Net exports, consumption volatility and international business cycle models

Conventional two-country RBC models interpret countercyclical net exports as reflecting primarily the dynamics of capital. I show that, quantitatively, theoretical economies rely on counterfactual terms of trade effects: trade fluctuations, on the contrary, are driven by consumption smoothing, thus generating procyclical net trade in goods. I then consider a class of preferences that embeds home production in a reduced form: consumption volatility increases so that countercyclical net exports reflect primarily a strong relation between consumption and imports, as in the data. The major discrepancy between theory and data concerns the variability of international prices.     

国际贸易拖欠的成因及对策

国际贸易拖欠,即对外贸易中应收款项不能及时收回,一直困扰着我国众多出口企业。近两年在加入世界贸易组织的带动下,我国的对外贸易越来越繁荣。随之而来的就是国际贸易拖欠问题日趋严重,导致了我国的外汇收入不能如预期一样的正常增长。本文重点讨论了几年来在一些案例中体现出的具体问题,然后进一步讨论了国际贸易拖欠的原因,以及我们应该采取什么样的方式来应对国际贸易拖欠问题。     

R&D spending,domestic competition,and export performance of Japanese manufacturing firms

This paper examines three factors influencing the export performances of Japanese manufacturing firms: R&D spending, domestic competitive position, and firm size. Export sales are positively associated with (1) R&D expenditures, (2) size of a firm, and (3) average R&D intensity of an industry. A firm's export ratio is related to the size of the firm, but not to the firm's and the industry's R&D intensities. Follower firms are characterized by higher export ratios than market leaders. The results indicate a relationship between the patterns of domestic competition and the international competitiveness of Japanese firms.     

Export processing zones as catalysts

A potentially important indirect effect of export processing zones (EPZs) is the catalyst effect. The foreign affiliates attracted to the EPZs could stimulate local firms to begin to export by showing them how to produce, market, sell and distribute manufactured goods on the world market. Our results indicate a significant catalyst effect in Malaysia.     

Demand for coffee in Sweden: The role of prices, preferences and market power

There is a widespread belief that consumer coffee prices are high relative to bean prices and that lower consumer prices would lead to substantial increases in bean exports from Third-World countries. This issue is evaluated by analysing how retail prices, preferences and market power influence coffee demand in Sweden. A demand function is estimated for the period 1968–2002 and used, together with information on import prices of coffee beans, to simulate an oligopoly model. This approach gives estimates of the maximum average degree of market power and shows how coffee demand would react to reductions in marginal cost to its minimum level. The maximum level of market power is found to be low, but it generates large spreads between consumer and bean prices because the price elasticity has low absolute values. Moreover, the impact of a price decrease would be small because long-run coffee demand is dominated by changes in the population structure in combination with different preferences across age groups. Hence, a change to perfect competition would only have a negligible effect on bean imports.     

论我国商品贸易顺差的适度规模

多方面的厚因决定了我国对外商品贸易的顺差将具有长期性，但持续而巨额的顺差将对我国经济发展产生不利的影响。明确我国对外商品贸易顺差的适度规模，以便确定是否需要干预顺差以及干预的力度，很有必要。国情差异巨大，现成的“国际通行标准”未必适合我国。因此，必须从我国的国情出发，探讨商品贸易顺差适度规模的标准。这一标准除了国际上通用的顺差额与进出口总额、国内生产总值的比值外，在现阶段还应增加外贸顺差与外汇占款的比值。     

International Integration,Trade, and the Great Recession

In the wake of the Great Recession, almost all countries suffered a severe and synchronized trade collapse unlike any seen since the Great Depression. To the extent that economic integration fosters trade among countries, this paper examines the role that international integration played in moderating the negative shock caused by the Great Recession on trade. The methodology adopted is a modified gravity model in which we control for the Great Recession, different forms of integration, as well as the interaction between integration and the recession. Measuring integration in three different ways, the findings show that countries that were more integrated fared better in trade – the extent of trade collapse was milder – than less integrated countries. Specifically, Regional Trade Agreement, as a form of trade integration, had a positive and robust effect on trade during the Great Recession. This positive effect is also robust across regions and countries around the world. In a nutshell, countries that are into some form of trade agreements are better-positioned to absorb negative demand-side shocks caused by economic recessions than similar countries without such agreements.     

Turkey's Comparative Advantages and Dynamic Market Positioning in the EU Market

This paper reveals the static and dynamic comparative advantages of Turkish exports in the EU-15 market in relation to the exports of the non-EU-15 countries, covering the period 1996–2010, based on three-digit Standard International Trade Classification industries. In this regard, this paper is the first attempt to evaluate the dynamic revealed comparative advantage patterns of Turkey vis-à-vis its competitors in the European Union (EU) market. Whether there have been significant changes in Turkey's comparative advantages in the EU market and in which sectors these changes can be utilized further as potential advantages are two important issues affecting the prospects of trade policy in Turkey, which is a candidate for EU membership.     

Collective Entrepreneurship in a Mennonite Community in Paraguay

ABSTRACT

This article examines the impact of prevailing religious beliefs on the dominant view toward work and achievement. The focus of the article is the Menno Colony of the Chaco, one of the Mennonite communities in Paraguay. It illustrates that the values of this religious minority appear to facilitate successful collective entrepreneurship. Here, religion values asceticism, frugality, and thrift, but not private property. Entrepreneurship takes a collective form, and cooperatives are important economic vehicles that provide jobs for indigenous workers and markets for the produce of self-employed farmers. While Mennonite cooperatives are thriving here, Indian cooperatives modelled after them have not had the same levels of success.

RESUMEN. Este estudio examina el impacto producido por las creencias religiosas sobre una visión predominante hacia el trabajo y los logros. El artículo se centra en la Colonia Meno del Chaco, una de las comunidades Menonitas que existen en Paraguay. También hace hincapié en que los valores de esta minoría religiosa parecen facilitar un empresariado colectivo exitoso. En este entorno, la religión valor el ascetismo, la frugalidad y la economía pero no la propiedad privada. El emprendedorismo adquiere un modelo cooperativista y las cooperativas se convierten en importantes vehículos económicos que generan trabajo a los trabajadores indígenas, y mercados para los productos de los agricultores autónomos. Mientras las cooperativas Menonitas prosperan aquí, las cooperativas indígenas que copiaron su modelo, no han alcanzado los mismos niveles de éxito.

RESUMO. Este estudo examina o impacto das crenças religiosas predominantes sobre a maneira de encarar o trabalho e o sucesso. O artigo enfoca a Colônia Menno do Chaco, uma das comunidades menonitas do Paraguai. Mostra que os valores dessa minoria religiosa parecem facilitar o sucesso do empreendedorismo coletivo. Aqui a religião valoriza o ascetismo, frugalidade e parcimônia, mas não a propriedade privada. O empreendedorismo assume uma forma coletiva e as cooperativas são veículos econômicos importantes, proporcionando empregos para trabalhadores nativos e mercados para a produção de fazendeiros autônomos. Enquanto as cooperativas menonitas prosperam, cooperativas indígenas que seguem seu modelo não alcançaram os mesmos níveis de sucesso.     

Paving the Road to Export: Assessing the Trade Impact of Road Quality

Assessing the trade impacts of domestic transport costs is data demanding and analyses that examine the effects of road quality, a critical aspect in regional and public policy, practically do not exist in the international trade literature. The few studies available rely mostly on distance-based measures as proxies of transport costs which impede analyzing the trade effects of transport-infrastructure improvements. In this paper, we combine highly disaggregated records of export flows with detailed geo-referenced information of the Colombian transport network, including its road quality, as well as real measures of transport costs of shipping goods within the country to measure the trade impacts of improving road quality. We find that the trade effects of improvements in road quality are relatively small on average; however, there is considerable heterogeneity in the magnitude of the effects. We show that longer routes have larger shares of their roads in poor conditions; accordingly, the trade impacts of shipments originated in remote regions are found to be quite substantial.