Schumpeterian Dynamics Versus Williamsonian Considerations: A Test of Export Intermediary Performance

Using a sample of export intermediaries connecting domestic producers and foreign buyers, the study tests competing hypotheses on firm performance derived from the Austrian and transaction cost perspectives. Specifically, the Austrian perspective suggests that the more distant the export market and the more complex the product that the intermediary specializes in, the better its performance. Transaction cost theory, on the other hand, offers conflicting predictions. Our results indicate that these two theories are complementary to each other, and a contingency framework is proposed and discussed.     

The new right and the US economy in the 1980s: an assessment of the economic record of the Reagan administration

This paper discusses the new-right ideas underlying the victory and implementation of ‘Reaganomics’ and examines the economic record of the Reagan administration. Given the preeminence of supply-side economics in the USA in the 1980s, and the supply-side leanings of the Reagan government, attention is focused mainly upon supply-side ideas, policies and claims: although some assessment of monetarist propositions is also provided. In addition to the evaluation of new-right claims, however, a broader assessment of the Reagan administration's record is also undertaken which deals, inter alia, with inflation, growth, unemployment and the ‘twin deficits’. Within this evaluation the social impact of Reaganomics is highlighted as a counterpoint to the claimed economic successes of the Reagan years.     

THE STATE GIVETH AND THE STATE TAKETH AWAY: SUPPORTING THE RESEARCH-BASED PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY IN EUROPE AND THE UK

The European research-based pharmaceutical industry has been declining relative to its US counterpart for more than a decade. It remains a substantial and successful industry, and the UK continues to be a particular success story, but many challenges lie ahead in an increasingly competitive global environment. Recent attempts to reinvigorate and support pharmaceutical and biotech research and development have been numerous, and in the UK now include the R&D tax credit. But it is the operating environment and the structure of the market for pharmaceuticals that represent the biggest challenges for the industry and policy-makers.     

The Performance of the European Central Bank

The European Monetary Union has been in operation since 1 January 1999. The paper offers an interim assessment of the operations of the European Central Bank (ECB) during this period. It describes how the ECB defined its monetary strategy and carried out its policy. The evaluation offered in the paper is largely positive, the principal objects of criticism being found to stem from the constitution which defines the position and principal objective of the ECB. This constitution embodies an extreme version of Central Bank independence and creates a 'democratic deficit' in consequence. Albeit the operating record is not without some blemishes, for example in regard to the ECB's communication policy. So far, the ECB has benefitted from a favourable macroeconomic conjuncture. This has changed and a more testing time may now be in store.     

Outside directors and firm performance during institutional transitions

Do outside directors on corporate boards make a difference in firm performance during institutional transitions? What leads to the practice of appointing outside directors in the absence of legal mandate? This article addresses these two important questions by drawing not only on agency theory, but also resource dependence and institutional theories. Taking advantage of China's institutional transitions, our findings, based on an archival database covering 405 publicly listed firms and 1211 company–years, suggest that outsider directors do make a difference in firm performance, if such performance is measured by sales growth, and that they have little impact on financial performance such as return on equity (ROE). The results also document a bandwagon effect behind the diffusion of the practice of appointing outsiders to corporate boards. The article not only highlights the need to incorporate multiple theories beyond agency theory in corporate governance research, but also generates policy implications in light of the recent trend toward having more outside directors on corporate boards in emerging economies. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.