Evidence of the duration-dependence from the stock markets in the Pacific Rim economies

This article investigates the duration-dependent feature of five Pacific Rim economies. The duration-dependent Markov Switching model is employed to achieve this objective. The Savage–Dickey density ratio is also computed in support of the duration-dependent Markov switching model. The possible bull and bear market dates for each stock market are also identified by the posterior probability from the empirical model. It is unambiguous that Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong are all characterized by duration-dependence in a bear market but no duration-dependence in a bull market. In the case of Taiwan and Singapore, the duration-dependence feature holds for both the bear and bull markets.     

Foreign direct investment and technical progress in Spanish manufacturing

This article analyses the effects of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on technical progress in Spanish manufacturing. Particularly, we study how FDI's contributions vary depending on the economic structure of the industry. The results show that most FDI goes to capital-intensive sectors, especially when those sectors are also Research and Development (R&D)-intensive. Our estimates of the Solow residual show that the positive effect of contemporaneous and lagged FDI on manufacturing productivity is only attributable to capital and R&D intensive industries in what seems to be related to a dynamic capabilities explanation or to complementarities with R&D expenditures.     

Respondent direct experience and contingent willingness to pay for new commodities: a switching endogenous interval regression analysis

Most environmental economists argue that direct experience with the good being valuated, or with similar goods, is a precondition for providing valid willingness to pay (WTP) responses to contingent valuation questions. Two questions are posed in this article. The first is whether previous use experience of a resource (Séné nature reserve) similar to that being valuated (future nature reserves) and located in the same geographical area (Gulf of Morbihan) impacts on WTP. The second is whether accounting for the endogeneity of direct experience matters in the estimation of WTP. We find that respondents who have not experienced the Séné nature reserve provide value estimates that are statistically comparable to that of respondents who have experienced it. Our assumption is that respondents have acquired sufficient and adequate experience of future nature reserves from the questionnaire that experience obtained by experiencing the Séné nature reserve was not necessary for making a valid value formulation. Hence, aggregation of WTP estimates to obtain a total valuation of the future nature reserves is reasonable over the full target population. In addition, our results show that direct experience is endogenously determined; but controlling for the endogeneity has a marginal effect on WTP estimates.     

浅谈我国冷链物流的发展

冷链物流已成为主要农产品市场流通和食品安全运输的重要运输方式,在保证食品安全中发挥着越来越大的作用。当前,冷链物流在食品运输中利用率低、第三方物流发展较慢、存在食品安全隐患、物流环节无法进行无缝对接等问题,严重影响着冷链物流的快速发展。我国政府应加快制定相关的法规和标准,加大基础设施投入和政策支持;企业应加强对冷链物流人才的培养,对食品冷链物流进行技术创新和产品创新;政府与企业要共同培育第三方物流成长壮大,带动冷链物流产业的结构调整和业态升级。     

An Empirical Study of the Determinants of Foreign Investment in China: A Western Australian Perspective

The literature, regarding the determinants of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, emphasizes national or regional inward FDI, and largely depends on secondary data. This study reports findings from the analysis of primary data provided by 43 managers of Western Australian companies that are either operating or planning to invest in China reveals market size, labor cost, and business ethics were important factors for promoting foreign investment to the Chinese marketplace; while gender, organizational size, and networking have potential to play a significant mediating role in investment decisions. These exploratory observations are a departure point for further investigations.     

Cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions in China: An Industry Panel Study, 1991–2005

Employing a panel database, this article investigates empirically the behaviour, at an industry level, of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the People's Republic of China for the period 1991–2005. The study reports that many of the cross-border M&As over the past decades in China have been driven by broad fundamental factors, such as industry size and profitability. Moreover, technological intensity is significantly associated with the level of acquisition activity, indicating the tendency that intangible resources and intellectual capability favour more acquisition into China. It is found that deregulation, as a specific industry shock, affects acquisition activities significantly. The findings, it is concluded, have important managerial and policy implications.     

Introduction to the Special Issue: Management in Africa in the Global Context 1

ABSTRACT

The primary focus of this introductory article is to provide a synoptic peek into the challenges and opportunities facing the countries of Africa in today's global economy and in their attempts to develop their national economies to achieve what is commonly termed the Millennium Development Goals. While foreign direct investment (FDI) is seen as a way to attain these goals, FDI flows to African countries remain extremely low. If Africa is to attract diversified FDI inflows, not just those focused on extractive/natural resources, African countries need to develop a system of management that is effective and efficient, internationally oriented and nationally focused, culturally inclusive and institutionally supportive and reliable, and one that promotes business growth and economic development with a sense of social responsibility.     

Investment Flows,Economic Growth,and Corruption in African Countries: An Analysis

ABSTRACT

The analysis of corruption in international business is a relatively new phenomenon, and for the past two decades, many studies have attempted to capture the economic impact of the corruption in a country. However, most of these studies have concentrated their analysis to the experiences of the developed countries. None or very few of the current works have addressed the corruption issue in the context of foreign direct investment and economic growth in the developing countries. This work examines theoretically, as well as empirically, the incidence of corruption in the context of foreign direct investment in the developing countries, especially several African countries that signed a treaty to reduce the incidence of corruption in their respective countries.     

Foreign Direct Investment in Sub-Saharan Africa: Motivating Factors and Policy Issues

Sub-Saharan Africa's (SSA) foreign direct investment (FDI) share has persistently averaged 1% of global flows. The location decision and perceptions of investors are therefore instructive for policy making. This article factor analyses a survey of perceptions, operations, and motivations of 758 foreign investors in 10 SSA countries. We find that the provision of transaction cost–reducing information on industries and markets and utility services to investors before and after a firm's FDI decision are significant factors. FDI location decision in SSA is influenced strongly by political economy considerations. Labor and production input variables are not influential.     

Corruption and FDI: Does the Use of Distinct Proxies for Corruption Matter?

Abstract

The relationship between FDI and corruption/institutional quality in host countries has been widely analyzed. However, the use of distinct samples and indicators for corruption tends to hinder the interpretation and outcomes of econometric assessments. The aims of this paper are to assess the extent to which the use of distinct proxies for corruption provides diverse evidence regarding the relationship between corruption and FDI, and to assess whether controlling for other indicators of institutional quality reinforces the effect of corruption indicators on FDI inflows. In order to accomplish these goals, we estimate a set of multivariate logistic models using 96 countries over the period 2000 to 2010. The results evidence that using distinct proxies for corruption variables, as well as controlling for other types of the countries’ institutional quality, generate distinct outcomes. In isolation, a country’s transparency and its citizens’ corruption perceptions fail to impact on FDI whereas a bribe-free environment is conducive to FDI inflows. When we control for the human, social and economic development of the countries, the impact of a transparent and bribe-free context on FDI attraction is enhanced. Overall, it is clear that in order to become a large recipient of FDI a country has to guarantee a transparent and bribe-free environment, characterized by low income taxes, high literacy rates and generalized economic freedom (own labor and property control by citizens).