...Poland: A Case Study for Efficient Markets? Poland’s GDP grew by 1.7% in 2009. It was the only European country with positive economic growth that year. “What did Poland do right?” is what many pundits were asking throughout 2011, late 2010, and has recently been brought up yet again. Poland has even been called the “case study for free markets.” In this political election year, where many are calling for the repeal of Dodd-Frank, dismantling of the Treasury’s Office of Financial Research, and the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau, it would be good to discuss Poland and whether it truly is the “case study” for free market economics. Commentators have argued that Poland’s Finance Minister and Prime Minister “have an unyielding belief in the free markets.” Equating Poland’s policies to Austrian economics advocated by F. A. Hayek and his mentor Von Mises. Using Von Mises for economic policy is a bit misplaced as even Friedman, loyalist supporter of F. A. Hayek, has harsh criticism for Von Mises’ intolerance for opposing economic views. Von Mises is more of an early to mid-1900s example of today’s hard-right conservative policies, than strong analytic economic policies. In fact, Von Mises presented an ideological type of economist, opting to support fascism to quash support for communism. He also, simultaneously opposed progressive tax to the point that he vehemently disagreed with economists so much that he used today’s strong economic analysis of calling them “all socialists”...
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...| POLAND Economy | Macro-Economic Report | Economics and Decision ModellingProfessor Dr. Steven GoldBy | AISHWARYA INUKULA | 11/26/2013 | Contents History 1 Economy: 1 Currency 2 Banking: 3 Currency Moment vs. USD: 3 1) GDP GROWTH: 4 2) INFLATION: 6 3) FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT 7 4) UNEMPLOYMENT 7 5) INTREST RATE 8 6) FOREIGN TRADE 9 7) INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION 10 8) ECONOMIC FREEDOM INDEX 11 9) POLITICAL STABILITY: 11 10) Stock Market Performance 12 Major Trade Partners 12 Weaknesses 13 Conclusion 13 Appendix 14 History: Between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland among themselves. Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state following the war, but its government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labour turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" that over time became a political force with over ten million members. Free elections in 1989 and 1990 won Solidarity control of the parliament and the presidency, bringing the Communist era to a close. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. Economy: Poland made a remarkable progress in its economy post liberalization. It makes an interesting case study as one of Europe’s champions of good economic management. It is a decentralized country with solid institutions, and its economy is diversified and deeply...
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...Australian Vintage LTD (AVG) The Australian industry The Australian wine industry is the 4th largest exporter in the world, exporting over 400 million litres a year to a large international export market that includes “old world” wine-producing countries such as France, Italy and Spain. There is also a significant domestic market for Australian wines, with Australians consuming over 400 million litres of wine per year. The wine industry is an important contributor to the Australian economy through production, employment, export and tourism. The Australian Wine export market was worth 2.8 billion Australian dollars in June 2007, and had a growth rate of 9%pa. Of this about AU$2 billion was accounted for by North America and the UK, and in this key latter market Australia is now the largest supplier of still wines. 2007 statistics for the North American market show that Australian wine accounted for a 17% share of the total value of U.S. imported wine, behind France with 31% and Italy with 28%. Australian Vintage Limited Australian Vintage Limited is a leading Australian wine company, known as McGuigan Simeon Wines until February 2008, when shareholders voted to change the name. Today Australian Vintage Limited is at the forefront of the Australian wine industry. Crushing 9% of total Australian annual production, its vineyards and grape supply capacity extend through some of Australian’s most captivating and diverse wine regions including the Hunter and Barossa Valleys...
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...THE POLISH SURPRISE As the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 unfolded, countries across Europe were hit hard. A notable exception was Poland, whose economy grew by 1.5 percent during 2009, while every other economy in the European Union contracted. In 2010 and 2011, Poland achieved a growth rate of 3.9 and 3.8 percent, respectively, which were among the best in the EU. How did Poland achieve this? In 1989, Poland elected its first democratic government after more than four decades of Communist rule. Since then, like many other eastern European countries, Poland has embraced market-based economic policies, opened its markets to international trade and foreign investment, and privatized many state-owned businesses. In 2004, the country joined the European Union, giving it easy access to the large consumer markets of western Europe. All this helped transform Poland into a major exporter. Exports account for about 40 percent of gross domestic product (in contrast, they account for around 12 percent in the United States). As a consequence, between 1989 and 2010, Poland recorded the highest sustained growth in the region. Real GDP doubled over this period, compared to a 70 percent increase in neighbouring Slovakia and 45 percent in the Czech Republic. Poland's government has also been fiscally conservative, keeping public debt in check, not allowing it to expand during the recession as many other countries did. This led to investor confidence in the country. Consequently, there was...
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...June 16, 2015 Poland’s Economy After Communism The country of Poland gained their independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union during the Second World War (CNN.com). Around six million Polish people, including the majority of the country's large Jewish residents, died during the demoralizing six-year war. The shadow of Stalin and his ways continued to loom large over Poland after the war when the Communist-dominated regime ensured that Poland would become a Soviet satellite state for the next four decades. During this period, the people of Poland and all communist countries began to see that a communist government and its economy were not beneficial to them or their families. The following decades were interspersed by revolts against the cruel, dictatorial regime in Warsaw, but none had a greater effect on Poland's political and economic future than events in 1980 at a shipyard in western Poland(CNN.com). With a struggling economy and stories of corruption and negligence within the state causing widespread unhappiness, a series of strikes by workers paralyzed the country. Eventually the government was forced to negotiate and on August 31, 1980, workers at the colossal Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, led by an electrician named Lech Walesa, signed a contract giving workers the right to strike and form trade unions.(CNN.com). This signaled the creation of the Solidarity movement, which at the end of the day, was instrumental in bringing Poland's communist era...
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...likely changes Poland’s political landscape has evolved into a stable democracy since the fall of communism in the country. Its strong foreign policy assures it political and economic security. Ever since the setting up of a democratic framework, various governments of Poland have undertaken initiatives to privatize companies in several industries. The government is in the process of privatizing numerous financial institutions, as well as companies in the power, chemical, and petroleum sectors. The privatization of companies is one among many measures the government is taking to reduce its budget deficit. However, Poland’s political and bureaucratic systems face widespread corruption, which has been a barrier to foreign investment. 2. Tax policy The Polish tax system is comprehensive and tightly regulated. Any taxpayers conducting a business activity in Poland may be subject to the following taxes: All taxes are imposed entirely based on Acts passed by the Polish Parliament, which means that taxes cannot be imposed based on decrees issued by the Ministry of Finance or any other authority. This ensures the certainty of law and protects taxpayers from unpredictable changes in legislation. Additionally, in case of uncertainties regarding the interpretation of the tax law, Polish taxpayers are entitled to apply to the Minister of Finance for an individual ruling. The individual ruling is an official interpretation of the tax law in an individual case presented by a given...
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...talent’, various definitions from different angles are provided for a better understanding of the main topic of the report. The third chapter analyses the ‘war for talent’ concept with both pro and con academic arguments. The fourth section defines talent management as a mandatory ‘toolkit’ to fight the war for talent. In the first subsection a few definitions and talent management approaches are explained. This section is followed by two consecutive ones which define and analyse the notions of performance, and potential in relation with talent management. The fifth and final chapter expands the ‘war for talent’ concept on a global scale with the two subsections discussing the influence of globalisation on the talent war followed by a case study of Poland’s talent management issues in the global ‘war for talent’. In the end a conclusion is drawn followed by afferent references consulted in order to create the report. Table of contents Front cover 1 Executive summary 2 Table of contents 3 List of figures 4 1.0 Introduction 5 1.1 Background 5 1.2 Aims and objectives 5 1.3 Methods 5 2.0 What is ‘talent’? 6 3.0 The war for talent: concept and criticism 6...
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...Brown Case discussion August 27th 2015 1. In 2004, Poland joined the European Union which gave it access to the large consumer market of western Europe. Poland was able to avoid the economic crisis by becoming a major exporter, being fiscally conservative, keeping public debt in check, not allowing it to expand during the recession as many other countries did. 2. The lessons that can be learned from the Polish during 2008-2009 are that it can benefit a country to be fiscally conservative by keeping public debt in check and not allowing expansion during a recession. Poland also got a bit lucky. A tight monetary squeeze designed to curb inflation and ease them into the EU, headed off the asset price bubble, particularly surging home prices that hurts so many other economies around the world. 3. Poland can be an attractive economy is many aspects. First, it’s known that Poland's economy has been consistently growing since the country joined the European Union in 2004. This helped Poland become a major exporter, accounting for about 40% of the EU gross domestic product. Secondly, they have a tight monetary policy which was able to keep the country afloat during the recession. However, they are some weakness within the Polish economy as well. The tax system they use is complex and archaic. Also, due to extensive regulations, it can be difficult to do business there. Poland is still completing its transition from a socialist economy to a market-based economy. That...
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...What are the main arguments for and against the CAP? Which do you agree with, and why? The common agricultural policy (CAP) is a system of programmes and subsidies paid to EU farmers, which represents about half of the EU's budget, however, this number continues to decrease over the years. Initially, CAP was established to increase agricultural productivity in the EU and secure availability of food supplies after World War II . The CAP offered subsidies and systems guaranteeing high prices to farmers, who were encouraged to produce in response to consumer demand. This helped reduce Europe's dependence on imported food and quickly made Western Europe self-sufficient in food, but at the same time led to over-production of those agricultural products that were subsidised. Due to the fact that was produced more than could be sold, there was creation of "mountains" and "lakes" of surplus food and drink, which often had to be resold at a loss on world markets.The CAP has been altered several times in order to reduce costs and tackle over-production but there has been only limited success. The CAP have undergone major changes in the past several years. Since 2005 farmers are no longer subsidised, but instead receive a lump-sum called the Single Farm Payment (SFP). Over time agricultural priorities have shifted, with concern over food safety, quality, environmental, plant health, animal health and welfare standards. However, Throughout its lifetime, the CAP has come under heavy criticism...
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...manual labour. This makes them a very attractive location for large corporations to outsource low, medium and sometimes even high levels of production. Multi-national firms can take advantage of cheap labour, high level of technical competence, and excellent infrastructure in these three nations. The Central Eastern European countries are part of the expanding Europe and the countries that fall within this area have opened up many opportunities for multi-national Firms. Many of these countries have recently joined the European Union and NATO have made formidable alliance and agreements that boost their investment opportunity value. History: Poland is a large country with a long and distinguished history. (Europe Global Studies, pg. 48) Poland's history as a state begins near the middle of the 10th century. By the mid-16th century, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ruled a vast tract of land in central and Eastern Europe. During the 18th century, internal disorders weakened the nation, and in a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland among themselves, thus by the 1800, Poland had “disappeared” from the map of Europe. (Europe Global Studies, pg. 48) However Polish culture did stand strong and nationalism was always high, due to this the nobility spread and three empires worked on...
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...Political And Economical Developments Asia Europe [Writer Name] [Institute Name] [Date] international managment In this paper, provide a descriptive title or heading for your paper by focusing on topics or countries that interest you (such as “Political and Economical Developments in the Asian or European Systems”), and then discuss the following concepts: 1) Explain in detail why and how the political systems of countries differ; 2) discuss how the legal systems of countries differ; 3) explain what determines the level of economic development of a nation; 4) discuss with examples the macro-political and economic changes taking place worldwide; and 5) analyze how transition economies are moving towards market based systems. You can use specific continents, countries, or country as your focus. Political And Economical Developments Asia Europe There has been of course many changes since 1989. To understand this we should analyze how the situation before the revolution. Before 1989 there was no political freedom. There were elections, but there was only one candidate, down from the city councils up to the MPs, all of them were nominated by an almighty party. The most powerful man was not president, neither Prime minister, but the leader of the party. He was also responsible to the leader of the party in USSR. There was no freedom of religion; every priest had to be issued a special admission to work as one. The Bishops were nominated, the orders were denied. People were not allowed...
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...The Big Mac index was introduced in the Economist in 1986. Ng Yat-chiu created it the Chief Executive Officer of McDonald's Restaurant of Hong Kong. The Economist publishes it annually as an informal way of measuring the purchasing power parity (PPP) between different countries. “The value of the Big Mac Index is in understanding that price differences are not sustainable in the long-term. Exchange rates will eventually have to more closely equalize price differences, or the law of supply and demand will take over. Of Course nobody is going to import Big Macs from China to the United States because they are so cheap, but if Big Macs are so cheap, so are other products, and trade flows could be influenced by price differences.” “UBS Wealth Management Research has expanded the idea of the Big Mac index to include the amount of time that an average worker in a given country must work to earn enough to buy a Big Mac. The working-time based Big Mac index might give a more realistic view of the purchasing power of the average worker, as it takes into account more factors, such as local wages.” The most expensive country to buy a Big Mac is in Norway where the costs is $5.79 and the cheapest is in Malaysia $1.52. Prices of the Big Mac are affected by other factors such as taxes. Countries especially those in Europe that have higher taxes will have higher prices than countries with lower taxes. The prices are also affected by nontrade costs, such as rent and insurance. Lastly profit...
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...social policy responsibilities and tasks of local government in Poland Introduction In Poland, local social policy consists primarily of welfare assistance, i.e. the domain covering a range of universal (categorical) social services and means-tested monetary benefits. An important part of Poland's social security system, welfare assistance is guided by the principles of personalized support and discretional decision-making. Unlike the old-age and disability pension system - a pillar of the country's social security framework - which remains centrally administered, welfare assistance is almost entirely devolved to local government. Local authorities are wholly responsible for the provision and - to a lesser extent - financing of statutory welfare benefits and services. In addition, non-governmental organizations have taken on an increasing role in social service delivery over recent years, although this varies greatly by area. Regardless of local disparities in the availability of non-governmental service providers, authorities are obligated to cooperate with them. By contrast, the presence of profit-oriented companies in social service provision remains fairly marginal. Poland's current institutional regime, including its social-policy model (i.e. the organizational structure and instruments, the division of roles between the state, for-profit and non-profit sectors and the relationships between the state, society and the individual), has emerged over the past two decades...
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...CG in Continental Europe and Corporate Governance Code ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- A corporate governance brief report on Germany, Central Europe and the Nordic-Countries. Development of Corporate Governance in Germany German finance was bank-driven and universal banking was the norm (Gerschenkron 1962). Banks extended loans and credits, provided bridging finance, facilitated the transfer of ownership and participated in corporate governance through both the exercise of shareholders’ proxy votes and direct equity holdings. Despite the existence of these broad capacities, strong bank participation in corporate governance was a dominant feature of the German landscape only during the first few decades after World War II and began to weaken in the 1990s. Germany’s traditionally insider-dominated corporate governance system has undergone substantial reforms since the early 1990s. These resulted in a “hybrid system,” Complementing the traditional stakeholder-oriented system with important elements of the shareholder-oriented system. As a result, the control of outsiders, especially minority Shareholders, has increased and insider control has been reined in. Moreover, these reforms fostered flexibility and promoted competition between corporate governance structures, especially for public companies operating under the SE statute. German law mandates a two-tier board structure, made up of a “supervisory board” and a “managerial...
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...The Cold War marked a period of hostility between superpowers: that of the USA (and by extension, the West) and the USSR and the East. This hostility began after the Second World War, despite the supposed camaraderie between the two superpowers during the war as allies against Hitler and Fascism. Whether the schism between the superpowers was caused by their differing ideologies (the capitalist West and the communist East) or a clash between national interests and strong personalities is a matter for debate. Winston Churchill could be said to have helped cause the Cold War because of his ideological differences with Stalin. His 1946 ‘Iron Curtain’ speech certainly caused tension: it unveiled to the world Stalin’s increasing “Soviet sphere” and “increasing measure of control from Moscow”, strongly showing his disapproval of Stalin’s swooping over Eastern Europe and inferring his strongly anti-communist stance. However, this speech was given in 1946, and Churchill was no longer the Prime Minister; that role had passed to Clement Attlee, inferring that he felt he was only able to make such a blunt statement of his views once he was out of power. Conversely, when he was in high office, Churchill was able to work well with Stalin – he called him “Uncle Joe”, inferring they were more than just cordial allies working purely against Stalin. In fact, the Iron Curtain speech could be seen as hypocritical as Churchill made an agreement with Stalin which allowed him to have 75% of influence...
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