Population Problems of the Countries of Asia

Abstract

This study seeks to explain the variation in U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in Latin America and Asia. The analysis focuses on 19 Latin American and Asian countries for the period of 1979–1999. The results show that the variation in the U.S. FDI can largely be attributed to the differences in fundamental economic and social factors such as market size, gross domestic product (GDP) growth, macro-economic stability, the degree of trade openness, and both school enrollment and infrastructure availability. Separating the data into two time periods reveals interesting results about the location decisions for U.S. investors. In addition, the results from the comparison between the two regions show that Latin American countries clearly attract U.S. FDI for different reasons than Asian countries.     

Chinese and Indian Multinationals: A Firm-Level Analysis of their Investments in Europe

Abstract

This paper contributes to the literature on Chinese and Indian multinationals investing in Europe through an empirical investigation about their identity, their characteristics and the association between their features and their international strategies. The investigation exploits a database, named EMENDATA (Emerging Multinationals’ Events and Networks DATAbase), at the level of the investing firms. In relation to the mode of entry, we find that greenfield investments are a more likely option for large-sized companies. Moreover a high propensity for innovation is associated with a high probability to enter with an acquisition and with technological asset-seeking investments. Finally, high profitability is needed to invest in the EU-core countries.     

The delicate balance for jointly pursuing economic growth in Latin America and China

This paper examines the sources of economic growth for a group of Latin American countries in relation to their export performance in China. The analytical framework is based on an extended normalized quadratic profit function. The ensuing econometric results confirm that a favorable export record with China represents a positive source of growth for Latin America. However, it also creates long-run dependability conditions in terms of reduced prices and thinner profits that weaken its growth capacity. Latin American countries must seek product diversification away from their current commodity base and aggressively climb up the value chain to remain competitive worldwide.

Managerial Relevance: identify the sources of economic growth for a group of Latin American countries in relation to their export performance in China; the weakness of this economic growth model; how to seek product diversification away from their current commodity base with emphasis on value chain.     

竞争、生产率外溢与东道国的产业发展

跨国公司是如何影响东道国的产业发展的？产品市场和要素市场的竞争会挤出内资企业，然而对内资企业正的生产率外溢将提高生产率、降低生产成本，从而提高利润。本文构建了一个简单的理论模型考察跨国公司的竞争效应和生产率外溢对东道国产业发展的影响。模型推导及数值模拟的结果表明，跨国公司对内资企业正的生产率外溢使竞争效应减弱，负的生产率外溢则使竞争效应增强；跨国公司出口销售更加有利于东道国的产业发展。     

Multinationals: Too Many or Too Few?— The Proximity–concentration Trade-off

The paper builds an analytically tractable model that illustrates the “proximity–concentration trade-off” involved in horizontal multinationals. For low trade costs, firms are single-plant firms, for intermediate costs, some are single-plant firms whereas others are multinationals, for large trade costs, firms are multinationals. Because of the modeling strategy, the model is suited for a welfare analysis of multinationals. It shows that too many firms choose to concentrate their production in only one location. Also, for some transport costs, a reduction in transport costs worsens welfare.

当前中国汽车工业的发展模式问题分析

跨国汽车公司掌握合资企业的实际控制权、国外品牌轿车基本垄断国内市场以及依附跨国公司成为国内大多数汽车生产企业的基本发展战略,说明中国汽车工业正在转向依附型发展模式.政府长期对国内民营资本实行歧视性进入管制、过度干预汽车企业的经营管理、过早允许跨国汽车公司投资国内市场以及对国外汽车产品的进口控制不力,是导致这种不利转变的主要原因.因此,有必要采取措施,鼓励本土汽车企业走自主发展的道路.     

拉美的新型社会救助与对中国的启示

1990年代中后期,拉美各国纷纷改革了原有的社会救助制度并相继设置了许多新型的社会救助项目,新建立的社会救助以＂发展＂为价值理念,把救助资格与教育培训、医疗服务和个人就业等人力资本发展政策结合在一起,这类新型社会救助改变了过去社会救助制度在社会保障体系中残补、边缘的地位,显示了拉美社会保障制度关注重心与发展方向的转变。从拉美的新型社会救助中,中国可以获得有益的启示并找到进一步完善社会救助制度的相关思路。     

Real Exchange Rate Stationarity in Latin America and Relative Purchasing Power Parity: A Regime Switching Approach

This paper tests for long-run purchasing power (PPP) among a sample of six Latin American economies. The key contribution of this paper is in terms of the econometric methodology where non-stationarity of the real exchange rate is tested within a Markov regime-switching framework. In contrast to existing studies, this paper defines two new concepts of PPP where one allows for the possibility that real exchange behaviour either switches between stationary and non-stationary regimes (partial PPP), or switches between stationary regimes characterised by differing degrees of persistence (varied PPP). Whereas standard univariate unit root testing suggests that Latin American real exchange rates are generally non-stationary, employment of the regime-switching methodology indicates that most of the sample is characterised by the existence of two distinct stationary regimes. Further analysis indicates that the high rates of inflation and exchange rate volatility experienced in Latin American have given some impetus towards facilitating long-run PPP.

Chinese policies toward the two Koreas: Recent trends and prospects

Abstract

This paper examines the attempts by Malaysia to foster production by national automotive producers in a global industry dominated by a small number of major multinationals. Despite the use of a wide range of industrial policies, both standard import-substituting ones and more targeted policies, the main national producer, Proton, has been unable successfully to enter the automotive global value chain. We argue that Malaysia is probably faced with a choice of accepting foreign majority ownership, as with its second national producer, Perodua, or reconciling itself to Proton lagging in both technology and marketing.     

American shipping in the trade with Northern Europe 1783–1860

Abstract

As early as 1741 an American ship passed through the narrow waters of the Sound on its way to some port in the Baltic. Danish officials collected the traditional toll and recorded the fact in their account book. This was probably the first North American ship to visit the Baltic sea. The Danish records of ships passing the Sound indicate that altogether fifteen vessels declaring their home ports to be in the British North American colonies were reported before the American Revolution. The last of these was a Nantucket ship in the fateful year of 1776.²     

Automation and the worldwide restructuring of the electronics industry: Strategic implications for developing countries

Governments in developing countries are placing a high priority on the development and expansion of an export-oriented electronics industry. Thus, the structural change and technological transformation currently being experienced throughout the world will have major implications for their success.Due to the oligopolistic nature of the internationalization process in this industry, the use of computerized and automation technologies in electronics manufacture is likely to penetrate into a very select group of Third World industrial growth poles in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. The extent and location of this penetration will be largely controlled by the OECD-based multinationals. Consequently, the expected positive developmental effects may be diminished and limited to those few growth poles. These new constraints must be understood by LDC governments in order for them to implement countervailing strategies.     

城镇化中的社会保障制度建设：来自拉美国家的教训

拉美国家在历史上出现过经济高速增长和快速城市化的阶段,但是经济增长并没有解决贫困现象和缩小收入差距,出现了“增长性贫困”现象,而收入悬殊限制了经济的进一步增长。社保制度存在缺陷是导致拉美国家增长性贫困的主要原因之一：社保制度严重滞后于城市化进程,住房和就业困难,非正式就业较为普遍;养老保险计划的覆盖面较低,收入再分配难以进行;养老金管理成本居高不下,导致养老保险扩面难;社会保险与社会救助的比重失调,中产阶级成为社会保障制度的最大受益者;社保和教育机会的缺失,造成代际贫困的恶性循环。拉美国家这些教训为我国社保制度的完善提供了很好的借鉴。     

A general equilibrium analysis of FDI growth in Chinese services sectors

This paper analyzes one of the features of the Chinese economic transition, namely, the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) accruing to advanced services sectors. To that aim we use an innovative computable general equilibrium (CGE) model that includes, in a multi-regional setting, foreign multinationals operating in monopolistic competition. The model is based on data that split the world economy in 2016 into 11 regions (China - US - EU27 - Great Britain -other advanced economies - India - Japan - South East Asia - Latin America - Middle East - Sub Saharan Africa) and 21 sectors. We provide quantitative evidence on several characteristics of the 21 sectors in China, EU27 and the US, as well as other data on the role of China in the global stage, including its evolution since 2004. Several scenarios focusing on the increase of FDI inflows in services, because of the reduction of its FDI barriers, are simulated deriving short and long run results. We find that the impact of more foreign multinationals in services is positive for China but smaller than the one that had been obtained in other previous studies on FDI in manufactures. This is due to the still limited role of services in the Chinese economy and to a crowding out effect that domestic firms experience after the entry of foreign multinationals. On the whole the impact is, however, slightly positive for China, because manufactures benefit from the entry of foreign services multinationals. The rest of regions are unaffected or benefit very slightly, due to the fact that services production is less export oriented and more devoted to private consumption than in the case of manufactures. However, their manufacturing sectors are slightly harmed by the stronger Chinese competition. Many of them manage to more than offset this latter trend through higher exports or FDI in services directed to China.     

Convergence and divergence of numeracy: the development of age heaping in Latin America from the seventeenth to the twentieth century1

This study makes the first systematic attempt to trace the long‐term development of Latin American numeracy, a phenomenon of great interest to economic historians in that it serves as an accurate gauge of human capital development. In order to approximate basic numeracy we use age‐heaping techniques. We find that Latin America was on a path of convergence with western Europe during the early eighteenth century. During the early nineteenth century, not only did numeracy development stagnate in some Latin American countries but differences among some of them actually increased. While numeracy rates in Argentina, Uruguay, and to a lesser extent Brazil, along with Europe, underwent a significant increase in the late nineteenth century, they declined in Mexico, Ecuador, and Colombia. By performing a regression analysis, we find that, even when we control for investment in education, mass immigration contributed to human capital formation.     

A new journal

Abstract

This new journal, published by Günther Franz in collaboration with a group of German scholars, offers a new forum for the discussion of the economic, social and legal history of agriculture and of modern agrarian sociology. Although the recently published first number is dominated by German writings about German problems, it is a stated intention of the review to extend its interests beyond the frontiers of the country of publication; the first number contains one English and one American contribution.     

Short Term External Debt and Economic Growth—Granger Causality: Evidence from Latin America and the Caribbean

In this paper the direction of the causality relationship between economic growth and short-term external debt was investigated for 27 Latin American and Caribbean countries over the period 1970–2003. The empirical results suggest the existence of bidirectional causality relationships between the two variables for several countries, which means that the performance of both variables is interrelated. The main finding is that in the short- and long- runs Granger causality from economic growth to short-term external debt is present in 13 Latin American and Caribbean countries. With the evidence suggesting, in the majority of estimated cases, economic growth Granger caused short-term external debt, short-term policy decisions related to capacity absorption enhancement should be encouraged in Latin America and the Caribbean. Further work in this regard is encouraged in the form of panel studies or specific individual case studies inclusive of foreign trade linkage parameters to capture the potential effects of omitted variables.

Does China have an impact on foreign direct investment to Latin America?

We analyze empirically whether the emergence of China as a large recipient of FDI has affected the amount of FDI received by Latin American countries. Allowing for the structural break related to China's WTO accession, we found a significant negative impact of Chinese inward FDI on that of Mexico until 2001 and on that of Colombia after that date. The rest of Latin American countries do not seem to be affected by Chinese inward FDI. For the region as a whole, there is no significant Chinese effect on Latin America’s FDI.     

Domestic multinationals, foreign affiliates, and labour demand elasticities

Using information on a panel of multinational firms operating in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2005, we find that labour demand in domestic multinationals is less sensitive to labour cost changes than in foreign multinationals. This difference in the wage elasticity of labour demand persists even when we control for the skill intensity of firms or their level of intangible assets. This is in line with an interpretation that the provision of headquarter services in domestic multinational firms protects against strong fluctuations in labour demand. Overall, our results suggest that the wage elasticity of labour demand is about 40 % lower in domestic than in foreign multinationals.     

Building resilient infrastructure in the face of climate change in African cities: Scope,potentiality and challenges

ABSTRACT

This article seeks to explain the capacity and limitations of African cities in building resilient infrastructure in the face of climate change. In this article, resilience means the ability of a social or ecological system to absorb disturbances while retaining the same basic structure and ways of functioning, the capacity for self-organisation, and the capacity to adapt to stress and change. To expose the capacity and limitations of African cities in building resilient urban infrastructure, the article presents comparative case studies on contemporary experiences in Harare, Nairobi, Abuja, Cairo and Johannesburg relative to the Latin American and Asian cities where resilient infrastructure practices are in vogue. We conclude that most African cities exhibit critical bottlenecks towards emulating the Asian prototypes. Corruption is among the key explanations for the shortcomings of African cities in the delivery of resilient infrastructure and services. Corruption and non-participatory approaches prevailing in most cities have only courted resistance by citizens in the reimbursement of loans obtained from both international and local financial houses.     

Cultural Preservation and Urban Development: Case Studies on Chinese Old Brand Enterprise

Abstract

When we talk about “City Development, Preservation, and Hospitality”, we do not forget to discuss Chinese Old Brand Enterprises. These enterprises, labeled with distinctive historical character, enjoy high reputation and wide recognition, are very important parts of urban cultural preservation and economic development. Nowadays, China is called an emerging economy in the world. In fact, China has a long history of business tradition for thousands of years. Especially, Chinese Old Brand Enterprises are those that inherit Chinese traditional culture and bear unique techniques, products, and services in their operations. The urban system in most countries is influenced by market forces and enterprises. Cities that produce goods and services that are in demand and attract people to live in them will have faster growth than those that do not.