Spatial determinants of Japanese FDI in China

Research on foreign direct investment in China has spawned an increasingly large literature. Whilst regional cleavages with respect to the distribution of foreign direct investment (FDI) are acknowledged, empirical research on the spatial determinants of FDI in China has been limited. Furthermore, research on the spatial determinants of home country FDI in China has thus far been neglected due to difficulties in accessing the appropriate data. The objective of this paper is to examine the spatial determinants of Japanese direct investment in China by using an econometric model. To that purpose, a dataset is created from the Toyo Keizai directory on the overseas activities of Japanese companies. The results show that tertiary education, inland waterways, as well as coastal location are positive and significant determinants of Japanese investment in China.     

出口、对外直接投资与企业的异质性研究

出口和对外直接投资是一国企业进入国外市场的两种重要模式，本文通过建立一个简单的理论模型来分析企业对这两种进入模式的选择问题。本文将企业异质性引入模型分析，同时将企业的R＆D活动作为内生变量来进行研究。在理论分析的基础上，本文结合中国出口和对外直接投资发展的实际情况提出了相关政策建议。     

Bureaucratic integration and regional specialization in China

Fiscal decentralization introduced as part of China's economic reform since 1979 has unleashed strong incentives for China's local governments to pursue economic development, but the same incentives have also led to local protectionist policies inhibiting the process of regional specialization. This paper focuses on the constraints or freedom with which local governments can implement their protectionist policies. Using a panel data of 29 China's regions over the time period of 1985–1997, we find that China's political system of bureaucratic integration (specifically, concurrent appointment of local government officials in the central government) imposes constraints on the local governments from practicing protectionism. We also find that the effectiveness of local protectionist policies is limited by market competition, specifically, competition from foreign-invested firms operating in China and foreign imports. Our results on the role of local protectionism remain robust to controls for the regional variations in the size of the economy and the stage of economic development.     

Does direct foreign investment affect domestic credit constraints?

Firms in developing countries cite credit constraints as one of their primary obstacles to investment. Direct foreign investment may ease credit constraints by bringing in scarce capital. Alternatively, if foreign firms borrow heavily from domestic banks, they may crowd local firms out of domestic capital markets. Using firm data from the Ivory Coast, we test whether: (1) domestic firms are more credit constrained than foreign firms, and (2) whether borrowing by foreign firms exacerbates domestic firm credit constraints. Results provide support for both hypotheses. We also find that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are less financially constrained than other domestic enterprises.     

The complex integration strategies of multinationals and cross country dependencies in the structure of foreign direct investment

The behavior of many multinational enterprises is not well described by existing models of foreign direct investment (FDI). Firms often follow strategies that involve vertical integration in some countries and horizontal integration in others, a strategy known as complex integration. This paper presents a three-country model that is used to analyze why firms might follow a strategy of complex integration. My analysis reveals that complex integration strategies create complementarities between potential host countries that have important implications for the structure of FDI. The analysis also shows that falling transport cost between countries may increase the importance of complex integration strategies.     

中国外商直接投资的区位决定因素分析:城市数据

本文以全国210个地级以上城市为对象,分析了外商直接投资的区位决定因素。本文采用OLS和逐步回归分析方法以及2002年的横截面数据,在以往研究的基础上选择四项区位决定因素包括三种成本因素、三种市场因素、四种集聚因素和四种制度因素进行实证研究。结果表明,劳动力成本对各城市的外商直接投资的区位选择影响不明显,而市场规模、基础设施、教育和研究开发条件以及地方金融规模对外商直接投资的区位选择的影响具有显著性。本文的逐步回归分析结果还表明,就东部地区而言,能源条件和市场规模是较重要的区位决定因素;就中西部地区而言,市场规模、基础设施、教育和研究开发条件以及地方金融成为较重要的区位决定因素。     

2005年国际金融市场回顾与2006年展望

2005年的国际金融市场走势跌宕起伏,股票市场表现不一,债券市场基本上是区间波动走势,外汇市场美元一枝独秀,石油价格冲高回落而黄金的表现也引人注目。决定市场走势的因素是美国经济表现稳健,欧、日经济相形见绌,同时美国利率持续上升。2006年受房地产市场降温的影响,美国经济可能温和放缓,利率很快见顶,将对金融市场产生重大影响,总体而言风险加大。     

外资银行在拉美国家银行改革中的作用

20世纪80年代末至90年代初,受“华盛顿共识”影响,拉美国家开始了大规模的银行私有化改革。1994年末的墨西哥金融危机之后,为了缓解危机和提高银行经营效率,多数拉美国家在银行私有化改革中积极鼓励外资银行进入。对于新兴市场国家而言,盲目地西化,照抄照搬发达国家的经济模式不利于本国经济的健康发展。只有依据经济规律,根据本国实际采取适合自己发展水平和管理水平的金融体系,各个经济要素才能实现最优配置和利益的最大化。     

Post-euro EU and US interest rates and foreign exchange rates: Are they in harmony or in disarray?

This paper focuses on: (1) how a select set of financial and economic factors could set the path for interest rates and foreign exchange rates, and (2) whether the resultant realized interest and exchange rates would be in harmony or in disarray. Using post-euro data for the EU and the US, an array of monetary rules is examined. In particular, the paper investigates whether the original and the extended Taylor rules provide an explanation of the dynamics of the EU monetary system since the inception of the euro. Our findings indicate that the EU and the US monetary responses are not the same and that exchange rates play a significant role.     

国外生态城市建设成功经验

鉴于当前我国学界对国外生态城市建设的研究,多停留在案例介绍阶段,缺乏对成功经验的系统总结,本文通过对国外影响较大的生态城市建设成功案例的深入分析和总结,指出其成功的经验主要在于明确而具体现实的目标体系、具体的项目、突出的重点领域、生态建设与城市建设的一体化推进、详细的分工实施体系、广泛的公众参与,加上具有明确法律地位和角色定位的推进和实施机构及完善的法律条例、市场化的管理体制等作为支撑条件.这些成功的经验,对我国生态城市建设有着重要的借鉴意义.