Global Trade/Capital Flows and Competitiveness (PDF)

This ebook aims to provide a deeper understanding of global trade and investment flows and how they affect the competitiveness of economies. There have been some tectonic shifts in global flows both in terms of actual goods and services and also in terms of financial capital. The emerging economies have been aggressively competing in markets, which were hitherto dominated by the so-called developed world. This has been facilitated by the increased orientation towards openness in the emerging economies as also the other developing countries. These developments have been essential for strategically positioning them in the global marketplace and have been instrumental in improving the well-being of citizens across the globe.The papers in this issue have a focused approach towards the various issues related to the over-arching theme of 'Global Trade/Capital Flows and Competitiveness.' One of the important issues discussed in economic literature is that of the link between 'openness' and economic growth. This issue is explored in the context of India. It is also well known that some developing countries (most notably China) have benefited a great deal from the inward remittances of its diaspora. This issue is explored in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa in another paper. Another issues discussed is that of risks to shareholders in cross-border acquisitions. Some emerging economies have also gained financial strength and are exporting capital abroad. This and the issue of pricing strategies for optimization in service exports are also discussed.The papers offer rich insights in to the different angles of the global trade and capital flows and are nuanced to specific countries or regions. They will contribute to a better understanding of the various issues and will be of great use to academics for further research and practitioners in their new policy initiatives in the area of improving their performance be it in terms of improving growth and exports or in terms of attracting capital from the capital surplus countries.All the papers are original contributions and it is our view that they will lead to better understanding of the implications of these trades and capital flows on individual country performance and to calibration of policies initiated by governments in this area.