The East African Community, consisting of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi, has already established a common market for goods, labor en capital. In the upcoming year they aim at establishing a common monetary union with a single currency. Furthermore, in 2015 they set the goal of becoming a full political federation. What effects will this regional cooperation have on the politics, business climate and economic development in the individual member states? More to the point, will this development of the EAC affect the position of a foreign bank entering/working within the Union’s market? Moreover, once an international polity level is added to the governmental hierarchy, where are the decisions considering monetary and fiscal policies made?

Since 2005 Rabobank is active in developing countries that have economic, political and social stability. As Rabo Development, it takes minority share in these banks and is represented on the board in order to be able to help shape the bank’s strategy and to provide technical assistance for all the banking operation functions. Rabo Development has already invested in Tanzania and Rwanda, thus these questions regarding the EAC are of salient importance in deciding a business strategy for this region. If you want to investigate the development of the EAC and its implications on the member states, it is now possible to apply for this IRSP research!

For more information visit http://www.rabobank.com/content/about_us/rabodevelopment/  and www.eac.int

Tax avoidance by the world's biggest companies constitutes a major, and largely unknown, obstacle to the development of the third world. Furthermore, tax havens, such as the Netherlands, make it possible for these companies to avoid taxes. By doing so, developing countries watch billions of dollars of business revenues a year drain away without them earning any tax revenues over it. The Evert Vermeer Foundation, located in Amsterdam, is one of the organizations that wants to expose these practices and it wants to move Dutch and European politicians and policymakers to do something about it. The foundation does this through participating in the Tax Justice Network, together with other Dutch organizations. The foundation wants IRIO students to support its efforts to find evidence and to present cases of tax avoidance by companies. If you would like to contribute to the research of the Evert Vermeer Foundation, and if you would like to go to Brussels or The Hague to present your findings, and if you are interested in going to Africa to see what the effects of tax avoidance by big companies are on developing countries, you should apply for this IRSP research project right now.

For more information, visit www.evertvermeer.nl and www.taxjustice.nl