The effects of rising labour costs on global supply chains: the case of China’s cotton yarn industry

Rapid economic growth in China and India has resulted in rapidly rising labour costs in those countries. In this study a Muth-type model is used to assess the potential effects of this development on global supply chains using China’s cotton yarn industry as a case study. The model considers i) product differentiation at the yarn level; ii) imperfect competition in the markets for cotton yarn and raw cotton fibre, iii) input substitution between raw cotton fibre, labour, and capital; and iv) offsetting increases in the demand for cotton yarn caused by rising consumer income. Results suggest the effects of rising labour costs on the supply chain are modest, and easily swamped or obscured by the effects of rising income. Increases in industry market power (both oligopoly and oligopsony) have the same effect on the supply chain as increases in labour costs, raising prices to consumers of cotton yarn, and lowering prices to input suppliers, including foreign suppliers of raw cotton fibre. The combined effects of increases in labour costs and income have increased the factor shares for labour and to a lesser extent capital at the expense of raw cotton fibre.     

The extent of resource use inefficiencies in cotton production in Pakistan's Punjab: an application of Data Envelopment Analysis

This paper attempts to identify sources of resource use inefficiency for cotton production in Pakistan's Punjab. The use of a non‐parametric method, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), is developed to study the relative technical and allocative efficiencies of individual farms which use similar inputs, produce the same product and operate under comparable circumstances. In the ‘cotton‐wheat’ system of Pakistan, there are a considerable number of farms that are both technically and allocatively inefficient. The use of DEA shows that the technique provides a clear identification of both the extent and the sources of technical and allocative inefficiencies in cotton production. However, both the interpretation of the farm level results generated and the projection of these results to a higher level require care, given the technical nature of the agricultural production processes.     

基于CSAD的期货市场羊群效应实证分析——以CZCE棉花期货为例

本文运用横截面绝对偏离度(CSAD)方法对CZCE棉花期货市场进行了实证研究,研究结果表明,我国棉花期货市场不存在明显的"羊群效应"。     

Cotton market integration and the impact of China's new exchange rate regime

This article studies the integration of China's cotton market with the international market, especially the U.S. market. Investigating the futures prices from the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in the U.S. and the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE) in China with several time series models, we find that a long‐run cointegration relationship exists between these two series. The two markets share price transmissions, and based on results from an Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (ARCH) model, we find their price volatilities are similar. We argue that China's recent exchange rate reform and its gradual liberalization in bilateral cotton trade since it joined World Trade Organization have had important impacts on these futures markets. Based on these findings, several important economic and policy implications are derived.     

我国棉花产业安全的表现、原因及传导机制

棉花的大量进口、国内棉花生产的不稳定性及其所表现出的国际竞争力较弱等特征严重威胁到我国棉花产业的安全。通过对我国棉花产业的适应性、抗压性和产业发展潜力与成熟度等具体表现的分析,从市场机制、生产条件及政策因素等方面阐述了其对我国棉花产业安全的影响途径与传导机制,并通过实证分析得出:生产方式水平低下、市场调控能力弱、政策目标指派错位是导致入世以来我国棉花产业安全表现较差的根本原因。     

开放条件下中国棉花安全状况评估

棉花作为一个关系国计民生的重要商品,在我国国民经济中有着重要地位,然而,近年来棉花出现的一系列问题已引起社会的高度关注。本文尝试构建一套评价棉花安全的指标体系,并用之评估我国棉花安全状况。研究结果表明,总体说来我国棉花安全水平较低,且呈下降趋势。这需要引起我们的高度重视。     

The postbellum demand for cotton revisited

The literature offers both supply-side and cotton demand-side explanations for the reduced level and growth of income in the postbellum South. Demand-side evidence begins with a single-equation relationship regressing the price of cotton on quantity and a trend term, although subsequent researchers have critiqued the economic significance of the supposed slowed growth in demand. Using a system of simultaneous equations, which allows for correction both for autocorrelation in the error terms and correlation of the error terms across equations, we find cotton demand to be unit elastic from 1865--1866 to 1894--1895 and that it grew between 1.1% and 2.8% a year.     

进口棉花重量鉴定及数据管理仪

针对目前国内进口棉花人工进行重量鉴定存在的缺点,采用单片机技术研制的棉花重量鉴定及数据管理仪,具有自动称重并进行数据管理、统计的功能。其主要特点是传感器、A/D转换器的选用,称体抗冲击的设计,通过IC卡和RS232两种方式实现仪器与PC机之间的数据传递。     

Modeling skewness with the linear stochastic plateau model to determine optimal nitrogen rates

Accurate modeling of skewness is needed to increase the actuarial fairness of crop insurance. We test Day's conjecture that crop yield skewness becomes negative as nitrogen rates increase and determine how well a linear response stochastic plateau (LRSP) production function matches the pattern of observed skewness using four long‐term nitrogen experiments. Stillwater wheat is consistent with Day's conjecture, but the skewness for Lahoma and Altus wheat yields as well as Altus cotton yields are not. The LRSP assumes normal random effects and can explain only a small part of observed skewness, so a new LRSP with skew‐normal random effects is introduced, which comes closer to explaining the observed skewness and should increase the accuracy of nitrogen rate recommendations. Negative skewness reduced optimal nitrogen rates and positive skewness increased optimal nitrogen rates.     

Toward a consumer economy in China: implications of changing wage policies for U.S. cotton exports

The effect of a Chinese minimum wage increase on China's textile market as well as on the world cotton market is evaluated. Based on a Nonlinear Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System (NQAIDS) model of China's textile demand, the results suggest that the income elasticity for textiles is around 0.6 in China, and that apparel is less price responsive than home textiles and other textile products. Simulation results suggest that a minimum wage increase would raise Chinese domestic textile consumption and lower Chinese textile exports. Most of the decline in textile exports by China is offset by expansion in other countries’ domestic textile production and results in a slight increase in world cotton mill utilization and higher clothing prices.