Mexico under NAFTA: a critical assessment

This paper assesses the evolution and performance of several key economic and social variables in Mexico following the passage of NAFTA. The evidence shows that under NAFTA Mexican trade and foreign direct investment inflows have risen at rapid rates, particularly in the export-oriented assembly-line sector. However, the evidence also suggests that it is hard to disentangle the effects of NAFTA from the other non-NAFTA factors such as demand in the U.S. in explaining the dynamism of the Mexican export sector (and economy). This has been attested by how the Mexican economy has been dragged into a severe recession over the past two years as a result of the relatively mild downturn in the U.S. business cycle.Insofar as employment growth, real wages in manufacturing, and productivity performance is concerned, the evidence presented indicates that the record has been lackluster at best and disastrous at worst. Manufacturing employment fell dramatically after the peso crisis, and remains stagnant. Real wages have plunged since the peso crisis and have yet to recover levels attained in the mid-1980s. In terms of productivity performance, no strong conclusions can be reached given the conflicting estimates in the extant literature. At best, the data show that productivity rose at healthy rates in the tradeable sector, but stagnated in the non-tradeable sector.Finally, the paper presents evidence which shows that both the functional and size distribution of income have become more skewed during the period of trade and investment liberalization (JEL 040,054).     

The hierarchical terminology technique: a method to address terminology inconsistency

A review of prior research in the computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) field found that the terminology and definitions used by researchers were inconsistent, with some terms being defined differently but then used interchangeably. Inconsistency in the use of terminology makes it difficult to determine what technology is being used in the research and where a research study fits into the research field. Authors in many fields describe the problem of inconsistent terminology use. A suitable method for identifying inconsistencies and structuring terminology for greater clarity of terminology use in a given research field was not identified. This paper presents a new method, the hierarchical terminology technique (HTT), which is a form of qualitative content analysis process that extends the idea of concept mapping. HTT was developed for this research problem to structure a hierarchy of terms to expose the relationship between the terms. This technique includes terminology identification, analysis and presentation to show the scope of the research field, and to present terminology and definitions to improve consistency. This technique could be used in other fields of study.     

On randomization, modeling and experimental design: some remarks on a paper by De Vos

De Vos (1991) claims to have discovered a new example from agricultural field experimentation which shows that a simple robust spatial model may lead to inference and systematic experimental design that outperforms the inference from randomized experiments by far. In this reaction it is shown that: (1) the example is not new; (2) the gains in efficiency are exaggerated due to comparison with an inefficient randomization method; (3) the paper is over-optimistic with respect to robustness of model-based methods and throws unjustified doubts on the validity of randomization methods; (4) the choice between randomization methods and model-based methods depends on the relative importance attached to efficiency and validity.     

The economic impact of lockdowns: A theoretical assessment

The sudden appearance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered extreme and open-ended “lockdowns” to manage the disease. Should these drastic interventions be the blueprint for future epidemics? We construct an analytical framework, based on the theory of random matching, which makes explicit how epidemics spread through economic activity. Imposing lockdowns by assumption not only prevents contagion and reduces healthcare costs, but also disrupts income-generation processes. We characterize how lockdowns impact the contagion process and social welfare. Numerical analysis suggests that protracted, open-ended lockdowns are generally suboptimal, bringing into question the policy responses seen in many countries.     

Technology-based design and sustainable economic growth

This paper seeks to analyze how design creates economic value. The literature on knowledge-based economic development has primarily focused on innovation as the analytical lens, whereas design is the original action that leads to innovation. Despite the fundamental importance of design, existing design research has offered few insights and little guidance for national strategies due to the lack of focus on and analysis of design in an economic context. This paper addresses such gaps by linking design research and economic development theory. We first elaborate on the relationship among design, invention and innovation, describing the necessity of design activity for invention and innovation. Our analysis of the fundamental characteristics of design across contexts sheds light on the strategic importance of the accumulative nature of technology-based design for sustaining economic growth. Through the lens of technology-based design, we further quantitatively compare Singapore and three similarly-sized countries (South Korea, Finland and Taiwan). Based upon interview data, we also qualitatively examine Singapore's national strategy focusing on design. The quantitative and qualitative results align well with the Singaporean government's use of design as a strategic lever to pursue innovation-driven economic growth, and also reveal its achievements and shortfalls which indicate possible directions for strategic adjustment.     

Artificial intelligence and people management: A critical assessment through the ethical lens

The dramatic increase in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in workplaces around the world has tremendous potential to increase business profitability. While AI has numerous useful applications and can help speed up business processes or transform systems, its use in human resources (HR) processes and systems presents a complex series of ethical considerations that require organizational leaders to tread with caution. In this paper, we argue that as the foremost worker advocates in the firm, HR managers must be ethically sensitive and accountable. They have responsibility to carefully monitor AI programs to ensure that these systems do what they are purported to do and protect the dignity of the worker through transparency regarding the data being collected and privacy regarding its usage. Lastly, the HR manager must closely monitor the fairness and equity impacts of AI such that its use is procedurally and distributivity just.     

Market‐oriented institutions and policies and economic growth: A critical survey

Abstract.  This paper surveys recent evidence suggesting that market‐oriented institutions and policies are strongly related to economic growth, focusing on studies using the economic freedom (EF) indicator of the Fraser Institute. This index is critically discussed. Also various serious shortcomings of empirical studies using this index are identified. Nevertheless, there are strong indications that liberalization, i.e. an increase in the EF index, stimulates economic growth. This paper also reviews studies on the determinants of EF. Political liberalization is often found to enhance economic liberalization, whereas there is less evidence for causality running in the other direction.     

On the path-dependence of economic growth

The cumulated growth of an economy during a period of time depends on the whole economical history during this period and not only of the situation at the beginning and at the end of the interval. However, if some constraint is made on the set of possible economies, this phenomenon of history-dependence may disappear. We give a simple necessary and sufficient condition on the constraint for this to happen, generalizing results of Samuelson–Swamy and Hulten. Our approach is different, based on differential and symplectic geometry. We also solve the same question for a subsector of the economy.     

Evaluating the impacts of human capital stocks and accumulation on economic growth: some new evidence

"Various hypotheses have been put forward in recent years concerning the contribution of human capital to economic growth. This paper argues that school enrolment rates--by far the most commonly used human capital measure in growth regressions attempting to test these hypotheses--conflate human capital stock and accumulation effects and lead to misinterpretations of the role of labour force growth. An alternative education-related human capital measure is constructed which is capable of distinguishing between stocks and flows. Applying this measure to samples of developed and less developed countries during the 1960-85 period suggests not only that there are important growth effects associated both with 'initial' stocks of, and subsequent growth in, human capital, but also that this new measure out-performs the simple school enrolment rates used in previous analyses."     

On the design and efficiency of a participating growth bill

A Participating Growth Bill (PGB) is an innovative hybrid financial vehicle employed by Western institutions and governments in lieu of short-term debt instruments. This study proposes PGB to be considered as an alternative way of raising funds for open market operations by the governments of Muslim countries constrained by religious regulations against fixed-interest debt (ribawi) financing. The security (PGB) is developed using partial equilibrium analysis under the assumption that the assets backing the financial package do not trade in a secondary market—a situation which invalidates the risk-neutral pricing of the well-known Black and Scholes (1973) model. The study finally demonstrates the efficiency of a PGB over a conventional (ribawi) debt vehicle thereby providing results contrary to assertions of the (i) Capital Structure Irrelevance Theorem (see Modigliani and Miller, 1958) and (ii) Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) (see Sharpe, 1964).     

Oil prices,economic activity and inflation: evidence for some Asian countries

In this paper we study the oil prices–macroeconomy relationship by means of studying the impact of oil price shocks on both economic activity and consumer price indexes for six Asian countries over the period 1975Q1–2002Q2. The results suggest that oil prices have a significant effect on both economic activity and price indexes, although the impact is limited to the short run and more significant when oil price shocks are defined in local currencies. Moreover, we find evidence of asymmetries in the oil prices–macroeconomy relationship for some of the Asian countries.     

世纪话题——领导干部经济责任审计

从审计一个单位的财务收支,到审计一个单位领导人任期内所负的经济责任,是具有中国特色社会主义制度下的审计事业的创新。按照中纪委、中组部、监察部、人事部、审计署联合发文要求,从2001年开始,对县以上党政领导干部任期经济责任审计要积极试点并逐步推开,朱钅容基总理指出“经济责任审计只审省级以下的不行,要审省长、审部长,官越大就越得审”。总理的指示,既反映了党中央、国务院对经济责任审计工作的高度重视和严格要求,也体现了党中央反腐倡廉和从严治党的坚强决心,经济责任审计是一个沉重的世纪话题。我省抚州市(原抚州地区)审计局于2000年3月率先开展了县级领导干部经济责任审计试点,先后完成了10批79人(次),其中县委书记5人、县(区)长14人、局长(主任)40人、厂长(经理)6人、县(区)法院院长、检察院检察长14人。本刊为认真了解各级党政领导对经济责任审计的意见与建议,3月8日至10日对其中3名县委书记进行了专访。     

浅析虚拟经济的理论与发展

文章阐述了虚拟经济和实体经济的关系,从而得出发展虚拟经济的必要性和重要性。     

State and territory in post revolutionary Cuba: some critical reflections on the development of spatial policy

And as in private life one differentiates between what a man thinks and says of himself and what he really does, so in historical struggles one must distinguish still more the phrases and fancies of parties from their real organism and their real interests, their conception of themselves from their reality (Marx, edn 1973, 421).     

Strategic groups: Untested assertions and research proposals

Strategic group theory has become a popular tool for analyzing competitive structure of industries. Indeed, testing for the existence of strategic groups, and the impact of strategic groups on a firm's performance, has become one of the dominant areas of empirical research in the strategic management literature. Unfortunately, the impact of this stream of research will be limited until some fundamental assertions in strategic groups theory are tested. Two of these assertions are: (1) that strategic groups exist and (2) that a firm's performance depends upon strategic group membership. These key assertions in strategic group theory remain untested for a variety of theoretical and empirical reasons. What needs to be done to test these assertions is discussed. Until these tests are complete, the contribution of the strategic groups concept will be unclear. If these tests do not build credibility for the concept of strategic groups, it may be necessary to abandon this concept and develop models where the strategically relevant attributes of firms are those that are idiosyncratic.     

On exchange rates and economic growth

Extending Ireland's (1994) model, this paper analyzes an international economy where cash or credit can be used for payment. Foreign trade credit is more costly than its domestic analog. A depreciation of the real exchange rate is associated with an external surplus and a reduced share of imports purchased with credit. Economic growth slows when foreign trade credit becomes the predominant means of payment for international transactions. A country with high inflation exports its Tobin effect and thus temporarily increases world growth.