...The intention of this paper is to discuss about the advantages and disadvantages for Ecuador if it becomes a member of the Mercado Común del Sur (Mercosur). Currently, the world is going through a change in important ways in the economy, the importance of belonging to an economic bloc is that through this you can get "mutual benefits in international trade" The Mercosur as we know is a South American economic bloc that “is integrated by Argentina, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Paraguay, the Oriental Republic of Uruguay and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela” (Exhibit 1). The countries that belong to the MERCOSUR are differentiated by the alliance of values held and reflected in its democratic and pluralistic societies, the protection of human rights, the environment and sustainable development. MERCOSUR is also committed to strengthening democracy, eradicate poverty and strengthen the economic and social development of the members with equity. In recent years the President of Ecuador Econ. Rafael Correa expressed his desire to become a member of this economic bloc, but what does it mean to Ecuador to join to this organization? This economic bloc offers attractive proposals for countries; among them is the establishment of a common external tariff, plus the free movement of goods and services between the member countries. For a developing country like Ecuador, it is difficult to make the decision of belonging to an economic bloc, as it must evaluate...
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...GLOBAL BUSINESS FINANCE ASSIGNMENT ECUADOR INTRODUCTION Ecuador officially the Republic of Ecuador which literally translates to the Republic of the Equator) is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the w It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border with Brazil. The country also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) west of the mainland. Ecuador straddles the equator, from which it takes its name, and has an area of 283,561 km2, 109,415 sq ml. Its capital city is Quito, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the 1970s for having the best preserved and least altered historic center in Latin America. The country's largest city is Guayaquil. The historic center of Cuenca, the third largest city in the country, was also declared a World Heritage Site in 1999.. Ecuador is also home to a great variety of species, many of them endemic, like those of the Galápagos islands. This species diversity makes Ecuador one of the seventeen megadiverse countries in the world. Ecuador is a presidential republic and became independent in 1830, after having been part of the Spanish colonial empire and the republic of Gran Colombia. It is a medium-income country with an HDI score of 0.695 (2010), and...
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...volcanic soil, equatorial location with high altitude). Secondly Ecuador profits from a relatively low wage level which allows companies to yield a higher return on the export of roses. Ecuador’s development over the last 20 years can be well explained with Ricardo’s theory of comparative advantages. Following Ricardo’s theory countries should specialize on the production of the goods they can produce most efficiently. Since the start of the rose industry 20 years ago it has been expanding quickly to be Ecuador fifth largest export and even the fourth largest producer of the world. This success is hence also dependent on low trade barriers as much as low to no import tariffs. 2. Most Ecuadorean roses are sold in the United States or Europe. Who in these countries benefits from the importation of Ecuadorean roses, and how do they benefit? Who loses? Do you think the benefits outweigh the costs? There are multiple agents who are effected of the importation of Ecuadorean roses. Firstly rich consumers of roses in Europe and the US profit from Ecuador importing roses. Ecuador’s roses appear to be especially nice offering a wide range of unusually vibrant colors. As the case implies the Ecuadorean roses are sold for premium prices referring to them as the new “Rolls-Royce of roses”. Consequently importing companies will gain a lot. They are producing these roses relatively cheap and efficient almost all year long in Ecuador and then can transport them also very cheaply to their target...
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...Consuelo Winn Mr. Sean Wilcox ENL 201 Writing June 16, 2013 The Impact of Economic Improvement in Ecuador In the last 34 years, since Ecuador returned to democracy and changed to the US Dollar for currency in 2000, life and the economy has drastically improved. Although Ecuador is still considered to be a poor country compared to “Westernized” countries its economy is ranked 8th in Latin America; includes Central and South America. This economy has grown due to two main changes: Governmental policy changes and focusing on increasing production of exports. However, with economic growth also increased environmental problems. One reason why the economy has improved is government policy changes. In 1979 Ecuador returned to democracy after nearly a decade of civilian and military dictatorships. Returning to democracy has given stability to a corrupt government. In 2000, Ecuador adopted the U.S. dollar as its national currency. Dollarization further stabilized the government as well as the economy since the U.S. dollar is seen as a stronger, more reliable currency throughout the world. Returning to democracy and changing to the U.S. dollar made Ecuador more appealing to tourists and investors; both of which added a much needed boost to the economy. One of the best examples of this would be the city of Cuenca. Tourism and investors from abroad has made Cuenca the number one retirement city in the world and has helped the country's economic development in the last decade. Economic...
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...The Ecuadorian Rose Industry snowcapped volcanoes that rise to more than 20,000 feet. The bushes are protected by 20-foot-high canopies of plastic sheeting. The combination of intense sunlight, fertile volcanic soil, an equatorial location, and high altitude makes for ideal growing conditions, allowing roses to flower almost year-round. Ecuador apparently has a comparative advantage in the production of roses. Ecuador's rose industry started some 20 years ago and has been expanding rapidly since. Ecuador is noW the world's fourth largest producer of roses. Roses are the nation's fifth largest export, with customers allover the world. Rose farms generate $240 million in sales and support tens of thousands of jobs. In Cayambe, the population has increased in 10 years from 10,000 to 70,000, primarily as a result of the rose industry. The revenues and taxes from rose growers have helped to sophisticated pave roads, build schools, and construct irrigation systems. Maria works Monday to Saturday, and earns $210 a month, which she says is an average wage in Ecuador and substantially above the country's $120 a month It is 6:20 AM, February 7, in the Ecuadorian town of Cayambe, and Maria Pacheco has just been dropped off for work by the company bus. She pulls on thick rubber gloves, wraps an apron over her white, traditional embroidered dress, and grabs her clippers, ready for another long day. Any other time of year, Maria would work until 2 PM, but it's a week before Valentine's...
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...to introducing the student to the emergence of a new and integrated world of business in which the traditional barriers to cross-border trade and investment including distance, time zones, language, differences in national government regulation, culture and business systems recede in significance due to globalization. The discussion of contemporary issues in international business illustrates the unique challenges of international business. A review of macro-economic and political changes that have taken place in the last 30 years highlights the issues that a typical manager must address in a global market. Information technology and technological changes have put global markets within the reach of small firms in remote locations. In spite of all its benefits, globalization is not a panacea. Critics of globalization point out that it has adverse effects on some firms and individuals. The opening case chronicles the meteoric rise of Wal-Mart from its humble Arkansas beginnings in 1962 to a global retailing giant with $218 billion in sales in 2002. The closing case, Ecuadorian Valentine Roses, follows a rose from Ecuador to New York while describing the hazardous working conditions in Ecuador and the growing backlash among European consumer groups. ________________________________________ WebeSource http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Southwest/01/08/levi.s.closing.ap/...
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...The Ecuadorian Rose Industry snowcapped volcanoes that rise to more than 20,000 feet. The bushes are protected by 20-foot-high canopies of plastic sheeting. The combination of intense sunlight, fertile volcanic soil, an equatorial location, and high altitude makes for ideal growing conditions, allowing roses to flower almost year-round. Ecuador apparently has a comparative advantage in the production of roses. Ecuador's rose industry started some 20 years ago and has been expanding rapidly since. Ecuador is noW the world's fourth largest producer of roses. Roses are the nation's fifth largest export, with customers allover the world. Rose farms generate $240 million in sales and support tens of thousands of jobs. In Cayambe, the population has increased in 10 years from 10,000 to 70,000, primarily as a result of the rose industry. The revenues and taxes from rose growers have helped to sophisticated pave roads, build schools, and construct irrigation systems. Maria works Monday to Saturday, and earns $210 a month, which she says is an average wage in Ecuador and substantially above the country's $120 a month It is 6:20 AM, February 7, in the Ecuadorian town of Cayambe, and Maria Pacheco has just been dropped off for work by the company bus. She pulls on thick rubber gloves, wraps an apron over her white, traditional embroidered dress, and grabs her clippers, ready for another long day. Any other time of year, Maria would work until 2 PM, but it's a week before Valentine's...
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...This chapter is dedicated to introducing the student to the emergence of a new and integrated world of business in which the traditional barriers to cross-border trade and investment including distance, time zones, language, differences in national government regulation, culture and business systems recede in significance due to globalization. The discussion of contemporary issues in international business illustrates the unique challenges of international business. A review of macro-economic and political changes that have taken place in the last 30 years highlights the issues that a typical manager must address in a global market. Information technology and technological changes have put global markets within the reach of small firms in remote locations. In spite of all its benefits, globalization is not a panacea. Critics of globalization point out that it has adverse effects on some firms and individuals. The opening case chronicles the meteoric rise of Wal-Mart from its humble Arkansas beginnings in 1962 to a global retailing giant with $218 billion in sales in 2002. The closing case, Ecuadorian Valentine Roses, follows a rose from Ecuador to New York while describing the hazardous working conditions in Ecuador and the growing backlash among European consumer groups. [pic] WebeSource http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Southwest/01/08/levi.s.closing.ap/ http://www.nacsonline.com/NACS/News/Daily_News_Archives/July2003/nd0722036.htm...
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...damage to the environment in Ecuador as a result of their bad practises. We have been informed that more than 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater has been dumped in the areas surrounding their operations, there have also been reports of around 17 million gallons of crude oil being spilt alongside vast amounts of hazardous waste being left in open pits in the forest floor; all in a bid for Chevron to save money. These practises did not meet industry standards and are illegal in both Ecuador and the US. Chevron is now on the run from the Ecuadorian courts as they are required to pay $9.5 billion dollars to pay for the clean-up and remediation of the Amazon Jungle. The Ecuadorians have filed law suits in Canada and Brazil to seek seizure of Chevrons assets. The results of this unethical behaviour will impact many, such as the communities living in Ecuador, the shareholders and their sponsors alongside many more. The communities living in the affected areas will be impacted most, it is reported that there has been a wave of mouth, stomach and uterine cancer, birth defects and spontaneous miscarriages that have come across the indigenous people. As a result of this pressure groups such as the ‘chevrontoxico’ group and amazon watch have begun campaigning to raise awareness of the illegal and destructive nature of their activities. They have been trying to help the indigenous people and the forest itself by raising awareness and petitioning for US senators top corporate watchdogs...
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...selling coffee beans and coffee making equipment instead of the drinks that have made the so popular. During their first year of operation they bought their beans from Peet’s but then they began buying directly from growers. After about a decade Howard Schultz was hired as director of retail operations and came to the conclusion that they should be selling drinks rather than just beans and equipment. He couldn’t convince the founders so he started his own chain called Il Giornale. By 1986 Starbucks had 6 stores in Seattle and had just started selling espresso. In 1987 the original owners sold Starbucks to Schultz who the renamed his Il Giornale stores to Starbucks which then started to expand quickly. By 1992 Starbucks had 140 locations in the US, revenue close to 44 million, and a market value of 271 million. The first location opened outside North America was in Tokyo, Japan 1996, where they still have sizeable presence today. Over the course of its life Starbucks has acquired many companies like Peet’s and Seattle’s best coffee and has taken over many other locations. In the 1990’s Starbucks started offering stock options to employees and finally became public,...
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...planet's natural resources. Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization. I should know; I was an EHM. I wrote that in 1982, as the beginning of a book with the working title Conscience of an Economic Hit Man. The book was dedicated to the presidents of two countries, men who had been my clients, whom I respected and thought of as kindred spirits—Jaime Roldós, president of Ecuador, and Omar Torrijos, president of Panama. Both had just died in fiery crashes. Their deaths were not accidental. They were assassinated because they opposed that fraternity of corporate, government, and banking heads whose goal is global empire. We EHMs failed to bring Roldós and Torrijos around, and the other type of hit men, the CIA-sanctioned jackals who were always right behind us, stepped in. I was persuaded to stop writing that book. I started it four more times during the next twenty years. On each occasion, my decision to begin again was influenced by current world events: the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1980, the first Gulf War, Somalia, and the rise of Osama bin Laden. However, threats or bribes always convinced me to stop. In 2003, the president of a major publishing house that is owned by a powerful international corporation read a draft of what had now become Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. He described...
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...ECUADOR PEST Analysis Summary Ecuador is a small country with about 15.8 million people found along the Pacific Coast of South America. The country is located between Colombia and Peru (see Exhibit 1).[1] Ecuador has a relatively long experience with democracy, but it has been marked by frequent cycles of instability. This all ended with the election of President Correa, a left-learning U.S. trained economist, in late 2006. President Correa succeeded in gathering the country to support a referendum and the Constitution was then rewritten. This referendum increased the power of the president and allowed the president to run for two consecutive terms. President Correa was then reelected in April 2009. His new term began in 2013. He is also currently attempting to change the constitution one more time to remove the limit on presidential terms so that he can run for president indefinitely.[2] Ecuador’s economy is mainly dependent on exports including petroleum, bananas, and other agricultural products. More than half of export earnings are derived from its oil resources; this providing approximately two-fifths of the government revenues. [3] Despite the significant changes in Ecuador’s standards of living, and the increase in the income of the poorest of 40% of the population in 8.8%, compared with the 5.8% of the country, there is still a lot to be done to tolerate and enlarge what has been accomplished in regards to the poverty reduction...
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...bananas it’s a product with quality, with incredible taste, so it should be fair that you pay a fair price for it. Horatio Hernandez Coobafrio Co-operative, Magdalena, Colombia January 2014 contents 1 Introduction 4 2 6 Executive Summary Britain’s Bruising Banana Wars 16 16 20 21 4 The banana value chain 4.1 The UK banana market 4.2 The retail price of bananas in Britain 4.3 UK banana imports 2002 – 2013 4.4 Changes in banana supply chain operations 4.5 The impact of supermarket price wars on producers 4.6 Producer prices vs costs of sustainable production 22 22 23 5 The market environment for bananas 5.1 Evolution of the global banana trade 5.2 Consolidation of retailer power and UK price wars 5.3 The impact of competition law on banana prices 38 6 Fairtrade’s alternative approach 6.1 General background to the Fairtrade system 6.2 Fairtrade bananas – scope and scale 6.3 airtrade: the benefits and F constraints for farmers and workers 2 3 About this report 3.1 Fairtrade’s involvement in bananas 3.2 Research objectives and approach 3.3 Methodological note 7 Achieving a sustainable banana industry 7.1 inclusive market An for smallholders 7.2 Thriving banana farming communities 7.3 Decent work 7.4 Living wages 7.5 Workers’ rights to unionise 7.6 Taking full account of externalities...
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...Market and Industry Dynamics in the Global Tuna Supply Chain Amanda Hamilton I Antony Lewis I Mike A. McCoy Elizabeth Havice I Liam Campling June 2011 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study would not have been possible without the kind assistance of hundreds of people who made time available to meet with members of the consulting team during in-country visits and who provided valuable insights and data. Analytical and research support was also provided by several international fisheries experts, as well as logistical support from a number of industry representatives. The consultants and the FFA Secretariat gratefully acknowledge and extend their sincere thanks to all persons who assisted Pacarrying out this study. ce for in cif ic P eo ple A In particular, special thanks is extended to the following people who provided assistance over s r Sli aire F and above the norm: Phil Roberts, Hugh Walton, Masao Nakada, Len Rodwell, Peter Terawasi, Marco D’Agostini, Rick Heroux, Kwame Mfodwo, Isamu Murakami, Taro Kawamoto, Ken Banwell, David Webb, Jamie Birch, Alfonso Beitia, Alberto Quinteiro, Vicky Franco, Liu Xiaobing, Davy Chen, Zhao Gang, W.H. Lee, Chris Hsu and Jerry Tsai. 2011 - production of this report was provided by the Funding for the assignment undertaken for the2014 Government of Japan through the Overseas Fisheries Cooperation Foundation. OFCF Funding for the publication and distribution of this report has been provided by the European Union through the DevFish...
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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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