NGO Another Way (Stichting Bakens Verzet), 1018 AM Amsterdam, Netherlands.

 

Edition 03: 06 March, 2011.

Edition 04 : 27 September, 2011.

 

01. E-course : Diploma in Integrated Development (Dip. Int. Dev)

 

 

Quarter 1.

 

 

SECTION A :  DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS.

 

 

Study value : 04 points out of 18.

Indicative study time: 112 hours out of 504.

 

Study points are awarded only after the consolidated exam for Section A : Development Problems has been passed.

 


 

First block : Poverty and quality of life.

 

Study value : 02 points out of 18.

Indicative study time: 57 hours out of 504.

 

Study points are awarded only after the consolidated exam for Section A : Development Problems has been passed.

 


 

First block : Poverty and quality of life.

 

First Block : Section 1. Analysis of the causes of poverty. [26.50 hours]

First Block : Section 2. Services needed for a good quality of life.

First Block : Exam. [ 4 hours each attempt]

 


 

Block 1 of Section 1. Analysis of the causes of poverty. [26.50 hours]

 

Part 2 : In depth analysis of the causes of poverty. [14.00 hours]

 

01. In depth : definition of poverty.

02. In depth : some factors linked with poverty.

03. In depth : debts and subsidies.

04. In depth : financial leakages : food and water industries.

05. In depth : financial leakage : energy.

06. In depth : financial leakage : means of communication..

07. In depth : financial leakage : health and education.

08. In depth : financial leakage : theft of resources.

09. In depth : financial leakage : corruption.

10. In depth : the industry of poverty.

 

Report on Section 1 of Block 1 : [06.00 Hours]

 


 

Part 2 : In depth analysis of the causes of poverty. [14.00 hours]

 

03. In depth : debts and subsidies. (At least one hour)

 

Look at slide:

 

03. Interest and subsidies.

 

Consider :

 

1. THE DEBT SYSTEM

 

“ Currency came into existence merely as a means of exchange; usury tries to make it increase [as though it were an end in itself]” Aristotle, Politics, Book I, Chapter X,  transl. Barker E., Oxford University Press, 1957 reprint, p. 35.

 

Debt.

 

Almost all new financial means are actually created by private banks in the form of loans. This means our financial system is based on debt. The net  profit of the banks is called the «bank spread », which is the difference between the rate of interest the banks charge their clients and the sum of interest they pay to their depositors, plus administration costs. In principle, “bank spread” forms part of what we call the real economy. Depositors, people who have positive bank balances, keep the interest paid to them by their banks.

 

The positive interest the banks pay to their depositors is unearned investment income. This accumulates exponentially. It forms the basis of what we call the “paper economy” or the “speculative economy”.

 

Look at the following graph. (Source L.F.Manning, Paraparaumu. New Zealand, 2009)

 

Figure 5.9 : Debt Model of the New Zealand Economy 1978-2009.

 

1. Research.

 

Note and describe the relation between total debt M (the blue line), the speculative unearned income MS (the red line), and the total of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the area between the red line and the blue line. Which changes occurred between 1978 and 2008 ?

 

2. Opinion

 

What do you think would happen if the rate of increase of speculative income MS (the area under the red line) were greater than the rate of  increase of the    Gross Domestic Product (the area between the red line and the blue line) ?

 

2. ONE FACE OF THE COIN

 

During your work on 02.Some factors linked with poverty you traced the production chain of a can of peas or another industrial product of  your choice.

 

3. Opinion.

 

Make a list of the points along your production chain where interest would be charged. What are your conclusions?

 

3. THE OTHER FACE OF THE COIN.

 

During work on factors linked with poverty the production chain of a can of peas or another industrial product of  your choice was studied.

 

4. Opinion.

 

Make a list of the points along your production chain where subsidies might have been given to interested parties. What are your conclusions?

 

The list of possible subsidies is very long. They include the following. There are many others.

Discount on the purchase of industrial land.

Infrastructures development.

Tax exemptions

Subsidies for advanced technologies (for example, innovation and the use of better technologies).

Compensatory subsidies (protectionism  -example,  agricultural subsidies for U.S., European, and Japanese farmers)

Subsidies under the Kyoto treaty.

Ecological liberalisation  - or  - free pollution. 

Research subsidies.

Sales subsidies.

 

4. MULTINATIONALS.

 

“The root cause of the business and human rights predicament today lies in the governance gaps created by globalization - between the scope and impact of economic forces and actors, and the capacity of societies to manage their adverse consequences. These governance gaps provide the permissive environment for wrongful acts by companies of all kinds without adequate sanctioning or reparation. How to narrow and ultimately bridge the gaps in relation to human rights is our fundamental challenge.” Ruggie J., Protect, Respect, and Remedy: A Framework for Business and Human Rights, Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises’, Human Rights Council report A/HRC/8/5 dated  7 April 2008, [Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Introduction, Para. 3.

 

“To attract foreign investment, host States offer protection through bilateral investment treaties and host government agreements. They promise to treat investors fairly, equitably, and without discrimination, and to make no unilateral changes to investment conditions. But investor protections have expanded with little regard to States’ duties to protect, skewing the balance between the two. Consequently, host States can find it difficult to strengthen domestic social and environmental standards, including those related to human rights, without fear of foreign investor challenge, which can take place under binding international arbitration.” .” Ruggie J., (2008, see above), par. 34.

 

5. Research.

 

Look at the total public budgets of five  multinationals  active in your country .Make a comparison between them and the budget of your country and with the National Domestic Product of your country What are your conclusions?.

 



 First  block : Poverty and quality of life.


Index : Diploma in Integrated Development  (Dip.Int.Dev)

 List of key words.

 List of references.

  Course chart.

 


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