No problem, my friend. One needs to have one's oratorial abilites sharpened, in case we meet a stunning chica on the way. LOL. Have you read or heard about Anatole Broyard? It may sound preposterous, but I aspire to attain the same artistry that he had on his writings.

Mr Lautaro, most third world nations have squandered the opportunities and resources afforded them by fortuitous happenstance, and the DR is a major offender. the national motto should be "we have underperformed". look at Singapore. it has nothing in the way of natural resources, apart from its people. it is probably the most overcrowded place on earth. but it tops the charts in every indicator of progress. ever stop to wonder what it would be if it had nickel, and gold, and huge land mass, and pristine beaches, and magnificent soil?

Mr Lautaro, your oratory and lucidity are a match for just about anyone. let me stop there. i hear footsteps. it sounds like the jackboots of GC. i hear him muttering "dread is massaging Mr Lautaro's balls again".

He's the master among party spoilers without any shadow of a doubt. LOL

They would be among the top five on the chart of developed countries, that's for sure. I think that this economic underperformance of mineral resource rich countries is what in economic literature is known as "dutch disease". Can you enlighten me about the origin of this term?

dread celebrating the arrival of a new international restaurant chain is not exactly the epitome of victimization either. It does bring jobs and expertise in, even if ultimately it siphons off profits. I know you believe making a pizza is no expertise, however there is more to a successful fast food restaurant than just making the pizza. In that particular article it said 80 locals would be employed by Papa Johns. Who are we to say one of those 80 may not learn something about service, supply management, menu selection, etc to strike out on his own? These are lessons they may not have learned on their own except via miserable trial and error. And although these firms have a lot more capital with which to stifle competition capital is not free even in US , especially not these days. Given conditions in capital markets I would draw different conclusions about starting a competitor on the heels of PJ's arrival...for them to be taking these leaps today shows they read a lot of unserved demand in DR.

So dread though I agree with your philosophy regarding the foreign firms dominance, the volume of your vehemence in condemning some people's enthusiasm is what sets them off. Profit is not a zero sum game...Papa John's is not taking money from Domino's OR the local's table, they are adding capacity because there is unserved demand. If the situation is the same in fifty years and Dominos and PJ have absolutely locked up the pizza industry in DR I'd agree with your level of contempt, but today at this stage in DR's development I don't think the degree matches the reality.

marvellous economic analysis, Manhattanite, regarding unserved demand. now, we realise that it is there, because we know that , at the very least, the foreign boys do their homework. as you say, maybe someone will learn to make a great pizza, and in 20 years we will have our own, made by an ex employee. then again, what if this unresolved demand is filled with Pizzeria Uno, then Godfather's, then Pizza Pizza? where does this leave the ex-employee in 20 years? able to roll the dough, but not able to raise the dough to start his own store, because feasibility studies prove he cannot compete?and, Mr Lautaro, i am not an expert on Dutch Disease. i think it is a condition wherein the manufacturing sector declines when a high value natural resource is discovered. the value of the resource drives up the value of the local currency, making local manufactured goods uncompetitive, like the eventuality when the Dutch discovered natural gas in their territorial waters of the North Sea.

and Manhattanite, you are correct that profit is not a zero sum game. it is like saying that money cannot be destroyed, only transferred. so, all the losses in america are simply gains in other parts of the world.

Dread {the great massager} these franchises are licensing fees paid by locals to operate a franchise of an international chain ....good for them ...they did the market survey and took the risk ,if they fail they lose all ...PJs did not come to the DR and say let us open a store here the first step is invariably taken by the local franchisee

I'd just like to say that I dont think Papa Johns is the pizzeria to fulfill an unserved demand!!

I grew up in LaRomana, studied in Sto Dgo adn Stgo and have had my fair share of great pizza served from Pizzarrelli to Lo' Capri...it puzzles me that local enterpeneurs would let an oppty like that slip...

I remember like 30 years ago , KFC tried to enter the market and quickly had to shut down..it just didnt stick with the population at that time.. I also remember an attempt to open franchise like burgeries in Stgo, that dwindled as well....our chimis were much better and cheaper...

and in my opinion, no US chicken beats pica pollo victorina! Another chain (dominican) tried to open ARTUROS frente al supercando nacional en la 27, and that didnt do well, while victorina grew,

I guess wtih globalization ,our own domincans called for US brand fast food, must give them some euphoric feeling and thus the demand is created , but its a pschological demand....

If it were up to me I would prohibit all int'l franchises in the country,that only defaces the country's culture....if push comes to shove, I would only allow them in the airports and maybe soem resorts, jsut so the tourists have some name/brand recognizable.