Factor substitution in small and large U.S. manufacturing establishments: 1977–82

The objective of this article is to assess the possibility of differences in factor substitution in the production of small and large U.S. manufacturing establishments. For empirical implementation, we specify and estimate separate three-factor translog production factors, using confidential plant-level data for five four-digit industries extracted from the U.S. Bureau of the Census Longitudinal Research Database. Our primary finding is that for most industries under study, small establishments appear to be at least as flexible as large establishments in factor substitution. This finding, together with our previous results on economies of scale (Nguyen and Reznek, 1991), suggests that for the five industries under examination, large size is not a necessary condition for efficient production.     

Returns to Scale in Small and Large U.S. Manufacturing Establishments: Further Evidence

Nguyen and Reznek (1991) used plant-level data for five 4-digit SIC industries to estimate and compare the degrees of returns-to-scale for establishments of various size classes for the years 1977 and 1982. They found that the estimated scale elasticities of all plant sizes have values approximately equal to one. They, therefore, concluded that both small and large establishments under study are equally efficient in production. The purpose of the present study is to extend and improve upon Nguyen and Reznek's work by (1) extending the data set to cover the entire U.S. manufacturing sector, (2) improving the model by including energy as a separate input in production, and (3) relaxing the assumption of homogeneity and estimating an unrestricted (non-homogeneous, non-homothetic) production model. With the improved model and data, it is found that the estimated scale elasticities for all sizes of establishment are statistically insignificantly different from one. Thus, the result confirms and strengthens Nguyen and Reznek's finding that a large establishment size is not a necessary condition for efficient production.     

An analysis of the global position of U.S. manufacturing

This article provides an overview of the changing export and import flows of U.S. manufactured goods in the global economy, offers some thoughts on the repercussions of these changes, and outlines possible outcomes. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A new entrepreneurial drive in large and small manufacturing firms in Japan

Japan's per capita GDP growth has been decelerating for at least three decades, despite groping towards better ways of accommodating individualistic Smithian market forces. Japan has made great progress in opening markets and fostering profit seeking, yet it has not reaped the benefits anticipated so far. Facing the most severe economic downturn of the post-war period, it is now rethinking the fundaments of its economic and management system. The necessity of developing competitive advantages in new industries has been identified but a crucial question is how they will affect the way industry has organized itself to maximize quality, efficiency and flexibility. It is said that an entrepreneurial culture was not needed during the post-war period in Japan because a group-based industrial organization could generate about the same dynamism and outcome. Nevertheless, this time, a venture-type business culture may be a key factor in the renewal of the Japanese economy to put it back on a sustainable growth path. The objective of the article is to make a critical assessment of the trends in entrepreneurship in Japan, using secondary data. They are complemented by partial results of two surveys made by the author, the first one in 1997 in ten electronic companies on intrapreneurship schemes, and the second one in 1998 in 40 small companies in the Hiroshima prefecture, centred on human resource management. To these are added information obtained through interviews in the small business agency, MITI, and a number of universities on business-university research collaboration schemes.     

Gross job flows and the evolution of size in U.K. establishments

This paper analyzes a relationship between establishment size and gross job creation and destruction in the U.K. during the 1980's. I find that the gross job creation rate is highest in small plants and lowest in large ones. In contrast, the gross job destruction rate is lowest in small plants and highest in large ones. In absolute numbers, however, large plants create, but also destroy most jobs. I test convergence in plant size by computing Markov transition matrices. The advantage of this approach is that it avoids Galton's fallacy of regression towards the mean and that it reflects job creation and destruction between size classes. I find no evidence of convergence, hence no regression towards the mean.This paper benefitted from seminars at the London School of Economics and Trinity College, Dublin. I thank A. Lamo, R. Koopmans, A. Manning, A. Oswald, C. Pissarides, D. Quah, H. Vandenbussche and an anonymous referee for helpful comments and discussions. All errors are mine.     

中国对美出口与美国GDP增长的相关性分析

本文利用1994年到2002年中国对美出口的季度数据与同期美国GDP增长率来计算并分析其相关性,两者呈现较强的负相关性。主要原因有:美国经济衰退后,居民收入水平下降,从而转向中国产品的消费;中国入世效应的体现;中关两国这些年对产品结构进行重大调整后,使两国产品的互补性提高;我国在通关税收等方面采取了重大改革等。故我国要进一步调整产业结构和产品结构,吸引外国跨国公司到中国投资高新技术产业,扩大从美国的进口等。     

谈美国的经济现象与美元的财富效应

众所周知，美国是世界上经济实力最强的国家，同时也是贸易逆差最大的国家。那么，长期以来美国的巨额贸易逆差与经济增长却能同时并存，依然维持着美国经济的强势，这在世界上也是绝无仅有的经济现象。这里尽管原因很多，但从国际金融的角度分析，笔者赞同这样一种观点，即美元作为国际上流通量最大、流通范围最广的币种，其货币的特殊利益所带来的财富效应，已成为支撑美国经济发展的重要因素。现在，我们暂且不从理论上进行探讨，而只对美国经济现象的一系列数字加以分析，就会发现其中的奥妙，值得深入思考。在国际金融领域中，美国的国…     

China Starts to Import U.S. Cherry

China＇s trade surplus in May soared to 22.45 billion U.S. dollars, up 73% from the same period of last year, the General Administration of Customs said.     

美国海关

1776年,美利坚合众国宣布独立.然而人们的兴奋还未退去,年轻的美国就发现自己正处于破产的边缘:没有税收没有经济来源、财政十分紧张.政府不得不严肃面对这个问题,并紧急提上日程.终于,第一界国会讨论通过了乔治·华盛顿总统于1789年7月4日签署的关税行动草案,决定对进口美国的货物实施征税.美国海关正是在这个时候被正式提上日程.这份议案被当时的传媒界称为美国的第二个独立宣言.四周之后,即1789年的7月31日,美国海关及其口岸正式建成了.     

Gary Locke Led U.S.Business Executives to Promote Exports of U.S. Clean Energy Technologies in China and Indonesia

Forty-six U.S. business executives joined U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke in China and Indonesia May 15-25 on the first cabinet-level trade mission of the Obama Administration.     

Survival of the best fit: Exposure to low-wage countries and the (uneven) growth of U.S. manufacturing plants

This paper examines the role of international trade in the reallocation of U.S. manufacturing within and across industries from 1977 to 1997. Motivated by the factor proportions framework, we introduce a new measure of industry exposure to international trade that focuses on where imports originate rather than on their overall level. We find that plant survival and growth are negatively associated with industry exposure to low-wage country imports. Within industries, we show that manufacturing activity is disproportionately reallocated towards capital-intensive plants. Finally, we provide the first evidence that firms adjust their product mix in response to trade pressures. Plants are more likely to switch industries when exposure to low-wage countries is high.     

ICBC to Open Subsidiary Bank in the U.S.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has planned to open a subsidiary in the United States, as part of its going-global strategy which also involves Russia,Australia and the Middle East,Board Chairman Jiang Jianqing said on October 17.     

Evaluative criteria for purchasing leisurewear: Taiwanese and U.S. students in a U.S. university

The purpose of this research was to provide exploratory information relating to the young consumer market in terms of purchase criteria for leisurewear. Data were obtained from 105 Taiwanese and 126 U.S. students at a major mid-western U.S. university. Direct hand-in questionnaires were employed to obtain a higher usable questionnaire rate. Purchase criteria used for this survey were price, style, brand, fabrication, size/fit, media exposure, colour, country of origin, and quality. Several factors under each criterion were provided. Students were asked to rank the importance of each criterion/factor. Results indicated that much similarity existed between these two groups of students in purchasing leisurewear. However, U.S. students rated highest (in descending order) price, size/fit, style and quality while Taiwanese students ranked highest (in descending order) price, style, quality and size/fit.     

美国金融危机及应对策略

美国金融危机主要在于金融风险内生力量和外部环境两个因素,其所引发的世界经济衰退导致中国经济增长减速。从经济学的角度来分析,中国应该在扩大投资、促进国内消费、扩大政府支出、继续促进出口等方面,积极应对金融危机和经济衰退,同时要继续注重环境与生态的保护。     

Measuring Vulnerability to U.S. Foreign Economic Sanctions

Economic sanctions are an important instrument of U.S. foreign policy. While politicians look favorably on unilateral economic sanctions as a policy instrument, many scholars attribute significant long-term economic costs to the United States and have doubts about their effectiveness. We outline a simple approach to assess the vulnerability of target countries to sanctions in order to develop focused sanctions and reduce unnecessary costs to U.S. business, avoid the imposition of sanctions on countries when sanctions are unlikely to have the desired effects, and determine what other countries must join the United States in imposing sanctions if they are to be effective.JEL Classification K330,F190     

论美国国会与对外贸易法的制定与执行

在美国三权分立政体下,对外贸易法律的制定和执行是国会、总统交互作用的复杂过程。国会一方面通过授权总统扩大自由贸易;另一方面又建立完善的进口救济制度来平衡贸易保护主义的利益。国会还把相当的权力委托给国际贸易法院由其行使司法审查权,防止行政机关滥用授权。美国贸易政策的制订权往往是在行政部门和立法部门之间进行分配,法院通常奉行"司法克制"的态度,通常避免就国会和总统之间在对外政策领域的权力关系问题进行裁决。但其一旦决定介入,必然成为最终的决定性因素。