Foreign Currency Earnings Research Articles

FOREIGN CURRENCY CONTROL IN CASE OF FREE MOVEMENT OF CAPITAL

The current practice of foreign currency control in Russia is based on the mechanisms that were formed during the period of the Soviet administrative and command economy. The approaches applied in Russia to foreign currency regulation and foreign currency control (repatriation requirements, closed list of operations for crediting funds to foreign accounts) create barriers for the Russian business and citizens, significantly complicating the procedure for their foreign economic activity. At the same time, the existing restrictions, in conditions when the requirements for the sale of a part of foreign currency earnings and other restrictions on the movement of capital are not applied, do not ensure the achievement of macroeconomic goals, which are laid down in the preamble of the act “On foreign currency regulation and foreign currency control”. The foreign currency act in Russia does not currently ensure the achievement of the goals for which it was adopted. In practice, the act solves the tax objectives and the tasks of combating the legalization of criminal revenue. Developed countries and members of the Organization for economic cooperation and development (OECD) do not use similar mechanisms to control the movement of funds. At the same time, foreign countries are actively developing instruments to control cross-border cash flows within the framework of legislation on combating money laundering and financing of terrorism, as well as in the framework of improving the mechanisms of international exchange of financial information for tax purposes. The authors propose a reform of the current foreign currency regulation aimed at the abolition of currency restrictions and the development of alternative mechanisms for controlling the cross-border movement of funds by improving the international exchange of tax information, including automatic one, as well as improving the effectiveness of measures to combat money laundering in international trade.

“Medium-Scale” Forestland Grabbing in the Southwestern Highlands of Ethiopia: Impacts on Local Livelihoods and Forest Conservation

Tropical forest provides a crucial portion of sustenance in many rural communities, although it is increasingly under pressure from appropriations of various scales. This study investigated the impacts of medium-scale forestland grabbing on local livelihoods and forest conservation in the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Data were generated through interviews, discussions and document review. The results indicate that state transfer of part of the forestland since the late 1990s to investors for coffee production created in situ displacement- a situation where farmers remained in place but had fully or partially lost access to forest- that disrupted farmers’ livelihoods and caused conflicts between them and the investors. Court cases about the appropriated land and related imprisonment, inflicted financial and opportunity costs on farmers. Farmers considered the livelihood opportunities created by the companies insufficient to compensate for loss of forest access. Companies’ technology transfers to farmers and contributions to foreign currency earnings from coffee exports have not yet materialized. Forest conservation efforts have been negatively affected by deforestation caused by conversion to coffee plantations and by farmers’ efforts to secure rights to forestland by more intensive use. The medium-scale forestland grabbing has been detrimental to farmers’ livelihoods and forest conservation in a way that recalls criticism of large- and mega-scale land grabbing since 2007–2008. The overall failure to achieve the objectives of transferring forestland to investors highlights a critical need to shift institutional supports to smallholders’ informal forest access and management practices for better development and conservation outcomes.

Strength and weakness of existing traceability system of seafood production in Bangladesh

Gher farming with shrimp and prawn (seafood) is blooming in the south-west region of Bangladesh, impacting positively on household level nutritional security, employment generation and foreign currency earning. Such positive impacts increased the importance of seafood production and trade to the international market from Bangladesh. Out of several food safety requirement of international market, seafood traceability is a key issue for Bangladeshi producers. To develop a traceability system about 200,000 gher farmers were registered by DoF with the support of UNIDO project and a paper based traceability system was developed since 2009. This study was designed to understand existing traceability system, trend of gher ownership changes and its impact on the traceability in term of its strength and weakness. Three gher farming clusters in three upazilas of Bagerhat district were selected to carry out this study to assess the facts above using focus group discussion, key informant interview, questionnaire survey, physical observation, and literature review. The micro-level observation on the gher and its ownership changes were critically analyzed taking the Google Earth images from the farming cluster in the selected upazilas. The study revealed that gher farming has huge positive impacts on total farm productivity, income, and farmers’ well-being however, land ownership changes impacting negatively on existing traceability of farms. It was found that out of 167 ghers in three clusters, a massive change of gher ownership happened over the last 10 years. Under this situation existing traceability system cannot sustain for a long time. Therefore, land administration system should be brought under digital system and e-traceability needs to be implemented by the collaborative initiative of the Department of Fisheries and the Ministry of Land.Progressive Agriculture 28 (2): 156-166, 2017

Extending the determinants of dollarization in sub-Saharan Africa: The role of easy access to foreign exchange earnings

This study argues that the ease at which economic agents have access to foreign earnings would influence/increase the level of dollarization in the economy. The three sources of foreign currency earnings are financial integration, trade openness and natural resource rent. As such, we extend the determinants of dollarization to capture these variables. A dataset of 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for the period 2001–2012 was built. Based on Tobit regression, we found that all the proxies of foreign currency earning, with the exception of natural resource rent, are significant contributors to the increasing rate of dollarization. Specifically, it was found that trade openness and financial liberalization are positive determinants of dollarization, while natural resource rent serves as drag to the dollarization process. These results remain valid to three robustness tests. Policy implications and suggestions for future research were proposed.

Analysis of the Financial Soundness of Footwear Industry in Bangladesh: An Empirical Study using Z-score

Among all the available statistical techniques, Altman’s Z-score is found to be the most reliable technique to measure the financial soundness of any given business organization. In this paper, we have selected footwear industry which is the second largest foreign currency earner in Bangladesh. This industry is contributing in a greater scale to the economy of our country. The prime objective of this study is to assess the financial heath, i.e. analyze the probability of bankruptcy of the listed companies of the footwear industry. We have studied the financial statements of five companies listed in the stock exchange for a period of 2011 to 2015. The study revealed that the footwear industry overall is in a safe position i.e. financially sound, showing two of the selected companies in the safe zone, one in the grey zone and two in the distress zone. The findings of the study will help different groups of stakeholders to make decisions regarding their investments and other choices, considering the soundness of this specific industry.

Is it Possible to Utilise the Agricultural Potential of Ukraine under the Current Agrarian System?

SummaryThe government of Ukraine aims to transform the country into an ‘agricultural superpower at the international level’ with the hope that the sector will gain high foreign currency earnings and become ‘the engine of national economic development’. The large agribusiness corporations have willingly responded to these calls. However, placing hope solely in the corporate sector is inadequate as the key role of agriculture to create business diversity and achieve rural social and environmental objectives will remain unfulfilled. Many other national economies have experienced ‘the offensive’ of capital on agriculture during the twentieth century, with associated negative consequences, thus encouraging them to adopt more balanced agrarian policies which benefit the whole rural population. Utilisation of Ukrainian agricultural potential as an economic growth engine requires a fundamental change in the interpretation of its purpose, which is currently focused on profit‐making export‐oriented commercial activity. The multifunctional nature of the sector needs to be emphasised, the purpose of which is not only the production of agricultural and food products, but also the creation of public benefits, such as the development opportunities and means for existence for 14 million Ukrainian rural inhabitants, maintenance of ecological balance, regeneration of soil fertility and preservation of rural landscapes.

Competitiveness and participation of mexican honey in world market

La apicultura en México se practica desde la época precolombina; en el presente está arraigada en casi todas las regiones agrícolas del país y se exporta un poco menos de la mitad de la producción de miel. La importancia de esta actividad se lo confiere su generación de divisas, ingresos y empleos, por lo que los cambios en el mercado externo afectan el ingreso de las familias del medio rural y a la economía del subsector pecuario. Por este motivo, el presente artículo tiene por finalidad analizar el nivel y la posición competitiva de la miel mexicana frente a la oferta externa de los principales países productores, así como su relación con sus factores determinantes. Para alcanzar lo anterior se estimaron cuatro indicadores de resultado o ex post, considerando el procedimiento propuesto por el Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura. El volumen de oferta primaria y el rendimiento por colmena ubican a México en la sexta posición mundial, mientras que como exportador se ubica en el tercer lugar; se encontró que la miel obtenida en el país presenta un alto nivel de competitividad en el mercado nacional e internacional, superado en este último ámbito sólo por China y Argentina. En la evolución de la producción exportación de miel influyen variables que tienen relación con la fase primaria de la cadena productiva, los procesos de comercialización y del medio físico-natural que determinan tanto la productividad, como la generación de los saldos exportables y de valor para la economía.

Exchange Rate Volatility and Malawi’s Tobacco Exports to The United Kingdom and The United States

The availability and sources of foreign currency in Malawi have become the subject of prominent policy debates in the country in the recent past. Malawi, which traditionally relies on agriculture and foreign aid for foreign currency earnings and balance of payments support, has experienced a shortage of foreign currency. It is against this background that this paper examined the relationship between the responsiveness of Malawi’s tobacco exports to the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (US) markets for the period between 1995 and 2011. The objectives of the study were to examine the impact of exchange rate volatility on Malawi’s tobacco export earnings to the UK and the US and to determine and compare the volatility coefficients between the two export destinations. Based on the GARCH modelling, the paper found that exchange rate volatility in Malawi varies over time. When there is market disequilibrium in the long run relationship for both markets, there are differences in the rapidity of adjustments relating to the exchange rate volatility coefficient, but these are not significant. For example, the error correction term for tobacco exports to the US is -0.2389, while the error correction term for tobacco exports to the UK is -0.2341. This means that there is a relatively faster recovery in the disequilibrium for the tobacco exports to the US than that experienced for the UK market. Given these findings, it is important for researchers and policy makers to pursue appropriate exchange rate policies that will promote exchange rate volatility in Malawi, since the results show that exchange rate volatility has a positive effect on tobacco exports. Hence, the monetary authorities should pursue free and floating exchange rate policies to achieve exchange rate volatility. In addition, authorities should pay particular attention to the collusive behaviour of tobacco buyers, in order to avoid price fixing at the auctions.

Extending the Determinants of Dollarization in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of Easy Access to Foreign Exchange Earnings

This study argues that the ease at which economic agents have access to foreign earnings would influence/increase the level of dollarization in the economy. The three sources of foreign currency earnings are financial integration, trade openness and natural resource rent. As such, we extend the determinants of dollarization to capture these variables. A dataset of 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for the period 2001-2012 was built. Based on Tobit regression, we found that all the proxies of foreign currency earning, with the exception of natural resource rent, are significant contributors to the increasing rate of dollarization. Specifically, it was found that trade openness and financial liberalization are positive determinants of dollarization, while natural resource rent serves as drag to the dollarization process. These results remain valid to three robustness tests. Policy implications and suggestions for future research were proposed.

Study on water and soil quality parameters of shrimp and prawn farming in the southwest region of Bangladesh

Water and soil quality parameters play a vital role for sustainable shrimp and prawn production which together is the leading exportable seafood product in Bangladesh contributing to a significant amount of foreign currency earnings. However, this sector is often negatively criticized by the consumers of importing countries for farm (locally called gher in Bengali) environment. In this context, an investigation was carried out to assess water and soil quality parameters of shrimp and prawn farms in southwest Bangladesh. This study was conducted at Dumuria and Paickgacha Upazila of Khulna district during dry and wet season in 2012. The data were collected from 9 shrimp and prawn farms and they were categorized in three different groups (as treatments) including 3 prawn (T1), 3 shrimp & prawn (T2) and 3 shrimp farms (T3). Water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, alkalinity, salinity, total phosphorous and total hardness were measured using portable advanced HACH water quality test kit in both dry and wet season. Farm soil (sediment) quality parameters including pH, organic carbon, total nitrogen and available phosphorus were measured in the laboratory in wet season. It was found that most of the water quality parameters were in suitable range in both seasons for prawn, shrimp & prawn and shrimp farming. However, the ammonia content was 0.009 to 0.45 ppm and 0.2 to 0.6 ppm in shrimp farm during dry and wet season, respectively which was higher than the other category of farms. The higher ammonia content in shrimp farm might be due to the decomposition of aquatic weeds, organic matter, uneaten feed etc. creating stress to shrimp. Different co-relationships found between the water quality parameters in all the farming systems in the both seasons. In terms of soil quality parameters such as pH, organic carbon and total nitrogen, there was no significant difference between the farm categories. However, available phosphorous content was significantly higher in shrimp & prawn farm. Phosphorous content was found negatively correlated with pH and organic carbon content of farm sediment (soil). From the present study, it could be argued that ammonia is the main problem for shrimp farms that may cause severe disease outbreak which need to be addressed from the view point of research and development towards sustainable seafood production in Bangladesh.J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 13(1): 153-160, June 2015

Economic Analysis of Cotton Production in the Gezira Scheme: 19 70- 2004

The Gezira Scheme contributes more than 50% of cotton produced in the Sudan. During the seventies up to late eighties cotton alone contributed between 45 and 65% of the total foreign currency earning. Fluctuation in area, production, average yield and, benefits started from the begging of nineties in addition to high cost of production year after year and Government agricultural policies. Therefore this study was an attempt to evaluate economic indicators (net present worth (NPW) and benefit cost ratio B/C ratio) of cotton production in the Gezira Scheme for the period (1970/71-2003/2004), also to compare three different periods of cotton production in Gezira (joint account system 1970/71-1980/81), (individual account system1981/82-1991/92), and (liberalization 192/93-2002/03) with respect to: Economic indicators (net present worth (NPW), benefit cost ratio B/C ratio), area, production and average yield. To identify some policy measures that may help to improve the production of cotton in the Gezira Scheme. The study mainly based on analysis of secondary data of cotton crop in Gezira Scheme. The methods of analysis used including the measurements of economic evaluation, descriptive statistics, simple mathematics, tabular analysis to describe the different periods. The study proved that the economic evaluation during the periods (1970/71-2003/2004), (1970/1971-1980/1981), (1981/1982-1991/1992) and (1992/1993-2003/2004) were feasible and positive, fluctuation in the benefits, costs, and net benefits related to the Government agricultural policy. It’s recommended that the Government agricultural policies should be proper and subsidized to agriculture particularly increasing the area of cotton crop, and reducing the cost of production are more important, downstream cotton processing for added value, up stream of cotton inputs processing for import substitutions and improving of cotton productivity through research development and extension is necessary.

SANCTIONS: THREAT OR OPPORTUNITY FOR THE ECONOMY? GLANCE THROUGH THE PRISM OF FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS OF RUSSIA

Russia is very actively involved in the international economic relations (IER). Participation in the ERI brings both substantial benefits – through foreign currency earnings from the export of resources and extremely negative effects for the economy – the flight of capital, substitution of domestic products through goods manufactured abroad. This article discusses various aspects of Russia’s participation in international economic relations. The problem of global imbalances and the balance of payments in Russia is analyzed. It is shown that Russia is one of the countries receiving as a result of foreign trade, the greatest benefit from global imbalances At the same time, this effect is being annihilated by the negative financial account balance. The sanctions of Western countries against the Russian economy are scrutinized. The impact of sanctions on the economy is analyzed based on the analysis of foreign economic relations of Russia. A list of the measures necessary to ensure the modernization of the Russian economy both under sanctions and, regardless of their retention or abolition, as a whole, in the coming years is presented. Factors influencing the modernization of the industry, are development of the financial system, the control of tariffs of natural monopolies, development of infrastructure. The extremely important measures is increase of resource and energy efficiency ( targeted), including industry standards; updating of funds; productivity growth. The indirect measure to support the industry present government expenditures on research and development. Along with the devaluation as the course of sanctions it is necessary to maintain the systemic industrial and agricultural policy. Here is the key to development and changes in economy structure.

The Impact of External Debt on Nigerian Economic Growth (1990 – 2009)

This study examined the Impact of External Debt on Nigerian Economic Growth (1990-2009). In order to give the study a direction, two null research hypotheses were formulated to determine the effect of external debt on investment, GDP, exchange rate and inflation. The research design used for this study was the ex-post facto research design. The econometric model employed was co-integration and error correction model to evaluate the inherent relationship between external debts and economic growth in Nigeria. The result revealed that, the impact of external debt has a positive effect on the growth of Nigerian economy. And conclude that, the severity of external debt within the period is reflected in the country’s inability to meet the debt service obligations particularly scheduled debt service in relation to its foreign currency earnings. It was recommended that, the federal government should initiate the use of more superior methods to negotiate for fixed interest payment and amortization schemes.

Tourism Marketing in Bangladesh: What, Why and How

Bangladesh is a fresh tourism destination. She has a vast prospective to develop tourism primarily because of its attractive unadulterated natural beauty, heroic historical background and archeological resources, which can be experienced all throughout the land. Tourism sector can play positive impact towards enhancing Gross Domestic Product (GDP).Many countries are now dependent on this sector for foreign currency earnings. Every destination country is trying to achieve more gain by developing this industry. The expansion of the tourism throughout the world has increased. Countries are trying to attract more tourists by adopting appropriate marketing techniques and strategies. A research revealed that the country has a positive trend in arrivals and earnings, and it can be increased to a significant level if the country can undertake appropriate promotion measures by increasing the allocation for this purpose. The country also needs to employ creative people for this purpose, and the quality of the promotional materials also needs to be developed. The paper has been undertaken to investigate how the use of promotional activities can help to develop the tourism industry by giving a special concentration in the case of Bangladesh by observing the current scenario, opportunity, and challenges. The study has intended to evaluate the effective & sustainable tourism marketing for this country.

Social responsibility in tourism: system archetypes approach

Purpose – Tourism has become one of the world's major industries measured in terms of turnover, the number of employees and foreign currency earnings, having at the same time a huge impact on the environment. However, the future development of tourism depends on today's decisions that often do not take into account the positive and the negative impact on the tourism destinations' environment with long-term consequences that are not easily undone. System archetypes are generic structures that are responsible for generic patterns of behavior over time, especially behavior that is counterintuitive. The article aims to explore the possible use of system archetypes in order to increase socially responsible (SR), i.e. systemic thinking and behavior of tourism business organizations, based on the requisite holism theory. Design/methodology/approach – The experimental design methodology has been used in order to test the assumption that individuals familiar with the system archetypes will be more likely to believe that tourism business organizations that operate in tourism destinations should be involved in attaining SR goals. Participants included managers, public authorities and community representatives and were divided into an experiment and a control group. The experiment group was exposed to a workshop on system archetypes, while the control group had no treatment. Structured quantitative interviews were used in order to test differences in attitudes and beliefs on SR of tourism business organizations among the experiment and the control group members. Findings – Natural environment of tourism destinations as tourism's essential resource is often destroyed due to the lack of SR. The research results indicate that the exposure of individuals to system archetypes increased the understanding of importance of SR behavior of tourism business organizations. System archetypes increased individuals' comprehension of the fact that the non-linear causal relationship, time delay and hidden structures of the systems generate complex behavior resulting in damage to the natural environment of tourism destinations. Research limitations/implications – The survey research on a restricted number of subjects was applied. In order to overcome limitations of such an approach, the rigor procedure for data collection and analysis was used. Practical implications – Managers of tourism business organizations could use system archetypes to analyse the impact of their activities on tourism destinations environment and thus improve the social responsibility of their decisions. The authors propose the formation of system archetypes and their applications repository in an organized environment to enhance understanding of SR behavior of tourism business organizations. Originality/value – The authors used experimental design in order to test whether exposure of stakeholders' to system archetypes changes their attitudes regarding SR, with the goal to increase the understanding of various conflicts that emerge from the fact that tourism depends on unspoiled environment and at the same time tourism is a potential polluter. Available literature offers no similar applications of the system archetype approach to systemic behavior via SR in tourism.

Tourism and Hospitality Curriculum for Rural Communities Neighbouring National Parks in Zimbabwe

The tourism and hospitality industry in Zimbabwe today, is the third largest foreign currency earner after agricultural exports and mining products. The industry is grounded on the country’s unique cultural and natural heritage which is made up of sensitive ecosystems encompassing national parks and wildlife. The growth of tourism stimulating increasing investments in the industry may trigger adverse long term effects of developments in biodiversity and loss of wildlife. It is therefore vital that communities living next to tourist attractions be educated so that they practise eco-tourism or sustainable tourism as a matter of priority. The focus of this article is to identify a curriculum for the education of communities living in and around tourist attractions in Zimbabwe. Such a curriculum should equip the communities with the requisite understanding to preserve and protect their environment effectively applying contemporary and traditional knowledge systems. In a bid to come up with an education curriculum and training programmes incorporating tourism and hospitality education, some 145 out of a population of 300 respondents were interviewed in and around the tourist resort areas of Nyanga, Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls. The article extends a realistic and practical framework for the development of a curriculum and training-programme-guideline for communities incorporating “Tourism and Hospitality” as a subject.

Composite Flours for Baked Products and Possible Challenges – A Review

ABSTRACT This paper is a review of how consumption of bread, other leavened products and unleavened products made from wheat flour has increased rapidly in Nigeria and other developing countries. It examines how this has resulted in large scale importation of wheat and the consequent drain on the nation’s foreign currency earnings. It contains some suggestions on how to reduce the high import bills of wheat by using composite flours or blends of wheatless flours in place of wheat flour for making leavened and unleavened products. Some studies on the quality characteristics of leavened and unleavened products made from composite flours or blends of wheat flours were reviewed. Some possible challenges likely to be encountered in case Nigeria changes from use of wheat flour to composite flours and blends of wheatless flours are also outlined.

Tími til að tengja? Af stefnumótun í ferðaþjónustu á Íslandi

Ferðaþjónusta á Íslandi hefur vaxið mjög að umfangi síðustu þrjá áratugi og er nú svo komið að atvinnugreinin skaffar umtalsverðan hluta gjaldeyristekna þjóðarbúsins. Ferðaþjónustu hefur löngum verið lýst sem atvinnugrein með mikla framtíðarmöguleika og eftir bankahrunið 2008 hefur hún verið talin gegna mikilvægu hlutverki í endurreisn efnahagslífsins. Í þessari grein er fjallað um hvernig stjórnvöld hafa leitast við að móta stefnu í ferðaþjónustu. Megindráttum í sögu stefnumótunar í ferðaþjónustu er lýst og gripið sérstaklega niður í tvö tímabil sem varpa ljósi á tilurð hennar og mótun. Gerendanetskenningunni (Actor-network theory) er beitt til að draga fram margleitni og dýnamík í gerð stefnumótunar. Því er haldið fram að stefnumótun í ferðaþjónustu sé afurð flókinna tengsla og á tíðum óvæntra samtenginga og tilviljana auk þess að markast af meintu tengslaleysi stjórnvalda við atvinnugreinina. Í þeim tveim tilvikum sem lýst er leika þorskstofninn og gosaska stórt hlutverk fyrir mótun og tilurð stefnumótunar í ferðaþjónustu.

Food self-sufficiency versus foreign currency earnings in the Sudanese irrigated agriculture

The analysis undertaken in this paper applies a multimarket model to simulate two policy measures based on the assumption that the government of Sudan would pursue two policies on the Gezira scheme the biggest irrigated scheme in Africa in attempts to achieve food self-sufficiency from wheat (major food crop), or to improve the foreign exchange earnings from cotton (major cash crop) through expanding their portions of cultivated land. The paper investigates the implications of each scenario on crops output, food self-sufficiency indicators and tenants’ welfare. Findings show that, the food security scenario raises self-sufficiency from wheat by 40% and reduces it for sorghum by 4%. However, it reduces the welfare level as the earnings from exports and revenues from tariffs decline. The foreign earning scenario on the other hand, improves the overall foreign earnings and enhances farmers’ welfare. Nonetheless, the study suggests that none of the two policies would achieve both objectives alone, hence it is recommended that, both policies are to be considered in a policy package that considers as well other related components.

Soil carbon for food security and climate change mitigation and adaptation

Agriculture constitutes the backbone of most African economies. It is the largest contributor to GDP; the biggest source of foreign exchange, accounting for about 40% of the continent’s foreign currency earnings; and the main generator of savings and tax revenues. In addition, about two-thirds of manufacturing value-added is based on agricultural raw materials. Agriculture remains crucial for pro-poor economic growth in most African countries, as rural areas sup¬port 70-80% of the total population. More than in any other sector, improvements in agricultural performance have the potential to increase rural incomes and purchasing power for large numbers of people to lift them out of poverty.