BRAND AGRICULTURE AND ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY: WHEN ARE HIGHLY DIFFERENTIATED PRODUCTS SUSTAINABLE IN THE REMOTE PERIPHERY?

This paper presents a general equilibrium model of new economic geography, incorporating brand agriculture that produces differentiated agricultural products. Focusing on the core‐periphery space, we show that highly differentiated brand agriculture can be sustained in the periphery even when access to the core market is not particularly good. This result supports the promotion of innovative products in rural areas in order to avoid direct price competition in generic commodities markets under unfavorable conditions.     

Sustainable airline strategy using portfolio theory: A case study of remote islands in Japan

The thin and fluctuated market generally characterizing air transport to remote islands involves greater business risks for airlines. But air transport often plays an important role in the life and economy of such islands. This paper applies portfolio theory to explore how it can reduce business risks to air transport in this context. The concept of Tourism β is introduced to represent the risk associated with each island market relative to overall tourist demand in the region looking as at 31 airports on remote islands in Japan. The results showed that a well-diversified portfolio of multiple remote islands could reduce the score commercial risks for carriers.     

Global Production Sharing and Sino-US Trade Relations

This paper examines Sino-US trade relations, focusing on the ongoing process of global production sharing, involving splitting of the production process into discrete activities that are then allocated across countries, and the resulting trade complementarities between the two countries in world manufacturing trade. The results suggest that the Sino--US trade imbalance is basically a structural phenomenon resulting from the pivotal role played by China as the final assembly centre in East Asia-centered global production networks.     

Firm Efficiency in Cambodia's Garment Industry on the Eve of the Multi‐Fiber Arrangement Termination

Applying a frontier analysis to 2004 firm‐level data, the present paper investigates firm efficiency and its determinants for Cambodia's garment industry. The study finds that firm experience and remuneration are crucial for improving scale efficiency and overall technical efficiency, while effective use of capital and adequate labor‐skill development are important for enhancing a firm's technical capabilities. Foreign‐owned enterprises with a relatively larger share of foreign labor outperform local firms. However, the present study does not reveal evidence of any advantages of a cluster‐type concentration in Phnom Penh and export markets, nor of any positive impacts of product specialization. The findings imply a need to support skill development for workers and local managers at the middle management level, and to streamline foreign direct investment measures to attract greater numbers of efficient foreign enterprises, so as to promote the development of the garment industry as a whole.     

Innovation responses of Japanese firms to Chinese import competition

This paper examines innovation responses of a panel of Japanese firms to the intensified import competition from China in the period 1995–2005. We build a comprehensive firm-level dataset linking patents and R&D merged to cross-industry measures of Chinese import competition. Accounting for a simultaneity bias between innovation and importing and the possible heterogeneous effects across firms, we found that patenting has increased in response to an influx of Chinese imports, but it has adversely affected the quality of innovation, measured by forward citations received. These effects are only observed for globally engaged firms, not for firms focusing on the domestic market.     

Expansion abroad and jobs at home: Evidence from Japanese multinational enterprises

This paper examines the so-called ‘exporting job’ hypothesis – that expansion of overseas operations of manufacturing multinational enterprises (MNEs) reduces home employment – using a newly constructed matched parent-affiliate panel dataset of Japanese MNEs over the period 1991–2002. The results do not support the widely held view that overseas operations of MNEs lower home employment. On the contrary, there is some evidence that expansion of overseas operations may have helped to maintain the level of home employment.