Dutch accounting in Japan 1609-1850: isolation or observation?

The trading station or factory maintained by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was Japan's sole window on the Western world during most of the Tokugawa period (1600-1868). While many aspects of the factory's role in Dutch/Japanese cultural exchange have been researched little is known in the West of the accounting at the factory. This paper considers the possibility that double-entry bookkeeping employed by the Dutch may have been diffused to the Japanese. The available evidence is synthesized after considering the accounting system in the Dutch factory.     

Sustaining the International Competitive Advantage of Asian Firms: A Conceptual Framework and Research Propositions

The sudden loss of export markets by many Asian firms during the Asian financial crisis (AFC) has raised important questions on how firms in the region can regain and sustain their competitive advantage in international markets. This paper develops a conceptual model which focuses on certain key elements of a firm's internal resources as critical sources of competitive advantage and offers research propositions. It is argued that Asian firms can enhance their international competitive advantage by leveraging their internal resources within an external environment generally conducive to growth.     

OCA Issue in East Asia under the Pressure of Chinese RMB Appreciation

As the rumor that RMB will appreciate in the near future, most Asian currencies had appreciated according to this matter since the appreciation of Chinese RMB will strengthen the exports of those Asian counties, thus appreciate the currencies of those countries. An OCA matter here comes again to the Asian countries. As we all know, Euro has been formally used among European areas since 1999, and this is the fir.st time that the optimum currency system was adopted in the international history. Asia, as another area that has most development potentiality in the world, should it adopt the monetary integration process as well？ In this paper the necessary conditions to form an OCA are analyzed; European experience are conjured with the own feature of East Asia areas; possibilities of forming the OCA in East Asia are concluded as well as the resistances; besides the potential process of forming an OCA is suggested.     

A “Pure” long-term interest rate and the demand for money

This article presents the appropriate rate by which to discount a constant, certain, infinite stream of future payments: that is, the yield on a noncallable perpetuity or consol. The American consol series is a daily risk-free “pure” long term interest rate which is undistorted by tax effects, call premiums, and varying duration and reinvestment assumptions. If Hamburger had used the American consol series instead of the U.S. Government Long Term Bond Rate in his money demand function, he would have found more of the “missing money.” His average error (actual minus predicted money demand) as a percentage of actual money demand would have been reduced from 1.43% to 0.93% a 35% error reduction.     

东亚货币一体化中的中日韩货币组合选择

本文对东亚货币一体化的研究建立在最优货币区理论和OCA指数计量模型的基础上，目的在于判断东亚经济中起主导作用的中日韩三国是否可能展开双边或者多边的货币合作。经测算发现，在排除了原模型中部分不适用的决定因素后，中日韩三国货币的共同组合似乎是比较合适的选择。     

Implications of rice policies for farmers: Selected South East Asian countries

Varying levels of rice selfsufficiency have been reached by the agriculture-based economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. The author reviews the major agricultural policies adopted by these countries to provide adequate rice for their domestic populations. While rice production has increased, the distribution of its benefits has been poor. The need to continue rice consumption subsidies is questioned, particularly in cases when they do not benefit the target groups of poor for which they were originally intended. The author proposes a re-examination of policies, emphasizing the need to strengthen development efforts to promote both the production and consumption of other staple food crops.     

Social networks,rule of law and economic growth in China: The elusive pursuit of the right combination of private and public ordering

Social networks have always been an integral part of every society. However, they are different and play a more prominent role in Asian societies. In particular, it will be argued that the relationship of private ordering, networks of relationships, and informal law to formal law are necessary in addition to rule of law for a sustained economic growth. This is evident in how various Asian countries escaped the financial crisis that crippled the region. Rather than an analysis of several different Asian societies, China will be the main focus.     

Far East Asia tourist market segmentation by push attributes

The purpose of this study is to segment the Far East Asia tourist market by using push attributes and to delineate related implications. Literature regarding these related studies and market segmentation processes was reviewed. This study utilized push attribute data collected from those people who would most likely travel to the Far East Asia in the early part of the twenty‐first century. A factor‐cluster approach was employed to find and explore the market characteristics. Seven factors and six clusters were extracted from the data analyses. Cluster scores were significantly different by destination, by country of origin, and by themselves. Clusters have unique characteristics in terms of push attributes. Thus, there is a need to cater each cluster by considering the market preferences separately. Further research is recommended to further the understanding of the Far East Asian tourist market.     

野田内阁面临经济难题与经济政策探析

东日本大地震以后,日本经济特别是产业经济出现了出人预料的迅速恢复,但是刚刚进入复苏通道的日本经济仍然面临各种难题,灾后重建资金筹措、生产设施与生活设施的恢复、国土开发整治、核事故处理、长期电力不足风险、国家长期能源战略调整、财政重建、日元急剧升值,特别是美国、欧洲主权债务危机可能引起的世界经济低迷,使日本经济的不确定性增强。在内外交困之际,新上台的野田内阁出台了若干经济政策,但却将政策重心置于参与TPP谈判、提高消费税等方面,与亟待解决的经济难题未免有些乖戾,其政策效果不容乐观。     

Asian Financial Crisis.Prologue and the Case of Thailand

We suggest that the Asian financial crisis began because of theinconsistent exchange rate system and miss-management within Thailand. We showthat prior tothe Asian financial crisis the Thai Baht against the Yen followed the theoryofpurchasing power parity but the Baht against the U.S. Dollar did not. We givebriefsummaries of the papers included in this issue.