Reform of the Japanese banking system

Japan has experienced a decade-long economic stagnation with a distressed banking sector in the 1990s. The absence of a credit culture to rigorously assess and price credit risks of borrowers, aggravated by weak prudential and supervisory frameworks, in the 1980s, the collapse of the asset price bubble in the early 1990s, and the lack of decisive, comprehensive strategy to address the banking sector problem at an early stage were largely responsible for the emergence of banking sector problems. All of these allowed a systemic banking crisis to emerge in 1997–98 and a large output loss during 1998–2002. The crisis ultimately prompted the government to take a more aggressive policy to tackle the problem. Considerable progress has been made since then on banking sector stabilization, restructuring, and consolidation. The regulatory and supervisory framework has been strengthened in a way consistent with an increasingly market-oriented, globalized environment. As a result, the worst is over in the Japanese banking system, setting the stage for sustained economic recovery. Though bank capital may still be inadequate, safety nets are in place, and credit allocation has been made more rational. Remaining risks are limited to regional and smaller institutions that are vulnerable to weak, local economic conditions and hikes of the long-term interest rate.

Antidumping and tariff Jumping: Japanese firms’ DFI in the European union and the United States

Antidumping and Tariff Jumping: Japanese Firms’ DFI in the European Union and the United States. — The relationship between EU and US antidumping measures and direct foreign investment (DFI) is examined through a micro-econometrical analysis of Japanese firms’ plant establishments in the electronics industry. After controlling for firm and industry capabilities, market size, transport cost, and product cycle effects, antidumping actions are found to have a substantial positive effect on Japanese DFL EU antidumping is roughly twice as likely to lead to tariffjumping DFI as US antidumping, which is ascribed to marked differences in antidumping procedures. Tariff jumping makes antidumping ineffective in combatting anticompetitive behaviour by foreign firms and may result in increased market concentration.     

An empirical assessment of the preconditions of Japanese manufacturing foreign direct investment in the United States

An Empirical Assessment of the Preconditions of Japanese Manufacturing Foreign Direct Investment in the United States. — This study undertook a multivariate regression analysis of Japanese foreign direct investment in the US (FDIUS), based on firm- and industry-specific data. Firm size was a positive and significant explanatory variable of firms’ completed transactions as well as their additions to investment value. Firms’ overall profit was a positive and significant indicator of firms’ addition to investment value, but not their completed transactions. Firms’ return on assets was generally a positive, albeit insignificant indicator of FDIUS. Three industry-specific variables (prior exports to the US, industry concentration, and technological intensity) were examined and all were positive but insignificant indicators of FDIUS.     

环境核算在美国

20世纪60年代末70年代初,环境核算作为社会核算的一部分被提了出来。美国在环境核算方面是一个积极的先行者和参与者,经济分析局1992年开始着手建立“经济环境一体化卫星账户”。本文对美国的环境核算进行综述。     

美国：险滩已过

由于全球大宗商品价格的上涨,美国的进出口贸易逆差首次出现扩大。工业生产似乎也出现转好的趋势。银行压力测试的结果又极大的提振了投资者的信心。但是,目前最令美国人困扰的事情之一,应当是持续增长的失业水平,尽管政府部门努力提供更多岗位,整体就业人数仍在减少。就业危机凸显了经济衰退,如果不妥善解决,将对长远发展不利。除此之外,美国企业似乎也得学会调整其战略与服务。因为就目前来看,铺张浪费的美国人正在日益节俭。     

Differential Tariffs and Income Inequality in the United States: Some Evidence from the States

Open Economies Review - This paper explores the macroeconomic and distributional consequences of consumption tariffs and materials tariffs. It highlights the contrasting effects of consumption and...     

港以城兴港兴城兴--美国奥克兰港

奥克兰港地处美国西海岸加利福尼亚州,金门海峡的东南端,圣弗朗西斯科湾口的东岸,隔湾与旧金山相望,是典型的峡湾港.奥克兰港口所在的奥克兰市,是美国西海岸加利福尼亚州的第四大城市,也是全美第六大都市区"旧金山一奥克兰"地区的心脏,并以其悠久的历史、优美的景色,成为著名的旅游城市.奥克兰港口是世界上首批使用集装箱运输的港口,同时也是首批专门从事集装箱多式联运的港口之一.目前港口全年运送货物总量的98%是通过集装箱装运的,其余2%的货物是散货,如钢材和木材等.     

Regime-Dependent Fiscal Multipliers in the United States

This paper proposes a regime-dependent model to estimate fiscal multipliers in the US. Output, consumption and investment are assumed to respond to tax and spending changes in a nonlinear manner. Fiscal multipliers are time-varying because their size and sign depend upon the state of the economy (upturns and downturns). Keynesian effects appear essentially during downturns, while anti-Keynesian effects are observed during expansions. Transfer payments contributes to a higher private consumption when they are given to consumers in bad times. Reducing taxes boosts consumption in good times. Investment responds positively to lower taxes during downturns, but negatively in the upturn regime. Our results thus suggest that Keynesian effects have been associated to expansionary policies during recessions, while anti-Keynesian effects were observed during expansions illustrating situations of expansionary fiscal consolidation. The effectiveness of fiscal positive impulses increases in downturns relative to upturns. A corollary is therefore that austerity measures during recessions would have detrimental effects on the GDP and its components.     

Japanese Foreign Direct Investment in Electrical Machinery and Appliances in the United States: A Combined Industrial Organization and Location Theory Approach

We analyse the effects of both ownership and location advantages on the size of foreign direct investment, by combining industrial organization and location theory approaches. The estimated results employing a truncated distribution model show that the parent company's managerial resources and the external economies in a located region between them determine the FDI size of Japanese electrical machinery and appliances firms. This result suggests that empirical studies, applying only the industrial organization theory approach, need to be complemented by the location theory approach.     

美国：经济出现回暖迹象

美国商务部公布数据显示,经过季．节因素调整后,第二季度国内生产总值（GDP）环比下降1．0％,相比于第一季度6．4％的降幅,美国经济的滑坡速度已经趋于温和。第二季度的GDP主要靠净出口与政府的财政刺激政策所提振,分别拉动了1．4％和1．1％;固定投资和去库存对GDP的拖累减弱,分别为-1．8％和-0．8％。     

徐曙光的美国传奇

上海中山北路、沪太路交界处,矗立着一幢古典欧式棕色墙、白窗户的格林豪泰商务酒店,酒店的一间普通客房内,有一位长住客人.     

美国创业投资情况考察纪行

2000年 11月 13日至 12月 2日,由国家科技风险开发事业中心和中科院行管局共同组织、来自各省科委、高新区、创业中心和金融单位及高新技术企业的 18名同志组成考察团,由中科院行管局段燕生局长带队对美国进行了考察。现将考察情况综述如下： 　　一、美国创业投资的基本情况 　　美国是世界上创业投资最成功的国家,有了创业投资才有了硅谷经济的神奇发展,才有了美国经济的长盛不衰。 20世纪 50年代,美国哈佛大学教授乔治·爱威特和一批新英格兰地区的企业家筹组的“美国研究开发公司”开创了现代创业投资的先河。 60年代以后,创业投…     

Core Import Price Inflation in the United States

The cross-section distribution of U.S. import prices exhibits some of the fat-tailed characteristics that are well documented for the cross-section distribution of U.S. consumer prices. This suggests that limited-influence estimators of core import price inflation might outperform headline or traditional measures of core import price inflation. We examine whether limited influence estimators of core import price inflation help forecast overall import price inflation. They do not. However, limited influence estimators of core import price inflation do seem to have some predictive power for headline consumer price inflation in the medium term.     

Labor productivity in the United States and the United Kingdom during the nineteenth century

A number of writers have recently questioned whether labor productivity or per capita incomes were ever higher in the United Kingdom than in the United States. This paper focuses on aggregate and sectoral labor productivity in the two countries during the nineteenth century. We build on earlier work by Broadberry to push comparative productivity estimates back to 1840 based on a time series projection from a 1910 benchmark and checked against a benchmark estimate for 1850. The results indicate that labor productivity in agriculture was broadly equal in the two countries, and that the United States had a substantial labor productivity lead in industry as early as 1840, while the United Kingdom was ahead in services. Hence aggregate labor productivity and per capita incomes were higher in the United Kingdom in the mid-nineteenth century, particularly since the United States had a larger share of the labor force in low value-added agriculture and a smaller share of the population in the labor force.