Proposed Title of the Research Study
The Impact that local and international laws between the UAE government and foreign investors have on the rate of trade within the country.
Summary of the Proposed Study
In summary, this study intends to find if there is a correlation between current trade laws in UAE and the resulting level of trade within UAE and between UAE and foreign investors. The idea is to determine whether the nature of preexisting trade laws have any impact on the resulting level of trade done by the UAE in general. The intention of this research study is thus to find out whether the existing trade laws that regulate trade practices are favorable to UAE as a country by looking at whether they facilitate or inhibit the rate of trade both within UAE and between UAE and other foreign trade partners, and if such laws promote fair trade terms. I propose that the research methodology of this study involve a review of current trade laws that exist in UAE, assessment of trends in the enactment of trade laws, its evolution and the positive or negative impact that the current trade laws have on the rate of trade between UAE and foreign investors/countries. As such this research study will focus on analyzing case studies, data analysis, evaluation of UAE trade laws and investigating the impact that these laws have on the level of trade.
Purpose of the proposed study
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact that international and local trade laws that govern trade practices within UAE as well as between UAE and its foreign trade partners have on the intensity of trade.
Relevant background literature
The United Arabs Emirates is a strategically positioned country as far as international trade is concerned and because of its geographical position, it has been able to play an important role in the region trade patterns. UAE geographical location is strategic in that it has direct access to the Straight of Hormuz which is a crucial trade point for countries in the Middle East; besides it borders the Persian Gulf on one side and the Gulf of Oman on the other which makes it a critical access point for goods leaving or entering the region (Zoubir). Besides its strategic location, the nature of goods that are traded by the UAE makes it a formidable trade partner because it has precious resources which provide it with the competitive edge that it needs to flourish in the global market. Among the key trade goods that UAE produces are natural gas, crude oil, cement and agriculture products such as tobacco and dates that it grows in small volumes (Zoubir). It is against this background that this study intends to focus on the local and international trade laws that impact the volume of trade between the UAE and foreign countries.
Local laws that Impacts Trade
UAE has imposed strict laws against direct investment by foreigners in key sectors of its economy namely; oil industry, real estate, petrochemical industry, water industry and power generating industry (Zoubir). Currently, the UAE trade volumes are among the highest in the region which has made it be ranked as “23rd and 27th world-leading merchandise exporter and importer, respectively” (Mina). In fact, the UAE ability to flourish in world trade has been attributed by one study because of the “UAE most open economy, with merchandise trade accounting for 136 per cent of GDP in 2004” (Mina). Another research study notably by Grant et al notes that business is lucrative in UAE because of deliberate policies enacted by the government to promote the region as a global centre of trade; these policies involve the enactment of favorable trade laws.
Research Questions
There are two research questions that I intend to develop for this research study
- Does UAE local trade laws negatively impact the rate of trade within the country by limiting the opportunities for foreign investment in the region?
- Does the local and international trade laws currently in place in UAE weaken or strengthen the trade practices of UAE and its foreign investors?
These are the questions that this study intends to investigate in conducting this study.
Research Methodology
I propose to use both qualitative and quantitative research methods in this study; the research design that I propose for this research is a combination of survey design and desk based literature review. The survey research design will generate case-specific data that is necessary to investigate the impact that local and international trade laws in UAE have in specific sectors of the country while desk based research will analyze the trend in trade laws enacted by UAE and its resulting implications in the trade sector.
Survey research designs involve data collection from specified sample sizes to arrive at an accurate assessment of the whole population regarding specific variables that the study intends to find out (Babbie). As such survey research studies are most suitable in studies that involve investigation of opinions, behaviors, attitudes, perceptions, culture orientation and so on which is similar to what we shall be investigating in this case (Babbie). That is the impact that UAE local and international trade laws have in specific key sectors of the economy that the paper will sample. A survey research study is especially suited to this type of study since it is possible to customize the research study to focus on key areas of interest. In this case, I propose to use a questionnaire that would be used to collect data of key variables of the research study which would be to foreign investors doing business in UAE. The idea is to identify the range of UAE trade laws that foreign investors feels have been most supportive to their business initiatives in UAE or the laws which they feel are most limiting as far as their business ventures are concerned. This information will be analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively and a final report was written.
Significance of the research
This research study is relevant in that it will lead to the identification of two sets of laws; both supportive and non-supportive trade laws in UAE i.e. laws that facilitate trade in UAE, and secondly the set of laws that limits the rate of trade in UAE. The implications of research findings that will be obtained from this study are many and include strengthening informed decision making by policymakers as far as an enactment of future trade laws is concerned as well as recommending suggestions on the best way to review preexisting trade laws that will be identified to be inhibiting trade.
Ethical considerations
This research study will conform with relevant laws that govern all forms of research studies in the UAE at both local and international levels. I intend to apply for permits and inform relevant authorities of my plan to undertake this research beforehand to obtain their consent well on time. Because this research study involves the use of questionnaires I intend to guarantee the privacy of respondents and their feedback following the international standards of research studies. I don’t foresee any other ethical considerations given that this research study does not involve human subjects which require more consideration of ethical issues.
Anticipated problems and limitations
Like all other research studies, this too will be limited by issues of time and costs as I will be time and resources constrained because I cannot hope to undertake a detailed study that would ideally take several years with great implications on costs. And because time and cost factors impact the final results of a study, this research study will be limited in both its breadth and depth and generalization of the findings might not be applicable on a wide scale. This is more so since the research study will only focus on selected economic sectors of the UAE and will probably end up reviewing a few of the trade laws that exist in the country. Finally, I anticipate the existence of other factors that could negatively or positively impact the level of trade in UAE such as culture which would interfere with my research questions as they will compound the variables that I will be investigating. This will affect the accuracy of my research studies since it will mean that the trade laws alone cannot be entirely attributed to the resulting level of trade within the UAE.
Works Cited
Babbie, E. “The Practise of Social Research.” California; Wadswork Publishing Company. 1992.
Grant, J., Golawala, F. & McKechnie, D. “The United Arabs Emirates: the Twenty First Century Beckons.” Thunderbird International Business Review, 49.4(2007): 507-503. Print.
Mina, W. “United Arabs Emirates Trade Policy review.” The World Economy, 10.2 (2008): 1443-1458. Print
Zoubir, Y. “Doing Business in the United Arab Emirates.” Thunderbird International Business Review, 41.2(1999): 215-229. Print.