Principle of marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Principle of marketing - Essay Example After its merger with Alliance Unichem in July 2006 the company seeks to become the world's leading pharmacy-led health and beauty group. The alliance aspires to develop its core businesses of retail pharmacy and wholesale across the world and become a significant player in many major international markets. With more than 1500 retail outlets of Boots alone the Alliance Boots has now more than 3000 retail outlets, besides a good presence on the net. The combined skills, strengths and brands of Alliance Boots makes it Europe's leading pharmacy-led health and beauty group. This is a Market-leader in own brand products. Superdrug, on the other hand is UK's fashion conscious beauty and health retailer. Today it is the second-largest beauty and health retailer with over 740 stores in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland. Superdrug currently has 226 in-store pharmacies. During the last two year the company has made good investment in establishing itself as a brand in UK. Superdrug recently took up a 10 month campaign for reducing the VAT on condoms and came out successfully when the UK government reduced the VAT from 17.5% to 5%. Now the company has taken up the issue of slashing the VAT on kids' sun care products and for reclassifying the sun-care cream as an essential health care product instead of a luxury beauty item.

Discussion of Sections 338 and 338 Election of the Internal Revenue Research Proposal

Discussion of Sections 338 and 338 Election of the Internal Revenue Code - Research Proposal Example Under Section 338, if a purchasing corporation acquires 80 percent or more of the stock of the target corporation in a qualified stock purchase then the election in Section 338 may be done to treat the stock purchase as an asset purchase. This election must be not later than the fifteenth day of the ninth month, after the month in which the acquisition date occurs. If however the purchasing corporation decides not to or fails to make such an election, then it will be a carryover basis in the target’s assets. Such an election in Section 338 will benefit or have an economic value to the purchasing corporation only â€Å"if the present value of future tax savings resulting from the ‘step-up’ in basis of the target's assets exceeds the current tax cost of such a step-up†. As explained by Silverman, in order to achieve this basis step-up, the target corporation must recognize the full gain or loss inherent in its assets.

Environment Pollution Caused By Construction Activities Environmental Sciences Essay

Environment Pollution Caused By Construction Activities Environmental Sciences Essay This chapter present the brief information and effects of the environmental issues happened in the Malaysian Construction Sites. This is a literature chapter review on the environmental pollution happened which caused by the construction activities in Malaysia. For example, air pollution, water pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, wastage problem, ground movements and etc. 2.2 Environment Pollution Caused by Construction Activities According to Krishnan Ganesh (2005) describe that the pollution consists of any change of the environment in physical, chemical or biological characteristics which might be endanger the human life and other life being. Besides, pollution might occurred in increasing of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other green house gases conversely decreasing in stratospheric ozone on global scale enhanced the global environmental pollution to air, water and land resources, biological diversity and human health. Based on Jennifer Gray (2010), the construction industry is a major source of pollution compound around 4% of particulate emissions, higher occurrences of water pollution incidents than any other industry and frequent complains of noise every year. However, the main areas of concern are including air, water, noise and soil pollution. Meanwhile, Zhen et al (2006) stated the dirt, harmful gases, noises, blazing lights, solid and liquid wastes, ground movements, messy, fallen item, and etc that hazards from construction site are the sources of pollution. It would also interrupt the residents near the area furthermore influence their health quality and well-being of people in the whole city. In short, construction industry at site has full of danger, difficult and dirty or even death syndrome which are to be encountered and control under certain rules regulations. However, these rules regulation of environmental protection can be imposed by the local statutory, government, and any other independent institutions. 2.2.1 Air Pollution Nancy J. Sell (1945) notes the definition of air pollution is an addition to our atmosphere of any materials having a damaging effect on life and environment. Normally are carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrous oxides (NO), sulphur oxides (SO) and various hydrocarbons and particulates which are small particles consists of solids. The construction activities such as land clearing, operation of diesel engines, demolition, burning and working with toxic materials will contribute to air pollution. All construction activities produce high level of dust which can effects large distance over long time (Jennifer Gray, 2010). In addition, Jennifer (2010) also stated that diesel is the most critical emissions of a lot of toxic gases. Air pollution occur when the noxious vapours and other hazardous chemicals that are widely used on construction sites. The human health will be affected same as to the animal by the various types of pollutants. Most of the time, animal death can be happened by air pollutant as long it goes into the animal food sources. Damage on plant might be visible or which affect the growth, productivity and life will possess of the plants will be damaged (Nancy J. Sell, 1945). At last, the air pollution is directly linked to the human and other wild life being. This is because the poisonous air particular will damaging the respiratory systems of every living organism. Other serious diseases will also happen due to the insufficient inhaled of clean air and excessive inhaled of hazard oxygen. Therefore, the air quality is required to be controlled on construction sites moreover off the sites. 2.2.2 Water Pollution Diesel and oil, paint, solvents, cleaners and other harmful chemicals; and construction debris and dirt can be direct sources causing of water pollution. Soil erosion cause silt-bearing run-off and sediment pollution when the land is cleared. Silt and soil that run into natural waterways turn them turbid and restrict sunlight filtration and devastate aquatic life. In addition, other pollutants such as diesel and oil, toxic chemicals, and building materials from the site will be carried by the run-off of surface water. This happened to poison the water life when these substances get into waterways and any animal intake it. The source of human drinking water can be contaminated when the pollutants on construction sites soak into the groundwater which makes it much more difficult to purify than the surface water (Jennifer Gray, 2010). Based on Chiew Mynn, Jason and Joanthan (1997) shown that an example which the construction of a new golf course near the waterfall at Frasers Hill, Pahang tourism attraction. The forest nearby has been cleared, no roots to hold on to the surrounding soil and erode when the rains come. Silt and sand that comes from the construction become extremely murky and dirty as the soils run into the waterfall. Consequently, the overwhelming of construction activities surround the waterfall has lost its attraction. In short, water pollution can be affecting the health and safety of human and other wild life being gradually by intake the poisoned water sources which could not be purify completely. However, it might also cause massive damage to the building structures through the hidden running off of soil and water gradually under the foundation. Serious soil sedimentation and erosion will happen if excessive deforestation and development without proper plantation on the construction sites. Hence, the water pollution must be preventing effectively in order to provide safe and health living of building environmental. 2.2.3 Noise Pollution Noise is an increasingly omnipresent, yet underestimated, form of pollution. Long periods of exposure to relatively low levels of noise can have adverse effects on human health, such as raised blood pressure, hypertension, disrupted sleep and cognitive development in children (Kiernan, 1997), diminished working memory span, and psychiatric disorders (Bond, 1996). The vehicles, heavy equipment and machinery on construction sites create a lot of noise. Excessive noise is annoying and distracting, possible to cause loss in hearing, high blood pressure, sleep disturbance and extreme stress. Research has proven that high noise levels disturb the natural life cycles and usable habitat of animals (Jennifer Gray, 2010). As Choong Mek Zhin (2010) notes in his articles, Construction work going on at night in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya is causing many residents to lose sleep and suffer from stress due to the constant noise from the project sites. The construction works are proceeding although on public holidays. There are various noise sources on the construction sites and which reveal various types of noise which need to be managed such as background noise, idling noise, blast noise, impact noise, rotating noise, intermittent noise, howling, screeches and squeals (Lisa M. Sabitoni, 1996). Therefore, heavy noise pollution can cause mental problem of the human. This could bring a wide linkage of damages to the residential area nearby the construction sites if the noise levels are not well managed. Table below shows the noise construction activities schedule for noise limitation. Table: Typical noisy construction activities against the permissible noise limits (Khairul Sani B Samsudin, 2007) Type of Works 7am-7pm 7pm-10pm 10pm-7am Very Noisy Works e.g. piling, blasting, demolition, concreting works, use of percussion tools e.g. pneumatic hammers, etc Yes No No Moderately Noisy Works e.g. erection/dismantling of formwork, tying/fixing of steel bars, operation of cranes, loading/unloading of construction materials, etc Yes Yes No Quiet Works e.g. housekeeping, bricklaying, plastering, painting, etc Yes Yes Yes 2.2.4 Wastage Problem Waste produced by industrial operations has to be concerned as waste levels point out the appreciation of utilize of environment natural resources while the environmental issue is in concern globally. Construction industry has contributes a major waste to the overall waste volume among other industry operations annually for majority of the country. Most of the party involved in the operation do not alert of that construction waste can happen at every stage of the activities. During the stage on construction site, most of the resources are being used, therefore the major waste level are low which it can be observed for initial stage (Teoh Su Ping et al, 2009). As Ekanayake Ofori (2000) said, Construction waste can be divided into three major categories which are material, labour and machinery waste. However, material wastage is of more concern as more of the raw materials from which construction inputs are derived come from non-renewable resources. In short, waste management stands critical step to mitigate the pollution to the environment as the construction industry has contributes a major waste to the overall waste levels among the other industry operation. This is because every construction project is unique and heterogeneous which it undergoes with many various materials, methods, machinery under such long in durations. In addition, these construction wastes can cause an excessive amount of wastages which most of the inputs are produced from non-renewable resources such as timbers, steel bars, cement and sand, clay bricks, marble and gravel tiles and etc natural resources. Therefore, waste management must be operated in order to minimize the massive wastages problems and pollute the environment. 2.3 Summary Construction industry is full of challenges among the other production industry. This is because any of the pollution such as air, water, noise, waste problems and etc can be happened in the construction sites if improper protection and prevention during every single stage of the construction. Therefore, these require lots of effort in managing the conditions of the construction sites under a long period of construction time. However, some certified Environmental Management System (EMS) with valuable process and procedure is useful in the protection of environmental quality. For example, international certified ISO 14001:2004 as an EMS. Chapter 3 Concept and Principles of ISO 14001 as Environmental Management System (EMS) 3.1 Introduction This chapter is to present the concept and principles of the ISO 14001 as an EMS in Malaysian Construction Organizations. The important information including the introduction, concepts, benefits, methods, issues, challenges of processes and procedures in terms of implementing the ISO 14001 as an EMS. 3.2 Concept of ISO 14001 ISO 14001 was first published in 1996 and specified with actual requirement for an Environmental Management System (EMS). It applies to those environmental aspects which the organisation has control and over which it can be expected to have an influence. ISO 14001 is often seen as the corner stone standard of the ISO 14000 series. However, it is not only the most well known, but is the only ISO 14000 standard against which it is currently possible to be certified by an external certification authority. Having stated this, it does not itself state specific environmental performance criteria. This standard is applicable to any organization that wishes to Implement, maintain and improve an environmental management system Assure itself of its conformance with its own stated environmental policy (those policy commitments of course must be made) Demonstrate conformance Ensure compliance with environmental laws and regulations Seek certification of its environmental management system by an external third party organization Make a self-determination of conformance (ISO 14000/ ISO 14001 Environmental Management Guide, 1996) 3.3 Implementation Process of EMS based on ISO 14001 According to Sarkis (1998), who has listed down the five important steps which showing the successful implementation process of Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) based on ISO 14001. The five important steps are shown as below: Environmental policy: Firms must capture in a written document their intentions and principles in relation to their environmental behaviour. This statement must show firms commitment to comply with environmental legislation, to prevent pollution and also to potentially improve their environmental performance. It also must be accessible for the public. Planning: Firms have to identify controllable environmental aspects and determine which ones have significant environmental impacts. These are the ones that firms should attend first. Then firms have to determine the legal dimensions of these impacts (which will depend on the sector, the geographical situationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) and, based on this information, they have to establish objectives and targets as well as the EMS to achieve them. Implementation and operation: it means the allocation of human, financial and physical resources for these issues. Managers have to assign the environmental responsibilities, provide the suitable training to employees and also establish the internal and external communication channels in order to spread the environmental commitment among all the members in the organization and the stakeholders. Checking and corrective action: It includes the measurement of environmental performance, the identification of deviations by comparing targets and results and the application of corrective actions when necessary. In order to be able to carry out these activities, firms must keep environmental records and have periodical auditing of the EMSs. Management review: In order to guarantee the effectiveness and continuous improvement of the EMSs, managers have to review and get a feedback of all the policies, objectives and procedures. (Sarkis, J., 1998) At first, the organisations must comply with the environmental policies to prevent the environmental issues furthermore to improve their environmental performance. Then, the planning on controllable environmental aspects and impacts must be made in order to set up objectives and targets to be achieved by the organisations. Subsequently, experienced personnel have to apply the environmental management systems and ensure the environmental commitment has reached to every member in the organization as well as the stakeholders. Consequently, checking and corrective action must be taken which consists of environmental performance measures, comparison on divergence findings and rectifies actions. It would also required scheduled environmental records and periodical auditing of the EMS. Lastly, the management review step enables the managers to reassess and collect feedback related to the effectiveness and necessary improvement required on the policies, objectives and procedures. In short, a good EMS consists of not only the general five important steps of implementation processes but also required good integration of communication and coordination channels in between the executive personnel, managers, staffs, labours and other stakeholders. This could be the most critical point which might directly influence the effectiveness and efficiency of EMS in the entire organisations. 3.4 Benefit of Implementing ISO 14001 in Construction Organizations According to Blackmores (2008) noted, there are three (3) main categories of benefits which are financial, operational or internal and external ranges as shown below: Financial Cost savings by minimise the waste and use of natural resources such as electricity, water, gas and fuels efficiently. Identify the environmental risks and addressing the weaknesses. Helps the organisation to prevent the fines and penalties by fit to meet the environmental legislation, Indicating better risk management to helps minimising the insurance costs. Operational/Internal Improve the performance and efficiency in general Constrict the production processes, minimise in the risk of incidents and produce better efficiency Eliminate unforeseen and consistency by controlling the disruption and waste Staffs responsibility are clarified clearly Internal communications and morale improved External Express as innovative and forward thinking approach Lead to better public perception of the organization and a competitive advantage, furthermore to improve sales opportunities Lead to better community awareness of the impact of the construction activities on the local residents such as noise, smell, dust, vibration, etc. Demonstrate commitment to the environment and provide confidence to the customers, trade partners, stakeholders, regulators and local authority In addition, the implementing of ISO 14001 gives a lot of benefits such as protection of the environment; reduced operating costs; increased access to markets; demonstrated compliance with regulations; improve environmental performance; improved customer trust and satisfaction enhanced corporate image and credibility; employee involvement and education; and potential impact on world trade to allow competition on an equal basis (George Ofori et al, 2000). 3.5 Environmental Management System (EMS) Do It Yourself (D.I.Y.) Schemes by CIDB EMS DIY Schemes is a part of the effective communication plan to be jointly executed by CIDB and Stakeholders, it was designed for given the significant importance of external accreditation which encouraging the construction companies to attain the ISO 14001:2004 certification. This scheme has two certifications which are ISO 14001 EMS Certificate and the CIDB EMS Certificate. However, there are 3 main objectives which to be achieved by the CIDB as listed below: Provide formal recognition of certified contractors on commitment to excellence environmental management Convenient the employers of the contractors such as JKR, housing developers and local authorities to select certified contractors, who have practicing commitment to excellence environmental management Provide CIDB with an index for monitoring and reporting the general environmental management awareness and practice of Malaysian contractors, as reflected in the annual number of contractors certified to the two EMS certification schemes. The overall aim of these schemes is to subsidise the Malaysian contractors with a cost-effective program in order to improve their performance up to a standardised level as well as in developed countries. Meanwhile, it also helps to assist the contractors to upgrade their environmental management performance throughout the EMS certification programs. At first, the contractor has to attend the EMS Awareness Program which consists of 3 module, such as Module AP1, AP2 and AP3 in order to choose whether CIDB EMS Certification Program or ISO 14001 EMS Certification Program. This allow the contractor to understand regarding Why, How and Benefits or Implementing Systematic Environmental Management before selecting either one of the EMS Programs by CIDB. Besides, an EMS Awareness Training Certificate will be issued by the CIDB to the participant after the completion of 3 training modules in the EMS Awareness Program. After that, it is a condition precedent to carry on either one of the two EMS D.I.Y. Programs by CIDB and 3 months will be given the participants to decide after completion of EMS Awareness Program. The following table shows the EMS Awareness Program. Table: Environmental Management System Awareness Program (CIDB, 2007) Phase Period Milestones Activities Action by Man-day Support Environmental Awareness and Education 2 Months Training Module AP1 Environmental Issues Malaysia Environmental Policy Introduction to CIDB- D.I.Y Scheme. Introduction to Global Environmental Problems and Management Issues. Introduction to Malaysian environmental management policies Consultant 1 Training Module AP2 Introduction to ISO 14001 EMS Introduction to ISO 14001:2004 EMS Standard and the Requirements. Strategic EMS Implementation Plan. Consultant 1 Training Module AP3 Malaysia Environmental Legal Regulatory Requirements Awareness of the current environmental legal and regulatory requirements in the Malaysian construction industry To identify legal and other requirements and develop appropriate Legal Register Consultant 1 Total Man-day 3 3.5.1 CIDB EMS Certificate D.I.Y. Program CIDB EMS Certification Program is an EMS Program under CIDB EMS DIY Scheme which takes 6 months from Phase 1 to 4 as shown in the table below. However, the participant must undergo the EMS Awareness Program before undertake this program and it only allows the CIDB registered contractors from Class G1-G6. Conversely, Class G7 contractors are only permitted to participant for ISO 14001 EMS Certification. There are some conditions in implementation of the EMS required such as, the first year shall be for one on-going project, second year shall be for three on-going projects, third and subsequent year shall be for all projects. Meanwhile, the name of all projects involved in the implementation of EMS shall be included in the CIDB EMS certificate and annual renewal of the certificate is depend on the compliance satisfaction with the annual EMS audit requirements. The action plan of the CIDB EMS Certification Program is shown as below: Table: CIDB EMS Certification Program Processes (CIDB, 2007) Phase Period Milestones Activities Action by Man-day Support EMS Planning Documentation 2 Months Training Module CP1 EMS Plan Training to Introduce the EMS Plan (Content and Implementation Steps). Development of the EMS Plan. Consultant 2 Contractor Activity Prepare EMS Plan Contractors to prepare the EMS Plan Submit to Consultants for evaluation. Contractor Evaluation of EMS Plan 0.5 Month Module CP2 On-site Evaluation of the EMS Plan On-Site review the EMS Plan interview key staffs. Identify the EMS Implementation Project (minimum 1 construction project). Suggest improvements. Contractor 1 Contractor Activity Take Corrective Action Based on evaluation findings, contractor takes appropriate corrective action and amends the necessary documentation. Contractor Implementation of EMS Plan 2.5 Months Contractor Activity Implementing the EMS Plan Contractor implements the EMS Plan (Office and minimum 1 construction project). Contractor Module CP3/CP4/CP5 Consultancy Support on the EMS Plan Implementation Consultant will visit the contractor monthly to provide on-site implementation advices and supports. Consultant 3 CIDB Audit 1 Month Module CP6 CIDB EMS Certification Audit CIDB Appointed Auditor performs the EMS Certification Audit. CIDB Appointed Auditor 1 Contractor Activity Take Corrective Action Take corrective actions to close out the non-conformance found in the Audit. Submit corrective action plan to Auditor. Contractor Award Award of CIDB EMS Certification Certification Award after review of the corrective action plan. TOTAL MAN-DAYS 7 DAYS Registration Fee and Payment The table below states the overall registration fees to be paid. The payments are separated into 2 stages upon the start of the respective phases. Meanwhile, the registration fees need to be paid upon the Stage 1 (EMS Awareness Program). However, these payments are excluded the accommodation and travel fees of the participants. Table: CIDB EMS Certificate D.I.Y. Program Fee and Payment (CIDB, 2007) CIDB EMS Certificate D.I.Y. Program Total Fee: RM 8,500.00 Payment in 2 Stages Phases Main-Days Payment by Contractors Environmental Awareness Education 3 Stage 1 EMS Planning and Documentation Evaluation of EMS Plan 3 Stage 2 Implementation of EMS Plan CIDB Audit 3 1 It also covers the following: Award of CIDB EMS Certificate 3.5.2 ISO 14001 EMS Certificate D.I.Y. Program ISO 14001 EMS Certification Program under CIDB EMS DIY Scheme is an EMS Program by CIDB. It takes 10 months to complete from Phase 1 to 6 and it is open to every contractors. Table below shows the ISO 14001 EMS Certification Processes. Table: ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) Certification Program Phase Period Milestones Activities Action by Man-day Support EMS Appreciation 0.5 Months Training Module IP1 ISO 14001 EMS briefing for Top Management Presentation to Top Management on the EMS Objectives, Benefits, Roles and Responsibilities. Consultant 0.5 EMS Planning 2.5 Months Training Module IP2 Environmental Policy, Aspects Significant Impacts Training on methods to identify and develop Environmental Aspects Impacts. Decide Criteria and Methodology for Determining Significant Impacts. Consultant 1.5 Contractor Activity Prepare Policy, Legal Environmental Aspects Register, Implementation Plan Contractor to prepare the Environmental Policy, Legal Registers and Environmental Aspects Impacts Register. Contractor to plan develop and implementation plan and milestones. Contractor Module IP3 On-site Review Consultation on Policy, Legal Aspects Register Assessment of current EMS status against ISO 14001:2004 other legal requirements. Review the Implementation Plan Approach for the EMS implementation Consultant 2 Training Module IP 4 Objectives, Targets, KPI EMP Introduction to importance and formulation in establishing the objectives, targets, Key Performance Indication (KPI) and Environmental Management Program (EMP). Consultant 1 Contractor Activity Prepare Objectives, Targets EMP Contractor to prepare the environmental Objectives, Targets, KPI and EMP. Contractor Module IP5 On-site Review Consultation on Objectives, Targets, KPI EMP Consultant to review and finalise the Objectives, Targets, KPI and EMP established. Consultant 1 Documentation EMS Implementation 1 2.5 Months Module IP6 Off-site Preparation of EMS Manual Procedures Guidelines Off-site Preparation of Guidelines for EMS Manual Procedures specific to the contractors organisation. Consultant 1 Training Module IP7 ISO 14001 EMS Documentation Implementation Introduce and develop the EMS documentation (Manual, Procedures) and implementation programme. Softcopies provided for the Environmental System operational procedures and forms. Consultant 1 Contractor Activity EMS Documentation Implementation Contractor to prepare EMS Manual Procedures based on Consultants guidelines information provided. The template formats provided on computer disk will be used. Initiate EMS Implementation Collect the initial data. Contractor Module IP8 On-site Review Finalise the EMS Manual Procedures On-site Review Consultation on EMS Manual Procedures. Amend the documents if necessary. Consultant 1 Stage 1 Audit Documentation Audit Third Party Certification Bodys Auditor conducts Documentation Audit. Certification Body Contractor Activity Take Corrective action Based on audit findings, contractor takes appropriate corrective action and amends the necessary documentation. Contractor Documentation EMS Implementation 2 1.5 Months Contractor Activity Continue EMS implementation Continue implementing the procedures and programmes as planned e.g. Records, monitoring data, training etc. as per tasks outlined. Contractor Module IP9 On-Site Consultation on Implementation Progress On-site Monitoring Consultation on Implementation of Procedures and EMP to ensure the implementation programmes are properly in place and utilised. Consultant to provide hands on guidance. Contractor 1 Checking Management Review 2 Months Training Module IP10 ISO 14001 EMS Internal Auditor Training Conduct ISO 14001 EMS Internal Auditor Training to provide skills and knowledge on how to conduct internal audit and becoming a competent internal auditor. Consultant 2 Contractor Activity Conduct Internal Audit Take Corrective Actions Contractor to conduct internal audit to identify gaps in the systems. Auditor to prepare internal audit report and issue corrective actions request if required. Responsible personnel to take appropriate corrective actions. Contractor Module IP11 On-site Monitoring Consultation on Internal Audit and Corrective actions taken To check and review EMS Implementation progress and provide hands on guidance. To close out the Corrective Action Requests. Consultant 1 Contractor Activity Conduct Management Review Conduct Management Review to communicate and review EMS performance improvements plans. Contractor Module IP12 On-site Consultation on EMS Implementation Site Readiness On-site Monitoring Consultation on Management Review and EMP. Check site condition. Consultant 1 Contractor Activity Finalise EMS and Ensure Site Readiness Contractor to finalise EMS and ensure Site Readiness. Contractor Pre-Assessment 1 Month Module IP13 On-site Pre-Assessment Perform Pre-certification assessment to determine the conformity of the EMS implementation. Identify improvement opportunities and present pre-assessment audit

Mykhailo Hrushevsky :: Hrushevsky Ukranian Author Biography Essays

Mykhailo Hrushevsky When one thinks of great Ukrainians a few names come to mind and right at the top of that list is Mykhailo Hrushevsky. This man was a renassaince man on his worst day. He was an author, publicist, political and civic leader, and the most prominent Ukrainian historian. The kind of man that Hrushevsky was, is a the kind of man that makes nations great. â€Å"Mykhailo Hrushevsky was born in the town of Kholm (now it is situated in the territory of Poland) in 1866.†[2] He lived in this are until he was only 3 when his family moved to Caucasia. â€Å"He graduated from the classical gymnasium, which is a type of academic school, in Tiflis (now Tbilisi) (1886)†[3]. It was during this time that Hrushevsky started to write letters and such that were good enough to be published. After his time at the gymnasium, Hrushevsky went on to the Kyiv University where he studied under the famed historian V. Antonovych[4]. He graduated in high regards in 1890 and published his first scholarly work, South Ruthenian Feudal Castles in the Mid-16th Century, in the same year.[5] He continued to write and study and earned a masters degree in 1894. After his degree had been earned Hrushevsky was appointed professor of the newly created chair of Ukrainian history at Lviv University, by the recommendation of V. Antonovych.[6] Hrushevsky’s time at Lviv was one of extraordinary production. He became very active in the Ntsh, also known as the Shevchenko Scientific Society. He ran fundraisers and earned much needed funds for the association. He founded a library and a museum for the association. He brought many scholars into the association and also made outside contacts. He transformed the group’s journal from a yearly to a monthly publication[7]. Also, he established an archeological part of the association in 1895. Mykhailo Hrushevsky :: Hrushevsky Ukranian Author Biography Essays Mykhailo Hrushevsky When one thinks of great Ukrainians a few names come to mind and right at the top of that list is Mykhailo Hrushevsky. This man was a renassaince man on his worst day. He was an author, publicist, political and civic leader, and the most prominent Ukrainian historian. The kind of man that Hrushevsky was, is a the kind of man that makes nations great. â€Å"Mykhailo Hrushevsky was born in the town of Kholm (now it is situated in the territory of Poland) in 1866.†[2] He lived in this are until he was only 3 when his family moved to Caucasia. â€Å"He graduated from the classical gymnasium, which is a type of academic school, in Tiflis (now Tbilisi) (1886)†[3]. It was during this time that Hrushevsky started to write letters and such that were good enough to be published. After his time at the gymnasium, Hrushevsky went on to the Kyiv University where he studied under the famed historian V. Antonovych[4]. He graduated in high regards in 1890 and published his first scholarly work, South Ruthenian Feudal Castles in the Mid-16th Century, in the same year.[5] He continued to write and study and earned a masters degree in 1894. After his degree had been earned Hrushevsky was appointed professor of the newly created chair of Ukrainian history at Lviv University, by the recommendation of V. Antonovych.[6] Hrushevsky’s time at Lviv was one of extraordinary production. He became very active in the Ntsh, also known as the Shevchenko Scientific Society. He ran fundraisers and earned much needed funds for the association. He founded a library and a museum for the association. He brought many scholars into the association and also made outside contacts. He transformed the group’s journal from a yearly to a monthly publication[7]. Also, he established an archeological part of the association in 1895.

Southern United States

Miss Kriz Abby Mayo AP U. S. History 14 March 2013 New England and the South History has shown explicitly the differences between the colonies in the Northern and Southern regions of the United States. These differences were determined in the way that the east coast of the United States was settled by colonists. The colonists developed the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies separately. The most influential factor in determining what life in each region would be like was the geography of each region.The geography then determined the economy of each region, which led to political and social developments. The differences between the New England colonies and the Southern colonies were often drastic enough that one might consider them better off as completely different nations. This possibility resulted in America’s devastating Civil War in the first half of the 19th century. However, there were inevitably at least a few similarities between the North and the South; after a ll, both were governed by the same federal administration.Though they shared a few similar aspects, the New England colonies and the Southern colonies were unmistakably different, whether one examined their political, religious, economic, or social aspects. Politically, there were not as many noticeable differences between the North and the South as there were economically. The Northern colonies of New England developed from their conservative Puritan roots, which came from their original colonizers. The essential values of New Englanders were decency, equal rights, and moral duty.The Northern political sphere has typically been more influential in the federal government than Southern politicians, though things have never been â€Å"easy† for Northerners. Obviously Southern representatives and senators fought to make sure that southern values were not disregarded. From a Southern perspective, politics are about hierarchy, racial superiority (particularly white Protestant male s). They supported greater power for individual states, while Northerners wanted a stronger central, federal government. The two factions are essentially opposites, and proved fatally polarizing in the federal legislature throughout history.These differing values were most conflicting in the years before and during the Civil War, when they reached a climax. Religion is the reason that European colonists first came to America. The Pilgrims of the Mayflower sought religious freedom in the exotic, uncharted â€Å"new world. † From there, America blossomed into a very valuable breeding ground for colonies. The first American settlers in Massachusetts were strict Puritans. Their religion was the center of their lives. Their religious views influenced their political actions greatly.In the South, religion was much less important in daily life, though it still had a presence. Over time, it came to be known that Southerners were typically Protestant or Anglican. They depended on and advocated for slavery, because their economy depended it, but also because unlike the New England colonists, their religion did not discourage it or promote equal rights. It is commonly claimed that the real religion of the South was their plantations. Religion often determined certain political views, playing a major part as a contributor to American society as a whole.However, these contributions took many different forms in the Northern colonies versus the Southern colonies. Geographical advantages and disadvantages ultimately governed the development of the individual economies in the North and the South, despite the fact that both comprised a single nation. The diverse geographical nature of the continental United States helped define factions of political and social opinion, particularly in the 19th century. In New England, as it is today, the soil was rocky and difficult to farm. Therefore, New England colonists looked to other sources of economic prosperity.They are known fo r having used many of the abundant natural resources surrounding them, such as granite, coal, and iron ore. They used these raw materials and used them to create products such as steel, and in doing so, made the New England colonies known for an industrial economy. The industrialist Northerners then developed more business-like political views. In the thoroughly agricultural South, the economy depended completely on cotton and other agricultural products. The plantation owners needed slaves to work their land, and slaves became a vital part of Southern economy.When Northerners challenged the ethics of slavery, the Southerners fought back in order to conserve their global economic success. This conflict developed into the bloody American Civil War. However, soon, America became known as one of the world’s foremost economic powers, permitted by the cooperation of the New Englanders and the Southerners. Political, religious, and economic views created American social society in the colonies. Inevitably, social classes developed, and they did so differently in each region. The entirety of Northern society was based on religion.Therefore, social developments were also based on religion. Their industrialism combined with their strong religious devotion caused them to place high value on literacy and education. Schools began to develop in New York and soon spread out across the colonies. Some of the prominent Northern ideals were equality, ethics, morality, and equal treatment of all people. The South could not have been more different. Rather than religion, which was a relatively insignificant part of Southern society, the South developed a typical system of social classes. At the bottom, of course, were the slaves.Middle class whites followed, and the wealthy upper class of white plantation owners were at the top of the food chain. Americans typically supported the beliefs of the region in which they lived. To them, it was just their nature to think the way they did. The dramatic differences between the â€Å"nature† of the North and the â€Å"nature† of the South caused huge problems for America as one unified nation. There were a few similarities that the North and the South shared. After all, they were part of the same country, though many of the Southerners liked to believe otherwise.Both the North and the South relied on imports for many of their manufactured goods. The Northern colonies’ industry was blossoming, but had not reached the level that many European nations were at. Additionally, they each relied on exports to finance their economic development. Finally, American colonists from both regions had trouble with Indian relations at times. The settlers believed themselves better than Native Americansin general and didn’t hesitate to show the natives what they thought of them. They also shared a common hatred for the English during the very early days of colonization and during the Revolutionary Wa r.Though undeniable similarities existed between the Northern colonies of New England and the Southern Colonies, it is clear that the list of differences between them is much more extensive. These differences really did prove fatal for the 600,000+ Americans that died fighting for them during the Civil War. Today, it is taken for granted that all Americans share an equal nationalistic pride. There is no more division between North and South, after decades of arguing, fighting, and war trying to rescue it.

Why Nations Fail – Chapter 5 Summary

Levisalles Amaury Georg-August-Universitat Sommer Semester 2012 Gottingen WHY NATIONS FAIL D. ACEMOGLU & J. A. ROBINSON Seminar Paper CHAPTER 5 â€Å"I'VE SEEN THE FUTURE, AND IT WORKS†: GROWTH UNDER EXTRACTIVE INSTITUTIONS What Stalin, King Shyaam, the Neolithic Revolution, and the Maya city-states all had in common and how this explains why China's current economic growth cannot last.Resume of the Key Statements of the Chapter In this chapter, D. Acemoglu and J. A. Robinson explain how growth under extractive institutions is not sustainable in the long term and always leads to the collapse, in one way or another, of these institutions. The title of the chapter, â€Å"I've seen the future and it works†, is a quotation from the autobiography of Lincoln Steffens (1931). He was then speaking about the communist model that he had discovered on a diplomatic mission to Russia. The title of the chapter is of course ironic since it is well known that the Soviet System broke down in 1991.In this chapter the authors tackle different aspects of Extractive Institutions and explain throughout many concrete examples as to why the multiple facets of these institutions lead to the end of them. Extractive politi cal and economical institutions are â€Å"structured to extract resources from the many by the few† and â€Å"concentrate power in the hand of a few, who will then have incentives to maintain and develop these institutions† (page 430). Dictatorship is the best example of an extractive institution as in this case power is concentrated in the hands of very few, if not only the dictator himself.These types of institutions are mostly founded in authoritarianism and totalitarianism political systems (dictatorship being an authoritarianism type of system). The Soviet Model is the first system studied by Acemoglu and Robinson in this chapter. It is indeed one of the best examples in history to observe how growth evolves under extractive institutions and the problems that rise along this type of political and economical system. After coming to power via a massive purge of his opponents, Stalin decided to invest massively in the industry sector through huge government orders, e specially in the military and aeronautical sectors.In order to support all the needs of the workers, he implemented very high taxes on agricultural resources. However, the tax system in Russia at this time was very ineffective. He thus collectivized all the land to form state farms known as Kolkhoz. The incentives of farm workers were therefore much lowered since a large part of their harvests was taken away by the government. This led to a great famine during which six million Russians died (Davies and Wheatcroft, 2004).Even if the collectivization system was a total disaster, the growth in Russia still increased from 6% per year from 1928 to 1960, which at this time was a record. The growth happened through reallocation of labour and capital force. Indeed, the technology used at this 3 time in the country was really obsolete in comparison to Europe or the United States and only removing resources from agricultural to industrial work allowed Russia to benefit from very high growth for several years. However, rapid growth rate is one, if not the only possible achievement under Extractive Institutions.In fact, Russia's extreme growth slowed down from the 1960 and it had totally stopped by 1970. Unsustainable growth is explained by a lack of incentive for creative destruction, that means for technological change. For example, bonuses were given to companies meeting targets set by the government. Therefore, no one was eager to sacrifice resources to invest in future technologies since everyone wanted to reach targets. What is to be considered with the Soviet Model is that growth under Extractive Institutions is high but only in the very short term and that it is not sustainable at all.The lack of creative destruction and true economic incentives are the main factors responsible for it. The second part of the chapter is focused on how Institutional Innovations, e. g. centralization and political establishment, can accomplish some limited economic achievements, and how, in a certain situation, it led to the Neolithic Revolution. In 1620, a man named Shyaam provoked a political revolution and made himself king of the Bushong, an African people located near the river Kasai. On the other side of the river was another, the Lele.Contrary to the first one, they had no government and would live in villages without any real hierarchy (Douglas, 1962/1963 and Vansina, 1978). After his accession to power, King Shyaam implemented a pyramid of political institutions and with it, a tax and a legal system assured by a police and a â€Å"trial by jury† system. The king also decided to reorganize agriculture with the implementation of â€Å"an intensive mixed-farming cycle† (page 135). Thanks to all of this, the Bushong became much more prosperous than their neighbours and the situation is still the same today.Although King Shyaam was taking a large amount of resources from its people, since it was an Extractive Institution, they were still much richer than their nearby residents and were living in a secure state. As for the Natufians, they were considered as the first people to settle and established the bases for the Neolithic Revolution. Around 9600 BC came â€Å"The Long Summer† (Fagan, 2003), which allowed an expanding animal and vegetal population. Thanks to these abundant resources, the Natufians decided to settle down and later on, began farming. This change from a omadic to a sedentary life had been made possible by previous institutional changes.Even though the reasons are still unknown, it has been proved that a hierarchy had been established 4 among the Natufians. Since their group had a leader, they were able to settle and keep on having institutional innovations that were needed to live in a sedentary way. The important fact about the Bushong and the Natufians is that even with a limited amount of institutional innovation, a certain amount of economic prosperity can be reached. However this development is not very high but more importantly, it is not sustainable.The fourth and last society studied by Acemoglu and Robinson is the Maya and their City-States that existed about a thousand years ago. The goal of the authors here is to show us that as Extractive Institutions rise, some people take power and are envied by others. This situation can lead to the replacement of a leader by another but also to the end of a civilization, as it has been the case for the Maya. As the Natufians transitioned to Agriculture, so did the Maya. This agricultural emergence was made possible by the creation of Extractive Institutions.The Maya were in fact an extremely well hierarchically developed society. But since it was controlled by extractive institutions, it meant that a few people would be exploiting a large number and these inequalities always generate jealousy. The city-states were very prosperous and trade was very important at the time, however, lots of them would be at war against one anot her. And when it wasn't the cities that were at war, it would be the elites of a city that would fight each other for power. This situation of elite warfare was all the more the case when the king (k'uhul ajaw) of a city would die.At some point, in the city of Quirigua, when the last king died, the population simply deserted the city and the let it be invaded by the jungle. The main point to be remembered from the Mayan example is that when it is not the economic situation that kills extractive institutions, it is its political system. Because such a model makes lots of people envious, self-destruction by citizens from the same city or war between cities is ineluctable. We can therefore keep in mind that Extractive Institutions are able to achieve more or less high and rapid growth.However, this growth is unsustainable and sometimes very limited, mainly because of a lack of creative destruction and technological progress. This is mainly due to the resistance opposed by the Elite and the Government that fear these changes. Another feature of extractive institutions is that great inequalities among people arise since the state extracts much of the created wealth. Political instability is the last important aspect of these institutions as the position of elite is much envied by others. 5 Description of the Original Researches used By The AuthorsIn this second part, we will have a look at the original papers that the authors used to write their book and discuss them. The first case of the chapter, the Soviet Model, is based on three main books and on numbers and a quotation coming from 4 others. We shall here examine mainly the three principal writings used by the authors in their book. The first important paper is written by Joseph S. Berliner and is entitled â€Å"The Innovation Decision in Soviet Industry†. In this book, J. Berliner explains the process of innovation under the Soviet Model and how decisions about it are being taken.He provides an explana tion of how the economy under the Communist System works but above all, he focuses on the features that are being taken into account to decide the innovations that are to be implemented. What is to be understood as innovation in the Soviet Union is â€Å"whenever any enterprise introduces a product or process that has never been employed before†. As D. Acemoglu and J. A. Robinson point out in their book, the innovation system is more than inefficient. Indeed, the soviet economy is based on â€Å"the production of established products by mean of established processes† and therefore, innovation is not very conceivable.The second text is from Gregory and Harrison and deals with how the economy worked and how it was planned under Stalin's dictatorship. Following the opening of the economic archives under Stalin's era, it has been found that the system was extremely centralized. Even if power was delegated, all the decision makers feared repression from their superior in ca se of a bad choice. In the end, Stalin was making an incredible amount of decisions and everything was controlled from the very top, making the system inaccurate.We also learn that the communist control over the market, that should have replaced the invisible hand in a market-friendly economy, was totally inefficient. The central planning as Acemoglu and Robinson mention wasn't able to introduce true incentives because the whole market was built on government command and this is not sustainable in the long term as we saw when the Soviet Union fell. The last document used is a review by Levy and Peart of all the theories that had been made about the Soviet economic growth and how everyone was more or less way too overconfident about it.Like Samuelson (1948-1980), some Americans economists had predicted that the Soviet Union's economy was to overpass the United State's one. Indeed, when we    6 take a look at the consumption of the two countries, their part of investment of the GNP and their growth at the time, we could think that the US economy should have been overtaken by the Soviet's in a few years. However, the Soviet GNP was at the beginning only 60% of America's. More importantly, the Soviet investments were focused essentially on the military and the aeronautical sector. Therefore, the communist economy was not diversified at all, that is to say, not sustainable.For the second part of the chapter, we will have a look over three of the texts used in the studied chapter. As we can read in an abstract of Vansina's study about the Kuba kingdom, it is impossible to know the exact reasons that led a man to unite the Kuba people under his leadership. But what is sure is that King Shyaam a-Mbul a Ngoong, Shyaam â€Å"the Great†, has left an incredible legacy to its people. By creating a political, economical and social life, he simply allowed the Bushong people, one of the Kuba tribe, to have a prosperous and secured life compared to the other tribes.Th e reason why it is the Bushong and not the Lele, the Pende or another people that has benefited from these innovations is however unknown since there is no writing about it and the only memories that subsist are through oral histories. As Acemoglu and Robinson have written, Shyaam has revolutionized the culture of its people through the implementation of an agricultural cycle based on cultivating different crops in the course of the year. He also brought to its people a developed government built on justice, merit and loyalty.It is therefore proved that the institutional innovations led to a great development of the Bushong over the years, even if it was limited because of the Belgian colonization at the end of the 19th century. The second paper is about â€Å"The Emergence of Agriculture† and how we know that agriculture was developed after settling and not before. In his paper, Bruce D. Smith explains that agriculture did not appear in one day but in more or less 2 000 year s. Indeed, through archaeological researches, it has been proved that the plants cultivated 8 000 years ago were selected and had already been sorted.As we read in Acemoglu and Robinson's book, the Natufians had first selected the good crops and had then cultivated them. But in order to select them, the Natufians had to be settled, which proves that agriculture came after settlement. And with the rise of agriculture came other sciences such as math, astronomy or engineering that allowed the farmers to establish a calendar or effective irrigation system. The third book, which also confirms Smith's work is entitled â€Å"Village on the Euphrates: From Foraging to Farming at Abu Hureyra†. In this book, the authors take the village of Abu Hureyra as an example.This village was inhabited by Natufians from 11 500 B. C to 7 000 B. C and on the    7 archaeological site, scientists have found prior evidence that agriculture came after sedentarisation. Indeed, in the part of the vill age dating from more than approximately 9 000 years ago, bones of local hunted animals such as Persian gazelles have been found along with crops of wild vegetations. On the contrary, in the part of the village that existed after 9 000 B. C, bones of domesticated animals and plants have been found. This confirms once more the fact that agriculture appeared after settlement.For the third and last part of the studied chapter, we will take a look at two of the books used. The first one, â€Å"Chronicle of the Maya King and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya†, is a great description of the complex hierarchy that ruled the Mayan empire for several centuries. The book explains the story of all the different dynasties that existed throughout the Mayan empire and how the cities made alliances in order to create kingdoms and then fought between each other in order to control the largest possible part of the Mayan empire.As we read in Acemoglu and Robinson's work, the wars between the Maya city-states played a big role in the collapse of its empire. In the second text, â€Å"The Fall of the Ancient Maya†, the reasons for the collapse of the Mayan empire are more deeply studied. One of the trigger factors of it was the long-lasting droughts that would sometimes occur for several months and which would severely weaken the populations. Another reason is that the King, who also occupied the function of high priest at the time, was responsible for all the sacrifices that were supposed to bring rain, good harvest and prosperity to the city.But this wouldn't always work and as we read in the fifth chapter. In the city of Copan for example, the king was overthrown and later on, the city abandoned. One of the reasons that Copan's king wasn't able to provide enough food for all its inhabitants is that the population was growing over time and the farming surface was diminishing. This made it impossible for all the people of Copan to be fed. This sit uation was not only observed in Copan but all over the Mayan empire. However, what seems to be the main reason for the Mayan collapse is the constant warfare that would occur between cities and even among them.It was believed, at the time, that the sacrifices that kings had to do to bring rain, food and richness, had to be from royal blood. That means that cities were not only fighting against each other in order to enlarge their kingdoms but also to capture the elites from other cities and ransack them to take all the precious resources and offer them as sacrifices to the gods. Therefore, lots of cities would find themselves without any government and thereafter, the elites would fight against each other to take the throne and the cities would be abandoned in the end. 8Opposition to the Theories of Acemoglu and Robinson For this third part of the seminar paper, we will use reviews from several writers and newspapers about â€Å"Why Nations Fail†. The first one is a review by Francis Fukuyama about the book but more precisely about the notions of extractive institutions and conversely, inclusive institutions. In his article, Fukuyama explains why he disagrees with Acemoglu and Robinson's theory about the â€Å"more inclusive, more growth† phenomenon. He criticizes the fact that Acemoglu and Robinson do not give a precise definition of extractive and inclusive institutions.Since these two opposed government systems are not well defined, it allows the authors to give the benefit of growth to the inclusive institutions and on the contrary, to blame the extractive institutions for the absence of growth. He puts forward the argument that nowadays, each government is a mix of extractive and inclusive institutions and it is therefore extremely difficult to precisely attribute the wealth or the poorness of a country to one of the two types of politico-economic systems.He also disapproves of the fact that inclusive institutions are called so as soon as th e people are able to have a role in the political life of the country, even if very limited. He takes England in the late 17th Century, as an example. He explains that it is absurd to call it an inclusive state since only 10% of the population could vote at the time. For him, an inclusive institution should be defined as such, if it is like a modern day democracy, among many other things.He regrets that the Potosi Mita of the Conquistador's America, the Caribbean's Sugar Plantation, the Argentinean’s Ranchers and today's Communist China are all put in the same category. As a counter argument against â€Å"more inclusive, more growth†, he takes the example of India today, which is considered as the biggest democratic republic in the world. The problem in India, as Fukuyama writes, is that the inclusive institutions are too inclusive. The problem with it is that the government is unable to make any important decision about â€Å"major infrastructure projects because of all the lawsuits and the protests†.We therefore see that an excess of inclusion makes the inclusive state inaccurate, as is exactly the same case with an extractive institution. With the explanation of the Roman Empire System, Fukuyama shows us an example of a stable politico-economic institution and his disagreement with â€Å"Why Nations Fail† 9 concerning extractive institutions. The changeover from an oligarchy to a monarchy brought a political stability to the Roman Empire that enabled it to become one of the biggest nations that ever existed. Furthermore, this change allowed the citizens to take part in political life.Even though the Roman Empire ultimately collapsed, it was the wealthiest country in the world for more than two centuries. Fukuyama here is sceptical about the global model developed by Acemoglu and Robinson. He thus disagrees that Extractive Institutions are always a source of political and economical instability. In the end, we can say that even if Fukuyama disagrees with a certain number of Acemoglu and Robinson's arguments, they all agree on the fact that the key to success, and therefore growth, is a mix of inclusive and extractive politics and economics.The second article that we shall study here is written by Matthew Yglesias. In his review, Yglesias asks himself why it is that some of the biggest differences of income exist between countries in the third world and developed countries. He wonders why citizens from Ethiopia earn ten times less than ones from Colombia where as at the same time, citizens from Colombia earn only four times less than ones from Sweden. According to Yglesias, a â€Å"wellexecuted programme of growth under extractive institutions would solve some of the world's severe problems†.He explains, in a later article, that Communism is the key to explaining differences of wealth in countries that are governed by extractive institutions. It is for him the reason why East Germany was much poorer th an West Germany, China than Taiwan or even North Korea and South Korea. We can therefore say that Yglesias is not in disagreement with Acemoglu and Robinson's theories but thinks that the comparisons should not occur between extractive and inclusive institutions but between extractive institutions themselves.The last article we will see is a review by The Economist about the book â€Å"Why Nations Fail† and the question of the elites. According to Buttonwood, Extractive Elites exist within inclusive institutions. He says that the financial system is one of them. They are being criticized because they take a considerable amount of resources and therefore prevent these resources being allocated to others sectors in which innovations could be made. As banks are the institutions that lend money to entrepreneurs to create new businesses, they have the power of decision about the creation of start-ups, which is to say, new ideas and innovations.If banks would lend the money each ti me, they would be fully considered as inclusive institutions, however, this is not the case. The principal purpose of a bank is to be profitable    10 and make the most amount of money possible. Therefore, they don't want to lend money each time and are seen in this way as extractive institutions as they will only give the money to concrete and profitable businesses. Another problem of the inclusive institutions is the social policies applied by some countries; employees from the public sector prefer keeping their secure jobs rather than creating or joining a new business.These employees do not only want to be sure to keep their jobs but also want to continue enjoying the many advantages that civil servants are given. This, in a way, is a form of non-creative destruction, or at least, non-innovation. It is of course a perversity of the social aids created by governments of inclusive institutions. However, it is a form of resistance to creative destruction, which is a core feature of extractive institutions. The Public Sector is therefore, along with the financial Sector, a kind of extractive elite.However, the article in The Economist explains well that the extraction of the Elite among inclusive institutions is limited and cannot be regarded as totally extractive. 11 Personal Point Of View For the last part of this review of the fifth chapter of â€Å"Why Nations Fail†, I will give my thoughts about the points that have been discussed previously in the essay and that are tackled in the chapter. With the first example that Acemoglu and Robinson develop in this chapter, they show us how the lack of innovation is a main feature of Extractive Institutions' failure.This lack of innovation is mainly due to the resistance of the Elite and a Government that fears being overthrown by the people, as they will be willing to keep the profits of their innovations. On this point, I totally agree with the argument, however, as we have seen with the Soviet Model, th at for more than 30 years they have been able to extract the best of what was available. That is to say that without, or with only very few technological innovations, the Soviet Union has been able to maintain a 6% growth rate per year.This is somewhat incredible since America, at the same time, could not do better even though they were benefiting from technological change. I think that what is to be learned here is that in general, and even more in today’s world, we do not use what we have to its full capacity. By this I mean that as soon as we create a new tool or a new technology, we get rid of it before having used all of its facets. And the advantage, maybe the only one, of a totalitarianism state is that it obliges the people to work with what they have and therefore, use their tools to the optimum. I don't want to be taken for an extremist here.I am not at all in favour of a totalitarian or an authoritarian system; I just think that the best of every system should be t aken, as there is something good within each one. In this case, it is the optimum and full use of the present technologies before moving on to other things. As we see with the second example, a certain degree of institutional innovations may bring a certain degree of growth. With the institutional innovations come also economic, social and political improvements. I think that what is to be considered with King Shyaam is that with a certain degree of rigidity, growth is enabled.Therefore, I would say, following Yglesias' point of view, that with a certain degree of extraction, when well executed, a certain amount of growth and achievements could be reached. I think that even if in the long term, extractive institutions are not good and viable, it can be a good way to start or to re-launch an 12 economy. Even if this is very difficult to achieve, I think that having extractive institutions at the beginning and then moving on towards more inclusive ones might be very good for the econo my of a nation.As Fukuyama describes with the Roman Empire, the System was clearly extractive since the power was in the hands of the emperor. However, citizens had much more possibility to take part in the political life of their cites and they had true incentives to work since they could make their fortunes, but above all, they could keep these fortunes. They would have to pay taxes but the notion of private property was real and if someone was trying hard to succeed, he could do so.The result was that the Roman Empire stood for more than 200 years and is considered as one of the biggest that has ever existed. A certain degree of political extraction can therefore definitely be good for a nation's growth. We can see, today, that the political parties are more often trying to destroy the other parties' ideas than trying to cooperate with them and find the best compromises. It is here that a certain degree of extractive politics could be good and could help countries take big decisi ons more quickly.I would like to finish here with the case of China. Acemoglu and Robinson are convinced that China will inevitably collapse, just like the Soviet Union did. I think that this might not be the case for four reasons. My first point is the difference that exists between China and the former Soviet Union. On the other hqnd, we know much more about China than we knew about USSR. What I mean here is that we know that China has a considerable fortune and that they are not spending money that they don't have, which was the case with Soviet Union.There is a much stronger transparency with China's economy than there was with Stalin's government. My second argument is that the economical situation from today is not the same at all compared to that of the twentieth century. And we have seen that even with the global economic crisis that occurred in 2008, China has succeeded in maintaining a growth rate of more than 8% and an average growth of 10% over the past three decades, wh ich is much more than USSR even though USSR's GDP was bigger than China's today.My third point is that China is opening its economy more and more; it is gradually moving towards an inclusive economy. China is for technological change and creative destruction. Since approximately a decade, China has opened itself to foreign investments and Shanghai is now sometimes considered as the future â€Å"New York†. Even if this economical change is very limited and extremely controlled by the government (any foreign company that wishes to establish itself in China must create a joint venture with a Chinese company),    13 changes are happening.We cannot therefore say that China is against creative destruction; it is just that it is an authoritarian country and changes cannot happen in one day. My last point is about the political power in China and the liberty of the people. It is, I believe, the only reason that might someday put an end to the Chinese regime. Even if the people who disagree with the Chinese government are very badly treated, they are still much more considerate than before thanks to the international relations that China maintains with other countries.That is to say, China cares more than before about how other countries view it. However, the People's Republic of China is still extremely repressing its dissidents. The population in China is step by step, gaining some freedom even if they are still very oppressed by the regime. In the last few years, the situation with Chinese workers has evolved and their wages or working conditions have considerably changed, especially after the suicide wave that touched the country in 2010.In the end, I would conclude by saying that China, if it succeeds in following its transition little by little to a more inclusive economy and moreover to a more inclusive political system, even if not reaching the point of a democracy, might not collapse as lots of economists are predicting today.