The impact of international trade and competitive markets : Comparison between Bangladesh and Finland.

The aim of the thesis was to analyze and evaluate the impact of international trade and competitive markets on business practices and the economy in Bangladesh, and a comparison of the impact of international trade and competitive markets in Bangladesh and Finland. \n \nThe thesis utilized secondary data from the World Bank on the two countries’ performance in 2017 to conduct the study and determine the implications of foreign trade in Bangladesh and Finland. The research showed that international trade contributes to the growth of the economy and a change in patterns of business practices such as labor. However, there are critical differences in the utilization of resources, efficiency and regulations and tariffs in Bangladesh and Finland. The descriptive study relied on past research sourced from annual reports by the World Bank and the European Union, international economic journals, business practices journals, and websites on global trade to underline the differences between Bangladesh and Finland. \n \nThe results of the study showed that international trade and access to competitive markets contributed significantly to the growth of the economy in Bangladesh and Finland. The results also showed that Bangladesh depended on the apparel sector extensively for global trade. Bangladesh should diversify its product offering and venture into new markets. The results also showed that international trade and competitive markets have benefited the people by providing jobs, opportunities for skill development and subsequently reduced poverty rates. In Bangladesh, the results showed that taking part in competitive markets led to a slight improvement in the working conditions of most industry workers. However, the results also showed that the issues of worker safety, pay and ethical business conduct were still below international standards. At the end of the thesis, there are recommendations such as Bangladesh would have to align to the European Union and the International Labor Union guidelines on worker safety and business practices, which could enhance the competitiveness of the country within the global market, and optimize its vast labor resources as observed with Finland’s foreign trade approach and practices.