Halpern's View Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Halpern's View - Essay Example Through her article â€Å"Sex, Brains & Hands: Gender Differences in Cognitive Abilities,† she has explained how the sex differences in cognitive abilities are not just because of ‘sex,’ but are also due to the role of ‘preferred hand’ and socio-cultural factors in development of cognitive abilities. With the help of in depth look at different research studies in psychology, sociology, biology and culture, Halpern has done an excellent job in convincing the reader that the sex differences in cognitive abilities are more a part of social and cultural influence than the ‘sex’. The article is an eye opener as it gives an insight on the truth related to the gender studies and also makes the reader realize that accepting the differences as sex related can prove disastrous for healthy development and progress of females. Hence, it sends a strong message that one should keep away from conclusions based on half true stories in media, and should r emember that females can be trained to develop equal abilities as males if they are given equal support and opportunities as males are given in the society. Weaknesses of research studies In her article â€Å"Sex, Brains & Hands: Gender Differences in Cognitive Abilities,† Halpern has aimed to make the readers aware about the weaknesses in gender related research studies which try to send a wrong message that females are inferior to men in cognitive abilities. She has used different research studies, its results and its drawbacks, as evidence to explain her point of view. Different aspects of the gender studies which Halpern has used to prove her point are discussed below. Unreliability of tests Halpern has referred to the fact that even though there are various studies showing cognitive differences in males and females, there are also various studies which show no differences. According to Halpern, there are various â€Å"tests of verbal, visual-spatial and quantitative abi lities that show consistent sex differences† (Halpern 5). However, she also draws the reader’s attention to the fact that there are various other tests that fail to show these differences (Halpern 5). This proves that the sex differences in cognitive abilities are not a consistent. Unfortunately, only those studies which have shown sex differences in cognitive abilities are highlighted by the media for public attention. The studies which have proved that there is no difference were not given any space in media. This created a wrong notion that males are superior to females when it comes to cognitive abilities. Halpern later discusses the similar scenario observed in the field of mathematics. Differences in mathematical abilities To explain the sex differences found in mathematical abilities, Halpern has referred to study by Benbow and her colleagues. While referring to the results of this study, which showed great sex difference in ratios in high mathematics scores, she has highlighted the fact that it was not that â€Å"there were no girls in the group† who scored high (Halpern 5). It is just that girls were less in number than boys (Halpern 5). This proves that even girls can attain high scores in mathematics (Halpern 5). Sadly, as it happens always, even this study was highlighted in the media in wrong way. All kinds of media sent a wrong message that only boys are good at mathematics. However, Halpern has

technology and the world :: essays research papers

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are developing a search engine designed for people with a slow net connection. Someone using the software would e-mail a query to a central server in Boston. The program would search the net, choose the most suitable webpages, compress them and e-mail the results a day later. "More and more we are creating an information divide in the world and this can help narrow that divide and have a huge benefit in that sense, " said Professor Saman Amarasinghe of MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science in Boston. The thinking behind the TEK search engine is that people in poor countries are short of money but have time on their hands, whereas people in the West are cash-rich but time-poor. "The idea is that developing countries are willing to pay in time for knowledge," explained Prof Amarasinghe. "In the West when we surf we want the information in the next two seconds. We are not willing to wait." Filtered results The researchers say current web technology such as search engines is focused on the needs of the West. When the students arrive, they can browse through those pages the way they would if they had full internet connectivity Prof Saman Amarasinghe, MIT By contrast, people in poor countries face problems such as the speed and cost of an internet connection, let alone the huge amount of webpages thrown up by search engines. "Let us assume you are in Malawi," explained Prof Amarasinghe, "and the computer lab does not have access to the telephone line all the time." "If you want to find some new information about malaria, you are prompted with a message that says 'we are going to send a query through e-mail, it is OK?'. "At night, when the phone line is available, the teacher can dial out and send the queries." The request is sent to computers at MIT in Boston, which then search the internet and gather webpages. To avoid a glut of information, the software then filters the results and chooses the most relevant. These are then sent back to the computer in Malawi so that they can be stored in the machine's internet cache. "Next morning the teacher can connect, download that e-mail and when the students arrive, they can browse through those pages the way they would if they had full internet connectivity," said Prof Amarasinghe.

Government Intervention in Venezuela’s Economy

Economic Commentary_1 The article: How can Venezuela be so rich in resources, but so low in supplies? By Douglas French/April 24, 2012 http://www. csmonitor. com/Business/The-Circle-Bastiat/2012/0424/How-can-Venezuela-be-so-rich-in-resources-but-so-low-in-supplies To what extend do a country’s natural resources explain whether consumer goods are on the nation’s shelves for people to buy. Venezuela is a prime example of this question.This is a country having abundant natural resources for it is one of the world’s top oil producers and rich in gold and other minerals, also the rich soil and temperate climate allow the country for productive agriculture. However, there are shortages of staple products like milk, meat and writing paper. This commentary focuses on the main reason causing this problem in Venezuela that is over intervention of the government towards the free market. In order to maintain the level of consumer prices, the president of Venezuela imposed pr ice controls by setting the price ceilings.Government officials claim â€Å"companies cause shortages on purpose, holding products off the market to push up prices. This month, the government required price cuts on fruit juice, toothpaste, disposable diapers and more than a dozen other products. † However, bad consequences of the price ceilings set by the government were inevitable in terms of shortages in supply, decreased market size, elimination of allocative efficiency and black markets. In figure1. 1, the original market equilibrium price under the intervention of free market is at Pe where the quantity demanded and the quantity supplied are equal.After intervention of the central government, a binding price ceiling is set and the new market price is created at Pmax where the quantity supplied is much lower than quantity demanded. The artificially low price has caused more demand for the product, thus creating a movement from Qe along the demand curve to Qd. At the same time, producers cut production in response to the lower price, moving down along the supply curve from Qe to Qs. The distance between Qd and Qs shows a shortage of the good in supply.Because of this, now residents in Caracas are forced to rely on the once-a-week deliveries made to government-subsidized stores. Moreover, as figure1. 2 suggests, the gap between Qs and Qd creates a tension in the market. At Qs there are many consumers who would be willing to pay more than Pmax if Qs is on the market. These consumers may have a strong incentive to gain the goods and services they want on the black market. As a result, the supply curve will shoot right up at Qs and the price will raise right up at that point high on the demand curve.This shows that some price ceilings may actually drive the price higher than the original equilibrium and can be just applied to the case of Venezuela. Also, setting a maximum price lower than the market equilibrium price will result in a decreased market siz e as some of the companies will be driven out of the market. The government setting prices are too low for companies to make money so they either curtail production or stop all together. As shown in figure 2. 1, initially the producer surplus of the private companies, in terms of profit, derived by firms is shown as the area from the initial market price line to the supply curve.After price controls by the government, now the new producer surplus is shown as the area from the new price line to the supply curve which is smaller than before and this reflects a lower producer surplus, therefore a welfare loss in the society. In addition, the price ceilings eliminate an allocative efficiency in the country’s economy in a competitive market as it can only be achieved when the society produces enough of a good so that the marginal benefits is equal to the marginal, in other words, producer supply and consumer demand meet at a market equilibrium price.Due to intervention of the gove rnment, price controls disenable society to get goods and services it wants most. As Times mentions, â€Å"some of the shortages are in industries, like dairy and coffee, where the government has seized private companies and is now running them, saying it is in the national interest. † But the consequence of this action is that the government will turn the markets into monopolies as there would be only state ownership in these industries, so there are no competitions between various firms and consumers will not be able to acquire substitutes in the markets.What’s more, while these industries are being completely controlled by the central planner and create state ownership of the factors of production in addition to the guide of Venezuela socialist government, it will result in the lack of individual property rights and incentive to achieve maximum efficiency in the use of resources which characterize private ownership. To conclude, Venezuela is a typically very rich in resources but very low in supplies, price controls in the markets as well as

Features Of The Financial System Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 2917 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Mauritius, which is a small island in the Indian Ocean and which forms part of the South African Development Community (SADC), is becoming more and more famous because of its financial and economic stability. The country is also very stable politically and has a good education system which has lead to a high literacy rate among its inhabitants. These factors have thus contributed to the fact that Mauritius now has a relatively big and quite well developed domestic financial system and its offshore sector, which allows it to open its financial services to the rest of the World, is quite promising. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Features Of The Financial System Finance Essay" essay for you Create order Its payment system, securities trading system and its settlement system which form part of the basic financial sector infrastructure, is quite modern and efficient. Financial Services in the country is also very accessible and it is quite easy for firms to gain access to services provided by the Financial Industry and to borrow funds. The main features of the Mauritian Financial System are its banks, its capital market, the Insurance sector, its Money Market and its Offshore Sector. 2.0 FEATURES OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM 2.1 BANKING SECTOR The Banking Industry plays a very important role in the economy of Mauritius as it is the main constituent of the Financial System of the country. The Banking Industry of Mauritius is considered to constitute 2/3 of the domestic financial system. It has kept expanding and has grown at a mean rate of 13% from 2002 to 2007 (Padachi, Rojid Seetanah,2008). After this progress was somewhat hindered as the world was hit by the global financial crisis. However, it has to be noted that banks in Mauritius have stood remarkably well in this period of financial turmoil and they are still performing well. This has been possible mainly due to the fact that the country is both politically and socially very stable. The Banking Sector is also quite important for the Mauritian Economy as it provides employment to many people but also by allowing the inflow of foreign currency in the country. The Banking Industry of Mauritius comprises of 19 banks among which 6 are local banks, 8 are foreign owned subsidiaries, 4 are branches of foreign banks and 1 is a joint venture. The Central Bank give licenses to all the banks in order for them to operate and provide banking services both locally and internationally. The Mauritius Commercial Bank and The State Bank of Mauritius are the 2 main local banks in the country and dominate the Banking Industry of Mauritius by controlling about 66% of the market (SADC Report,2011). They are both listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius. The two largest foreign banks operating in the country are the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (HSBC) and Barclays International which combined together have a 25% share in the market. Banks in Mauritius provide a large range of services to their customers. These include: Deposits Many deposits products are offered by the banks namely current accounts, term deposits, savings accounts and this in most currencies. Advances Banks provide financing for both private and corporate requirements along woth traditional overdraft facilities. They offer loans with different times to maturity in different currencies depending on the needs of their customers. Trade Finance Trade Finance products are very common in all Mauritian banks. They provide services such as letter of credit, import loans and other facilities to support the trading busisness. Banks also offer card based payment services such as debit cards and credit cards Other services offered by banks in Mauritius include: Electronic Funds Transfers, Foreign Exchange, Cash Management, Internet Banking, Private Banking, Wealth Management and Investment Banking. It can be said that the Banking Sector in Mauritius is very promising despite the recent crisis and with the increased number of investors now coming to the island, banks have kept on improving and innovating their products and services to better serve the changing needs of their customers. 2.2 INSURANCE SECTOR The Insurance sector in Mauritius is relatively well developed. In fact, the existence of insurance companies in Mauritius dates back to as far as 1835. The sector has taken quite a lot of time to develop but is today quite strong. This sector contributes about 2.8% to the Gross Domestic Product of the country. The Insurance Sector in Mauritius extensively uses reinsurance facilities. Life Insurance, which represents the major part of the total premiums, has been favored by the growth of pension funds. Life insurance constitutes about 61% of the total premiums. The second largest contributor to premiums is motor insurance which generates about 17% of the premiums. There are about 20 insurance companies in Mauritius. Some of them are local companies while others are branches or subsidiaries of foreign owned companies. The insurance products which are offered by those companies are adapted to meet the demands and needs of their customers. They usually provide services such as life insurance, travel insurance, personal pension plans, medical insurance, commercial insurance. Some of them also provide loans for specific purposes such as education, housing or for commercial purposes. 2.3 OFFSHORE SECTOR The Offshore sector or as it is more commonly called nowadays the Global Business sector is quite booming in Mauritius although it has been hit by the recent Global Financial Crisis which has hindered its progression. Over the past few years Mauritius has emerged as an efficiently regulated financial centre for conducting business and providing financial services. Many companies are registered in Mauritius to conduct Global Business and there are about 550 investment funds in the country. They usually conduct activities such as asset management, management of trusts, investment holding, consultancy services and management of partnerships and societies. The Offshore sector in Mauritius is however dominated by offshore banking 2.3.1 OFFSHORE BANKING IN MAURITUS Offshore business activities became a significant sector in Mauritius as from 1992, when the Mauritian Offshore Business Activities Act (MOBA Act 1992) came into force, bringing into being the Mauritius Offshore Business Activities Authority (MOBAA), which was active and effective in structuring offshore regimes in various sectors. Alongside this initiative, Mauritius began to offer a range of very attractive investment incentives. Services offered by offshore banks are in Mauritius: Accounts in major currencies, Currency Advisory Services, International Money Payments, Outward Payments, Multi-Currency Cheque book, Credit balances, Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Transaction, Structured Investments, Custody Services, Credit Facilities, International Trade Instruments, Structured Trade and Commodity Finance. The international banks present in Mauritius in the late 1980ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¬ÃƒÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¢s and early 1990ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¬ÃƒÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¢s were the pioneers in this field, backed by their enhanced knowledge of the global market and their clientsÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¬ÃƒÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¢ needs and demands. Services provided included offshore lending and trade financing as well as services to private equity investors and Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) in terms of opening and maintaining their accounts, cash clearing and settlement compliance monitoring and reporting, advising on tax matters and acting as global custodians. The authorities were also eager to create the appropriate environment for the offshore business sector to take off and this was done in the form of the revival of the Indo-Mauritian Double Taxation Avoidance (DTA) Treaty signed with India as far back as 1983 and ratified by both countries in 1985. The latter remained mostly inactive until 1993 when renewed interest in the Treaty was expressed when India opened its economy by allowing FIIs to invest in the Indian Stock Market. Today, some 33 other DTAs have been signed and are in force, the most active ones being those with India, China and South Africa, clearly establishing the positioning of Mauritius as a regional financial centre and the preferred route for investment flows between Africa and Asia. The international banks now present in Mauritius sought their banking license once the offshore sector had started to gain the necessary momentum and enhanced opportunities of doing business from Mauritius were well established. These are amongst others: Investec Bank in 1997, Bank International Indonesia in 1998, Deutsche bank in 1999 and Standard Chartered Bank in 2002. (Mauritius Bankers Association, 2012) 2.4 MONEY MARKET The Money Market, in Mauritius has two main constituents namely the Inter-bank money market and a market for treasury bills and other securities issued by the government. In an attempt to encourage the emergence of Islamic finance in the country it is also now possible to trade some of those instruments in the market. Banks, since 2004, can also enter into repurchase transactions amongst themselves by making use of government securities as collateral. As from 2003, The Central Bank, i.e, the Bank of Mauritius began issuing Bank of Mauritius Bills along with the normal Treasury Bills. Treasury Bills are normally issued when the Government has borrowing needs only while Bank of Mauritius securities are issued for monetary purposes. A secondary market for these types of securities is also operational. In February 2002, a Primary Dealer System was implemented and till date there are 12 banks which have been appointed as primary dealers. The Bank of Mauritius usually intervenes in the Money Market as and when it is necessary by conducting repurchase activities and reverse repurchase activities and by issuing Bank of Mauritius Bills and Notes. Its intervention will depend on the liquidity conditions of the market. The main instruments used in the money market are Treasury bills and other short term government securities. 2.5 CAPITAL MARKET The Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM), which was set up on the 30 March 1989, is the only organized market for the trading of company shares and debentures in Mauritius. Forty companies were listed on the Official Market of the Stock Exchange of Mauritius at the end of June 2011. Among them, only one was a foreign company while the others were local ones. In addition, five foreign firms were listed. The SEM is mainly involved in the trading of company shares and debentures. The Stock Exchange of Mauritius is nowadays undergoing a strategic reorientation of its activities and is little by little moving away from its equity based domestic exchange to a multi product internationally oriented exchange. An Over the Counter Market is also present and forms part of the Capital Market. In the pursuit of innovation, the Development and Enterprise Market (DEM) has now been implemented and it has been especially designed for small and medium sized enterprises and companies which are new entrants to the equity market (Nowbuthsingh Oodit, 2009). The DEM is mostly aimed at companies which want to take the advantages and facilities provided by a regulated and organized market. These companies might have as objective to raise capital for their future growth, make their shares more liquid, improve their corporate image or get an unbiased market value of their shares. The DEM also goes hand in hand with the policy of the Government to cater the needs for the development of a dynamic business environment in Mauritius. The Development and Enterprise Market also helps to diversify the Financial Services sector and thus it helps investors to have access to a wider range of opportunities for investment. Here, it is worth mentioning the recent implementation of the Global Board of Trade in October 2010. It is licensed as a multi class asset exchange and performs its operations on two derivatives segments namely the Currency and the Commodity Derivatives segments. It is the first exchange to offer possibilities of derivatives instruments trading in the island. It provides clearing and settlement systems and access to most of the growing economies of the world. The Global Board of Trade by its implementation has helped to promote Mauritius as a financial hub as it provides investors with opportunities such as making use of arbitrage situations and to hedge price risks movements in the international markets. 3.0 THE LEGAL AND REGUALTORY FRAMEWORK There are two main bodies which regulate the Financial System in Mauritius. They are namely The Bank of Mauritius which is the central bank and the Financial Services Commission (FSC) which is the equivalent of the FSA in the United Kingdom. The Bank of Mauritius mainly concentrates on the banking sector of the country while the FSC concentrates on the non-banking part of the Finance Industry. Let us now take a look at the roles they have. 3.1 THE BANK OF MAURITIUS The Central Bank which is known as the Bank of Mauritius was set up in 1967 and has as function to maintain price stability and to conduct monetary policy which aims at achieving an ordered and well balanced economy. It also has the duty of regulating credit an currency to ensure economic growth and to make sure that the Financial System of the country is sound and stable. The Bank of Mauritius has as main role to regulate and supervise not only banks in Mauritius but also non-banking institutions which are deposit taking ones. It undertakes this function by following the Banking Act 2004 and the Bank of Mauritius Act 2004. The Bank of Mauritius has several functions. For instance one of its main functions is to issue regulations deemed as prudential ones and see to it that they are followed by those institutions falling under their supervision. The Bank of Mauritius is also responsible for granting banking licenses. It also sees to it that banks follow the 25 Core Principles of Effective Banking Supervision set up by the Basel Committee, which enables banks to conform to international standards. 3.2 THE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMISSION The Financial Services Commission is the organization which has the responsibility of issuing licenses, regulating , supervising and monitoring financial institutions which do not perform banking activities in Mauritius. These institutions are mainly insurance companies, the Stock Exchange of Mauritius, Capital Markets and the non-banking part of the offshore sector. the FSC was established in 2001 and performs within a legal framework which comprises of the Financial Services act, the Securities Act and the Insurance Act. The FSC also has as objectives to fight against fraud and corruption and prevent money laundering. The FSC also promotes the development of the Financial Sector in Mauritius. 4.0 REFORMS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The Financial System in Mauritius has certainly been affected by the recent Global financial crisis as have been the financial system in other parts of the world. Therefore the Government along with the Bank of Mauritius and the Financial Services Commission need to make some changes to the system in order to prevent it from facing more difficulties in the future. One of the changes that can be made is that the government could take measures to attract more foreign investors in the country. By doing this, it will surely help the banks and other financial institutions as there will automatically be an increase in investment in the financial sector of the country. The government has therefore an important role to play as it is the only authority which can implement measures in order to promote the country and its financial services sector and encourage investors from abroad to come to Mauritius. Another reform which can be made concerns the regulatory framework in place. It certainly need not be completely overhauled but it can certainly be improved and fine tuned. This will benefit not only banks but all the stakeholders of the financial services industry. They will in a sense be protected from financial crises and other turmoil which might crop up in the future. Another issue might be internal risk management of the financial institutions. Financial supervisors should give more importance to the management of risks as this might prove to be an efficient way of guarding themselves against period of crises. They might develop their own methods of risk management by hiring suitably qualified and efficient staff. Another change which might be included in the reform of the Financial System in Mauritius might be the fact of internationally diversifying the investments of Mauritian investors. The latter tend to practice only horizontal types of diversification which do not include investing in foreign firms. Thus, international diversification can be encouraged. This might prove to be beneficial for investors in times when the Mauritian economy is not performing at its best. One of the ways to do so might be to list foreign firms on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius. The fact that banks are mostly the main sources of funds for companies might also be another aspect which needs to be reviewed. This situation makes it that the risk is highly concentrated on banks and it is certainly not a good thing for them. So, businesses have to be encouraged to diversify their sources of funds and have recourse to other financial institutions than banks. The financial sector should also be more innovative and not delay in introducing new financial products in the country. This will attract more investors to Mauritius and help in developing the financial sector of the country. For instance, the derivatives market has just started to make its way in the portfolios of investors and as derivatives are becoming increasingly popular they have to be integrated in the market. 5.0 CONCLUSION The economy and financial sector of Mauritius is performing quite well despite the recent turmoil which have affected economies and financial systems all over the world. Many have found it surprising how a small country like Mauritius has resisted so well to the crisis. The government along with the financial regulators and also the stakeholders are regularly taking measures to either improve or find measures to prevent the economy from going down. This has certainly helped in the improvement of the financial sector. Nevertheless there are still some areas which need some more attention and which need either to be reformed or restructured. It is certain that all the stakeholders of the financial industry in Mauritius are always finding ways to innovate and improve and it can only be hoped that this will continue.