Productivity Spillovers Across Countries and Industries: New Evidence From OECD Countries

This paper uses a translog approach to estimate intra‐ and inter‐industry productivity spillovers transmitted through input–output linkages, distinguishing R&D and other (remainder) spillovers. For a panel of 12 OECD countries and 15 manufacturing industries from 1995–2005, first, we find that the estimated elasticity with respect to ‘own’ R&D amounts to 0.25 on average (which would be estimated to be lower if R&D were assumed to be additively separable from other inputs). Second, there are sizeable intra‐industry and relatively small inter‐industry R&D spillovers. Third, there are significant remainder spillovers, which are mainly of the intra‐industry type and substantially amplify idiosyncratic technology shocks.     

The effect of the Kyoto Protocol on carbon dioxide emissions

In this paper, we investigate the impact of the Kyoto Protocol on world emissions of a greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide. We use a large unbalanced panel data consisting of 177 countries from 1980 to 2006. The key finding of this paper is that there are structural breaks in the data that demonstrate the effects of the international agreement. While carbon dioxide emissions declined for industrialized (Annex B) countries since the signing of the international agreement, the effect of income per capita is much larger during these years. However in the same period, the effect of industrial production has declined not just for industrialized countries but for developing countries as well. The results are robust to the exclusion of the US and Australia as Annex B countries since they had not ratified the protocol by 2006.     

The Impact of Business Strategies on Online Sustainability Disclosures

With increasing attention being paid to corporate sustainability, pressure from stakeholders, especially customers, is forcing companies to implement sustainability strategies and practices that express their commitment to sustainable development, and engage with stakeholders through voluntary sustainability disclosure. To better understand the sustainability disclosure mechanisms from a business strategy perspective, this study investigates the influence of business strategy, formulated by customer groups, on online sustainability disclosure. It provides empirical observation of Malaysian public‐listed companies based on the combined lens of stakeholder and legitimacy theory. Despite the comparatively low level of corporate sustainability disclosure in Malaysia, this content analysis of online sustainability information disclosure reveals that the companies with more diversified product lines disclose more sustainability information, and that the corporate sustainability effort is significantly related to brand name. Hence, companies should be encouraged to proactively improve their sustainability performance and disclose more sustainability information in order to strengthen their brand names. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

COMPENDIA: Harmonizing Business Ownership Data Across Countries and Over Time

This paper presents a harmonized data set over the period 1972–2002, containing two-yearly data on the number of non-agricultural business owners and the size of the labour force for 23 OECD countries, as well as the quotient of these two variables which is called the business ownership rate of a country. The data set is called COMPENDIA, which means COMParative ENtrepreneurship Data for International Analysis. It has been constructed by EIM Business and Policy Research, using OECD statistics as well as other relevant sources. We make an attempt to make business ownership rates comparable across countries and over time.     

Differences in Perceptions of Human Resource Development Across Countries

Abstract

This study sought to determine whether managers within a multinational enterprise (MNE) differed in their perceptions of selected human resource development practices in their organization. The study also sought to identify whether the managers' perceptions could be clustered by the countries in which they reside. The study was based on cluster research studies that have been conducted in the field of cross-cultural management. Cluster research has suggested that systematic differences in an individual's perceptions of organizational variables can be expected to occur, which are based on culture and national identity. The results of this study showed that differences in perceptions about human resource development existed among managers and that the managers' responses could be clustered into five relatively distinct country clusters.     

Social Capital Across European Countries: Individual and Aggregate Determinants of Group Membership

Social capital refers to norms and networks of reciprocity, trust, and cooperation that facilitate coordinated action for a mutual benefit. Theoretical and empirical studies have documented the positive contribution of social capital in social welfare and development. This study empirically explores the determinants of social capital, in the form of group membership, across European countries. Data is derived from the European Community Household Panel, which covers a large sample of individuals from a set of European countries. Binary logistic regression models are applied to regress an index of individuals' group membership on a set of individual characteristics (income, education, gender, age, marital status, employment), as well as aggregate characteristics of countries (GDP per capita, income inequality, social trust, trust in public institutions, corruption, unemployment, and violation of political and civil rights). Results provide evidence of the impact of both individual and aggregate factors on group membership. These factors constitute a possible means to rebuilding patterns of social capital, especially in Southern European countries, where special‐interest groups and patron‐client relations prevail over generalized norms and networks of reciprocity, trust, and cooperation that promote wider social welfare and development objectives.     

Global Warming Policy and the Pennsylvania Economy: A Computable General Equilibrium Analysis

Most studies of the impacts of global warming policy have been performed at the national level. However, national averages obscure the fact that some regions may be affected much more than others. We formulated a regional computable general equilibrium model to analyze the impact of a carbon tax on the Pennsylvania economy. The model incorporates special features relating to labor mobility, trade and energy substitution for this purpose. Our results indicate significant negative overall impacts on the Pennsylvania economy, primarily because it is a major producer and user of fossil fuels, especially coal, and because it is highly industrialized. Sensitivity analyses on key parameters and model assumptions indicate that our results are robust.     

全球变暖主要驱动因子温室气体变化研究

温室气体变化是全球变化研究的热点和焦点问题。温室气体浓度的变化增加了对逸出辐射的吸收,可能引起气候发生变化。     

The Transmission of Monetary Policy in the Euro Area: Are the Effects Different Across Countries?*

This paper analyses whether the effects of the monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB) may be different across Euro area countries. First, the limitations in the current empirical literature are highlighted. The paper then suggests how to deal with these limitations and provides new empirical evidence on the effects of a common monetary policy shock across individual member countries. Surprisingly, very similar output effects are found across countries.     

Environmental Management in Japan: Applications of Input–Output Analysis to the Emission of Global Warming Gases

Environmental management requires, among other things, the incorporation of environmentally friendly technologies into production processes of environmentally friendly technologies into production processes at the producer level and the adoption of energy consumption patterns which save energy use at the household level. The systemwide approach involving both technology choice and consumer preference seems particularly essential for controlling the total emission of global warming gases. CO₂ and other global warming gases, as well as certain pollution causing gases, are produced when fossil fuels are burnt; and the consumption of fossil fuels occurs in both the production and consumption of goods and services. In this paper we discuss how input–output analysis can be used to estimate the entire production and consumption of global warming gases conditional on production technology and consumer preferences. We also present estimation results and their application to some environmental management issues in Japan. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An International Carbon Tax to Combat Global Warming: An Economic and Political Analysis of the European Union Proposal

A bstract An international carbon tax has been the subject of considerable recent discussion as an economic incentive instrument to combat the perceived threat of global warming lesuking, primarily, from the use of the carbon emitting fossils–coal, oil, and natural gas–in the production of energy. During 1991, the European Union proposed the adoption of such a tax to be imposed by each member nation. The economic merits as well as the problems associated with the proposed European carbon tax are discussed along with the political prospects for its adoption. It is concluded that even though early adoption of the tax is unlikely, the economic merits of this tax instrument for the alleviation of global warming accompanied by changing political parameters may lead to its adoption in the long run.     

Sustainability Governance Across Time and Space: Connecting Environmental Stewardship in the Firm with the Global Community

To differentiate ecosystem management, three models of firm‐level environmental stewardship are paired with three types of trust, which serve as informal governance mechanisms. The interconnectedness of organizational fields and the influence of intertemporality and interspatiality (time and space) are key dynamics in developing decentralized networks as an approach for linking firms, organizational fields, and global sustainability efforts. Interviews with 18 firms, government agencies, and nonprofit‐making organizations from Japan and the USA are utilized to discuss the key concepts in the paper. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Equity Valuation and Current Cost Disclosures: the Case of Mexico

This study uses an accounting-based valuation model to investigate the relation between the market value of publicly traded Mexican firms and their disclosures of price-level adjusted accounting information. The model is estimated on a sample of Mexican companies during 1987–1990, when annual inflation rates in Mexico decreased from 130 per cent to 20 per cent. The results indicate that general price level-adjusted and current cost disclosures explain a significant portion of the cross-sectional variation in the market-to-book ratios of the sample firms. Further, the explanatory power of holding gains is robust to decreases in the general level of inflation, which suggests that current cost and constant peso disclosures are relevant for determining firm value over a wide range of inflation rates. These results are particularly important now since the Mexican Institute of CPAs has proposed eliminating the measurement of holding gains in order to make Mexican financial statements more comparable to US and Canadian GAAP.     

全球气候变化的主要影响研究

全球气候变化带来一系列影响,主要包括海冰缩小、海平面上升、积雪减少、冻土融化、生态系统脆弱性、人类生存面临的危险。     

论世界集装箱运输发展历程及对全球经济的重大影响

介绍了世界集装箱运输发展历程及现状,剖析了其发展趋势,并在分析集装箱运输优势的基础上阐述了其对全球经济发展的巨大贡献.最后指出我国铁路集装箱运输虽然取得了巨大进步,但与发达国家相比仍然存在巨大差距,其发展现状也不适应我国社会经济发展的客观要求,需要借鉴发达国家集装箱运输发展的经验,促进我国集装箱运输事业的发展.     

论世界集装箱运输发展历程及对全球经济的重大影响

介绍了世界集装箱运输发展历程及现状,剖析了其发展趋势,并在分析集装箱运输优势的基础上阐述了其对全球经济发展的巨大贡献。最后指出我国铁路集装箱运输虽然取得了巨大进步,但与发达国家相比仍然存在巨大差距,其发展现状也不适应我国社会经济发展的客观要求,需要借鉴发达国家集装箱运输发展的经验,促进我国集装箱运输事业的发展。