Corporate accountability and human rights disclosures: A case study of Barrick Gold Mine in Tanzania

Analysis and debate on the roles of accounting in human rights issues is an emerging topic of research. This study draws attention to certain human rights dilemmas arising from investment initiatives of transnational corporations within the Tanzanian socio-political and economic context. Evidence is provided on how accounting operates in resolving such dilemmas through an examination of foreign direct investment episodes where the state has agreed contracts with transnational corporations in the mining sector of Tanzania. The study finally considers the possibility of corporate governance reforms informed by accounting ideas in order to promote realisation of human rights alongside other interests.     

Do global output gaps help forecast domestic inflation? Evidence from Phillips curves for Poland

This study confronts domestic and global views on inflation through the use of the Hybrid New Keynesian Phillips Curve (HNKPC) models estimated for headline and core inflation in Poland. We analyse the roles of the global vs. domestic output gaps in affecting price changes. We ensure that our conclusions are robust by taking into consideration various proxies for inflation expectations, imported inflation, the domestic output gap and the global output gap.Our results suggest that the global demand conditions are statistically insignificant in the majority of the estimated global versions of HNKPC, independently of the measure of them that is considered. In terms of empirical fit, and especially of the out-of-sample forecasting accuracy, the specifications of the Phillips curve with the domestic and global output gaps among the explanatory variables are not superior to traditional Phillips curves. Interestingly, the relative importance of the global output gap is much smaller in models that are estimated in terms of core inflation, excluding foodstuffs and energy, than in CPI inflation models. This suggests that global demand conditions affect the inflation in Poland indirectly, mainly through the prices of food and energy raw materials.The main conclusion from our study is that external factors that are already considered in the traditional hybrid versions of the new Keynesian Phillips curve are sufficient to account for global influences on prices in the domestic economy. The concept of the global output gap improves neither the explanatory nor the predictive power of HNKPC models.     

Are the antiglobalists right? Gains-from-trade without a Walrasian auctioneer

We show that the “fear” of globalisation can be rationalised by economic theory in the standard AD/AS equilibrium model, if we substitute the coordinational role of the Auctioneer by an implementation device based on learning (Guesnerie in Am Econ Rev 82, 1254–1278, 1992). When endowing producers with a learning ability to forecast market prices, individual profit-maximizing production decisions become interdependent in a strategic sense (strategic substitutes). Performing basic comparative statics exercises, we show that “competitiveness” matters in a precise sense: as foreign producers gain access to the home market, home producers’ ability to forecast market prices is undermined, so being their ability to forecast the profit consequences of their production decisions. A standard open economy exercise shows that the efficiency gains triggered by increased competition have to be traded-off against higher uncertainty (a lower likelihood to coordinate upon the welfare enhancing free-trade equilibrium). We interpret it as a new rationale for the existence of barriers to trade targeting coordination, rather than protecting mere inefficient sectors or industries (political economy driven). Finally, we show that classical measures evaluating ex-ante the desirability of economic integration (net welfare gains) do not always advice free trade. I wish to specially thank Roger Guesnerie, Thierry Verdier and an anonymous referee for their helpful suggestions. Comments by Facundo Albornoz, Pol Antràs, Gregory Corcos, Maurice Kugler, Robin Mason, Victor Norman, Emmanuel Ornelas and Susanna Thede are sincerely acknowledged. Audiences at the U. of Alicante, U. Autonoma de Barcelona, ETSG 2005 (Dublin), FGV-EPGE (RJ, Brazil), LACEA 2005 (Paris), the Miwest Trade Meeting at Minneapolis 2007, the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH), SBE 2005 (Natal, Brazil), U. of Southampton and T2M 2005 are acknowledged. The contents constitute chapter 4 of my PSE-EHESS PhD thesis, extended while I visited the NYU Economics department, sponsored by A. Bisin. Financial support from the Bank of Spain and CNRS is sincerely acknowledged.     

Limits to Knowledge Transfer

Abstract

Discussion of the transfer of market-economic principles and practices into the post-command economies of central and eastern Europe is often couched in terms which assert the undoubted inadequacies of the pre-1989 management practices, but which pay insufficient regard to those practices which reflected an adaptive adjustment to the old ways of doing things and which, when carefully examined, testify to the existence of well-developed skills which could be drawn on in developing managers for effective performance in the new market economy. This paper argues that ignorance of these skills leads to misunderstanding of reactions to the change process, and that this misunderstanding may lead to ineffective change interventions. Some suggestions for practice are outlined in the light of different interpretations of the process and consequences of globalisation.     

The global economy--myths and realities

Hirst and Thompson's Globalization in Question is the key textquestioning claims of economic globalisation. This review ofits revised second edition examines its main claims: that contemporarylevels of international integration fall short of the Gold Standardperiod; genuinely global companies remain exceptional; capitalmobility is not shifting economic activity to developing countrieswholesale; international economic activity is primarily regionalrather than global; and that international economic activityis sanctioned by nation states and remains subject to theirpolitical power. This review argues that, while their evidenceprovides a useful corrective to extreme globalisation views,focusing on this view understates changes in the internationaleconomy.     

Can Globalisation and Global Localisation Explain Foreign Direct Investment? Japanese Firms in Europe

This paper uses logit regression on the responses of 383 Japanese manufacturing firms located in the member countries of the European Union to investigate the motives for foreign direct investment. Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) data, as published in their 8th Annual Survey (October 1992) classified by industry, were used. The results confirm that decisions leading to FDI cannot be explained by a single factor and, furthermore, different types of FDI are influenced by different combinations of motives.     

Imperialism and the integration of accountancy in the Commonwealth Caribbean

The Commonwealth Caribbean has become aware that foreign accounting education and training programmes, in particular the dominant British qualification system, may no longer be relevant to post-independence regional economies. Considering the limited resources to localise accountancy in each country, in October 1988 the chartered institutes in the region signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to integrate regional accountancy. However, almost 25 years since signing the MOU, the dream of independent regional accountancy has yet to become a reality. Through the frame of imperialism, this study provides up-to-date evidence of the internal influence of colonialism and the external pressure of globalisation, which remain obstacles to the integration of accountancy in the Commonwealth Caribbean. Given the local, regional and transnational capitalism interest, regional legislative support may be necessary for the dream of accountancy integration to be actualised in the region.     

Economic,social and political fragmentation: Linking knowledge-biased growth,identity, populism and protectionism

This paper examines how economic fragmentation (widening inequality of skills, income and education) gives rise to social fragmentation (via incompatible social identities), generating political fragmentation (via incompatible economic policies). We consider three value-driven identities: individualism, focused on status concerns, communitarianism, focused on social affiliations, and multi-affiliatedness, encompassing both objectives. Under endogenous identity formation high-skill people are drawn to individualism, the lower-skilled to communitarianism, and those of intermediate skill to multi-affiliatedness. Skill- and education-biased growth leads to increasing social polarisation, expanding the individualistic and communitarian groups at the expense of multi-affiliates. This expands the political constituency for closed policies (such as protectionism, immigration controls and nationalism), even when these policies reduce everyone's living standards. Our analysis thereby helps explain the economic and social underpinnings of populism.     

Labour market response to globalisation: Spain, 1880–1913

This paper analyses the impact of globalisation (trade and migration) on the Spanish labour market between 1880 and 1913 by examining the influence that globalisation factors had on agricultural and industrial wages. Our results show that the nineteenth century grain invasion had a negative impact on agricultural wages, whereas the fall in wheat prices did not benefit industry workers. We also found that migration pushed up real agricultural and industrial wages. As agriculture was the main sector in the economy, the final impact was a wage decrease. The negative impact of trade on agricultural and industrial labour markets partly explains the trade policy response of “integral protection”. However, other alternatives that would have been effective in raising living standards, such as migration policy, were not used.