The Market Shares of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Taiwan Manufacturing

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have played an important role in many countries’ industrial development. Among these countries, Taiwan is well known for the outstanding performance of its SMEs. Limited knowledge about the causes of such performance has been revealed gradually. The main purpose of this study is to explore the determinants of SMEs’ market shares in Taiwan’s manufacturing sector. According to economics literature, economies of scale determine the market share of SMEs. The usual explanation given is that economies of scale create barriers against SMEs entering the market and competing efficiently with larger firms. It is also said that the strong entrepreneurial drive to have a self-owned business is a crucial explanation for the creation of new businesses, usually as offshoots from a small one. Finally, such factors such as an even-handed policy scheme, the availability of technology in relation to R&D, transaction costs, and so forth, are also important for creating a favourable environment for SMEs. Applying cross-industry pooling data from 1976 to 1986, the market shares of SMEs in Taiwan’s manufacturing sector were found to be affected by the following factors: (1) SMEs’ performance related to labour productivity and their willingness to set up new enterprises; (2) institutional factors including low entry barriers, suitable technology, the adoption of a subcontract system, and prosperous export markets. The empirical findings are compared with those from studies of the US and Germany.     

Dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation and small and medium enterprise performance in emerging economies

The removal of trade barriers has encouraged the entry of new competitors into formerly protected markets. This situation creates pressure on many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies such as Tanzania. Using a survey method and cross-sectional research design, the research examines three dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO), namely: pro-activeness, risk-taking and competitive aggressiveness. Understanding their relationships and variance may help to improve our ability to explain SME performance. The findings contribute to how SME performance in emerging economies can be enhanced to enable SMEs to face challenges posed by competitor influx in the context of an open market economy. The findings indicate a strong relationship between EO dimensions and performance, with risk-taking and competitive aggressiveness moderating the effect of pro-activeness. The proposed model could predict 72% of the variance explained in SME performance.     

企业出口与水平型FDI内生选择机制分析

与以往单独研究投资或贸易不同,本文在跨国投资理论基础上融入了国际贸易,用以研究多国(地区)制造业企业进入中国市场的方式。通过梳理一般产业均衡模型分析企业选择出口还是水平型FDI的内在机制,在此基础上进行实证检验,并得出结论:工厂规模经济和运输成本对样本国家(地区)制造业企业以出口还是水平型FDI方式进入中国市场起重要作用,而关税壁垒、公司规模经济、税收对此没有显著影响;采用基尼系数和GDP衡量中国实际市场需求时发现,中国市场变化没有促使样本国家(地区)制造业企业由出口方式转向水平型FDI。     

Competitiveness of China's Manufacturing Industry and its Impacts on the Neighbouring Countries

This paper investigates the rapid growth of China's share in the international commodity market and the structural changes of China's commodity exports. It demonstrates a significant improvement of international competitiveness in China's manufacturing sector. The panel data analysis, based on a Solow–Swan type growth model on China's 37 manufacturing industries from 1991 to 2002, reveals that the main sources of the strengthened competitiveness of China's manufacturing sector have been mainly from Total Factor Productivity (TFP), while labour productivity has been increasing and capital productivity has been falling. A preliminary empirical analysis on the impacts of China's increasing competitiveness finds that there are negative correlations between China and most of its neighbouring countries, both newly industrialised economies and other Southeast Asian developing economies. However, there is no evidence of negative impacts of China's increasing competitiveness on developed countries such as the United States and Japan.     

源于地方保护的市场分割对市场结构的影响

根据SCP范式,市场结构对企业的经营行为和市场绩效具有决定性的影响力,而市场结构的形成又受到很多因素的作用,在我国的现阶段,源于地方保护的市场分割对市场结构具有重要的影响力,在市场分割的环境下市场集中度、进入壁垒、竞争强度和规模经济都表现出独特的特征。这些市场结构上的特征可能可以用来解释我国企业偏爱多元化经营的行为。     

The British ‘failure’ that never was? The Anglo‐American ‘productivity gap’ in large‐scale interwar retailing—evidence from the department store sector1

Interwar British retailing has been characterized as having lower productivity, less developed managerial hierarchies and methods, and weaker scale economies than its US counterpart. This article examines comparative productivity for one major segment of large‐scale retailing in both countries—the department store sector. Drawing on exceptionally detailed contemporary survey data, we show that British department stores in fact achieved superior performance in terms of operating costs, margins, profits, and stock‐turn. While smaller British stores had lower labour productivity than US stores of equivalent size, TFP was generally higher for British stores, which also enjoyed stronger scale economies. We also examine the reasons behind Britain's surprisingly strong relative performance, using surviving original returns from the British surveys. Contrary to arguments that British retailers faced major barriers to the development of large‐scale enterprises, that could reap economies of scale and scope and invest in machinery and marketing to support the growth of their primary sales functions, we find that British department stores enthusiastically embraced the retail ‘managerial revolution’—and reaped substantial benefits from this investment.     

科学认识外汇储备、战略转移投资领域——外储管理体制改革的顶层设计

外汇储备的定义、本质、来源与功能 形式上,外汇储备是指一国央行所持有的国际储备资产中的外汇部分,即一国政府保有的以外币表示的债权,是一个国家货币当局持有并可以随时兑换外国货币的资产. 本质上,外汇储备是一国政府通过货币发行权集中持有的以外币标示的国际财富或资产,即归属于本国的国际资产. 从来源上,外汇储备分两类:一是由外贸顺差形成的权益性资产,这是经常项目差额积累下来的国际净财富.简单讲,我国这部分外汇储备是用出口商品与外币对换得来的,钱货两清后,我国是这部分外汇的拥有者,可以自由支配.目前,中国拥有这类权益性财富的总额大概2万多亿美元.二是资本和金融项目形成的债务性资产,如外资流入等.简单讲,我国这部分外汇储备是用人民币与美元相交换得来的,主要包括外商直接投资和我国外债.对于我国而言,这部分外汇储备是债务性资产,不能随意动用.目前,中国拥有这类债务性资产近万亿美元左右.债务性资产可分为长期和短期两种,前者主要指外国在中国的实业投资和长期债券投资,这部分债务性外汇资产的流动性较小,我们使用的空间比较大;后者主要指外国在中国的证券投资和不明目的的热钱,这部分债务性外汇随时都有可能撤出中国,因此需要灵活使用.     

Comparative home-market advantage: An empirical analysis of British and American exports

This paper derives and tests the hypothesis that a country exports relatively more of those goods for which it has a relatively larger home market, i.e., a comparative home-market advantage. This prediction is based on a two-country, many-good intraindustry trade model with economies of scale, international transaction costs and differences in expenditure shares and country size. The data from 1970 to 1987 of 26 industries of the manufacturing sector in the United States and the United Kingdom supports this hypothesis. It is also shown that the relationship between home-market size and export structure becomes significantly stronger for industries with high fixed costs. JEL no. F12, F14, F17     

金融危机、技术性贸易壁垒与出口国企业技术创新

本文研究了外部金融危机冲击下的出口国企业技术创新行为。进口国的金融危机会在两个方面影响其进口行为:政治上,进口国会提高进口产品的技术性贸易壁垒;经济上,进口国居民收入的下降导致对进口产品需求的下降,这两方面在对贸易出口形成冲击的同时都会对出口国企业的技术创新产生一定的正面效应,形成产业升级的"倒逼"效应。以此出发,本文构建的理论模型证明了进口国的最低质量标准和危机后更具垄断特征的出口市场结构确实会对出口企业的技术创新产生激励,但该结论的成立需满足一定的条件和假设。模型结论还显示,技术创新同规模经济的生产技术类似,都可以提高出口国企业的利润,但技术创新更具持久性。     

Externalities,Cross-Sectoral Spillovers and Productivity Growth

We provide an interpretation of the productivity dynamics in the manufacturing sector based on the idea of the thick market externality à la Diamond. An econometric model has been estimated which allows to disentangle the long run effects of these trading externalities from those of internal economies of scale and of aggregate industry-level economies. The results obtained—based on a cointegrated system of non-linear-error-correction equations—confirm the hypothesis that the trading externality matters. Moreover, our findings point out that the emphasis generally posited both on internal and external economies of scale is not justified.     

A multidimensional analysis of the international performance of U.S. manufacturing industries

A Multidimensional Analysis of the International Performance of U.S. Manufacturing Industries. — This study analyzes the determinants of three alternative measures of the international performance of U.S. manufacturing industries: export shares, the average number of foreign markets served, and the intensity of foreign direct investment. The factors affecting these three variables and various interactions among them are estimated econometrically using a sample of 37 U.S. industries. Overall, variables reflecting industrial organization, technological innovation, and scale economies are found to be more significant than traditional factor-proportions or labor-cost factors in explaining U.S. manufacturing performance in overseas markets.     

Unlocking Productive Entrepreneurship in Africa's Least Developed Countries*

Abstract: In Africa's least developed countries (LDCs), escape from poverty and convergence to living standards of more advanced economies depends critically on structural transformation and the emergence of productive entrepreneurship that would accelerate growth and job creation. So far, however, subsistence agriculture has been the main source of employment in these countries, while a dynamic private sector in industry or high value‐added services has remained elusive. Utilizing the flow approach to labor markets, this paper complements the empirical literature and numerous surveys on small and medium enterprise (SME) constraints and develops a theoretical framework that examines the main obstacles to entrepreneurship in Africa's LDCs. The paper posits that given the persistent frictions in product and labor markets as well as skill shortages that characterize these economies, development of productive entrepreneurship cannot be left to markets alone. The policy analysis suggests that the state has an important role to play. Well‐targeted government interventions including training of potential entrepreneurs and workers can help to establish more modern and highly productive SME clusters that Africa's LDCs need.     

PROBLEMS IN EXPANDING JAPAN'S IMPORTS OF MANUFACTURES FROM DEVELOPING ECONOMIES: A SURVEY*

The Japanese economy is now the second largest market economy, with a large trade surplus. And yet, Japan's imports of manufactures have long been very low relative to its GNP, when compared with other industrial countries; its ratio of manufactured imports to GNP was in the range of 2.1–2.7% in the 1980-87 period, as compared with 8.5–10.3% for the industrial countries as a whole or 4.7-7.2% for the United States. The share of developing economies in total imports of manufactures in Japan is about the same as, if not higher than, those for most other industrial countries. If Japan's ratio of manufactured imports to GNP were to rise in the future to approach closer to those of other industrial countries, Japan's imports of manufactures from developing economies could be two to three times what they are today, even if Japan's GNP does not increase at all and the share of developing economies in Japan's manufactured imports does not increase. This paper is an attempt to probe the potential of the Japanese market for imports of manufactures from developing economies in terms of rising ratio of such imports to GNP. The paper explores the reasons why Japan's ratio is exceptionally low, on the basis of existing literature. (a) Japan's ratio of manufactured imports to GNP has remained exceptionally low compared with those for other industrial countries. (b) Japan's ratio of manufactured imports from developing economies to GNP has remained distinctly low despite the recent surge in such imports. (c) If a part of the reason for the low ratio for Japan was a market access problem as often alleged, the problem is not with formal import barriers such as tariffs and formal non-tariff barriers because these barriers in Japan are no higher than in other industrial countries. As for informal import barriers, evidence found indicates that: (i) Administrative guidance and flexibly managed competition policy, which in the past had considerable effects of limiting imports, appear to have declined-in importance, but they still have import-limiting effects in certain areas. (ii) Market access difficulties involving import procedures, product standards, testing and certification requirements, which were enormous in the past, may have also decreased in severity over the last decade, but problems in these areas persist. (iii) There are aspects of the Japanese distribution system and practice that seem to make foreign access to the Japanese market significantly more difficult than the access by Japanese exporters to the markets in other industrial countries. Distribution in Japan suffers from overregulation. (iv) Users of manufactured products in Japan are sensitive to quality, perhaps more so, on the average, than in other industrial countries. Does the recent upsurge in Japan's imports of manufactures suggest that the traditional import behavior of Japan is changing? Japan's manufactured imports measured in yen increased by 18 and 27 percent in 1987 and 1988, respectively, and those coming from developing economies increased even more rapidly. There is also some evidence that price and income elasticities of demand for manufactured imports may have increased recently. These are encouraging, but it remains to be seen whether the trends will continue far enough into the future to bring Japan's import behavior more into line with those of other industrial countries. If they do, implications for the market prospects of manufactured exports from developing economies could be far-reaching. Outstanding questions are: (i) How much of the recent increase in manufactured imports is attributable to the appreciation of the yen (price effect)? How much is attributable to the increase in income or industrial output (income effect)? How much is attributable to removal of formal and informal import barriers effected so far (structural change)? Has consumer taste changed? (ii) Why have Latin American countries not been successful in promoting their exports of manufactures to Japan, when Asian exporters have been so successful? (iii) Up until now, the share of developing economies in Japan's manufactured imports has not been particularly low compared with those for other industrial countries, but is this share likely to fall or rise in the future? (iv) What is the likely impact of recently increased direct investment (DFI) by Japanese manufacturers in developing economies on the imports of their products into Japan?     

A disaggregated analysis of the export performance of some industrial and emerging countries

The paper describes the evolution of export shares and quantifies the contribution of geographical and sectoral specialization as well as that of “competitiveness” of some industrial and emerging market economies between 1985 and 2003. While the strong growth of emerging countries as world competitors has lowered the market shares of all industrial countries, the results of a constant-market-share analysis indicate that the latter have benefited from positive specialization effects. Specifically, industrial countries gained from being specialized in fast-growing sectors (high-tech) or destinations (Asia). The magnitude of these effects, however, has been quite diversified across the main countries. Among the emerging economies, the striking export growth of China was determined by a strong rise in competitiveness that allowed the country to gain market shares across all sectors and destinations.     

基于第四次产业转移的中国制造业发展之路探析

第四次全球产业转移已经来临,中国的制造业正遭遇前所未有的发展瓶颈。正当世界发达经济体重振制造业的时刻,我们更不能对目前中国制造业的困境熟视无睹。发展中国制造业需要国家政策层面的支持,更需制造企业强化内功,通过产业升级,实现新跨越。     

Competitiveness and external trade performance of the French manufacturing industry

Competitiveness and External Trade Performance of the French Manufacturing Industry. - This paper evaluates the competitiveness and external trade performance of the French manufacturing industry during the 1980s and early 1990s. It reviews developments in a broad range of competitiveness indicators, showing that the manufacturing sector appears to have maintained its competitive position, discusses developments in export market shares, and estimates a vector error correction model relating the trade ratio to relative unit labor costs, domestic and foreign demand, and nonprice competitiveness. Variance decompositions suggest that fluctuations in price and nonprice competitiveness account for about two-fifths of fluctuations in manufacturing trade flows.     

The rise of the service sector in China

This paper analyzes the underlying mechanisms that explain the rise of the service sector in China. Along with China’s unprecedented growth, the rapid expansion of its service sector is one of the fastest among emerging countries. However, the literature has yet to offer a clear understanding of such expansion. We show that distribution services first grow with the manufacturing sector, followed by personal services as per capita income rises. Motivated by this growth pattern, this paper provides a theory that describes 1) the complementarity between distribution services and the manufacturing sector, and 2) the substitution between personal services and home production. Empirics show that the personal service sector is the key to account for the early and rapid rise of the service sector in China. Quantitatively, high productivity growth and high capital intensity in the personal service sector, and labor market frictions are the most important channels. By revealing the growth pattern of the service sector in the early stages of development, the paper thereby contributes to the growing literature on the rising importance of the service economy.     

An empirical analysis of market performance in the car industry

This article focuses on the determinants of market performance in the car industry. Trade and market patterns are studied using firm-level international data. Econometric models are developed and evaluated for a sample of firms from the major producing countries for the period 1970–1985. Among the factors responsible for the market shares of the different firms are international differences in unit labor costs, income levels, the European Community (EC) and locally based production scales, and transaction costs in the form of trade barriers.     

创新的规模经济与企业绩效——基于协同作用的考察

有许多因素导致企业的创新活动具有规模经济的特征,了解这些因素对企业管理者制定创新政策具有重要意义。理论上看,企业的广告活动有助于创新规模经济的实现,从而改善企业绩效。基于中国制造业上市公司样本的实证研究发现,从整体上看,研发支出与企业绩效显著正相关,广告支出与企业绩效没有统计上显著的关系,但广告支出有利于创新规模经济的实现。广告活动的协同作用会受到企业规模的影响,在中等规模企业里广告支出的促进作用比在大企业和小企业里从经济意义上看更为重要,并且统计上更为显著。     

Are Manufacturing Exports the Key to Economic Success in Africa?

The poor performance of many African economies has been associatedwith low growth of exports in general and of manufacturing exportsin particular. The two most successful countries in Africa havebeen Botswana and Mauritius. In Botswana, rapid export growthfollowed the discovery of diamonds; in Mauritius, manufacturingexports played a major role. In this paper we draw on both macroand micro evidence from nine African countries to investigatewhether manufacturing exports are the key to success in Africa.We do this by posing three questions. First, how close is thelink between export and income growth? Second, is there evidencefrom these African countries that manufactured exports haveled to greater economic success? Third, what has limited thesuccess of firms in the manufacturing sector? We argue thatexport and income growth are very closely linked. However, thereis, for this sample of countries, no evidence that if theirexports are manufactures, growth rates are higher. We show thatthe factors that limit the success of African manufacturingfirms in exporting are their levels of efficiency and smallsize. We argue that the key to success in an area where Africahas a potential cost advantage — labour-intensive garments— is to enable large firms to use a more labour-intensivetechnology than is the case at present.