Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Raw materials – government policy'

This report has investigated the ethical issues associated with mining or processing of materials that make them considered as controversial. For each material, the main areas of use and the top producing countries are analysed, followed by social and/or environmental issues as well as potential problems in the future. In total, 13 materials are discussed, of which most are minerals. The overall issues, that are recurring throughout the report and are important to be aware of are: child labor, low safety standards, mining activity resulting in deforestation or harming biodiversity, mining processes that affect communities (e.g. because of large water consumption) and the risks associated with widespread illegal mining. The report also provides research about organisations and initiatives that aim to affect the problems, and gives a brief view over tools that can be used to increase awareness of these issues.

This thesis examines Chinese foreign direct investments in Sub-Saharan Africa and their influence on Chinese foreign policy on the continent between the years 2004 and 2010. It is often believed that oil and raw materials are the principal determinants of Chinese investments in Africa. However, this research suggests that even though there exists strong correlation between the existence of reserves of raw materials and FDI distribution, such motivation is not the only one. Pragmatism, manifested by the Chinese government in FDI allocation, can lead the People's Republic to invest in controversial countries with bad governance like Sudan. China is then forced to keep closer relations with such countries and thus promote their stability to protect its investments. Tools of such efforts include foreign policy, closer cooperation on multilateral level, which includes establishment of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and foreign aid.

In the modern world businesses are seen more often not only as carriers of technological development, innovations, capital investments and profit makers. The present-day situation with growing ecological problems has put a high demand on organizational environmental responsibility of small, medium, large and transnational enterprises all over the world. IKEA is a well known furniture and textile retailer operating worldwide. The company has received a great amount of publicity concerning its leadership in adopting more environmentally friendly measures in manufacturing process and operations. The company issues its global sustainability report yearly and is very popular with the media; however, the actual environmental impact of IKEA’s production and operation may be more damaging than it is usually perceived. The following research work aims to provide the answer whether IKEA is really eco-efficient and looks with more detail to its operation in Russia. A sound theoretical background is provided concerning the definition and means of measuring eco-efficiency, as well as its place in the concept of sustainable development. A great emphasis is placed on comparing IKEA initiatives worldwide and in Russia, as well as discussing their actual environmental impact. Finally, barriers and challenges IKEA faces when implementing its environmental policy in Russia are defined and conclusions are drawn.

A busca de fontes sustentáveis de combustíveis líquidos, com o intuito de substituir o petróleo por uma fonte renovável e reduzir as emissões de gases do efeito estufa, destacaram e impulsionaram a produção e comercialização de biodiesel. Este biocombustível é uma fonte de energia renovável menos poluente e produzida a partir de diferentes matérias-primas. O Brasil possui promissor potencial como produtor destas matérias-primas, bem como do próprio biodiesel, pois possui políticas públicas favoráveis e detém a tecnologia necessária. No País, a produção e uso de biodiesel se sustenta em recente quadro institucional, a fim de desenvolver o suporte de conhecimentos, marco legal e introduzir este combustível na matriz energética brasileira. A diversificação de matérias-primas para produzir biodiesel está entre os principais objetivos dos programas instituídos. Todavia, no País, este biocombustível é produzido predominantemente com soja. Com o objetivo de entender os motivos da preeminência desta oleaginosa, buscou-se avaliar a competitividade, eficiência econômica e efeitos de políticas na produção de biodiesel pelas cadeias produtivas de soja, canola e girassol no Rio Grande do Sul. Para tanto, utilizou-se o método da Matriz de Análise Política (MAP), o qual auxilia na análise e definição de políticas públicas, e na identificação de possíveis falhas de mercado que possam impactar os resultados econômicos das cadeias agroindustriais, do mesmo modo que avalia a competitividade e eficiência econômica destes sistemas de produção e comercialização. Os resultados indicaram a superioridade da produção de biodiesel a partir da cadeia da soja, pois esta apresenta maior competitividade e eficiência econômica. Por outro lado, foram quantificadas as distorções de políticas que desfavorecem a rentabilidade privada e social das três cadeias estudadas, como, por exemplo, o sistema de pagamento ao produtor rural baseado no peso de grãos, mesmo que os percentuais e preços do óleo sejam muito diferentes entre as matérias primas, afora as diferenças significativas nos padrões tecnológicos adotados nas lavouras.
The search for sustainable sources of liquid fuels, in order to replace oil with a renewable source and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, provided prominence to the biodiesel. This biofuel is a renewable source of clean energy and produced from different raw materials. Brazil has a promising potential as a producer of these raw materials as well as the biodiesel itself, because it has favorable public policies and has the necessary technology. In Brazil, the production and use of biodiesel is based on recent institutional framework in order to develop and introduce this fuel in the Brazilian energy matrix. The diversification of raw materials to produce biodiesel is among the main objectives of the programs established by the government. However, in Brazil, this biofuel is predominantly produced using soybeans. In order to understand the reasons for the predominance of this oilseed, we evaluated the competitiveness, economic efficiency and political effects in biodiesel production by productive chains of soybean, canola and sunflower in Rio Grande do Sul. For this, we used the method of the Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM), which assists in analyzing and defining public policies and identifying possible market failures that might impact on economic outcomes of agribusiness chains, just as assesses the competitiveness and efficiency of these systems. The results indicated the superiority of biodiesel production from soybean chain, as this presents greater competitiveness and economic efficiency. On the other hand, policy distortions were observed which disadvantage the private and social profitability of the three chains studied, such as the farmer’s payment system based on the seed weight, even if the percentage and oil prices differ substantially from the raw materials, besides the significant differences in technological standards adopted in crops.

In the first part of my diploma thesis I analyze energy policies of six selected Member states (France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Finland and Czech Republic) and the development of the creation efforts of the external European Union's energy policy during the process of the european integration. Third chapter is devoted to the analysis of the EU's energy situation, primarily to the possibilities of the reduction of the strong EU's external energy dependence. The following chapter deals with the analysis of global raw materials market and their (potential) suppliers. In the last chapter I analyze creation possibility of the common external energy policy as the energy security tool of Member states.

Les politiques environnementales unilatérales, destinées à corriger les défaillances de marché, peuvent échouer dans un monde globalisé. Dans cette thèse, j'analyse plusieurs mécanismes dans lesquels certaines réglementations environnementales peuvent conduire à un équilibre sous optimal dans une situation de libre-échange. J'étudie également la façon dont certaines politiques environnementales telles que les politiques de recyclages peuvent contribuer à atteindre d'autres objectifs politiques à l'échelle d'un pays. Dans le premier chapitre de cette dissertation, j'analyse l'impact des différences de taxation sur la gestion des déchets entre différents pays sur les échanges bilatéraux de déchets entre les pays membres de l'Union Européenne. Je trouve qu'une différence entre les taux de taxes a un impact non négligeable sur la quantité de déchets exportés des pays à fort niveau de taxation vers les pays à faible niveau de taxation. Ce résultat illustre l'impact néfaste que peuvent avoir, en situation de libre échange, les comportements stratégiques de type « nivellement par le bas ». Ce résultat a d'importantes implications en termes de politiques publiques car ces comportements stratégiques peuvent conduire à une sous internalisation des dommages environnementaux. Les politiques de recyclages ont originellement été mises en place pour réduire les impacts environnementaux du traitement des déchets. En réalité, elles peuvent aussi contribuer à la diminution de la dépendance en matières premières à l'échelle d'un pays. Dans le second chapitre, je trouve que les politiques de recyclages, qui stimulent la production locale de matières premières secondaires, ont un impact négatif substantiel sur les importations de matières premières métalliques. Dans le troisième chapitre, je teste empiriquement si la délocalisation vers les pays à faible coût de production diminue la propension des entreprises à développer des technologies vertes. Je trouve que la capacité d'importer des matériaux en provenance des pays à bas coût a réduit de manière drastique l'innovation verte dans les pays à coût de production élevé durant les dernières décennies. Dans le dernier chapitre, j'utilise des données sur les entreprises industrielles françaises pour tester empiriquement la majorité des hypothèses formulées par Porter et van der Linde. Mon analyse empirique rejette l'hypothèse de Porter bien que l'impact négatif des réglementations environnementales sur la profitabilité des firmes soit plutôt faible. Ce résultat constitue une preuve d'une condition nécessaire mais non suffisante à l'existence de havres de pollution
In a globalized world, unilateral environmental policies may fail to correct market failures from a global point of view. In this dissertation, I examine some mechanisms through which environmental regulations could lead to inefficient outcomes under free trade. I also investigate how particular environmental policies such as recycling policies can help to address other concerns at the country level. In the first chapter of this dissertation, I analyze how cross-country difference in waste taxes impacts the bilateral trade in waste between the member states of the European Union. I find that a higher asymmetry in the waste taxes is associated with a non negligible amount of waste exported from strict countries to lax countries. This result illustrates the harmful impact that "race to the bottom" behaviours can have under free trade. This result has important policy implications since these behaviours can lead to an insufficient internalization of the environmental damages caused by waste management activities. Recycling policies are implemented to reduce environmental impacts but they can also mitigate country dependence on foreign raw materials. In the second chapter, I find that recycling policies substantially reduce country dependence on foreign raw materials by stimulating domestic production of secondary raw materials. In the third chapter, I test empirically whether offshoring to low-production-cost countries reduces firms' propensity to innovate in clean technologies. I find that trade with low-cost countries may have significantly reduced green innovation in high production cost countries during the last decades. In the last chapter, I use micro-data on French manufacturing to test a major part of the assumptions made in the seminal work of Porter and van der Linde. I find evidence against the Porter Hypothesis although the negative impact of regulations on firm profitability is rather small. This is evidence of a necessary but not sufficient condition for the Pollution Haven Hypothesis

This thesis draws on David Harvey’s concept of “accumulation by dispossession” and an international political economy (IPE) approach centred on the institutional arrangements and power structures that privilege certain actors and values, in order to critique current capitalist practices of primitive accumulation by the global corporate extractive industry. The thesis examines how accumulation by dispossession by the global extractive industry is facilitated by the “free entry” or “free mining” principle. It does so by focusing on Canada as a leader in the global extractive industry and the spread of this country’s mining laws to other countries – in other words, the transnationalisation of norms in the global extractive industry – so as to maintain a consistent and familiar operating environment for Canadian extractive companies. The transnationalisation of norms is further promoted by key international institutions such as the World Bank, which is also the world’s largest development lender and also plays a key role in shaping the regulations that govern natural resource extraction. The thesis briefly investigates some Canadian examples of resource extraction projects, in order to demonstrate the weaknesses of Canadian mining laws, particularly the lack of protection of landowners’ rights under the free entry system and the subsequent need for “free, prior and informed consent” (FPIC). The thesis also considers some of the challenges to the adoption and implementation of the right to FPIC. These challenges include embedded institutional structures like the free entry mining system, international political economy (IPE) as shaped by international institutions and powerful corporations, as well as concerns regarding ‘local’ power structures or the legitimacy of representatives of communities affected by extractive projects. The thesis concludes that in order for Canada to be truly recognized as a leader in the global extractive industry, it must establish legal norms domestically to ensure that Canadian mining companies and residents can be held accountable when there is evidence of environmental and/or human rights violations associated with the activities of Canadian mining companies abroad. The thesis also concludes that Canada needs to address underlying structural issues such as the free entry mining system and implement FPIC, in order to curb “accumulation by dispossession” by the extractive industry, both domestically and abroad.

碩士
中原大學
企業管理研究所
99
Abstract In current inventory-management environment, enterprise must pay much attention to the raw materials on stock-holding cost which is always ignored, in order to sustain, thereby acquiring better financial conditions to create new business opportunities, i.e. reducing cost to allocating funds more effectively. The mode of economic production quantity (EPQ), the major increase of raw material inventory holding costs of the part of the establishment of strategic raw materials inventory model. Therefore, the cost model of production operations covering: production operations set-up costs and holding costs of raw materials and production stage inventory holding costs and inventory holding costs of finished goods of research. In this study, the production cost of inventories and total related costs with the model is divided into two categories: first category (reference chapter third), the rate of adverse construction-related manufactured goods excluding inventory model; the other (chapter four), production operations produce adverse rate, increased rate of purchase of bad material inventory model. Participation in the four and third chapters are a inventory model to calculate the best time of the operating cycle, and the per unit time of production on total related costs, so managers need to find these models to optimize inventory. Finally, the two inventory model values listed in Example, and the table had shows the value of the relationship between the two modes, for comparative analysis. This example showed up that the difference between the two models, but seeks the best operating cycle and the best order quantity, no significant differences. Therefore, the data analysis then managers can choose the most appropriate model, as a production inventory management(EPQ)decision.

Defence date: 17 June 2011
Examining Board: Prof. Kiran Patel (EUI) – Supervisor; Prof. Federico Romero (EUI); Prof. Alan Dobson (University of Dundee); Prof. Andrew Rotter (Colgate University)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Alberta, 2010.
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Dept. of Political Science, University of Alberta. "Spring 2010." Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on April 27, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

Die Einsätze erhöhen sich. Player wie China mischen die Karten am Tisch des globalen Rohstoffpokers neu. Deutschland nimmt die Herausforderung an und verändert seine Strategie. Experten und Kritiker dieser Neuausrichtung kommen zu Wort. Ohne die Einbeziehung der geopolitisch entscheidenden Mitspieler Zentralasien und Russland können die Karten aber nicht aufgedeckt werden.

Bezpieczeństwo surowcowe stanowi obecnie jedno z największych wyzwań dla właściwie każdej współczesnej państwowości. Jego istota nie była jednak przez wiele lat dostrzegana i doceniana, a kategoria ta została zepchnięta na drugi plan przez potrzebę zagwarantowania bezpieczeństwa energetycznego, stanowiącego wyłącznie wycinek bezpieczeństwa surowcowego. Pomimo licznych działań organów Unii Europejskiej, nie wszystkie państwa posiadają obecnie spójną i kompleksową politykę surowcową, pozwalającą na skuteczne i skoordynowane działania oraz przedsięwzięcia w tym obszarze. Również Rzeczpospolita Polska, pomimo ciągnących się od kilku lat prac projektowych, nie posiada takiego dokumentu i planu postępowania. Zapewnianie bezpieczeństwa surowcowego państwa jest swoistym łańcuchem – ciągiem czynności i działań, gdzie najsłabsze ogniwo przekłada się na całość procesu. W pracy wykazano, że pomimo braku tego strategicznego dokumentu, można wskazać cały szereg prawnoadministracyjnych instrumentów w obecnym systemie prawnym, które prawidłowo wykorzystane i przede wszystkim skoordynowane, przy niewielkich zmianach ustawowych, mogą zapewnić bezpieczeństwo surowcowe krajowej gospodarce i wszystkim obywatelom. W pracy omówiono podstawowe funkcje państwa i rolę prawa administracyjnego w procesie zapewniania bezpieczeństwa, a także poddano analizie instrumenty z obszaru planowania strategicznego (polityki administracyjne i polityki publiczne), planowania i zagospodarowania przestrzennego (studia i plany zagospodarowania przestrzennego), prawa geologicznego i górniczego (własność górnicza, koncesjonowanie, użytkowanie górnicze), oraz obowiązki tworzenia i utrzymywania odpowiednich zapasów wraz z powiązanymi procedurami. Ponadto, zaproponowano definicję bezpieczeństwa surowcowego jako wspomnianego wieloaspektowego i długofalowego procesu. Po uchwaleniu i wprowadzeniu spójnej polityki surowcowej, przy odpowiednim nadzorze, kontroli oraz sprawnej koordynacji działań, z wykorzystaniem krajowych zasobów naturalnych, dotychczasowe instrumenty prawnoadministracyjne powinny funkcjonować na bardzo wysokim poziomie i wspierać proces zapewniania krajowego oraz unijnego bezpieczeństwa surowcowego.
Raw materials security is currently one of the biggest challenges for every modern statehood. Its essence, however, has not been noticed and appreciated for many years. This category has been pushed aside by the need to guarantee energy security of the state, which is only a slice of raw materials security. Despite the numerous activities of the European Union authorities, not all member states have adopted a comprehensive natural resources policy that allows for effective and coordinated actions and projects in this area. The Republic of Poland, despite the design works that have been going on several years, does not have such a document and plan of conduct. Ensuring the state's security in the area of raw materials is a kind of chain - a series of activities where the weakest link affects the whole process. The study showed that despite the lack of this strategic document, it is possible to indicate a whole range of administrative law instruments in the current Polish legal system, which, when properly used and coordinated (whit some statutory changes), can ensure the raw materials security of the national economy and all citizens. The thesis discusses the basic functions of the state and the role of administrative law in the process of ensuring security. It analyses instruments in the field of strategic planning (administrative and public policies), spatial planning and development (studies and spatial development plans), geological and mining law (ownership, licencing, mining usufruct) and legal obligations to create and maintain appropriate stocks of raw materials along with related procedures. In addition, a definition of "raw materials security" term was proposed as the aforementioned multi-faceted and long-term process. After the adoption and implementation of a coherent raw materials policy, whit appropriate administrative supervision, control and efficient coordination, using national natural resources, the existing legal and administrative instruments should operate at a high level and support the process of ensuring national and EU raw materials security.

When Namibia became independent in March 1990, the new government pledged to alleviate poverty, unemployment and to improve the living standards of the formerly disadvantaged groups in the country. Rural development was presented as one of the priorities because the majority of the people live in or still have strong ties to the rural areas. Rural housing and rural development consist of a number of components. Both have similar objectives, inter alia, the improvement of living standards. Development efforts are often impeded by an urban bias in government policies and projects. In the case of Namibia, certain areas do not even have a formulated policy to guide developments, especially in communal areas with a high population concentration. This study explores to what extent the government has realised rural development policies and in particular rural housing in Northern Namibia as a means to improve living standards.
Public Administration and Management
M.A. (Development Administration)