Topics

I. Financial Flows

1. Importance of loans, debt repayment, development aid, remittances, foreign direct investment and repatriation of profits in the transfer of capital between the developed core areas and the peripheries
2. Influence of governments, world trading organizations and financial institutions (such as the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund and World Bank) in the transfer of capital

II. Labor Flows
Causes and effects of one major flow of labour between two countries
III. Information Flows
Role of ICT in the growth of international outsourcing

Resources

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Definitions

Outsourcing
The concept of taking internal company functions and paying an outside firm to handle them. Outsourcing is done to save money, improve quality or free company resources for other activities.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Communication technologies such as telephone (land lines and mobile phones) and internet (email, web, P2P, streaming, VoIP, etc)
Types of Financial Flows:

• Loan: transfer of capital requiring a repayment with interest over a set period of time
• Debt Repayment: transfer of capital as part of a repayment of a loan (including interests)
• Development Aid (ODA, Official Development Aid): transfer of capital given by governments and other agencies to support long-term economic, environmental, social and political development of developing countries (vs "humanitarian aid" = short-term emergency response)
• Remittance: transfer of capital by a foreign worker to his/her home country
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): transfer of capital used to purchase land, equipment, buildings or to build new equipments/buildings bya foreign company
  
• Repatriation of Profits: transfer of capital when profits made by a business are sent back to their country of origin (thus determining the profitability of FDIs)

Key Financial Institutions:

• IMF (International Monetary Fund): organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world. The IMF is financed mostly by wealthy nations and can provides loans to developing countries, sometimes in exchange for "structural adjustments" (ie: reduction in public spending, etc)
• World Bank: international financial institution which provides loans to developing nations
  
• WTO (World Trade Organization): global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations