International trade : what everyone needs to know / Anne O. Krueger

Includes bibliographical references.

CHAPTER 1. The nature and purpose of business research -- 2. The research process -- 3. The research proposal -- 4. Ethics in business research -- 5. The research design -- 6. Sampling design and measurement -- 7. Data Collection and techniques -- 8. Secondary techniques if data collection -- 9. Data Preparation and analysis -- 10. Statistical Analysis of Data -- 11. Project Feasibility study -- 12. Case study preparation and analysis -- 13. Preparing research report and presentation.

In all countries, there are laws and regulations affecting private economic activity. They are necessary to enable private economic activity to thrive, as well as to provide for honesty in information), consumer protection, and much more. Laws and regulations, such as safety standards, quality grades, and health and food (phytosanitary) standards generally apply to much economic activity within a country. In very primitive societies when farming or hunting was almost all economic activity, such measures were much less necessary. But as exchanges and trading increased, the need to find ways to support transactions became essential in order to enable parties to agree on even such things as simple weights and measures. Until there was a commercial code (legal framework), most businesses were owned primarily by family members who could trust each other. The commercial codes covered such phenomena as penalties against breach of contract, standards and assurances as to the quality and ingredients of goods being contracted, and penalties for their infringement, and so on. Note that even a rudimentary contract would likely have needed an understanding as to weights and measures, definition of materials, and much more.