The Spatial Distribution of Japanese Manufacturing Industries in Indonesia

This paper presents an analysis of regional changes in the spatial pattern of Japanese manufacturing industries and the effect of deregulation of foreign investment in Indonesia during 1984–1994. Empirical analysis in this paper uses data of 560 Japanese manufacturing industries in Indonesia. The result of this study indicates their continuous regional concentration in the core region of Java. The regression analysis indicates that market, agglomeration and infrastructure continue to be the main reasons for the location of Japanese manufacturing industries. The current economic crisis has substantially reduced the level of new investment in the core region of Java.     

Gender, poverty and deprivation: Evidence from the Republic of Guinea

The article examines the relationship between gender and consumption poverty and between gender and deprivation in the Republic of Guinea. National household survey data reveal that women are not more likely than men to be consumption poor or to suffer greater consumption poverty. Participatory Poverty Assessment data from the village of Kamatiguia reveal that women are “worse off” than men when deprivation includes, inter alia, excessive work load and reduced decision-making authority. When consumption poverty poorly correlates with other dimensions of deprivation, it should not be the sole guide for equity-based policy intervention.     

Individual versus institutional investors and the weekend effect

Since the late 1980’s, considerable research has focused on the behavior of individual versus institutional investors and the potential patterns which may emerge from their trading activities. Miller (1988) and Abraham and Ikenberry (1994) posit that the tendency for negative Monday returns on equity (i.e., the weekend effect) is at least partially explained by the trading behavior of individual investors. Sias and Starks (1995), on the other hand, present empirical evidence showing a dominant role played by institutional traders. This study contributes to the literature by distinguishing between individual versus institutional trading as it relates to the weekend effect. We find that the information-processing hypothesis is consistent with observed institutional trading patterns, thus supporting the results of Sias and Starks (1995). In addition, these results are shown to be robust with respect to market type (i.e., auction and dealer markets).     

Emission Taxes versus Other Environmental Policies

In the environmental policy of most countries, various forms of quotas and direct regulation are more important than environmental taxes. This paper addresses four arguments which are often given against the use of emission taxes. The three arguments related to information asymmetries and non-convexities are valid in the sense that they point to complications in the use of environmental taxes. The fourth argument is related to the employment effects of different types of environmental policies in economies with unemployment. Although this argument is frequently used by politicians, the analysis provides no justification for it. On the contrary: in the model used, employment is higher with environmental taxes than with non-revenue-raising environmental policies.     

A Management Capacity Constraint? Obstacles to the Development of the Overseas Chinese Family Business

Overseas Chinese family business (OCFBs) have gained a reputation for cost efficiency, responsiveness, and flexibility as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and as pioneers of the mainland's industrialization. This success is based upon a relatively simple ‘personally managed’ organization operating within a network of kin and ethnic relations. To what extent are mid-sized OCFBs now able to develop the capacity to compete in new strategic domains and manage more complex value chains? The paper examines competing views of the OCFBs organizational and competitive capabilities. The strategies of 50 mid-sized Hong Kong based manufacturing firms are used to provide insight into the questions of capabilities upgrading and long-term competitiveness in personally managed enterprises. In contrast to prevailing cultural and institutional accounts of OCFB behavior, the paper suggests that current (western) theory of the family firm and of organizational networks provides an alternative explanation of observed investment strategies and organizational structure.