Public Procurement and Foreign Direct Investment Across France,Germany, Italy and the UK

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has become an important factor of economic development during the last decades. FDI contributes to the economic growth of the host economy through learning, diffusion of technology, positive externalities and capital inflows. Attracting FDI is currently an objective in its own right for many countries and this paper aims to identify policies affecting the multinational firm’s decision to establish a subsidiary. After accounting for labour productivity and trade openness, cross-section analysis, both industry-wise and country-wise, indicates that public procurement, especially “buy national” policies, and agglomeration economies are statistically significant determinants of FDI. Although our findings pertain to four large European economies, e.g. France, Germany, Italy and the UK, they constitute relevant policy guidelines for developing countries as well.      

政府采购、贸易自由化与发展——政府采购贸易自由化理论综述与批判

基于我国参与政府采购贸易自由化谈判的紧迫性和国内政府采购制度发展的战略需要,对新自由主义政府采购贸易自由化理论这一世贸组织《政府采购协议》的理论基石进行系统全面的梳理,考察这一理论如何推动西方现代政府采购制度的建立,如何积极促成政府采购市场的贸易自由化,以及如何建立政府采购贸易自由化与发展之间的联系。在此基础上采取庖丁解牛的方法,对新自由主义政府采购贸易自由化理论体系的构成要素逐一进行批判性评论,指出这一理论体系的薄弱和矛盾之处,以及对中国参与《政府采购协议》谈判的启示意义。     

Stabilization, adjustment, and the poor

This paper attempts to survey the recent literature on the impact of stabilization and adjustment programs upon the poor and to consider some of the key issues in the context of a particular equity-oriented low-income country. Tanzania. After looking at some of the approaches of earlier studies, this paper analyzes the effects of restructuring policies, macroeconomic restraint, and strategic policy change. The author then reviews available evidence on the recent experience of Tanzania with external shock, efforts at stabilization, and relations with the IMF.In conclusion, the author argues that in order to better understand their impact on poverty we need more detailed analyses of specific countries' experience with different kinds of macroeconomic imbalance and different short- to medium-term policy responses. However, he does indicate with some certainty that when equivalent external blows impact upon very low-income countries, there must be a presumption that, other things being equal (including the distribution of income), the proportion of households and people pushed over the line into “absolute poverty” will be greater than in middle-income countries. The international community should provide external finance to aid these low-income countries in limiting the negative impact on the poorest.     

采购人在预算约束下高价采购需求与社会公众采购低价期望的博弈分析

在政府采购过程中，采购人作为采购需求方期望采购到质量高、尽可能满足其使用需求的商品，但由此会提高政府采购价格。我国实行政府集中采购的主要目的之一就是要降低采购价格，促进公共财政节支。因此，社会公众、政府监督管理部门会通过其监督作用约束政府采购价格尽可能低。本文运用博弈论方法分析采购人与社会公众监督管理部门在政府采购过程中两方的博弈均衡结果，并提出相应对策建议。     

地方保护、因由发凡与政府采购“正本清源”

我国政府采购领域存的地方保护问题,在很大程度上制约着政府采购制度的健康发展和政策功能的发挥,造成政府采购的市场分割、地区封锁,直接影响了市场的公平竞争和全国统一大市场的形成。治理政府采购地方保护仅从政府采购内部进行是难以真正奏效的,必须通过对政府采购的内部和外部进行共同治理,实现内外结合,才能真正消除政府采购地方保护现象。     

Openness,Regional Trade Agreements and Growth: Evidence from Asia*

This paper assesses the relationship between regional trade agreements, trade integration and economic growth in 21 South and South‐East Asian countries over the period from 1980 to 2004. We aim to answer the following questions. First, how does the trade policy of a given country (and countries within the same region) affect a nation's domestic growth? Second, should developing economies in South and South‐East Asia engage in regional trade agreements (RTA) or move towards broad liberalization? Our results show that openness of either a single country or of its neighbors does not affect a nation's growth and that the impacts of RTA are unclear (if not detrimental to growth in some cases, once endogeneity is accounted for). Panel Granger‐causality tests running from openness to growth yield mixed results and some conclusions depend on the particular subsample under scrutiny.     

Trade Agreements,Trade Liberalization and Economic Growth: A Selective Survey

Since 1950 there has been a massive liberalization of world trade taking various forms including the formation of free trade areas, customs unions, unilateral reductions in tariff barriers, and reductions in non‐tariff barriers to trade. To what extent has this liberalization contributed to the growth performance of countries, and what are the mechanisms through which faster export growth may impact favourably on economic growth? The paper first surveys the empirical literature which seems to show that countries that participate in regional trading agreements (RTAs) fare worse than countries which reduce tariffs unilaterally, and secondly comments on the theoretical literature relating to the mechanisms through which exports affect growth. It is argued that the orthodox neoclassical supply‐side argument is only half the story, and much more emphasis needs to be placed on the effect of export performance in relaxing a balance of payments constraint on demand. Depuis 1950, le commerce mondial a connu une libéralisation considérable qui a pris diverses formes: formation de zones de libre‐échange, d’unions douanières, abaissement unilatéral des barrières tarifaires et réduction des barrières non tarifaires. Dans quelle mesure cette libéralisation a‐t‐elle contribuéà la croissance des pays et par quels mécanismes une expansion plus rapide des exportations peut‐elle influencer positivement la croissance économique? Le document passe d’abord en revue le littérature empirique qui semble démontrer que les pays qui participent à des accords commerciaux régionaux (ACR) sont en pire posture que ceux qui abaissent unilatéralement les barrières tarifaires. Le document formule ensuite des observations sur la littérature théorique concernant les mécanismes par lesquels les exportations influent sur la croissance. Il soutient que l’argument néoclassique orthodoxe axé sur l’offre n’explique pas tout, et qu’un accent plus appuyé doit à tre mis sur l’effet que les résultats à l’exportation, en tant que facteur d’atténuation des problèmes de la balance des paiements, peuvent avoir sur la demande.     

环境监测仪器的采购、验收及管理

随着科学技术的发展,环境监测仪器越来越先进,给仪器的采购、验收、管理及使用带来了巨大的考验。规范认真的采购和验收才能为今后的仪器管理和使用打下良好的基础。本文讨论了仪器采购、验收、管理工作中值得注意的问题。     

The Association between Auditor Choice,Ownership Retained,and Earnings Disclosure by Firms Making Initial Public Offerings*

Using a system of three simultaneous equations, we test the predictions of Datar, Feltham, and Hughes 1991 and Hughes 1986 between auditor choice, earnings disclosures, and retained ownership in U.S. firms making initial public offerings of securities. Using a sample of initial public offerings between 1990 and 1997, we find that the demand for high‐quality auditors increases with firm risk. Additionally, we find that auditor choice, earnings disclosure, and risk are determinants of retained ownership, which is consistent with the predictions of Datar et al. and Hughes that auditor choice and direct disclosure are substitute signals for ownership retention. Further, our results suggest that the signals chosen (i.e., retained ownership, auditor choice, and disclosure) are related through their cost structures and are chosen jointly to minimize the overall cost to the entrepreneur.