Race Portrayals in Ghana,Kenya, and South Africa Television Advertisements

ABSTRACT

The current study examines racial portrayals in television advertisements from Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. Whites are over-represented relative to their actual demographic presence in all three countries, and both Blacks and Whites are depicted as over-employed. In general, however, depictions are not significantly different for either race, though there is a hint that a stereotyped portrayal of Blacks as athletes and/or entertainer may be going global.     

我国出口产品生产空间格局的创新

随着中国经济外贸依存度的不断提高，对外贸易、尤其是出口贸易对中国经济发展的作用日益增大，但中国出口产品的国际竞争力提升缓慢，难以适应发展的需要。中国区域间出口产品生产的高度相似是出现这一问题的重要原因，因此实现出口产品生产空间格局的创新非常必要，而建设出口型产业集群则是实现这一目标的重要途径。产业集群建设不仅能获得专业化经济和外部规模经济，而且能有效地降低交易费用和提升产品信誉，有利于扩大产品市场，获取内部规模经济。提高产业出口率也是产业集群不断保持和提升竞争力的重要途径。促进出口型产业集群的发展，培育比较优势基础上的竞争优势是成功的关键：     

Ghanaian attitudes towards money in consumer culture

The globalization of American‐style consumer culture has invited transformations in attitudes towards money in many societies around the world, rich and poor. However, the majority of research in this area has focused on affluent countries. Towards redress, I report on a study that examined the psychometric properties of Yamauchi and Templer's (1982 ) money attitude scale (MAS) using a sample drawn from Ghana, West Africa. The findings suggest that although the MAS needs to be reconfigured for effective use in Ghana, Ghanaians have attitudes towards money that are similar in most respects to what has been observed in wealthier countries, which suggests the global reach of consumer culture. Limitations and future research are proposed.     

政治风险、经济一体化与空间效应对中国出口贸易的影响

文章实证检验了经济一体化程度、政治风险与空间效应等变量对中国出口的影响。研究结果表明,经济一体化程度越高越有利于中国的出口;中国独特的政治经济环境,对于政治风险忍受度较高,反而有助于其出口。此外,贸易伙伴国的人均收入与经济开放程度越高,对中国出口越有利。考虑空间固定效果,中国出口具有聚集现象。由于中国近年来出口贸易快速增长,贸易摩擦随之居高不下,因此中国出口的全球化布局,将有助于分散贸易风险,也有助于中国融入世界经济体系。     

我国农产品进出口形势分析及对策研究

随着经济全球化和贸易一体化进程的不断深入,我国各种农产品的出口出现大幅增长的势头,但随着各种进口关税的降低及配额制和许可证的逐渐取消,我国农产品的进口也出现了显著增长。同时,发达国家利用其先进的技术,以食品健康和安全为由制定各种技术性壁垒和绿色壁垒,给我国农产品的出口造成了种种障碍。因此,认清我国农产品的进出口形势,积极采取各种应对措施,有利于我国农产品赢得更大的出口贸易。     

South African Business Dynamics

ABSTRACT

This study attempts to develop a scale to measure the individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) of persons in South Africa. Respondents were subjected to a survey instrument and provided information on items pertaining to their demographics, entrepreneurial orientation, and values. The results showed substantial differences on the range of items between black and white entrepreneurs.     

石油净进口大国利率与油价对净出口的影响

传统贸易理论在研究影响一国净出口因素时只考虑了汇率和收入水平,本文在此基础上加入了利率和油价因素,并以美、中、日三个石油净进口大国为例进行了实证分析,结果表明利率上升减少投资需求,降低国内物价水平,增强出口商品价格竞争力,使出口增加,进口减少;油价上涨,石油进口支出增加,一国进口总额增加。实证和理论分析结果基本相符,即净出口与利率呈正向关系,与油价呈负向关系。     

非洲石油经济发展的自主性及其主流影响分析

在中东地区持续动荡的背景下,非洲石油因其独特的优势而使其重要性日益凸显。随着非洲本土石油公司的崛起,非洲石油经济的自主发展势头强劲。石油经济对非洲产油国经济社会发展的积极影响渐成主流。     

外商直接投资对中国商品进出口影响的实证分析

本文采用贸易引力模型,结合混合回归分析与横截面分析两种方法,对1992年至2004年外商对华直接投资对中国商品进出口、出口、进口的影响进行了实证分析。混合回归结果表明,外商对华直接投资对中国商品进出口、出口、进口的增长均存在长期且显著的促进作用,而且这种促进作用存在时滞。横截面分析结果表明,每年外商对华直接投资对于中国商品进出口、出口、进口的促进作用随着时间的推移是波动的,但从总趋势来看,这种促进作用在不断增强。     

Two Contrasting Phenomena in Textile Exports

As the two traditional markets for China＇s tex- tile and clothing exports, the U.S. and Europe have recently shown a huge contrast.     

农产品进出口、人民币实际汇率与农业经济增长关系的经验分析

利用VAR模型和IRF检验对我国1980-2005年期间农产品进口和出口、人民币实际汇率与农业经济增长的关系进行了检验,证实了农产品的进口和出口对农业经济增长具有较强的促进作用,人民币实际汇率一定程度的升值不会影响我国农业经济增长。同时,农业经济增长对农产品进口和出口具有促进作用。     

FDI的利润汇出、出口创汇能力对我国国际收支的影响及趋势分析

本文运用1985-2006年的相关数据,通过区分和考虑不同类型外国直接投资对国际收支的影响渠道,分析了外国直接投资的利润汇出和出口创汇能力对我国国际收支特别是经常账户差额的影响。结果表明,外国直接投资是形成我国当前双顺差的主要因素。但是未来这种趋势将会发生变化。本文以2006年为基期进行预测,未来10年内,外国直接投资的出口创汇能力将由于外国直接投资从出口导向型更多地转向市场寻求型而下降,而利润汇出趋势将增强。因而,应加强对外国直接投资的动态监管,减少外国直接投资对我国国际收支的负面影响,避免可能由外国直接投资引起的经常账户危机。     

Exploring consumer ethics in Ghana,West Africa

Consumer ethics is a growing area of research that focused almost exclusively on consumers in the United States and, to a lesser degree, Europe and Asia. In this paper, we introduce an African element to the consumer ethics discourse by drawing on survey responses from over 300 Ghanaian consumers to explore their ethical beliefs and judgements. We analysed these data using regression techniques. Our findings show that Ghanaian consumers exhibit lower levels of ethics compared with their America counterparts, especially when the unethical actions facilitate the achievement of their goals. While Ghanaian consumers recognize the value of moral rules, they are prone to suspending their ethical positions as they deem necessary in a particular context. Implications for marketing strategy and future research are discussed.     

Promoting SMEs in Africa

ABSTRACT

Under colonial rule, sub-Saharan Africa was self-sufficient in food production, and much produce was exported from Africa to Europe. Prior to obtaining independence, in 1957, Ghana-formerly British West African Gold Coast-had one of the most prosperous economies on the African continent. The same is true for Togo, which was administered as part of Afrique Occidentale Française from World War I until its independence in April 1960. Since these two countries obtained independence, however, Indigenous population growth has not been matched by a growth in agriculture and business activity. Today, both Ghana and Togo are net importers, even in basic grains. Can government policy help?     

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and export diversification

This paper explores the effect of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on export diversification in Sub-Saharan Africa. The existing empirical studies suggest that AGOA has had a positive effect on the overall volume of trade between Sub-Saharan Africa and the United States. However, the economic development literature emphasizes the importance of export diversification for developing countries; therefore, it is important to understand the effects of AGOA on the extensive margin of trade (i.e. the number of distinct products a country exports). Our empirical results suggest that AGOA does contribute to export diversification, specifically through its apparel provision. Countries that are eligible for the AGOA apparel provision export not only more apparel products, but also more non-apparel products to the USA. Thus, AGOA contributes to export diversification at the extensive margin of trade with the USA.     

Sector level cost of equity in African financial markets

This paper assesses the effectiveness of Liu (2006) metrics in measuring illiquidity within a multifactor CAPM pricing model. Costs of equity are estimated using this model for the major sectors within Africa's larger equity markets: Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia, Botswana and South Africa. In all countries, the cost of equity is found to be highest in the financial sector and lowest in the blue chip stocks of Tunisia, Morocco, Namibia and South Africa. At an aggregate level, Nigeria and Zambia have the highest cost of capital.     

The Role of Multinational Enterprises in West African Regional Economic Integration

Abstract

Studies on regional economic integration in West Africa have concentrated on conventional accounts, which focused primarily on the activities of states and their agencies. The role and activities of actors who play a key function in the political economy of the integrating states and in the integration process are largely ignored or given limited attention. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the integration process in West Africa by exploring the role and the activities of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the development and growth of the Economic Community of West African States (ECO-WAS). Further, this paper contends that MNEs are never passive in market integration. And through their membership in business associations, they participate in the creation, development and growth of the regional scheme. As the winds of economic liberalization and political reforms sweep across the West African subregion, it will become ever more crucial to forge partnerships between multinational enterprises and the host countries with the desire of fostering regional economic     

Untangling African indigenous management: Multiple influences on the success of SMEs in Kenya

This article examines the nature of indigenous management in relation to the success of SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa, taking Kenya and six SMEs under the management of Kenyan Africans, Kenyan Asians and Kenyan British as examples. It proposes that management systems, styles and practices, when appropriate to the local cultural contexts, will give rise to successful organizations. By formulating tentative hypotheses about this relation after reviewing the literature, the data from these case studies are interrogated first by using a ‘template’ derived from theories of management control to investigate the inter-continental cultural influences on local management, and then inductively to modify and develop the original hypotheses in view of possible intra-country influences. Paternalism, emerges as a common theme in the way cultural influences are combined, suggesting different types of paternalism for in-group and out-group organizational members. This is a possible success factor for local SMEs. Implications for future research in these areas and management practice are discussed.