Archive for November, 2006
Formal Business through Informal Means: Targeting the BoP
The McKinsey Quarterly is carrying an interesting article on doing business in emerging markets, particularly the BoP. Titled, A grassroots approach to emerging-market consumers, the article sees the challenge primarily as a principal-agent problem:
A company (the principal) is in a weaker position than the community (the agent) when it comes to gaining local information, shaping [...]
Trade, Corporate Agendas, and Politics
Bilaterals.org has an excellent article analyzing the dynamics of bilateral trade and investment agreements, their relation to transnational corporations, and the impact on the developing world.
The report, Corporate conquest, global geopolitics: Intellectual property rights and bilateral investment treaties, goes far in examining the geopolitical negotiations as well as the agendas that drive these agreements:
With World [...]
The Land of (Political) Liberty - India
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal
So said the US Declaration of Independence. It may well have added…
Unless, of course, they are born outside the US. Then they cannot be President.
From Delhi to Chennai - Are There Two Indias?
I was in Chennai this past weekend (made a new friend -see photo) and am convinced that there are two Indias - at least.
The story of two Indias is not new and best characterized by the rise of Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai as the new centers of economic power. The centers of academic and [...]
Global Rich List: How Rich Are You?
Ff you thought the world was getting richer, you probably thought so because you were getting richer. This Global Rich List calculator tells you where your salary puts you on the global pecking order - in absolute terms.
Now, absolute numbers don’t mean much in a world of unequal incomes and expenses. So I figured I’d [...]
Kidney Transplants Legal in Iran
Iran, apparently is one of the few countries that allows people to legally sell their kidneys. And The Economist approves:
With proper regulation, a kidney market would be a big improvement on the current, sorry state of affairs. Sellers could be checked for disease and drug use, and cared for after operations. They could, for instance, [...]
TRIPS-plus and Public Health
Oxfam has released a report reviewing the patent and public health landscape 5 years after the Doha Decleration, titled, Patents versus Patients. The report is clear in its conclusion, and its criticism of the USA in particular:
Trade rules remain a major barrier to accessing affordable versions of patented medicines (generic medicines)…The USA, at the behest [...]
Doing Business in India, Indian Style
Wharton Business School’s special online portal on India has an article on India’s business environment for SMEs, titled How Some Firms in India Succeed by Bypassing Entrenched Financial and Legal Systems.
India has often been praised for its strong financial and legal systems and its well-regulated stock market. It is argued that these strong formalized systems [...]
