...The Republic of Cameroon is an average-sized country located in the heart of Africa bordering Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Chad and Nigeria; it is the central center for trading goods and services around the world (WTO, 2013). Its population size equals to 22.25 million people and grows at a rate of 5.5 percent every year (GDP); unfortunately the World Economic Forum has ranked the country’s competitiveness at 116 with a value of 3.66 (WEF, 2014, p.69). Cameroon has a significant amount of agricultural areas perfect for farming, ample water resources and rainfall, and forests to improve its economic condition. In addition, the country has favorable commodity economies which employ over 60% of the workforce; the workforce contributes 22% to the GDP (WTO, 2013). Not only that, Cameroon has an unpretentious supply of oil resources; fortunately, the country faces the same serious problems of poverty and underdevelopment similar to other low growth countries. The issues include a sluggish per capita income, inequitable distribution of income, corruption, and unfavorable climate fluctuations not fit for business entities. According to the Central Intelligence Agency (2014), the Cameroonian government joins forces with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank utilizing programs designed to boost their low growth economy by improving business investments, agriculture efficiency, trade, and reducing poverty. Cameroon's ranking...
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...All About Cameroon Background Cameroon, a West African country whose coastline is part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean, is the world’s 53rd largest country in terms of physical size with an area of 183,569 square miles. Comparison wise, it is slightly larger than Sweden, comparable in size to Papua New Guinea, or slightly larger than the state of California. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Cameroon). The word “Cameroon” originated from the Portuguese explorers who reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camaroes (or River of Prawns), which eventually evolved into the English name Cameroon (Pondi, 1997). The Cameroon flag has three equal vertical bands of green (for vegetation), red (for independence), and yellow (for sunshine), with a yellow 5-pointed star in the centered in the red band (http://www.10-facts-about.com/Cameroon/id/84). The Lonely Planet travel guide describes Cameroon as “Africa’s throbbing heart, a crazed, sultry mosaic of active volcanoes, white sand beaches, thick rainforest and magnificent parched landscapes broken up by the bizarre rock formations of the Sahel” (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/cameroon). Cameroon enjoys relatively high political and social stability. Cameroon doesn’t have the notoriety of the history of ethnic violence between the...
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...(Investopedia, 2013). Conditionality in its broad sense covers both the design of IMF-supported programs—that is, the macroeconomic and structural policies—and the specific tools used to monitor progress toward the goals outlined by the country in cooperation with the IMF (IMF, 2013). Over time, the IMF has been subject to a range of criticisms, generally focused on the conditions of its loans. The IMF has also been criticized for its lack of accountability and willingness to lend to countries with bad human rights record. On giving loans to countries, the IMF makes the loan conditional on the implementation of certain economic policies. These policies tend to involve: * Reducing government borrowing - Higher taxes and lower spending * Higher interest rates to stabilize the currency. * Allow failing firms to go bankrupt. * Structural adjustment. Privatization, deregulation, reducing corruption and bureaucracy. The problem is that these policies of structural adjustment and macro-economic intervention often make the situation worse. For example, in the Asian crisis of 1997 (Giancarlo Corsetti, 1999), many countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were required by IMF to pursue tight monetary policy (higher interest rates) and tight fiscal policy to reduce the budget deficit and strengthen exchange rates. However, these policies caused a minor slowdown to turn into a serious recession...
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...grad.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/pdfs/samplethesispages.pdf https://www.jou.ufl.edu/grad/forms/Guidelines-for-writing-thesis-or-dissertation.pdf http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30107/30107-pdf.pdf http://www.businessmonitor.com/cameroon http://www.ccdhr.org/policy-papers/The-Political-Economy-of-Sustainable-Development-in-Cameroon.pdf http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Project-and-Operations/CAMEROON_2010-2014%20COUNTRY%20STRATEGY%20PAPER.pdf https://www.devex.com/projects/tenders/political-economy-analysis-of-the-mining-sector-in-cameroon/60479 GENERAL DELEGATION TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY AND MINISTRY OF TOURISM http://www.delphicominternational.com/IMG/pdf/PRESENTATION_DU_CAMEROUN.pdf http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/R_%26_D_expenditure http://www.oecd.org/eco/growth/1958639.pdf http://www.vinnova.se/upload/epistorepdf/vr-08-19.pdf http://saharareporters.com/article/why-do-africannigerian-kleptocrats-steal-money-they-don%E2%80%99t-need-use-see-reach-or-ever-access http://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2013/08/14/how-isabel-dos-santos-took-the-short-route-to-become-africas-richest-woman/ http://www.portail-ie.fr/lexiques/read/30 http://data.worldbank.org/country/cameroon http://knoema.fr/atlas/Cameroun/topics/Recherche-et-d%C3%A9veloppement/D%C3%A9penses-de-R-et-D/Exportation-de-haute-technologie http://lentreprise.lexpress.fr/rh-management/remuneration-salaire/smic-son-augmentation-au-1er-janvier-2013-publiee-au-journal-officiel_1520571...
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...Security Officer for ExxonMobil in Douala, Cameroon. We are very excited to have you as part of the team. Your three year assignment will be challenging and rewarding, ensuring that the security of our state of the art facilities and personnel are operating in a safe environment. I will also take this opportunity to congratulate your spouse, Mandi, on her selection as a logistics clerk. We, at ExxonMobil, hope that you and your family will find this assignment and location to be an enjoyable experience. We have included our welcome packet, which has been personally tailored to your family and your assignment. Please read the complete packet as it contains valuable information about Douala and Cameroon, preparation tips and guidelines prior to your arrival in-country, what it is like to live in Cameroon, and finally how to conduct business there. As you know, ExxonMobil prides itself in taking care of its most valuable asset, its people. That is what separates us from the competition. As a result, if you have any questions, regarding the information in the welcome packet or about your upcoming assignment, please feel free to contact me or my department. In order to assist in your move to Douala, we have also assigned you a sponsor, Mr. Tom Cherepko. He is currently the Chief of Operations in Cameroon for the last five years and is well suited to answer any questions you may have and help you and your family get settled in Cameroon. His contact information is tom.chereptko@exxonmobil...
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...Economic Commission for Africa The Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Progress and Challenges Economic Commission for Africa The Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Progress and Challenges August 2005 © 2005. Economic Commission for Africa Material from this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted. Acknowledgment is requested, together with a copy of the publication. The views expressed are those of the original authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations. Project coordinator: Adrian Gauci Editorial coordination: Cristina Müller Team: Abebe Shimeles, Workie Mitiku, Vanessa Steinmayer, Reto Thoenen This report was produced with guidance and input from Augustin Fosu, Director of the Economic and Social Policy Division of the ECA. It benefited greatly from the revisions of Bartholomew Armah and Kwabia Boateng. Special thanks to Lorna Davidson for the final editing, to Akwe Amosu for her valuable input, and to Seifu Dagnachew and Teshome Yohannes for creative and efficient lay-out and production. The report was designed by the ECA Communication Team and printed by the Documents Reproduction and Distribution Unit, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo credits (left to right): Front cover- R. Zurba/USAID, J. Dunlop/USAID, R. Zurba/USAID, M. Crozet/ILO. Back cover- J. Maillard/ILO, T. Brunette/USAID, I. Getachew/UNICEF. Table of Contents Acronyms .....................................................................
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...Can You Fight Poverty With a Five-Star Hotel? (Photo courtesy of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts) by Cheryl Strauss Einhorn, Special to ProPublica, Jan. 2, 2013, 12 a.m. * 0 Comments * Republish * Email * Print Connect with Facebook to share articles you read on ProPublica. Learn more » * * * * 1 inShare This story was co-published with Foreign Policy. Accra is a city of choking red dust where almost no rain falls for three months at a time and clothes hung out on a line dry in 15 minutes. So the new five-star Mövenpick hotel affords a haven of sorts in Ghana’s crowded capital, with manicured lawns, amply watered vegetation, and uniformed waiters gliding poolside on roller skates to offer icy drinks to guests. A high concrete wall rings the grounds, keeping out the city’s overflowing poor who hawk goods in the street by day and the homeless who lie on the sidewalks by night. The Mövenpick, which opened in 2011, fits the model of a modern international luxury hotel, with 260 rooms, seven floors, and 13,500 square feet of retail space displaying $2,000 Italian handbags and other wares. But it is exceptional in at least one respect: It was financed by a combination of two very different entities: a multibillion-dollar investment company largely controlled by a Saudi prince, and the poverty-fighting World Bank. The investment company, Kingdom Holding Company, has a market value of $12 billion, and Forbes ranks its principal owner, Prince...
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...Country classification Data sources, country classifications and aggregation methodology The statistical annex contains a set of data that the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) employs to delineate trends in various dimensions of the world economy. Data sources The annex was prepared by the Development Policy and Analysis Division (DPAD) of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat (UN/DESA). It is based on information obtained from the Statistics Division and the Population Division of UN/DESA, as well as from the five United Nations regional commissions, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and national and private sources. Estimates for the most recent years were made by DPAD in consultation with the regional commissions, UNCTAD, UNWTO and participants in Project LINK, an international collaborative research group for econometric modelling coordinated jointly by DPAD and the University of Toronto. Forecasts for 2014 and 2015 are primarily based on the World Economic Forecasting Model of DPAD, with support from Project LINK. Data presented in WESP may differ from those published by other organizations for a series of reasons, including differences in timing, sample composition and aggregation methods. Historical data may differ...
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...The effects of trade liberalization in agriculture, particularly of developing countries, have become an important part of major studies in recent years after a decade of failed or unsafisfactory WTO negotiations. The trade talks launched at Doha, Qatar, in November of 2001, are considered to be the first of nine negotiating rounds to address the “needs and the interests” of developing countries (Elliott, 2007, p. 1). There have been many attempts to reach an agreement between countries on agricultural liberalization. The failure to reacha solution still persists, however, as was seen at the “Battle in Seattle”, in November of 1999 where strong anti-WTO sentiment took to the streets in mass protests. (Fabiosa, 2008, p. 1). This anti-trade stance asks the fundamental question whether agricultural trade liberalization is beneficial to developing countries or not. The growth of globalization creates interdependence among countries and increases the capacity of the economy of the countries to engage in international trade. Trade liberalization in agriculture has significant benefits to individuals who devote their lives to agriculture, mainly small farmers from developing countries. This idea would also promote economic growth in these countries. In order to make trade liberalization in agriculture an ideal concept, there are still a few hurdles that need to be cleared, such as granting developing nations funds to meet environmental...
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...UNCTAD The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. UNCTAD is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues. The organization's goals are to: "maximize the trade, investment and development opportunities of developing countries and assist them in their efforts to integrate into the world economy on an equitable basis." The primary objective of UNCTAD is to formulate policies relating to all aspects of development including trade, aid, transport, finance and technology. The conference ordinarily meets once in four years; the permanent secretariat is in Geneva. One of the principal achievements of UNCTAD has been to conceive and implement the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). It was argued in UNCTAD that to promote exports of manufactured goods from developing countries, it would be necessary to offer special tariff concessions to such exports. Accepting this argument, the developed countries formulated the GSP scheme under which manufacturers' exports and some agricultural goods from the developing countries enter duty-free or at reduced rates in the developed countries. Since imports of such items from other developed countries are subject to the normal rates of duties, imports of the same items from developing countries would enjoy a competitive advantage. The creation of UNCTAD in 1964 was based on concerns of developing...
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...Chapter 1: What is Economics? The Economics of the Super Bowl Thinking Critically Questions 1. Why is the Super Bowl such an attraction for advertisers? Advertisers are attracted to the Super Bowl because of the amount of people that watch the game. The big budget commercials are also part of the experience. "According to a survey recently conducted by the Retail Advertising & Marketing Assn., 36.3 percent of consumers will tune in primarily to watch the commercials." 2. What makes this year’s Super Bowl more attractive? The article addresses the fact that the New England Patriots were looking to make history by becoming the first team to go 19-0. Also, there will be more money spent on advertising ads than ever before. 3. What other businesses would you expect to see benefit from the Super Bowl? Businesses that may benefit from the Super Bowl are hotels, restaurants, and local tourist attractions. Also, construction companies due to the improvements that will be made to the stadium and surrounding areas in preparation of the game. Opportunity Cost The question advertisers must ask themselves prior to purchasing advertisement time during the Super Bowl is will the resulting profits exceed the opportunity cost. Advertising during the Super Bowl is a huge opportunity to reach millions of potential buyers. Advertisers must assess their marketing expenditures for Super Bowl advertisements and come to the conclusion that the profit gain will outweigh...
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.........................................8 3. Theme Two: Factors that influence women’s access to decision-making positions —views from public administration, the judiciary and the private sector................................................................. 9 3.1. Representation of women in the public sector.........................................................................10 3.2. Representation of women in the judiciary...............................................................................12 3.2. Representation of women in the private sector .......................................................................13 4. Theme Three: Factors that influence women’s access to decision-making positions —views from civil society, trade unions, professional associations, academia,...
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...I. Background Information Bananas are the main fruit in international trade and the most popular one in the world. In terms of volume they are the first exported fruit, while they rank second after citrus fruit in terms of value. Banana is a very delicate commodity on economic, social, environmental and political grounds. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Statistics estimations, world total exports of banana accounted for 16,8 million tonnes in 2006. Bananas are also a very important staple commodity for many developing countries, together with wheat, rice or corn, hence the relevance of bananas for food security. Some of the main banana producing countries, such as India or Brazil, are hardly involved in international trade. In fact, only about one fifth of total banana production is internationally traded . Nevertheless, the share of banana trade in world banana production increased slightly in the last decades (from around 18% in the sixties and seventies to over 22% in the 1990s and 2000s). The international banana market shows a highly regional character. The banana industry is a very important source of income, employment and export earnings for major banana exporting countries, mainly developing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in Asia and Africa. According to FAO statistics, world banana exports are valued a total of US$5,8 billion in 2006, making them clearly a vital source of earnings to many countries...
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...© Kamla-Raj 2004 J. Soc. Sci., 8(1): 23-27 (2004) Exploring the Forms of Child Abuse in Nigeria: Efforts at Seeking Appropriate Preventive Strategies Ifeyinwa Annastasia Mbakogu CHILD ABUSE IN THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY It may be difficult discussing the issue of child abuse in Nigeria without eliciting the African perspective. This is because first as Africans (and later developing nations), there exists a common heritage that seem to signify that similarities in culture or traditions may indicate a commonality of perceptions toward issues regarded as child abuse and eventually, similarities in strategies for addressing the problem. Moving into the African or Nigerian Perspective It is quite a formidable task formulating an effective strategy for the prevention of child abuse. To tackle this problem Marzouki (2002) made an interesting comparison between prevention strategies for child abuse or handicaps and medical management: What measures should be taken to avoid the so-called ‘street children’ pheno-menon? The preventive measures in handicap are different from medical management in type and level. For instance, when a child has a cerebral palsy due to prematurity, he would need drugs and physiotherapy. But preventing prematurity would need, among other things, health education and pregnancy monitoring. Like cerebral palsy, or seizures, sexually abused street children are merely a symptom, but the causes are derived from elsewhere. Of course it [is] the symptoms that have...
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...(www.worldbank.org). The World Bank has been helping many developing countries to fight against diseases such as AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria in many parts of the world (Clark, 2011). The World Bank is offering financial help for several programs to help with agriculture, transportation, infrastructure, and irrigation in many South Asian countries to reduce poverty. There has been so much controversy about the activities of the World Bank. Even though the main mission of the World Bank is to alleviate poverty from the face of the earth, there has been severe criticism that the World Bank is changing its focus to financial policy reforms and structural adjustments. The World Bank as an international financial institution has done so much to help numerous developing countries when they are in financial crisis or needed help to undertake a major development project. Regardless of the criticism and corruption accusations, this author believes that the World Bank is in the right direction by providing basic reforms and structural adjustments in order to alleviate poverty. If the World Bank just donated billions of dollars to a developing country without any concrete objective, that money might be used for gaining political advantages. For this research, this author has used resources from Fresno State University Library, Liberty University online Library, Clovis Public Library, and many online search engines. This paper will briefly describe the history,...
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