DO BANGLADESH AND PERU REACH UNITED NATIONS MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS BY 2015? A COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

Saleh Ahmed

Department of Economic and Social Analysis

Palazzina Ex-Tuminelli, GIRS Segretaria

‘Sapienza’ University of Rome,

Piazzale Aldo Moro 5

Rome 00182, Italy.

E-mail: Saleh.Ahmed@uniroma1.it

Juan Manuel Pantoja Ypanaque

Department of Economic and Social Analysis

Palazzina Ex-Tuminelli, GIRS Segretaria

‘Sapienza’ University of Rome,

Piazzale Aldo Moro 5

Rome 00182, Italy.

E-mail: manuel.pantoja@uniroma1.it

Abstract:
Education is a society’s main instrument for reproducing itself and a compelling ingredient for lasting meaningful socioeconomic change. Therefore at the beginning of new millennium when the United Nations Member States was trying to reach a global consensus for global sustainability and development, issues related to universal primary education was a rational choice for them. This paper compares the status quo of the access to universal primary education (UPE) and possible scenario by 2015 in Bangladesh and Peru, where ‘development’ takes place in reality. The increase of universal primary school enrolment is closely related to the national and international spending on education sector for these countries and in addition to this, issues like population growth and poverty traps also put increased pressure on the resources allocation to education. Mostly based on secondary information (e.g. literature analysis and analysis through World Development Indicators, United Nations Millennium Development Goals Indicators and United Nations Children’s Fund Data), this paper highlights the macro level comparative scenarios and challenges that how these two countries are putting their efforts and facing challenges in achieving universal primary education enrolment targets as part of their UNMDGs commitments by 2015.
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Keywords: Bangladesh, Peru, Universal Primary Education, UNMDGs.

THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURAL AFFINITY FOR THE BOOST OF BRAZILIAN INVESTMENT IN PORTUGAL

Cristiano Cechella

University of Azores

Abstract:

In response to a survey of Fortune 1000 companies enquiring in 2007 about “the biggest barrier in doing business in the world market”, cultural differences ranked at the top of the list. For a long time culture and economy have been treated as broadly independent areas of research The gap to recognize cultural differences was the most common cause of failure for cross-national enterprises. Members of different cultures express different values and priorities when they make and implement decisions. This article seeks to measure the influence of factors such as history, language and culture in foreign direct investment (FDI) of Brazilian companies in Portugal, two countries with deep cultural affinity. Brazil is an emerging country that is increasing your importance as international investor. Firstly, we will describe the increase importance of emerging countries in the world economy, Brazil as international investor and the luso-Brazilian economic relations, especially after 1990s. Secondly, it will take surveys and assesses approaches to explain a multidimensional analysis of the FDI, in particular those related to culture. After that, through a regression analysis based on interviews answered by Brazilian companies in Portugal, we measure by a regression model the influence of the Uppsala School, or Scandinavian, which postulates the importance of culture in corporate investment abroad. While geographic, political and economic approaches have own advantages of their own, the cultural area is particularly useful for a long-term comparative economic analysis.
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Keywords: cultural affinity – enterprises – Foreign Direct Investment –  Brazil – Portugal – emerging countries – Stepwise method – Eclectic theory – Scandinavian Theory

PROMOTING RES AND RUE IN TRANSPORT POLICIES FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Christos Dionelis

Maria Giaoutzi

National Technical University of Athens

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