Innovation and exporting: evidence from Spanish manufacturing firms

This paper investigates the relationship between innovation and the export behavior of firms using data from a representative panel of Spanish firms over 1991–2002. It presents a simple theoretical model of the firm decision to export and innovate that guides the econometric analysis. Consistent with the predictions of the theoretical model, the econometric results suggest a positive effect of firm innovation on the probability of participation in export markets. The results further reveal the heterogeneous effects of different types of innovations on the firm export participation. In particular, product upgrading appears to have a larger effect on the firm export participation than the introduction of cost-saving innovations. These findings are robust to firm unobserved heterogeneity, dynamic specifications, and to the use of instrumental variables to control for the potential endogeneity between innovation and exporting.     

Challenges for the floriculture industry in a developing country: a South African perspective

The increasing numbers of global floriculture producers, and changes in the basis of competition in this international industry, make it important to evaluate the South African floriculture industry's competitive position. The industry employs more than 17 500 people and provides opportunities for rural employment. This article assesses the challenges facing the South African floriculture industry in the competitive global market, using a framework based on global value chain (GVC) and global commodity chain (GCC) analyses. An empirical study showed that the industry is insufficiently competitive and does not participate to its full potential in the global market. It is recommended that floriculture producers shift their focus from the domestic to the international market, as the domestic market is becoming saturated and its turnover is small. However, as enhancing the industry's competitiveness is a complex endeavour, the industry first needs to address the weaknesses identified.     

Technical efficiency and ownership characteristics of manufacturing firms in a developing country: A Brazilian case study

Zusammenfassung Technische Leistungsf?higkeit und Eigentumsmerkmale von gewerblichen Unternehmen in einem Entwicklungsland: Eine brasilianische Fallstudie. — In diesem Aufsatz wird versucht, zwei Dinge zu tun: (1) eine qualitative Beurteilung der Leistungen verschiedener Gruppen von Unternehmungen vorzunehmen, die nach den Eigentumsverh?ltnissen klassifiziert wurden, und (2) Analysen und Sch?tzungen auf der Basis von Produktionsfunktionen durchzuführen, um die relativen Unterschiede zwischen ausl?ndischen, einheimischen und Staatsunternehmungen in bezug auf Leistungsf?higkeit und Skalenertr?ge zu ermitteln. Es wurde festgestellt, daβ für unterschiedliche Eigentumsklassen unterschiedliche Produktionsfunktionen gelten. Es werden Belege dafür vorgelegt, daβ Firmen in ausl?ndischem Eigentum gr?βere Skalenertr?ge erzielen und gr?βere Substitutionselastizit?ten besitzen als Industrieunternehmen, die im Eigentum von Inl?ndern stehen.

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Résumé L’efficience technique et les caractéristiques propriétaires des entreprises manufacturières dans un pays en voie de développement: Une étude de cas Brésilien. — Cet article essaie de faire deux choses: (1) d’entreprendre quelques jugements qualitatives sur la performance économique des groupes différents des entreprises comme classifiées par la propriété et (2) d’employer une analyse de la fonction de production et une estimation pour déterminer la différence relative d’entreprises possédées par des étrangers, le gouvernement et les privés locaux concernant l’efficience technique et les économies d’échelle. Nous avons trouvé qu’il y a des fonctions de production existantes pour des classes différentes et nous présentons quelque évidence que les entreprises possédées par les étrangers ont des rendements d’échelle plus grands et des élasticités de substitution plus grandes que les entreprises manufacturières locales.

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Resumen Eficiencia técnica y características de la propiedad de empresas manufactureras en un país en desarrollo: un estudio de caso del Brasil. — Este artículo représenta un intento para hacer dos cosas: (1) emitir juicios cualitativos sobre el desempe?o económico de diferentes grupos de empresas clasificadas según su propiedad y (2) emplear el análisis y la estimación de funciones de produción para determinar la diferencia relativa de firmas de propiedad extranjera, estatal y doméstica privada con respecto a su eficiencia técnica y economías de escala. Se encontró que existen diferentes funciones de producción para las distintas clases de propiedad. Se presenta alguna evidencia que firmas de propiedad extranjera poseen retornos de escala más grandes y elasticidades de sustitución mayores que empresas manufactureras de propiedad doméstica.

     

Importing,exporting and performance in sub-Saharan African manufacturing firms

This paper examines productivity differences between internationally trading and non-trading firms using data on a sample of firms from 19 sub-Saharan African countries. The paper provides the first evidence of whether exporters, importers and two-way traders perform better than non-traders, and whether there are differences in performance between different types of trading firms in sub-Saharan Africa. Our results indicate that exporters, importers and two-way traders perform better than non-exporters, non-importers and non-two-way traders. We further find that two-way traders perform better than importers only or exporters only, results largely consistent with recent results for other countries and regions. Considering information on export starters, continuers and exiters we also present some evidence suggesting that there is no significant difference in performance between export continuers and starters.     

Multi-product firms,product mix changes and upgrading: Evidence from China's state-owned forest areas

Product selection matters for a firm's productivity and long-run growth. Recent theoretical and empirical studies indicate that an important margin of adjustment to policy reforms is the reallocation of output within firms through changes in product mix decisions. This paper examines the frequency, pervasiveness and determinants of product-switching and upgrading activities in firms located in China's state-owned forest areas during a period of gradual institutional and managerial reforms (2004–2008). We find that changes to the product mix are pervasive and characterized by adding or churning products rather than only shedding products. Moreover, changes in firms’ product mix have made a significant contribution to the aggregate output growth during our sample period. We also find that firms with different characteristics, human capital and market conditions differ in their propensity to diversify and upgrade product mix.     

Monetary policy rules for a developing country: Evidence from Pakistan

This paper estimates forward-looking monetary policy rules to examine the interest rate setting behavior of the State Bank of Pakistan. Considering the external constraints on monetary policy, core inflation and a country-specific measure of the output gap, we demonstrate that the State Bank of Pakistan reacts to changes in inflation, the output gap and the federal funds rate.     

ICT use by households and firms in the EU: links and determinants from a multivariate perspective

The progress toward a digital economy in Europe involves boosting ICT use in various environments, such as households and firms. Studies available at the regional level in Europe focus on ICT use by households. This paper sheds light on the digital divide by exploring the differences in ICT use across European regions, investigating simultaneously not only ICT use by households but also by firms. Using canonical correlation analysis, we first explore the existence of regional patterns of ICT use in Europe. Second, we test the influence of regional characteristics to explain ICT use by households and firms. Our results identify a first pattern defined by the regions that combine high levels of both ICT uses. This pattern is explained primarily by the quality of the regional government, knowledge-intensive services and economic development variables. A divide between southern and northern, and western and eastern regions is detected. We also identify a second pattern that captures ICT use by firms (not related to the first), predominantly determined by educational variables and some economic factors. This pattern does not exhibit the geographical digital divide found in the first. The findings show that there are synergies and regional factors explaining the use of ICT both at home and at work at the regional level in Europe that should be considered when designing public policy geared toward encouraging ICT diffusion.     

Recent changes in developing country exports

Conclusions Using statistics on developing country exports of the component products of key processing chains, this study found that the value of these shipments increased considerably over the period 1964–1974. Further, this increase was accompanied by some deconcentration as LDC exports are now composed of higher percentages of semi-finished and manufactured goods. However, the trade data also reveal an erosion of developing country market shares which produces a sizable annual loss in foreign exchange earnings. While further research aimed at identifying factors leading to the declining market shares should receive high priority, the magnitude of the associated trade loss indicates the potential dangers of neglecting traditional exports.     

An exploration of the use of language training in exporting firms. Case studies from Northamptonshire

Despite the importance of using foreign languages as a means of increasing competitiveness in overseas markets, there is little empirical data on how firms use languages and access training as part of a competitive strategy. Based on interviews with the owner/managers of 14 firms in Northamptonshire, this paper considers their use of language training. A detailed investigation was carried out of the type of training used in the surveyed firms. Through the use of in-depth interviews, the diverse strategies used by the firms were revealed. The implications for local training providers are also discussed.     

流出外国直接投资与发展中国家跨国公司竞争力

近年来,发展中国家流出外国直接投资增长迅猛。本文系统地分析了发展中国家流出外国直接投资跨国公司的绩效,并以经验证据论证了流出FDI有助于提高发展中国家跨国公司竞争力。最后,针对我国的流出外国直接投资的具体情况,提出了政策建议。     

The economics of natural disasters in a developing country: The case of Vietnam

We examine the impact of natural disasters on annual output growth in Vietnam. Using provincial data for primary and secondary industries, we employ the Blundell–Bond General Method of Moments procedure to estimate the impact of disasters on the macroeconomy. We show that more lethal disasters result in lower output growth but that disasters that destroy more property and capital actually appear to boost the economy in the short-run. This is consistent with the ‘investment-producing destruction’ hypothesis that we outline. However, we find that disasters have a different macroeconomic impact in different geographical regions; these differences are potentially related to the ability to generate transfers from the Vietnamese central government.     

Industrialization and resource allocation in a developing country: The case of recent experiences in Tanzania

This paper examines the problem of allocation of resources in the industrial sector in Tanzania during the balance-of-payments crises since the mid-1970s. It is argued that the slow growth of industrial output in the 1970s was aggravated by the failure to shift the utilization of foreign exchange away from capital goods imports for capacity expansion in favour of intermediate inputs for capacity utilization. Consequently society benefited only moderately from considerable new investments of the 1970s. This aspect of misallocation of resources is explained in terms of the role of foreign finance on the one hand and the weak link between macro-level and micro-level planning on the other.     

应对发展中国家反倾销的哲学思辨

哲学思辨性是一种关于事物普遍本质的辨证理论,能揭示事物的发展规律。伴随着全球经济一体化的进程和后金融危机的影响,发展中国家将反倾销作为贸易保护主义的重要手段,对华反倾销呈现出增长趋势。本文基于发展中国家对我国反倾销的现状,运用哲理的逻辑、辨析的思维方式,探索对华反倾销的成因和规避反倾销的对策。     

中国与发展中国家贸易摩擦发展趋势与思考

本文针对目前中国与发展中国家之间贸易摩擦不断增多的形势,全面分析了中国与发展中国家之间贸易摩擦发生的现状,并从经济层面剖析了中国与发展中国家之间贸易摩擦爆发的原因与其影响,文章最后从内外两方面研究了解决中国与发展中国家之间贸易摩擦的措施。     

发展中国家企业内源融资与外源融资的比较分析

企业的融资结构是指企业各项资金来源之间的比例关系。目前企业的融资方式(主要是上市公司)可分为两类，一是通过企业自身的留存盈利和折旧进行的内源融资，另一种是包括股权融资和债权融资的外原融资。根据梅耶斯等人提出的融资优亭理论，企业的融资优选顺亭常常是：①挖掘企业自有资金。企业最先考虑的是从现金账户中提取现金，其次是考虑短期投资的变现；     

Firm-level interactions between exporting and productivity: Industry-specific evidence

This paper investigates interactions between exporting and productivity at the firm level, using a panel of firms in the UK chemical industry. This is both highly technology intensive and the UK’s largest exporting sector. We find exporters are more productive than non-exporters, but are also on average smaller. This superior productivity performance among exporters appears to be caused by both self-selection and learning-by-exporting effects. In contrast to other studies, we find learning effects are significantly positive among new entrants, weaker for more experienced exporters and negative for established exporters. JEL no. F14, D21, L65     

Firm-level interactions between exporting and productivity: Industry-specific evidence

This paper investigates interactions between exporting and productivity at the firm level, using a panel of firms in the UK chemical industry. This is both highly technology intensive and the UK’s largest exporting sector. We find exporters are more productive than non-exporters, but are also on average smaller. This superior productivity performance among exporters appears to be caused by both self-selection and learning-by-exporting effects. In contrast to other studies, we find learning effects are significantly positive among new entrants, weaker for more experienced exporters and negative for established exporters. JEL no. F14, D21, L65