Causal analyses between exports and economic growth in developing countries

This study investigates the prima facie causal relationship between the exports and output growth in 30 developing countries over the period from 1960 to 1988 in a multivariate framework. The information set considered for the output and exports models are ω = (domestic output, exports, labour and capital), and ω = (exports, domestic output, exchange rate and foreign output) respectively. This study indentities a feedback prima facie causal relationship between exports and output growth in five countries, export growth prima facie causes output growth in another six countries; output growth prima facie causes export growth in a further eight countries; and no causal relationship was observed between export growth and output growth in the remaining 11 countries. We also found that in 15 countries the foreign exchange rate prima facie caused export growth, and that in 12 countries world output caused export growth.     

Embeddedness of innovation receivers in the multinational corporation: Effects on business performance

This paper investigates how relationship embeddedness in MNC subsidiaries’ corporate and external networks influences the contribution of innovation transfer to the recipient subsidiary's business performance. OLS regressions using data on the intra-MNC transfer of 224 innovations indicate that the embeddedness of a subsidiary's relationships in the corporate and external network positively affects the received innovation's contribution to business performance. More detailed analysis demonstrates that the positive link between a subsidiary's embeddedness in the external network and the contribution to business performance of receiving an innovation is negatively affected when the innovation is unique compared with other innovations on the market.     

UNDERPRICING OF IPOS THAT FOLLOW PRIVATE PLACEMENT

In this study we examine the underpricing of initial public offerings (IPOs) by firms that have private placements of equity before their IPOs (PP IPO firms). We find that PP IPOs are associated with significantly less underpricing than their peers. Furthermore, PP IPOs are associated with lower underwriting spreads, more reputable underwriting syndicates, and greater postissue analyst coverage as compared to IPOs that are issued by their industry peers under similar market conditions. Consistent with the implications of the information asymmetry explanation for IPO underpricing, our findings suggest that companies could benefit by conveying their quality via successful pre‐IPO private placements that help reduce the cost of going public.     

Cost efficiency,economies of scale,technological progress and productivity in Indonesian banks

This study estimates cost efficiency, economies of scale, technological progress, and productivity growth among Indonesian banks from 1993 to 2000. Average cost efficiency for the banking sector over this period was 70%. However, there is a marked difference in cost efficiency before and after the Asian economic crisis. The banking sector cost efficiency was 80% prior to the crisis and 53% after the crisis. Moreover, results indicate that private-owned banks and joint venture/foreign banks were more efficient than public-owned banks. Furthermore, the relationship between cost efficiency and total assets suggests an optimum bank asset size. Cost reductions attributed to technological progress and economies of scale were greater prior to the Asian economic crisis. Larger decreases in total factor productivity are evident in the post-crisis period.     

中国-尼泊尔贸易现状、影响及发展路径研究

中国和尼泊尔的双边贸易由于规模较少,所占份额较小而很少受到研究者们的关注,相关文献也很少涉及;但实际上,中尼贸易对于中国西藏经济发展的贡献以及作为贸易中介和转口的作用是不容忽视的。在此背景下,文章解析了近年来中尼贸易的规模、增长速度以及贸易结构的情况,以定量分析方法得出了中尼贸易对于西藏经济增长的作用和贡献度,最后提出了发展中尼贸易的路径选择。     

Ghanaian exporters’ international experience and performance: the mediating role of export commitment

The existing literature provides mixed findings regarding the impact of international experience on export performance. One of the reasons for these mixed findings could be the intervening mechanisms that influence international experience – export performance relationships. We examine one factor, namely export commitment. Drawing from the resource-based view, we examine how the interaction between international experience and export commitment enhances export performance. Based on a sample of 116 Ghanaian exporting firms, the findings suggest that export commitment significantly mediates the association between international experience and export performance. We make two key contributions: first, we provide understanding of how international experience contributes to export performance – through enhancing export commitment. Second, we provide evidence from an under researched geographical context, namely Ghana. Thus, we extend the existing literature to sub-Saharan African countries.     

Estimating loss of ecosystem services due to paddy straw burning in North-west India

Crop residue burning is severe in rice–wheat cropping system of North-western states (Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, and western Uttar Pradesh) of India, where mechanized harvesting of rice using combine harvesters is a common practice, and management of leftover residue in the short window of 10–15 days for timely sowing of wheat is a formidable task. Moreover, there is a lack of user-friendly, cost-effective, and economically viable options and, around 23 million tonnes of rice residue is burnt annually in the region. Burning biomass not only pollutes environment but also results in loss of appreciable amount of plant’s essential nutrients. Straw burning releases soot particles, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, thus causing serious deterioration in atmospheric quality and human health hazards. We attempted to identify and quantify the environmental cost of paddy straw burning in North-west India. Using extant coefficients, it is estimated that cost of paddy residue burning is INR (Indian National Rupee) 8953?per?ha, and the social cost of burning is INR 3199 crores per annum in the region.     

Institutional contradiction and management control innovation: A field study of total quality management practices in a privatized telecommunication company

The purpose of this paper is to theorise the changes surrounding the introduction of a management control innovation, total quality management (TQM) techniques, within Telecom Fiji Limited. Using institutional theory and drawing on empirical evidence from multiple sources including interviews, discussions and documents, the paper explicates the institutionalization of these TQM practices. The focus of the paper is the micro-processes and practice changes around TQM implementation, rather than the influence of the macro-level structures that are often linked with institutional theory. The change agents used Quality Action Teams and the National Quality Council to introduce new TQM routines. The present study extends the scope of institutional analysis by explaining how institutional contradictions impact to create and make space for institutional entrepreneurs, who in turn, modify existing routines or introduce new routines in fluid organizational environments which also exhibit evidence of resistance.     

Broad money demand and financial liberalization in Greece

This paper develops a constant, data-coherent, equilibrium correction model for broad money demand (M3) in Greece over 1976–1994. The aggregate M3 was targeteduntil recently, and current monetary policy still uses such aggregates as guidelines. In spite of financial innovation, financial liberalization, and large fluctuations in the inflation rate, the estimated model is remarkabli stable. Dynamics are important, with price and income elasticities being much smaller in the short run than in the long run. The model provides a better understanding of the portfolio consequences of financial innovation and the effects of monetary policy in Greece.The authors are staff economists in the Division of International Finance, Federal Reserve Board, Washington, DC 20551 USA, and the Research Department, International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC 20431 USA, respectively. They may be reached on the Internet at ericsson@frb.gov and ssharma@imf.org. The views expressed in this paper are solely the responsibility of the authors and should not be interpreted as reflecting those of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the International Monetary Fund, or other members of their staffs. We wish to thank the Bank of Greece for providing the data; Sophocles Brissimis, Nicholas Paleocrassas, and George Simigiannis for offering insights into institutional aspects of the Greek financial system; and Richard Agénor, Caroline Atkinson, Adi Brender, Julia Campos, Dimitri Demekas, David Hendry, Katarina Juselius, Tim Lane, Helmut Lütkepohl, Jaime Marquez, Jürgen Wolters, and two anonymous referees for useful comments. An earlier version of this paper appeared as Ericsson and Sharma (1996). All numerical results were obtained using PcGive Professional Versions 8 and 9: see Doornik and Hendry (1994a, 1994b, 1996, 1997) and Hendry and Doornik (1996). The data may be obtained from the Internet, http://wotan.wiwi.hu-berlin.de/ oekonometrie/engl/data.html     

Technical,allocative and economic efficiencies in swine production in Hawaii: a comparison of parametric and nonparametric approaches

Technical, allocative and economic efficiency measures arc derived for a sample of swine producers in Hawaii using the parametric stochastic efficiency decomposition technique and nonparametric data envelopment analysis (DEA). Efficiency measures obtained from the two frontiei approaches are compared. Firm-specific factors affecting productive efficiencies are also analyzed. Finally, swine producers, potential for reducing cost through improved efficiency is also examined. Under the specification of variable returns to scale (VRS), the mean technical, allocative and economic efficiency indices are 75.9%, 75.8% and 57.1%, respectively, for the parametric approach and 75.9%, 80.3% and 60.3% for DEA; while for the constant returns to scale (CRS) they are 74.5%, 73.9% and 54.7%, respectively, for the parametric approach and 64.3%, 71.4% and 45.7% for DEA. Thus the results from both approaches reveal considerable inefficiencies in swine production in Hawaii. The removal of potential outliers increases the technical efficiencies in the parametric approach anil allocative efficiencies in DEA, but, overall, contrary to popular belief, the results obtained from DEA are found to be more robust than those from the parametric approach. The estimated mean technical and economic efficiencies obtained from the parametric technique are higher than those from DEA for CRS models but quite similar for VRS models, while allocative efficiencies are generally higher in DEA. However, the efficiency rankings of the sample producers based on the two approaches are highly correlated, with the highest correlation being achieved for the technical efficiency rankings under CRS. Based on mean comparison and rank correlation analyses, the return to scale assumption is found to be crucial in assessing the similarities or differences in efficiency measures obtained from the two approaches. Analysis of the role of various firm-specific factors on productive efficiency shows that farm size has strong positive effects on efficiency levels. Similarly, farms producing market hogs arc-more efficient than those producing feeder pigs. Based on these results, by operating at the efficient frontier the sample swine producers would be able to reduce their production costs by 38-46% depending upon the method and returns to scale considered.