Affiliates and parent employment through foreign direct investment: a study case of substitutability or complementarity

How does outward foreign direct investment (FDI) affect employment of multinationals in the home country? Does the impact of outward investment differ among manufacturing and service sectors? Using data on Italian MNEs, this paper examines the impact of Italian outward FDI on local employment between 1998 and 2006. In particular, we investigate the relationship existing between employment in the parent company and employment in foreign affiliates by distinguishing according to host-country location and sector of activity. The results suggest that the effects of Italian outward FDI on domestic employment differ according to the sector and the country of destination. In the manufacturing sector, a weak but significant relationship of labour substitutability is found for Italian MNEs producing low-technology products in foreign affiliates localized in high-wage countries. On the other hand, a significant North–south complementarity relationship in labour demands appears in the High and Medium-high- technology sectors. In the service sector, we find strong complementarity between employment in the parent firm and employment in foreign affiliates: in particular, this regards Italian MNEs producing knowledge-intensive services both in Western affiliates and CEEC locations. These results are robust when we control for endogeneity of output and parent wages.     

Technical progress,factor substitutability,and models of production: I

Summary This paper is the first of a two-part series which reviews and elaborates a number of rudiments central to production theory. The present installment focuses on technical progress and factor substitutability; specifically, it examines three dimensions of progress and four configurations of ex ante and ex post substitutability. The series is intended principally for the beginner in graduate economics.     

Technical progress,factor substitutability and models of production: II

Summary This paper is the concluding installment of a series which surveys a number of fundamental production tenets. This examines and hence compares the properties of several production models which result from alternative pairings of the progress and substitutability assumptions discussed in part 1. Part I appeared in a recent issue ofDe Economist.I again thank E. Ray Canterbery, Simon K. Kuipers, T. Krishma Kumar, and Th. van de Klundert for their comments. I also thank Chiu-Yeung Chan, Franklin M. Fisher, and William F. James for their help with a few specifies. The responsibility for errors is mine alone.     

The effects of immigrants,women, and teenagers on the relative earnings of black males

There is currently a debate taking place on the impact of immigration on the employment of native-born Americans. Several recent studies have attempted to empirically examine the effect on nativeborn workers but few have investigated the impact on the economic status of black workers. This article attempts to address this question by examining the effects of competition from recent immigrants on the relative earnings of black males. The effects of potential competition from female and teenage workers is also investigated. The results suggest that the relative earnings of centralcity black makes are, in fact, sensitive to the degree of labor force penetration of recent immigrants and female workers.     

The impact of economic geography on wages: Disentangling the channels of influence

This paper evaluates the role of economic geography in explaining regional wages in China. It investigates the extent to which market proximity can explain the evolution of wages, and through which channels. We construct a complete indicator of market access at the provincial level from data on domestic and international trade flows; this is introduced in a simultaneous-equations system to identify the direct and indirect effect of market access on wages. The estimation results for 29 Chinese provinces over 1995–2002 suggest that access to sources of demand is indeed an important factor shaping regional wage dynamics in China. We investigate three channels through which market access might influence wages beside direct transport-cost savings: export performance, and human and physical capital accumulation. A fair share of benefits seems to come from enhanced export performance and greater accumulation of physical capital. The main source of influence of market access remains direct transport costs.     

Two neglected categories of immigrants to Canada: temporary immigrants and returning Canadians

Results are presented from an attempt to improve Canadian statistics on international migration so as to comply with U.N. guidelines by including data on long-term residents with temporary status and Canadian citizens and permanent residents returning from abroad. "The estimation procedures involve extensive operations on three Canadian administrative data systems: the Visitors Immigration Data System of Employment and Immigration Canada; the Family Allowances Files of Health and Welfare Canada; and the Customs and Excise Files of Revenue Canada. These data are used to produce the number of immigrants in both of the neglected categories, as well as to calculate the geographic (origin and destination) and demographic (sex, age, marital status) structures of these groups. Results of the analysis of estimates for the period 1982-1988 show that, due to their size and characteristics, both of these neglected categories of immigrants constitute a significant part of immigration to Canada, and their importance has and will continue to increase over time."     

公共财政政策导向对农民工市民化进程的影响因素分析

随着我国经济的飞速发展,昔日劳动密集型产业为主的粗放型经济发展模式已经渐行渐远,农民工作为改革开放以来形成的规模庞大的特殊群体,为工业化、城镇化做出了巨大贡献。目前,新一代的农民工已经成为城市产业工人的不可忽视的主体,随着农民工结构群体的变化,加快这一群体的市民化进程对于加快经济发展方式的转变,扩大内需实现可持续发展具有重大的意义。我国客观上已经具备一定的财政能力推动加快农民工市民化进程,对城乡一体化发展,统筹城乡具有重大的意义。本文采用主成分分析法、脉冲响应分析法等,对农民工市民化进程的影响因素进行实证分析,提出农民工市场化进程中的影响因素和政策途径。     

文化因素对个人和家庭消费的经济分析

“文化”一词在西方来源于拉丁文Cultura，原意是指农耕及对植物的培育。自15世纪以后，“文化”一词逐渐被引申使用，把对人的品德和能力的培养也称之文化。在中国的古籍中，“文”指文字、文章、文采，又指礼乐制度、法律条文等。“化”则是“教化”。总的来说，“文化”一词的中西两个来源，殊途同归，都用来指人类社会的精神现象，或泛指人类所创造的一切物质产品和非物质产品的总和，具体地说，文化的基本形态可以分为两大类——即物质文化与精神文化。     

汇率、经济增长与流动性过剩——基于经济全球化的考察

改革开放以来我国经济社会发展发生了深刻变化。过去三十年世界经济格局也发生了深刻变化。经济全球化深化了世界各国的经济联系,也创造了一种不稳定的双赢模式。发展中国家和发达国家均在全球产业转移中获得了要素生产力递增的收益。要素生产率递增可能使采取固定汇率的货币经历从高估到低估的转变,全球产业转移支持了发展中国家广泛而持续地保持这一优势,并以经常性项目和资本项目间跨国补偿机制实现了全球经济不稳定的平衡,也创造了全球流动性过剩。     

Devolution, Sustainability and Local Economic Development: Impacts on Local Autonomy, Policy-making and Economic Development Outcomes

In this paper, we examine how devolution has affected local sustainable development. We focus on attempting to gauge how devolution will affect the promotion of sustainable development in the English regions through an analysis of the changes to date in Scotland, Wales and London. This evaluation is made more difficult because of the range of changes which devolution involves - political, institutional, organizational and cultural, and it is hard to ascribe particular outcomes to particular changes. The focus of the paper is examining how local sustainability regimes have been affected by devolution in the three case study regions. We then conclude that devolution can only add value to existing arrangements if it creates an additional level of legitimacy which supports local coalitions deepening their commitment to the principles of local sustainable development.     

Economic integration, market size and the welfare effects of trade liberalisation

Economic Integration, Market Size and the Welfare Effects of Trade Liberalisation. — This paper examines the welfare effects of regional and global integration in a model where market size matters. Regional integration leads to higher welfare in the countries of a preferential trading arrangement (PTA), but to lower welfare outside. In case the countries also decide to form a customs union (CU), both countries will experience further gains if the creation of the CU means that the average external trade barriers are raised. In turn, the outside country will in this case experience further welfare losses. If it retaliates and creates a trade war, this will lower welfare in all countries. In contrast, global integration mostly benefits both PTA countries and outside countries.     

加工贸易和其他贸易对经济增长贡献率的估计

对外贸易与经济增长的关系最近已经成为理论界和政策层关心的重要话题。本文强调了加工贸易和其他贸易对经济增长贡献的不同作用,将出口和进口对经济增长的贡献置于平等地位,然后采用因果分析、支出法和联立方程组法对我国加工贸易和其他贸易对经济增长的贡献进行了计量分析。分析结果显示,在1981～2004年,加工贸易和其他贸易出口对经济增长的贡献为正,而加工贸易和其他贸易进口对经济增长总体来说贡献为负;从分阶段来说,1981～1991年,加工贸易没有其他贸易对经济增长的贡献大,而1992～2004年加工贸易对经济增长的贡献要比其他贸易对经济增长的贡献大,这符合我国对外贸易政策的阶段性。     

Economic effects of trade patterns on productivity: Evidence from the Korean automobile industry

Among inter-firm trade patterns, the cooperative trade system has proved to be superior to arms-length or market-oriented trade in the long run. Within the cooperative trade system, the transition from dedicated (single supplier) trade to network trade is proving a remarkable phenomenon. In our theoretical model, we compare the relative economic efficiencies between dedicated and network trade systems. Then in empirical analysis, we examine the relationship between alternative trade patterns and the productivity of the automobile industry. The main results of the theoretical model show that network trade results in a higher profit level than dedicated trade as a rule, although network trade is less stable than dedicated trade. Empirical study reveals that increasing network trade leads to higher productivity.