Perspectives on the Sources of Heterogeneity in Indian Industry

This paper examines technical efficiency variation across four industrial sectors in India using a stochastic production frontier technique. The results obtained are comparable to technical efficiency distribution patterns obtained in other countries. Heterogeneity in firm-level efficiency is examined against internal, firm-level and external, industry and location characteristics. The results suggest that managerial effectiveness significantly influences efficiency and that there are considerable benefits deriving from location within established industrial clusters for particular industries. The methodology and findings indicate that the study of industry-specific technical efficiency patterns is a useful analytic tool for tracking firm response to ongoing liberalization.     

The Demand for Money in Canada: A Cointegration Analysis

In this Paper, using the techniques in cointegration theory, we find strong support for the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship among money demand variables in Canada. Additionally, when the conventional partial adjustment model (PAM) is compared to the two-stage error correction model (ECM), the latter approach is found to perform better, with M2+ showing better results than M2. Our results are also found to be in line with other studies from the U.K. and the U.S.A. These findings provide rationale for further in-depth studies on broader monetary aggregates to formulate sound monetary policy in Canada. [E41]     

Foreign Management,International Capital,and Income Redistribution

This paper examines the impact of foreign management as a separate input in a competitive economy open to both international trade and international movement of productive capital. Three inputs (capital, labor, management) are used to produce two final goods in a model characterized by competition, homogeneous products, and full employment. This model provides a simple starting point for the study of multinational firm activity, building on the fundamental competitive factor proportions model of production and trade. A clear distinction arises between international movements of capital and management, and international movements of the two inputs are linked. [F 11, F 23]     

Tensions in local government employment relationships

Abstract

A wide variety of initiatives characterized under the umbrella term of new public management have been introduced over the past two decades to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness in the public sector. The implications of these initiatives for public sector employment relationships have been the subject of on-going debate. This article contributes to this debate through examining how employees within local authorities are managed in a time of personal crisis with a particular focus on long-term sickness absence in the context of increased management drives for efficiency under the NPM agenda. The findings reveal that for managers in two local authorities that form the focus of this study there is a tension in struggling to achieve a workable balance between the needs of employees and wider operational requirements, resulting in role ambiguity for line managers and detrimental effects for vulnerable public service workers.     

Development banking and technological development: a case study of industrial development banks in the GCC countries

This article explores the important role of Industrial Development Banks in promoting the quality of technological development. It is argued that the historical experiences of the developed economies and several developing economies during recent times support the need and potentials of a more pro-active role by Industrial Development Banks. Against this background, the specific experiences of Industrial Development Banks in the Gulf Co-operation Council Countries are examined and the results of a select field survey are reported. This exploratory study suggests that some fundamental steps are needed in order to develop Industrial Development Banks from being comparatively passive conduits of technological aid to more active promoters of technological development.     

Inter-industry Technology Spillover Effects in China： Evidence from 35 Industrial Sectors

The present paper calculates 35 industrial sectors’ similarity matrices for the period of 1997-2008 using China’s input-output tables for 1997,2002 and 2007,and uses these to measure inter-industry technology spillover to analyze the spillover effects on industrial sectors’ labor productivity.The empirical analysis shows that inter-industry technology spillover has a significant positive effect on the labor productivity of each industry.The elasticity of productivity effects of inter-industry technology spillover is not only larger than that of direct R&D input,but also increases over time.We group the industries into four major categories and find that the inter-industry technology spillover effect within the categories is,on average,greater than that between the four categories,indicating that technology spillover occurs more easily between similar industries.This research shows that the interindustry technology spillover effect in China has begun to increase,and the government should take advantage of this effect.     

The new public management and the UK Police Service

This article explores the impact of the introduction of the New Public Management (NPM) within the UK Police Service since the mid-1990s. A specific focus upon individual performance management (one of the central features of NPM) is examined from the perspective of the police sergeant who has primary responsibility for managing performance and ultimately the delivery of policing services within one of the UK's ‘essential’ public services. After a discussion of the literature on individual performance management within the context of the NPM, the article identifies four major research questions relating to: the job role demands of performance management; access to valid and reliable performance management information; the capacity to provide follow-up development and support; and the wider integration of performance management with organization strategy and service objectives. After reporting on interview data collected from role sets in which the sergeant is a focal member, the article concludes with a discussion of the constraints upon effective performance management within the NPM.     

The Outlook for European Grocery Retailing: Competition and Format Development

This article analyses retail trends in the main European countries, and particularly format evolution and competition amongst retailing firms. On the basis of the existence of European retailing landscapes that are sometimes similar without ever being identical, the article analyses the impact of the main factors of change on different national markets. Whilst retail internationalisation and new entrants, commercial policy, legislative environments, technological innovations, consumers and buying behaviour will have a convergence effect on different countries' retail structures, substantial differences will still exist. European retailing in the coming years will probably be characterized by increasingly less marked differences between countries than one finds today, but market segmentation, variety and differentiation of retailing formats and brand names will be stronger within each country.