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Topic Review
North–South Divide in the World
The North–South divide (or Global North and Global South) is a socio-economic and political division of Earth popularized in the late 20th century and early 21st century. Generally, definitions of the Global North include the United States , Canada , almost all the European countries, Israel, Cyprus, Japan , Singapore, South Korea , Taiwan, Australia , and New Zealand. The Global South is made up of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Pacific Islands, and the developing countries in Asia, including the Middle East. It is generally seen as home to: Brazil , India and China , which, along with Indonesia and Mexico, are the largest Southern states in terms of land area and population. The North is mostly correlated with the Western world, while the South largely corresponds with the developing countries (previously called "Third World") and Eastern world. The two groups are often defined in terms of their differing levels of wealth, economic development, income inequality, democracy, and political and economic freedom, as defined by freedom indices. States that are generally seen as part of the Global North tend to be wealthier, less unequal and considered more democratic and to be developed countries who export technologically advanced manufactured products; Southern states are generally poorer developing countries with younger, more fragile democracies heavily dependent on primary sector exports and frequently share a history of past colonialism by Northern states. Nevertheless, the divide between the North and the South is often challenged and said to be increasingly incompatible with reality. In economic terms, as of the early 21st century, the North—with one quarter of the world population—controls four-fifths of the income earned anywhere in the world. 90% of the manufacturing industries are owned by and located in the North. Inversely, the South—with three quarters of the world population—has access to one-fifth of the world income. As nations become economically developed, they may become part of definitions the "North", regardless of geographical location; similarly, any nations that do not qualify for "developed" status are in effect deemed to be part of the "South".
  • 72.1K
  • 01 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Technological Innovation and Economic Growth
Economic growth is a tool for measuring the development and progress of countries, and technological innovation is one of the factors affecting economic growth and contributes to the development and modernization of production methods. Therefore, technological innovation is the main driver for economic growth and human progress. Spending on innovation, research and development as well as investment in innovation supports competition and progress. Accordingly, sustainable economic growth is achieved. This ensures the preservation of resources for future generations and the achievement of economic and social growth. Moreover, a sustainable educational level of the workforce, investment in research, creation of new products, and investor access to stock markets will be ensured through the development of the public and private sectors and the improvement of people’s living conditions.
  • 21.6K
  • 13 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Low-Level Equilibrium Trap
The low-level equilibrium trap is a concept in economics developed by Richard R. Nelson, in which at low levels of per capita income people are too poor to save and invest much, and this low level of investment results in low rate of growth in national income. As per capita income rises above a certain minimum level at which there is zero saving, a rising proportion of income will be saved and invested and this will lead to higher rate of growth in income.
  • 18.1K
  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Globalization Impact on Multinational Enterprises
The world is rapidly becoming a global village, a term that is increasingly relevant to multinationals alike. These conglomerates’ development and growth encompass all regions of the world. The globalization era has transformed many multinational enterprises into highly efficient and productive entities that outweigh small countries and grow in power and control.
  • 17.5K
  • 21 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Online Shopping
Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly or by searching among alternative vendors using a shopping search engine, which displays the same product's availability and pricing at different e-retailers. As of 2016, customers can shop online using a range of different computers and devices, including desktop computers, laptops, tablet computers and smartphones. An online shop evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services at a regular "bricks-and-mortar" retailer or shopping center; the process is called business-to-consumer (B2C) online shopping. When an online store is set up to enable businesses to buy from another businesses, the process is called business-to-business (B2B) online shopping. A typical online store enables the customer to browse the firm's range of products and services, view photos or images of the products, along with information about the product specifications, features and prices. Online stores typically enable shoppers to use "search" features to find specific models, brands or items. Online customers must have access to the Internet and a valid method of payment in order to complete a transaction, such as a credit card, an Interac-enabled debit card, or a service such as PayPal. For physical products (e.g., paperback books or clothes), the e-tailer ships the products to the customer; for digital products, such as digital audio files of songs or software, the e-tailer typically sends the file to the customer over the Internet. The largest of these online retailing corporations are Alibaba, Amazon.com, and eBay.
  • 17.1K
  • 12 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Investment in Tourism Infrastructure Development
Investment in tourism infrastructure includes investment in components such as transport and communications infrastructure, the hotel and restaurant industry, and recreation facilities... Investment in tourism infrastructure development to make destinations and services increasingly attractive is considered a key measure in developing a country’s tourist destinations. It has a strong and positive impact on visitor attraction. 
  • 13.6K
  • 18 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Global South
The Global South is a term often used to identify lower-income countries on one side of the so-called global North–South divide, the other side being the countries of the Global North. As such the term does not inherently refer to a geographical south; for example, most of the Global South is actually within the Northern Hemisphere. The term, as used by governmental and development organizations, was first introduced as a more open and value free alternative to "Third World" and similar potentially "valuing" terms like developing countries. Countries of the Global South have been described as newly industrialized or in the process of industrializing and frequently have a history of colonialism by Northern, often European, states. The countries of Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, and Mexico have the largest populations and economies among Southern states. The overwhelming majority of these countries are located in or near the tropics.
  • 11.6K
  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Ethereum
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality. Ether (ETH or Ξ) is the native cryptocurrency of the platform. Among cryptocurrencies, Ether is second only to Bitcoin in market capitalization. Ethereum was conceived in 2013 by programmer Vitalik Buterin. Additional founders of Ethereum included Gavin Wood, Charles Hoskinson, Anthony Di Iorio and Joseph Lubin. In 2014, development work began and was crowdfunded, and the network went live on 30 July 2015. Ethereum allows anyone to deploy permanent and immutable decentralized applications onto it, with which users can interact. Decentralized finance (DeFi) applications provide a broad array of financial services without the need for typical financial intermediaries like brokerages, exchanges, or banks, such as allowing cryptocurrency users to borrow against their holdings or lend them out for interest. Ethereum also allows users to create and exchange NFTs, which are unique tokens representing ownership of an associated asset or privilege, as recognized by any number of institutions. Additionally, many other cryptocurrencies utilize the ERC-20 token standard on top of the Ethereum blockchain and have utilized the platform for initial coin offerings. A series of upgrades called Ethereum 2.0 includes a transition to proof of stake and aims to increase transaction throughput by using sharding.
  • 10.7K
  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Georgism
Georgism, also called in modern times geoism and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that, although people should own the value they produce themselves, the economic rent derived from land – including from all natural resources, the commons, and urban locations – should belong equally to all members of society. Developed from the writings of American economist and social reformer Henry George, the Georgist paradigm seeks solutions to social and ecological problems, based on principles of land rights and public finance which attempt to integrate economic efficiency with social justice. Georgism is concerned with the distribution of economic rent caused by land ownership, natural monopolies, pollution and the control of commons, including title of ownership for natural resources and other contrived privileges (e.g. intellectual property). Any natural resource which is inherently limited in supply can generate economic rent, but the classical and most significant example of land monopoly involves the extraction of common ground rent from valuable urban locations. Georgists argue that taxing economic rent is efficient, fair and equitable. The main Georgist policy recommendation is a tax assessed on land value, arguing that revenues from a land value tax (LVT) can be used to reduce or eliminate existing taxes (such as on income, trade, or purchases) that are unfair and inefficient. Some Georgists also advocate for the return of surplus public revenue to the people by means of a basic income or citizen's dividend. The concept of gaining public revenues mainly from land and natural resource privileges was widely popularized by Henry George through his first book, Progress and Poverty (1879). The philosophical basis of Georgism dates back to several early thinkers such as John Locke, Baruch Spinoza and Thomas Paine. Economists since Adam Smith and David Ricardo have observed that a public levy on land value does not cause economic inefficiency, unlike other taxes. A land value tax also has progressive tax effects. Advocates of land value taxes argue that they would reduce economic inequality, increase economic efficiency, remove incentives to underutilize urban land and reduce property speculation. Georgist ideas were popular and influential during the late 19th and early 20th century. Political parties, institutions and communities were founded based on Georgist principles during that time. Early devotees of Henry George's economic philosophy were often termed Single Taxers for their political goal of raising public revenue mainly or only from a land value tax, although Georgists endorsed multiple forms of rent capture (e.g. seigniorage) as legitimate. The term Georgism was invented later, and some prefer the term geoism as more generic.
  • 9.9K
  • 08 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Cost of Electricity by Source
The distinct methods of electricity generation can incur significantly different costs and these costs can occur at significantly different times relative to when the power is used. Also, calculations of these costs can be made at the point of connection to a load or to the electricity grid (ie they may or may not include the transmission costs). The costs include the initial capital, and the costs of continuous operation, fuel, and maintenance as well as the costs of de-commissioning and remediating any environmental damage. For comparing different methods, it is useful to compare costs per unit of energy which is typically given per kilowatt-hour or megawatt-hour. This type of calculation assists policymakers, researchers and others to guide discussions and decision-making but is usually complicated by the need to take account of differences in timing by means of a discount rate.
  • 9.7K
  • 13 Oct 2022
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