Development of educational program for production manager leading new perspectives on manufacturing technology

In this paper, we consider the problems associated with the development and management of an educational program for manufacturing managers in leadership roles who are making contributions towards the creation of customer delight as well as customer satisfaction using manufacturing technology. The basic concept combines an intelligent knowledge-based approach with the kaizen activity program within the framework of value creation and comparative advantage models based on a network referred to as Academia, Business, Consultancy, and Government (ABC-G). This educational program, which reflects the characteristics of manufacturing technologies and practices in the Hokuriku District of Japan, was developed in 2005–2006 and the trial education was developed in 2005 and 2006, and a trial run of this program was conducted in 2006 and 2007 in close collaboration with local manufacturing companies and their employees. The results are informative of the effects of educating manufacturing managers in Japan and the problems that will have to be overcome for the continuous improvement of the program.     

Did FIN 48 increase companies’ tax payments? Trade-off between disclosure and tax burdens

This article examines the effects of implementing FIN 48 on companies’ tax burdens. While the literature examines how FIN 48 impacts companies’ financial reporting, its effect on tax payments has not yet been explored. We find that FIN 48 likely increased larger companies’ tax burdens. Prior to the adoption of FIN 48, larger companies may have used their asymmetric information advantage over the tax authorities to maintain relatively aggressive tax positions. To the extent that such tax-saving strategies were possible only for larger companies, FIN 48 appears to have reduced the appeal of these more aggressive tax minimization strategies.     

Extending the Learning-By-Exporting Hypothesis: Introducing a Credit Constraint

This paper develops a theoretical framework which can be used to examine policy implications from the learning-by-exporting hypothesis. This work builds on previous theoretical literature by introducing a credit constraint. When credit is available, the analysis suggests that supporting a learning sector via an export subsidy is not necessarily advised to improve social welfare. The learning sector’s goods may be over-produced (relative to another non-tradable sector goods) when consumers can borrow freely for their consumption. If the learning sector’s goods are over-produced, social welfare will be improved via a tax on production.

Valuing non-pecuniary instruments of human resource management

This empirical study examines the degree to which non-pecuniary factors affect work incentives by monetizing their value. Although the literature has acknowledged the importance of non-pecuniary factors, the problem of measuring their effectiveness in influencing work incentives has persisted. Using survey data collected from employees, the analyses are intended to elicit aspects of work relations in the real labor market that are difficult to study using laboratory experiments. Our analyses underscore the importance of favorable non-pecuniary factors as affecting work incentives. The results of the analyses also reveal some patterns related to the relative importance of non-pecuniary factors across countries. Irrespective of the country, self-motivated devices have a greater impact on work effort than hospitality-based approaches do. In addition, employees in countries with higher GDP consider non-pecuniary factors more highly than employees in countries with lower GDP do.     

Have the Implications of Twin Deficits Changed?: Sudden Stops over Decades

Over the last three decades, many developing countries have experienced severe currency crises. This paper presents a study of how the importance of twin deficits (budget and current account deficits) has changed in predicting sudden stops from the 1970s to the mid-2000s using data from 42 developing countries. Results show that the explanatory power of twin deficits has declined over the decades but that deficits of these kinds remain important factors for predicting sudden stops. Our results imply that a large current account deficit is an issue even when it is not accompanied by a budget deficit. This finding contradicts Lawson’s Doctrine.     

Productivity and Labor Density: Agglomeration Effects over Time

This paper studies whether agglomeration benefits a clustering region through increased labor productivity by uniquely analyzing agglomeration effects in ecology oriented industries in Kitakyushu, Japan. Our empirical model further extends previous work by introducing a time dimension into the analysis. This enables us to incorporate technological progress and isolate the impact of interest rates on productivity. The past literature has not isolated these effects. Since our model explores whether higher productivity results from increased density over time, it provides policy implications, such as on the effects of labor immigrants and on aging communities.     

What determines firms’ intention to postpone product differentiation?

Abstract

In present-day Japan, more firms are beginning to apply postponed product differentiation in favor of providing mass-customized products. Mass customization can lead to competitive advantages in satisfying consumers’ individual needs. We propose a causal model to describe why and how Japanese distributors decide to postpone product differentiation and supply mass-customized products. The model was empirically tested by structural equation modeling with a dataset from Japanese automobile dealers, who have employed highly advanced mass customization systems and are world leaders in this practice. The results show that two environmental factors, uncertainty and innovation, affect firms’ expectations of their customers’ intentions to purchase mass-customized products and, in turn, firms’ decisions regarding postponing product differentiation in favor of mass customization. Mass customization has a high potential for growth in the future due to increasing levels of uncertainty and evolving forms of innovation.     

How does immigration affect modes of foreign market access: trade and FDI?

This article presents a study of the effects of immigration on trade and FDI. Our analysis is distinct from previous work because it systematically examines the interactions between immigration, trade and FDI. Previous studies treated FDI–immigration relationships as being independent of the modes of foreign market access. Using bilateral data of Japan and 28 other economies for the period 1996–2011, our analysis shows that FDI inflows become more dominant compared to imports when skilled immigration flows increase and less dominant when unskilled immigration flows increase. The results suggest that the relevant policy instruments as regards the promotion of trade, FDI and immigration should vary depending on economic goals, such as current account balances and labour shortages.     

Do migrant and business networks promote international royalty receipts? Evidence from the U.S.

This study examines how migration and business networks affect the trade in intellectual property using bilateral data on the U.S. and OECD member countries. The analyses are distinct in that they comprehensively examine network effects by combining previous works on tangible trade–migration relationships together with the literature on trade–FDI relationships. We show that intellectual property exports are positively related to the number of immigrants residing in the U.S. and the U.S. direct investment stocks in trading partners. However, they do not have any relationships with U.S. emigrants and FDI inflows to the U.S. The result suggests that network effects vary depending on the direction of cross-border factor movements.