“I believe that the only plausible explanation for the different rates of growth is socialism in Britain, free enterprise and free markets in Hong Kong. Has anybody got a better explanation? I’d be grateful for any suggestions.” Milton Friedman asks us this in his 1998 essay: The Hong Kong Experiment. Milton Friedman was part and founder of a school of economic thinkers called the Chicago School. This group believed strongly in the power of Capitalism, and although there are many definitions for this form of economic policy, Friedman and this paper us the following definition: “the organization of the bulk of economic activity through private enterprise operating in a free market”. Friedman in the aforementioned essay attempts to show us the benefits which a capitalist nation has over a socialist one. He uses, specifically, the case studies of the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Israel. Through these examples he postulates that it was Hong Kong’s capitalist policies which allowed it to succeed economically. There is no debating that Hong Kong is something of an economic miracle. The island began as small rock covered with a few fishing villages, and ended up being a world economic power. Friedman, however, makes the error of oversimplifying the situation of Hong Kong in the thesis of his essay. Hong Kong, by its very nature, does not exist in isolation. It is greatly affected by world politics, long history, and its own geography. We must understand Hong Kong’s success as a
Jennifer Franquez, 18, looks like your typical first-year college student as she wears her hair up, her glasses on, and casual attire. She is slender, on the taller side, and has dark hair and eyes. She is slightly nervous during the interview, and gives short but concrete answers.
Globalization has, for better or worse, altered the economic arena for every country in the world. For many less developed countries, globalization has leveled the playing field so that their economies can compete with the larger, more developed ones such as the United States and other large western economies. For instance, technical engineers in India and China are now just as qualified as engineers in America, but at half the cost. The once large and prosperous service sector in the United States as well as telemarketing services have largely been sourced to India as a large exodus of American multinational corporations find cheaper workers who deliver comparable quality. This then seems to be the essence of globalization - businesses
On the 9th of February 1942, three divisions of Japanese soldiers landed in Singapore, which was at the time a major British military base and presence in the Pacific. Six days later, over 90 000 British, Australian and Indian troops were forced to surrender. It had been believed that Singapore guaranteed the security of Australia during the war, consequently, the fall of Singapore opened Australia to invasion. The fall of Singapore was significant in causing relations between Australia and the United States to increase as in lieu of Britain’s inability to provide economic and military assistance when it was required most, the United States’ capability to provide what Britain could not was instrumental in strengthening bonds.
Nations have debated on which economic direction their country will direct its footsteps since the creation of societies. The United States, being one of the most stereotypical capitalistic nations, began as a Laissez-faire nation, but throughout the centuries America’s economic standpoint has shifted more into Socialism rather than Laissez-faire. The second largest economy in the world, China, is widely understood as being a socialist country, however, for the past years they have been inclined towards a more capitalist nation, but are still officially socialist. Socialism and Laissez-faire both have fatal flaws, but both concepts can be blended and pragmatic to the new millennium while having a positive future.
Stiglitz argues that for economic liberalization and freedom to choose to succeed, it is essential that reformation to laissez-faire economy be implemented at the right pace and in the right sequence (Stiglitz, 2002). Therefore, if the policies being implemented at the early stage of economic growth which it could not stand by itself yet, issues including instability, poverty, and especially inequality, might arise. Therefore, only a few developing countries have become rich when following liberalism, and those include China, who did not genuinely embrace neo-liberalism.
A process of neoliberal restructuring has been going on in many parts of the world in recent decades. The belief that domestic and international liberalization, privatization, and cutbacks in public spending are the route to economic success is firmly lodged, despite the absence of supporting evidence. In the 1980s and early 1990s the fastest growing economies in the world – such countries as South Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia -- had institutions and policies that significantly departed from neoliberal prescriptions. The closest followers of the neoliberal agenda, such as the US since the late 1970s and the formerly Communist Party ruled states of Eastern and Central Europe since the end of the 1980s, registered economic performance ranging from poor to disastrous.
There are so many pollutants in the air today. They come from many different sources. The most common types of gases come from automobiles, power plants, and industrial companies. This leads to poor quality in the air, along with global warming, and heavy pollution. The gases that are released into the air can be very dangerous for humans and animals alike. Many of the toxins cause cancer and other diseases. This has been going on for many, many years. The United States and China are two good references to compare.
Economic development is indicated by a country’s GDP per capita, income distribution, literacy and education, access to healthcare, social security and pensions, and modern transportations. Economic fairness eventually leads to economic development. If a country’s wealth is equally distributed throughout the economy, everyone will have access to healthcare and education and other things. Citizens’ income will increase. Hong Kong is number 1 of the top 15 most developed countries in the world. Hong Kong is known for having the freest economy in the world, so, obviously they’re doing something
Arguably the most dominant economic system throughout history, Capitalism is both a political and commercial structure in which the production as well as management of goods and services are privately owned and operated in contrast to state or federal government. The origin of this booming fiscal policy could be attributed to various different factors such as the Industrial Revolution and an increasing interest in the investment of securities. The spirit of entrepreneurialism and the hunger for profit has led corporations and businesses [whether big or small] to inadvertently create a system that would stimulate the creation of wealth on an international scale for those countries who
“I don’t care if the cat is black or white, I just want it to kill the mice.” - Deng Xiaoping.
However, the development of Singapore’s society cannot be predicated on pure economics alone. Even though globalization has enabled Singapore to fare well in economic development, however, termed the perils of success, globalization has brought about undesirable
In this essay , I will choose America be the another country to compare / contrast Hong Kong. In the following parts, I would like to compare/contrast Hong Kong’s and America’s childhood, food culture and Film/Movies.
Hong Kong,as one of the world's leading international financial centres,it has a major capitalist service economy characterized by low taxation and free trade. It is known of the world's most services-oriented economy, with services sectors accounting for more than 90% of GDP.
The Hong Kong economy can incur a lot of positive effects from the appreciation of the Renminbi. According to a study conducted by Kelvin Fan (2010), it was found that the appreciation of RMB can influence HK’s consumer price inflation. This finding is consistent with another study conducted by Lai (2007). Lai’s study is more comprehensive compared to Fan. In her paper, she discussed the forseen effects of the appreciation of RMB on the economic and financial systems of Hong Kong. Her findings are summarized as follows:
Historian G.B. Endacott thought that the Hong Kong government was a consultative government. The definition of a consultative government is that it consults people’s opinions and listens to them. The features of a consultative Government are that it establishes communication between local associations, asks and listen to opinion of people, asks for opinion and support in decisions making, sets up advisory bodies to collect opinions and set up departments to consult people’s opinions. To a large extent, I agree that the Hong Kong government was a consultative government in the first half of the 20th century. To a small extent, I don’t agree that the Hong Kong government was a consultative government in the 20th century. In the following