Internal Quota-Allocation Schemes and the Costs of the Mfa*

This paper suggests that schemes used within developing countries to allocate textile export quota among domestic producers typically have more severe negative effects on developing-country economic performance than the MFA export quotas themselves. We summarize allocation schemes in 16 countries, highlighting common “lock-in” and “rent-dissipation” effects of such schemes. We then use a global general-equilibrium model to evaluate the effects of MFA removal with and without these additional effects. Results indicate that estimates of gains to developing countries from an MFA removal increase sharply when internal quota-allocation schemes are taken into account.     

Change in Asia: a review of management theory and research related to human resources

Many competing hypotheses have been advanced to account for human resource management (HRM) change. The present review examines the theoretical development and empirical study in HRM change in Asia in the early twenty-first century (2000–2006). Three research themes common to HRM change are discussed: (1) change context is about the issues of forces facilitating or hindering HRM change; (2) change process includes pace, sequence and magnitude of HRM change progress; and (3) change direction is about resultant change outcome. Comparisons of HRM change are made within Asian economies as well as between Asia and other regions. It is concluded that the interplay among different perspectives can produce a wide variety of more complex understanding of change context while a longitudinal approach can add value to explain dynamic process and resultant direction.     

‘Managing’ Reductions in Working Hours: A Study of Work-time and Leisure Preferences in UK Industry

This paper, which is predicated on the view that reductions in work-time are generally desirable, explores the working hours of managers and professionals in UK industry. Managers and professionals are often grouped together in empirical and theoretical work, e.g. in the literature on the professional-managerial class, and Goldthorpe's ‘Service Class’. Nevertheless, there are differences: professionals, historically, are autonomous workers; the role of managers, in contrast, is to extract work from others on behalf of the organisation. Using data collected from the 2005 Labour Force Survey we establish there are statistically significant empirical differences between managers and professionals; one of these differences is in attitudes to work-time. We theorise that this is because managers' roles align their attitudes with those desired by the firm or organisation, and we conclude that, as a consequence, the ‘voluntary’ nature of work-time regulation should be revisited.     

The expert problem: a survey

The survey is focused on the typical problems in information transmission from experts to non-experts. Attention is paid to the factors that can affect information disclosure in models that apply a game-theoretic approach to the use of professional advice. In the economic literature expertise is mainly analyzed as a special case of asymmetric information between expert and non-expert. The contributions are reviewed according to a double criterion, that takes into account both the preferences of the experts and the properties of communication. On one side, either the non-expert plays the role of a decision-maker, who chooses an action that is payoff-relevant for the expert, or the preferences of the expert directly depend on some measure of his reputation as a high-ability forecaster. On the other side, communication can range from pure cheap talk to completely verifiable messages.     

Global value chains participation and productivity gains for North African firms

The emergence of global value chains (GVCs) has provided some firms the opportunity to internationalize by specializing in the production of specific inputs or tasks along the chain, with a direct impact on a country’s competitiveness. China, for instance, managed to enter low value added phases in GVCs to rapidly become a major player in world trade. Against this background, this paper asks whether North Africa, given its favourable geographic position in the Mediterranean and proximity to Europe, can grab similar opportunities. In particular, it analyzes the GVCs participation of North African firms and its implications for productivity. Since the coordination of vertically fragmented production processes increasingly relies on an adequate level of quality and reliability, especially when the inputs from several stages and locations must come together in a specific way, we identify firms involved in GVCs as traders with internationally recognized quality certification. Using a propensity score matching diff-in-diff method, the paper finds that firms that enter GVCs both perform better ex ante and show additional productivity gains ex post. Results suggest that policies designed to support certifications and compliance with international standards and to increase trust between firms in different countries, represent an important tool for linking developing countries to global production networks, with possible positive consequences on their economic development and growth.     

A research note: information technology and company performance in the textile industry

Here the authors examine the role of computer networks on organisations engaged in textile and clothing manufacture. The results reveal that companies with a computer network performed significantly better than those without, both in terms of growth in employment and return on sales over the period 1985–87     

Gender and local economic policy

Booth, C., Darke, J. and Yeandle, S. 1996: CHANGING PLACES: WOMEN'S LIVES IN THE CITY. London: Paul Chapman, £14.95 paper.

Gardiner, J. 1997: GENDER, CARE AND ECONOMICS. Basingstoke: Macmillan, £15.99 paper.

Dijkstra, G. and Plantenga, J. (eds) 1997: GENDER AND ECONOMICS. A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE. London: Routledge, £45.00 cased, £14.99 paper.