DP. Human Development. Freedom to, of and for people.

It seems that what Krugman told about the lesson that the Indian professor said to his students, have been bad understood and, unfortunately, achieve around the world. The professor couldn’t reflect in a better way the aim of many economist and policy makers: “if you are good and virtuous economist you will reincarnate as a physic, but if you are bad and perverse you will do as a sociologist” (Krugman, 1995).

Economics is a complex science, as well as reality is complex, is changing. Nevertheless, it exist a strange desire to reduce it into a simple and perfect one. Why? Because in this sense, is easier to measure it and to give short-run results.

This is evident on the reduction that development has on economic growth. So, we have forgotten the essential questions: why, for what, and for whom.

Nowadays we live in a contradictory world. On the one hand, there is a huge technological progress, the production potential is on the highest levels, the distances are getting shorter (thanks to the globalization of trade, ideas, communications), democracy is the preeminent political model, and in average the wealth of the world is increasing. On the other hand, we live in a world with remarkable depravations destitutions and oppressions. Poverty, inequality, violation of the most elementary subsistence human’s conditions and tyrannies, are realities that we could no avoid; neither from an economic policy perspective, neither from an ethics point of view.

Just have a look over these features. Inequalities are growing, not just the only related to the distribution of income –more o less 40% of the total world income is concentrated on the 1% of the total world population-, but also those associated to gender, access to education, health and other public services. Then, around 1.300 million of people live in extreme poverty, with less than 1 US$ per day, and 3.000 millions people are in poverty conditions.  At the same time, we are creating an ecological disequilibrium that threats our own survival (Kliksberg, 2006).

So, as long as development stills remain as a technician problem that requires technical solutions, the world will stills be looking to the wrong direction.

Development is about the expansion of the real freedoms and capabilities that the people enjoy and that lead them to life a live that they value. These freedoms go beyond the satisfaction of basics necessities. In Amartya Sen’s words, “development consists of the removal of various types of unfreedoms – such as lack of political rights, famines, poverty, etc. – that leave people with little choice and little opportunity of exercising their reasoned agency” (Sen, 2000)

The important thing here is not the income by itself, but the capability that people has to transform this “money” into what they need and think its necessary to live the life that they want. This perspective places humans as an active subject and not only as a beneficiary of the development process. “The process of development can expand human capabilities by increasing the choices that people have to live full and creative lives“ (Sen, 2000).

Therefore, freedom is the end and the means of development. Freedom allows people to increase the capabilities they need to life that they want (it has an instrumental value). At the same time, freedom is desirable not because of “something else”, it is because it own sake. We do not want to be free because it give us something more than freedom it self (intrinsic value).

I want to conclude regarding to Aristotle. Happiness (eudaimonia) is the supreme end that we are looking for. This means the same as living well and doing well. It is quite important to remember this to us and to the world.

Sources:

Krugman P. Peddling Prosperity: Economic Sense and Nonsense in an Age of Diminished Expectations. W. W. Norton & Company.  April 17, 1995.

Kliksberg, B. Capital social y cultura, claves del desarrollo. Inter-American Development Bank, Washington. February. 2006.

Sen A. Development as Freedom. Anchor; Reprint edition. August 15, 2000.

 


2 comentarios / 28 Nov 2011 por Diana Patricia Sanchez Barajas
IMSD /

Environmental accounting, AN OLD CASE-STUDY

CASE:

Imagine a factory located upstream that pollutes a river. It produces steel for the automotive industry. Downstream, local fishermen find they catch less fishes due to the pollution.

The article 4 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, most ancient written document on human rights (France revolution, 1789), gives the answer itself:

“Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. “

Since polluting a river undermines the possibility of “other members of society to enjoy the same right” or in this case, the same good, it is obvious that the action of polluting a river is illegal and punished and not permitted by most country’s laws. Actually the Spanish “Ley de Aguas” the art. 89, fifth title, states: “is forbidden every activity which is likely to cause the contamination or degradation of the public hydro domain…”

So, from the real world and the legal point of view, both company and fisherman have the right to use the river water, till they do not cause any damages.

If we assume there is no regulation, regardless of the approach we use to drive our choice, taking a decision is still easy:

If finally, an agreement must be found to allow both use the river this is my solution:

Of course the condition for it to work is that everywhere else the company can go, it finds the same conditions applied: if not, it will find another river to pollute at minor cost.

 

 

 


Comments Off on Environmental accounting, AN OLD CASE-STUDY / 28 Nov 2011 por Francesco Mazzeo
IMSD /

More Than Managerial Skills

How to become a better speaker, presenter, negotiator, and leader – that’s what my colleagues and I were taught in the course we attended on Managerial Skills. But was that all we learned from Mr. Christopher Metcalfe?

Of course not, because more than that, we were taught on how to enter into the hearts and minds of an audience, how to reach a win-win agreement, how to direct and motivate colleagues, co-workers and subordinates, and also how to manage time more efficiently and carry out tasks in more creative and innovative ways, as opposed to taking the conventional road.

In many respects, it was a class that I found very useful and in fact necessary, especially during a time when employers are seeking job candidates that not only possess knowledge and technical skills, but also the right attitude, conduct, professionalism, ability to handle work under stress as well as to work in teams and collaborate with diverse groups of people.

In Malaysia, for example, I used to work in a department of a government agency that focused on developing the country’s ICT talent pool and one reoccurring issue with ICT graduates, which the employers of multinational corporations reported to us, was the lack of good soft skills.

It is apparent that beyond being able to carry out specific tasks listed under a job description, employers are looking to hire employees that are skillful and knowledgeable but also driven and able to translate and communicate their knowledge to others. Current situations show that even with jobs in the ICT field that were once thought of belonging to the realm of the “geeks”, embodied in this outdated idea of a lone individual who works on the computer without much communication with the outside world, has changed because having basic soft skills are becoming more and more important.

Today, as I have increasingly witnessed and experienced, many jobs require employees to interact with others, attend corporate events, and present findings, suggestions, or ideas to top management.

Through our Managerial Skills course, I was given an opportunity to polish the soft skills that I already possess in a “safe” environment. It made me think as well on how I could go about maximizing the other skills I have, how to better “sell” myself to prospective employers, and how to someday become an influential leader who inspires others. I’m sure anyone who is motivated and driven to succeed will always look for ways to improve and impress.

Thus, in addition to the constant words of encouragement provided by our course teacher/trainer/coach, I believe that the lessons we learned throughout the course, including the priceless advice of doing what we can to avoid “getting shot by the Nazi” are valuable to our future career and undertakings, no matter which field we choose to pursue.


Comments Off on More Than Managerial Skills / 28 Nov 2011 por Syafrina Sharif
IMSD /

Polluter Pays- Environmental Economics

Polluter Pays

Polluter Pays

A polluter, from an economic point of view may be acting rationally because they are not bearing the full cost of the economic activity, only receiving the benefits. In the United States the basic element of freedom and property is protected under Common law. Common law acts to protect property owners from externalities that diminish the value of their property. In this case the quality of the fish and the livelihood of the fishermen is directly affected by the upstream factory and therefore should be held accountable. Even though environmental concerns are approached through regulation instead of law. The upstream party polluted and damaged the downstream fishermen’s property values, so therefore the fishermen should be able to bring private nuisance action against the polluter. I believe that law should be applied first and foremost and regulation secondary. The solution would be to have the factory pay damages or pay for their pollution and its negative effects on the fishermen it could be the difference in revenue before the factory as well as have the polluter clean up.
I say that law must be first because the polluter has already ignored regulation and therefore should be subject to the nuisance law. The factory negatively affects its neighbor. Again, in the United States the Clean Water Act recognizes two sources of pollution: point source pollution and nonpoint source of pollution. The factory is violating the Clean Water Act; the run off is nonpoint pollution. I believe the factory should first pay damages and secondly be subjected to high tax, which is then in turn used to pay for the obstruction of natural resources and further prevention.
Communities, government agencies, members of civil society, business and industry can all take steps to reduce water pollution. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines economic instruments as tools that “affect estimates of the costs and benefits of alternative actions open to economic agents” (OECD, 1994). Market based incentives can change the behavior. The objective for using an MBI can be to provide an incentive to change people’s behavior, as well as to raise revenues. Goals can also be to “get the prices right” and ensure that the economic cost (the price) reflects the resource cost or cost of the pollution impacts. “Getting the price right” reflects the principle “user pays principle.” Making sure that the price reflects the true cost of pollution reflects the “polluter pays principle” The important Market Base Incentives here are fines, penalties and penalty charges. The collection of fees and enforcement of regulation are essential in making these instruments work effectively. Money should be used to restore the ecosystem and then to educate the public. Perhaps the steel company could improve their infrastructure to further prevent pollution. This creates a win-win scenario. It encourages the steel company to not only aim for cost effectiveness in addition to environmental benefits.
Another tool can be deposit refund systems, where the steel company pays a deposit upon the cost of raw materials for potentially polluting. If they do not pollute they receive a full return, if they pollute the steel company looses their money. This concept rewards good behavior. This should be introduced after the steel company has paid damages and cleaned up it’s mess.
In conclusion, the polluter pays principal is applicable. Further action should be taken to prevent future problems. First is compliance with the law, and then other incentives should be introduced to encourage the reduction of future pollution such as refunds and tax incentives for the improvement of infrastructure.


Comments Off on Polluter Pays- Environmental Economics / 28 Nov 2011 por Lauren Musiello
IMSD /

Happy Monday


Comments Off on Happy Monday / 28 Nov 2011 por Lauren Musiello
IMSD /

Managerial skills, what it could be useful for me?

I’ve felt this subject as a key subject, especially in the start of this Master, that for me represent a big challenge with my self; this subject and our amazing teacher Chris (thank you!) has pushed me to give the best and to have the best tools to manage some (very) difficoult and important situations as:

These are really key point that you should manage as well as you can, but even more I think the most important thing that Chris has teached to us is to understand yourself and have trust in yourself, be sure of you, be strong!

To me it was a big injection of confidence, because of my scarce knowledge of this foreign language, but with this class I feel to be more sure on my tasks and even when I need to do a new presentation I understand that these tools are really important to don’t lose time and to focus my attention on the main important things.

The good organization, the planning my stuff, in a presentation as in the schedule of my work, give priority to the most important things and less priority to the trivial ones…this is one of the biggest tools that Chris has gaves to us, and I hope to bear in mind this lesson in my future work and even the Leader’s skills…these are very important to work with the others and not just to become a good manager…it’s a little step forward for me, but one big step if I’ll remember this and I will apply on my future work, and even in my life!

Thank you Chris for your excellent work with us! :-)


Comments Off on Managerial skills, what it could be useful for me? / 28 Nov 2011 por Luca Palma
IMSD /

Managerial Skills Rescue

 

Managerial skills may sounds like a fancy word but after studying it at EOI I have learned that it simply transcribe into an effective and objective way to communicate; to plan your actions, to manage your time to fulfill  your commitments and to attain your wishes.

Although it seems a straightforward and sensible way of thinking and act, I still have encountered at work and study places, individuals who are will equipped in this area.

Nonetheless managerial skills are more demanded in the working place these days. This is because we are required to work more autonomously, having initiative, communicate effectively,  meet targets and  drive our career forward. 

Thus, this makes me appreciate how luck we are from having the opportunity to master these abilities during EOI´s Managerial Skills course.

Let’s be honest, raise your hands, whom have never felt nervous, anxious or not totally in control before presenting, negotiating or leading a team or activity.

On a personal level I can say that all the courses under the managerial skills module have strengthened my ability to deal with communication insecurities; has improved my organization skills and gave me extra resources on how to deal with team’s failures or issues

Getting from A to B, measuring your audience and thinking what are there for them to listen to you seem obvious steps, nonetheless I often did not paid attention on these main points during my previous presentations.

In addition, creating value and thinking of zone of possible agreement was another new knowledge that I will have in mind for now on when negotiating.

At last recognizing the principle about having the ability to lead yourself first in order to lead others makes me realize the possibilities for self-improvement and how making efforts to handle and prioritizing your rocks with a positive mindset can lead you to success and happiness.


Comments Off on Managerial Skills Rescue / 28 Nov 2011 por Patricia Perez Costa
IMSD /

Economic situation for Beauty and personal care supermarkets

I will talk about the beauty and personal care super markets. They have been perfoming well in the past but have faced challenge in the past year. A  poor economic situation limited the performance of beauty and personal care, with sales dropping almost 1% in current value terms in 2010. There is consensus that in order to save money, Spaniards are reducing expenditure on non-essential goods. However, the fact that most beauty and personal care products are part of consumers’ daily hygiene routine has resulted in a general switch from high-price references to cheaper alternatives.

Spanish beauty and personal care consumers are traditionally highly brand-sensitive, with demand for private label products growing exponentially over the review period. The economic boom during the first part of the review period has helped boost demand for premium and imported products. However, the poor economic situation has resulted in consumers buying those products, which show a better value for money ratio. This has clearly benefited the performance of private label products.

Over 2010 the economic crisis affected most players in the Spanish beauty and personal care market, as consumers increasingly switched from branded references to private label products. As a consequence, most manufacturers lost ground to private label distributors, especially Mercadona. This company keeps gaining ground in the Spanish market due to its beauty care line Deliplus and has benefited from the situation

Although the Spanish economy stood out of the recession in 2010, there have been two variables which have  affected recovery over the forecast period. First, the high level of public deficit has resulted in the government taking measures which are reducing average disposable income – such as the increase in taxes or the drop in public servants’ wages. Secondly, high unemployment has resulted in Spaniards saving more instead of spending. This has resulted in saving money by substituting branded references for private label products in order to save money. This has greatly affected the perfomance of the supermarket.

 


Comments Off on Economic situation for Beauty and personal care supermarkets / 28 Nov 2011 por Tabithah Mkandawire Kaluwa
IMSD /

Finance “Spain´s Hypermarket”.

Hypermarkets are retail establishments that combine department stores and supermarkets, often offering a large variety of products like appliances, clothing, houseware and many other products and services. Its main concept is to offer one stop shopping experience1

Currently there are 5 main hypermarkets in the Spanish market which are: Auchan (France), Carrefour (France), Hipercor, Eroski and El Corte Ingles.

Hypermarket businesses are characterized by having high bargaining power with its suppliers and contractors, since they are able to close bulk deals and as result receiving a lower price and other beneficial conditions when investing in inventories such as having a longer period to effectuate stock payments, usually over 60 days.

For these reason hypermarkets normally presents lower ratios. However a good balance factor in this market is related to its ability to receive payment from customers shortly after they have made their purchases, thus offering higher business leverage.

Another advantage of higher cash inflows in relations to medium term bulky liabilities is the capacity for these companies to present current liquidity.     

But Spain’s hypermarket are more inclined to not leverage its operations, instead they search for other ways to finance its expenses with lower bank interests. Moreover Spain´s hypermarket equity commonly rises in proportional with its liabilities because of its reinvestment of retained earnings.


Comments Off on Finance “Spain´s Hypermarket”. / 28 Nov 2011 por Patricia Perez Costa
IMSD /

Hypermarkets’ situation in Spain

During the last few years the Hypermarket sector is suffering the economic crisis in a notorious way. The figures related to the stablishment openings between this last three years and the previous ones is more than alarming. The end of the expansion  of this format in Spain is very close. And it seems that this is the cap. Four hundred units. The maturity of the formula itself, excess supply, new business models (physical and electronic), together with the restrictive trade legislation and the acute and long period of economic crisis have led to the area of ​​hypermarkets in Spain to a stage near-zero growth in terms of new achievements.

 

The glory years of the format in Spain came to an end with the end of the millennium itself. That is when supermarkets began to see its share fall in favor of supermarkets, selected by Spanish consumers for their purchases of consumer goods because of its proximity and variety of offer. If we analyze the market share of different formats and their evolution in recent years shows that hypermarkets have increased from 32.8% in 1995 – the prodigiously decade to 22.3% ten years later and less than 20% at present. That is more than fourteen percentage points decline. Otherwise large supermarkets have gone to control only 10% in 1995 to 32% today.

 

In recent years two companies has capitalized the most openings. Carrefour and Eroski Group, both without knowing the situation that the world economic crisis would leave in distribution markets at the beginning 2008. It is the case of carrefour, the creator of the formula and leader in Europe after a difficult period in the early years of this century. Beginning in 2005 a radical change of direction, with a new strategic approach towards the market proximity begun dismantling its Champion supermarket chain, whose premises were reused with modern concepts. New formats for their models based on the hard discount, shopping Dia (MaxiDia) and also to begin an expansion of urban commerce and food base focus on fresh, soft close to the discount, with the birth of Carrefour Expres. Today the company is refocusing on new business and is presenting the latest Carrefour Market, while restructuring its format to a large surface with what has been called the reinvention of hyper.

 

In conclusion the reach of hypermakets in Spain is destined to disappear  if the economical situation and the habits of the costumers do not change.

 


Comments Off on Hypermarkets’ situation in Spain / 28 Nov 2011 por Antonio Calixto Moreno Zarco
IMSD /

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