Globalization and the U.S.Defense Industrial Base: The Competition for a New Aerial Refueling Tanker

The growth in the global economy and the trend toward outsourcing have given rise to concerns over the composition and strength of the U.S. industrial base and the degree of U.S. dependence on other countries for certain goods. The purpose of this article is to examine the concerns surrounding the alleged inroads of foreign manufacturers into the U.S. defense industrial base, as well as the background behind the concerns, with a specific focus on the recent competition over what may be one of the largest defense contracts in U.S. history to supply the United States Air Force with a new fleet of aerial refueling tankers. The article discusses the importance of imports and national defense spending in the U.S. economy, explores the dependence (or lack thereof) of the United States on foreign imports in the defense sector, explores strategies that have previously been deployed to reduce the role of foreign manufacturers in the U.S. defense industrial base, and examines in detail the recent tanker competition. The article argues that this competition required the deployment of innovative strategies on the part of the incumbent in the industry (Boeing) and the potential entrant (Northrop/EADS) in order to balance conflicting economic, political, and military procurement objectives.     

The Global Engineering Consultancy Market

The purpose of this paper is to assess and analyze the size and characteristics of the engineering consultancy market in select Western nations and worldwide. A secondary goal is two-fold: to look briefly at the training required for careers in this field and to evaluate the strategies of the participating firms. This sector has grown in the past half-century to about U.S.$550 billion revenue globally, with nearly 3 million establishments and about 500,000 employees. There are giant, multinational firms that span across regions; but the sector is still highly fragmented, and the top 10 firms have less than 15 percent of the global market share. The typical firm in the industry in most major countries consists of around five or six professional associates. The data problems in analyzing this sector are formidable. The paper offers guidelines to using these statistics. It also describes steps necessary for effective marketing.     

改革开放以来中国政府社会保障支出分析

改革开放以来,中国政府不断加大社会保障财政投入,取得了明显成效,为保障国民基本生活、维护社会稳定和促进经济发展发挥了重要作用。然而,我国社会保障财政投入与人民群众的社会保障需求还有较大的差距,不仅财政支出的总量不足,而且支出结构不合理,社会保障财政支出在调节收入分配方面的作用不理想。为此,本文提出了一些加强和完善社会保障财政支出的建议。     

农村集体土地流转及规模经营的绩效评价

在对不同时期土地规模经营与土地效率二者关系进行考察后,本文发现规模经营与土地效率之间的相关性在不同时期有着方向上的变异性。因此,通过土地流转实现规模经营进而提高土地效率存在着一定的外在约束性条件。当前,我国农村土地流转在促进农业产业结构调整、增加农民收入等方面取得显著成效,同时也存在着有效供给不足使资源市场化配置效率损耗的困境。通过建立影响土地流转供需双方决策行为的模型,本文分析了影响土地流转的各因子及影响程度,旨在为制定更有效地促进土地流转的相关政策提供基本依据。     

Doing business in Poland: What U.S. managers need to know

Poland has been and continues to be the leader of the transition economies of Eastern Europe. This study provides an in‐depth look at the ongoing economic, legal, and administrative policies of the Polish government in laying the ground‐work for a free‐market society. With the smaller business in mind, we first examine how the government of Poland moved decisively to lay the cornerstone for a private‐sector economy. Next, we demonstrate how Poland redirected its political and legal processes for long‐term global business. Finally, we describe what the U.S. government is doing to help Poland become a better trading partner and what this means to interested American firms. While there are many deep‐seated positive changes throughout Poland as it becomes a more significant global business player, there also are many challenges that must be understood by interested U.S. businesses if their investments in Poland are to be successful. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Corporate use of innovative foreign exchange risk management products

In today's competitive global markets, firms are threatened by the increasing exchange rate volatility. Over the last two decades, a plethora of new financial products has been introduced in the marketplace to help multinational corporate managers handle currency risks. In this study, the authors examine how extensive are the various major innovative foreign exchange products used by U.S. corporations, and categorize these products into three generations. They find that the popularity of the simpler, first-generation product (forward contracts) has not been overtaken by the sophisticated new entrants, and that the adoption of innovative foreign exchange risk management products is not as common as expected.     

Trade Policy and Global Corporate Strategy

This article is an investigation of the linkages between the international trade and investment strategies of firms faced with global competition and the structure of protectionism. The first section briefly reviews the problems faced by businesses competing in a global environment characterized by triad power. It also provides a new framework which describes the various strategic alternatives available to firms when dealing with government trade policy. In the second and third sections, this theoretical framework is applied to explain a new global trading phenomenon: the recent escalation os U.S. "administered" protection. It is demonstrated how such protection can severely affect the environment for corporations when used as a strategic weapon by U.S. firms against foreign rivals. The fourth section assesses the response of Canadian firms faced with the issue of U.S. administered protection. It demonstrates how they have been able to influence government policy in order to diminish the impact of U.S. protectionism. This section also addresses the question of why certain Canadian firms oppose trade liberalization between the United States and Canada, in spite of administered protection, and how they have been able to influence the Canadian government in order to maintain "artificial" competitive advantages.     

从财税政策角度分析中小企业融资难的问题

中小企业对国民经济和社会发展具有重要的战略意义。受金融危机影响,中小企业融资难严重制约其发展。目前,中小企业融资现状为企业税费负担加重、资金来源渠道狭窄、融资成本相对较高和信用担保体系不完善等。现行财政政策对中小企业融资主要存在财政扶持机制运作不畅、税收政策优惠力度不够、政府采购倾斜力度小及税收政策激励性不足等约束。有效解决中小企业融资难困境,政府应发挥采购的引导作用,加大财政扶持投入和结构性减税力度,完善担保机构风险补偿机制。     

浅议农村社会保障制度构建中的财政缺陷及对策

社会保障的公共品属性决定了社会保障必须要由国家或政府统一管理,由财政承担主要的费用支出和兜底责任,但是由于政府财政职能的缺位,我国农村一直处于社会保障体系的边缘状态.随着经济的发展,农村传统的家庭保障和土地保障功能日趋弱化,以财政为主导构建农村社会保障制度的紧迫性日益凸显.因此,必须明确中央和地方政府在农村社会保障建设中的权责划分,增加农村社会保障的合理投入,健全社会保障法律体系,提高社会保障资金的使用效率,最终构建以财政为主导的新型农村社会保障制度.     

The repositioning of Ex-Im bank

In recent years, U.S. government policy has shifted in favor of government export support similar to that provided by other G-7 nations. In a major initiative in 1993, the Clinton administration devised a national strategy to reposition Ex-Im Bank to respond to the long-standing needs of U.S. exporters. Today, there are several hundred million dollars at Ex-Im Bank's disposal to meet or match the subsidies offered by U.S. trade rivals, and there is a determination to use such resources to help U.S. exporters compete. Yet attempts by Congress during 1995 to trim Ex-Im Bank's capacity in the name of budget cutting have reawakened the debate over export subsidies. The author asks whether it is possible that Washington will forget the adverse consequences of the two-decade failure to keep Ex-Im Bank's loan program competitive with support agencies in Japan and Europe? The article uses the 1992 OECD arrangement, with its restrictions on foreign loan programs tied to the purchase of donor exports, to examine the United States' recurring confrontations with foreign export-subsidy programs and the prospects for U.S. government export support in coming years.     

The Globalization of Furniture Industries/Markets

The globalization of industries and markets represents a key trend of the last decade. This evolutionary process, anticipated to become more prevalent in the future, requires long-term strategies whereby firms, industries and nations utilize competitive advantage to expand beyond domestic borders. In order to remain competitive, manufacturers of industrial and consumer goods must address the threats of both domestic and foreign origin and, increasingly utilize a global context for strategic planning, operations and marketing. Global communications and transportation technologies for electronic data interchange, materials resource planning, international finance, management and marketing have enhanced the ability of firms to operate internationally and offer true world brands. Furniture is an example of a product that naturally lends itself to internationalization in that if performs the same basic function across geographic areas and cultures such as seating, bedding, dining, storage and display. Moreover, the use of international furniture and woodworking machinery shows rapidly diffuses new technologies and designs through the global marketplace. Wood furniture represents a prime example of a U.S. industry that has felt the competitive pressures of market globalization. In 1978, imports claimed only 6.6% of the U.S. consumption of wood household furniture. By 1990, they had reached nearly 25% of consumption. The secondary wood manufacturing industries in the United States, including wooden furniture, have been largely insulated from foreign competition due to their established position within the domestic market, abundant and high quality materials with high consumer acceptance and appeal and certain transportation barriers as associated with relatively high volume to value items. However, as the international competitive arena changes, manufacturers, industries and nations must reevaluate their future strategies in terms of the forces shaping competition. This paper presents a framework based upon a multitude of factors affecting competitive advantage in the global context using a furniture industry example. These considerations may be categorized into six domains: (1)raw material supply; (2) production/technology; (3) design and marketing; (4) related/supplying industries; (5) home country demand; and (6) government influence on trade. Global strategic options are then briefly addressed as they pertain to the wood furniture industry. The synthesis of key strategic inputs combined with a global involvement strategy may provide insight not only to wood furniture, but to many other industries attempting to cope with similar changes as evolutionary momentum builds toward global markets, consumers and competition.     

Systemic risk in global volatility spillover networks: Evidence from option-implied volatility indices

With option-implied volatility indices, we identify networks of global volatility spillovers and examine time-varying systemic risk across global financial markets. The U.S. stock market is the center of the network and plays a dominant role in the spread of volatility spillover to other markets. The global systemic risks have intensified since the Federal Reserve exited from quantitative easing, hiked interest rate, and shrank its balance sheet. We further show that the U.S. monetary tightening is an important catalyst for the intensifying global systemic risk. Our findings highlight the pernicious effects of monetary tightening after an era of cheap money.     

How national culture impacts teenage shopping behavior: Comparing French and American consumers

The global teen market has significant spending power and an important impact on the world economy. However, much remains unknown about the social motivations of teenage consumers and cross-national cultural differences in teenage shopping. This research studies teenage shopping motivations in two nations: the U.S., which is a highly individualistic national culture with low power distance and low uncertainty avoidance, and France, which is perhaps a somewhat more collectivist, more inter-dependent national culture with high power distance and high uncertainty avoidance. This research samples 570 teenage consumers. Susceptibility to peer influence (SPI) drives teenage consumer shopping in France, while both need for uniqueness (NFU) and SPI motivate teenage shopping in the U.S.     

Developing World Faces Scarce Financing——Developing countries facing higher borrowing costs, lower credit levels, and reduced international capital flows, Says World Bank

The global economic recovery that is now underway will slow later this year as the impact of fiscal stimulus wanes. Financial markets remain troubled and private sector demand lags amid high unemployment, according to a new report from the World Bank.     

产业结构升级对中国经济波动的影响——基于三部门新凯恩斯模型的分析

宏观经济由不同产业构成,其整体波动是不同产业波动的综合效果,蕴含了不同产业自身的波动以及它们之间相互作用的复杂机制。文章在考虑中国产业结构升级实际状况的基础上构建了三部门的新凯恩斯模型,分析了产业结构升级熨平经济波动的四种具体机制：粘性价格机制、部门需求转化机制、厂商价格策略互补机制和产业相对规模变动机制。通过数值模拟研究发现：考虑产业结构的三部门新凯恩斯模型明显优于单部门模型,能够较好地再现中国产业波动性大于总产出波动性的特征事实,文章模拟结果表明产业结构升级能够降低宏观经济波动20%左右。文章的研究结论意味着,政府要实现宏观经济的平稳运行应注重推动产业结构升级。     

社会保障税的税源与税率研究——基于2010—2050年人口预测数据

社会保障税费改革争论已久,实质问题不在于谁负责征税,而在于区分税费性质,理顺社会保障体系的结构。基于社会保障税的税源与税率的确定,以《国家人口发展战略研究报告》发布的人口数据为基础,以国民基础养老金为例,测算2010—2050年中国社会保障税的税率、财政支出占比与GDP占比,结果表明:国民基础养老金作为纯公共品,应由政府通过税收的方式为其筹集资金,资金来源的可行方式是征收社会保障税。     

Book reviews

This paper analyzes how fiscal policies and credit constraints can affect the impact of macroeconomic volatility on long-run growth. The model by Aghion et al. (2005) is extended by allowing for governmental fiscal policy over the business cycle. The analysis shows that in an economy facing credit constraints, an increase in volatility will result in lower mean growth, and all the more the less financially developed and the more procyclical the fiscal policy is. The main implication is that in countries with lower degrees of financial development, countercyclical fiscal policies are particularly important in reducing the negative consequences of adverse aggregate shocks on firms' long-run investments. An empirical analysis is finally conducted using different groups of countries that confirm the theoretical predictions.     

阿根廷的金融开放与银行危机

阿根廷是美国赞扬的金融自由化典型,银行证券业向外资开放的力度大,但其爆发金融危机造成的破坏也格外严重。本文论述了阿根廷金融危机与经济全球化进程,特别是与金融开放和资本市场自由化的联系,分析了阿根廷吸引跨国银行投资,对于本国金融体系稳定所产生的影响,以及资本外逃如何给民众造成重大损失。本文还论述了中国应如何吸取阿根廷的教训,慎重对待外资收购、兼并和MBO,特别是“入世”后银行证券业的开放,更好地维护本国经济金融安全,防范风险。     

The Economic Development Role of Regional Logistics Hubs: A Cross‐Country Study of Interorganizational Governance Models

As global competition intensifies, the geographic fragmentation of supply chain activities is creating a concentration of trade at regional freight gateways or hubs. This has significant implications for the economic prosperity of the specific gateway regions. The study explores the deliberate governance efforts of regional economic development agencies and the communities they support in their attempts to exploit location‐specific logistics assets to deliver economic productivity gains. Drawing on the new institutional economics’ body of literature, the research explores prevalent governance models which represent the proactive attempts by these agencies to transform regional logistics capability into cohesive hub strategies. By adopting exploratory cluster‐mapping procedures, web content analysis, and Delphi panels, study findings suggest a typology of multijurisdiction, and multiagency governance models representing the collaborative efforts between public sector and government agencies, academic institutions, and private sector organizations within selected European and U.S. logistics hubs. Each governance type is defined in accordance to specific economic organization and proficiency characteristics.     

美国制造业重振与中国的应对策略

祸起于虚拟经济的2008年金融海啸给美国实体经济带来毁灭性的破坏，出于全球经济格局衍变和解决国内现实问题的需要，美国制定和实施了一系列重振制造业的政策，并且取得了较好的效果。我国应在借鉴主要发达国家应对美国重振制造业的经验的基础上，结合本国的实际情况从制造业规划制定、转变经济发展方式、人才培育、税收和融资、竞争方向、国际规则利用等方面采取措施积极应对。