Governance for climate-change adaptive capacity in the Swedish electricity sector

Abstract

This article analyses the capacity for climate change adaptation (CCA) in the Swedish electricity grid sector. Utilizing two perspectives from organization theory it directs attention to changes in the sector, from the 1980s until 2010, with radical change with an NPM-reform in 1996. For the time before 1996 findings indicate a high CCA capacity. The reform led to a reduction in this capacity through an increased emphasis on economic efficiency, although there also has been some room for robustness-considerations. This article shows that organizational culture and formal structure influence the capacity to adapt to climate change.     

Commodity market reform in Africa: some recent experience

Since the early 1980s, dramatic changes in export commodity markets, shocks associated with resulting price declines and changing views on the role of the state have ushered in widespread reforms to agricultural commodity markets in Africa. The reforms significantly reduced government participation in the marketing and pricing of commodities. This paper examines the background, causes, process and consequences of these reforms and derives lessons for successful reforms from experiences in markets for four commodities important to Africa—cocoa, coffee, cotton, and sugar. The commodity focus of the paper highlights the special features associated with these markets that affect the reform process. The paper complements the current literature on market reforms in Africa, where grain market studies are more common. We suggest that the types of market interventions prior to reform are more easily classified by crop than by country. Consequently, there are significant commodity-specific differences in the initial conditions and in the outcomes of reforms related to these markets. However, there are general lessons as well. We find that the key consequences of reform have been significant changes in or emergence of marketing institutions, and a significant shift of political and economic power from public to private sector. In cases where interventions were greatest and reforms most complete, producers have benefited from receiving a larger share of export prices. Additionally, we conclude that the adjustment costs of reform can be reduced in most cases by better understanding the detailed and idiosyncratic relationships between the commodity subsector, private markets, and public services. Finally, while there are significant costs to market-dependent reforms, experiences suggest that they are a necessary step toward a dynamic commodity sector based on private initiative. Indeed, this is particularly true in countries and sectors where interventions were greatest and market-supporting institutions the weakest.     

Microeconomic Reform and the Third Sector

Microeconomic reform has put the relationship between government and the third sector in Australia on a course of inevitable change. This article examines the key government reports that have been influential in shaping the microeconomic reform agenda in Australia. The objectives driving this agenda are greater accountability, increased effectiveness, improved efficiency and preventing the capture of programme funding by sectional interests. In the process, a new relationship between government and the third sector based on mechanisms to separate funding and service provision is becoming apparent. It is characterized by an increasingly contractual nature, frequent review, contestability, performance management requirements and an emphasis on competition rather than collaboration. As a consequence, there has been a shift in strategic control from third sector agencies to the funding agencies within government. A case study of the Department of Human Services in Victoria illustrates the implications of this shift for third sector agencies and reveals the future directions of government-third sector relations in Australia.     

Efficiency Wages and the Economic Effects of the Minimum Wage: Evidence from a Low‐Wage Labour Market*

This article exploits a natural experiment provided by the 1999 introduction of the UK National Minimum Wage (NMW) to test for efficiency wage considerations in a low‐wage sector, the UK residential care homes industry. The empirical results provide support to the wage‐supervision trade‐off prediction of the shirking model and suggest that the NMW may have operated as an efficiency wage in the care homes sector, leading to a reduction in supervision costs. These findings can explain earlier evidence suggesting that although the NMW introduction increased wages dramatically in the care homes sector, it generated only moderate negative employment effects.     

The Efficiency of Input Use During the Early Transition in Hungary

This paper uses Hungarian firm level panel data for the agricultural and light manufacturing sectors during the early years of the transition to investigate differences and changes in the efficiency of input use. Programming techniques measure scale and technical efficiency. The simple radial measure, as well as two other measures that account for programming slacks, are used. The results show little wastage of materials and labour, but inefficient use of energy and capital, which suggests that the development of input markets was uneven. The price liberalisation of 1989 widened efficiency differences, especially in agriculture, but this sector recovered quickest, actually using capital more efficiently by 1991. However, energy efficiency levels were low in the period of soft budget constraints and fell still further after the reforms, suggesting that a free market for energy was not established, particularly in agriculture.     

Services trade restrictiveness and manufacturing export sophistication

This paper highlights the importance of services trade liberalization. It is well-known that there is a strong relationship between the level of economic development of a country and the quality of its export basket. Since the pioneering work of Hausmann, Hwang, and Rodrik (2007), several studies have attempted to identify the determinants of export sophistication. In this paper, based on the existing literature, we argue that restrictiveness of services sector trade can have a negative impact on the level of export sophistication. Using panel data from 36 countries over the 2005–2014 period, we show that the impact of services sector trade restrictiveness on export sophistication is negative and statistically significant. We find that this negative effect has increased in the post-2007 period. Furthermore, restrictiveness of trade in modern services is relatively more detrimental to manufacturing export sophistication. A series of endogeneity and robustness tests confirm the reliability of our main empirical result. Our analysis suggests that services sector trade liberalization can also be used as a development strategy by developing countries.     

The effect of trade on productivity growth and the demand for skilled workers in Canada

We use an input–output model to examine the effect of trade integration on productivity growth and the demand for skilled workers in Canada for the period 1981–1997. We find that trade integration has a positive effect on both labour productivity and total factor productivity. Labour productivity and total factor productivity grew faster in export and import industries than in the total business sector over this period, and this productivity growth gap has widened over time. Canada is found to have a comparative advantage in capital- and natural-resource-intensive industries, although it has declined over time. We find that trade integration has little effect on the demand for skilled and unskilled workers in Canada.     

Understanding wage restraint in the German public sector: does the pattern bargaining hypothesis really hold water?

German public sector wage restraint has been explained through the presence of a specific type of inter-sectoral wage coordination in the industrial relations system—that is, export sector-led pattern bargaining. First, as a literature-assessing exercise, this paper reviews the literature in industrial relations and comparative political economy (CPE) and finds that (i) the origins and mechanics of inter-sectoral wage coordination through pattern bargaining have never been laid out clearly; (ii) that the mechanisms of the pattern bargaining thesis have never been tested empirically; and (iii) that the CPE literature reveals an export-sector bias. Second, as a theory-testing exercise, hoop tests are performed to verify the pattern bargaining hypothesis. The key finding is that Germany cannot be considered a case of export sector-driven pattern bargaining, opening a new research agenda for the study of public sector wage setting centred on public sector employment relations, public finance, public administrations and the politics of fiscal policy.     

On bank privatization: The case of Egypt

This paper discusses the controversy regarding the privatization of the banking sector in Egypt. It provides an overview of the structure and evolution of the banking system, in the context of the series of reform measures undertaken by the Egyptian authorities over the past decades. The paper assesses the performance of the state-owned banks versus private banks over the period 1995–2005. Microprudential indicators, such as capital adequacy, asset quality, earnings, and profitability, reveal that state-owned banks lag behind in terms of efficiency and performance, compared to their private counterparts. Results also suggest that retaining government ownership can adversely affect banks performance. The paper explores the factors hindering the smooth implementation of bank privatization. The authors indicate that the financial sector reform currently adopted is comprehensive; however it is confronted with various political, social, and economic risks, which raise concerns regarding its sustainability. The paper then draws on the existing literature to provide guidance to policy makers, regarding effective and successful implementation of bank privatization.     

After, before and during: returns to education in Hungary (1986–1998)

How valuable are the skills acquired under socialism in a market economy? This paper throws light on this question using unique data covering the years before and during transition (1986–1998) for about 3 million Hungarian wage earners. We find that returns to a year of schooling increased by 75% from 6.4% in 1986 to 11.2% in 1998. We also find that the private sector rewards formal education more than the public and, in terms of gender, although in 1986 women had greater returns to schooling than men, by 1998 this difference had been eliminated.     

Environmental Pressures and Technical Efficiency of Pig Farms in Hungary

Pig farming is one of the strongest polluters of water due to its intensive production and slurry rejection. Several European countries have introduced environmental regulations aiming at reducing the pollution caused by nitrates from agriculture, but not yet Hungary. We investigate how Hungarian pig farms' output and technical efficiency would be affected if such regulations are to be fully implemented in this country. Results indicate that the pollution could be reduced with no impact on the output level, and that pig farmers have incentives to reduce nitrogen pollution in order to increase their efficiency even in the absence of regulation. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Effect of Financial Liberalization on the Efficiency of Financial Institutions: The Case of Jordanian Commercial Banks

SUMMARY

Jordan undertook major financial sector liberalization starting in the early of 1990s. The effect of this reform on the efficiency of the banking sector is evaluated. A non-parametric method of Data Development Analysis (DEA) has been used to arrive at the efficiency scores for a panel data sample covering eight Jordanian commercial banks over the period 1984 to 2001. The findings suggest that liberalization program was followed by an observable increase in efficiency. Another finding of the study is that large banks demonstrated the faster productivity growth during the liberalization. The study has important implications such as guiding the government policy regarding deregulation and liberalization.     

FDI对我国出口贸易的影响分析

改革开放以来,随着我国利用FD(IForeign Direct Investment,外商直接投资)的规模不断扩大,我国的对外贸易规模和对外贸易结构得到了极大地改善。本文着重从规模和结构两方面分析外国对华直接投资的发展对我国出口贸易产生的影响。从有关分析可知,就出口量而言,外资在我国出口中的作用不可低估,但就出口结构而言,外资促进我国比较优势变革的作用则相对有限。这种现象的产生与外商投资的结构有关,更与我国的投资环境、外贸与外资政策体制的矛盾有关。我国急需调整引进外资的目标和政策,增加贸易体制的透明度,从而进一步优化产业结构,提高产业档次,改善产品质量,增加产品的国际竞争力,保持我国对外贸易持续、健康、快速发展,把我国塑造成贸易强国。     

金融发展的路径依赖与利率市场化

我国金融改革虽然取得了一定的成绩,但仍未突破以银行为主导的金融发展路径,存贷款利差扩大成为利率市场化的阻碍因素。本文运用金融发展的路径依赖理论对此进行了分析,指出在实行赶超型金融发展战略中,为不被旧的路径锁定,使利率市场化顺利进行,减少金融改革中银行业的风险,必须在既有路径中边发展边修正改造,变银行主导型为资本市场主导型金融体系,促使政府主导的供给型金融向市场主导的需求尾随型金融转变。     

Efficiency,productivity and technology comparison for farms in Central and Western Europe: The case of field crop and dairy farming in Hungary and France

This paper investigates the differences in technical efficiency and productivity change, and the technology gaps, between French and Hungarian farms in the dairy and cereal, oilseed and protein crops (COP) sectors during the period 2001–2007. The analyses were performed with national Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) data and the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach under each country's respective frontier and under a metafrontier.Results reveal that French COP farms were on average more efficient under their own technology than Hungarian farms under theirs, but there was no difference between the two countries for dairy farms. However, metatechnology ratios calculated with the construction of the metafrontier indicate that Hungarian technology was the more productive in both the dairy and the COP sectors, but more noticeably in COP production.     

China's Exchange Rate Reform and Exports

The paper argues that exchange rate reform is a vital supply-side factor in China's export growth. It contributes to China's export expansion by affording a realistic exchange rate and allowing freer access to foreign exchange, thereby leading to the reduction of anti-export bias and strong supply response. In an imperfect substitutes model, China's long-run export supply and demand functions are estimated in a system context. Evidence is found that the exchange rate reform is one of the most influential factors in China's long-run export expansion, inducing significant response of exports supply. In the short-run, the exchange rate reform and the export volume are also cross-linked through the error-correction process. China's exchange rate policy adjusts speedily to ensure the long-run equilibrium of the supply-side relationship and is likely to have played a dominant role in the adjustment. The study confirms, thanks to the exchange rate reform, China's exchange rate policy has benefited China's remarkable growth of exports before 1994.     

Modernising pay in the UK public services: trends and implications

The emerging character of the UK government's public sector pay reforms during the second and third (New) Labour terms of office is reviewed and contextualised. Three settings are examined where pay reform has been actively employed – with the accent on harmonisation, simplification and devolution of practice, with the express intention of restoring public service workforce morale, while improving services to clients – namely, local government, the National Health Service and the Higher Education sector. The evidence is interpreted as illustrating undoubted change, but also significant areas where progress has been less than intended, measured against the government's original programme goals. Equal pay considerations appear to have dominated all three projects reviewed: the failure to date of public sector managements to capitalise on opportunities the new pay architecture affords them to change local working practices may be attributed to a combination of factors discussed in the article. These have given rise to tensions as efforts have been pursued to transplant private sector pay techniques, somewhat hastily in some cases, without due consideration of the institutional context within which public services and proximal institutions function.     

How sustainable is the Japanese recovery?

For nearly two years the Japanese economy has grown significantly faster than commentators expected, raising the question of whether the country has finally broken out of its long economic malaise. This article by Simon Knapp examines recent developments to see whether this recovery is sustainable. It argues that over the last year the recovery has broadened out beyond merely the export sector, although there are good reasons to believe that growth as measured by GDP has been overstated and that many serious structural problems remain. Business investment has surged on the back of rising profitability and an improved labour market has helped lift consumer confidence. At the same time the paper recognises the importance of China's boom in stimulating the Japanese economy over the last two years, and estimates that this factor may have boosted the level of GDP by between 1 to 2%. With Chinese growth now moderating to more sustainable levels, export growth will slow over the next year or so. However, domestic demand should now be strong enough, in the absence of major external shocks, to generate GDP growth of around 1.5 to 2% per annum in the medium term; a respectable figure given the country's falling population.     

AN INPUT–OUTPUT STUDY OF THE SINGAPORE INFORMATION SECTOR

The development and use of information and communication technologies is one of the key drivers of the ‘knowledge economy.’ In this paper, we investigate the impact of information technology on the output growth of the Singapore economy using the input–output framework. The input–output framework allows us to understand the impact of information sector in an integrated framework in terms of its linkages to the manufacturing and service sectors. In particular, we adopt the input–output approach to shed light on both production and diffusion activities of the information sector on the Singapore economy. The results indicate that the ICT sector provided the key linkages for the expansion of high-value added manufacturing activities and electronics export for the Singapore economy.     

Multinational Enterprises and the Competitiveness of Transitional Host Economies

Abstract

The paper re-examines a hypothesis that multinational enterprise (MNE) subsidiaries in Poland make a significant contribution to host country competitiveness by raising overall export performance. Multiple indicators based on UNCTAD methodology are used by the authors to analyze Poland's export competitiveness and link this competitiveness to MNE subsidiaries export propensity and innovativeness. They find a confirmation of the positive impact of MNEs on the Polish export sector that has substantially strengthened the country's capacity to compete in world markets and speeded up the transition process to the market-led system.