Does export and productivity growth linkage exist? Evidence from the Indian manufacturing industry

This paper examines the interrelation between exporting and productivity performance by using a representative sample of Indian manufacturing firms over the period 1994–2006. Specifically, we attempt to test the empirical validity of the learning‐by‐exporting and the self‐selection hypotheses for our sample firms. In order to investigate the linkage, in the first step, we test for causality between TFP and export intensity of firms. Although overall results are rather mixed and provide some support for both hypotheses, still the empirical results are more favorable for the self‐selection behavior of firms. In the next stage, we attempt to provide evidence on export and productivity linkage that occurs during various phases of transition in the export market. Our results suggest that entering in the export market does not improve productivity performance. However, the decision to exit from the export market does have an adverse effect on the productivity. In addition, our results indicate the presence of a high sunk cost of exporting coupled with perhaps lesser information about foreign markets. Finally, our results also lend some support to the significant role of in‐house research activities and economies of scale in firms' productivity performance.     

Economic Properties of Statistical Indices: The Case of a Multidimensional Gini Index: A Correction and an Addition

Journal of Quantitative Economics - This note corrects an error in a paper published recently in this journal and also shows that the index proposed there satisfies an important additional property.     

Are Current Account Deficits Sustainable? Evidence from Dynamic Panel Data Analysis

This paper examines two issues, namely, whether the current account deficit (CAD) is sustainable, and the degree of sustainability for a panel consisting of 129 countries over the period 1981–2013. To this end, we investigate the relationship between exports and imports for various income and region categories. Our finding from the pooled mean group estimator suggests that CAD is “weakly” sustainable in most of the country groups. This implies that sustainable current account is consistent with the sustainability of external debts. Further, the adjustment coefficient is found to be rather low for all the country groups. This indicates that the speed of convergence toward the long-run equilibrium in the event of short-run disturbances is faster. Finally, we discuss policy implications of our findings.

     

Estimating marginal external costs of transport in Delhi

This paper develops the model and methodology to estimate the marginal external cost of urban road transport, which is necessary for analysing optimal urban transport prices. Four major marginal external costs analysed in this paper include the marginal external costs for congestion, air pollution, road accidents and noise. The paper estimates the marginal external costs for cars and buses in peak and off-peak periods for Delhi urban agglomeration for the year 2005.     

Supply chain analysis of e-tailing versus retailing operation – a case study

The swift growth of e-commerce or e-tailing as a consumer retail channel has made it a serious competitor to traditional retail channels and is changing consumers’ purchasing behaviour. The purpose of this case study, based on Target and Amazon.com, is to analyse the attributes of traditional retailing, e-tailing, and hybrid supply chain models to form conclusions about the feasibility of an idealised supply chain model for the future. An integrated and generalised modelling framework is used that incorporates Six Sigma – define, measure, analyse, improve, control methodology leveraging various tools, including process flow maps, cause and effect diagram, performance efficiency metrics, failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), and Monte Carlo simulation. Based on this analysis and research, the conclusion is that the idealised supply chain of the future may evolve into a hybrid supply chain, which includes both e-tail and retail channels. The main recommendations from this study include assessing the risks of migrating to such a hybrid supply chain and to leverage the recommended actions provided in the hybrid FMEA. To facilitate more effective and mature processes, this study can guide researchers in exhaustive empirical evaluations of hybrid supply chains, gather experiences and lessons learned for practitioners.