Institutional elasticity as a significant driver of IT functionality development

Institutions drive innovation and stimulate broad diffusion. Not surprisingly, national systems of innovation are influenced by their institutional flexibility in response to changing market conditions. As nations move from industrial to information-based societies, a key factor governing institutional “elasticity” is how institutions integrate information technology (IT). Since IT functionality is intimately connected with institutional dynamics, unlike simple manufactured products such as refrigerators, IT's specific functionality is formed through dynamic interaction with institutional systems. Consequently, institutional elasticity is a critical factor in the functionality of IT and its subsequent self-propagating behavior.This paper analyzes the mechanism of IT functionality development, with special attention to the interaction of the technology with institutional systems.     

Aid and trade

This paper surveys the recent theoretical and empirical literaturethat explores the relations between aid and trade and asks aboutthe complementarity or substitution effects at work. We distinguishbetween the effects of aid on trade flows and on trade policies,of the donor as well as the recipient countries. Special focusis given on trade facilitation, or ‘aid for trade’.     

Are Depositors Aware of the Governance of their Banks?1

In the discussion of corporate governance from the standpoint of economists, it is common for economists to pay more attention to the stockholders of a corporation (as stakeholders) than to the creditors. However, the behaviors of depositors as creditors should not be neglected in the management of banking institutions. The purpose of this paper is to analyze statistically the decision factors of depositors in opening an account at a particular bank with respect to corporate governance variables. My result shows that depositors with risk aversion consider banks well managed based on the following: a lower rate of external auditors, a longer time of service by the bank’s president, and the existence of a simultaneous promotion system of the bank’s president and chairperson.     

弥补中国供应链缺陷

中国元器件供应商日益强大,然而,他们的前景如何呢? 随着20世纪90年代中国消费者对拥有手机的强烈渴求,国际和中国本土电子制造商都赚得盆满钵满。但是对深圳晶峰科技开发有限公司来说,手机响铃音却更像是死亡     

Ministerial Weights and Government Formation: Estimation Using a Bargaining Model

This article proposes a method to estimate relative ministerialweights in parliamentary democracies. Specifically, we presenta bargaining model of government formation and estimate structuralparameters of the model using data for (i) who the formateursare, (ii) what each party's voting weight is, and (iii) whatministerial seats each party obtains. We also measure the effectsof voting weights and formateur advantage on bargaining results.We apply our proposed method to the case of Japan. Our estimationresults show that political players value pork-related posts(such as the Minister of Construction) much more than prestigiousones (such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs). We also findthat there is a significant formateur advantage, whereas votingweights do not have a significant scale effect, which is consistentwith the findings for European democracies.     

THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY AND NONTECHNOLOGY SHOCKS IN BUSINESS CYCLES*

This article proposes a method to identify technology and nontechnology shocks that permanently affect labor productivity and applies this method to data for the G7 countries. In most cases, whereas technology improvements have negative or weak effects on hours worked, positive permanent nontechnology shocks are expansionary. Permanent nontechnology shocks play an important role in business cycles, particularly in the United States and Japan, and account for 71% of a large reduction in Japan's detrended output from 1991 to 2002. Credit conditions are likely to be an important driver of variations in permanent nontechnology shocks.     

Technological diversification and firm's techno-economic structure: An assessment of Canon's sustainable growth trajectory

Contrary to the decrease in operating income to sales (OIS) in Japan's electrical machinery firms, Canon has demonstrated its increasing trend with increase of its technological diversification. These contrasts and Canon's conspicuous functionality development suggest that a virtuous cycle between its technological diversification strategy and increase in OIS can be the source of its sustainable growth.Prompted by this hypothetical view, this paper attempts to assess Canon's sustainable growth trajectory by elucidating a mechanism of its technological diversification system through an effective utilization of potential resources in innovation. By means of an epidemic function, the new approach for assessing marginal productivity of technology as well as functionality development is developed. Utilizing this approach, comparative empirical analyses are conducted focusing on the consequence of technological diversification and development trajectory in Japan's leading electrical machinery firms over the last two decades.     

Household Saving in Japan

Recent research has indicated that Japanese and American saving behaviour may not be fundamentally different. In this paper we have tried to determine if aggregate saving in Japan, as in the United States, is driven by a small number of very wealthy or high-income households. We found that about 12% of households account for 75% of total positive saving, 75% of total negative saving and 75% of total net saving. These conclusions reinforce the hypothesis that the savings process in Japan is not distinctive, and highlight the importance of research on the heterogeneity of saving behaviour.
JEL Classification Numbers: D12, D31, E21.     

Potential for visual communications technology in business

The authors describe the methodology used in a survey conducted by NTT to assess the potential of visual communications technology in business and the conclusions drawn. Communications activities were investigated in detail at a selected manufacturing company, and several fundamental communication patterns suitable for the application of visual communications services were defined. It was concluded that the areas with the greatest potential for such services were ‘investigation/ inquiry’, ‘negotiation’, and ‘submitting information’. To confirm these needs, a questionnaire was mailed to major corporations throughout Japan. Finally, several services and systems were proposed.