A tidal wave for change. The case of the automotive supply chain in the West Midlands

The focus of this paper concerns change in the automotive supply chain, industry responses, and policy and strategic implications. Automotive components suppliers are buffeted by global trends and forces, including rising quality standards, environmental issues, and product and process innovation. Although the higher ranks of the supply chain adapt to change continuously, new technologies on the horizon threaten to make many automotive components manufacturers obsolete within some three to ten years. The West Midlands region is particularly vulnerable given its high concentration of automotive suppliers. The potential for related diversification is limited and investment is needed in new manufacturing activities (rather than assembly or sales/distribution) related to environmental, alternative power and electronic technologies. This will position the UK's automotive supply base at the forefront of technological advance against strong and aggressive global players notably from the US, Germany and the Far East. Both the private and public sectors have a strategic and supporting role to play in ensuring that opportunities are maximised. The West Midlands case study has a broader currency for initiatives targeting diversification both in vehicles production and in other manufacturing sectors. Its significance is heightened by the increasing tendency for other sectors-such as food and drink production, and domestic appliances- to adopt automotive practices.     

A practice review of technology management: Focusing on KONVER I support for defence diversification

Defence industry cutbacks impact at national and local economy levels by triggering business deaths and job cuts, leading to lost workforce and production skills and a contracting manufacturing and technology base. Diversification is a key responsive mechanism to defence industry contraction, but how this can be funded and managed is a major issue. One route is to provide the structure and mechanisms for technology transfer. The 1980s and 1990s have seen a number of initiatives established which prioritised this route and some have received European funding under KONVER I support for defence diversification. These constituted the primary focus of research for this paper and form a practice review of diversification experiences between 1993 and 1995 through selected case studies from Lancashire, the West Midlands, the South West and Hertfordshire. Discussion of the mechanisms, structures and operational issues is contexualised by outlining public and private sector strategies and support.     

Averting the construction skills crisis: a regional approach

The East Midlands construction industry is currently suffering from a severe skills shortage across its craft, professional and managerial occupations. The lack of available capacity within the regional labour market coupled with the poor image of the sector, call into question the industry's ability to cope with the levels of new orders and output growth predicted over the next few years. In this paper, it is argued that the casualised nature of the industry's labour market has rendered national, 'top-down' labour market policy measures ineffective in addressing the industry's skills concerns. This hypothesis has been explored through research that canvassed the opinions of key industry stakeholders as to the actions necessary to avert the region's skills crisis. This was achieved through a series of focus groups and workshops involving over 150 individuals with a vested interest in the region's construction skills situation. The insights emerging from the analysis suggested that bespoke regional and sub-regional labour market policies are required to avert the current skills shortage. The recommendations provided by the participants were used as the basis for a strategic package of measures that are currently being implemented across the region's five counties. This strategy aims to join-up hitherto disparate labour market measures within a single centrally coordinated framework. Nevertheless, overcoming the industry's fragmented structure remains an obstacle to resolving successfully the East Midlands' construction skills shortage.     

National economic forecasting at local level: Applications of the Cambridge model in the West Midlands

The pioneering local economic strategies developed by the GLC and Metropolitan County Councils prior to their abolition in March 1986 frequently drew upon comprehensive research and analysis. The West Midlands County Council was the only local authority using forecasts derived from a national economic model as an input to research for local economic development. This article discusses the West Midlands' experience in using forecasts derived from Cambridge Econometrics' model of the UK economy for sectoral analysis, strategic land-use planning and evaluation of the regional impact of national economic policies.     

'Race', Employment, and Contract Compliance: A Way Forward for Local Authorities?

The concern of this article is with action at the local level to combat racial inequality in employment. It draws on the authors' evaluation of the 'West Midlands Common Standard', an innovative policy introduced by a consortium of West Midlands councils to ensure their contractors have, and implement, an equal opportunities in employment policy. The article assesses the impact of the initiative and its potential transferability. It is argued that the Common Standard provides a highly promising model for other local authorities to adopt.     

青岛西海岸经济新区优势产业集群

青岛西海岸经济新区初步形成了以青岛炼化、丽东化工为龙头的石油化工,以海尔、海信为龙头的家电电子,以上汽通用五菱、福田雷沃为龙头的汽车及零部件。以明月海藻、康大集团为龙头的海洋生物及食品,以中海油、北船重工为龙头的船舶与海洋工程,以赛轮公司、双星公司为龙头的橡胶轮胎。以东佳集团、环球集团为龙头的纺织机械,以港洲实业、中远集团为龙头的仓储物流业等8大临港产业集群,2011年实现产值3042亿元。     

福建省外贸行业供给侧改革效应分析

供给侧改革正式提出以来,全国各地掀起了供给侧改革的热潮,它成为经济发展过程中的焦点。经过几年的改革发展,供给侧改革在运行中颇有成效,福建省作为改革开放的前沿省份,也取得了明显的改革效果。而外贸行业作为福建省的主要行业之一,增速相较于福建省的GDP来说是比较平缓的。为了了解供给侧改革为福建省外贸行业的发展带来怎样的效应,采用巴拉萨模型和逐步回归法进行实证分析,发现:供给侧改革引起的是贸易转移效应;在进出口贸易结构改革中,一般贸易、进料加工贸易、保税监管场所进出境货物、海关特殊监管区域物流货物和设备、来料加工装配贸易的改革效应较为突出;而在外资的投资结构方面,服务业与工业是外商直接投资结构性改革的重要影响因素。     

Cluster Dynamics: Corporate Strategy, Industry Evolution and Technology Trajectories - A Case Study of the East Midlands Aerospace Cluster

High-technology clusters have attracted the attention of researchers and policy-makers but studies have focused primarily on the computer, electronics and biotechnology industries; aerospace has attracted less attention. An example of a high-technology cluster based on aerospace is to be found in the East Midlands region of the UK. This paper analyses this cluster. The analysis focuses on the structure of the cluster and the implications of this structure for cluster dynamics. The impact of factors such as corporate strategy, industry evolution and technological trajectories on cluster development are analysed. Finally, the implications of cluster structure for economic development policy in the region are evaluated.     

Visualising the operating behaviour of SMEs in sector and cluster: Evidence from the West Midlands

Cluster policy in the UK, pursued by the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), has readily adopted a simplistic definition based upon industrial sectors and location quotients. Evidence drawn from a study of the operating behaviour of SMEs belonging to two traditional manufacturing industries within the West Midlands—automotive components and clothing—provides a critique of this approach. Whilst the automotive components industry has been designated part of a key, high priority cluster, the clothing industry has not. Using case studies from both industries, this paper shows firms both within and outside RDA cluster definitions display a remarkably similar range of behavioural characteristics. Yet, based on weakly defined cluster policy, one industry enjoys considerably more policy support than the other. The paper begins to question the logic of RDA cluster policy and to ask whether a more sophisticated and locally sympathetic manner of visualising clusters and business behaviour rather than an emphasis on employment numbers would have a greater impact for policy.     

海峡西岸经济区港航产业发展的战略机遇与对策研究

港航产业在推动区域经济发展和社会进步中发挥着十分重要的作用。长期以来,海峡西岸区域国际海运的发展一直受两岸关系的影响。新阶段,发展海峡西岸港航产业,有十分重要的战略意义。本研究分析了两岸直航、ECFA签定等诸多利好政策出台,为海峡西岸经济区港航产业发展提供了主要战略机遇,并结合海峡西岸经济区发展实际,提出了港航产业发展的相关对策。     

我国西部旅游业可持续发展及其法律问题研究

文章认为，旅游业是西部各省区的支柱产业之一。旅游业对环境资源的依存程度很高，其快速发展导致的旅游资源开发与利用中的盲目性问题和保护缺失问题，使得许多旅游资源受到不同程度的破坏。文章以云南、陕西和广西三省区为例，对西部旅游业可持续发展中的法律问题进行研究，旨在探索一务西部旅游业可持续发展的法治之路。     

四川产业结构现状与对策分析

2009年以后,国外产业转移和东中部产业转移的内容、动因和趋势有了一些新的变化,例如,国外和东中部的优质产业也逐步向西部转移,对于四川来说,如何承接产业转移、采取何种机制来保障产业转移是关键。本文将对这一问题进行重点探析。     

Profitability and Productivity of the Chinese Textile Industry

This paper considers the cost structure, profitability and productivity of the Chinese textile industry and estimates the impacts of RMB appreciation on this industry. Using data for 1999-2006, we found that the industry has suffered from very low profit margins and returns on capital. Because input prices have been increasing, particularly since 2001, generating profits has become more difficult for the industry. Nevertheless, the industry achieved substantial productivity growth over the period examined. Although at an inadequate level the proJ~tability of the industry did show some signs of improvement. As long as this trend continues, the industry could obtain a decent level of profitability. Since 2005, however, the industry has faced a new challenge： the appreciation of the RMB. Based on 2006 data, we estimated the maximum rate of RMB appreciation that the industry would be able to sustain to be approximately 5percent a year.     

Comparative European practices in enterprise support: UK, Germany and France

This paper develops issues in enterprise support and research with support agencies discussed in a previous paper (Deakins, 1993). We compare the system of enterprise support in the UK with the role of Chambers of Commerce and local authority support provision in Germany and France through data from interviews in three regions and specific focus on three cities/towns; Birmingham in the West Midlands, Pforzheim in Baden-Wurttemberg and Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne. Criticisms of the duplication of support effort and the lack of coordination have led to the establishment of the first Business Links in the UK. To some extent, these are intended to follow the German model of coordination and the re-focusing of support away from start-ups to existing firms that have 20-200 employees. We are critical of the extent to which Business Links can effectively coordinate enterprise support and target growth firms.     

Revealed comparative advantage in manufacturing industry: The case of the Netherlands

Summary This article contains a survey of empirical evidence as regards the revealed comparative advantage of Dutch manufacturing industry. Besides, a comparison of the factors influencing comparative advantage is made for the Netherlands, Belgium and West Germany. From this review it seems rather clear the the Netherlands' industry has a revealed comparative advantage in skill-intensive products and in natural-resource intensive products. Economies of scale also seem to contribute to Dutch industry's revealed comparative advantage. The role of R&D is less clear, while physical-capital intensity apparently does not contribute to Dutch indutry's revealed comparative advantage. Also it looks like the Netherlands and West Germany have adjusted their industrial structure by moving away from simple products towards respectively skill-intensive products and fundamental products, while Belgium is rather behind in this process. The authors want to thank J. Kol for his valuable comments on an earlier version of this paper.     

海西低碳经济发展路径研究

发展低碳经济是解决当前气候和能源问题的关键,受到国际社会的普遍关注。当前,福建在建设海西经济既面临着难得的发展机遇,也面临一些亟待解决的问题——如何在发展壮大海峡西岸产业群、城市群、港口群的过程中实现低碳经济。本文阐述的是在海西国家战略的撬动下,推动海西经济低碳发展,实现经济发展与资源环境保护双赢。     

西方时尚系统对中国服装产业的影响

西方时尚系统对当代中国服装产业的影响是深远的，引导了服装产业由物质走向文化；改变了服装产业的设计生产模式，促进产业链的优化升级；通过制度化管理，凝聚了时尚信息和服装专业人才，形成了产业符号信仰。另一方面，中国服装产业也受到了西方时尚系统模式的局限，在世界时尚领域失去了体系独立性。通过对时尚系统的历史起源和逻辑构架的研究，分析了西方时尚系统对中国服装产业的多重影响，为中国服装产业升级提供参考。     

Structure and Ownership of East German Enterprises

This paper investigates the process by which East German enterprises have been privatized and their resulting ownership and control structure. A corporate system with a very high level of concentration of ownership has been created. This is particularly closely associated with ownership and direct control by West German companies. The paper argues that this has allowed East German enterprises to gain access to finance, markets, and managerial skills which they might otherwise have been denied. The resulting "insider" system of corporate control will over time allow East German companies to participate in the control of their own and West German companies. The Treuhandanstalt has organized the privatization process to achieve certain industrial and social objectives. It has broken up the large multiplant enterprises to an extent that East German enterprises are now smaller than their West German counterparts. It has used informal liquidations rather than formal bankruptcies to be able to achieve its objectives. Privatizations have not involved the flotation of companies on the stock market. Instead, the Treuhand has arranged share and asset transfers on a scale which is in excess of merger activity commonly observed in the West. J. Japan. Int. Econ., Dec. 1995, 9(4), pp. 426–453. University College London, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, and CEPR; Oxford University and CEPR     

Market town regeneration; challenges for policy and implementation

Many challenges face local authorities and communities as they engage in the Government's Market Towns Initiative, launched in 2001. This article first considers vertical relationships and the conflicts which emerged when national and regional agencies attempted to roll out a top-down programme that is intended to be essentially bottom-up and community driven. Horizontal relationships and issues are then examined such as integrating across sectors, engaging rural hinterlands and working with neighbouring towns. The article uses examples from the West Midlands and identifies key issues that could improve policy guidance and assist future implementation of the Market Towns Initiative.     

Transnational corporations and local capital: Comparative conduct and performance in the Turkish pharmaceutical industry

The comparative conduct and performance of TNCs and domestic enterprises in LCDs has been an issue of continuing debate and research. Further empirical evidence is still greatly needed. In the particular case of the pharmaceutical industry, however, relatively little attention has been devoted to the evaluation of the relative conduct and performance of domestic firms. The existence of a large locally-owned sector in the Turkish pharmaceutical industry renders such an evaluation possible. The paper examines the comparative behavior of TNCs and local firms over five distinct areas, namely, technology choice, export performances, “appropriate” marketing, products, and prices. It concludes that in the majority of these areas behavioral similarities predominate over possible differences.