Promoting Economic Literacy in Nepal

By Hom Nath Gaire Background Nepal is a small and beautiful country. The bio-diversity that exists across the narrow cross section of the country is quite vast. The water resources that are available here could be harnessed for global benefits. The friendly people here with a pride history could be of interest as a living museum to global visitors. However, we have not been able materialize the theoretical potentials of the multiple sectors that the country inherited. According to government statistics, we have been happy with the less than one million tourists per annum while the countries having less attractive natural beauty and cultural heritage have been attracting millions of tourist annually. In this context, the reality is that unless we expand the capacity of our airport infrastructure we cannot bring more tourists. Unless we build more transmission lines, we cannot have a real power/energy market. Similarly, if we look at the regional balance and supply as well as v...

By Hom Nath Gaire In the business of borrowing and lending money, the lender charges and the borrower agrees to pay an amount in excess of the amount lend and borrowed. The excess amount is called interest, in common language. In economic terminology, like rent and wages, interest is a factor payment. It is paid for the use of capital as a factor of production. In other words, interest rate is the cost of capital per unit of time. Economists define interest as a payment for the sacrifice made by the income holder by deferring consumption for the time being and imparting with liquidity, a reward to the income holder for their savings. Interest rates are indeed very important economic variables. There are many uses of interest rates. Use of Interest Rates ·        To indicate the liquidity conditions in the financial markets. ·        They are indicators of expectations about inflation. If the long term interest rates...

सरकारी बैङ्कप्रतिको विश्वास बढ्यो की कम ब्याजदरले तान्यो ? होमनाथ गैरे गत बैशाखमा काठमाडौंका एक व्यवसायीक फर्मले माछापुच्छ«े बैङ्कसँगको ऋण नेपाल बैङ्कमा सा¥यो । माछापुच्छ«ेको तुलनामा नेपाल बैङ्कको ब्याजदर कम भएकाले कारोबार सारेको श्रेष्ठ थरका त्यो फर्म सञ्चालकको भनाई थियो । ‘ऋण सारेको ४ महिनाको अवधीमा कम्तीमा २०÷२५ लाख रुपैयाँ ब्याज खर्च घट्यो,’ पाँचतारे होटेलको एक जमघटमा श्रेष्ठले भन्दै थिए, ‘पहिले नै जानकारी भएको भए अझ धेरै बचत हुने रहेछ ।’ गत साउन दोस्रो साता राष्ट्रिय बाणिज्य बैङ्कको केन्द्रीय कार्यालयमा जनकपुरका व्यवसायीको प्रतिनिधित्व गर्दै एक ब्यक्तिले ब्याजदरका विषयमा छलफल गर्दै थिए । आफुसँग १२÷१३ करोड रुपैयाँको पोर्टफोलियो भएकाले ब्याजदर मिलाई दिए सबै ग्राहक यता ल्याउने ती ब्यक्तिको भनाई थियो । नेपाल एसबीआई, नबिल, बङ्गलादेश जस्ता निजी बैङ्कसँग कारोबार गरिरहेको जनकपुरका व्यवसायीहरु सरकारी बैङ्कमा ब्याजदर कम भएको थाहा पाएपछि ऋण सार्न इच्छुक भएको ती प्रतिनिधिले बताए ।  माथिका घटनाले पछिल्लो समय निजीबाट सरकारी बैङ्कमा ऋण सार्ने (स्विच गर्ने) क्रम बढेको सङ्केत गर्दछन्...

Published in New Business April 2014 By Hom Nath Gaire In itself controversial, international trade, as advocated by Physiocrates, is a necessary evil because to them both foreign as well as domestic trade produce no real wealth. Classicist and Neo-classicists regard international trade as an engine of growth. Adam Smith's model of international trade postulates the existence of ideal land and labor before a country is opened to world market, his imagination of international man also justify the viability of foreign trade in economic development of any country. In general, classical economists considered comparative advantages as determining the pattern of trade with widening of market, induced innovations, and increase productivity. Modern economists too pleaded for the gain from the trade, not only change in resource allocation but in continuous impact on economic development of a nation. It stimulates for changing productivity of the economy. Because of continuous tran...

सुनको मूल्यभित्रका वास्तविकता होमनाथ गैरे संसारमा शेयरपछि सबैभन्दा बढी मूल्य घटबढ हुने वस्तुमा सुन पर्छ । सुनको मूल्यमा हुने उतारचढावका साथै यसका कारण र प्रभावका विषयमा समय समयमा विभिन्न विचारहरू बाहिर आउने गरेका छन् । यस किसिमका भनाइ खासगरी डेरिभेटिभ बजारका लगानीकर्ता वा मूल्यमा भएको उतारचढावबाट छिटो पैसा कमाउन चाहने सट्टेबाजहरूबाट बढी आउने गरेको छ । विश्वअर्थतन्त्रमा हुने परिवर्तन, भूराजनीतिक अवस्था र सुनको उत्पादन, माग तथा आपूर्तीलाई कारण मान्दै यसको मूल्य अहिले अझै माथि जाने त कहिले अझै तल झर्ने भनाइहरू पनि सार्वजनिक हुने गरेका छन् । तर, विश्व बैङ्क र अन्तरराष्ट्रिय मुद्रा कोषजस्ता संस्थाका पदाधिकारी र केही स्थापित विज्ञ तथा अर्थशास्त्रीहरू भने सुनको मूल्यमा हुने त्यस्तो उतारचढावलाई अस्वाभाविक र कृत्रिम मान्दछन् । यसै सन्दर्भमा यस लेखमा सुनको विषयमा विद्यमान केही कथनहरूको चिरफार गर्ने प्रयास गरिएको छ । सुन महँगो धातु हो ? यो भनाइ सुनमा मात्रै नभएर सम्पत्तिका रूपमा उपयोग हुने वा मानव जीवनसँग गाँसिएका कुनै पनि वस्तुको हकमा उत्तिकै लागू हुन्छ । वास्तवमा यो प्रश्नको उत्तर निकै कठि...