How effective is the Free Trade Agreement in South Asia? An empirical investigation

We investigate the efficacy of preferential trade liberalization in changing the observed trade pattern among the South Asian countries that have entered into the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). Although in its nascent stage, some data are now available to provide an ex-post evaluation of the performance of this bloc. Using these data, we find no empirical evidence of trade creation among SAFTA members, which is not surprising given that tariff concessions in SAFTA are small and are offset by complicated rules of origin procedure. However, a substantial and statistically significant increase in exports from SAFTA members to the rest of the world is found. Several panel strategies are used to check the sensitivity of the results against the assumptions of the estimation strategies. As some key coefficient estimates are found to differ across estimation methods, policymakers in South Asia need to use care in relying on the results from empirical studies, including our own, in formulating their trade policies.     

Capital structure and value of reported earnings: evidence from an emerging market

This article documents a nonlinear impact of capital structure on the value of reported earnings in India during the period between 2009 and 2015. Our results show that earnings reported by firms with moderate level of debt are more valuable than earnings reported by firms with low or high level of debt. Our results are robust across various proxies of capital structure and across various sub-samples. This article argues that moderate level of debt is associated with low-agency problems, while low and high level of debt is synonymous to high-agency problems. Differences in agency problems result in reported earnings that have very different levels of relevance.     

The effects of human capital composition on technological convergence

This paper empirically investigates whether the contribution of human capital to productivity growth depends on the composition of human capital and proximity to the technology frontier in a panel of 87 sample countries over the period 1970–2004. It tests the hypothesis that primary and secondary education is more suitable for imitation whereas tertiary education is more appropriate for innovation. The results show that the growth enhancing effects of higher education increase with proximity to the technology frontier only for high and medium income countries.     

AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: ESTIMATES OF INCOME AND PRICE ELASTICITIES OF DEMAND AND SUPPLY

This paper provides new evidence on income and price elasticities of demand and supply of agricultural exports from developing countries, on the basis of (a) a consistent and fully specified supply and demand model, and (b) statistical estimation procedures not frequently used in the estimation of agricultural export functions. Estimates of price and income elasticities of demand for aggregate agricultural exports for all developing countries taken together — as distinct from individual exporting countries — are found to be low; moreover, export price as distinguished from non-price factors plays a relatively insignificant role in increasing export supply. Hence, an attempt by all developing countries to expand traditional agricultural exports with low price elasticity of demand may not yield rising earnings for all; but in fact may result in falling export revenues. Insofar as individual exports of all developing countries (not individual countries) are concerned, income and price elasticities of demand for such tropical commodities as tea, coffee, cocoa and bananas are also found to be low, except for new, non-traditional exports like pineapples. This indicates the importance of diversification of agricultural exports as a vehicle for their future growth.     

The open approach to flood control: the way to the future in Bangladesh

This paper offers a critique of the cordon approach to flood control that Bangladesh has been pursuing for several decades now. It shows how this approach fails to solve the flood problem, deprives the floodplains from benefits of regular river-inundation, creates a risky situation for the inhabitants inside cordons, brings in new problems of drainage and sanitation, and leads to huge waste of resources. The paper then argues for the open approach to flood control as the way to the future. The main components of this approach are: re-excavation of river beds and other surface water bodies, minimization of obstruction on floodplains, increasing the elevation of rural and urban dwellings, restoration of waterways, and promotion of rural settlement consolidation around permanent flood shelters. The paper shows in what ways the open approach to flood control is superior to the cordon approach.     

Does Mandating Nondiscrimination in Hiring Practices Influence Women's Employment? Evidence Using Firm-Level Data

This study explores the relationship between mandating a nondiscrimination clause in hiring practices along gender lines and the employment of women versus men in fifty-eight developing countries. Using data from the World Bank's Enterprise Surveys (2006–10 World Bank. 2006–10. “Enterprise Surveys.” www.enterprisesurveys.org. [Google Scholar]), the study finds a strong positive relationship between the nondiscrimination clause and women's relative to men's employment. The relationship is robust to a large number of controls at the firm and country level. Results also show sharp heterogeneity in the relationship between the nondiscrimination clause and women's versus men's employment, with the relationship being much bigger in richer countries and in countries with more women in the population as well as among relatively smaller firms.     

Nanotechnology innovation system: Understanding hidden dynamics of nanoscience fusion trajectories

Nanoscience and technology has introduced a new dimension to basic sciences and a range of technologies. Researchers from various scientific disciplines are aggressively getting involved in the relevant research as a parallel way to boost nanoscience competitiveness through academic research, and corporations are directing their R&D activities towards the exploration and exploitation of nanotech opportunities. For years, it has been said that innovation is achieved by breaking through the boundaries of existing technologies. This paper has argued how nanotechnology is driven by scientific research and in what way traditional disciplines are fused into this emerging area. We attempt to provide an empirical analysis of the dynamics of nanoscience fusion trajectories, which is typically a focused area in innovation studies. In this paper, we seek to understand the attributes that are likely to enable scientific disciplines to fuse into nanoscience through a combination of quantitative and qualitative search within nanotechnology systems of innovation (NanoSI). An insight of the similarity and disparity of fusion between Europe and Japan is also provided. Finally, we develop an integrative framework to explore the co-evolutionary nature of nanotech. The paper then tries to derive some implications that would be useful for science and technology policy makers as well as for researchers in traditional scientific disciplines.     

The impact of competition,and economic globalization on the multinational diffusion of 3G mobile phones

To discover differences in technology diffusion of 3G mobile phones across countries, we investigate the impact of market factors, measured by competitive fractionalization, and economic globalization across countries using a multi-country diffusion model. We incorporate comprehensive socioeconomic and telecommunications data covering 35 geographically and economically diverse countries and control for covariates from literature. We used the Non-linear Mixed Modeling (NLMIXED) approach in SAS with pooled multi-country data to estimate a generalized Bass model taking into account unobserved heterogeneity in market saturation levels, a major source of inter-country differences. Our substantive findings are: the significance of the impact of competitive fractionalization on the likelihood of adoption and on the market potential; the significance of the impact of economic globalization on market growth. Our findings will aid international managers and regulators in their strategy and policy formulations. Finally, we demonstrate model validity by model fit and predictive accuracy.     

Greenhushing: the deliberate under communicating of sustainability practices by tourism businesses

ABSTRACT

Greenhushing selectively communicates fewer pro-sustainability actions by businesses than are practiced; based on a perception of customers’ rights to consumerism. We first studied the gap between the communication of sustainability practices in the audits and websites of 31 small rural tourism businesses in the Peak District National Park (UK). The analysis showed that businesses only communicate 30% of all the sustainability actions practiced. Their websites emphasised customer benefits, using explicit, affective, experiential and active language that legitimises the customers’ hedonistic use of the landscape, while downplaying complex issues and normalising sustainability to reduce customer guilt. Just one website mentioned climate change. We found that greenhushing results from a low moral intensity, masking potentially negative consequences of perceived lower competence, whilst protecting business from more cynical consumers who may interpret their statements as hypocritical. Subsequent textual analysis and interviews were used to understand how communication constitutes these organisations. We propose that greenhushing reshapes and constitutes tourism businesses through their communications. Moreover, greenhushing is a form of public moralisation that adopts communication practices similar to greenwashing, reflecting the social norms expected from a business; however, in this case, located in a moral muteness, rather than moral hypocrisy, that businesses accept but resent.