Firm financing and growth in the Arab region

This paper documents how firms in Arab countries use equity, corporate bond and syndicated loan markets to obtain financing and grow. Working with a new dataset on issuance activity in domestic and international markets and firm performance, the paper finds that capital raising through these markets has grown rapidly since the early 1990s and involved an increasing number of firms. Whereas the amounts raised in equity and loan markets (relative to gross domestic product) stand well relative to international standards, bond issuance activity lags behind. However, bond financing has gained importance over time. Equity issuances take place primarily in domestic markets, whereas bonds and loans are mostly issued internationally, display long maturities and entail low levels of credit risk. Issuing firms from the Arab region are very large compared to international standards. They also tend to be larger, faster growing and more leveraged than non-issuing firms in Arab countries.     

The impacts of export competition on international technology flows

Knowledge flow is a key to building technological capabilities. This article investigates how competition in international trade affects knowledge flow between countries using patent data and trade data for analysis. The main finding is that export competition in the third market (in our study, the US market) seems to have a positive impact on the flow of knowledge. The findings from this study contribute to the debate on ‘learning-by-exporting’.     

Commentary: New Currents in Science: The Challenge of Quality,examining the discrepancies and incongruities between Japanese techno-scientific policy and the citizens’ science movement in post-3/11 Japan

This commentary is inspired by my participation in the conference on post normal science: New Currents in Science: The Challenges of Quality, 2016, Ispra.First, I will describe Japanese commitment to PNS, which consists of a part of the long history of the Japanese response to European citizens' science/technology movement, in the framework of the introduction of Post-Normal Science in East Asia.Then I will re-examine the relationship between techno-science and democracy after 3/11 Japan, where triple disaster has radically changed the relationship between science/technology and society, and hence the very nature of Japan as a democratic society. Japan had been returning to an authoritarian state and technocratic nation in the aftermath of 3/11. As for the citizens' sphere, since 3/11, Japanese society has been badly divided; in fact, the current division of Japanese society is as bad as that of the Trumpian US.I have applied several conceptual tools to analyze this post-3/11 situation of Japan, that it was created by a combination of 'disaster capitalism' (a concept described by Naomi Klein (2008)), and 'normalcy bias'. The new political climate in post-3/11 Japan results in part from the politics of emergency, and partly from the manipulation and distortion of democracy.From the viewpoint of democracy and science, cases of thyroid cancer in Fukushima and its surroundings are a serious and even pathetically painful issue. One hundred seventy two children in and around Fukushima have already had their thyroids removed in surgical operations. But any suggestion of causality between the Fukushima incident and thyroid cancer is officially rejected. It is announced by the authority's voice that "radioactivity risk is safe, take it, because risk creates chance", like the proclamation given in the novel 1984 by George Orwell. Behind this is another historical psychology, that Japan has overcome Hiroshima and Nagasaki and made a great success in economic development. Post 3/11 Japan is judged as not a good place to discuss science and technology in a deliberate manner supported by a reasonable democracy with mutual understanding and value-free examination of techno-science in action. But, in this time of serious social divide and political populism, can PNS and a citizens' science approach now lead the way to fill in the gap? Are there any lessons from PNS that can be applied to post3/11 Japan? The question is still open.     

An investigation of the effects of exchange rate volatility on exports in East Asia

This study investigates the effects of the exchange rate volatility on the export flows of Indonesia, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines during 1974–2011. Towards this goal a trade weighted real effective (rather than the bilateral) exchange rate and three different measures of volatility, i.e. obtained from an ARCH model, a GARCH model and a moving-average standard deviation measure are used in this study. Specifically, the export flows between six Asian countries and the rest of the world are investigated rather than focusing on trade with only one country. Our findings reveal that the exchange rate volatility has a significant impact on export flows in the short run as well as in the long run for all the countries in the sample. The impact in the long run is predominantly negative with the exception of Singapore, but in the short run the impact varies across countries. Moreover, our results are robust to the alternative measures of volatility used and most of the findings in the long run and short run are also robust to the crisis period.     

Financial Integration in Asset and Liability Holdings in East Asia

In this article, we examine the evolution of intra-East Asian financial integration from 2001 to 2013. Most existing studies on this topic look primarily at asset holdings; we examine liability holdings as well. Using the International Monetary Fund’s Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey data for equities, long-term debt, and short-term debt, our analysis generally supports the conventional wisdom that East Asian countries are more financially integrated with global financial centers than they are with each other. This is true for both asset holdings and liabilities and is confirmed by an econometric analysis based on financial gravity equations. However, the gap between global integration and regional integration has narrowed for asset holdings over time but not for liability holdings. The results of additional econometric analysis indicate that diversification of liability holdings can mitigate financial instability due to global financial shocks. More precisely, diversification was associated with smaller exchange rate depreciation during the quantitative easing taper tantrum of 2013. These results point to a possible benefit from strengthening regional financial integration. Deeper regional integration would reduce dependence on global financial markets for funding and hence vulnerability to global shocks.     

基于SOPARC和KDE的游客游憩行为研究——以武汉东湖绿道为例

以武汉东湖绿道湖中道为对象,采用游憩行为观察法(SOPARC)分析游客游憩行为特征和绿道使用影响因素,运用核密度估算法(KDE)研究游客的空间分布特征。研究结果表明：1)绿道的使用对象非常广泛,对不同年龄和性别的游客均具有较好的吸引力;2)绿道居民和游客出行陪伴状况及性别与社会关系密切相关,社会交往需求成为绿道游客游憩活动的重要影响因素;3)游客活动类型选择受年龄和活动强度的影响,青少年群体偏好活动水平较高的运动,年长的游客趋向于选择强度较低的活动;4)闲暇与否成为影响游客和居民出行的重要因素;5)游客空间分布特征表明,风光优美的自然景点、亲水平台、开阔广场、可达性高的驿站等是绿道的高使用密度空间。以此为基础,提出以游憩者行为特征与偏好为导向的城市公园规划管理对策与建议。     

IMF Bank-Restructuring Efficiency Outcomes: Evidence from East Asia

We report new findings on bank efficiency in East Asian countries for the pre- and post-IMF restructuring periods. We find that bank efficiency has improved, but only to the pre-IMF intervention level, and that restructured banks are not more efficient than their unrestructured counterparts. Different restructuring measures have different effects. Bank closures are economically justified, but mergers show short-term efficiency losses. Recapitalization and reprivatization of badly performing banks lead to efficiency improvement, but also increase government ownership. Ease of entry that has allowed for more foreign bank participation results in slightly improved performance of badly performing banks.

东亚货币一体化的国际风险分担机制分析——基于第二代最优货币区理论的拓展

在经济全球化的背景下,区域货币一体化对于区域内各国的经济发展有着重要意义。当前的国际金融危机使东亚地区货币合作又重新进入人们的视野,关于东亚货币一体化的可行性分析也进入了一个崭新的阶段。此时,我们更需要从抵御风险,实现共同发展的角度来探讨东亚货币一体化。中国作为东亚区域内有影响力的大国,应对此问题有深入思考。本文对最优货币区理论进行了有益的拓展,建立了基于微观基础的国际风险分担机制模型,并运用动态优化的方法严格证明了货币一体化所形成的国际风险分担机制使成员方达到消费保险的目的,这为进一步推动东亚货币一体化的建设提供了新的理论依据。     

建立和完善农村地方中小金融机构:一个适应中国农村经济发展的金融制度变迁

企业规模较小甚至以农户为单位的农村经济发展,对农村中小金融机构的建立和完善提出了强烈的需求,而以政府主导的农村金融改革却成效甚微。本文从农村经济发展引发对农村中小金融机构的诱制性制度需求与政府代表的强制性制度供给两方面的分析得出:农村地方中小金融机构制度建设,是农村经济发展的客观要求,同时也符合国家的效用函数。     

论虚拟企业与战略联盟的异同

现代企业必须要强化自身竞争能力才能持续发展下去,企业强化自身竞争能力的途径有两种:外部联盟和内部创新。在外部联盟中,虚拟企业与战略联盟作为两种企业深度合作形式,将成为商业界的新的发展趋势。那么这两种创新的组织形态有什么区别与联系呢?本文通过分析两者的内涵,对虚拟企业与战略联盟的异同作了简单的讨论。