Level Of Global Competitiveness Research Articles

Repositioning a country for global manufacturing competitiveness: a case of South Africa

Purpose This study aims to develop an artifact to measure the level of manufacturing competitiveness of a country in the global context and provide a suitable interpretation mechanism for the measured values, and to provide prescriptive solution where necessary so that the country can develop an actionable plan of program to move from the current level of global competitiveness to another such that they could provide more economic opportunities for their citizenry. Design/methodology/approach A manufacturing competitive index (MCI) was developed which includes relevant variables to capture a country’s manufacturing activity level in an economy with a balanced perspective. Reliable international sources were used. Ward algorithm was used to identify clear clusters of performance upon which competitive gaps were measured and improvement projects were identified and prioritized to obtain the best value for cluster transitional plan. Findings This study shows that the case country is not doing as well as it wants to believe, even when the relevant technology import measures were included in the expanded metric, but also, the next level of competitiveness is achievable within the national budget if proper prioritization is done. Originality/value The paper presents a cocktail of indexes that is more exhaustive of MCI, including both research capacity and technology import variables. It also uses clustering mechanism to provide a proper context to interpret the MCI scores in the context of peer nations. It presents a gap determination methodology and shows how priority projects could be logically selected to close measured gaps based on anticipated value from budget expenses

Stringency of environmental regulations vs. global competitiveness: Empirical analysis

At the current stage of socio-economic development of the countries in the context of numerous international summits on climate change, the emergence problem of additional regulatory and tax burdens of environmental standards is nowadays actualized, which creates new challenges and opportunities for the competitiveness of national economies. The formation of a qualitatively new model of greening national economies in the context of welfare is linked to the emergence of radically new challenges: climate change, an aging population, environmental and food crises, new demands on the quality and quantity of public goods, etc. All this requires a review of the fundamental foundations of macroeconomic and institutional analysis of welfare states in the context of the ecological vector of development. A comprehensive statistical analysis of long-term indicators of global competitiveness, environmental performance and the stringency of environmental regulations on a large sample of countries confirms the hypothesis that it is possible to internalize the significant stringency of environmental regulations in welfare states and maintain a high level of global competitiveness against the background of high quality environmental goods. The clinal nature of the country ordination according to the studied indices indicates the absence of a wide gap between countries of different clusters and the possibility of increasing the global competitiveness and quality of the environmental performance of the lower groups by strengthening the stringency of environmental regulations while improving the quality of their institutions and inclusion (through the development of education, science, culture) into the system of individual and social values of environmental preferences.

The Effect of Disruption Technology, and the Future Knowledge Management toward Service Innovation for Telecommunication Industry 4.0 in Indonesia

The disruption technological creates unprecedented opportunities and challenges that will be strengthened by the convergence of digital, physical technologies that characterize the newly emerging Fourth Industrial Revolution 4.0. This emerging technology is extraordinary and has the potential to become a source of growth. The telecommunications industry 4.0 is undergoing transformational development to deal with disruptive technological challenges. Globally, quality has declined from the past few decades, a combination of a stagnant economy and an increase in the quality of income has caused dissatisfaction. Inertia services that are often suffered by large companies are often difficult to shake, customer expectations have also shifted in the market, placing the company in a difficult situation in achieving customer satisfaction, agile and innovative technological trends, cost competition, government policy, and this will increase the level of global competition. Exploration case studies and literature reviews are used to test the antecedents of Service Innovation. The study identifies that disruption of technology services offers opportunities for business development to encourage the use of Internet-based services, increasing demand for cheaper and faster internet for consumers. To facing a competitive advantage, organizations have influenced by Service Innovation with the ability to improve big data analytics and organize future knowledge management capabilities, which are agile and flexible in providing information and solutions. From the managerial perspective, this research provides a comprehensive view of what the impact of Service Innovation is on organizations, how to achieve, what variables contribute, and how to relate with performance. The authenticity of this research lies in the description of how management emerges with a practical oriented framework of how organizations must be formed to be innovative and competitive through the general arrangement of antecedents of service innovation. This study, however, has limitations because the qualitative nature and conceptual framework need to have further investigated through large-scale surveys by quantitative research.

SILENT AND SPOKEN ANIMATED SITUATIONAL MATERIALS: A PROCEDURE OF INNOVATIVE AND ETHICAL STANDARDS IN EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENT

The assessment of education achievements and levels of global competition are going over development all the time. To achieve this target, educational system seriously is looking forward to establish some procedures of how to improve their international standing. Among these targeting procedures is to grant the best teaching process levels that are used to receive preferable and powerful results. In the process of education, teaching could be influential when the purpose of teaching is directed to examine the potential use of animated learning situational materials. Animated materials are received as being an effective means of teaching messages and lessons that static materials could not offer. This in turn transforms the rigid student's understanding into a fully interactive performance. That way of presenting teaching materials comes up with story ideas which are always hard to make them much easier of virtual experiences. Educational problems could be solved when values and morals are seen out of restricted methods. Hence, building up a successful challenge through animation is the process of bringing life experience into reality shaped with color, dialogue, plot, characters, and setting through an animated situation. Thus, morals, ideals, and teaching messages might be taught within the topic of school assessment policy.

The evolution of world class manufacturing toward Industry 4.0: A case study in the automotive industry

In order to increase the level of global competitiveness and improve the performance of production system, a large number of manufacturing companies have implemented world class manufacturing (WCM) approach, which has developed based on the third industrial revolution and the need for mass production. The evolution in production equipment and communication technologies, and the demand of markets for personalized mass production, have forced manufacturing companies to transform their production systems and prepare for a revolution. This revolution, known as Industry 4.0 (I4.0), or the digital transformation, has been introduced as a new type of organization of manufacturing systems that is more flexible and agile, and is based on using large amounts of information and data in the decision-making process. One of the main characteristics of this concept is decentralization, which allows different subsystems to make decisions autonomously in order to have self-organization systems. There are some important differences between the principles of WCM and I4.0. World class manufacturing is mainly based on continuous improvement and cost reduction, without a global vision for profit optimization. Industry 4.0 is mainly based on using all accessible information and data of systems and making decentralized decisions, but it also involves a global vision and a systemic approach to global profit optimization. However, achieving these objectives takes a very long time, and the challenges are numerous. As with all projects, for a transformation project to succeed, it is very important to define the transition phase and the way to change and introduce these new principles. This paper presents part of our research project, in collaboration with the Fiat Powertrain Technologies company, concerning the transformation of their production system toward the factory of the future. We highlight the design principles of I4.0 and the potential of the WCM system for transformation and achieving development of the characteristics of I4.0. We focus on five of the principal technical pillars of WCM and the steps in their development, and present some modifications in adoption of the design principles of I4.0. An example of change in the professional maintenance pillar of WCM is also presented.

Government Effectiveness and Corruption Control to the Global Competitiveness Level of ASEAN Countries

This study is a validation of the varied parameters of global competitiveness level of the ASEAN countries. Government effectiveness (GE) and corruption control (CC) are the direct predictors and independent variables while global competitiveness (GC) is the response variable. The determined causal factors affected by government effectiveness and corruption control are human development (HD) and enabling trade facilitation (ETF) which have varied impacts to global competitiveness. The researcher utilized a path analysis where 6 path models were established from the predictors (x) to its response variable (y) to determine which among these factors creates a huge impact. Path coefficients were generated and the summation of value effects was determined. Findings revealed that government effectiveness and corruption control were substantial elements that influenced the dynamism and vitality of global competitiveness landscape. However, GE has a strong direct effect to GC as compared to CC and from amongst the indirect effects, the correlation between GE and HD relative to GC has the highest path coefficient. The existing economic and political conditions of the individual ASEAN member countries reflected by the implications of the raw data collected are seen as an impediment to a more collective performance. Hence, this study implies a two-fold re-evaluation and strengthening of the policy formulation and implementation individually and collectively as a regional bloc.

A holonic multi-agent methodology to design sustainable intelligent manufacturing control systems

The urgent need for sustainable development is imposing radical changes in the way manufacturing systems are designed and implemented. The overall sustainability in industrial activities of manufacturing companies must be achieved at the same time that they face unprecedented levels of global competition. Therefore, there is a well-known need for tools and methods that can support the design and implementation of these systems in an effective way. This paper proposes an engineering method that helps researchers to design sustainable intelligent manufacturing systems. The approach is focused on the identification of the manufacturing components and the design and integration of sustainability-oriented mechanisms in the system specification, providing specific development guidelines and tools with built-in support for sustainable features. Besides, a set of case studies is presented in order to assess the proposed method.

Impact of Development of Technology on Education: Key Micro and Macro Economies of Australia

<p>The purpose of this paper was to discuss and examine the impact of development of technology on education in key micro and macro economies of Australia. Research for this paper included application of micro and macro economics concepts, presentation of facts that are collected from different sources as well as deeper analysis of the changes in micro and macro economies of Australia caused by technological changes in education supported by a range of other scholarly articles.</p><p> </p><p>The paper provides advantages and disadvantages of development of technology on education as well as impact of technology on education in key micro and macro economies of Australia. Based on the analysis, the education industry in general is benefitted by development of technology caused by increasing access to information and flexible study schedule through e-learning. The paper then moved into micro and macro analysis of the impact technology has on education. The key factors in micro economics that were discussed are long run demand and supply, labour demand and supply, resistance to change and effect on universities and the environment. In macro economics, the key factors that were discussed are increased access to education in the country, decrease in structural unemployment rate, decreased demand for Australian academics, increased level of global competition and decrease in GDP as well as increase in information asymmetry.</p><p> </p>The paper provides detailed analysis on the impact of technological development on key micro and macro economies. In general, this paper suggests that as the inevitable development of technology in education will have both positive and negative effects on Australian economies, the key challenge is in managing the development by minimising its negative impacts and nourishing the positive impacts

Strategies and competitiveness for emerging countries

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the strategies for improving the competitiveness of Ecuador (ECU), Colombia (COL) and Peru (PER). It is one of the first studies using 36 indicators within the context of three South-American countries. It fulfills the lack of knowledge at the scientific work and its practical objective by identifying the factors that public policy may take into consideration urgently to improve the global competitiveness level of the countries for a sustainable development and considerations for a long-term integration.Design/methodology/approachIt analyzes data of four-year average of international sources such as: The International Monetary Fund, The World Bank, The United Nations, among others. The factors were selected after a careful literature review, the final selection and the weight of each determinant was calculated using partial least squares-structural equation modeling. The calculation of the national and international competitiveness indexes used the double diamond for competitiveness theoretical frame.FindingsFrom a national perspective, it was found that COL is the most competitive country followed by PER in the second place and ECU is in third. Internationally, the authors have found also that COL is the most competitive economy, PER in second place and ECU is in third.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has found that in order to improve the level of national competitiveness, ECU has to concentrate on improving and strengthening formal and non-formal institutions, which are reflected in: four factors, PER four, and COL three. To reach international competitiveness, ECU should improve four factors, PER five, and COL five formal and non-formal institutions.Practical implicationsThis research is the first one on its field, it uses 36 competitiveness indexes and the PLS-SEM statistic methodology to assign the weight of competitive indicators and the DD theoretical frame to determine the relevance of its factors and it is oriented to advise decision-makers and provides the appropriate police guidelines for the national competitiveness strategy and improve their quality of life of its residents from: ECU-COL-PER. On the other hand, the academic implications of these results appear when calculating the weight-load competitiveness indexes using inferential multivariate analysis; it provides researchers and practitioners an analysis tool for comparing competitive factors of emerging countries from the DD approach without any weaknesses, as a framework to assist in formulating economic policy at the national and regional level.Social implicationsDue to the difficulty of competitiveness operationalization, this research uses PLS-SEM to correlate its factors as the statistical methodology and the DD as the tool for the identification of theoretical indicators. This work may be taken into consideration for an immediate and sustainable improvement in order to win competitiveness than its neighbors.Originality/valueThis study is unique because the factors were selected after a careful literature review; the final selection and the weight of each determinant was calculated using PLS-SEM. The calculation of the national and international competitiveness indexes used the DD for competitiveness theoretical framework applied for the first time in a research for South America with 36 determinants. The result of this analysis compares the weak and strong determinants of these three member countries of UNASUR for the development of their complementarities and therefore the recommendations of public policy.

VECTORS OF HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR TRANSFORMATION IN CONDITIONS OF THE INFORMATION ECONOMY FORMATION

Urgency of the research. Dynamic transformations of economic systems in the 21st century are intensified by the processes of active development of information and communication technologies. Under such circumstances, the level of global competitiveness of the national economy is largely determined by the capacity of economic subjects of the country to generate and implement operationally innovative technologies in business processes. Target setting. Transition to the information economy, based on generation, processing and use of knowledge-based information, involves maximum utilization of the existing potential and reserves of all economic subjects. A special role is played by the sector of the higher education presented by the higher educational institutions. Actual scientific researches and issues analysis. The problems of information society development and information economy formation are the research subject of domestic and foreign scientists: O. Alimov, V. Andrushchenko, D. Bell, B. Danylyshyn, M. Castells, M. Zgurovsky, J. Masuda, I. Malik, O. Toffler, A. Chukhno, O. Shevchuk, S. Shkarlet, etc. Uninvestigated parts of general matters defining. The research question of determining the role and priority directions of increasing the impact of the higher education sector on the processes of information economy formation need in-depth study. The research objective. The aim of the article is to identify the main vectors of the dual-power interaction of the higher education sector and the national economy in the current conditions of transition to the development on the basis of information, innovation and knowledge of the complexity. The statement of basic materials. The article identifies the role of the higher education sector in the processes of information economy formation. The authors identify the directions of mutual influence of the subjects of higher education sectors and business enterprise sector at the information age. The prospects of transformation of Ukrainian higher educational institutions activities in the context of informational economy formation are substantiated. Conclusions. The study leads to the conclusions about the existence of correlations between the rates of information economy development and the degree of interaction between business enterprise sector and higher education sector in the spheres of educational and research activities.

Home / Archives / Vol. 54 No. 2 (2017) / DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES OF SOCIAL ECONOMICS ASSESSMENT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF UKRAINIAN ECONOMY BY THE COMPETITIVENESS RATING

The era of globalization has caused an intensification of competition in the world market and international competitiveness has become one of the most complex phenomena of modern economic life, as a result of which it is necessary to monitor the level of global competitiveness so that Ukrainian institutions can ensure a stable growth rate. Solving the problem of low competitiveness will help the country to react in time to economic, technical and informational social changes occurring in the world and take the necessary measures to adapt to these changes. To strengthen competitive advantages among other countries in the world, it is necessary to interfere with innovative factors in the country's economy and promote sustainable development, which requires favorable conditions for business development.Given that the problem of competitiveness is key and practically meaningful both for countries that are already leaders in the competitiveness rating, and for countries that are still equal to world leaders. For our country, the issue of competitiveness is extremely acute, because now it is very important to increase the indicators of the Ukrainian economy in the context of its integration into the world economic space. Thus, the article analyzes the level of development of the Ukrainian economy in world ratings. Changes in the economy are traced by the dynamics of the Global Competitiveness Index between 2010 and 2017. It is determined that the quality of education and qualifications significantly influence the economic and social development of the country in the long term. The influence of a number of destabilizing factors that hinder economic development in Ukraine is analyzed. Factors for increasing the index in the rating for the period 2017-2018 have been singled out, and a forecast has been made on Ukraine's achievement of the results that will ensure the country's ranking among the top 40 places.

Tourism industry and national competitiveness: A sub-Saharan Africa countries perspective

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the contribution of competitiveness of the tourism industry on the global competitiveness of 31 sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. The aim is to identify the correlation between the achieved travel & tourism competitiveness level measured by the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) and global competitiveness level measured by the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) in SSA countries. The research is made by applying descriptive statistics, correlation, regression, cluster, and comparative analysis. Research results indicate that there is a strong positive correlation between the GCI and the TTCI, as well as the positive impact of TTCI on GCI in the observed group of countries. The conclusions of this paper provide recommendations to tourism policy-makers in SSA countries.

Experiencia de internacionalización y desarrollo humano entre Colõmbia y Brasil

La internacionalización, como parte de los procesos culturales, utilizados por las Instituciones de Educación Superior en el mundo, para establecer redes de intercambio, articulación y cooperación, se integra paulatinamente a sus funciones sustantivas de docencia, investigación y extensión, y está orientado a generar mayores niveles de competitividad global. Teniendo en cuenta estos elementos, y utilizando el modelo de investigación basado en la noción de experiencia vivida, propuesto por Van Manen (2003), se sustenta en el presente análisis, la importancia de hacer visibles las implicaciones ontológicas que entraña, este proceso, ya que producto del mismo, es posible evidenciar aspectos fundamentales en el desarrollo humano, como la re significación de la realidad, los saberes, la personalidad y la formación profesional. El artículo es producto de la experiencia vivida en procesos de internacionalización propiciados en diferentes ámbitos de la formación profesional (pasantía doctoral, posdoctorado), entre instituciones de Brasil y Colombia, y demuestra la importancia de asumir la internacionalización, como una instancia necesaria para propiciar el desarrollo humano y como un proceso de continua construcción del ser, a través de la dinámica que supone el conjunto de relaciones que propicia, con sigo mismo, con los demás y con la cultura. ************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************Experiência de internacionalização e desenvolvimento humano entre Colombia e BrasilRESUMO: A internacionalização, como parte dos processos culturais, utilizados pelas Instituições de Educação Superior no mundo, para estabelecer redes de intercâmbio, articulação e cooperação, se integra paulatinamente a suas funções substantivas de docência, investigação e extensão, e está orientado a gerar maiores níveis de competitividade global. Levando em consideração estes elementos, e utilizando o modelo de investigação baseado na noção de experiência vivida, proposta por Van Manen (2003), se sustenta na presente análise, a importância de tornar viáveis as implicações ontológicas que entranha, este processo, uma vez que produto do mesmo, é possível evidenciar aspectos fundamentais no desenvolvimento humano, como a ressignificação da realidade, os saberes, a personalidade e a formação profissional. Este artigo é produto da experiência vivida em processos de internacionalização propiciados em diferentes âmbitos da formação professional (estágio doutoral, pós-doutorado), entre instituições do Brasil e Colômbia, e demostra a importância de assumir a internacionalização, como uma oportunidade para propiciar o desenvolvimento humano e como um processo de contínua construção do ser, através da dinâmica que supõe o conjunto de relações que propicia, com sigo mesmo, com os demais e com a cultura.PALAVRAS-CHAVES:internacionalización; desarrollo humano; experiencia vivida.

Protecting intellectual property to enhance firm performance: does it work for SMEs?

In this century, characterized by increasing level of global competition and high technological development, the ability of firms to develop and exploit their innovative capabilities is widely recognized as a critical determinant of firm performance and competitive advantage. Intellectual Property represents knowledge that can be protected by recognized rights, called intellectual property rights (IPRs) that encompass patents, trademarks, design and copyrights. Our paper aims at studying the relationship between two different IPRs, patents and trademarks, and economic and financial performance of SMEs in two different Italian industries. It helps fill the gap about the use of IPRs by SMEs, which is still under-researched. In line with previous studies, we propose an approach that uses a panel regression model, supported by a t-test, to investigate the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Drawing on the results, we hypothesize explanations of our findings and suggest directions for future research.

Structure of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Turkey and Global Competitiveness Strategies

The effect of globalization on small and medium enterprises has received much more attention than the other enterprise types in international circles because the SMEs make significant contributions to the economy of both developing and developed countries. Financing obstacles in small firms are reported to have almost twice the effect as obstacles in large firms. In this regards one of the most viable strategies to achieve national development goals in both developing and developed nations is to promote SMEs. In this framework this study present the current state of SMEs in Turkey and investigate the global competitiveness strategies for them. The results of the study show that SMEs form 99,9% of the industry in Turkey however only 55% of the SMEs are operating in value added sectors. They need dedicated financial support programmes and policy initiatives for increasing their levels of global competitiveness.

Co-creation: Customer Integration in Social Media Based Product and Service Development

Due to the rising level of global competition as well as a fast-growing number of innovations organizations are nowadays forced to find new ways to attract, gain and sustain loyal customers in order to stay competitive. Co-creation, the active involvement of customers in the process of new product and service development, has been identified as a reliable source of competitive advantage; however for most companies it still represents a challenge to find customers that are willing to openly cooperate and share their ideas and knowledge. This paper examines four different types of benefits derived from the Uses and Gratification approach motivating customers to participate in online co-creation activities. A pilot questionnaire and its practical applicability are being tested, confirming that customers’ participation is in fact stimulated by the four identified types of benefits and indicating that co-creators differ in their motivational levels. Finally, some recommendations on how to adapt the questionnaire for future research are given.

Current Account Deficit and Global Competitiveness in Turkey

Normal 0 21 false false false TR X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Current account deficit has been at the core of policy discussions in recent years in Turkey. The current account deficit in Turkey has exceeded the risky level. Policy makers worry that the enlarging current account deficit will further jeopardize Turkey’s economic future, making it more vulnerable to external economic fluctuation. The greatest portion of the current account deficit in Turkey results from increased trade deficit, and the main parts of imports in Turkey focus on some specific countries. A comparison between Turkey and its trade partners in terms of global competitiveness will provide a deep insight to reduce the deficit as well as the current account deficit. For this reason, this study aims to compare the level of global competitiveness of Turkey and its main trade partners. /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Normal Tablo"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

Estudio intrapaíses de la competitividad global desde el enfoque del doble diamante para Puerto Rico, Costa Rica y Singapur

Many researchers and economists have argued that competitiveness studies conducted by WEF and IMD, show limitations in small-economies, even more when they have different characteristics. The objective of this research is to study the competitiveness of three small-economies: Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and Singapore. The double-diamond model of competitiveness is useful when performing this task.With data obtain from international organizations. The findings suggest that Singapore shows a higher level of global competitiveness compared to Puerto Rico and Costa Rica. We conclude that Puerto Rico and Costa Rica have similar levels of competitiveness, because internationally Puerto Rico leads to Costa Rica on 3 determinants: factor conditions, demand conditions and related industries. On the other hand, Costa Rica is locally more competitive than Puerto Rico in 3 domestic factors: factor conditions, demand conditions and firm's strategy.

Building supply chain capabilities: a case study of Korean Hyundai-Kia Motor Company

With increasing levels of global competition, Korean large firms have been working for the development of overall capabilities of their suppliers. In addition to supportive government policy initiatives, Korean large enterprises have actively pursued a strategic priority of building their healthy supplier base. This paper shows how the Hyundai-Kia Motor Company (HKMC) has strengthened its suppliers by developing product development capabilities, thus enhancing its overall supply chain capabilities. Details of business practices and the implications are discussed.

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and Access to Medication: Does Egypt Have Sufficient Safeguards Against Potential Public Health Implications of the Agreement

The implementation of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) in Egypt raised concerns over public health implications, resulting from pharmaceutical patents, especially because the Egyptian pharmaceutical industry is heavily dependent on generic production. The current level of global competition in the pharmaceutical market, together with the lack of local pharmaceutical research, threaten the industry, and, as a result, access to affordable medication is expected to be impaired. Determinants of access to medicines are analysed. An epidemiological overview of the most prevalent diseases in Egypt has been done in light of the results of surveys about changes in medicine prices and availability, to speculate about potential limitations in access to medicines. Considering domestic pharmaceutical pricing and marketing regulations, which are mainly concerned with affordability, together with the flexibilities in the TRIPS Agreement, short-term solutions to potential access problems will be possible. Egypt has the necessary theoretical safeguards against negative implications of the TRIPS Agreement on access to treatment. However, this does not necessarily mean that these safeguards will be implemented in a way that will protect against the implications of patent protection on medicines in the long term.