Share issuance and cross-sectional returns: International evidence

Share issuance predicts cross-sectional returns in a non-U.S. sample of stocks from 41 different countries. Issuance predictability has greater statistical significance than either size or momentum, and is similar to book-to-market. As in the U.S., the international issuance effect is robust across both small and large firms. Unlike the U.S., the effect is driven more by low returns after share creation rather than positive returns following share repurchases. Issuance return predictability is stronger in countries with greater issuance activity, greater stock market development, and stronger investor protection. The results suggest that the share issuance effect is related to the ease with which firms can issue and repurchase their shares.     

Path-dependent economic growth with technological trajectory

This paper develops an integrated model of neoclassical and endogenous growth, which accounts for both income inequalities across countries and the convergence hypothesis, while all the growth stylized facts are satisfied. The model in this paper assumes that an economy industrializes in two stages. In the first stage, the economy starts industrialization through factor accumulation (the Solow stage); and after sufficient factor accumulation, it switches to the second stage of endogenous growth through innovation (the AK stage). Therefore, it becomes crucial to determine when switching from the Solow to the AK stages is implemented. We model this switching problem as a two-stage optimal control and show that the growth rate declines during the Solow stage, while in the AK stage it becomes constant. In addition, we draw several policy implications.     

The impact of technology shocks on the Japanese business cycle—An empirical analysis based on Japanese industry data

In order to investigate the impacts of technology shocks on the recent Japanese business cycles, we construct an aggregate technological measure from industry-based data. Our approach is to estimate production function by industry, by controlling for the returns to scale factor and unobserved factor utilization. We find that positive technology shocks result in a contraction of labor input on impact. This result implies that the standard real business cycle (RBC) model is not supported and the new Keynesian model or the labor reallocation model is a candidate to explain the Japanese business cycles. From further empirical studies, we find that the labor reallocation model is plausible for explaining the Japanese business cycles.     

Inside the learning dynamism inducing the resonance between innovation and high-demand consumption: A case of Japan's high-functional mobile phones

Confronting the simultaneous global economic stagnation that has resulted in diminishing consumption, a new driver which can instill in customers an exciting story with their own initiative and thrills them with gratification of consumption is essential. Japan's mobile phone driven innovation may provide a constructive suggestion to this requirement.On the basis of an empirical analysis focusing on the learning dynamism for innovative products in Japan's digital industry, this paper demonstrates the foregoing hypothetical anticipation. Based on measurement of dynamic learning coefficients for seven leading innovative products centered on mobile phones, the Granger causal test, Chow forecast test and wavelet analysis were conducted, and the significant role of mobile phones in leveraging broad dissemination, learning and absorption of core technologies essential to the advancement of digital industry was identified. Furthermore, significant role of demanding customers in inducing resonance between mobile phones learning and that of innovative products was demonstrated.     

A NOTE ON MEASURING SECTORAL INPUT PRODUCTIVITY*

This note attempts to shed some light on the relationship between the total factor productivity derived from national income accounts and the total input productivity based upon input-output accounts, especially on a sectoral basis. Since there has been no positive evidence to support a constancy between changes in net and gross output in individual industries, the formulation of a measure of sectoral input productivity change by using the formula of the Divisia index based on input-output accounts may be valuable in examining possible biases which are associated with a common notion of the total factor productivity. An operational definition of sectoral input productivity change and its relation to sectoral total factor productivity are discussed in the present note, in addition to its empirical application to the Japanese data.     

Economic and management implications of technological advances in the world steel industry

This article reviews recent and prospective major technological innovations in the world steel industry and assesses their probable effects on the production, cost, and export capabilities of established as well as of newly developing steel producing areas.     

Firm age and the evolution of borrowing costs: Evidence from Japanese small firms

This paper investigates how firms’ borrowing costs evolve as they age. Using a new panel data set of about 100,000 bank-dependent small firms for 1997–2002 and focusing on the channel of “adaptation” (i.e., surviving firms’ borrowing costs decline as they age) and that of “selection” (i.e., total borrowing costs decline as defaulting firms exit), we find that the reputation hypothesis suggested by Diamond (1989) provides a more plausible explanation of the downward sloping age profile of borrowing costs than the firm dynamics (Cooley and Quadrini, 2001) or the relationship banking (Boot and Thakor, 1994) hypothesis. In addition, we examine whether the firm selection process in Japan has been natural or unnatural. Our findings suggest that it has been natural in that firms with lower quality are separated, face higher borrowing costs, and are eventually forced to exit, which contrasts with the results of previous studies on credit allocations in Japan, including Peek and Rosengren (2005). Further, we find that the evolution of borrowing costs is partially due to selection but is mainly attributable to adaptation.     

REGIONAL WATER FOOTPRINTS OF THE YANGTZE RIVER: AN INTERREGIONAL INPUT–OUTPUT APPROACH

Recently, researchers have applied the multi-regional input–output (MRIO) approach to water footprint (WF) analysis. The concept of interregional input–output (R-MRIO) was developed to analyse regional issues. Researchers have concentrated on the development of global or international input–output (N-MRIO) tables. Using the N-MRIO and the R-MRIO approach allows the study of global and regional issues, respectively. The WF is an indicator influenced by trade among nations and regions. However, the treatment of imports in an R-MRIO approach differs in whether international imports are separated or combined. We evaluate the effects of the difference between these models and discuss policy implications for the Yangtze River, China. The WF calculated using the combined type model is 11% larger than that by the separated type model. This difference can be ascribed to international imports, mainly internal consumption and interregional trade. We find that this difference affects social equity in water-abundant areas.