Current Affairs UPSC

Category : UPSC

 

WORLD ECONOMY

 

WORLD ORGANISATIONS RELATED TO ECONOMY & BUSINESS

 

International Labour Organization (ILO)

 

Headquarters	Geneva, Switzerland
Established	1919 [Head: Guy Ryder]
Members	187 of the 193 member states of the United Nations plus the Cook Islands are members of the ILO.

 

Functions:

·               Creation of international labour standards.

·               Formulation of international policies.

·               Technical assistance training.

·               Education, research and publishing activities.

 

World Bank (WB)

 

Headquarters	Washington DC, USA
Established	July 1944
Head	Jim Yong Kirn
Members	189 member states

 

Functions:

·               World Bank provides various technical services to the member countries.

·               Reduce poverty.

·               Support development.

·               Bank grants loans for a particular project duly submitted to the Bank by the member country.

 

IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF)

 

Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Established	27 December 1945
Head	Christine Lagarde
Members	189 countries

 

Function:

·               Foster global monetary cooperation.

·               Secure financial stability.

·               Facilitate international trade.

·               Promote high employment and sustainable economic growth.

·               Reduce poverty.

 

FAO

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

(FAO)

 

Headquarters	Rome, Italy
Established	16 October 1945, in Quebec City, Canada
Head	Jose Graziano da Silva
Members	197members

Functions:

·               Help eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.

·               Make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable.

·               Reduce rural poverty.

 

UNIDO

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

 

Headquarters	Vienna, Austria
Established	1966 (converted to a specialized agency in1985)
Head	Li Yong
Members	170 States

 

Functions:

·               Assists developing countries in the formulation of development, institutional, scientific and technological policies and programmes in the field of industrial development.

·               Analyzes trends, disseminates information and coordinates activities in their industrial development.

·               Acts as a forum for consultations and negotiations directed towards the industrialization of developing countries.

 

UNWTO

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

 

Headquarters	Madrid, Spain
Established	1975
Head	Taleb Rifai
Members	157 countries

 

Functions:

To promote and develop sustainable tourism so as to contribute to economic development, international understanding, peace, prosperity etc.

 

WFP

The World Food Programme (WFP)

 

Headquarters	Rome, Italy
Established	1961
Head	Ertharin Cousin
Members	80

 

Functions:

·               Save lives and protect livelihoods in emergencies.

·               Support food security and nutrition and (re) build livelihoods in fragile settings.

·               Reduce risk and enable people, communities and countries to meet their own food and nutrition needs.

 

WIPO

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

 

Headquarters	Geneva, Switzerland
Established	July 14, 1967
Head	Francis Gurry (Director-General)
Members	189 member states

Functions:

·            Promoting creative intellectual activity and facilitating the transfer of technology related to industrial property to the developing countries.

 

UNDP

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

 

Headquarters	New York City
Established	1965
Head	Helen dark

 

Functions:

·               Poverty reduction.

·               Crisis prevention and recovery.

·               Environment and Energy.

 

UNCTAD

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

 

Headquarters	Geneva, Switzerland
Established	1964
Head	Mukhisa Kituyi
Members	194 member states

 

Functions:

·               To formulate policies relating to all aspects of development including trade, aid. Transport, finance and technology.

 

World Trade Organization (WTO)

The World Trade Organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business.

 

Facts:

 

Location	Geneva. Switzerland
Established	1 January 1995
Created by	Uruguay Round negotiations (1986-94)
Membership	161 members
Head	Roberto Azevedo

 

Functions:

·               Administering WTO trade agreements

·               Forum for trade negotiations

·               Handling trade disputes

·               Monitoring national trade policies

·               Technical assistance and training for developing countries

·               Cooperation with other international organizations

 

Non-Aligned Movement [NAM]

 

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is an intergovernmental organization of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of now, the organization has 120 members and 17 observer countries. Generally speaking me Non-Aligned Movement members can be described as all of those countries which belong to the Group of 77 (along with Belarus and Uzbekistan), but which are not observers in Non- Aligned Movement and are not Oceanian (with me exception of Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu).

The organization was founded in Belgrade in 1961, and was largely the brainchild of Yugoslavia?s first President, Josip Broz Tito, India?s first Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Egypt?s second President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, and Indonesia?s first

President, Sukarno. All four leaders were prominent advocates of a middle course for states in the Developing World between the Western and Eastern blocs in the Cold War.

The purpose of the organisation as stated in the Havana Declaration of 1979 is to ensure "the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries? in their ?struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics.? They represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations?s members and 55% of the world population, particularly countries considered to be developing or part of the third world.

 

The Commonwealth

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and previously known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states. All except two (Mozambique and Rwanda) of these countries were formerly part of the British Empire.

The member states co-operate within a framework of common values and goals. These include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism and world peace. The Commonwealth is not a political union, but an intergovernmental organisation through which countries with diverse social, political and economic backgrounds.

The symbol of their free association is the Head of the Commonwealth, which is a ceremonial position currently held by Queen Elizabeth II.

Member countries span six continents and oceans from Africa (19), Asia (8), the Americas (2), the Caribbean (12), Europe (3) and the South Pacific (10).

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, abbreviated to CHOGM, is a biennial summit meeting of the heads of government from all Commonwealth nations. Every two years the meeting is held in a different member state, and is chaired by that nation?s respective Prime Minister or President, who becomes the Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office.

 

European Union

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 28 member states which are located primarily in Europe.

The Maastricht Treaty established the European Union under its current name in 1993. The last amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon, came into force in 2009.

 

SAARC

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an organization of South Asian nations, founded in 1985.

Its seven founding members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan joined the organization in 2007. Meetings of heads of state are usually scheduled annually; meetings of foreign secretaries, twice annually.

Headquarter is in Kathmandu, Nepal.

·            The concept of SAARC was first adopted by Bangladesh during 1977, under the administration of President Ziaur Rahman.

·            Afghanistan was added to the regional grouping on 13 November 2005.

·            On 2 August 2006 the foreign ministers of the SAARC countries agreed in principle to grant observer status to the US, South Korea and the European Union.

·            The SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16 January 1986 and was inaugurated by Late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal.

·            The SAARC Secretariat and Member States observe 8 December as the SAARC Charter Day.

 

GROUP of 8

The Group of Eight (G-8) is a forum, created by France in 1975, for governments of six countries in the world: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1976, Canada joined the group (thus creating the G7). In 1997, the group added Russia thus becoming G8. In addition, the European Union is represented within the G8, but cannot host or chair. "G8" can refer to the member states or to the annual summit meeting of the G8 heads of government.

 

Group of 77

The Group of 77 (G-77) was established on 15 June 1964 by seventy-seven developing countries signatories of the "Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Countries" issued at the end of the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva. Beginning with the first ?Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 in Algiers (Algeria) on 10 - 25 October 1967, which adopted the Charter of Algiers', a permanent institutional structure gradually developed which led to the creation of Chapters of the Group of 77 with Liaison offices in Geneva (UNCTAD), Nairobi (UNEP), Paris (UNESCO), Rome (FAO/IFAD), Vienna (UNIDO), and the Group of 24 (G-24) in Washington, D.C.

(IMF and World Bank). Although the members of the G-77 have increased to the original name was retained because of its historic significance.

 

GROUP of 15

The Group of Fifteen (G-15) was established at a Summit Level Group of Developing Countries in September 1989, following the conclusion of the Ninth Non-Aligned Summit Meeting in Belgrade. The Group was originally founded by 15 developing countries. While there are now 17 member countries, the original name of the Group has been retained.

This forum was set up to foster cooperation and provide input for other international groups, such as the World Trade Organization and the Group of Eight. It is composed of countries from North America, South America, Africa, and Asia with a common goal of enhanced growth and prosperity.

The G-15 focuses on cooperation among developing countries in the areas of investment, trade, and technology.

 

Group of 20

The Group of Twenty (G-20) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from 20 economies: 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank. Their heads of government or state have also periodically meet at summits since their initial meeting in 2008. Collectively, the G-20 economies comprise 85% of global gross national product, 80% of world trade (including EU intra-trade) and two-thirds of the world population.

The G-20 was proposed by former Canadian Finance Minister Paul Martin (later. Prime Minister) for cooperation and consultation on matters pertaining to the international financial system.

Asian Development Bank

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia. The bank admits the members of the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (now UNESCAP) and non-regional developed nations.

 

Arab League

The Arab League is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and North-east Africa, and South-west Asia. It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945. The Arab League currently has 22 members and four observers. The main goal of the league is to ?draw closer the relations between member states and co-ordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries.

 

ASEAN

The Association of South-east Asian Nations is a geo-political and economic organization of 10 countries located in South-east Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Its aims include the acceleration of economic growth, social progress, cultural development among its members, the protection of the peace and stability of the region, and to provide opportunities for member countries to discuss differences peacefully.

If ASEAN were a single country, it would rank as the 9th largest economy in the world and the 3rd largest in Asia in terms of nominal GDP.

 

OPEC

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is a cartel of twelve developing countries consisting of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular meetings among the oil ministers of its member countries.-Indonesia withdrew in 2008 after it became a net importer of oil, but stated it would likely return if it became a net exporter in the world again.

 

OECD

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It defines itself as a forum of countries committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seeking answers to common problems, identifying good practices, and coordinating domestic and international policies of its members.

The OECD originated in 1948 as the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), led by Robert Marjolin of France, to help administer the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. Later, its membership was extended to non-European states. In 1961, it was reformed into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development by the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Most OECD members are high-income economies with a high Human Development Index (HDI) and are regarded as developed countries (Chile being the only OECD member which is also a member in the organisation of developing countries, the Group of 77).

 

BRICS

BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging international economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The grouping was originally known as ?BRIC? before the inclusion of South Africa in 2010. The BRICS members are all developing or newly industrialised countries, but they are distinguished by their large, fast-growing economies and significant influence on regional and global affairs; all five are G-20 members.

As. Of 2014, the five BRICS countries represent almost 3 billion people which is 40% of the world population, with a combined nominal GDP of US16.039 trillion (20% world GDP) and an estimated USS4 trillion in combined foreign reserves. As of 2014, the BRICS nations represented 18% of the world economy.

Brazil held the chair of the BRICS group in 20i4. having hosted the group?s sixth summit in 2014.

Russia chaired the 7th BRICS summit on 8-9th July 2015.

8th BRICS summit was held in Goa (India) on 16 & 17 Qct.2016.

 

Sustainable Development Goals

At the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015, World Leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, which includes a set of 17 sustainable development goals (SDG) to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice and tackle climate change by 2030.

17 Goals are-

1.            End poverty in all its forms everywhere.

2.            End hunger, achieve food security and imporve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

3.            Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

4.            Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and pormote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

5.            Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

6.            Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

7.            Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

8.            Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

9.            Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.

10.         Reduce inequality within and among countries.

11.         Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

12.         Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

13.         Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

14.         Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

15.         Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainable management of forests, combat     desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.

16.         Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

17.         Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for Sustainable development.

 

 

 

 

Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)

The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is a multilateral export control regime. It is an informal and voluntary partnership among 35 countries to prevent the proliferation of missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technology capable of carrying above 500 kg pay load for more than 300 km.

MTCR was established by G-7 countries in 1987. The aim of the MTCR is to restrict the proliferation of missiles, unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), complete rocket systems and related technology for those systems capable of carrying a 500 kilogram payload for at least 300 kms, as well as systems intended for the delivery of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).

 

Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)

NSG is an elite group or cartel of countries concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that may be used for development of nuclear weapons. It was set up in 1974 as a reaction to India's first successful nuclear tests (code name Smiling Buddha conducted on 18 May 1974) to stop so called misuse of nuclear material meant for peaceful purposes.

NSG's members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. Currently, NSG has 48 members (including China) and works by consensus. India is persistently bidding for its membership.

 

Important Summits at a Glance

 

Summits	Location	Theme/Objective	Previous	Upcoming
8th  BRICS	Goa, India	Building Responsive, Inclusive and collective solutions	Ufa, Russia (2015)
11th G-20	Hangzhou, China	Toward an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and inclusive world Economy	Antalya, Turkey (2015)	Hamburg, Germany (2017)
19th  SAARC	Islamabad, Pakistan	Post ponded	Kathmandu, Nepal (2014)	Bengaluru, India (2018)
28th  and 29th  ASEAN	Vientiane, Laos	Turning Vision into Reality for a Dynamic ASEAN Community	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2015)	?
11th  EAS	Vientiane, Laos	Matters include maritime security, terrorism, non-proliferation, irregular migration	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2015)	Philippines (2017)
28th APEC	Peru, Lima	Quality Growth and Human Development	Philippines, Manila (2015)	Vietnam, Hanoi (2017)
4th Nuclear Security Summit	Washington, USA	To coordinate international efforts to prevent terror organizations from acquiring nuclear weapons or material	Hague, Netherlands (2015)
27th NATO Summit	Warsaw, Poland	Major agenda include?situation in Eastern Europe, reform of NATO's partnership policy, debate about future nuclear strategy of the alliance,	Wales, UK (2014)	Brussels, Belgium (2017)
17th NAM	Margarita, Venezuela	Peace, Sovereignty and Solidarity for Development	Venezuela (2015)	?
49th (ADB) Asian Development Bank Annual Meeting	Frankfurt, Germany	Agenda?Sustainable development in Asia and the pacific	Baku, Azerbaijan (2015)	Yokohama, Japan (2017)
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit	Tashkent, Uzbekistan	Issues of strengthening stability and security in Central Asia	Ufa, Russia (2015)	Astana, Kazakhstan (2017)

 

GLOBAL GROWTH RATE

 

(Estimated & Projected by IMF, World Economic Outlook, January 2016)

 

2015 3.1%	20151.9%	20154.0%
20163.4%	20162.1%	20164.3%
20173.6%	20172.1%	20174.7%
GLOBAL ECONOMY	ADVANCED ECONOMIES	EMERGING MARKET & DEVELOPING ECONOMIES

 

WORLD TOP 20 ECONOMIES BASED ON GDP GROWTH
Sr. No.	COUNTRY / ECONOMY	GDP Growth
		2014	Rank	2015	Rank
1.	Ethiopia	10.315	1	10.200	1
2.	Palau	4.234	67	9.384	2
3.	Papua New Guinea	8.540	5	8.972	3
4.	Cote d? lvoire	7.915	7	8.606	4
5,	Uzbekistan	8.100	6	8.000	5
6.	Ireland	5.199	45	7.811	6
7.	Democratic Republic of the Congo	9.170	3	7.745	7
8.	Bhutan	6.412	25	7.668	8
9.	India	7.244	14	7.336	9
10.	Myanmar	8.700	4	7.031	10
11.	Lao P.D.R.	7.421	11	7.010	11
12.	Dominican Republic	7.341	12	7.000	12
13.	Tanzania	6.965	17	6.968	13
14.	Rwanda	6.962	18	6.944	14
15.	Cambodia	7.072	15	6.922	15
16.	China	7.300	13	6.900	16
17.	Vietnam	5.984	35	6.679	17
18.	St Kitts and Nevis	6.065	31	6.606	18
19.	Turkmenistan	10.285	2	6.500	19
20.	Djibouti	6.000	33	6.500	20
107.	United Kingdom	2.853	107	2.248	116
117.	United States of America	2.428	117	2.426	111
143.	Germany	1.580	143	1.450	139
168.	France	0.180	168	1.137	146
171.	Japan	-0.031	171	0.473	162

 

GLOBAL ECONOMY IN RECENT TIMES

 

Ø   Global Activity remains sluggish,

Ø   Subdued activity in Advanced Economies.

Ø   Emerging Market & Developing Economies recorded a slight pickup in momentum.

Ø   India & the rest of emerging Asia are generally continued to register strong growth.

Ø   Brazil?s economy remains in recession, but activity appears to be close to bottoming out as the effects of past shocks wear off.

Ø   Russia's economy shows signs of stabilization.

Ø   Many economies in Middle East & Sub-Saharan Africa continues to confront difficult challenges.

Ø   Many economies in Middle East & Sub-Saharan Africa continues to confront difficult challenges.

Ø   Inflation remains low.

Ø   Recovery in commodity & oil prices.

Ø   Capital flows to EMEs have recovered after the sharp decline in second half of 2015.

Ø   Since March 2016, Advanced Economy currencies have remained mostly stable, or appreciated modestly.

Ø   Many Oil exporters (Angola, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela) struggle with sharp deteriorating current accounts, exchange rate pressures, & falling fiscal revenues.

Ø   The UK economy appears to have weathered the initial shock of the Brexit vote.

 

WORLD TOP 20 ECONOMIES BASED ON GDP NOMINAL PPP&  PER CAPITA
ECONOMY		GPD Nominal (trillions of )		GDPPPP (trillions Int. )		GDP Per Capita (S)
Pe S No.		2015	Rank	2015	Rank	Nominal / Rank PPP/Rank
1.	USA	17.947	1	17.947	2	55,805	6	55.805	12
2.	China	10.983	2	19.392	1	7,990	76	14,107	88
3.	pan	4.123	3	4.830	4	32,486	6	38,054	30
4.	Germany	3.358	4	3.841	5	40,997	20	46,893	20
5.	UK	2.849	5	2.679	9	43,771	14	41,159	28
6.	France	2.422	6	2.647	10	37,675	22	41,181	27
7.	India	2.091	7	7.965	3	1,617	144	6,162	126
8.	Italy	1.816	8	2.171	12	29,867	27	35,708	35
9.	Brazil	1.773	9	3.192	7	8,670	74	15,615	80
10.	Canada	1.552	10	1.632	15	43,332	17	45,553	24
11.	Korea	1.377	11	1.849	13	27,195	31	36,511	32
12.	Russia	1.236	12	-	-	-	-	-	-
13.	Australia	1.224	13	1.138	19	50,962	10	47,389	18
14.	Spain	1.200	14	1.615	16	25,865	32	34,819	36
15.	Mexico	1.144	15	2.227	11	9,009	70	17,534	71
16.	Indonesia	0.859	16	2.842	8	3,362	11	11,126	103
17.	Netherlands	0.738	17	0.833	27	43,603	16	49,166	16
18.	Turkey	0.734	18	1.589	17	9,437	66	20,438	64
19.	Switzerland	0.665	19	0.482	39	80,675	2	58,551	10
20.	Saudi Arabia	0.653	20	1.683	14	20,813	38	53,624	14
75.	Luxembourg	0.057	75	0.056	104	1,01,994	1	98,987	2

 

 

TOP 10 ECONOMIES (NOMINAL GDP) OF THE WORLD AT A GLANCE

 

1. UNITED STATES

 

Ø   Largest economy in world in terms of nominal GDP.

Ø   Economic superpower, highly advanced in technology & infrastructure & has abundant natural Resources.

Ø   Services sector, Manufacturing & Agriculture contributes 80%, 15% & 2% of output respectively and largest manufacturer in world & a leader in automobiles, aerospace, machinery, telecommunications & chemicals.

Ø   Housing market & several banks collapsed in 2 008, resulting in the deepest & longest downturn in U.S. economy.

Ø   Expansionary monetary policies supported the economy.

Ø   Currently emerging from a period of considerable turmoil, 18,5 trillion U.S. economy is approx. 24.5% of gross world product.

 

 

2. CHINA

 

Ø   Initiated Market Reforms in 1978.

Ø   Transformed from centrally planned closed economy to manufacturing & exporting hub.   

Ø   Achieved average 10% growth annually for over a decade (2002-13).

Ø   Lifted almost half of its 1.3 billion population out of poverty, Second largest economy.

Ø   Equal contribution from Manufacturing & Services (45% each) with a 10% contribution by Agriculture sector.

Ø   Slowed recently to a growth between 6-7%.

Ø   Exports projected to grow only by 1.9% in 2016.

 

 

?Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook Update, October 2016; United Nations, World Economic Situation & Prospects 2016; Harinder S. Kohli, the World in 2050.

 

3. JAPAN

 

Ø   World?s 3rd largest economy (Nominal GDP).

Ø   Average growth rates of 10% in 1960s, 5% in

Ø   1970s, & 4% in 1980s.

Ø   Tokyo Stock Exchange crashed in 1990-92.

Ø   1.5% growth throughout 1990s.   

Ø   Labour force shrunk 0.17% a year since 2000.  

Ø   Built up Manufacturing & Processing industries to convert raw materials

Ø   Imported from abroad.

Ø   Labour force shrunk 0.17% a year since 2000.

Ø   Weakness include human capital, low rate of female participation in labour force.

Ø   Strength includes excellent infrastructure, healthy workforce, strong innovation ecosystem, adoption of new technologies & high quality research institutions.

Ø   Currently facing chronic deflation & stagnant growth.

4. GERMANY

 

Ø   Europe?s largest & strongest economy.

Ø   Exporter of machinery, vehicles, household equipment & chemicals.

Ø   Strengths include highly sophisticated businesses, skilled labour force, rapid uptake of new technologies & supportive research environment.

Ø   Economy facing challenges ranging from Brexit, Greek debt crisis to the refugee Crisis.

Ø   Funded lion?s share of large rescue packages for fellow Eurozone members.

Ø   Growth has slowed, but unemployment rate is one of Europe's lowest.

 

 

5. UNITED KINGDOM

 

Ø   Services sector contributes more than 75% of GDP,

Ø   Manufacturing second imp. Contributor & Agriculture contributing a minimal 1 %.

Ø   60% of U.K?s food needs is produced domestically.

Ø   Strengths include solid institutions & best universities.

Ø   Weakness include high government deficits.

Ø   Economic Prospects are highly uncertain after the Brexit event.

Ø   Pound depreciated from 1.6 to 1.24 against USD.

Ø   Financial market is still recovering from the crisis.

 

 

6. FRANCE

 

Ø  6th Largest economy.

Ø  GDP (PPP) per capita of  42, 384.

Ø  Low poverty & high standard of living.

Ø  Primary exports are machinery & transportation equipment, aerospace equipment & plastics.

Ø  Primary imports are machinery, automobiles & crude oil.

Ø  Germany is closest trading partner.

Ø  Chemical industry is a key sector.

Ø  70% of GDP stemming from Services sector.

Ø  One of Global Leaders in automotive, aerospace, railway sector, cosmetics & luxury goods.

Ø  Stagnant growth between 2012 & 2014.

Ø  High unemployment rate.

Ø  Growth picked up in 2015 with a growth of 1.2% & a forecasted growth of 1.5% For 2016 & 1.7% for 2017.

 

7. INDIA

 

Ø  Economic liberalisation since 1991 moved country towards market-based economy.

Ø  Highly dependent on Agriculture.

Ø  Services sector picked up in recent years.

Ø  By 2008, India becomes one of the world?s fastest growing economies.

Ø  Bright spot in global landscape.

Ø  Developing economy with 7% plus growth.

Ø  Major initiatives like Make in India, Digital India, Demonetisation of old currency, GST Implementation,

Ø  FDI reforms cites the growth & robustness of economy.  

Ø  World?s fastest growing E-commerce markets.

 

 

8. ITALY

 

Ø   Prominent economy of the Eurozone. 

Ø   Services & Manufacturing sectors are major pillars, Agriculture contribution is comparatively low & employs around 4% of total workforce.       

Ø   Suffers from ?a huge public debt estimated to be about 133% of GDE banking system is close to a collapse & in need of a bailout/bail-in.  

Ø   High unemployment.

Ø   Suffers from political instability, economic stagnation & lack of structural reforms.

Ø   Saw a positive economic growth in 2015.

 

 

 

9. BRAZIL

 

Ø   Largest economy of Latin America & 2nd largest in the Americas.

Ø   Services, manufacturing & agricultural sectors contribute around 68%, 26% & 6% respectively One of the fastest growing major economies from Growth decelerated in 2013.

Ø   Negative growth rate of 3.2% during recession in 2015.

Ø   Government is making progress on fiscal reforms.

Ø   GDP contracted by 3.8% in 2015, & is expected to fall at least 3% more in

Ø   Realignment of regulated prices combined with pass-through exchange rate depreciation have caused an inflation peak in 2015.

 

 

10. CANADA

 

Ø   Highly service oriented economy.

Ø   High growth in manufacturing as well as in the oil & petroleum sector.

Ø   One of the world's wealthiest nations.

Ø   Logging & Oil industries are 2 important areas.

Ø   Sizable Manufacturing sector, with automobile & aircraft industries being important.

Ø   8th largest commercial fishing & seafood industry in the world.

Ø   Closely tied to US economy.

Ø   Leading exports include oil, minerals, automobiles, manufactured goods, & forest products.

 

 

Integrated cooperation between countries

Trade: Economic integration is now realized in continental economic blocs such as ASEAN, NAFTA, SACN, the European Union, and the Eurasian Economic Community.

Environment: 62 countries accounting for almost 52 per cent of emissions have now ratified the accord namely Paris climate deal at UN.

Terrorism: United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy took place on 1 July 2016 for the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy over the past decade.

Human rights: Resettlement of Syrian refugees, detention of asylum-seeking families, forced labour and human trafficking, rights of minorities, independence of judiciary are some of the key issues that were taken on various international forums in 2016.