Trade in the shadow of power: Japanese industrial exports in the interwar years

During the interwar years, Japanese industrialization accelerated alongside the expansion of industrial exports to regional markets. Trade blocs in the interwar years were used as an instrument of imperial power to foster exports and as a substitute for productivity to encourage industrial production. The historiography on Japanese industrialization in the interwar years describes heavy industries’ interests in obtaining access to wider markets to increase economies of scale and reduce unit costs. However, this literature provides no quantitative evidence that proves the success of those mechanisms in expanding exports. In this article we scrutinize how Japan—a relatively poor country—used colonial as well as informal power interventions to expand regional markets for its exports, especially for the most intensive human capital sector of the industrializing economy. Our results show that Japanese exports in 1938 would have been around one-third smaller had no empire ever existed, which indicates an outstanding effect of empire in the international context.     

The Rise of the Maquiladoras: A Mixed Blessing

Mexico experienced a tremendous expansion of its export‐processing maquila sector during the 1990s. Since one of the main objectives of the maquiladora program was to promote formal employment, we study how the rapid increase in maquiladora activity has affected labor market outcomes and welfare in Mexico. We develop a heterogeneous‐firm model with imperfect labor markets that captures salient features of the Mexican economy such as the differences between maquila and non‐maquila manufacturing plants and the existence of an informal sector. We calibrate the model's parameters to match key cross‐sectional moments characterizing the Mexican economy. We find that the expansion of the maquila sector during the 1990s was a mixed blessing for Mexico. Our quantitative model indicates that the skill premium decreased by 2.7%, informality increased by 0.9%, and overall welfare decreased by 3.7%.     

Automation of Warehouse Management and Assortment in the Distribution of Durable Goods: An Analysis for the Ceramics and Building Supplies Industry in Spain

The introduction of information and communication technologies can be a source of competitive advantages for the retailer, even if at significant cost. In the present work we try to identify the factors that characterize companies that invest in these technologies to automate warehouse management and, in particular, the relation between the degree of automation and the retail assortment. In order to achieve this aim, we consider a sample of distributors of ceramics and building supplies in Spain. The results suggest that warehouse management automation is related to the depth and breadth of the products carried in the retail assortment.     

从区位理论看中国企业对墨西哥的直接投资

墨西哥是拉美国家中吸引外资环境最好的国家之一。本文在对国际直接投资的区位理论进行梳理的基础上,从自然环境、经济环境和政治法律环境等方面对墨西哥的投资环境进行详细的区位分析,并对墨西哥吸引直接投资的独特优势进行考察,最后提出了结论和建议。     

Selection of standards for digital television: The battle for Latin America

This paper analyses the implementation of Terrestrial Digital Technology (TDT) standards in Latin America. The analysis suggests that while some governments have chosen the standard attending to their industrial objectives, others have been influenced by the relevance of network externalities and scale economies and by the political and commercial relationship with their neighbours. The discussion about the technical characteristics of the systems was only relevant in the first years of the process, when the leading countries of the region had still not made their selection. Brazil decided to create its own version of the Japanese ISDB standard in 2006, and in the following years it has persuaded a significant part of the continent to choose it. Another block of countries has adopted the US ATSC standard. The most prominent case is that of Mexico, which has a preferential access to the US market. Only three countries have chosen the European DVB standard, the most widely used standard in the world. Colombia has tried to lead its introduction in the continent, but the results so far have been meagre.     

Assessing the effectiveness of financial reporting harmonization for emerging market banks: The case of Banco Serfin

In the last decade there has been a proliferation of financial crises in emerging markets. To some extent, the suddenness and magnitude of some of these crises have been blamed on poor financial reporting standards for bank loan losses. As a result, prior to providing countries with “financial bailout” funds, international investors and international financial organizations have increasingly required that countries harmonize their bank financial reporting standards with international financial reporting standards.Given this trend, this case requires students to assess the effectiveness of efforts to harmonize loan financial reporting (with International Financial Reporting Standards) for Mexican banks during (and after) the country’s financial crisis of the late 1990s. Students are required to assess the extent to which both pre-crisis standards as well as new, post-crisis standards complied with international financial reporting standards. They are also required to assess the impact of the new standards on the reporting practices for loans of one particularly troubled financial institution. Through the examination of this institution’s accounting practices for loans, students obtain a familiarity of the shortcomings of emerging markets’ banks’ loan financial reporting as well as the factors which influence the adoption of international financial reporting standards by emerging market banks.     

Intra-industry trade between the united states and the major latin american countries: Measurement and implications for free trade in the Americas

This paper presents estimates for the level of intra-industry trade in the 1991 bilateral commerce between the United States and Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela. As theory predicts, intra-industry trade is positively correlated with income and with foreign investment in this study. Furthermore, Mexico and the United States present high levels of intra-industry trade, whereas the other Latin American countries analyzed have relatively low levels. The paper concludes that Mexico should experience much less difficulty in adjusting to free trade with the United States than the other countries. The low levels of intra-in-dustry trade between the United States and the other Latin American nations signal that increased trade between these areas would bring about significant dislocation of resources and high adjustment costs.     

足球队通过ISO9001得分

亚历汉德罗·陶鲁梅斯是墨西哥QMI审核公司的主任审核员,他同时也在墨西哥城的泛美大学任教,在这所大学,他曾获得过工业工程学士学位.