Economy

What awaits the world – depression of markets or minds?

Published

3 years ago

February 5, 2020

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, has warned that the global economy risks a return to the Great Depression. Speaking at the Peterson Institute of International Economics in Washington, she referred to IMF experts, who compare the current economic trends to the situation that existed at the close of the 1920s and culminated in the great market crash of 1929.

Georgieva pointed to inequality and financial sector instability as the main reasons for the growing threat to global economic stability.

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic recession that started with the stock market crash in the United States in October 1929, and continued until the late 1930s, peaking out between 1929 and 1933.

Apart from the US, the hard-hitting economic downturn also affected Canada, Britain, Germany and France, “and was felt in other countries too.”

Industry, construction, and agricultural production dropped double digits before the first signs of economic recovery appeared in 1939. All this was accompanied by major social upheavals, which played a significant role in precipitating WWII.

The debate about the root causes of the Great Depression continues to this very day. According to some economists, it was the general crisis of capitalism, related to insufficient state intervention and commodity overproduction. Other experts blame the crisis on too much money being in circulation due to excessive emission by central banks. Capital markets were literally showered with money, and dirt-cheap loans encouraged borrowing by businesses, which didn’t worry much about investment profitability. Stocks going through the roof dimmed the people’s view on the real situation on the market. Therefore, the crash was only a matter of time. What the proponents of different approaches agree on, however, is the negative role that financial speculators played in exacerbating the crisis, the inflation of the financial bubble, followed by the collapse of stock exchanges, all of which acted as a “fuse” in the already emerging economic crisis.

Nowadays, more and more international experts are concerned about the prospects of a new global crisis that could hit the world’s financial and economic system in the near future. Some believe that “the global economic crisis is a kind of “sleeping reality,” not yet clearly manifested in the economic activity itself.” Others believe that central banks and governments may “lose control of the situation in the world” already this year.

Macroeconomic and geopolitical factors are equally alarming. International trade is slowing, and it remains unclear how long the present “truce” in the ongoing trade war between the United States and China is going to hold. The WTO’s work is all but blocked by Washington, and the economies of most EU countries are caught between stagnation and recession. Finally, the Chinese economy is slowing down, which, in turn, is undermining the export capacity of many countries, and threatens to bring down prices on commodity markets.

In the financial sector, imbalances of the “unipolar model of globalization,” where capital keeps accruing to a narrow group of countries that issue global reserve currencies. In August 2019, experts with the Higher School of Economics in Moscow predicted that the global economic crisis “will happen sometime 18 months from now.” They pointed, among other things, to a drop in indices, as well as to the so-called “inverted yield curve” of the US government debt market, where yields on short-term bonds are higher than those on long-term bonds. Inflation in almost all of the world’s leading economies is below two percent, and interest rates either fluctuate around zero, or tend to decrease. Instability of the financial sector was mentioned among the primary threats also by the head of the IMF.

Kristalina Georgieva named inequality “between different groups of the population” as another factor that could provoke a crisis.

“This situation is mirrored across much of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), where income and wealth inequality have reached, or are near, record highs,” Georgieva said, adding that “this troubling trend is reminiscent of the early part of the 20^th century – when the twin forces of technology and integration led to the first gilded age, the roaring 20s, and, ultimately, financial disaster.”

According to a Credit Suisse Global Wealth report, released in October 2019, just one percent of “super-rich people,” and one to 10 percent – by the “poorest.”

The problem of inequality is something more and more politicians and economists around the world are worried by today. Speaking at the UN General Assembly, the organization’s secretary general, Antonio Guterres, called the growing public mistrust of public institutions one of the “four horsemen” threatening the world. And one of the reasons for this growing mistrust is that two-thirds of the world’s population lives in countries where the “income gap between rich and poor” is widening. “Ordinary people” are losing trust in the elite, Foreign Policy magazine agrees, and names other reasons for this, including “growing economic and social inequality” and “a lack of prospects for a brighter future.” The magazine believes that if unable to address this problem, the world’s high and mighty will face an “anti-elite rebellion.”

The question is whether the problem of inequality is more of a political nature, or whether it becoming a macroeconomic factor that determines the situation and prospects of the global economy. In an interview with Business FM, Alfa Bank chief economist Natalya Orlova said that “inequality is a concern for everyone, it really is the main economic problem the world is facing today.” Indeed, the unsolved problem of inequality can become a leading factor in a new phase of a global economic downturn. “The problems of inequality did not arise yesterday, so we do not know how long it will take to turn into a precursor of an economic crisis and an economic crisis itself,” Orlova added.

Proponents of this standpoint link the problem of inequality to the spread of populism with populist politicians coming to the fore in Europe and South and Central America. Many Asian leaders are also ranked by experts as populists. US President Donald Trump is often called the world’s number one populist who has been waging a trade war with the world’s second economy, China, for two years now. Together, these two countries account for at least 35 percent of the global GDP, and the financial and economic escalation between Washington and Beijing is already reflecting badly on the economic performance of most countries of the world. Thus, populist trends in world politics pose new threats for the economy, as they increase uncertainty.

The crisis of social trust, caused by the growth of inequality, negatively affects the mood in the business community as well. The overall psychological atmosphere and the opinion that millions of people have about the existing situation play a crucial role in the economy, as John Maynard Keynes said. When the mood in society is far from optimistic, this inevitably affects the “state of mind” of businessmen and financiers, and even a small push or a combination of several small “shocks” is enough for the economy to start going under, just like it happened in the early 1990s. According to Bob Moritz, chairman of the PwC international consulting company, chief executives around the world are showing record levels of pessimism that are much lower than what they did in 2018. This is not so much due to the new problems the global economy is facing today though. “What is new here is the scale and speed these problems are growing at.”

There are optimists, however, who are convinced that “there will be no Great Depression, of course,” although they admit that we still should brace up for a possible recession. There are no objective prerequisites for a global economic meltdown since the growth, especially in the stock markets over the past 20 years, is primarily associated with the advent of new technologies, which require “fewer production facilities” to ensure previous volumes of production. As for the problem of inequality, critics claim that it is being unnecessarily demonized by left-wing political forces around the world, who are playing on voter’s fears.

Meanwhile, the problem of inequality is more complicated than left-minded people tend to think. “There is reason to talk not just about some smoothing, but about a dramatic reduction in global inequality levels over the past few decades.” Moreover, the “level of inequality” directly depends on how it is measured. For example, inequality in terms of “consumption” is usually several times smaller than when measured in terms of “income.” Finally, “establishing a quantitative measure of inequality does not contain any direct normative and political implications.” Abject poverty is certainly a challenge for society, “but there is no challenge in increasing the Gini coefficient from 0.40 to 0.45.” The relationship between inequality and the dynamics of social conflicts is less obvious though. According to numerous studies, social conflicts are not so much caused by objective income gaps between the poor and the rich, as by the subjective perception of the situation by society the dynamics of “demand for redistribution” depend on.

Still, most economists worldwide are confident that economic growth directly affects inequality, which can be reduced with the help of redistribution mechanisms. This opinion is echoed by some international economic organizations, with UN experts arguing that technological progress not only stimulates economic growth “and creates new opportunities,” but also increases inequality due to the uneven “access to technology in different countries.”

Finally, we should also keep in mind the fact that present-day imbalances are accumulating in stock markets, just like they did in the late 1920s. Their uprush could lead to a short-term crisis by the end of this year, or in early-2021, for example, after the presidential election in the United States. Experts at the Higher School of Economics Market Research Center point to the so-called Juglar cycles, “the phenomenon of the average cyclic wave, followed by a crisis.”

“The year 2021 will mark 12 years since the crisis of 2008-2009. These 12 years are the middle wave and are the harbingers of a crisis. It is during this 12-year cycle that all financial bubbles are inflated in.” There is always hope, however, as most experts admit that modern economic science is still unable to predict the exact timing and depth of the next global crisis.

From our partner International Affairs

Economy

Looking at Indonesia’s Nickel Downstream Efforts from The Perspective of Resource Curse

Published

5 hours ago

April 2, 2023

I Gusti Ngurah Krisna Dana

Image source: Kumparan

Republic of Indonesia under the government of President Joko Widodo is intensively pursuing downstream industries, mainly in the natural resource products sector. One of which is Nickel. Indonesia’s abundant natural resource wealth is certainly a field for increasing the economic level of state revenue. Moreover, if the Government is able to ‘prosperate’ the community through the results obtained from the wealth of the country’s natural resources.

In this opinion article, the author tries to look at the perspective of the natural resource curse which is prone to be experienced by countries/regions that are rich in natural resources but the level of community welfare is far from expectations, then the author tries to provide an opinion regarding the linkage of resource curse in the midst of government efforts. increasing the downstreaming of Indonesia’s natural resource industry.

Downstreaming Nickel: A Way Out of the Term Natural Resource Curse?

President Joko Widodo and his staff’s steps to increase state revenues through the downstreaming of natural resource industry, one of which is Nickel. It should be appreciated because it is this step a way for the government to provide a way out of from natural resource curse.

The ‘resource curse’ in the theory introduced by Richard Auty (1993) was followed by further research from Jeffrey Sachs and Andrew Warner (1995) find that there is a strong connection between countries with an abundance of natural resources and poor economic growth. This becomes interesting, not about the wealth of natural resources of a country. But about how the state can properly and appropriately manage the results of the abundance of nature with the economic standard of living of its people. In the perspective of resource curse, especially in terms of yield management, there are differences in each resource-rich country. Countries with abundant resource wealth sometimes succeed in development, but on the other hand they don’t. How could this happen?

One of the things countries that are rich in natural resources has a low level of economy and people’s welfare, can be due to the management of natural resources governance by weak institutions. Weak in the sense that there is no transparency, accountability and oversight by the surrounding community.

Indonesia, through government policies to downstream the nickel commodity industry, is expected to strengthen national economic competitiveness amid global uncertainty and can become a global key player in the nickel commodity extractive industry. The government’s step in advancing industrialization and downstreaming the natural resource industry with nickel as a commodity that has the largest reserve value in Indonesia. According to the author opinion, it is a way to avoid resource curse in the future. Construction of a nickel smelter by President Jokowi’s administration, in Morowali Regency, Central Sulawesi which adopts a green smelter in mid-2023, is a concrete step by the government in accommodating nickel natural resource products for later downstreaming.

As a society, the authors in this opinion hope that the implications of downstream nickel industry governance for the welfare of the Indonesian people in general, and the Morowali community in particular can be well maintained through the construction of a nickel green smelter. Control, supervision and community participation accompanied by transparent institutions are certainly needed in the development process, so that the process of accountability and transparency of future results can avoid the curse of natural resources and be able to increase the country’s economic level.

Economy

Impact of Multinational companies on Pakistan

Published

3 days ago

March 30, 2023

Farrah Saleem

Multinational companies (MNCs) have had a significant impact on Pakistan’s economy since the country’s liberalization and opening up to foreign investment in the 1990s. Overall, the impact of MNCs on Pakistan can be seen as mixed, with both positive and negative effects on the economy and society.

Multinational companies (MNCs) are firms that operate in multiple countries, including Pakistan, and are usually headquartered in developed countries. They have the capability to invest large amounts of capital, technology, and expertise, which can significantly impact the host country’s economy. MNCs, bring foreign direct investment (FDI) to Pakistan, which is essential for economic growth.

The presence of MNCs in Pakistan has had a positive impact on the economy in various ways. They have contributed to the development of infrastructure, which has helped to improve the country’s business environment. MNCs have also helped to increase exports, which has led to an increase in foreign exchange reserves. Additionally, they have introduced modern technologies and practices, which have enhanced productivity and efficiency in the local industries.

One of the significant impacts of MNCs on the Pakistani economy is their contribution to employment generation. MNCs have created jobs for the local population, which has helped to reduce unemployment and poverty. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the number of people employed in the manufacturing sector, where most MNCs operate, has increased by 2.8% in the fiscal year 2020-21. This growth can be attributed to the expansion of MNCs in the country.

The presence of MNCs in Pakistan has also led to the transfer of skills and knowledge to the local workforce. MNCs employ highly skilled professionals who share their knowledge and expertise with local employees. This transfer of skills and knowledge helps to enhance the human capital of the country, which is essential for economic growth.

Furthermore, MNCs have a significant impact on the tax revenue of Pakistan. MNCs pay corporate taxes, which contribute to the government’s revenue. According to the Federal Board of Revenue, the contribution of MNCs to the country’s tax revenue has increased by 19.9% in the fiscal year 2020-21. This increased tax revenue can be attributed to the expansion of MNCs in the country.

MNCs have negative impacts on the environment and may exploit natural resources. The entry of MNCs into the Pakistani market has increased competition for local firms, making it difficult for them to compete with well-established global brands

MNCs have been accused of exploiting labor and natural resources in Pakistan. There have been reports of low wages, poor working conditions, and environmental damage associated with MNC operations in the country.

The current situation of multinational companies (MNCs) in Pakistan is mixed. On one hand, Pakistan has been successful in attracting foreign investment in recent years, with MNCs investing in various sectors of the economy such as telecommunications, energy, and infrastructure. On the other hand, Pakistan still faces a number of challenges that can impact the operations and growth of MNCs.

One of the major challenges faced by MNCs in Pakistan is the weak and uncertain regulatory environment. The country’s legal and regulatory framework is often viewed as complex and difficult to navigate, which can make it difficult for MNCs to operate and make long-term investments. In addition, corruption and lack of transparency in the regulatory environment can increase the cost of doing business and reduce investor confidence.

Another challenge is the inadequate infrastructure in Pakistan, which can make it difficult for MNCs to operate efficiently.

Furthermore, Pakistan has faced security challenges that can impact the operations and growth of MNCs. Terrorism, political instability, and sectarian violence can increase the risk of doing business in the country and deter foreign investment.

Despite these challenges, there are opportunities for MNCs in Pakistan, particularly in sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, and tourism. The country has a large and growing population, a strategic location, and abundant natural resources, which can make it an attractive destination for foreign investment.

The impact of multinational companies (MNCs) on the thinking of people in Pakistan can be both positive and negative, depending on various factors such as the nature of the company’s operations, its business practices, and the local cultural and social context.

On the positive side, MNCs can bring new ideas and practices to Pakistan and can help to expose people to different ways of thinking and doing business. They can also bring job opportunities and skills development to local communities, which can have a positive impact on the local economy and people’s quality of life.

Moreover, MNCs can help to promote cultural exchange and understanding between Pakistan and other countries. For instance, MNCs may bring in employees from different parts of the world, exposing local employees to different cultures and perspectives. This can lead to increased tolerance and diversity in society.

On the negative side, MNCs may lead to negative consequences for local communities and the environment. MNCs may contribute to the marginalization of local businesses and industries, leading to the loss of local cultural and economic practices. This can have a negative impact on people’s sense of identity and belonging.

The impact of MNCs on the thinking of people in Pakistan is complex and multifaceted. While they can bring new ideas and opportunities, they can also have negative consequences for local culture and values. It is important for MNCs to be aware of these potential impacts and to operate in a socially responsible and culturally sensitive manner, in order to promote positive outcomes for both the company and the local community.

In conclusion, the current situation of MNCs in Pakistan is mixed. While there are challenges such as a weak regulatory environment, inadequate infrastructure, and security concerns, there are also opportunities for foreign investment in various sectors of the economy. It is important for Pakistan to continue to address these challenges and create a more investor-friendly environment to attract further foreign investment and promote economic growth.

Economy

How Saudiconomy, is an economic-transformational miracle?

Published

4 days ago

March 29, 2023

Abdul Rehman Shoro

Saudi Cabinet session. image Source: Saudi Press Agency

What is happening in the Global economy? The outlook seems entirely iffy, in the state of flux and bewildered with negative outlooks. The answer is, “Disturbance”. If we analyze the global-environment with respect to economy, we find it clouded with discussions pertaining to hawkish vs. dovish trends of central-banks, rising inflation, hyper-inflation, tanking GDP growth, Russian-Ukraine conflict, energy-crises, broken supply-chains, unemployment, recession-fears, supply-shocks, lower demands, inverted yield-curves, liquidity crises, banking debacles and many other ensuing economic-ramifications etc. all have become talk of corridors and towns.

In my opinion, the global economy seems in shambles, extrapolated perceptions assumed by analysts out of Jackson Hole meetings and other developed-countries’ central-banks are creating disturbances in financial-markets. Simply, the world is devoid of any solid vision, which could steer it towards betterment and prosperity. Major financial newspapers are dreading with inflation impacts. Ask any banker across the globe about his or her medium-term economic-outlook & you’ll get an ugly picture painted.

Welcome to Saudi Arabia, the year 2022 the country surpassed a mark of a trillion-dollar economy according to both IMF and Oxford Economics coupled with GDP which grew at 8.7% in 2022. The annual CPI in Saudi Arabia increased by 2.5% and inflation averaged at 2.47% in 2022 which is “absolutely nothing” against double-digits’ inflation worldwide.

So paradoxically asking, what is happening in Saudi Economy? The answer is, “Growth”. If we analyze Saudi economic ecosystem, we find it filled with positive economic-vibes where the discussion is all about hike in industrial-production, foreign-investment-inflows especially huge industrial-investments, mining-investments which aim to unleash the potential of natural-resources, infrastructure-investments, giga-projects, achievement of economic & financial targets on time, flourishing private-sector, multiplying Non-Oil GDP etc.

Taking global-view, H1+H2 of 2022 were clouded with immense geo-political tensions, with ultimate economic-ramifications. But KSA has remained insulated of all global economic-vagaries, which attests the resilience & robustness of Saudi economic framework which is strengthened by Saudi leadership. The fiscal-year 2022 attracted significant foreign capital-inflows, which proves that Saudi Arabia has successfully positioned itself as a desired-destination of global financial-capital amid the ongoing global-turbulence. Saudi Arabia has successfully averted economic-effects of current geo-political turmoil, in terms of utilities, food-security and inflation-containment etc.

The question arises, how did KSA achieve this economic excellence & resilience in really a short time-span? The answer is, a Vision is being implemented and realized by Saudi leadership with sheer commitment and enabled by Saudi youth. This trifecta is indeed a global successful case-study of how major economic-transformations can happen in a short-period of time.

Delving into more details, the fundamental reason is, in 2016 Saudi Arabia had devised a brilliant Vision 2030 under the leadership of H.R.H King Salman and this was a road-map drawn by H.R.H Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, as a forward strategic-economic framework. Under this brilliant vision, uniquely-crafted “Vision Realization Programs” (VRP) were designed, each tasked with a particular niche to smoothen the regulatory-processes, incentivize deployment of local-resources and ultimately attract private-sector & foreign-investments. All these VRPs are showing satisfactory-progress and many of these VRPs have over-achieved brilliantly.

Another driver of this economic-success is a significant-emphasis on optimizing potential of “Non-Oil GDP”. It is the Non-Oil GDP, which ultimately provided an impetus and incentivized Saudi Private-sector to act proactively. The fuel for sky-rocketing “Non-Oil GDP” is actually the giant private-sector of KSA, whose potential is being unleashed by Saudi government via launching a partnership-program namely “Shareek” which aims to intensify the potential of SAR 5 trillion of domestic private sector investments by 2030. The aim is to maximize the private-sector contribution up to 65% in Saudi GDP by 2030.

One of the attributable reasons of this economic-miracle of Saudi Arabia has been a constant emphasis on Higher Education & Research. For instance, scholarship programs for Saudi students proved to be a stellar success. Today we see countless highly-qualified Saudis, possessing valuable global-experience are now steering many organizations in both the public and private sector of country. Their competence coupled with determination, passion & loyalty for their leadership and the country paved the way for Saudi Arabia to result such an economic-success. Nature Index which tracks scientific & intellectual contributions globally has ranked Saudi Arabia, 1st in Arab World & 30th globally in 2022, which manifests emergence of high quality scientific-output by Higher education ecosystem.

Saudi Arabia was one of the countries, which made headlines across global-media due to smart Covid-management, leaving behind many developed economies. For instance, King Abdullah Port has bragged the 1^st-position leaving behind 370 global-ports in a globally-renowned index, Container Port Performance Index – 2021 by World Bank and S&P Market Intelligence, which analyzed performances of 370 ports in post-Covid broken supply-chain scenario. Similarly, Jeddah Islamic port and King Abdul Aziz port have bragged 8th and 14th position respectively.

Saudi Arabia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, Public Investment Fund has emerged as one of the smartest-SWF leaving behind many decades-old SWFs with stellar investments. The PIF (AuM = 620 USD billion) with its in-built strong potential has taken lead in investing locally in Saudi Arabia. In any country, a monetary-system always carries immense importance in proper functioning of an economy & solidifies its robustness. This important task is being carried out diligently by Saudi Central Bank, SAMA, which is brilliantly regulating Saudi financial-sector.

Saudi Arabia is taking a lead in developing state-of-the-art infrastructure. Each of the giga-project is adding gross-value of billions of SAR directly to economy and is providing thousands of jobs. I call them; “Super-infrastructure” because they are being developed with a super-vision, led by super-teams, giving super-results and yield a super-future. Recently Knight Frank which is a top-notch and a century-old UK-based real-estate consultancy firm has evaluated the 15 giga-projects up to 1.1 trillion dollars.

Indeed, Saudi success story of economic-transformation and diversification embodies sheer brilliance, commitment and determination, which has manifested wonders in less than a decade as appreciated by the Managing Director of IMF in the recent WEF sessions, in these words, “They (Saudis) are using the increase in revenue very effectively to create the investment environment for future growth for diversifying the economy,”