The role of small firms in East Germany

This paper examines the role which small firms in East Germany have played under the system of combines and the important contribution they can make in the current reform process. The evolution of a striking trend towards the centralization of economic power in the GDR during the last three decades is documented. Not only has the share of economic activity accounted for by the combines greatly increased, but the number of establishments, and particularly small establishments, has drastically decreased. It is concluded that the establishment of a vital entrepreneurial sector is essential if East Germany is to succeed in its process of economic reform and the transition to the market economy.     

East Asian FDI in Europe and Germany

During the 1980s foreign direct investment (FDI) expanded remarkably. Simultaneously, the regional structure of foreign direct investment changed. This relationship is discernible among industrial countries, as well as between industrial and developing countries. Of particular importance is the interface of foreign trade relations between the “Triad” and the economically dynamic East Asian and Pacific area. This article highlights, in particular, foreign investment coming from Eastern Asia into Europe and Germany.     

The post-war transformation of West Germany’s economy: A model for the GDR?

The unification of the two German states within a relatively short period of time now appears inevitable. Yet there is no historical precedent for a successful transformation from a socialist to a market economy. Doubts have been voiced by some as to whether such a transformation is possible. The following article compares the situation facing the GDR today with that facing the Federal Republic in 1948 and examines the conclusions to be drawn from this comparison.     

The determinants of exit in an open economy

In this paper the determinants of exit are investigated for the manufacturing sector of the United States economy, which has been subjected to growing international influences. The analysis uses United States cross-sectional data. The results of the exit equation suggest that low profitability, declining industry growth, and displacement of incumbents by entrants foster exit. International influences are also seen to have an impact on U.S. manufacturing exit. Specifically, imports into an industry have a small effect on exit and protection has little influence in stemming exit.I would like to thank John Mayo, Don Clark, Ron Shrieves, Robert Feinberg, Joseph Shaanan and an anonymous referee for their comments on earlier drafts of this paper. The views in this paper do not necessarily reflect those of the Commission. The usual caveat applies.     

经济迷雾中的媒体投放“GPS”

近年，随着国民经济的迅猛发展．中国的消费环境及消费的人群亦发生着剧烈的变化。消费选择不断扩大，生活方式和态度，消费意识和行为亦呈现多样化的趋向。在经济低迷时期．理性节制的态度普遍可见。那么在营销预算收紧时，面对花钱谨慎又谨慎的消费者，企业营销人员怎样才能进行准确有效的媒体投放以提高其ROI？     

Privatization: The theme of the 1990s

Privatization has clearly become the development issue of the 1990s. While not an end in itself, privatization of state owned enterprises should be viewed as a critical element of economic adjustment. Distilled from his extensive involvement with privatization programs, Lieberman identifies the underlying rationale for privatization, presents lessons to be learned in program design, and cautions against pitfalls to successful program implementation.     

The integration of Japan into the world economy and its meaning for Germany

Japan is currently still characterized by a low degree of import integration in the field of finished products. What are the reasons behind this? What can be done to remove the existing trade imbalances vis-à-vis Western industrialized countries? What, on the other hand, can be learned from the Japanese?     

Why the economy of East Asia Changes dramatically

Japan and South Korea have not solved some profound problems and contradictions that appeared in the course of rapid growth of economy. These include problems and contradictions between growth rate and economic benefits,the structural readjustment to the economy and improvement of the ecological environment and regional economic cooperation,etc.East Asia has such advantages as rich manpower resources,great potential market,great amount of foreign exchange reserve.Alog with the deepening of system reform,enhancing of scientific and technological innovation ability, and strengthening of regional economic cooperation, the economic prospect in East Asia continues to be bright.     

The dynamics of fiscal policy in an open economy

This paper extends the work of Blinder and Solow, analyzing the dynamics of fiscal policy, to a small open economy having a fixed exchange rate. The model is developed under the assumption that domestic and foreign bonds are imperfect substitutes. The stationary properties of this system are discussed and it is shown how, in general, equilibrium requires both the government budget to be balanced and the balance of payments on current account to be in equilibrium. The stability of the system is analyzed under two extreme assumptions: zero capital mobility and perfect capital mobility. A significant result of the analysis is to show how the appropriate choice of the policy parameters, describing the mode of deficit financing and sterilization policies, is of central importance to the stability of the model.     

德国发展循环经济对我国的启示

传统的经济发展模式已经越来越不能满足当今社会发展的需要,发展循环经济重要性日益突出。我国应借鉴德国发展循环经济的经验,结合具体国情选择发展循环经济的突破点,集中力量组织关键技术和装备的攻关,建设循环经济的技术支撑体系;在资源回收体系建设中,要发挥社会中介组织的作用,尽快建立完整、配套的法律政策体系及有效的监督机制,确保我国循环经济的健康发展。     

Privatization and Regulatory Reform in Brazil: The Case of Freight Railways

A variety of proposals for creating more competition within the railroad sector and in the broader freight transport sector are under consideration in countries throughout the world. Brazil, though something of a latecomer to wider infrastructure reform, has recently taken large steps in restructuring its railroad system. This paper analyzes Brazils ongoing railroad reforms, seeking to place them in the context both of the broader reform project going on in Brazil and of railroad reforms taking place in developing and developed countries worldwide.     

The political determinants of executive compensation: Evidence from an emerging economy

In regulated economies, corporate governance mechanisms such as executive compensation are less driven by market-based forces but more subject to political influence. We study the political determinants of executive compensation for all listed Chinese firms in the context of an exogenous shock that removed market frictions in share-tradability. Under strong political constraints, state ownership reduced the managerial pay levels and increased pay-for-performance sensitivity (to asset-based benchmarks). Board independence and compensation committees do not curb managerial pay, and market-based factors do not have a significant influence. However, these effects reversed following the governance shock (removal of market frictions in share tradability).     

IMC in an emerging economy: the Chinese perspective

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) planning and implementation vary greatly by market and country. This study, based on the survey data compiled from 135 Chinese marketing executives, focuses on IMC in China's emerging economy, with the goal of providing an outlook of IMC's current development in China while uncovering factors in the country's socioeconomic and business infrastructures that may cause IMC to deviate from the traditional Western model. The study also explores Chinese responses to the rising proliferation of digital media and its implications for IMC development.

The study concludes that despite uneven business development and a current lack of training in IMC-related skills, IMC appears to be the inevitable course or the future of Chinese marketing communications. Due to factors unique to the Chinese business landscape, such as government-owned business structures, political nuances in marketing channel relationships, and uneven development of consumer culture, IMC in China will likely evolve differently than in the US. Survey respondents reveal that IMC is progressing much faster in local, privately owned firms than in their state-owned counterparts. The rise of digital media will also disrupt traditional media outlets, providing challenges to the Chinese marketer.     

East Asian FDI and the political economy of local development

This article situates the experience of the North East region within the context of the debates concerning East Asian FDI and the political economy of local development. The analysis looks in detail at the Sedgefield Borough economy to offer a more critical reading of the role of East Asian FDI in local economic development. The study concludes that East Asian FDI is a small but significant segment of the local economy which reveals evidence of some ‘leading edge’ developments in particular areas in tandem with a recurrence of the structural characteristics reminiscent of previous ‘branch plant’ investments. The conclusions for the business support network concern the need to change the focus and apparent control over the local economic development strategy and to forge strong links to the agenda of more active regional institutions and policy being promoted by the current Labour government.     

FOCUS: The New Germany A United Germany in the New Europe

Last October the German Ambassador to Britain delivered the annual Gresham Special Lecture in Gresham College in the City of London. The text of His Excellency's lecture is reproduced here with permission.     

The social market economy: an export for the Third World?

Long before the socialist industrialized nations began to call their centrally planned, or government controlled, economies into question, policymakers in many developing countries with dirigistic, interventionist systems, including capitalist oriented ones, had started to rethink their economic philosophies. Now that the former exporters of the concept of the centrally planned economy are themselves interested in importing free-enterprise ideas, reform in the Third World is likely to take on more momentum and interest in the social market economy will increase.     

城市公用事业民营化改革中的政府责任

本文在评述城市公用事业相关研究成果的基础上,重点讨论城市公用事业民营化改革中需加强法规政策的制定与实施、城市公用事业的整体规划与实施、城市公用事业基础设施的投资、维护社会公众利益、安全保障和应对突发事件、对特殊群体和事件的政策性补贴、实行有效政府管制等七个方面的政府责任,并据此提出了实现城市公用事业民营化中政府责任的若干政策建议。     

Monopsony distortions in an open economy: A theoretical analysis

This paper examines the positive and welfare implications of monopsony distortions in a small open economy. The equilibrium when one industry exercises its monopsony power is characterized by an endogenous differential between the marginal rates of substitution in production between the two industries. This monopsony distortion leads to various pathological positive results, including non-tangency of the commodity price-ratio with the shrunk-in distorted PPC, output responses unrelated to the convexity or concavity of the distorted PPC, reverse Stolper-Samuelson results, and opposite movements in real wages and real incomes. In addition, the welfare effect of trade liberalization is of ambiguous sign.