Economic growth and unemployment in East Asia

Barro and Sala-i-Martin （2004） analyzed the empirical determinants of growth. The data used in this paper consists of panel data of several macroeconomic variables observed for 55 years 0950-2004） in six East Asian countries and regions. Following the implications of semi-endogenous growth theory, the author regressed output growth on the determinants of steady-state income. The estimation and test results suggest the existence of significant relationship between steady-state income and （trend weighted） R ＆ D input both in Japan and South Korea. In addition, following Cellini （1995）, the author also considers cointegration and error-correction methods as the growth regression of East Asian countries. Meanwhile, Chang, et al （2004） derived the conclusion that the decreases in reallocation shocks are main factor in a downward trend in natural rate of unemployment for South Korea. The author extends this analysis using structural VAR to other Asian countries and regions, Japan and Taiwan region. Impulse responses show that the growth of production in Korea and Taiwan reduce unemployment, but, in Japan, this raises unemployment.     

Effect of Restaurant Patrons' Regret and Disappointment on Dissatisfaction and Behavioral Intention

The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship among regret/disappointment, dissatisfaction, and behavioral intention in service failure situations at a restaurant. Even though there is a consensus regarding the positive relationship between regret/disappointment and customer dissatisfaction, unclear results still exist regarding the relationship between regret/disappointment and different types of behavioral intention. Thus, the present study attempts to clarify these fuzzy relationships. Specifically, this study aims to enhance understanding of the influence of regret and disappointment on behavioral intention (switching/negative WOM). The findings suggest that both regret and disappointment are significant determinants of customer dissatisfaction and switching/negative WOM. Further, the study results indicate that regret is an important predictor of switching intention, whereas disappointment is an important determinant of negative WOM. Finally, based on these findings, managerial implications for restaurant managers are discussed.     

Inferring international dotcom Web communities by link and content analysis

This study investigates international hyperlink networks and their content in terms of the .com domain, the most ubiquitous generic top-level domain, to examine the kinds of global websites that are linked to .com, what the linked contents are, and who are dealing with the hyperlinks. The results show the hyperlink network of websites with outgoing hyperlinks to .com websites indicates the dominant centrality of the U.S., whereas that of those with incoming hyperlinks from .com websites illustrates a core–periphery structure centered about the U.S. and other superpowers. The most globalized topics covered by websites linked to .com websites are business, the Internet and computers, recreation and entertainment, and personal interests. Many of the websites with outgoing hyperlinks to .com websites use only one non-English language. The predominant use of English by websites with outgoing hyperlinks to .com websites demonstrates the centrality of countries using English as the mother language in hyperlinked societies on the Web. The implications of these findings and further research are discussed.     

How are newspaper companies using social media to engage and connect with their audiences? characteristics and forms of Korean newspapers’ YouTube use

The present study classifies the characteristics of YouTube use by South Korean newspapers in terms of both “local proximity” and “reported them” of news content. Several kinds of data related to news production and consumption were collected from the opening of the YouTube account to October 11, 2012. Findings suggest that news content strategies for YouTube are different across newspapers. National newspapers are likely to perceive YouTube as a new medium, whereas local newspapers tend to perceive it as an extension of the existing newspaper. The results also reveal that YouTube strategies based on strongly partisan or critical reports or oppositional parodies can work better than those providing a diverse and universally appealing range of content.     

The Resources Allocation Effects of Indonesia's Financial Repression in the 1974–1983 Period

We found that the selective credit policy of the 1974-83 period benefitted the Indonesian economy in a way unanticipated by the protagonists in the financial repression debate. The selective credit policy by favoring the manufacturing and trade sectors reduced their decimation by the overvalued exchange rate created by expansionary macroeconomic policies. The existence of a sizeable tradeable sector when the negative balance of payments shocks hit after 1981 enabled Indonesia to earn enough foreign exchange to service its external debts and thus avoid the type of prolonged economic crisis experienced by Latin America. (It must be stressed that the selective credit policy constituted only one of the policy actions that preserved the economic viability of the tradeable sector.) Since the selective credit policy was not undertaken with the expectation of negative balance of payments shocks in 1980s, its beneficial effects on economic development were entirely fortuitous.     

Knowledge sources and recombination capabilities in developing new convergent products

Recent surge in technological convergences has generated great interests from scholars, managers and policy-makers. Yet, few literatures have investigated firm-specific factors behind developing convergent products. This research has empirically analysed the role of firms’ knowledge recombination capabilities and external collaborations in developing convergent products by using a survey data from 858 Korean firms. The findings suggest that presence of interdisciplinary employees and the strong commitment of CEOs are among the important knowledge recombination capabilities for developing convergent products. When compared to other types of collaboration, the inter-firm collaboration turned out to be the most effective in developing convergent products. We suggest that firms should understand that knowledge generations are becoming more interdisciplinary and employees with interdisciplinary research background are an important enabler of knowledge recombination. We suggest that policy-maker should continue to allocate its resources in supporting inter-disciplinary research programmes.     

Can German vocational training combat skill shortages in developing countries? Evidence from dual training system in the Philippines

This paper examines the labor market impacts of the Philippine Dual Training System (DTS), a vocational training program that combines firm-based on-the-job training (OJT) and conventional institution-based training, using a recent survey that tracked graduates from DTS and regular institution-based programs. The estimation results using fuzzy regression discontinuity design show a significantly positive impact on the most recent monthly earnings. The impact significantly increases with the OJT intensity, measured by the number of hours a week in OJT. The above results imply that vocational training has to be aligned with actual production technologies and work practices to narrow skill gaps and create positive returns.     

Population Genetics and Economic Growth

This paper builds an age-structured model of human population genetics in which explicit individual choices drive the dynamics via sexual selection. In the model, agents are endowed with a high-dimensional genome that determines their cognitive and physical characteristics. Young adults optimally search for a marriage partner, work for firms, consume goods, save for old age and, if married, decide how many children to have. In accord with the fundamental genetic operators, children receive genes from their parents. An agent's human capital (productivity) is an aggregate of the received genetic endowment and environmental influences so that the population of agents and the economy co-evolve. After calibrating the model, we examine the impact of physical, social, and economic institutions on population growth and economic performance. We find that institutional factors significantly impact economic performance by affecting marriage, family size, and the intergenerational transmission of genes. The principal novel findings are that i) genetic diversity has a nonmonotone causal impact on population size and economic performance; ii) an endogenous population threshold exists which, absent frictions, causes societies with declining populations and output to reverse course and grow; and iii) that the emotion love substantially accelerates economic growth by increasing genetic diversity just enough, which we term The Goldilocks Principle.