CAPE VERDE - EUROPEAN UNION: BRIEF COMMENTS ON SPECIAL PARTNERSHIP

CAPE VERDE - EUROPEAN UNION:
Brief Comments on Special Partnership
May 19, 2010
By: Marcus Eduardo de Oliveira (*)

Strengthen mechanisms related to poverty reduction without losing sight of the ultimate objective is to ensure the full development, extended to all Cape Verdeans.
At the core of the Special Partnership established between Cape Verde and the European Union, this feeling fit as a unique opportunity and become plausible, doing justice to the European Union's motto: "United in Diversity." This is, without doubt, today, the biggest advantage to Cape Verde since the first signs of a rapprochement with the European Union began to be suggested. There is room for the Cape Verdean economy will advance socio-economic development programs? Clearly, yes. The numbers answer this question: the last 30 or 35 years, Cape Verde has multiplied per capita income by 10. Private investment (domestic and external), especially in tourism - a strong generator of jobs and income anywhere in the world - has been broadly responsible for the development that made the economy grow at rates above 7%.
However, it is still necessary to overcome barriers that prevent, above all, an economy like that of Cape Verde to move into other directions. One such obstacle is to increase the still small and fragmented domestic market; other obstacles that become relevant in a more rigorous analysis point to the urgent need to create adequate infrastructure, causing lower costs of inputs. That's what the Special Partnership must be implemented, in addition, of course, to strengthen the ground already thoroughly discussed this partnership, such as good governance, fight against poverty, pursuit of development, transformation of society and promote safety and stability in all its hues.
Partnership, in our view, involves a larger sense that includes opening up the world in order to consolidate a dynamic production system based on human capital ratio and the use of the technology factor. In this sense, the greater desire to Cape Verde and its people, in particular, is to build a new stage in the institutional frameworks, to achieve soon, a better future, there is no doubt that it implies the transformation. Along with this transformation is therefore innovation. Why not include in this new phase of innovation partners who are imbued with special help in Cape Verde as a nation to achieve that desire? In detail, perhaps there is none better than the European Union to be that partner.
Within the established international politics since the emergence of the United Nations, of multilateral organizations and agencies, the success of partnerships between different societies past only confirms that Cape Verde, to establish ties with Europe, is on track. This Special Partnership, however, should be seen as a real tool to support the aspirations of Cape Verde to achieve a brighter future for all its people. Thus, it is perfectly possible - and Desirable - tune the economic systems of both societies. We believe, however, that this success occurs, be of critical importance to create conditions for greater economic openness able to involve the easy movement of capital between Cape Verde and the Euro Zone. Although, it is the Cape Verdean authorities to promote something else, and here we believe it to be missing in the debates surrounding this partnership: it is necessary to shift the focus to the economy that no longer only be established under the auspices of the exchange of goods but there is constant exchange of knowledge, establishing thus a new way of "doing economics". This new way is the "knowledge economy" that may well dictate the basis of this promising future awaited in Cape Verde since the case that led to independence in 1975.
This "new economy", it is essential to state, has been "drawn" from its main lines coming from the theoretical contributions of the neoclassical school that encompasses the enhancement of human action and, before that, the development of human capital, pointing out only for question of "know, do" (in the sense of competence and technical procedure), ie, enhancing therefore the factor called "knowledge." Such an assumption, in essence, is replicable in the zero-cost and in unlimited quantities. One thing is to offer goods and another, quite different, is to offer knowledge. By offering only "goods" who makes the good stuff runs out, whereas when you offer knowledge no one loses, both (suppliers and demanders) win, because nobody gets nothing, on the contrary: knowledge becomes reproducible , all of which are replaced by "knowledge" only tends to go accumulated "earnings."
This "know" basis for this new economy stuck in the pillars of "knowledge", is transmitted indefinitely and is not therefore an exclusive privacy. Without doubt, this has been a powerful ingredient of this situation that, in Brazil, we are calling virtual economy, whose good and illustrative examples are the cultural industry, advertising (in all its dimensions including design and marketing innovation), marketing and computer science. The question remains: why not enter Cape Verde, through this partnership with the European Union, this dynamic new economic course of action?
In this criterion it must be emphasized that, somehow, not be subject to measurement, this "new economy" brings down the fundamental concepts of the old political economy, namely: labor, capital value and all measurable. In practice, it is important to stress that argument, what we are discussing here is the exchange of an economic model that is strongly focused on quantitative values, a new way of looking at economic activity through the lens of the qualitative factor. Definitely understand that growth is synonymous with quantity, while developing what really matters, is synonymous with quality. And development is the way to go to Cape Verde. Yet about these new changes in the economy, Alvin Toffler, one of the most respected modern thinkers, argues that a revolution is happening - the deepest since the Industrial Revolution in terms of thinking economy. Increasingly, Toffler said "wealth is based on knowledge, not in the classical factors of land, labor and capital (inputs) always wanted as traditional economic theory. For our part, it should be noted that, arguably, these days, "knowledge" can be regarded as the main (not only) productive force.
However, that this procedure is adopted on a large scale in Cape Verde using the European standards that can be earned from the "partnership" is necessary, however, that the university has a greater involvement in public policy, after all, the Special Partnership involves strengthening political dialogue and economic convergence between the parties, and why not include in this list the academic community?
Cape Verde, from the University of Cape Verde Universidade Jean Piaget, the Group of Lusophone Humanities, and other centers of excellence in knowledge and information dissemination, the pieces may be indispensable in this process.
Finally, it is important to reiterate that the archipelago of Cape Verde has all the conditions for advancing this new economy, even as it is a country that no longer belongs to the group of less developed states."

(*) Brazilian economist. He specializes in International Politics.
Contact: @ prof.marcuseduardo bol.com.br