The Gravity Model Analysis of Bangladesh's Trade: A Panel Data Approach

The article applies generalized gravity models to analyze Bangladesh's bilateral trade pattern using the panel data estimation technique. The results reveal that Bangladesh's trade is positively determined by the size of the economies, per capita gross domestic product differential and openness of the trading countries. Bangladesh's exports are positively determined by its income, partner countries' total import demand and openness, but negatively determined by partner countries' income and domestic inflation. Bangladesh's imports are positively determined by income of trading countries and degree of openness of the partner countries and negatively determined by partner countries' inflation. Transportation costs affect Bangladesh's trade negatively.     

Six Decades of Total Factor Productivity Change and Sources of Growth in Bangladesh Agriculture (1948–2008)

This study applies the Färe–Primont index to calculate total factor productivity (TFP) indices for agriculture in 17 regions of Bangladesh covering a 61‐year period (1948–2008). It decomposes the TFP index into six finer components (technical change, technical‐, scale‐ and mix‐efficiency changes, residual scale‐ and residual mix‐efficiency changes). Results reveal that TFP grew at an average rate of 0.57% p.a. led by the Chittagong, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Dinajpur and Noakhali regions. TFP growth is largely powered by technological progress estimated at 0.74% p.a. Technical efficiency improvement is negligible (0.01% p.a.) due to stagnant efficiency in most of the regions. Decline in scale efficiency is also negligible (0.01% p.a.), but the decline in mix efficiency is high at 0.19% p.a. Decomposition of the components of TFP changes into finer measures of efficiency corrects the existing literature’s blame of a decline in technical efficiency as the main cause of poor TFP growth in Bangladesh. Among the sources, farm size, R&D investment, extension expenditure and crop specialisation positively influenced TFP growth, whereas the literacy rate had a negative influence on growth. Policy implications include encouraging investment in R&D and extension, land reform measures to increase average farm size, promotion of Green Revolution technology and crop diversification.     

第三方物流跨国企业在华经营面临挑战的实证研究

文章通过对五个企业的案例研究,总结出七项在华跨国物流企业所面临的挑战,即关系、价格压力、政府规制、运输成本、基础设施、信息技术能力及人才的缺乏,这些挑战可以进一步归类为:运营挑战(关系、价格压力、信息技术能力、运输成本)和成长挑战(政府规制、基础设施、人才的缺乏).为业务成长及其服务运营的考虑,在华经营的第三方物流跨国企业必须直面这些挑战.     

Convict Transportation to New South Wales, 1787–1849: Mortality Rates Reconsidered

Previous research into Australian convict transportation has concluded that a significant downturn in mortality rates occurred with the appointment of naval surgeons as superintendents in 1815. Statistical analysis of convict ships sent to New South Wales between 1787 and 1849 shows a more significant downturn occurred in 1800, following the introduction of closer supervision of ships' surgeons. The contracting system established by the Navy Board in 1786 for the transportation of convicts to New South Wales could be made to work as long as government maintained an effective system of inspection and supervision.     

Values,gender and attitudes towards environmental policy: A study of future managers

This study explores if the value priorities and their impact on future managers' attitudes towards environmental responsibilities vary with gender. While relevant prior studies mostly focus on gender‐based variations of individuals' personal values in developed economies, we concentrate on both personal values and pro‐environmental attitudes in an emerging economy. This study is built on MBA students (a proxy for future managers) in India since India is characterized as a male‐dominated society and a producer of larger number of MBA graduates. Overall, our results show that personal values and attitude towards environmental responsibilities do not vary significantly with gender. Only two values (among the 21 values) and one value type (out of 10 values) get significantly higher ranking from females compared with males. Further, although ‘universalism’ and ‘benevolence’ are found to have a statistically significant impact on respondents' attitude towards environmental responsibility, the latter is invariant to the respondents' gender. Our findings may indicate India's transformation from a male‐dominated society towards a more gender‐balanced society. These findings can be used to operationalize a pro‐environmental recruitment policy and to formulate strategies to improve female participation in MBA cohorts of business schools.     

Paradigm shift from a liquidation culture to a corporate rescue culture in Malaysia: A legal review

The company law landscape in Malaysia has witnessed a significant change in its insolvency law with the adoption of two new corporate rescue mechanisms, the corporate voluntary arrangement and judicial management under the Companies Act 2016 (CA 2016), which has repealed the Companies Act 1965 (CA 1965). Previously, the insolvency laws under the CA 1965 were based on the traditional pro‐creditor laws of winding up and receivership, which embodied the liquidation culture. This article examines the transition of the insolvency laws in Malaysia from a liquidation culture under the CA 1965 to a corporate rescue culture under the CA 2016. It also reviews the necessary changes to the pro‐creditor laws, which are preserved under the CA 2016 in order to accommodate the pro‐debtor laws with the introduction of the corporate rescue mechanisms, which came into force on March 1, 2018. Through comparative and critical analysis of similar laws in the United Kingdom and Singapore, this article argues that while the corporate rescue mechanisms are regarded as pro‐debtor however the review reveals that the position of secured creditors are impeding its application and reforms ought to be considered.     

Enterprise level cluster innovation with policy design

ABSTRACT

An industrial cluster is an important link in the process of industrialization. The existing research is mainly based on the market economy. Our paper considers external policy design for cluster innovation based on the transition from planned economy to market economy in China. This paper finds some enterprises in the cluster are transferred from micro-enterprises to small ones, but does not find clustering from the small enterprise to middle or larger enterprise. Furthermore, our paper explained why such a cluster occurs by applying a semi-parametric counterfactual approach. The results indicate that building cluster zones as upgrading the enterprise structure policy and implementing VAT tax systems as the tax benefit policy has the most proponent role in industrial clustering, whereas increasing the loan/financing as the credit policy has a minor impact, which is not negligible either. Overall, this study explains why clusters shift to high output valued with a high interpretation of up to 97%. The contribution of this paper is not only to describe the time process of micro-to-small enterprise clustering but also to give the policy design how to achieve rapid micro-to-small enterprise clustering.     

A review of CSR classification schemes and the operationalization of bolted-on vs. built-in CSR

Recent conceptualization of built-in versus bolted-on corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives has offered a much-needed distinguishing framework to sophisticate our understanding of why different CSR initiatives yield varying corporate social performance (CSP) and associated recognition from stakeholders. One of the major roadblocks in conducting research on these two types of CSR initiatives is the absence of a valid and reliable measure. We address this void by developing a measure for bolted-on versus built-in CSR that relies on coding publicly available content. Our measure of these two types of CSR initiatives tests favorably for both convergent and discriminant validity and inter-rater reliability. Advancement of such a measurement instrument will positively contribute to CSR research, enabling scholars to better theorize the linkage between CSR and reputation, and other aspects of firm performance.