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diff --git a/UNCTAD_India.tex b/UNCTAD_India.tex new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5023893 --- /dev/null +++ b/UNCTAD_India.tex @@ -0,0 +1,406 @@ +\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 |