Strategic joint ventures with developing country in battles for technical standards

As technical standards become important in the network industry based on high technologies, advanced countries are actively seeking coalition for compatibility with developing countries, to win in the competition for technical standards. However, developing countries, in comparison with advanced countries, have a little interest in the international compatibility and a slow demand growth of network products. This paper examines what conditions are needed, under this constraint, to attract developing countries' early support for technical standards, and to design a sequential joint venture which is more Pareto-efficient than independent technology development.     

Growth Patterns and Inequality in the Presence of Costly Technology Adoption

The stylized facts that motivate this article include the diversity in growth patterns that are observed across countries during the process of economic development and the divergence over time in income distributions both within and across countries. We construct a dynamic general equilibrium model in which technology adoption is costly and agents are heterogeneous in their initial holdings of resources. We interpret the adoption cost as the resources expended in acquiring skills associated with new technologies. Endogenous growth occurs in our model largely as a result of human capital deepening. The analytical results of the model characterize three growth outcomes associated with the technology adoption process depending on productivity differences between the technologies. These outcomes are labeled ‘poverty trap,’ ‘dual economy,’ and ‘balanced growth.’ The model is then capable of explaining the observed diversity in growth patterns in addition to the divergence of incomes over time and across countries.     

旅游产业技术效率:总体测量与国别比较

近年来我国旅游业的快速发展取得了举世瞩目的成就,旅游业在国民经济中的战略地位得以确立,国际影响地位不断攀升。这一背景下,构建以产业技术效率为核心的国际竞争力成为建设旅游强国面临的重要议题。本文在回顾国内外相关文献的基础上,采用数据包络分析法(DEA)对30个旅游目的地大国旅游产业的技术效率进行了测量和比较研究,并对标杆国家进行了竞争优势分析,研究表明30个世界旅游大国中我国的技术效率水平相对落后,在纯技术效率和规模效率两方面都有较大改善空间。当前我国旅游业的竞争优势地位主要来自于资源禀赋优势和相对价格优势,而基于制度和技术创新的产业技术效率改善才是未来实现旅游经济可持续增长,构建国际旅游目的地核心竞争力的关键所在。     

Technology and the great divergence: Global economic development since 1820

The paper measures productivity growth in seventeen countries in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. GDP per worker and capital per worker in 1985 US dollars were estimated for 1820, 1850, 1880, 1913, and 1939 by using historical national accounts to back cast Penn World Table data for 1965 and 1990. Frontier and econometric production functions are used to measure neutral technical change and local technical change. The latter includes concurrent increases in capital per worker and output per worker beyond the highest values achieved. These increases were pioneered by the rich countries of the day. An increase in the capital-labor ratio was usually followed by a half century in which rich countries raised output per worker at that higher ratio. Then the rich countries moved on to a higher capital-ratio, and technical progress ceased at the lower ratio they abandoned. Most of the benefits of technical progress accrued to the rich countries that pioneered it. It is remarkable that countries in 1990 with low capital labor ratios achieved an output per worker that was no higher than countries with the same capital labor ratio in 1820. In the course of the last two hundred years, the rich countries created the production function of the world that defines the growth possibilities of poor countries today.     

Productivity Growth,Technical Progress and Efficiency Change in African Agriculture

Abstract: The paper examines the economic performance of a large number of African countries using an international comparable data set and the latest technique for analysis. The paper focuses on growth in total factor productivity and its decomposition into technical change and efficiency change components. The analysis is undertaken using the data envelopment analysis (DEA). The present study uses data of 16 countries over the period 1970–2001. It was found that, globally, during that period, total factor productivity has experienced a positive evolution in sampled countries. This good performance of the agricultural sector was due to good progress in technical efficiency rather than technical progress. The region suffered a regression in productivity in the 1970s, and made some progress during the 1980s and 1990s. The study also highlights the fact that technical change has been the main constraint of achievement of high levels of total factor productivity during the reference period in sub‐Saharan Africa. Contrariwise, in Maghreb countries, technological change has been the main driving force of productivity growth. Finally, the results indicate that institutional factors as well as agro‐ecological factors are important determinants of agricultural productivity growth.     

Toward a global effort to protect the earth's biological diversity

The preservation of biological diversity is discussed from a global perspective, with a focus on tropical deforestation. Economic issues in tropical deforestation, market failure, and the costs and benefits of preserving biological diversity are surveyed. It is found using a straightforward economic model based on the cost-benefit criterion that industrialized countries can realize “gains-from-trade” by financing preservation of biological diversity in tropical developing countries. This provides a strictly economic rationale for the introduction of an international system to transfer funds for the protection of biological diversity in developing countries.     

FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT,ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY,AND PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH: EVIDENCE FROM CHINA

Financial development might lead to productivity improvement in developing countries. In the present study, based on the Data Envelopment Analysis approach, we use the Malmquist index to measure China's total factor productivity change and its two components (i.e., efficiency change and technical progress). We find that China has recorded an increase in total factor productivity from 1993 to 2001, and that productivity growth was mostly attributed to technical progress, rather than to improvement in efficiency. Moreover, using panel dataset covering 29 Chinese provinces over the period from 1993 to 2001 and applying the Generalized Method of Moment system estimation, we investigate the impact of financial development on productivity growth in China. Empirical results show that, during this period, financial development has significantly contributed to China's productivity growth, mainly through its favorable effect on efficiency.     

Trends in Agricultural Production Efficiency and their Implications for Food Security in Sub‐Saharan African Countries

The main objective of this paper is to estimate the agricultural sector production efficiency using data envelopment analysis based on a cross‐section of 49 African countries over the 1995–2012 period in order to analyze the determinants of annual efficiency scores to assess the impact of agricultural efficiency on food security. We find that agriculture aid, agricultural sector infrastructure, sanitation, and good governance serve the main drivers of agriculture efficiency and its growth. Our findings also suggest that a large portion of Africa's agricultural sector growth can be attributed to technical progress as opposed to efficiency changes.     

Losing Ground: Latin American Growth from 1955 to 1999

I evaluate Latin America's relative economic performance by combining the Solow growth coefficients from 22 rich countries and the actual factor accumulation in the region. I find that actual income growth was consistently below simulated growth for all of the countries in the sample, indicating that low productivity is likely behind slow gross domestic product growth in the region. The low productivity growth is partially explained by government consumption spending, ethnic diversity, autocracy, export composition, and educational quality.     

FDI流入对中国出口品技术结构变化的影响——一个动态面板数据分析

本文在理论考量的基础上,依据2002～2008年间中国不同技术类型的出口品数据,通过动态面板数据模型,针对中国FDI实际流入总量及分国别FDI流入量对中国出口品技术结构变化的影响进行了实证分析,并根据实证结果对流入中国的FDI的主要类型进行了判断。经分析发现,在样本期间,FDI能够有效地促进中国出口品技术结构的多样化,但对出口品技术结构的优化作用并不理想。其中,来自亚洲四小龙、中国澳门和日本的FDI对出口品技术结构存在较大影响,这在一定程度上反映了现有东亚分工体系对中国的影响;可以判断,当前流入中国的FDI主要是垂直型和出口平台型。基于此,本文提出了相应的政策建议。     

低碳经济发展的全球治理与合作研究

低碳经济发展的全球治理与合作体系主要由国际谈判与决策机制(政府间治理框架)、国际碳排放权交易体系(市场经济体系新规范)、国际低碳技术扩散系统(基于知识产权保护的低碳创新技术应用)等三方面构成,其中,政府间治理框架主体的多样性和诉求的复杂性决定了决策过程的曲折性。在市场经济体系新规范中,发达国家利用现行国际经济、贸易、金融机制的优势话语权控制甚至垄断主要交易市场及交易品种,碳排放作为又一项重要的国际资源,发展中国家正逐渐丧失对资源开发、市场定价、交易过程的控制权,并面临资源价值控制权与主导权的再一次弱化。在国际低碳治理体系技术体系中,基于全球治理共识下的低碳技术在全球范围内的技术扩散、技术转移与技术溢出效应逐渐显现,但技术权力决定的利益诉求对低碳技术流动的制约作用也同时凸显。     

What makes a country socially capable of catching up?

What Makes a Country Socially Capable of Catching Up? —In this study, the authors test whether social capability promotes catching up, the hypothesis that there is technological spillover from leaders to followers. A simple model that captures the hypothesized interaction is presented and tested on an extended sample of countries. The stock of human capital and the degree of integration into the world economy are used to measure social capability. Both measures are important in determining the degree to which the catching-up potential is realized. The authors also find an independent effect of increased trade intensity and trade regime on productivity growth.     

自由贸易抑或贸易保护——国际贸易的经济增长效应再考察

全球经济复苏过程中,发达国家与新兴经济体之间关于自由贸易的争议也变得空前激烈。国际贸易是否有利于全球经济增长?这实际上是长期以来国际经济学与发展经济学领域颇具争议的问题之一,而在当下对这一问题进行重新审视更具有重要的现实意义。传统贸易理论对贸易合理性的探究尽管触及了经济增长问题,但在贸易静态收益理论的框架下,国际贸易究竟是否会促进一国经济增长,既取决于各个国家在各个发展阶段的经济增长究竟偏向于出口部门还是进口部门,也取决于各种贸易政策对各个部门的相对供给和相对需求的影响。本文对现有针对国际贸易与经济增长关系所做的实证研究作了系统回顾和分析总结,明确指出了目前各种看似矛盾的实证证据背后的理论和技术根源。在此基础上,运用两阶段最小二乘估计(2SLS)和GMM动态面板回归技术,对1960～2006年期间全球各国面板数据进行分析,对不同收入水平的国家组别分别就其贸易占GDP比重与GDP增长之间的关系进行实证检验。文章发现,上述实证研究证明国际贸易对经济增长的促进作用与一国经济发展阶段相关,但对不同收入水平的国家而言则存在差异,同时进口和出口在经济增长中的表现也存在差异性。总体来看,对中等收入国家而言,贸易占GDP比重与GDP增速之间的关系最强,进出口均有较强带动作用;高收入国家贸易占GDP比重与GDP增速之间关系较弱,进口的作用甚至大于出口;低收入国家贸易占GDP比重与GDP增速之间的关系最弱,进口甚至有抑制作用。     

全球价值链下我国光伏产业竞争力评价及路径选择

新国际分工格局下,我国光伏产业面临全球产业链两端的双重挤压。本文在选取2007-2013年美、德、法等10个国家光伏产业链各环节数据基础上,构建覆盖产业链上中下游的光伏产业竞争力评价指标体系。通过运用因子分析,从总量、增速、需求、技术四个因子测算各个国家光伏产业竞争力。聚类分析和主成分动态分析结果表明主要国家光伏产业链竞争力呈现从上游到下游逐渐下降的趋势;上游产业主要分布在欧美日等发达国家;我国光伏产业链竞争力不均衡,中游专业化的发展路径,难以实现光伏产业全球价值链高端锁定。     

全球化时代发展中国家的贸易利益重点

传统贸易利益的取得面临全球化带来的要素流动性以及多边体制的政策约束的限制，贸易带来的技术进步和创新应成为发展中国家追求的贸易利益的重点。贸易对技术进步特别是技术扩散有重大的促进作用，而且离开了国际贸易的开放，充分利用国际技术扩散和转移促进经济增长的努力将很难取得成效。东亚新兴经济体的实践也证明了这一点。     

Call For Papers: The Eighth International Convention of the East Asian Economic Association

This paper provides empirical estimates of total factor productivity (TFP) trends in a sample of 17 APEC countries over the period 1975 to 1996. TFP growth is an important measure of an economy's performance and if measured correctly it can provide valuable guidance on issues related to the assessment of sustainable growth trends. We use the Malmquist index to measure TFP growth and decompose it into an efficiency change and a technical change component. This decomposition provides extra insight on assessing sustainable growth trends. The measurement technique itself is regarded as a significant improvement over previous conventional measures of TFP growth. The results are very interesting. Japan, Thailand and primarily Indonesia and Malaysia are identified as countries exhibiting on average negative TFP growth rates in the 1975-1990 period. In all these countries as well as in South Korea and Taiwan the main cause of low TFP growth is a poor (negative) efficiency record. The average TFP growth rate for Japan and Malaysia is positive in the 1975-1996 period but the efficiency change component remains negative. In all these countries the main contributor to labour productivity growth is capital accumulation. Unlike previous studies we find no evidence of a poor TFP growth performance for Singapore. Furthermore, we estimate that most of Singapore's labour productivity growth is driven by efficiency change. Estimates of rates of convergence towards the frontier economy that is estimated (not assumed as in other studies) to be the US, are also reported.     

数字普惠金融对家庭投资绩效的影响分析

家庭如何利用好数字普惠金融的发展,对于实现家庭投资绩效的增长具有重要意义。但目前,中国家庭投资多样性和投资绩效都还不高,家庭风险-报酬比也远远低于国外。所以,探讨数字普惠金融对中国家庭投资绩效的影响就显得较为重要。通过对中国家庭金融调查（CHFS）4年数据为基础进行实证分析发现,数字普惠金融显著地促进了家庭投资绩效与投资多样性的增长。进一步分析发现,中国家庭投资过于偏好投资性房地产,农村地区数字普惠金融发展还不充分。这为中国深化金融改革、扶贫攻坚战略提供了部分经验证据。     

基于SFA的我国中东部经济发展效率差异性的实证分析

以10个省1999—2008年的面板数据为基础,运用基于超越对数的随机前沿生产函数模型,分析了中东部经济发展的技术效率、技术进步和全要素生产率,研究发现:中部的技术效率和技术进步要低于东部,中部对资本和劳动力投入的依存度较大,但中部的效率变化值很大,导致全要素生产率大于东部,中东部经济发展差异存在着减小的趋势。     

浙江省科技投入与经济增长的灰色关联分析

根据2002-2009年浙江省的统计数据,以灰色关联度分析方法为基础,对浙江省科技投入的三个指标R＆D经费投入、科技人员投入和政府财政科技拨款与经济增长进行关联性分析。结果表明,三者对浙江省经济增长有正相关的关系,且科技人员投入对经济增长的影响更大一些。     

我国高新企业技术创新能力多指标分析——基于综合评价法

高新技术企业需要不断提高技术创新能力,才能具备核心竞争优势并实现可持续发展。本文拟利用多指标综合评价法对丰台科技园区374家高新企业的技术创新能力进行评价。首先,在分析影响企业技术创新因素的基础上,运用无纲量化处理指标均值,采用客观赋权法中的标准离差法对各指标赋权重,其次,构建了评价高新企业技术创新能力的指标体系,并具体分析了各指标的影响权重和不同领域高新企业技术创新能力的区别。最后,基于实证分析的相关结论为企业的管理层改善管理、提高企业核心竞争力提供决策依据,也为国家推动高新企业的发展提供政策建议。