DOMESTIC MARKETS AND INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS: GENERIC AND PRODUCT-SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES IN THE ENGINEERING SECTOR

This paper develops a theory of how the size of the domestic market shapes firm competencies. Our theory implies that large markets are beneficial even if factors such as economies of scale or learning effects are absent. We validate our model by an international comparison of the performance of firms that provide engineering services to the oil and petrochemical industry. We conclude that, relative to the United States, the competitiveness of European or Japanese industries is greater in activities whose underlying competencies are not product specific and can be utilized across a variety of products. The benefits of large markets are greatest for activities based on product-specific competencies. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Agro-food trade competitiveness of Central European and Balkan countries

This paper investigates the level, composition, and differences in agro-food relative trade advantages/disadvantages for eight Central European and Balkan countries on the European Union (EU) markets and their implications for food policy. Higher and more stable relative trade advantages are found for bulk primary raw agricultural commodities and less for consumer-ready foods, implying competitiveness shortcomings in food processing and in international food marketing. Duration analysis shows that the EU enlargement has a negative impact on agro-food relative trade advantages for all eight analyzed countries. Estimations imply that the duration of agro-food relative trade advantages are the highest for Hungary and Poland, and for Bulgaria in differentiated products, indicating their agro-food trade potentials in the EU-15 markets.     

环境规制与企业自主创新--基于波特假设的企业竞争优势构建

传统的假设认为,环境规制必然会导致企业的成本增加。本文在Robert模型中引入了技术系数,模型表明环境规制在给一些企业带来直接费用的同时,也会激发一些创新,可以部分或全部地抵消这些费用成本。这暗合了迈克尔.波特的观点——环境规制能使受规制的企业受益。企业内生的技术变化会使波特假设变得可行,而外生的环境政策如果产生与波特假设一致的效果,则该政策不一定最佳。海尔通过自主创新,实现了从遵守标准到制定标准,其产品成功地进入了欧美市场,表明全球经济一体化背景下,发展中国家的企业要应对发达国家实施的技术壁垒,只有通过自主创新,才能实现竞争优势。     

中国在东亚地区的自由贸易区建设研究

目前,贸易自由化席卷全球,世界各国都在积极与贸易伙伴谈判缔结FTA／EPA。我国在自由贸易区建设方面起步较晚,而且伙伴国主要在东亚地区。我国在东亚地区的自由贸易区建设面临两难困境：加快自由贸易区建设会给国内部分产业带来冲击和影响;放慢自由贸易区建设叉会遭遇日本以及东盟自由贸易发展的竞争和挑战。我国的策略应该是积极应对竞争和挑战,提高相关产业的国际竞争力,制定明确的自由贸易区战略,争取东亚贸易自由化和东亚一体化的主导权。     

Competitiveness and trade potential of India’s dairy industry

India has become the world’s largest milk producer but its dairy industry lacks market access. This paper determines how world dairy policy reforms would affect dairy production and trade in India and the competitiveness of its dairy industry. We measure nominal protection coefficient for India’s dairy products to determine level and change in competitiveness between 1975 and 2001. We estimate parameters of domestic demand for and supply of raw milk and whole milk powder to determine how a world price increase would affect domestic milk production and whole milk powder exports. Results show that India’s dairy products lack export competitiveness. But with less distorted world dairy markets, India could be competitive and would emerge as a net exporter of whole milk powder, benefiting dairy industries and milk producers in India.     

评价中国制造业国际竞争力的实证方法研究--兼与波特指标及产业分类法比较

本文应用内容分析法,对近年来发表在国内权威和核心期刊上有关中国制造业国际竞争力评价的重要实证文献进行了回顾与综述,分析了这些实证研究中存在的问题和可取之处,并就两个关键点进行了探讨一是在进行产业国际竞争力的评价时,应该如何选取方法和指标;二是在对中国制造业的国际竞争力进行实证研究时,应当采用何种产业分类法。经过对产业竞争力四个层次的划分及与波特方法的比较,得出对中国制造业的国际竞争力进行评价的方法结论以产业利润率、全球市场份额和劳动生产率/平均工资率三者为评价指标;用相当于ISIC二分位的国内28个制造业部门进行产业分类。     

Country—specific advantage and international cooperation

This paper tests the hypothesis that country-specific advantage embedded in firms of a particular nationality is a motivation for international interfirm cooperation. A sample of domestic and international cooperative relationships formed by Japanese firms in the commercialization of biotechnology is used to identify factors which differentiate domestic from foreign partners. The findings support our hypothesis that country-specific advantage is a significant variable in explaining differences between cooperative relationships with partners of different countries. The results of this study indicate that interfirm cooperation has implications for the international competitiveness of both firms and nations in high technology industries.     

论提高我国国际市场竞争力的策略

文章分析了关于国际市场竞争的比较优势理论和竞争优势理论,结合中国现阶段各产业部门的实际情况,通过所获数据统计分析,指出中国应该实行以“竞争优势论”为指导的贸易战略,保护发展高新产业,选择性发展具有规模效应和比较优势的传统产业。在保持一般竞争力提高的同时,努力提高产品的市场垄断竞争力。     

Private incentives for adopting food safety and quality assurance

The competitiveness of food companies in national and international markets depends upon their ability to adopt production processes which meet food safety and quality requirements. Food safety and quality assurance affect the cost of carrying out transactions, and therein lies the private incentive for adopting voluntary quality assurance systems. While quality assurance systems have the potential to reduce transaction costs by serving as the seller's guarantee of safety or quality, they may also serve as trade barriers.     

Subcontracting,Posted Migrants and Labour Market Segmentation in Finland

Using evidence from the shipbuilding and construction industries in Finland, this article shows how trade union responses to the introduction of migrant workers can be conditioned by product markets. Growing numbers of ‘posted workers’, or intra‐European Union work migrants employed via transnational subcontractors, are segmenting the labour market, by competing with domestically domiciled workers whose employment is more tightly regulated. In Finland, the construction worker's union has had a far more assertive and successful approach to enforcing wage norms than the union in shipbuilding. This appears to be related to the greater exposure of shipbuilding to international product market competition.     

Successful new product development—An international comparative study

Abstract . This paper reports on the results of a study of new product development processes in the British and West German machine tool industries. Differences in the product development processes between the two national industries are used to explain the relative trading performance of each industry in international markets in recent years.     

Entry into Swedish Retail and Wholesale Trade Markets

This paper examines, using a zero-inflated negative binomial regression model, what determined entry into the Swedish retail and wholesale trade markets between 1990 and 1996. According to the results, high returns on equity and low sunk costs seemed to attract more entry into retail trade industries, while recent entry and higher total industry sales were associated with more entry into both retail and wholesale trade local markets.     

标准在企业走向国际市场中的作用

阐述了标准在企业生产经营活动中的作用，通过对国际标准、WTO、WTO/TBT协议的情况介绍，分析了标准对于开展国际贸易的重要性，明确了国际标准是WTO协议的技术基础，是消除贸易技术壁垒的有效手段；明晰了标准在企业走向国际市场中的作用即在新的经济形势下，标准不仅一如既往的在企业的生产和经营中发挥着重要的作用，而且在企业走向国际市场的过程中，又架起了通向国际市场的桥梁。     

亚洲金融危机对石化工业的影响及思考

1997年的亚洲金融危机对全球的石油及石油化工行业产生了重大影响，石油需求下降，油价下跌，石化产品市场低迷。世界的石化产品贸易格局出现了新的变化，兼并、联合、重组掀起热潮。作为资金和技术密集型的石化工业要注重经济效益，提高国际竞争力，走集约化发展的道路。     

Collective Bargaining,Inter‐Sectoral Heterogeneity and Competitiveness: A Cross‐National Comparison of Macroeconomic Performance

Research on the performance effects of bargaining remains inconclusive. One reason for this is neglect of heterogeneity of the bargainers, namely differences in exposure to world markets and their implications for international competitiveness. Since the effects of bargaining on competitiveness depend on coping with productivity differentials between the exposed and sheltered sector, we discuss how distinct bargaining structures interact with these differentials. Exposed‐sector pattern setting is predicted to be the only bargaining structure that is sensitive to productivity differentials. The findings from time series cross‐sectional analysis corroborate the expected impact on labour costs and the current balance, whereas no employment effects are discernible.     

Legislation facing high-market-share U.S. industrial manufacturers

The concept of “no-fault antirust” calls for a legislated limit on a firm's market share. The concept's attraction is its implied simplicity. However, the concept suffers from a number of intrinsic faults and its implementation would adversely effect the competitiveness of U.S. industrial firms in both domestic and international markets.     

Human Resource Management and International Trade

This article reviews recent developments in international trade theory that relate to issues of human resource management and industrial relations Some trade models with imperfectly competitive goods markets and thir liks to strategic trade and industrial policy and described. These models, results are shown to be sensitive to the incorporation of labor market imperfections. Applications of trade theory to international labor migration and human capital acquisition are also included.     

网络型寡占市场结构与中国产业的国际竞争力

产业竞争力归根结蒂是一个产业组织问题，形成有效竞争的产业组织和市场结构是培育和增强我国产业国际竞争力的根本途径和决定性条件。在经济全球化和网络经济条件下，为迅速提升产业的国际竞争力，我国必须形成一种网络型寡占市场结构。     

Evolving dairy markets in Asia: Recent findings and implications

This paper is an overview of important findings regarding the ongoing evolution of Asian dairy markets based on a series of new economic investigations. These investigations provide systematic empirical foundations to assess Asian dairy markets with their new consumption patterns, changing industries, and trade prospects under different domestic and trade policy regimes, with four case studies (China, India, Japan, and Korea), a prospective analysis of future regional patterns of consumption, and a policy analysis of trade liberalization of Asian dairy markets. The overview distills the findings of these new investigations and integrates them in the earlier economic literature; it draws policy implications, and identifies lessons for countries outside of Asia, especially for emerging exporters in Latin America.     

Exploring the regional implications of interstate quarantine policies in Western Australia

As a signatory of the World Trade Organization Agreement, Australia has a responsibility to ensure the behaviour of its internal markets for food and food-related products abide by the same rules and regulations as international trade. This has generated a need to demonstrate the validity of any measures that restrict competition to avoid disputes and/or retaliatory actions by other signatories. This paper explores a spatial economic evaluation technique that can be used to examine the welfare implications of quarantine policies for regionalised industries, and demonstrates practical application of this technique using two case studies of interstate trade within Australia.