigates the relationship between different ExRRs, including fixed, floating, and managed float systems, and their impact on macroeconomic policies which are drivers of economic growth. We have recognised four different regimes for the Indian rupee on the basis of level of flexibility of the exchange rate. In India, before liberalisation, fixed exchange rate system was followed but after economic liberalisation of early 1990s, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) started intervening in the currency market to regulate the exchange rate. The exchange rate was made comparatively more flexible since the global financial crisis of 2008. After 2013,the exchange rate was efficiently and regularly managed by adopting the currency market intervention methhod. The RBI has acted in an asymmetric manner to reply to the EMP. When there was pressure to appreciate, the RBI acted by buying the foreign exchange reserves whereas rupee depreciation was adopted in case of vice-versa. The present study discusses the broader implications of ExRRs and economic policies for global economic governance, financial market stability, trade and investment flows, policy innovation, and public perception. It provides valuable insights for policymakers, central banks (CBs), financial institutions, and researchers, informing policy formulation processes in the dynamic global economic landscape.

Asymmetry in the exchange rate pass-through to consumer prices in Eastern European countries

Using quarterly data from Q1 2002 to Q4 2021, a Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model is utilised to investigate the potential asymmetry in the exchange rate pass-through (ERPT) to consumer prices in 11 Eastern European countries. The findings show that both the appreciations and depreciations of the nominal effective exchange rate (NEER) have significant long-term effects on consumer prices, with the appreciations being stronger in countries with a fixed exchange rate regime, especially the Baltic States. Incomplete long-term ERPT is observed in the majority of countries, except Estonia. Short-term ERPT is much weaker and often of an opposite direction for appreciations and depreciations. Additionally, a strong uniform long-term effect of both the money supply and crude oil prices was observed, while the short-term effects are mixed. As regards economic liberalisation, both long- and short-term effects are country-specific and of a different direction.

The Intellectual History of Milton Friedman's Criticism of Corporate Social Responsibility

This article is the first to reconstruct the intellectual history of Milton Friedman's criticism of business and its social responsibilities. Using original archival research and printed evidence, this article makes three major arguments. First, Friedman's criticisms of business and its social responsibilities evolved over time and emerged from persistent anxieties among economic liberals about monopoly, business interests, and political authority that were explicitly read from Adam Smith. Second, the article contributes to the emerging intellectual history of corporate social responsibility (CSR) by reconstructing the development of Friedman's criticisms, their transformations, and their reception within the context of American managerial thought from the 1950s to the 1980s. Finally, contextualizing Friedman's criticisms demonstrates his concern about decision-making logics within organizations, which in turn explains his belief that CSR would contribute to collectivization and enhances the understanding of neoliberal political thought.

Analyzing the Impact of Trade Liberalization in Morocco through Synthetic Control Analysis and the Role of Preferential Policies

This study explores the impact of trade liberalization in Morocco post the 1983 structural adjustment program, utilizing the Synthetic Control method for a comprehensive comparative analysis. Initial findings show a negative impact until 2010, indicating a divergence from the Synthetic Control simulation. However, a positive shift occurs post-2000 due to preferential liberalization policies, leading to sustained economic growth from 2010 onwards. The study underscores the importance of additional liberalization initiatives and structural reforms. While acknowledging contributions, limitations include potential biases in the Synthetic Control method. The research highlights temporal nuances in economic reform impacts, advocating for a long-term perspective in assessing trade liberalization. Beyond Morocco, the study offers insights for policymakers in developing economies, emphasizing the need for selective reform implementation. Overall, it contributes to the understanding of global economic dynamics, prompting further exploration of growth strategies and the intricate interplay between economic reforms, trade liberalization, and sustainable development in developing nations.

A Kingdom of Possibility

A Kingdom of Possibility