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This study aims to empirically explore the nexus between foreign direct investment (FDI) and other factors for global value chain (GVC) participation (backward and forward) in Vietnam, a transitional economy. The estimation shows that the economic size and market development of Vietnam and its trading partners are the main determinants of the nation's GVC participation. Inward FDI flows into the country have a positive impact on its GVC participation in both forward and backward linkages. Geographical distance is an impediment to Vietnam's backward GVC participation, whilst engagement in free trade agreements is advantageous to its GVC participation in both backward and forward linkages. We find that the logistics performance of Vietnam and its trading partners also positively affects the country's GVC participation. The paper provides policy implications for Vietnam to better use FDI and other factors to enhance its GVC participation, such as by attracting large supplier firms in upstream industries across the multinational enterprises' (MNEs) value chains, promoting trade liberalization and improving logistical efficiency. Keywords: Vietnam, global value chains (GVCs), foreign direct investment (FDI)., 1. Introduction Research by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) (2013) has estimated that about 80 per cent of global trade (in terms of gross exports) is [...]

Context and background A global land rush -driven by a variety of factors-is driving transformative change in African rural communities that depend on land for their livelihoods. This increased demand has resulted in the acquisition of large areas of land on the continent. While the pace and scale of land acquisition may be levelling off,1 in many cases, some or all of the land acquired by investors stands idle.2 Land return- in which a private company legally transfers all or part of its land holdings back to a community or government-is an emerging phenomenon that may be on the rise as companies seek to limit their exposure to risk, governments redesignate lands and communities push for the return of their land. Land return holds promise as a way to correct for overzealous and misguided land acquisition and historical injustices amidst a growing understanding of the value of land to communities. Goal and Objective Yet land return presents challenges, many of which may be unexpected. Though existing frameworks and guidelines regarding responsible investments require effective community consultation, there is less clarity and limited guidance on what risks, mitigation strategies, and tools are needed to safeguard the rights of communities in the context of land return. Methodology This paper brings forward experience from a recent land return process in Tanzania in which Landesa and its partners worked to identify and put into practice standards and approaches that protect community rights while supporting a company's efforts to comply with best practices, national and international requirements and expectations for responsible corporate practice. The tools and processes tested and shared through this project align with efforts to support implementation of the Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Areas (AfCFTA) and achieve the aspiration of the Africa We Want (Agenda 2063). Results: This paper highlights the importance of inclusive and transparent land governance practices by presenting a case study of Landesa's experience working with a forestry company to engage with communities and local land administration to understand needs and expectations around the companys intention to return approximately 14,000 hectares of land. The case study will highlight land return-related risks, present a model for community benefit sharing arrangements, and will share lessons learned, highlighting potential best practices that companies holding idle land might consider and employ to reallocate to landscarce communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The destruction of World War I (WWI) and World War II (WWII) changed the world forever. In this analysis, the economic costs of WWI and WWII are considered via a harm reduction approach to highlight the cost of war via the mortality of military personnel. The harm reduction philosophy and homeostasis of a biological cell are utilized as a pragmatic approach and analogy to give a greater context to the findings, despite the omission of civilian casualties and military disabilities. Methods: Tangible (e.g., loss of wages, productivity, and contributions) and intangible (e.g., quality of life) costs are estimated based on the value of each military personnel derived from secondary data and a mathematical model. This is the first study to estimate the cost of war based on soldier's mortality during the first and second World War. Results: Based on the tangible value, the WWI and WWII cost for the military personnel was US$43.204 billion ($13 billion ≤ α ≤ $97 billion) and US$540.112 billion ($44 billion ≤ α ≤ $1 trillion). When the intangible cost is considered, it is estimated that the WWI cost was beyond US$124 trillion ($43 trillion ≤ β ≤ $160 trillion), and the WWII cost was above US$328 trillion ($115 trillion ≤ β ≤ $424 trillion). The sensitivity analyses conducted for WWI and WWII demonstrate different ranges based on tangible and intangible values. Conclusions: In the current climate of increasing hostilities, inequalities, global warming, and an ever-changing world, economic prosperities are directly linked to peace, stability, and security. Therefore, any future decisions for military conflicts need to increasingly consider harm reduction approaches by considering the cost of life and potential disabilities for each nations' soldiers, sailors, and pilots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to determine the comparative advantage of Romania in relation to the countries of the European Union in an integrationist context. The European single market offers free trade conditions, which allows the reference to Ricardo's theory of comparative advantage and the use of the Balassa index for the analysis of trade flows. This index measures the relative performance of exports, per countries and branches, and it is calculated as ratio between the share of a branch in the total export of the country and the share of the branch in the world exports. As the current export flows 'reveal' the country's strong sectors it is also known as Revealed Comparative Advantage. The conclusions of the analysis will identify the situations of relative comparative advantage and the situations in which the Romanian economy presents favorable opportunity costs.

This article is intended for anyone interested in knowing the basic rules and existence of a market economy. The right to competition is one of the additional conditions of regulation, i.e. the free movement of goods, service personnel and capital. It is a legislative decision aimed at the formation and existence of an undistorted competitive environment. It was believed that traders, whether at the national or community level, should interact as freely as possible without being adversely affected by economic agents, scestor associations or the state. From a practical point of view, the legality of the legislative provisions constitutes the negative impact of business closure sanctions on the power status of associations of economic entities. In a well-functioning market economy, compliance with competition rules supports economic progress, protects the interests of customers and the competitiveness of existing products and services in the economy, while ensuring that consumers are protected from the influence of other products on the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study empirically investigates to ascertain the impact of trade protection vis-à-vis border closure policy on manufacturing sector in Nigeria between January 2018 and June 2021 using monthly secondary data. The study employs traditional theory of protectionism as its theoretical framework. The chow breakpoint result revealed that there is a significant change in the parameters of the model in July 2019 which coincides with the time the policy implementation started. It employs dummy variable to investigate the impact of the policy on manufacturing sector output as against use of two regression model. The regression analysis revealed that in the short run, the impact of the border closure on manufacturing sector was positive but later became adverse in the long run. Also, the interaction of the border closure with the inflation rate revealed that the inflation rate became high during the period but the government generated income from tariff increased. This revealed that there are leakages through the land borders that needs to be curbed through legislation. Sequel to these findings, the study makes the following recommendations: government should not consider closing the borders again as it closures constitute a drag to the manufacturing sector growth; rather than closed border, government should formulate policies to enforce trade protection; lastly, should it become exigent for the government to close the border, they should allow moderate inflation rate that the economy can tolerate in order to spur manufacturing output.