Adapting the Knowledge‐capital Model of the Multinational Enterprise to Trade and Investment in Business Services

At some conceptual level, trade in goods and services are not that much different. However, the speed at which trade and foreign investment in services is growing, along with the fact that the barriers to these activities are quite different from those for trade in goods, prompts us to take a more careful look. The paper begins with a general discussion about the various policies and technological constraints that impact foreign trade and the establishment of foreign commercial presence in intermediate business services. We then discuss which characteristics an accurate modelling approach must capture. Following that, we develop a model that allows for different regimes of trade and/or foreign affiliate production in services using Markusen's knowledge‐capital model. Simulations show that the pattern of service firm headquarters and office locations can differ considerably depending on whether it is trade, investment, or both that are either liberalised or become technologically feasible. Our results find that the welfare and factor‐price consequences are quite similar across the different scenarios.     

International business complexity and the internationalization of languages

While the impacts of culture on international trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) have been much discussed, the influence of languages has been underappreciated in international business. We address this paucity by integrating literature from international economics, international business, Chinese business history, and linguistics to examine the transaction costs of languages. While we recognize that languages represent both a tool in international economic transactions and a vehicle to transmit cultural values, our results point out that this tool is employed differently in international trade and in FDI. Communication costs for both FDI and international trade show a hierarchy, with English the most inexpensive among major trade languages; however, we find that communication costs are much more important in FDI than in international trade. Herein, we offer practical suggestions corporations may implement regarding the matter.     

Beyond Border Barriers: The Liberalisation of Services Trade in Tunisia and Egypt

Tunisia and Egypt have both recently undertaken significant steps toward trade reform. They have committed to a partnership agreement with the European Union. Both countries have also joined the WTO and are participating in Doha Round discussions on the liberalisation of non‐tariff barriers on both goods and services trade. These developments provide an interesting context within which to investigate not only the changes in welfare associated with reforms affecting the trade in goods, but also the impacts of services liberalisation. Using open‐economy computable general equilibrium models for both Tunisia and Egypt, this paper explores the reasons why structural differences in these two economies imply different opportunities and challenges with trade reform and services liberalisation. The gains from eliminating barriers at the border for goods trade are significantly greater for Tunisia than Egypt. Both countries, however, gain substantially from liberalisation of foreign direct investment in services. Furthermore, economic growth is more evenly distributed across sectors than with liberalisation of trade in goods alone. In addition to reporting on the impact of alternative policies on income, output, employment and trade, sector‐level effects are also considered.     

International real business cycles with endogenous markup variability

The aggregate impact of decisions made at the level of the individual firm has recently attracted a lot of attention in both the macro and trade literatures. We adapt the benchmark international real business cycle model to a game-theoretic environment to add a channel for the strategic interaction among domestic and foreign firms. We show how the sum of strategic pricing decisions made at the level of the individual firm can have significant effects on the volatility and cross country co-movement of GDP and its components. Specifically we show that the addition of this one channel for strategic interaction leads to a significant increase in the cross-country co-movement of production and investment, as well as a significant decrease in the volatility of investment and the trade balance over the benchmark IRBC model.     

International real business cycles with endogenous markup variability

The aggregate impact of decisions made at the level of the individual firm has recently attracted a lot of attention in both the macro and trade literatures. We adapt the benchmark international real business cycle model to a game-theoretic environment to add a channel for the strategic interaction among domestic and foreign firms. We show how the sum of strategic pricing decisions made at the level of the individual firm can have significant effects on the volatility and cross country co-movement of GDP and its components. Specifically we show that the addition of this one channel for strategic interaction leads to a significant increase in the cross-country co-movement of production and investment, as well as a significant decrease in the volatility of investment and the trade balance over the benchmark IRBC model.     

Assessing the Business Value of Information Technology in Global Wholesale Banking: The Case of Trade Services

The investment in information technologies (IT) in the financial services sector has proliferated in the last decade. Yet there is very little research examining the impact of IT in the financial services sector. In this article, we focus on the trade services application in global wholesale banking. We use the production function approach to estimate the impact of IT in this application. Our estimate of the output elasticity of IT is positive and statistically significant. In addition, we find that the return on investment of IT (increase in dollar revenue per dollar spent in IT) is about 100% per year, holding labor input constant. Our study provides one instance of direct evidence that IT has a favorable impact on productivity in the financial services sector.     

Chinese multinationals on the New Silk Route: Managing political risk by branding the nation

Though Chinese multinational enterprises (CMNEs) have brought investment and opportunities to countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, there has been scepticism regarding the content and context of their investment. On the one hand, infrastructural development contributes to GDP formation and enhances the efficiency of productive inputs where international trade enhances technology and export development, which jointly provides a path to economic growth. On the other hand, critical issues such as debt sustainability and national sovereignty among countries that have gone through the decolonization process mean that CMNEs need to grasp the implication of political risk when investing. This article focuses on South and Southeast Asia, where China has historical socio‐economic relationship, and proposes a nation branding model combining tradition and modernity which can be the way forward for CMNEs to mitigate political risk in relation to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) investment. Nation branding of BRI could be seen as a continuity of China's unfinished business in globalization that has preceded the modern polity; nevertheless, there is a need to communicate a coherent and authentic message that reflects the reality of business operations.     

服务贸易视角下中日韩贸易竞争与互补分析

作为东亚地区经济发展的核心,中日韩三国服务贸易的发展一直备受关注。日本服务贸易的竞争力水平是中日韩三国中最强的,其次是中国,最后是韩国。中国具有竞争力的行业主要是建筑、电信、计算机和信息以及其他商业服务,韩国具有竞争力的行业主要是旅游和建筑服务,日本具有竞争力的行业主要是运输、建筑、专业权利和特许服务以及政府服务。进一步对中日韩服务贸易的影响因素进行分析发现:人均国内生产总值、外商直接投资、货物贸易出口额和服务贸易开放水平与中日韩服务贸易竞争力水平都呈显著正相关关系,其中,服务贸易开放度水平对中日韩服务贸易竞争力水平的影响最大,外商直接投资对中日韩服务贸易竞争力水平的影响最小。     

新时期内外贸一体化发展策略研究

内贸和外贸都是一国经济发展的重要动力,二者具有相互支撑、相互促进的作用。长期以来,中国一直实行内贸和外贸两条线管理模式,已经无法满足市场经济和贸易发展的客观要求。在当前全球经济下行贸易摩擦加剧、内外贸都面临着转型、出口消费投资在拉动经济增长中需要进一步协调配合的情况下,必须通过着力打造更加自由便利的国内营商环境、加快构建全国统一大市场大流通体系、大力发展跨境电子商务、扩大服务贸易规模提升发展水平等举措,切实推动中国内外贸一体化发展,为经济增长注入新活力。     

美国经济波动影响中国经济的国际传导机制分析

作为世界上最大经济体的美国,其经济波动必然会对其它国家产生影响。利用1999—2009年的季度数据,运用向量自回归(VAR)模型以及H—P滤波分析法,研究发现:中国对美国出口贸易对中美经济波动经过半年的传导时滞后,会有明显的传导作用,并且大约持续一年半左右,之后的传导作用并不明显;中国从美国进口贸易对中美经济波动的传导作用会有一年的传导时滞,之后会有为期半年的传导作用,但其传导作用明显低于中国对美国出口贸易的传导作用;美国对华直接投资和中国对美直接投资对中美经济波动的传导作用无论在短期还是在长期都不显著。     

The business of ethics and the ethics of business

This is an essay in personal business ethics of executives as distinguished from the institutional ethics of corporations. Its purpose is to give practical moral guidance to executives for the conduct of their lives both as corporate decision-makers and as human beings. The pivotal concept in this model of personal business ethics is a direct appeal to the self-interest of executives in their being moral. Our thesis is that generally there is a twofold return on investment in ethics (ROIE) for executives. The first one is related to employee output: by becoming a self-actualizing moral type, executives indicate commitment to excellence. Accordingly, they so manage employees that the latter can also live up to their full potential and excell. And that would increase corporate productivity and product or service quality. The second payback of morality is personal: fully developed, self-actualized managers are generally happier people than those whose growth has been arrested. In brief, moral self-actualization is the same as commitment to excellence and there is a payback in being the best. Return on investment in ethics and return on investment in excellence can both be abbreviated as ROIE. We accomplish the purpose and establish the thesis of this essay by seeking answers to the following questions: What business does ethics have in business? What business does business have in ethics? Is there a return on investment in ethics for executives? and Does being moral help executives become more effective managers? In sketching answers to these questions, we first show why executives need a personal business ethics especially in today's world. Then, we sketch the nature of ethics and of business. After these introductory materials, the body of the paper argues for a personal business ethics for executives by correlating elements of management theory with ethics. Specifically, it links a theory of employee motivation with a scale of values, management character types with moral types, and management leadership styles with morality. Then, the practical technique of life by objectives (LBO) is explained. It can help executives manage their lives more effectively in both the business and ethical sense. We conclude by explaining ideals of excellence which can guide executives in their work and development both as managers and as human beings.     

海峡两岸经济周期协动性的现状与趋势

利用中国大陆和台湾地区GDP增长率反映海峡两岸的经济周期波动,针对二者的相关分析表明,1990年以来,海峡两岸经济周期已经呈现一定程度的协动性特征,并且这种协动性具有不断增强的趋势。在经济周期协动性的传导机制方面,直观判断,两岸贸易往来与台商对大陆投资是经济周期波动的重要传导渠道,但世界市场经济景气波动的冲击影响也不容忽视。由于受两岸经济规模和结构的差异、两岸经贸交流的不对称性、大陆对外开放程度较低、以及经济运行规律之外政治干扰和政策限制等因素的影响,两岸经济周期协动性还未完全呈现其应有规模。     

中国自由贸易试验区的改革深化与自由贸易港的建立

中共十九大为中国自由贸易试验区下一步的发展指明了方向。中国自由贸易试验区在经济市场化方面取得重大进展,颁布了一系列法律规范,旨在营造国际化、法制化和市场化的营商环境,但在开放方面还不够深入和系统化,因此十九大为自由贸易试验区的进一步发展提出了更高目标,指明了新的方向。我们建议把每个自由贸易区分为海关监管的自由贸易区和非海关监管的改革试验区。自由贸易区把成熟的经验推广到改革试验区,改革试验区再把经验推向全国。所有的自由贸易试验区采用不同模式,包括货物贸易和服务贸易自由贸易区、直接投资与金融自由贸易区和金融中心自由贸易区等。     

AN ECONOMIC RATIONALE FOR COUNTERTRADE: Liquidity Constraints

Countertrade is a generic term for parallel business transactions linking sales contracts with agreements to purchase goods or services. Countertrade has been viewed as an inefficient way of doing business primarily because of problems associated with such things as quality variations and increases in transaction costs. A review of the international trade literature suggests that market imperfections (shortage of convertible currency, information asymmetry that may create the so-called lemon problem and moral hazard) may provide motivations for countertrade. This article focuses on one motivation: liquidity constraint. The liquidity constraint is introduced in both goods and the factor markets in addition to the production constraint. The article compares and contrasts two strategies facing the management team of a profit-maximizing firm. The model developed shows that countertrade strategy could be superior to standard money-mediated trade strategy when the liquidity constraint is binding. Therefore, countertrade appears to be a rational response to conditions that restrict standard trade. As such, countertrade can supplement standard money-mediated trade and contribute to the growth of international business.     

A general equilibrium model of bilateral trade with strategic public investment in commercial infrastructure

We explore how public investment in commercial infrastructure affects the composition of trade between countries. To this end, we develop a model of bilateral trade in which two countries produce, consume, and trade a continuum of goods. Goods are produced by a single homogeneous factor, labor, the productivity of which depends on the quality of the country’s commercial infrastructure, broadly conceived to encompass transportation, communication, and power transmission networks; regulatory and legal institutions; and basic research and educational systems. Countries may improve the quality of their commercial infrastructures through increased public investment. However, returns on these investments are constrained by fixed ‘natural’ endowments, with the better-endowed country enjoying greater labor productivity for a given level of public investment. We begin by analyzing optimal investment in public infrastructure in one country when public investment by the trading partner is fixed. We find that, ceteris paribus, greater public investment in commercial infrastructure raises general labor productivity, leading to gains in workers’ real income. We then analyze a non-cooperative game in which both countries strategically vary public investment in commercial infrastructure. We find that, in a Nash game, the better-endowed country optimally spends more on infrastructure and produces the goods requiring the greatest labor productivity. However, in a Stackelberg game, the results are ambiguous. An empirical analysis based on recent international trade data supports our theoretical finding that investment in public infrastructure is positively related to the export of ‘high-end’ goods.     

Weak Business Culture as an Antecedent of Economic Crisis: The Case of Iceland

The authors of this article contend that traditional corruption, which was largely blamed for the current situation in the Icelandic economy, was perhaps not the most fundamental reason for the ensuing crisis. The weak business culture and a symbiosis of business and politics have actually allowed for the bulk of self-serving and unethical decisions made by the Icelandic business and political elite. In order to illustrate this point, 10 expert interviews have been conducted within the period of 6 months in 2009 to support in-depth research carried out by the authors. The article also discloses questionable business practices that have recently come to the attention of the public both in Iceland and abroad and that ultimately facilitated the downfall of the Icelandic economy. While traditional corruption has probably played its role in this downfall, the measures currently employed to determine its level did not account for various peculiarities of Icelandic society. The article thus argues that there was a high level of corruption in Iceland, but it was outside of the traditional definition. This other corruption has ultimately prevented the government from acting appropriately upon the questionable business practices mentioned above. The article also offers some general recommendations which should be useful to both policy makers and business leaders wishing to engage in business activities in a transparent, ethical manner and learn from the tragic Icelandic experience. Among these recommendations are the necessity to recognize the limitations of current definitions of corruption, as well as a word of caution to commercial enterprises to pay a close attention not only to commonly accepted indices and mainstream reports but also to a country’s history, culture, and political environment, prior to making any sort of investment decisions in that country.     

The service sector of Cuba: An analysis and critique

The Cuban economy has experienced a significant increase in foreign direct investment over the past decade due to the end of the Soviet Union and the establishment of more liberal trade policies. Although the U.S. embargo of trade with Cuba still exists, there has been movement lately that suggests the end of the four‐decades‐old policy. The purpose of this article is to analyze the current Cuban business environment and to identify potential entrepreneurial opportunities in the service sector. Major trade partners are also reviewed and managerial implications discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

‘Business Ethics from the Internal Point of View’

The notion that the firm, and economic activity in general, is inherently amoral is a central feature of positive economics that is also widely accepted in business ethics. Theories as disparate as stockholder and stakeholder theory both leave this central assumption unchallenged. Each theory argues for a different set of external ethical restrictions, but neither adequately provides an internal connection between business and the ethical rules business people are obliged to follow. This paper attempts to make this connection by arguing that the purpose of business is to produce a good or service for trade. Trade involves both a respect for individual autonomy and property rights and squarely places moral norms internal to the practice of business. Trade is not a contingent activity of business, it is a practice rule which also provides the common sense boundary between business and charity on the one hand, and crime on the other. Business and those who engage in it are, from the internal point of view, bound by the purpose of trade and not just the laws of the land.     

Greece:Strategic Partner for China s“Go Global”Policy

China and Greece have both made,great contributions to the world s cultural heritage.As the Chinese economy has become an economic powerhouse in the global economy,the Greek economy has proven capabilities and is constantly improving. Today,bilateral economic and business relations are advancing,and there is a steady increase in trade,along with many opportunities for investment.     

Jamaican ambassador Richard L. Bernal on Jamaica's contemporary business environment

Natural beauty is often thought to be the Caribbean's real resource. Jamaica, located in the Caribbean Sea, benefits from this natural splendor of mountains, plains, plateaus, and waterfalls, but also from its people, whose charm and elegance are unsurpassed. Historically, there has been considerable global interest in the Caribbean Sea in general and in Jamaica in particular because of the natural, social, strategic, and economic resources which this region possesses. Today, the contemporary global business environment and the dynamics of hemispheric free trade in the Americans create new and complex challenges for the region's natural and human resources. This article will first present a background to the recent economic and political events which have placed Jamaica as a critical, stable, and important player in the Caribbean Basin economy. The remainder of the article will be based on an interview with Ambassador Richard L. Bernal,¹ who will offer an assessment of Jamaica's commitment to economic stabilization, infrastructure capability, foreign investment incentives, financial and trade services, and democratization. In addition, Dr. Bernal provides an evaluation of the relationship of Jamaica and the Caribbean Basin with the United States in the post-cold war liberal economy. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.