Country Profile-Part Four

FRANCE

International Trade (What? How much? To whom? From Whom?)

a. Exports

Exports in France averaged 17248.35 EUR Million from 1970-2014

France is one of the largest exporters of luxury goods and agricultural products in the world. 

Main exports: aircrafts, food, chemicals, industrial machinery, iron and steel, electronics, motor vehicles, and pharmaceuticals. 

Main export partners are: Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, United Kingdom, United States, Netherlands, and China. 

b. Imports

Imports in France decreased to 39609 EUR Million in February of 2014 from 41923 EUR Million in January of 2014. 

France main imports are: fuel, electronics, chemicals, metal products, industrial and agricultural machinery, cars, food and clothing. 

Main import partners are: Germany, China, Belgium, Italy, Spain, United States, United Kingdom

Exchange rate (current value, recent history)

1 Euro = 1.38 US Dollars

Recent news on the Euro: On Jan 1, 2014, Latvia became the 18th nation to adopt the euro.

Lithuania is expected to adopt the Euro in 2015. 

Immigration/emigration (from where? to where? how much?)

There are an estimated 11.8 million foreign-born immigrants (and direct descendants) living in France. 

More than 5.5 million are of European origin and about 4 million are of Maghrebi origin. 

In percentages, 42% of immigrants are from Africa, 38% from Europe, 14% from Asia, and 5% from America and Oceania

France has a very low emigration rate. However one out of four French university graduates wants to emigrate.  With most people moving to other countries in Europe. 

The French net migration rate (migrants/10000 population) was 1 as of 2012

Relations with other countries (recent or historical conflicts, allies)

France is a founding member of the United Nations

Main allies: German, Italy, United States

recent conflicts: France is currently engaged in an armed conflict in Afghanistan (fighting against the US)

Basque Separatist Conflict: the rebel group called Basque Fatherland and Liberty guerrilla group has waged an urban guerrilla movement for independence from Spain and southwestern France.

Sources

tradingeconomics.com/france

wikipedia.com

A Fez of the Heart: Travels around Turkey in Search of a Hat

A Fez of the Heart

Choose one passage from the reading that you found particularly interesting. Why was this interesting? 

"The shrine is testimony to a time when life in Pomegranate changed so fast that the tools of working men were museum pieces before those who once had used them had had time to die."

It is amazing to me that the economy and focus of a town can change so fast that the original tools used to fuel the economy of a town were discarded and replaced so fast that they were quickly used as souvenir pieces and decorations to attract tourists and inform them of what the town used to be like. So quickly in fact, that those who used them were still alive and attributing to the economy. I can't imagine what it would have been like to live in a city that was evolving so quickly.

Use examples from this reading to illustrate the interaction between economics and culture. 

There is a passage in the reading that, to me, really encompasses the relationship between economics and culture:
"Despite that Turkish victory and excepting the ubiquitous Turkish flag, Turkey did not seem to exist in Pomegranate that morning. On the main street, the incursions of English and German had rendered Turkish a minority language. Turkish food had been replaced by "handburgers" and even doner kebap was being advertised as "authentik Turkische cuisine," as if this staple of Turkish food could only hold its own by being touted as a gastronomic heritage experience." 

The idea that a city can lower the expectations of its own culture to accommodate for the culture of its tourists and its source of income to the point that it advertises its own characteristic features as "authentic" really shows how culture and economics compensate for each other. 

Another example given in the reading is of the shop worker being forced to wear a fez in the hopes that it will attract tourists, even though it is illegal and insulting in Turkey to wear a fez, it is acceptable if it is in the hopes of bringing in more cash flow. 

Beyond the specific example of this town in Turkey, what connections or conflicts do you see between tourism and economics or tourism and culture?

I always see a huge conflict between tourism/economics and culture when I go to Mackinac Island. Mackinac Island became a popular tourist attraction in the late 19th Century. The entire island is listed as a national Historic landmark, and is known for its historic preservation, its Victorian buildings, fudge, and the ban on all motor vehicles. Because of these characteristics, Mackinac Island has a very historic culture, where one feels as if they stepped into a different century as soon as they step off the ferry. Unfortunately, due to the islands increase in tourism, the culture has been slowly evolving and modernizing. So much so that it has recently added a Starbucks coffee and shop to the main street. The example of Pomegranate and the more recent expansions to Mackinac Island really show how the money flow that tourists bring to a town can lower and decrease the cultural standards to accommodate for the tourists. 

Country Profile-Part Three

FRANCE

Importance of tourism to France (numbers, origin of tourists)

In 2012, France was the most popular tourist destination in the world, attracting over 83 million tourists (excluding people staying less than 24 hours) 

Travel and tourism directly contributed to EUR 77.7 billion to the French GDP. Total contribution of travel and tourism represents 9.7% of GDP and supports over 2.9 million jobs (about 11% of employment) 

Major tourist attractions

Cities of high cultural interest: Paris, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Bodeaux, and Lyon. 

Many beaches and seaside resorts, ski resorts, and rural regions.

Eiffel Tower

Louvre Museum

Palace de Versailles

Musee d'Orsay

Arc de Triomphe

Centre Popidou

Mont Saint-Michel

Chateau de Chambord

Sainte-Chapelle

Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg

Puy de Dome

Musee Picasso

Carcassonne

Catacombes

National parks, wildlife or nature preserves

The "Remarkable Gardens" 

Disneyland Paris

Cote d'Azur

Les Chateuax de Loire 

Vanoise National Park

Port-Cros National Park

Ecrins National Park

Guilana Amazonian Park

Important museums

Louvre (the most visited museum in the world)

Musee d'Orsay

Sources: 

Wikipedia.com

Country Profile-Part Two

FRANCE

 

GDP

2013: 2739.27 Billion U.S. dollars
2014: 2621.63 Billion U.S. dollars

GDP per Capita

2013: 40272.19 U.S. dollars
2014: 40963.65 U.S dollars

Life Expectancy
81.67 years (as of 2011)

Poverty Rate
13.5%

Literacy Rate 
99% with a rank of 37 out of 194

Unemployment Rate
10.3% (2012 estimate)

Inflation
recorded at 0.90% in February 2014
Inflation rate averaged 4.72% from 1958-2014

Natural Resources (climate, growing season, rainfall, agricultural land, major rivers and waterways, significant mineral deposits) 

•  France has a third of all the agricultural land in the European Union
• Moderate and varied climate
• The world's second largest agricultural producer (behind the U.S.) 
• accounts for 2.5% of French gross domestic product (estimate from 2006) 
• roughly 1 million farms
• main agricultural products: wheat, corn, meat, wine, sugar beets, dairy products
• forest resources cover about 17 million hectares (one third of the country's land area)
• Access to ocean and fishing industry
• Not rich in mineral resources, although there are coal deposits in the north and iron ore deposits in the east
• significant producer of uranium
• the average rainfall per year is 786 millimetres. It usually rains in the spring, but not in the summer. 
• Continental climate in the east
• main rivers: Loire which is 1,010 kilometres in length, the Seine which is 770 km, the Garonne which is 650 km, the Rhône which is 522 km and the Dordogne

Labor (size of labor force, educational system)

• In 2005 about 28 million people were active in the labor force
• from 2000-2005 employment growth averaged 3.1%
• French workers average 37 hours of work per week (with 5 weeks paid vacation)
• Except for Scandinavia, France has the world’s highest female labor market participation rate, with women representing about 47% of the country's workforce
• education system is free between the ages 2-18. Compulsory for everyone between the ages 6-16
• Most continue education beyond 16 years of age
• Top students go to high school (lycée) to study for the baccalaureat qualification, while others attend vocational school
• Outside the public education system, private education, primarily Roman Catholic, is also available
• Every high-school graduate who passes the baccalaureat exam is guaranteed a free-or nearly
  free-university education.

Capital (industry and technology, infrastructure)

• "France has a large industrial base whose contribution to the country's economic activity has not diminished in favor of services as dramatically as in other developed countries" (library of Congress)
• industry provides 22% of the jobs (U.S. is 11%)
• key industrial sectors are chemicals, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, metallurgy, telecommunications, electronics, and aircraft. 
• lots of success developing dynamic telecommunications, aerospace, and weapons sectors. 
• France has a high-quality transport infrastructure in which road, rail, air, and water transport all play a significant role

sources: 

statistica.com

indexmundi.com/france/#Economy

inequalitywatch.eu

country-facts.findthedata.org

tradingeconomics.com/france/inflation-cpi

ask.com

News Summary

World Wine Shortage and France

Article: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-24746539

Related articles: http://money.cnn.com/2013/10/29/news/economy/wine-shortage/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/leisure/10414086/Global-wine-shortage-on-the-horizon-economists-warn.html

1. Briefly summarize the issue. 

According to the research done by America's Monrgan Stanley Financial Services and the articles, the demand for wine has greatly exceeded the supply provided and has plummeted the wine supplies into "the deepest shortfall in over 40 years of record." 

Not only has the demand for wine been increasing greatly since 2012, but because of poor weather conditions in Europe, and mainly France (the world's largest wine producer) the overall production of wine has been steadily declining, and as of October 2013, had dropped to its lowest levels in more than 40 years.

2. Relate the issue to one or more of the economic concepts we have discussed in class.

Supply and Demand

In France, the world’s single biggest wine producer, output fell by 18pc between 2011 and 2012 due to poor weather conditions affecting the grape crops and vineyards. However, wine consumption has increasing grately, with booming demand in the US and China driving the rise. In other words, production in Europe dropped about 10% in 2012, while at the same time, the worldwide consumption rose by 1%

An example supply/demand graph of this:

Relationship to other countries (substitutes)

Currently, France is not only the number one producer of wine, but it is also the biggest consumer of the drink, closely followed by the United States and China.  Because the production in Europe (mainly France) has decreased so much, even with the rise in demand, the market for wine has opened it doors to smaller wine producers such as the U.S. Argentina, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, whose productions of wine has already peaked since the articles came out in October. Unfortunately, even with these supplementary suppliers of wine, there is still little reason to believe that the global wine production will be able to pick up anytime soon and meet the increasing demand. 

An interesting fact that I found, is that China has quickly been catching up to France; competing for the number one producer of wine position. The demand for wine in china has more than doubled in the last five years, which has given incentive for  China to produce its own wine. If this trend continues, China will replace France as the world's largest consumer and producer of wine by 2016.

3.  What led to this situation? Can you suggest a resolution to this problem?

As stated earlier, the reason that the production of wine in France has decreased is because of the poor weather conditions since 2010. Unfortunately, aside from cropping strategies and manipulation of the crops, there is not much that can be done about the weather and its effects on the grapes. 

Country Profile-Part One

CLERMONT-FERRAND, FRANCE

Popular Sports

Sports in France play an important role in French Society, and the country has a strong sporting history.

• The most popular sport in France is football (or soccer)
• Popular Soccer Teams: The France national football team, AS Saint-Etienne, France Women's national football team
• Tour de France 
• Basketball
• Current NBA players: Tony Parker, Joakim Noah, Nicolas Batum, Kevin Seraphin, and Boris Diaw
• Motorsports like auto racing and motorcycle racing
• Handball
• France national handball team is the current double reigning Olympic Champion and European champion
• Montpellier Agglomeration Handball is the most successfull french team for men
• Championnat de France de handball feminin is the most successfull french team for women
• Rugby
• Ice hockey
• Parkour
• fun fact: parkour was developed in france
• founder: David belle  

Music

• Folk and popular music have currently seen a rise of the chanson and cabaret style
• France is the 5th largest market by value in the world. Its music industry has produced many internationally known artists, such as Stromae, Edith Piaf (from la vie en rose), Patricia Kaas, Davidx Guetta, or Coeur de Pirate
• Popular Styles: Cabaret, Musette, Cancan, Chanson, Yeye, pop, rock, electronic. 

Food

Some traditional and popular meals are: Soupe à l'oignon, wine, cheese, Boeuf bourguignon, chocolate souffle, flamiche, confit de canard, salade nicoise, ratatouille, and tarte tatin.

Major religions and/or spiritual beliefs

Most Frenchpeoples believe strongly that religion is a private matter and shouldn't spread in the public sphere. Not having a religion at all, on the other hand, is regarded as suspicious. 

The major religion is Catholic. However, Catholicism in France is more of a tradition.

National Holidays and traditional customs

Easter

Fete du Travail- May 1

Bastille Day- July 14

The Assumption long Weekend- Aug 15

All Saints Day-Nov 2

Christmas - Dec 25

Popular TV shows or movies (and popular stars)

TV Shows:

• Spiral
• Braquo
• Engrenages
• Borgia
• Les Revenants
• Un Village Francais
• Inquisito
• Pigalle, La Nuit

Popular TV Stars

• Adel Bencherif
• Adeyto
• Adrien Theaux
• Adolphe Menjou
• Agathe de la Boulaye
• Agathe Natanson
• Alain Delon

Online news sources

France24

World newspapers

France local news in English

French world news

Online forums for expatriates

France expatriates forums

international community of expatriates

expat France community for expatriates in France

Type of Government

France is a Semi-Presidential Republic – it has both a President and a Prime Minister. The Head of this government is the Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. The Head of the State is President Francois Hollande.

France is a republic; the institutions of governance are defined by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic. The fifth republic was established in 1958. The President appoints a prime minister (currently - 2012 - Jean-Marc Ayrault) , who forms a government 

Sources

Wikipedia.com

expatica.com

Askafrenchman.net

france.fr

frenchculture.org

ranker.com

Google.com

mapsofworld.com
about-france.com

Reinventing the Bazaar Chapter 1

1. What does the author see as the defining characteristics of a market? Select a quote (or quotes) from the text as evidence of his view.

McMillan described 4 defining characteristics of a market, purchase/sale, decision making/comptetition, flow, and rules/government. 

Purchase/sale

"A market for something exists if there are people who want to buy it and people who want to sell it"(5) By the definition that McMillan provides, a market is a meeting together of people for the purpose of trade by private purchase and sale.

Decision making/competition

"Decision-making autonomy is key. Participation in the exchange is voluntary; both buyer and seller are able to veto any deal..... they are free to make decisions-to buy, to sell, to exert effort, to invest- that reflect their own preferences." (5) The freedom to make decisions is further highlighted by the quality of competitiveness that markets presents: "descion making and comptetition, established rules. customs and spread of culture comptetition curbs any individual participant's power and, in most markets, prevents anyone from having a decisive effect on overall outcomes." (6)

Flow

Two qualities that McMillan describes as necessary for a successful market is communication and trust. In his words,  "a market works well only if information flows smoothly through it" (10) and "a market works well only if people can trust each other" (10)

Rules/Government

Finally, McMillan states that all successful markets must have an established set of laws for the participants to follow, without these, the market may become corrupt, or malfunction.
"Some pieces of a market's design are devised by the market participants themselves; other pieces are devised by the government...a basic part of the government's role in market desing is defining property rights" (12)

2. McMillan writes, "Markets provoke clashing opinions. Some people revile them as the source of exploitation and poverty. Others extol them as the font of liberty and prosperity" Have you observed these kinds of opinions? What might cause some people to distrust markets? What might cause other people to distrust government control over economic decisions? Do you personally lean one way or the other?

When I think of markets, I think of the local market from my hometown in Atlixco, Mexico. Every morning, this market grows to become the heart of the town. It crosses over four blocks, and sells everything from electronics to flowers. Because of my experience with this market I am probably biased in my opinion, which is that markets are the front of liberty and prosperity. I am aware that markets can be either beneficial or harmful to the parties involved. However, the majority of my experience with markets (digital and physical) has always been beneficial. McMillan says, "barganing power between buyer and seller is sometiems quite unequal. being able to veto any deal does convey some barganing power, but not necessairly much. Nevertheless, the opportunity to agree to an exchange or to decline it is a kind of freedom." (6)I believe that the equality between those involved in a market transaction is responsible for the mistrust of markets. On the other hand, the opportunity to control your buys and sells, as well as the freedom that a market presents is the reason that people may distrust control over economic decisions. In his book, McMillan states that a market seems to take a mind of its own. If a party has that perspective of a market, it is understandable that they wouldn't want a different force controlling it. 

3. McMillan uses folk football as an analogy for a completely lawless market and claims that modern markets are governed by rules (as are the modern sports of soccer, rugby, and American football.) What market rules would you say are important for modern markets? Why? 

 

As stated in his key characteristics of a market, rules are vital to the survival and efficiency of a market. An interesting aspect of today's modern technology is that markets are no longer a physical place people go to shop. When considering the vital rules for modern markets, one must consider digital markets as well. I believe that the key rules would have to lay out a groundwork of trust, not just for the customers, but for the sellers as well. This may include a prevention of violence, an equal exchange with the least corruption, the lowering of transaction costs, and the protection of the goods. As said above, a market will only work if there is trust amongst those involved.

Why did Human History Unfold Differently on Different Continents for the Last 13000 years?

Article: http://edge.org/conversation/why-did-human-history-unfold-differently-on-different-continents-for-the-last-13000-years

a. Identify Diamond's major themes and key points

 Jared Diamond begins his article with a question that seems to encompass his article: Why did history take such different evolutionary courses for peoples of different continents? Diamond explores the reasons that people of different regions seemed to have thrived throughout history whilst others haven't.  Diamond highlights the fact that throughout the ages, people of certain locations seemed to have greater evolved in their use of tools and technologies while other people, of less advanced locations still worked with primitive tools and habits. He focuses on how the advances of certain peoples seems to be related to the location of said people. Diamond implies that differences in geography and location not only initiates differences in advancements, but also helps increase development in a way that makes the growth of inequalities increase much faster than other locations and peoples.

key points: 

• the importance of location 
• the reasons certain locations advanced faster
• the growth of inequalities as they relate to location and advancement 
• the idea of history as a science
• biogeographic differences
• domestication

b. What does he identify as the most important determinants to a society's success? 

Diamond focuses his article on two aspects that determined a society's success: domestication of animals and plants and isolationism, as well as the aspects that these instigated.

Domestication of animals and foo

Eurasia had more domesticated plants than any other continent, therefore Eurasia had more "food per acre" than any other place. This enabled Eurasia to not only have a greater population density, but also to expand the progression of its people. Whereas the people of other areas spent most of their time on harvesting and procuring nutrition, the peoples of Eurasia began to expand its technologies and to expand knowledge such as reading and writing, which later proved to be a great advantage as the peoples of the old world could spread accurate detailed information among each other. The domestication of food also instigated political organization as well as the domestication of animals. The location of Eurasia also had a greater advantage since there were more mammals there than any other area. The close proximity to animals also proved to be a biological advantage as the people of Eurasia developed immunities to diseases related to animals that were before unknown to other areas of the world.

Isolation

In a couple of paragraphs, Diamond uses Australia and Tasmania to explain that the isolation and forced small population of certain societies can be a great disadvantage. In less isolated areas, the rate of human invention is faster, and said inventions are have a higher rate of acceptance and usage in areas of greater population. Less isolated areas also have a slower rate of cultural loss, which is also a factor that Diamond uses as a determinant to a society's success.

c. How can these ideas be applied to today's global economy?

I think there are two ways that Diamond's ideas and thesis could be applied to today's global economy, development and globalization. One of Diamond's key points what the biogeological differences between continents and how these differences affect the development of the societies within. Through the lense of economics, one can clearly see these differences in between developed and undeveloped countries. The economics of a third-world country is extremely different than that of a first-world country, yet these two have found many relations, which brings us to the second idea, globalization. In terms of history, globalization is a new revolution that has changed the economics of every country and every society within. Diamond speaks of the lack of weapons, foods, animals, or technologies in some areas, and the disadvantages that this lack posed. Globalization, and the use of finances and money, has changed that lack of advances. How would our history be different had we had globalization during the colonization of the lands?