Fact of the Month

Estonia is nearly energy-independent, supplying over 90 percent of its electricity needs with locally-mined oil shale.

Feature of the Month: Estonia

Located in Eastern Europe, the country of Estonia has emerged from the Cold War as one of Europe’s most promising economic prospects. The nation regained its independence in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and has since become a pioneer in the global economy, receiving more foreign investment per capita than any other country in Central and Eastern Europe. This led to Estonia joining the European Union in 2004, where it continued its high level of growth. Some of the hallmarks of Estonia’s market-based economy which have placed it in such a favorable condition are a balanced budget, nearly non-existent public debt, a flat-rate income tax (Estonia was one of the first countries in the world to adopt such a tax), free trade regime, and a fully convertible currency with a strong peg to the euro. The results of these reforms are the classification of Estonia as a high income economy by the World Bank, its position as the 16th-freest economy in the world, and the 24th-easiest in the world to do business with. Estonia is mainly influenced economically by developments in Germany, Finland and Sweden, who are its three main trade partners. Estonia's trade independence is expected to rise, given the economic security and stability provided by a soon-expected entry into the eurozone.

From the globalEDGE Blog

Very recently, all 27 member nations of the European Union (EU) approved the entry of Estonia into the eurozone, meaning that Estonia would adopt the euro as its primary form of currency. At first glance, it seems that tying itself to a widely-used, strongly-supported currency would be a no-brainer for Estonia. However, with Europe’s recent economic woes, the situation becomes a bit more complicated.

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Featured Resources

UPS Snapshots for Small Businesses
The UPS Snapshots for Small Businesses guides provide an overview of global markets that present significant opportunity to U.S. businesses, whether they are just beginning to explore international trade or already expanding to new markets. Although the information is geared toward U.S. small businesses, the info is useful to any small business around the world. Featured countries include Brazil, Canada, China, India, Poland and Vietnam.
Category: Trade Tutorials

World Bank: Regional Trade Agreements: Effect on Trade
Written by the World Bank in 2005, this report details the effects of trade on eight RTAs including NAFTA, AFTA, SADC, EAC, Mercosur, COMESA, ECOWAS and SAPTA. It uses statistics from 1960 - 2000 to detail the effect RTAs have on global trade and intergroup trade, sometimes focusing on one country’s economic stand point. Report opens as a PDF.
Category: Regional Trade Agreements

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Featured Academy

The European Union
The European Union module includes information on the history of the EU, predecessors to the current EU, the history of expansion and an analysis of future expansion prospects, and a full section on EU-US trade agreements. It also includes a case study on the EU Constitution and implications of such a constitution for business.
Category: Online Course Modules

AACSB Management Education Jobs
Job bank for management, business school faculty, and university administration careers, hosted by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International). Includes a database of school profiles.
Category: Job Posting Sites

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globalEDGE Business Review

"Common Sense Benchmarking of Information Technology"
By: Michael L. Kasavana

Technology can provide competitive advantage through product differentiation, unique services, cost reductions, and informed market segmentation. In addition, productivity is improved through gains in both data processing and workflow processing procedures. Together automation applications can be evaluated relative to enhanced profitability. Using these three 'common sense' benchmarks provides a beyond best practices approach to the evaluation of information technology.

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