Modelling New Zealand dairy products: evidence on export survival and duration

This article presents evidence concerning the pattern of New Zealand dairy exports duration and survival from 1989 to 2017. It also analyses the influence of a set of supply, demand and gravity‐type drivers on the hazard rate for New Zealand dairy export relationships. The findings are summarised as follows. First, New Zealand dairy export relationships are dynamic with numerous entries and exits to and from foreign markets. Around half of the relationships survived for only 1–2 years at the sequence level. Second, duration of sequence, left‐censoring, initial export, decomposed sequences, New Zealand export price index, the number of cows available for dairy production, the number of origins and destinations, and destination partner’s GDP are the most significant factors reducing the hazard rate of export relationships. As regards the effects of the non‐tariff measures, it is interesting that technical barriers of trade are found to significantly decrease the hazard rate. Only pre‐shipment inspection and contingent trade protective measures are significant impediments to New Zealand dairy export relationships. Finally, hazard probabilities for New Zealand dairy export relationships are estimated to be ‘L‐shaped’ over time, whether or not non‐tariff measures are applied to New Zealand dairy products.     

Vouchers for Basic Education in Developing Economies: An Accountability Perspective

Advocates argue that voucher programs can correct the incentiveproblems of education systems in developing economies. An accountabilityperspective, based on a principal-agent framework, was developedto clarify the arguments for and against education vouchers.An assessment of findings on voucher programs in industrialcountries and a review of voucher or quasi-voucher experiencesin Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, and theCzech Republic support the usefulness of the analytic framework.The assessment concludes that the policy relevance of voucherprograms for developing economies remains uncertain. Major voucherinitiatives have been attempted only in countries with a well-developedinstitutional infrastructure. Some studies find favorable benefitsfor at least some population groups, but others find limitedeffects and evidence of increasing social stratification inschools. Whether vouchers lead to better outcomes or greaterstratification appears related to specific contexts, institutionalvariables, and program designs.      

Feedback‐seeking behavior within multinational corporations

Notwithstanding their concern with intra‐MNC control mechanisms, scholars have overlooked the complementary phenomenon of self‐regulatory behavior by subsidiaries. In this paper, we take the first steps towards addressing this gap by advancing and testing hypotheses dealing with the determinants of a major element of self‐regulatory behavior at the subsidiary level, i.e., the performance‐oriented feedback‐seeking behavior of subsidiary presidents. Utilizing data from 374 subsidiaries of 75 MNCs, we test hypotheses regarding the impact of subsidiary task and organizational context on the feedback‐seeking behavior of subsidiary presidents. The results of this study can be summarized as follows: (i) subsidiary presidents do engage in proactive performance‐oriented feedback‐seeking behavior; (ii) they vary in the extent to which they engage in such behavior; and (iii) these variations in feedback‐seeking behavior are at least partially systematic. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Climatic Disasters and Radical Politics in Southern Pakistan: The Non-linear Connection

This paper is a local level examination of the political spaces and opportunities that arise for radical political agents in the aftermath of a climatic disaster. It explores the theoretical argument that disasters break the social contract between the state and disaster-affected communities by opening political space for change. The empirical work is based on a large-scale flooding disaster that affected southern Pakistan in 2010 and 2011 and caused international concern around increased Islamist mobilisation through their disaster relief programmes. The case study investigates the extent to which the climatic disaster opened political space for the radical Islamist group, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, to mobilise. Based on fieldwork conducted in three districts of Sindh in southern Pakistan, this paper demonstrates that climatic disasters are able to impact radical politics. This connection is not linear or causal but rather very complex. It further explains why this type of inquiry is relevant in order to understand climate change and security.     

Why Did FDI Inflows of Pakistan Decline? From the Perspective of Terrorism,Energy Shortage,Financial Instability,and Political Instability

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows are important for economic development in all countries, especially developing ones. In many developing countries, FDI inflows have increased over the past two decades. However, in Pakistan FDI inflows declined over the past decade. This study examines the reasons for declining FDI inflows to Pakistan, considering the main issues, such as terrorism, energy shortages, financial instability, and political instability, with some macroeconomic indicators as control variables. These analyses are based on pre- and post-global financial crisis events, and we check the robustness by controlling for the global financial crisis. Our analyses are conducted using an autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) for co-integration among variables. The results show that energy shortages, financial instability, and political instability have adverse effects, and terrorism has insignificant effects on FDI inflows to Pakistan before the financial crisis in the long term. However, the post-financial crisis period indicates that terrorism and energy shortages are the main drivers of decline in FDI inflows to Pakistan. Market size, inflation, and exchange rates affect FDI inflows positively. The global financial crisis has an adverse impact on FDI inflows to Pakistan. This study is helpful for the Pakistani government as it attempts to design useful policies for attracting FDI.     

WHO BENEFITS FROM PUBLIC EDUCATION EXPENDITURES?

In most countries, governments remain the largest financiers and providers of education. This note examines the evidence on the extent to which public expenditure on education have been effective in reaching the poor. The distribution of educational expenditures is inequitable, especially at the post-primary levels, where poor income groups are under-represented as compared with higher income groups. Targeted financing and a redefinition of the role of the government vis-á-vis the non-public sector can help achieve greater equity and efficiency.     

Exploring Discrimination on the Basis of International Experience: The Colonial Mindset Bias in the Context Of Pakistan

Discrimination in the labor market has historically been associated with gender, race, ethnicity, and age. This article introduces another basis of discrimination—international experience—which may exist in developing countries because of a colonial mindset. The research is an exploratory study, based on an analysis of in‐depth semistructured interviews with 8 HR managers, 19 employees with international experience, and 24 employees without international experience (N = 51) working in the oil and gas and telecom sectors of Pakistan. Results indicate some initial evidence of a bias, and hence discrimination during recruitment for entry‐level positions. Findings also indicate that international experience may contribute to enhanced employment opportunities, career progress, and higher compensation at senior‐level leadership positions, leaving those without such experience at a disadvantage. While in some cases international experience may be a genuine occupational requirement (GOR), further research is needed to identify whether this is in fact a GOR for senior level positions in all types of organizations or indirect discrimination under the guise of GOR. Recommendations for HR managers and organizational leaders are also set out, which can be applied in practice to foster equality of opportunity in the workplace. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Greenfield FDI,cross-border M&As,and government size

This study examines the effects of greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) and cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on government size in host countries of FDI. Using panel data for up to 130 countries for the period from 2003 to 2011, the study specifically tests the compensation hypothesis, suggesting that by increasing economic insecurity, economic openness leads to larger government size. It is found that greenfield FDI increases labour market volatility and thereby economic insecurity while M&As are not significantly associated with labour market volatility. The main results of this study are that greenfield FDI has a robust positive effect on government size, while M&As have no statistically significant effect on government size in the total sample of developed and developing countries, as well as in the sub-samples of developed and developing countries.     

The Effects of Greenfield FDI and Cross‐border M&As on Total Factor Productivity

We examine the effects of greenfield FDI and cross‐border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on total factor productivity (TFP) in developed and developing host countries of FDI. Using panel data for up to 123 countries over the period from 2003 to 2011, we find that greenfield FDI has no statistically significant effect on TFP, while M&As have a positive effect on TFP in the total sample. Greenfield FDI and M&As both appear to be ineffective in increasing TFP in the subsample of developing countries. In contrast, M&As have a strong and positive effect on TFP in the subsample of developed countries.