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diff --git a/India_UNCTAD.tex b/India_UNCTAD.tex deleted file mode 100644 index 5023893..0000000 --- a/India_UNCTAD.tex +++ /dev/null @@ -1,406 +0,0 @@ -\newcount\citecount -\def\resetcite{\citecount=0} -\def\cite{\advance\citecount by 1 \number\citecount} - -\nopagenumbers -\font\twelverm=ptmr7t at 12pt -\twelverm -\font\twelveit=ptmri7t at 12pt -\let\it\twelveit -\baselineskip=24pt -\vsize=9.5in - -{\parindent 0pt -India \par -United Nations Conference on Trade and Development \par -} - -\centerline{\it I. Addressing Challenges of Landlocked Developing Countries} - -Investing in developing nations is the next step for the global economy: -these countries, while often lacking in legal and physical -infrastructure, have large untapped labor and land reserves. -With national intervention or international investment, countries like -China, India, and Vietnam have been able to achieve very high growth in -recent years, putting them on the path to effective international -economy. -Trade deals and globalization through foreign investment are the key to -accelerating the growth of these countries beyond the value within their -own borders. -UNCTAD is a necessary facilitator of many of these deals, and India -would love to see continued development of these mutually beneficial -international relationships. -UNCTAD, however, needs to create generic policy solutions that can be -fitted to members of the international community on a reasonable basis. -These include regulatory import/export standards, frameworks for trade -deals that reduce barriers for businesses, and data-based internal -investment and development strategies. -Landlocked countries would be particularly benefited by such a programme -because they face unique roadblocks to development: cooperation with -specific neighbors is strictly necessary to even bring goods to market. -India supports solutions that are focused on allowing free enterprise -and market investment to flourish rather than pouring money into -hypothetical industries, a strategy that has failed time and time again. - -India is deeply invested in the infrastructural development of its -landlocked neighbors, Afghan\-is\-tan and Nepal. -Historically, India has been a major supporter of these two nations. -For example, in the early 2000s, India developed Afghanistan as a trade -partner to help stabilize the country---by giving the country \$700 -million in aid. [\cite] -India also constructed a road from Afghanistan to an Indian port to -reduce trade barriers for the landlocked nation's access to global -trade. -India's landlocked neighbors are both developing nations with high rural -populations, so their internal economic development will be a priority. - -Generally, landlocked nations need to be focused on catering to the -market needs (manufacturing inputs or final products) of their neighbors -and providing both their own citizens and investors the capacity to -develop new markets and industries. -Unfortunately, landlocked developing nations rarely have sufficient tax -revenues to create large infrastructure projects, so public-private -partnerships and land-backed infrastructure loans from sovereign -neighbors will likely pave the way for road, utility, and ICT expansion. -Some of these effects have already been observed by programs like -China's Belt and Road Initiative. [\cite] -Public-private partnerships may form as a transnational corporation -funding public utilities in exchange for preferential treatment in those -specific regions (similar to the international patent system). -The primary challenge for these public-private partnerships is -Internal economic development would be accelerated by incentivizing -transnational investors to create infrastructure. -A major challenge is maintaining the legal/regulatory infrastructure in -countries where bribery is more effective than legal decrees. -A sustained presence of corporate lobbies can often bootstrap a -business-friendly environment (in terms of reductions of regulatory -barriers and increasing openness), as long as sweet-heart deals are -rejected by the top levels of government. -These deals should be as plural as possible, to reduce the probability -of corruption, and while regional stakeholders should be consulted, this -is primarily a matter of national policy for landlocked countries. - -To transition from highly rural, disconnected economic patterns, like -observed in Afghanistan, Nepal, and India, to more connected ones, -infrastructure expansion is critical. -With regions far from coastal ports, India has developed its -infrastructure by creating zones where investment and entrepreneurship -are encouraged. -Recently, India has created the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor -Project, a government development initiative that funds connective -infrastructure in six different Indian states, supporting investment in -industry along this corridor [\cite]. -It expects to see significant new capital investment and job growth for -locals because of access to regional and global markets. -India wants to help landlocked countries implement similar corridors -internally and externally, to connect to their coastal neighbors' -existing road and rail infrastructure without funding it through -damaging tariffs on goods. -India proposes that such developments are funded by a lending program, -where necessary, and otherwise supported by trade deal guarantees. -Nepal could, under such a trade deal, provide production guarantees to -Indian businesses in exchange for access to trade corridors. -Such a trade deal could also establish single regulatory standards to -hasten the transport process for Nepalese businesses to seaports. -This is of particular interest to India because India and Nepal have -enjoyed a fruitful trade relationship, but in order to support Nepalese -development, private Nepali businesses should be able to, by temporary -visas for drivers or contracts with Indian driving companies, access -global markets at standard rates, when it shares in the investment costs -of infrastructure. - -This soft infrastructure of trade deals and regulatory partnerships -should continue to be encouraged by UNCTAD, and generic policy solutions -generated based on common ideals of free trade and mutual benefit. -One possible reform would be the elimination of double-registration of -goods (for import and export in India) automated away by UNCTAD-funded -software. - -Beyond infrastructure, the development of diverse markets is necessary -for the continued growth of landlocked nations. -Developing countries tend to focus on primary commodities as their -economic backbone, which is a useful starting point. -Many of these primary commodities function as manufacturing inputs for -Indian or international manufacturing. -Because of the cheap availability of these resources in developing -nations, national subsidies on internal use of these materials creates -the environment necessary for higher-tech manufactured goods which can -help stabilize developing countries' economies. -The investment driven by government subsidies, however, can only occur -if two conditions are met: strong protections of property rights for -investors, and loosened regulations on investment into capital like -factories necessary for using these natural resources at a cheaper price -than international competitors. -Such economic development has succeeded at developing landlocked nations -economically, reducing the impact of price shocks, as has been seen in -Austria's development of a high-tech export-based economy [\cite]. -But prerequisite to that development was the trade organization that is -the European Union. - -India proposes that UNCTAD strictly avoid strategies like NGO-based -assistance or small lending or investment from internal reserves. -UNCTAD should instead focus on facilitating trade deals and -business-friendly economic environments, by creating policy guidelines -and tools (software or otherwise) to track development progress in these -countries. -There are four central tenets that any effective plan should constitute. -First among these is trade pacts that eliminate trade barriers wherever -possible. -Landlocked countries already seek this kind of deal with their -neighbors, but UNCTAD and orgs like the World Trade Organization can -design deals that protect the interests of coastal nations while still -allowing landlocked nations' products transit. -These frameworks would ultimately hasten negotiations between landlocked -and coastal nations because they should be designed with data-backed -policy in mind. -Second, a plan should create a legal foundation for cross-border -infrastructure. -In many ways, this relies on trade pacts from the first layer, but -landlocked countries and their neighbors need to be able to enter joint -ventures to create continuous road, rail, and ICT infrastructure. -Third, the ease of doing business is critical for developing new -high-tech manufacturing industry. -Targeted subsidies on primary commodities and reduced regulatory burden -may, for businesses, facilitate use of the infrastructure built by these -plans. -The fourth tenet is unbiased metrics. -UNCTAD already focuses on this in much of its work [\cite], but -improvement of these metrics is always possible. -Continuously available data on corruption, growth, worker conditions, -and external investment is often hard to examine, especially for -developing countries with larger informal economies. -UNCTAD should fund unbiased reporting and software tools to provide this -data for developing nations. - -\iffalse -Notes ------ -- Afghanistan and Nepal are landlocked neighbors -- Focus - - Allowing investors (corporations) to hold stake in these countries - - PPP + deregulation - - trade corridors -- Examples - - Delhi-Mumbai - - Belt and Road - - High-tech industry in Austria -- Plan - 1. Trade pacts with guarantees - 2. Developing cross-border infrastructure - 3. Regulatory standards to simplify doing business - 4. Funding for software or an unbiased organization to provide clear - metrics on corruption, growth, worker conditions, and investment for - countries -\fi - -\vfil\eject\resetcite -\centerline{Works Cited} -{\raggedright\emergencystretch\hsize - -[\cite] {\tt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan\%E2\%80\%93India\_relations\#Since\_2001} - -[\cite] {\tt https://www.theguardian.com/cities/ng-interactive/2018/jul/30/what-china-belt-road-initiative-silk-road-explainer} - -[\cite] {\tt https://dipp.gov.in/programmes-and-schemes/infrastructure/industrial-corridors} - -[\cite] {\tt http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/en/topics/lldc.html} - -[\cite] {\tt https://unctad.org/news/few-developing-countries-overperform-frontier-technologies-most-lag-behind} - -} - -\vfil\eject\resetcite -\centerline{\it II. Promoting Entrepreneurship for Sustainable and -Inclusive Development} - -% I so want to advocate Pierre-Joseph Proudhon's mutualism, but I'm -% roleplaying as a goddamn neoliberal state. -% Also Luke Smith has a thing on GDP that sort of rebukes this whole -% essay. - -Entrepreneurship is critical to the creation of new markets for rural -and urban populations. -Pro-entrepreneurial culture, access to finance, and the regulatory -environment are the most important barriers for developing nations to -create a flourishing business environment. -Historically, before the invention and pervasion of information and -communication technologies, countries have industrialized through -urbanization policies, but rural entrepreneurship has become a growing -and much more necessary force in developing nations like India [\cite]. -However, with significant tribal and village living, ICT penetration is -not needed for most initial entrepreurialism in agricultural, light -manufacturing, or mineral and forest products. -Inside of this rural/urban split is another divide: group -entrepreneurship and individual entrepreneurship. -Small groups and individuals tend to function better as entrepreneurial -units for social development, as observed in industrialized nations. -Therefore, empowering individuals and creating a culture of empowerment -is central to such development practices. - -However, modern developing nations have an extra tool in their belt than -early industrial countries: global financial markets, angel investors, -and existing businesses that can bootstrap developing nations. -In addition to internal reforms, creating valuable investment -opportunities for local companies is necessary for capital to flow -towards entrepreneurs who can utilize opportunities opened up by -development plans. -For investment to be viable for creating prosperity, property rights, -intellectual and material, need to be strictly enforced, and bankruptcy -destigmatized and legally bolstered, to allow entrepreneurs to take -risks for their communities. -Lending and investing mean little, especially in high-tech industries -(one of the best sectors for new entrepreneurship), if intellectual -property rights are poorly enforced, the effects of which we've seen on -China with the sinking global opinion of Chinese copycat goods. -The creation of such investment opportunities may include R\&D spending, -infrastructure spending, and the development of new asset classes from -existing government holdings, all of which India is attempting to do to -achieve growth and development, [\cite] [\cite] [\cite] and it's -working. -PM Modi, with these policies, has been able to attract major investment -in the country and notably improved the economic state of the nation, by -allowing businesses to do business instead of the government trying to -play that role. - -These pro-business divestment and protection policies are necessary -components for creating urban and semi-urban development, but further -investment is strictly necessary to reach rural and disenfranchised -groups. -By using compulsory education policy, India has been able to achieve a -95\% attendance rate for primary schools, which means cultural change is -able to be meaningfully achieved by simply modifying existing teaching -patterns [\cite]. -Many other developing nations have comparable policy levers, so with -policies designed for the 10 competencies UNCTAD outlines in EMPRETEC -briefings, [\cite] India recommends creating primary school standards -that teach entrepreneurial values, which can be allocated special -instructional days by school boards. -Ideally, entrepreneurs from local communities should be brought into -schools to speak, which should not be a difficult feat because -entrepreneurs tend to be community leaders. -India also hopes to provide additional resources for youth to get -involved with their communities through schools, temples, or local -businesses. -Programs that help connect young people to the economy can be -kickstarted by non-governmental organizations that help local areas -create and implement no- or low-cost plans for experiential learning or -networking, two critical entrepreneurial skills. - -Gender inequality in entrepreneurship is, for India, a product of -traditional rural society, and in the long term, education will be -sufficient to create cultural change, but in the short term, India and -many other developing nations need to provide resources directly to -women entrepreneurs to counterbalance the cultural bias. -Entrepreneurs are go-getters and believe in mastering their own fate, so -conferences designed for female community leaders and offering free -consulting on regulatory issues can - -Pro-entepreneurial messaging in schools can make massive impacts on the -lives of pupils and on equitability for women and ethnic minorities. -And while urbanization has historically been necessary for major social -developments, rural entrepreneurialism is a primary concern for India -given the large rural populations in most developing nations. -Finance for rural entrepreneurs often requires alternative mechanisms to -achieve results because angel investors rarely have the scope for small -agricultural, services, or natural resource-dependent industries. -Some of these enterprises require little capital, so much of their -funding can be handled by the ``Friends, Family, Fools'' mechanism, but -this entirely precludes small and medium sized businesses that require -startup capital in the ``missing middle'' between USD\$50,000 and -USD\$1M. -Many villages where these rural developments occur don't have the -capital backing to create a new small or medium business, as classified -by [1], so India recommends developing nations create legal frameworks -that legitimize inter-village crowdfunding/share-based investment so -rural entrepreneurs have a legal foundation beyond the social -foundations that entrepreneurs build with their own skills. -UNCTAD would be helpful in writing policy suggestions and communicating -with rural entrepreneurs to understand what they need. -This may include greater access to supply chains by deregulating -transport for material inputs, or rural entrepreneurship could be best -developed by loosening labor laws for ventures that are often maintained -by the general community. - -In order to achieve growth and connectivity in developing nations, -UNCTAD needs to prioritize rural entrepreneurship and cultural change -for those regions. -There are three key actions that developing countries can take to -facilitate investments in their economy and build up entrepreneurs as -community leaders. -The first is to create investment opportunities by developing new -infrastructure in existing supply chains and to incentivize expanding -into other markets by providing tax advantages to companies. -This can attract foreign investment and allows new homegrown -entrepreneurs to take advantage of the downstream push for businesses. -The second is to bring entrepreneur education into schools, especially -rural ones, for girls and boys, using experiential learning and projects -centered around building up the 10 Personal Competencies during the -school day. -The third is to legally legitimate social finance mechanisms: several -villages can band together and form a community bank that goes into a -new venture which isn't large enough for angel investment. -This would close the missing middle for rural environments, allowing -farms, services, and miners to produce more with machinery. -But even beyond funding, formalizing enterprises is crucial for the -Indian economy to function on the global scene. -That is why India recommends offering free consulting and workshops for -business registration and handling the regulations. -This policy pays dividends in equitability and in business creation -because it connects people knowledgeable about the system to people -knowledgeable about the business. -This often works better than simply decreasing the size of regulations -but still requiring entrepreneurs to go through the process entirely -independently. -This gets wrapped into conferences for women and marginalized groups -because such agencies would be flexible and desirable for entrepreneur -conferences. -Such a program would help informal entrepreneurs incorporate and -legitimize their businesses, and reduce gender or opportunity gaps -greatly. -UNCTAD, national governments, and local communities should work together -to create these programmes and provide developing economies with access -to the wonderful tool that is global markets. - -\iffalse -Notes ------ -- Modi's policy - - R\&D from gov't (privatize the gains) - - Create new assets from gov't stores - - Protect "intellectual property" -- Make bankruptcy easy and destigmatized (is that a Modi thing? Haven't - looked) - - Serial entrepreneurs lol -- Hyperindividualist rhetoric where possible - - Will be worse for rural areas where crowd-funding or mutual - finance may be needed - - Entrepreneurs = "the wheat over the chaff" -- Treat conservative social views as products exclusively of school - socialization - - World Bank 95\% attendance rates - - Indoctrinate them kids early -- Gender inequity -- Rural entrepreneurship - - Missing middle - - Crowdfunding legal frameworks -\fi - -\vfil\eject\resetcite -\centerline{Works Cited} - -{\raggedright\emergencystretch\hsize -[\cite] {\tt -https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304112617\_Rural\_Development\_in\_India\_\discretionary{}{}{}through\_Entrepreneurship\_An\_Overview\_of\_the\_Problems\_and\_Challenges} - -[\cite] {\tt https://unctad.org/news/few-developing-countries-overperform-frontier-technologies-most-lag-behind} - -[\cite] {\tt https://yourstory.com/2021/02/privatisation-unleash-exciting-opportunities-boost-investment-india-inc} - -[\cite] {\tt https://www.telegraphindia.com/business/modi-seeks-investments-worth-1-5-trillion-offers-lower-tax-rates/cid/1796707} - -[\cite] {\tt https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2011/09/20/education-in-india} - -[\cite] {\tt https://empretec.unctad.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/EG\_eng.compressed.pdf} -} - -\bye |