Foreign Aid under Quantitative Restrictions: Welfare Effects and International Factor Mobility

Using a two‐country, general‐equilibrium model of international trade, this paper incorporates pre‐existing quantitative trade restrictions and international factor mobility into the transfer problem analysis. The effects of foreign aid on the welfare of both the donor and recipient nations are identified under each form of quantitative trade restriction: quotas and voluntary export restraints (VERs). In doing so, this paper identifies conditions under which international transfers are strictly Pareto‐improving (i.e. increase global welfare). A central result of this analysis is the direct welfare effect of a transfer received by a nation with quota‐constrained (VER‐constrained) imports is enhanced (may be enhanced) by a worsening of the recipient’s terms of trade.     

Influences on software piracy: Evidence from the various United States

Examining socio-economic influences on software piracy in the United States, we find a negative relationship between software piracy and income, tax burdens, and economic freedom. A 1% increase in per-capita income correlates with a 0.25% reduction in piracy.     

Patterns of Economic Interdependence in Latin America

This study investigates business cycle synchronization and transmission patterns among the major Latin American countries and their linkages with the United States and Europe. Correlations, principal components, trade patterns, vector autoregressions, and impulse responses are used to discern the business cycle transmission patterns.

There is moderate evidence of a unique Latin American business cycle and of business cycle transmission among the Latin American economies. Most transmission linkages come from outside Latin America. The European business cycle has a slightly stronger influence upon most Latin American economies than the influence of the US business cycle. Brazil is clearly the most influential Latin American economy in terms of business cycle transmission.     

Networks, clusters and innovation in tourism: A UK experience

In an era where tourism is dominated by requests for tailored experiences, SMEs play a key role in providing adequate products and services to tourists by responding to their most specific requirements.This paper uses network and clusters as a framework providing SMEs with innovative opportunities to operate in a competitive tourism environment. A review of relevant literature on clusters, networks and tourism business innovation is undertaken, then focusing on the specific issues of Healthy Lifestyle Tourism.The UK ‘Healthy Lifestyle Tourism Cluster’ experience is employed to discuss the process and the implication of network and cluster development in tourism. However, the development of clusters should not be seen as a simple and spontaneous process due to the nature of businesses involved, but as a very complex process linked to strong stakeholder collaboration.     

Convergence and regulation of multi-screen television: The Singapore experience

This article addresses complicated convergent and regulatory issues arising from cross-platform audiovisual services and analyzes Singapore's multi-screen television experience. A “platform neutrality” multi-screen TV regulatory scheme is proposed to concentrate on content classification in order to respond to the fast-changing audiovisual industry and competition. Under the scheme, different content and license regulations are applied to four types of TV-like services which are categorized by “socio-cultural impact” (i.e., broadcasting and mass market vs. VOD and niche market)” and “content production/aggregation model” (i.e., gatekeeping vs. participatory mechanism). In addition, competition, content regulation, and digital copyright are identified as key issues involved in the fast-growing cross-platform audiovisual media industry. Finally, this study analyzes market development, regulatory issues, and national plans for multi-screen TV services in Singapore and examines them under the proposed regulatory scheme. Market and policy recommendations are discussed.     

Normfare: Norm entrepreneurship in internet governance

This special issue is the first to systematically address the activity we call “normfare” - the assiduous development of norms of very different character (public and private, formal and informal, technically mediated and directly implemented) by different actors (platforms, standard-setters, states) as an answer to the wide range of challenges facing internet governance. We bring together contributions from leading anthropologists, technologists, political scientists, legal and communication scholars exploring how norms underpin the new ordering of the internet, whether in explicit or implicit forms. Through various theoretical lenses, contributions analyze the impact of platforms, states, civil society, expert groups and key individuals on restructuring the normative order of the internet, and present empirical evidence for instances of norm creation, legitimation, contestation and opposition. Valuable new insights for norm development processes come from case studies, ethnographies, legal and discourse analysis and interdisciplinary approaches locating agency and power plays. In this introduction, we define the key concepts applicable to norm entrepreneurship and discuss their interplay in internet governance debates, followed by an overview of the articles included in the special issue. In the final section, we reflect on the implications of our new research agenda.