Transnational enterprises in the manufacturing sector of the less developed countries

Transnational enterprises continue to invest in manufacturing in the less developed countries. Even where they do not, less developed countries are likely to deal with them in the acquisition of technology or markets. The prices for what transnationals sell are not immutable but are the result of bargaining. One can expect more vigorous and more effective bargaining by host countries in the manufacturing, as well as the more frequently discussed resource, sector in future. Success will vary over industries and over time but is least likely in export-oriented manufacturing.     

技术标准与知识产权对企业核心竞争力的影响

技术标准与知识产权制度是实现企业可持续发展的两个关键性因素。我国的技术标准意识还不够强,技术标准的数量少,水平不高,在采用国际标准方面也明显低于发达国家水平。有效地运用有关知识产权的法律法规,更多地掌握具有自主知识产权的核心技术和关键技术,从而增强我国企业的国际竞争力。     

TCL的加法和减法:来自其国际化的思考

先后并购汤姆逊、阿尔卡特的彩电和手机业务,TCL成为中国家电业最为耀眼的明星之一。在轰轰烈烈并购之后,TCL成立一年多来受巨额亏损之累,TCL的国际化已无退路,不得不靠售出自己的业务以及稀释股权的“卖血”方式融资。我们应该从中思考我国企业的国家化问题。     

Non-multinational firms and transfer of technology to less developed countries

Importing technology from multinational corporations (MNCs) has certain disadvantages for the less developed countries (LDCs) and there is a need for such countries to seek alternative sources of technology. One such source might be non-multinational firms but little is known of the relative merits of non-multinationals. This paper describes a comparison of non-multinational with multinationals in 47 transfers of technology from the UK to India.For a number of important factors, we found little difference between the roles of MNCs and non-MNCs. It is suggested that this lack of difference may be due to the non-MNCs in the sample having some of the same advantages in negotiation as the MNCs — namely a high prestige in the Indian market and possession of some specialist technological expertise. In other words, the multinationality of MNCs may not be as important as is sometimes suggested. Other factors, such as prestige, may be of greater importance. This makes the search for alternative suppliers of technology more difficult since non-MNCs with no prestige are, almost by definition, not known to the LDC.     

发展中国家技术创新存在的特殊问题研究

发展中国家的技术创新和发达国家的技术创新有一定的共性,但发展中国家的技术创新还存在一些特殊问题:发展中国家技术创新起点低,市场动力不足,技术创新投入有限,发达国家的技术封锁和技术压制,技术轨道锁定等。文章从发展中国家的技术创新存在的特殊问题出发,结合技术轨道理论提出相应对策。     

相互依存视阈下的中国跨国公司对美直接投资

文章认为，跨国公司的对外直接投资活动及其所产生的政治经济影响已经使得跨国公司成为影响国际关系的重要非国家行为体，对于国家间相互依存的关系起到了日益增进的作用。目前不断增长的中国跨国公司对美国直接投资活动根本上有利于两国的经济利益，也对两国日益加深的相互依存的经济政治关系产生着越来越广泛和重要的影响。     

A conceptual framework for analysis of primary commodity markets

The paper begins with a critique of the traditional neoclassical theory as a tool for analysing commodity markets, and suggests that a viable theory needs to be developed from the concept of ‘market power’, as expressed in the relative bargaining strengths of transnational corporations active in the commodity production and trade of developing countries, and of the governments and business interests of host countries. A discussion of the principal elements comprising relative bargaining strength, divided into commodity-specific, country-specific and international, is followed by a brief consideration of alternative policy options for developing countries aimed at improving their share of the benefits from their commodity exports to developed countries.     

产业集群理论在跨国企业国际化中的应用

随着全球一体化的深入发展，跨国公司的作用越来越重要，跨国公司参与的产业集群成为中小企业参与国际竞争的新环境。从跨国公司的角度研究地方产业集群已成为当前西方国家集群理论研究的一个重要特点和新趋势。     

The role of international companies in the economy of South Africa

Summary It is impossible for corporations that locate in South Africa to follow unilateral policies of their own because they must enter into partnership with any of the parastals that we have already identified. Any foreign investor is required to sell some of his shares to one of the government corporations or its subsidiaries before he can start his business operations. These shares are not sold in the market, but under definite partnership agreements. This article is a condensed version of chapter 10 of the recently revised book, The Political Economy of South Africa: The Making of Poverty, published by University Press of America in Washington, D.C.     

Aspects of agricultural marketing in Lebowa

Marketing development is crucial for agricultural development in less developed areas, and should keep pace with general agricultural development. In Lebowa, markets for surplus food crops tend to be too far away from producers. Thirty‐five per cent of farmers sell livestock products, mostly privately. Livestock sales are mostly by auction. Many farmers take cattle to auctions and decide not to sell. Co‐operatives will probably be the most suitable marketing institutions for crop products channeled to South African controlled markets, while farmers should be free to market other products in any manner they wish. Lebowa farmers prefer private credit, particularly from friends and relatives, to bank credit. They also prefer to hoard money rather than bank it. Relatively little credit seems to be needed at an early development stage, but less than necessary is available. Co‐ops can in future be important in this respect. Collateral for loans presents a problem.     

跨国公司全球价值链安排及我国企业的对策研究

随着世界经济一体化的发展,以跨国公司为载体的资金、人才、技术的全球流动,使得国与国之间的分工已越来越多地表现为中间产品的分工,许多行业部门之间的专业化转向产业内分工(intra一industryspecialization),又发展到企业内的全球分工。在跨国生产经营中,价值链各环节的跨国分布衔接形成行业内、企业内的国际分工,因此我们认为从“价值链”角度来研究跨国公司全球产业转移或许更合适,本文试图以一个新的视角来探悉跨国公司全球产业转移的内在原因。     

Differences in digitalization levels: a multivariate analysis studying the global digital divide

This papers aims to identify and explain the differences in information and communications technologies (ICT) adoption for a sample of 142 developed and developing countries. In addition, we examine the relationships between specific combinations of technologies and the factors explaining them. Although income is a key factor for all country groups, its role is more significant for middle-digitalization countries. Using several multivariate techniques, we detect different patterns of digitalization. The patterns are explained to differing degrees by the type of country, by differences in economic development, and by socio-demographic and institutional variables. Factors such as quality of regulation and infrastructure explain ICT adoption in high-income countries. The ICT combination associated with specific income groups as well as the explanatory variables detected for each of them might be useful to implement the most appropriate policy actions to reduce the digital divide.     

东道国金融发展对中国企业对外直接投资的影响:二元边际与生产率门槛

文章基于中国上市企业2008-2015年对外直接投资数据，分析东道国金融发展在扩展边际和集约边际上对企业对外直接投资决策以及投资所需生产率水平的影响。研究发现，在不同生产率的企业中东道国金融发展的影响是异质性的。较高的金融发展水平会系统性地降低投资所需的生产率水平，进而促进中国企业对外直接投资的概率、次数和规模。进一步的研究还发现，在经济发展水平比中国高的东道国金融发展的生产率效应更显著，投资所需生产率下降得更多。尽管如此，高经济发展水平东道国的最低生产率门槛仍然高于低经济发展水平的东道国。控制了金融发展指标和企业全要素生产率的内生性后，结果依然稳健。     

A global corporate census: publicly traded and close companies in 1910

In 1910 the world had almost half a million corporations, only one‐hundredth of today's total. About one‐fifth—with over half of corporate capital—were publicly tradable, higher portions than today. Most publicly quoted corporations traded in Europe and the British Empire, but most close (private) corporations operated in the US, which, until the 1940s, had more corporations per capita than anywhere else. The 83 countries surveyed here differed markedly in company numbers, corporate capital/GDP ratios, and average corporate size. Enclave economies—dominated by quoted (and often foreign‐owned) companies—had the largest average sizes, while other nations had more varied mixes of large quoted corporations and close company small and medium enterprises.     

跨国公司限制竞争行为的行政法规制

中国在全球经济中的重要性正日益提高——在发达国家依然挣扎于经济泥沼之际,中国经济却依然保持旺盛的增长势头,当世界其他地方的消费者为就业和经济状况担忧时,中国的许多消费者却变得越来越富有。跨国公司作为国际投资的主要载体,在我国现代化进程中扮演着重要的角色。跨国公司在华投资的不断增加有力的带动中国经济融入全球化潮流,但由于国内企业实力较为弱小,难以与大型跨国公司相抗衡,近年来,某些行业外国企业凭借其经济实力在短期内迅速占领我国大部分市场份额,并滥用市场支配力的情况时有发生。     

跨国公司与东道国产业集群竞争的博弈拓展分析

跨国公司投资产业集群的产量竞争优势,在于其较低的边际成本和东道国缺乏需求弹性的市场结构。东道国产业集群的对外开放度越高,其消费者所获得的福利也就越多。对跨国公司与东道国产业集群市场竞争进行博弈分析,提出促进我国产业和区域经济发展的若干建议。     

Global warming and technical change: Multiple steady-states and policy options

We develop an economic growth model that incorporates anthropogenic climate change and a publicly funded research sector that creates new technologies and simultaneously expands the productivities of existing technologies. Greenhouse gas emissions are affected by R&D activities both negatively, through the increase of output from productivity growth, and positively as new technologies are less polluting. We find that there may exist two different steady-states of the economy, depending on the amount of research spending: one with less new technologies being developed and the other with more technologies. Thus, a lock-in effect can arise that, however, can be overcome by raising R&D spending sufficiently such that the steady-state becomes unique. We derive the combinations of fiscal policy instruments for which that can be achieved and we study the implications for the economy and with respect to emissions. In particular, the double dividend hypothesis may hold under some specific conditions.     

Developing countries and the patent system: An economic appraisal

The economic arguments for patents are that: (i) they are a necessary incentive to inventive industry; (ii) they are a sufficient stimulus to technological innovation and investment; (iii) the monopoly privileges granted to the patentee are compensated for by the disclosure of technical information to society. The paper shows all three propositions to be of dubious validity in the developing-country context. At least five-sixths of patents in developing countries are in foreign hands, mainly transnational corporations, and thus bear no relation to the flow of domestic inventive activity. At least 95 per cent of patents in developing countries are never used and serve as a block to domestic production while increasing the market power of foreign corporations. Those patents actually in use impose substantial costs both through ‘transfer-pricing’ and restrictive clauses in licensing agreements. Finally, technical information in patent documents is of limited value to developing countries and could in any case be obtained cheaply in the absence of patents.     

基于制度理论的跨国公司东道国选择问题研究

跨国公司在选择投资东道国时需要考虑许多因素。本文从制度理论的视角探讨了跨国公司的东道国选择问题。制度距离对跨国公司东道国选择有着重要影响,本文识别了在这一影响过程中的三个调节变量:公司战略、组织差异和投资动机。跨国公司在选择投资东道国时需要了解组织面临的外部合法性和内部合法性,并在两者之间做出权衡。