On the transferability of the Asian rice green revolution to rainfed areas in sub‐Saharan Africa: an assessment of technology intervention in Northern Ghana

This article investigates the impact of technical intervention on the adoption of a set of improved rice production technologies, as well as on productivity and profit for smallholders in rainfed lowland areas in Northern Ghana. The key finding is that productivity and profit are significantly enhanced when modern varieties (MVs) and chemical fertilizer are adopted, coupled with water control techniques. This is essentially the transfer of the Asian Green Revolution to sub‐Saharan Africa. Such transfer, however, is not truly successful unless information about the use of MVs and fertilizer is directly disseminated by extension activities.     

Management Accounting Practices in the U.S. and Japan: Comparative Survey Findings and Research Implications*

In recent years, the success of Japanese firms in the global market has prompted efforts to understand the sources of their competitive advantage. It has been suggested that one such source is the Japanese firms' management accounting systems, and a number of articles have claimed that important differences do exist between U.S. and Japanese firms in this area. However, these claims have tended to be supported by anecdotal, rather than systematic, evidence. The objective of this article is to contribute further insights into similarities and differences between U.S. and Japanese firms' management accounting practices. Exhaustive searches of published surveys in the U.S. and Japanese literatures (much of which is in Japanese) provided the basis for U.S.-Japan comparisons on six aspects of management accounting practices. In turn, these comparisons were used for deriving implications for future research. Two major limitations of extant research and, thus, directions for future research are identified. First, future research needs to go beyond the simple use or non-use of techniques to investigate more detailed aspects of technique use. Second, since management accounting is only one component of a firm's total management system, attention also needs to be devoted to the organizational context, process, and goals of a firm's management accounting practices.     

Binding constraint on economic growth under export-oriented industrialization and globalization

The two-gap model of economic growth implies that different constraints on economic growth, namely the savings and the foreign exchange availability, are binding at different times. This article estimates these varying binding constraints in 16 countries in East and Southeast Asia and Latin America, and explores their differences across countries, regions and periods. I show that the East and Southeast Asian countries, which are recognized to be successful in export-oriented industrialization, are less constrained by the foreign exchange availability with reinforced export capacity than the Latin American countries, which had carried some inertia of import substituting industrialization policy until the 1980s. In addition, the economic growth turns out to be more constrained by the domestic savings in recent years, which can be a reflection of capital account liberalization policies typically implemented in the late 1980s and 1990s, and/or a diminishing return to export-led growth. In either case, this might be a factor underlining the recent reconsideration of export-oriented development strategy to balance past excessive dependence on the external demand in several countries in East and Southeast Asia.     

Why do only the G7+2 countries among United Nations members discuss about international public goods? A simulation study

This article investigates why only the Group of 7 plus China and Russia (G7 + 2 countries) among 194 United Nations members discuss about international public goods? By simulating the heterogeneity of income, prices and preference parameters on the total provisions and the number of free riders, we find that the number of contributors for international public goods is 15 under the 194 member countries, while the others are free riders. In addition, the contributors are the top 15 powerful countries with largest dropout value over the world. Then, the discussion with only 15 countries for public goods is meaningful. As large as the heterogeneity of parameters is, the number of contributors becomes closer to G7 + 2.     

The analysis of research and development efficiency in Japanese companies in the field of fuel cells using patent data

Using patent data, a new quantitative analytical method categorizes the degree of integration of leading edge technologies in order to examine the current research & development (R&D) status and strategies of companies focusing in the fuel battery field, an area showing great potential as an alternative to fossil fuels. Specifically, this paper presents three types of categorization reflecting the International Patent Classification (IPC) of patent data, and introduces the concept of 'innovation positions', which is based on this categorization. Application purposes can be different between various industrial sectors, even within the same technological field; therefore, the progress status of R&D varies and that fact is reflected in innovation positions. Additionally, this paper makes clear that innovation positions reflect differences in companies' core competences, even in the same industry. Furthermore, by conducting an analysis based on F-terms, it has been shown that dissimilarities exist in the focus of companies in the technological development of elements, even for those with identical innovation positions. This analytical method provides an original approach to comprehend technological linkages and innovation.     

The right to adequate housing: evictions of the homeless and the elderly caused by the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo

Abstract

The reconstruction of the National Stadium for the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo has induced displacement of two groups of vulnerable people, raising concerns of the violation of human rights, particularly the right to adequate housing. The expansion of the stadium led to the expulsion of dozens of homeless people who lived in and around the park surrounding the stadium, and a sudden decision to demolish a nearby public housing estate built for the 1964 Summer Games forced over 200 tenants, most of whom were elderly, to be relocated. While the homeless people engaged in several rounds of negotiation with the government authorities, the majority of the housing tenants reluctantly agreed to move except for a few who kept demanding respectful treatment from the metropolitan government. Presenting the preliminary results of a mixed-method three-year qualitative study, this research note demonstrates that while the authority might have offered alternative housing considered ‘adequate’ in terms of physical living conditions, the process of evictions did not afford autonomy for the affected to choose where to live. The respective status of the affected – homeless and elderly – may demand the reconsideration of the concept of ‘adequate housing’ in relation to human dignity.     

Workers' perceptions of a Japanese company's song

The Japanese company song is reputed to inspire the working morale of employees and thus contribute to overall company performance. This article investigates the psychological impact of the company song on workers by analysing the question-naire responses obtained from a group of Japanese workers. The researcher found that differences in gender and generation gap were strong explanatory variables in terms of workers' perception of non-business themes in the company song, while differences in organizational status played a significant role in explaining differences in employees' perceptions of the business-related themes. Some practical implications are also discussed.The author is from the College of Commerce and Business Administration, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.     

Predicting truck driver turnover

We propose a decision tool for truckload carriers that can help control driver turnover rates. Our approach is to use an existing econometric method, along with the drivers’ work data, to predict the quit probability of each driver on a weekly basis, so that carriers can identify a subset of drivers who are “about to quit” in a timely manner. Empirical results from two case studies indicate that our approach does a nice job of predicting driver exits, and that it may become a useful management decision tool. Our method was recently adopted by two US truckload carriers.     

Foreign Aid and Recurrent Cost: Donor Competition, Aid Proliferation, and Budget Support

Recent empirical studies reveal that effectiveness of aid on growth is ambiguous. The authors consider aid proliferation—excess aid investment relative to recurrent cost—as a potential cause that undermines aid effectiveness, because aid projects can only produce sustainable benefits when sufficient recurrent costs are disbursed. They consider the donor's budget support as a device to supplement the shortage of the recipient's recurrent cost and to alleviate the misallocation of inputs. However, when donors have self-interested preferences for the success of their own projects over those conducted by others, they provide insufficient budget support relative to aid, which results in aid proliferation. Moreover, aid proliferation is shown to be worsened by the presence of more donors.     

Regulation of food safety risks: the case of food irradiation in Japan

As risk analysis becomes more important in the promulgation of international and domestic standards, scientific data and the utilization of this data as a foundation for regulations is fundamental in determining these standards. Over the past 20 years, the scientific understanding of food irradiation technology has increased significantly regarding the impact of the technology on various types of food and the potential applications. As a result, the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), acting together, announced a standard on the benefits of food irradiation in early 1980s. Despite the consensus amongst international organizations regarding the benefits of food irradiation, individual countries have not been as eager to promote this technology. Japan began an initial investigation into the applications of food irradiation over 30 years ago, yet today prohibits irradiation except for the potato. This paper examines the history of research and regulation on food irradiation in Japan, and how scientific information and other factors have influenced its regulatory policy. These factors, including industry willingness, regulatory structure and perception, are not outside exerting force on the regulations of this technology, but rather are inherently a part of the regulatory process itself, and lead to a 'vicious circle' of rigidity that closes off the opportunity to incorporate new scientific and technical information as it arises.