Using data envelopment analysis to quantify ILO objectives and identify policies conducive to decent work in a globalizing world

The International Labor Office, an arm of the UN based in Geneva, has as its goal the promotion of opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. Since 1999, the ILO has conducted a series of studies of decent work. In 2001, the organization posed the global challenge of reducing the decent work deficit as measured by an employment gap, rights gap, a social protection gap, and a social dialogue gap. Using standard economic terms, “decent work” may be seen as an efficiency point along a generalized input-output function, dependent upon variables of both economic performance and economic and social policy. The decent work deficit of a given country (if any) is then obtained as the difference between an observed point and its projection on the efficiency frontier. Using data envelopment analysis (DEA), we fit a piecewise linear frontier to observations for 61 countries from all continents. Importantly, 27 of these countries lie on the decent work frontier; the remaining ones reveal conditions of decent work deficit. The possibilities of reducing such deficits by appropriate control of policy variables are discussed.     

全球化对创新型城市发展的要求与挑战——以美国传统工业城市匹兹堡为例

"用15年的时间使我国进入创新型国家行列"是国家主席胡锦涛在2006年1月9日全国科学技术大会开幕式上的一个号召.而这未来的15年,也正是我国快速城市化的15年.据联合国预测,我国2020年城市化水平将达到53.6%,这就意味着,当我国按既定目标进入创新型国家之时,将有超过半数的人口居住在城市中.我国向创新型国家转变的过程与创新型城市的建设密切相关.本文以美国传统工业城市匹兹堡为例,通过其转型过程中规划建设的经验教训,对全球化背景下城市的产业结构转型与城市物质环境转变进行了研究.以人才竞争为核心的全球竞争对我国类似传统工业城市在全球化背景下向未来创新型城市的转变提出了严峻的挑战.本文主要针对这类城市的城市发展政策提出了建议.希望能为我国城市如何吸引创造性人才和建设创新型城市提供借鉴.     

Understanding the evolution of world business cycles

This paper studies the changes in world business cycles during the period 1960–2003. We employ a Bayesian dynamic latent factor model to estimate common and country-specific components in the main macroeconomic aggregates (output, consumption, and investment) of the G-7 countries. We then quantify the relative importance of the common and country components in explaining comovement in each observable aggregate over three distinct time periods: the Bretton Woods (BW) period (1960:1–1972:2), the period of common shocks (1972:3–1986:2), and the globalization period (1986:3–2003:4). The results indicate that the common (G-7) factor explains, on average, a larger fraction of output, consumption and investment volatility in the globalization period than it does in the BW period.     

Political environments and business strategy: Implications for managers

Globalization leads to increased business opportunities and changing rules of the game. Different institutional settings and different organizational players continuously shape business opportunities through different public policy processes operating in various locales. Herein, we develop a framework, based on the work of Nobel laureate Douglas North, which enables managers to determine essential considerations of public policy arenas where they may operate or consider operating.     

Examining the influence of uncertainty on marketing mix strategy elements in emerging business to business export-markets

The degree of adaptation or standardization of the marketing program is critical in international business ventures. However, findings within this important research field and, consequently, implications for practice remain contradictory and confusing. The purpose of this paper is to examine determinants of an international marketing-mix strategy within a specific business-to-business context that includes the effects of uncertainty. Is the degree to which the marketing program is adapted or standardized dependent on the managerial perception of uncertainty? Does a firm's international entrepreneurial ability or the use of networks positively influence the degree of positive assessment of the environment? Data were collected from German companies working in different international business-to-business markets. The results indicate that international entrepreneurship has a greater impact on uncertainty reduction than the use of networks. After having reduced uncertainty, a firm tends to adapt their communication and pricing strategy, whereas the adaptation of the product and distribution strategy in general is not significant.     

Inward investment and endogenous development. The convergence of the strategies of large firms and territories?

Inward investment is often understood as an inadequate instrument for self-sustained growth and as being responsible for the insufficient development of peripheral areas. Globalization and increasing competition within the markets, however, changed the firms' and regions' adjustment environment, and led to the convergence of spatial strategies of the large innovative firms and the development strategies of regional and local governments. This process contributes toward the integration of the external firms within local productive systems and, therefore, large innovative firms can play a relevant role in endogenous development processes. Although the convergence of strategies is not a phenomenon that can be generalized for all types of firms and territories, a new line of action opens up that permits improved productive restructuring and economic development, even in less favoured and peripheral regions.     

论全球化语境中的大学精神

全球化的发展在影响和改变着世界的同时,也给我国的大学精神带来了前所未有的影响和冲击,作为我国社会中流砥柱的大学应该充分发挥大学人的全部聪明才智,建立起批判精神、兼容精神、创新精神和合作精神,塑造起我国大学人的“脊梁”,使全球化进程中的大学人拥有足够的“精神高度”,求知、求存、求真、求新,尽情享用全球化这份并不免费的“午餐”。     

全球化时代:我国高等旅游教育的国际接轨

全球化的冲击给旅游业的发展带来了机遇和挑战,对未来旅游管理人才素质提出了新的要求,通过对旅游业全球化的特征、世界旅游业发展态势及中国高等旅游教育现状的分析,指出了中外高等旅游教育的差距和实现中国高等旅游教育国际接轨的途径     

The spatial coverage of shipping lines and container terminal operators

The aim of this paper is to provide a quantitative basis for the discussions about globalization of carriers and container terminal operators. A measuring framework is developed that allows for the comparison of the distribution of ship carrying capacity across various regions, and the comparison of the distribution of terminal throughput worldwide. This approach also allows the investigation of the degree to which liner shipping networks match related terminal portfolios.The main outcomes highlight significant differences between the geographical scope of liner networks, and between the coverage of corresponding terminal portfolios. Interesting results emerge from the matching of networks of integrated operators: early-movers such as Maersk and latecomers such as MSC have very different levels of vertical integration.