Assessing the Enlargement and Deepening of the European Union

This paper estimates a theoretically‐motivated gravity model to examine the effect of the European Union (EU) on trade and whether the order of entry has affected the trade performance of member countries. Additionally, we analyse the impact of the different phases of EU integration on trade. The results show that both original countries and successive enlargements boost intra‐bloc trade. Moreover, the results suggest that the deepening in the integration process has led to more trade creation among members. Finally, only the latter phase of the European integration process (the single currency) has increased trade with non‐members.     

The Dilemma of Enlargement for the European Union's Regional Policy

The integration of the former communist countries of central and eastern Europe into the European Union creates a dilemma for the EU's regional policy. The EU's expenditure on regional policy (its ‘active’ regional policy) has been guided by political reactions to deepening or enlarging the EU, not by a rational strategy for regional policy. In contrast, the strong EU instrument of state aid control, developed for competition policy (its ‘reactive’ regional policy) has been relatively successful in avoiding a national race of regional subsidies among the member states. We show that a shift from active regional policy to reactive, competition‐oriented, regional policies is the preferred way for the established member states to handle the challenge of enlargement. At the same time, however, this shift is politically difficult for the accession countries to accept, despite the fact that this shift might prove better for them economically. This regional policy dilemma is one of the major obstacles for the full integration of the accession countries into the EU.     

Information Sharing and Financial Sector Development in Africa

This study investigates the effect information sharing has on financial sector development in 53 African countries for the period 2004 to 2011. Information sharing is measured with private credit bureaus and public credit registries. Hitherto unexplored dimensions of financial sector development are employed, namely: financial sector dynamics of formalization, informalization, and non-formalization. The empirical evidence is based on Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). The following findings are established. Information-sharing bureaus increase (reduce) formal (informal/non-formal) financial sector development. In order to ensure that information-sharing bureaus improve (decrease) formal (informal/non-formal) financial development, public credit registries should have between 45.45 and 50% coverage while private credit bureaus should have at least 26.25% coverage.     

Expansion Strategies of European Banks to Brazil and Their Impacts on the Brazilian Banking Sector

ABSTRACT

This paper aims at analyzing the main determinants and impacts of the recent wave of European banks entering Brazil. The principal hypothesis of the paper is that this wave can only be understood if one considers both external and internal determinants. External determinants concern the process of banking consolidation in the European financial system under the EMU that has stimulated some banks to expand abroad. Internal determinants are mainly related to the gradual flexibilisation of legal restrictions with respect to the presence of foreign banks in the Brazilian banking sector. Finally, the paper evaluates the impacts of the recent entry of European banks into the retail banking market in Brazil. In this particular matter, it shows that foreign entry has affected the national banking market forcing domestic banks to operate more efficiently, and also to expand their activities organically or by mergers and acquisitions. The paper concludes that there is no clear evidence that foreign banks have been more efficient than domestic banks in Brazil in the recent period, but there is some evidence that the big private Brazilian banks have reacted positively to the entry of foreign banks.

RESUMEN. Este documento tiene el propósito de analizar los determinantes más importantes de los impactos de la reciente onda de bancos europeos que llegaron al Brasil. La principal hipótesis del texto és que la onda sólo puede entenderse si se consideran ambos determinantes: los externos y los internos. Los determinantes externos conciernen el proceso de la consolidación bancaria en el sistema financiero europeo bajo el EMU, que ha estimulado a algunos bancos a expandirse en el exterior. Los determinantes internos son especialmente aquellos relacionados a la flexibilización gradual de las restricciones legales con respecto a la presencia de los bancos extranjeros en el sector de la banca brasileña. Finalmente, el texto también evalúa los impactos de la reciente entrada de los bancos Europeos en los mercados de la banca minorista en el Brasil. Cuanto a esta preocupación particular, parece que la entrada de los bancos extranjeros ha afectado el mercado banquero nacional, forzando a los bancos domésticos a operar con mayor eficiencia y también a expandir sus actividades orgánicamente, o por medio de fusiones u adquisiciones. El documento concluye que no existe ninguna prueba clara de que los bancos extranjeros son más eficientes que los brasileños en el período reciente, pero sí existen evidencias de que los grandes bancos privados brasileños han reaccionado positivamente a la entrada de los bancos extranjeros.

RESUMO. Este artigo objetiva analisar os principais determinantes e impactos da recente onda de bancos europeus que se instalaram no Brasil. A hipótese principal deste trabalho é de que esta onda só pode ser entendida se forem considerados os determinantes externos e internos. Os determinantes externos tratam do processo de consolidação bancária no sistema financeiro europeu que, sob o sistema da Unidade Monetária Européia, estimulou alguns bancos a se expandirem para o exterior. Os determinantes internos estão relacionados, principalmente, à flexibilização gradual das restriç[otilde]es legais no que diz respeito à presença de bancos estrangeiros no setor bancário brasileiro. Finalmente, o artigo também avalia os impactos da recente entrada de bancos europeus no mercado bancário de varejo do Brasil. Neste particular, ele mostra que a entrada estrangeira afetou o mercado bancário nacional, forçando os bancos nacionais a operarem com mais eficiência e, também, a expandirem suas atividades, organicamente ou através de fus[otilde]es e aquisiç[otilde]es. O artigo conclui que não há evidência clara de que os bancos estrangeiros sejam mais eficientes do que os bancos nacionais no Brasil no período recente, mas há alguma evidência de que os grandes bancos privados brasileiros reagiram positivamente à entrada dos bancos estrangeiros.     

金融行业人力资源管理信息化研究

金融业人才竞争力取决于金融机构自身的管理能力尤其是人力资源管理能力的提升,必须从企业文化、人员结构、能力建设、职业发展、激励机制、变革意识等方面全方位推进人力资源管理改革,而这场人力资源管理变革,也已成为金融行业进行国际化改造的重要课题。分析了新形势下金融行业面临的人力资源管理的挑战并提出了相关对策。     

Buyer Power and its Impact on Competition in the Food Retail Distribution Sector of the European Union

In recent years, there has been significant consolidation and concentration in food retail distribution in the European Union, as our paper documents. We examine the implications of this from the social welfare viewpoint. Our focus is on buyer power, since a commonly held view is that, arising from increased concentration, it may be a buffer to significant manufacturer power. We investigate the issue both theoretically and through data and case study work. We suggest the market will develop into a concentrated pattern across Europe, but that the eventual impact on consumers will depend significantly on the nature and form of competition between large retail chains and how well buying groups ensure that even the smaller retailers can compete on an effective basis.     

EU Enlargement and the Portuguese Economy

The main focus of the present paper is on the emerging and likely future trade effects of enlargement. Though our particular concern is with Portugal, we set the scene by comparing the trade structures of the 10 countries of Central and Eastern Europe (i.e. the eight CEE accession states plus Bulgaria and Romania) – including an analysis of the individual cases of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland – with those of the EU15 as a whole, and with those of the 4 EU cohesion countries. The elimination of trade barriers between incumbents and accession states will have two trade‐related effects on EU incumbents: an increase in bilateral flows with the CEEC and a shift effect as the CEEC displace some incumbent exports to EU markets. The first effect is likely to be strongest for those incumbents for which there is a strong overlap between their export structure and the import structure of the CEEC. Portugal emerges as one of the economies with the least overlap. The displacement effect, we conclude, is likely to be particularly strong in the case of Portugal, given the high degree of similarity between Portuguese exports and those of the CEEC. Portugal appears to be ‘being squeezed from below’ in that, for the majority of its traditional export sectors, the CEEC became progressively more competitive during the second half of the 1990's. Portuguese specialisation was increasingly confined to low‐technology, low‐added‐value sectors with declining demand, as strong FDI inflows to the CEEC led to an increasing preponderance of more dynamic sectors in their export structures. Thus, Portugal is also being squeezed from above. This suggests that there may be substantial industrial disruption, in response to which labour‐market flexibility and dynamic entrepreneurial response is crucial. Intersectoral mobility is generally easier the more highly educated the workforce – an indicator on which Portugal scores poorly. The Portuguese labour market, however, displays a high degree of flexibility, consistent with its long lasting low rate of unemployment. Continued flexibility will help minimise these likely adjustment costs. Besides the trade and industry effects, other topics considered in the paper include the implications of enlargement for Portugal's ability to attract FDI, the likely consequences for Portugal of inward migration from the CEEC to the EU, and the implications of enlargement for Portugal's budgetary relations with the rest of the EU.     

Information Technology and the Data Jungle

This stroll down memory lane highlights the changes brought about by technology that enable economists to process more data faster than could have been imagined when Marcuss began her career in 1968. The challenges of the “data jungle” remain, however. There must be an ongoing effort to know precisely what each economic- statistic measures, why it matters, and to whom. NABE has been, and will continue to be, in the forefront of this effort. JEL Classification C880,M210     

Information Technology and the Virtual Workplace

Abstract

A holistic research project commenced in 1997 and was completed in 1999 investigating a new administrative scenario, the virtual office (VO). This exploratory and ex post facto project aimed to identify the characteristics of a virtual office environment that emerged in enterprises worldwide, due to the influence of information technology innovations. The VO is also closely related to telework: tele, meaning distance and implies that teleworkers perform their duties away from the traditional office while still maintaining their positions as corporate employees. This paper only focuses on two selected areas of the holistic project, visualizing telework supplemented by telecenters as possible VO's against the theoretical framework of the traditional office scenario as it has been known for ages. The aim was to market the concept in the Republic of South Africa where it is relatively unknown, according to the research findings that proved significantly beneficial to the socio economies of other countries-but more specifically the USA-where telework has been practiced for more than a decade. Recommendations are focused on how these two related concepts can also result in a paradigm shift for the corporate arena in the Republic of South Africa, in order to add to, maintain and develop its global competitiveness.     

Enlargement and the EU Periphery: Introduction

The CEEC share of Irish exports has grown fivefold since transition began, with export sales expanding in all sectors. Even at current income levels there remains scope for a further doubling of exports, and trade will grow even more substantially if accession facilitates the CEEC in converging more rapidly on EU living standards. Most analyses predict that the EU15 sectors that face the greatest threats of enlargement‐induced disruption are Food and Textiles, Clothing and Footwear. In the case of Irish Food Processing, however, the prognosis of the present paper is positive since Irish agricultural output differs quite strongly from that of the CEE economies. The adjustment costs associated with industrial dispution, furthermore, are highest in economies with rigid labour markets, whereas the flexibility of the Irish labour market seems to have improved substantially over the last decade or so. Outward FDI from Ireland has grown strongly over the Celtic Tiger era, and Irish multinational firms have been reasonably active in acquiring companies in their sectors in Cental and Eastern Europe. The main worry for Ireland is that the more successful accession states may divert FDI inflows away from Ireland. Micro‐level analysis of the conditions pertaining in some of Ireland's most important foreign‐dominated sectors – information technology, pharma‐chem and instrument engineering – suggests that these threats may be overstated. The leading CEE economies, rather than drawing FDI away from Ireland, may instead contribute to the further development of EU‐wide production networks, making the networks themselves more competitive as global players. The net cost to Ireland of agreements already reached on the financing of enlargement is quite manageable. The cost to Ireland would escalate dramatically, however, if costs and benefits were to be redistributed within the EU in line with current income levels, entailing a substantial transformation of the CAP transfer mechanism.     

企业规模扩张的合意性与可行性分析

本文主要分析了企业规模扩张的合意性和可行性,认为我国企业规模扩张的特殊合意性在于微观上利用规模经济,宏观上实现产业技术升级和提升国家自主创新能力。可行性分析则表明,市场竞争的强化促使资源向优势大企业集中,企业规模扩张具备了必要的人力资源条件,企业规模扩张的资金需求正在逐步得到满足。文章提出,企业规模扩张离不开政府的支持与保护,关键是要消除阻碍企业规模扩张的各种体制性障碍,利用产业组织政策保护和引导企业专业化扩张。具体而言,一要进一步优化企业规模化的市场环境,打破行业壁垒的限制;二要鼓励不同类型企业优化重组,引导大企业与中小企业之间的专业化协作;三要促进资本市场的发展,为企业兼并重组提供融资支持;四要合理利用产业政策与国际规则,保护大企业的成长。     

现代信息技术对会计的机遇及挑战

现代信息技术的发展,各种网上实体的出现,无形资产比重的提高,将对传统的会计理论及实务形成冲击,它们将从根本上动摇四个会计假设、权责发生制原则及历史成本原则等,使会计组织结构和会计工作流程发生本质性的变化。但是,现代信息发展的同时也为会计技术的创新和改进创造了机会,如计算机及网络技术的应用为会计核算方法从注重可操作性向注重合理性和科学性的转变提供了可能,从而可以提高会计信息的时效性和多元性,改变目前会计信息提供滞后性的现状。     

技术转移过程中的信息用户及其需求分析

信息化环境是影响技术转移效率和速率高低的根本原因。对技术转移过程中涉及的三类信息用户：技术供给方、技术需求方、技术转移中介方的信息需求进行了详细分析,并提出了相应的信息保障对策,为如何促进技术转移服务业发展提供了新的研究方向。     

策略性信息传递与技术贸易的无效率

技术进步是经济增长的引擎,然而,发展中国家未能有效地利用国际技术贸易从发达国家获得自己想要的技术。原因在于,在贸易谈判开始前的了解信息阶段,由于要素禀赋的不一致,发达国家企业具有策略性传递技术质量信息以获取卖者剩余的倾向。预期到这种倾向,发展中国家的企业对发达国家企业传递的信息持不信任态度。通过寻找更多的技术供给方、减少信息质量的可能状态和参照价格标尺,策略性信息传递引起的技术交易无效率可以得到改善。     

关于信息技术与课程整合的思考

信息技术与课程的整合,不是简单的结合,不是被动的融入,而是高层次的主动适应.信息技术与课程整合将带来课程内容、课程实施、课程评价和课程资源的变革,信息技术与课程整合强调一种高度的和谐与自然,这对培养学生的主体性、创造性和实践能力具有重要意义.     

信息技术应用与企业决策权的配置:情境因素的作用

现有关于信息技术应用与企业决策权配置的研究存在着集权化之争.文章基于权变主义的思想构建了一个在不同情境因素作用下信息技术影响企业决策权配置的分析框架,从而将研究重点由结果导向(导致集权化还是分权化)转变为过程导向(在什么情况下导致集权化配置.又在什么情况下导致分权化配置),实现了集权化观点与分权化观点的的融合.     

Enlargement and the Textiles,Clothing and Footwear Industry

The textiles, clothing and footwear (TCF) industry is a labour intensive industry, strongly determined by globalization and easy relocation to low‐cost countries. Hence also in the European Union this industry is relatively more important in the low‐wage regions of the EU‐Southern periphery. With the envisaged enlargement, however, these countries fear a further shift of the sector to Central and Eastern Europe as these countries still have a comparative advantage in terms of low labour costs. The present article investigates whether this fear is justified, looking at three main aspects: first at the position and history of the TCF sector in the European Union and its role in the EU periphery, second at the sector in the Central and Eastern accession countries, and third at gobalization issues. The second aspect is dealt with in great detail, as development trends in the Central and East European countries are important and telling. Much has happened during the 15‐year (and more) period between the collapse of communism and the EU membership in this region, most important the integration to the EU by the means of trade, in particular outward processing trade. These developments mainly seem to determine future trends in an enlarged Europe. Overall however, future prospects have to be seen in a global context, strongly influencing the sector via changes in global trade policies.