Vertical intra-industry trade and foreign direct investment in East Asia

As economic integration in East Asia progresses, trade patterns within the region are displaying an ever-greater complexity: Though inter-industry trade still accounts for the majority, its share in overall trade is declining. Instead, intra-industry trade (IIT), which can be further divided into horizontal IIT (HIIT) and vertical IIT (VIIT), is growing in importance.In this paper, we set out to measure and examine vertical intra-industry trade patterns in the East Asian region and compare these with the results of previous studies focusing on the EU, to which such analyses so far have been confined. Based on the supposition that VIIT is closely related to offshore production by multinational enterprises, we then develop a model to capture the main determinants of VIIT that explicitly includes the role of FDI. The model is tested empirically using data from the electrical machinery industry. The findings support our hypothesis, showing that FDI plays a significant role in the rapid increase in VIIT in East Asia seen in recent years. J. Japanese Int. Economies 17 (4) (2003) 468–506.     

HOUSING POLICY FOR UTILIZATION OF EXISTING HOUSING

Existing housing is not fully utilized in Japan. We explore the problems that discourage the utilization of the existing housing. We present policy plans to solve these problems, and to activate the existing housing market. Our plans include using a hedonic price function to determine appropriate methods for valuing existing housing, introduction of latent defects insurance for existing houses for sale, encouraging the use of fixed‐term housing leases and an providing an intermediary service between the elderly and next users of their houses. Our plan will accelerate the utilization of existing housing and ease the process for the elderly of selling or leasing existing vacant housing.     

Regional patterns of employment changes of less-educated men in Japan: 1990–2007

We investigate regional patterns in employment of less-educated men in Japan from 1990 to 2007. The employment–population ratio of junior high school graduate men (9 years of compulsory schooling) decreased from 1990 to 2007. Wage growth across regions had a unique pattern during this period: it was high in the low-wage regions in the 1990s but high in the high-wage regions in the 2000s. We use these regional variations in wage growth to identify the labor supply elasticity of less-educated men. The estimated elasticity of the employment-to-population ratio of junior high school graduate men is around 0.15.     

Lifetime income and public pension: An analysis of the effect on redistribution using a two-period analysis

This paper examines the redistributive effect of public pension programs in the framework of a two-period analysis. Private saving is also considered for comparison purposes as an alternative to public pension for assuring consumption during retirement. An emphasis is placed on investigating the effect of the various formulae for the determination of both the benefit level and the contribution, with the additional purpose of examining the effect of a maximum limit. The Japanese pension systems are evaluated on the basis of the above model framework in comparison with the British system.     

USING EL NIÑO-SOUTHERN OSCILLATION CLIMATE DATA TO IMPROVE FOOD POLICY PLANNING IN INDONESIA

Despite the impact of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events on climate in the Indo-Pacific region, models linking ENSO-based climate variability to Indonesian cereal production are not well developed. This study measures connections among sea-surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs), rainfall, and Indonesian rice and corn production from 1971 to 1998. Year-to-year August SSTA fluctuations explain about half the interannual variance in paddy production during the main (wet) season. These effects are cumulative for rice: during strong El Niño years, wet season production shortfalls are not made up subsequently. For corn, the cumulative area sown is actually higher in El Niño years than La Niña years. Indonesia's paddy production varies on average by 1.4 million tons for every 1°C change in August SSTAs. The paper illustrates how an SSTA model might assist policy makers with budgetary processes, and private sector cereal traders with framing production expectations.     

Road traffic injury among child motorcyclists in Vientiane Capital,Laos: a cross-sectional study using a hospital-based injury surveillance database

This study investigated the distribution of motorcyclists, including drivers and passengers, who were involved in road traffic crashes and admitted to hospital in Vientiane Capital, Laos. The focus was on child motorcycle drivers and passengers under 15 years. A hospital-based injury surveillance database in Vientiane Capital was used. The surveillance was performed in two hospitals. From 1 September to 31 December 2009, 3968 patients were admitted to the participating hospitals with road traffic injuries. Patients under 15 years accounted for 10.8% (427/3968). The majority of patients under 15 years were motorcycle drivers or passengers (71.7%, 306/427). Child motorcyclists including drivers and passengers were less likely to wear a helmet than adults (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.3, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.2–0.5, for children 10–14 years; adjusted OR: 0.1, 95% CI, 0.05–0.4, for children under 10 years). It is suggested that stricter regulation enforcement for child motorcycle drivers and passengers may be needed. In addition, barriers against wearing helmets for motorcycle drivers and passengers in Laos should also be examined in further studies.     

Exporting and Upgrading of Product Portfolio: Evidence from Korea,Japan and Indonesia*

This paper examines the effect of exporting on ‘product portfolio upgrading’ in a plant, using plant–product matched datasets for Korea, Japan and Indonesia. First, we find that a substantial part of aggregate shipments growth is explained by net adding of products for all three countries. Second, export starters are more likely to add products and to change product shares in plants than never exporters. Third, added products tend to have higher product quality than dropped products. Therefore, our results imply that the entry to export markets plays an important role in product portfolio upgrading: the process of reallocation from lower‐attribute to higher‐attribute products.     

FISCAL CONSTRAINTS, COLLECTION COSTS, AND TRADE POLICIES

The last two decades witnessed trade liberalization in many developing countries. What caused this trend, and why have trade barriers been so ubiquitous when economic theory overwhelmingly supports free trade? This paper proposes that governments' revenue needs are the driving force. Governments may rely disproportionately on trade taxes because they are inexpensive to collect. Trade liberalization is an integral part of a tax reform: a tax base expansion is necessary to allow governments to reduce tariff rates. This hypothesis is supported by a panel data analysis of 27 developing countries.