Standards,trade margins and product quality: Firm-level evidence from Peru

The ongoing debate on whether agri-food (public) regulatory standards are barriers or catalysts to trade is particularly pertinent for developing countries who are often standard-takers. Current evidence on the trade effects of regulatory standards is ambiguous. In this paper, we give a contribution focusing on the firm heterogeneity trade effects of (different) types of agri-food standards, considering firm-level exports from Peru. Particular emphasis is given to standards with different degree of restrictiveness, such as specific trade concerns (STCs) raised on the most stringent NTMs, and to product-quality upgrading. Results show that only the most restrictive NTMs significantly limit agri-food exports for Peruvian firms, affecting the probability to trade, firms’ exit and the export volume. Regular SPSs are found to enhance trade. Importantly, we uncovered relevant heterogonous effects of NTMs on firms of different size, showing that only the most stringent standards result in product quality upgrading.     

The critical role of the institution-led market in the technological catch-up of emerging market enterprises: evidence from Chinese enterprises

Innovation scholars have, in the past, applied the concept of ‘windows of opportunity’ to study latecomer firms’ catch-up. Previous research treats this concept as three separate aspects, i.e., technological, institutional and market. The role of government was seen as being concerned only with institutional windows of opportunity. However, governments in emerging markets exert influence not only through traditional means of institutional support but, also, via market-driven mechanisms. The former refers to state procurement, resource provision, legislation, and administrative control, whereas the latter is concerned with demand creation, resource allocation, and the regulation of market orders. This multifaceted nature of government in promoting economic growth, guiding technological development, and influencing enterprise behavior remains under-researched. Yet, it plays a crucial role in the catch-up of emerging market enterprises. Therefore, based on innovation studies literature and an institution-based view of international business, the present research proposes a new construct, termed the institution-led market, with the aim to encapsulate the complex role of government in the catch-up of emerging market enterprises. The institution-led market is defined as a unique type of market that is well-timed and strategically created by the government and supported by institutional policies and resources. A large database of 259 Chinese firms in 37 industries was created and analyzed using a hierarchical logistic model to empirically test the relationship between the institution-led market and technological catch-up of emerging market enterprises. We demonstrate that the institution-led market positively affects the catch-up of emerging market enterprises; furthermore, it significantly moderates the effect of technological discontinuity on the catch-up. Finally, the theoretical contributions and managerial implications of the present research are discussed.     

Fertilizer trade under market liberalization: preliminary evidence from Kenya

This paper reports results of a study aimed at identifying broad demand-side and supply-side influences on trade in inorganic fertilizers in Kenya, where, following decades of government control, the fertilizer market has been fully liberalized. Multiple regression analysis using data from a country-wide survey of fertilizer traders indicates that significant demand-side factors include agroecological conditions and maize market prices in the regions in which fertilizer traders operate. On the supply side, the number of years in fertilizer trading and access to credit are important. Implications for policy and research are drawn.     

有朋自远方来:欧美在华包装协会一览

美国包装机制造协会PMMI；英国／JUT与包装机械协会PPMA；德国机械与设备制造商联合会食品加工和包装机械分会；意大利自动化包装机械制造商协会UCIMA；[编者按]     

企业工会在提高工人劳动技能中的重要使命

企业工会组织是带领职工学习提高职工劳动技能的主要力量;负有培养知识技能性、技术技能行、复合技能型人才的神圣使命.     

Flexible labour market and trade unions: Surprising career paths of Dutch sub-Saharan Africans

Starting from the empirical evidence that minorities are more likely to work on flexible contracts, we investigated the existence of an ethnic gap in flexible contracts between the native Dutch population and sub-Saharan African immigrants between 2006 and 2012. The migrant group is taken as a test case of ‘outsiders’. This study found, quite surprisingly and contrary to what several theories predict, that the expected ethnic gap in job status between the two groups disappeared in the 6 years between 2006 and 2012. Many sub-Saharan Africans successfully transformed their flexible contracts into permanent ones, catching up with the native Dutch by 2012. The analysis of the statutory provisions showed that the workforce numerical composition in the cleaning industry was important for the inclusiveness of sub-Saharan immigrants. This numerical compositional effect was facilitated by the collective agreements negotiated by trade unions, agreements that were extended to temp workers. Sub-Saharan Africans, overrepresented in the cleaning industry, have benefited disproportionally from the settled agreements. We thus conclude that trade unions can improve the inclusion of migrants not only by explicitly focusing on migrant representation but also by targeting sectors with an overrepresentation of migrants.     

International standards and international trade: Empirical evidence from ISO 9000 diffusion

Empirical scholarship on the standards–trade relationship has been held up due to methodological challenges: measurement, varied effects, and endogeneity. Considering the trade-effects of one particular standard (ISO 9000), we surmount methodological challenges by measuring standardization via national penetration of ISO 9000, allowing standardization to manifest via multiple (quality-signaling, information/compliance-cost, and common-language) channels, and using instrumental variable, multilateral resistance and panel data techniques to overcome endogeneity. We find evidence of common-language and quality-signaling augmenting country-pair trade. Yet, ISO-rich nations benefit the most from standardization, while ISO-poor nations find ISO 9000 to represent a trade barrier due to compliance-cost effects.     

工会与煤矿企业安全的关系

文章指出,煤矿企业是典型的职工劳动强度高、从业危险性高、事故发生率高的"三高行业",在煤矿企业里安全是人命关天的头等大事。文章认为,要杜绝重大事故,减少零打碎敲事故,只有充分发挥工会在煤矿企业安全中的作用,才能创造宽松安全的环境,从而更好地保证企业的健康稳定。     

Regional trade,government policy and food security: Recent evidence from Zambia

Given heavy dependence on rainfed maize production, countries in East and Southern Africa must routinely cope with pronounced production and consumption volatility in their primary food staple. Typical policy responses include increased food aid flows, government commercial imports and stock releases, and tight controls on private sector trade. This paper examines recent evidence from Zambia, using a simple economic model to assess the likely impact of maize production shocks on the domestic maize price and on staple food consumption under alternative policy regimes. In addition to an array of public policy instruments, the analysis evaluates the impact of two key private sector responses in moderating food consumption volatility – private cross-border maize trade and consumer substitution of an alternate food staple (cassava) for maize. The analysis suggests that, given a favorable policy environment, private imports and increased cassava consumption together could fill roughly two-thirds of the maize consumption shortfall facing vulnerable households during drought years.     

水利企业文化建设与高效管理

我国的水利企业立足于水利行业,已经成为国民经济发展,全面建设小康社会不可缺少的生力军。积极开展水利企业文化建设,是水利企业一项长期的战略任务。企业建设是企业文化的基础,企业文化是企业建设的动力,企业文化伴随在企业各项工作中。随着水利企业向社会主义市场经济的不断深入,构筑先进的水利企业文化是历史赋予的新使命。     

工会工作在企业文化建设中的地位和作用

工会工作是企业管理的重要组成部分。充分认识工会工作在企业文化建设中的地位和作用,有利于促进企业思想政治工作的健康、有序发展。尤其是在新形势下,结合企业党委和行政工作特点,创造性地开展工会工作,对于不断创新企业文化建设的内容和形式,不断加强企业深层次管理,增强企业的凝聚力,起着不可替代的作用。一、全方位、高视角、多层次地认识工会工作在开展企业文化建设中的重要地位企业文化建设内容涵盖了物质文明、精神文明和政治文明的方方面面。在实际工作中,企业文化建设把情感注入管理,使系统的管理和人性化管理融为一体,不仅注重了…     

The collective voice of unions and workplace training in Italy: New insights from mixed methods

Using a three-phase approach that combines quantitative (pooled OLS, fixed effects and IV) with qualitative (semi-structured interviews) analyses, we find that in Italy, workplace unions are more likely to enhance training when they sign a firm-level agreement and when they can get access to external funds for financing. We also identify three channels: what we call a ‘maturation effect’, double-track communication and watch-dog function. We argue that these results are consistent with the idea that the impact of workplace unions on training depends on the empowerment of its collective voice within an institutional framework that does not fit either of the standard models provided by collective and liberal market economies.     

Margins, concentration, unions and the business cycle : Theory and evidence for Britain

A number of recent studies have examined the cyclical relationship between price-cost margins, concentration and unions. U.S. data has concluded that unions reduce margins; margins vary over the cycle; and concentration, unionisation and the cycle interact in their effect on margins. However, there is almost no theory to account for these results. We propose a simple theory that assumes only that there is overhead labour present at the firm. This produces theoretical predictions that can explain these results, and discriminate between existing theories. We present results of our own using U.K. panel data, and show similar findings to the U.S.     

Enabling ‘managed activism’: the adoption of call centres in Australian,British and US trade unions

This article examines how trade unions in different country settings have utilised call centre technologies. Rather than viewing union call centres as simply a means of service delivery, our research suggests they can also enable a more strategic approach to workplace organising. We explore the implications of union call centres for debates on servicing and organising models of trade unionism.     

The idiosyncrasy of research and development efficiency across types of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises: evidence from Korea

Small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered to be the main driving force behind economic and employment growth. However, the low productivity levels of SMEs cannot be explained by lower levels of R&D investment, but are instead a consequence of a lack of research and development (R&D) efficiency that would have been adequate for making firms more competitive. To investigate any differences in R&D efficiency that impact the company overall performance in economic and employment performance, we analyze various types of SMEs in Korea. This paper applies two estimation methods: data envelopment analysis and regression analysis. This study takes three relevant factors of output: (1) the number of patents, (2) the number of success in terms of technology development, and (3) the level of profit attained through new products. Additionally, the study's model incorporates three parts of input: (1) human resources, (2) development periods, and (3) R&D budget. In the context of this paper, a comparison of the factors regarding efficiency is performed based upon the following criteria: the level of novelty, the length of a product's life cycle, and the time period of a competitor emulation of the product created by original enterprise. Comparing the factors that influence the efficiency of types within each criterion is meaningful in analyzing the differences in efficiency outcome on the various types among SMEs. Our findings indicate that SMEs vary among types in terms of efficiency and that there are also differences causing factors according to types.     

施工企业质量成本控制研究

当前建筑施工企业忽视质量成本的管理和控制，不能正确处理质量与质量成本之间关系，施工企业应加强质量成本控制，建立和健全质量成本组织体系，加强质量损失成本源分析，找出导致质量问题的原因，建立和健全质量成本核算体系，以及重视质量成本分析和改进质量成本的分析方法。     

工程施工企业质量管理和质量检测的重要性和作用

本文借鉴近几年重大工程质量事故的经验教训,提出了以加强工程施工企业内部质量控制和管理,是解决工程问题的根本。并指出了工程施工企业目前普遍存在的带有倾向性地问题以及解决办法。以促进工程施工质量控制和管理水平。     

谈煤炭企业文化建设

煤炭企业经历了改革与发展,企业管理水平有了很大提高。但由于煤炭生产的特殊性和受旧的经济体制的长期制约,并没有从根本上解决管理粗放、服务意识差、职工主人翁责任感普遍较低的问题。笔者认为要彻底改变这种面貌,加强优秀企业文化建设尤为重要。 一、对优秀企业文化的理解 优秀企业文化是企业在长期生产经营过程中形成的价值观念、经营思想、群体意识和行为规范的综合体,它指导人们的基本思维和行为模式,并     

提高煤炭质量增强企业竞争力

本文作者从市场需求,节能,环保等方面论述了提高煤炭质量对增强煤炭生产企业竞争能力的作用。     

包装工业企业全面质量管理

本文根据习跃发展发包装工业对包装工业企业全面质量管理的要求出发，阐述了全面质量管理的内容和特点，以及质量保证体系，重点论述了包装工业企业全面质量管理的基本理论和方法。