The Impact of Agricultural Import Tariff on Economic Growth： Evidence From Mercosur Countries

This research paper attempts to determine the relationship between agricultural import tariff and economic growth of Mercosur countries over the period 1996-2007 using regression analysis as well as evaluates the gains and losses from the group＇s trade policy over the same period. The introductory part of this paper focuses on the dynamics of changes in economic growth, trade, and import tariff of these countries over the last two decades. The results of the performed regression analysis of panel data suggest that trade liberalization has a quantitatively significant positive effect on growth. By using the coefficient estimates on tariff, the authors perform a quantitative evaluation of gains and losses from trade policy, for which tariff measures to trade （imports） are used as a proxy.     

Restructuring Ukrainian enterprises after privatization: Does ownership matter?

This paper presents data from a survey of large and medium-sized industrial enterprises in Ukraine after privatization. To analyze this data, regression equations are estimated and explain the response of restructuring and performance indicators to ownership structures, competitive pressures, and hardening budget constraints. While ownership matters less for restructuring activity than competition and budget constraints, concentrated outside ownership does have a significant positive impact on the firm's performance. This research was financially supported by a grant from the International Association for Promotion of Cooperation with Scientists in the New Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (952-0280) and by a Research Fellowship provided by Konferenz der Deutschen Akademien der Wissenschaften, sponsored by Volkswagen Stiftung.     

Development and performance of Russian agricultural enterprises, 1990–2001

This article presents an overview of the development of Russian agricultural enterprises in 1990–2001. The multi‐layered structure of agriculture represented by different categories of non‐commercial and commercial producers requires a clear distinction of policies with respect to their targets and end results. The agricultural enterprises maintained their leading role in marketed agricultural production and represent the main focus group among the agricultural producers for policy makers. The article reviews organisational and structural changes to these enterprises in the period studied, and their economic and financial performance. It also examines current policies for resolving the problems in agriculture.     

Modeling Financial Integration,Intra-EMU and Asian-US External Imbalances

Intra-EMU external imbalances in the pre-crisis period up to 2008 are traditionally explained by EMU-oriented factors, e.g. euro-related financial integration. Chen et al. (2013) also emphasize external trade shocks, such as the competitive challenge of emerging Asia and oil exporters to EMU-periphery’s exports. Moreover, Asian-U.S. external imbalances are attributed to financial integration between East Asia and the USA in the aftermath of the East-Asian currency crises in the late 1990s (Angeletos and Panoussi 2011). Acknowledging these empirical facts this paper develops a Buiter (1981) three-country (EMU, Asia, US), two-region (EMU core, EMU periphery) OLG model to investigate the effects of both intra-EMU and Asian-U.S. financial integration on intra-EMU, Asian and U.S. external imbalances. We find that the widening of the intra-EMU external imbalances, in particular of trade imbalances, is related to the growth in Asian-U.S. imbalances and the dynamic inefficiency of the world economy, caused by excessive saving in Asia.     

Disaster relief routing: Integrating research and practice

Disaster relief presents many unique logistics challenges, with problems including damaged transportation infrastructure, limited communication, and coordination of multiple agents. Central to disaster relief logistics is the distribution of life-saving commodities to beneficiaries. Operations research models have potential to help relief agencies save lives and money, maintain standards of humanitarianism and fairness and maximize the use of limited resources amid post-disaster chaos. Through interviews with aid organizations, reviews of their publications, and a literature review of operations research models in transportation of relief goods, this paper provides an analysis of the use of such models from the perspective of both practitioners and academics. With the complexity of disaster relief distribution and the relatively small number of journal articles written on it, this is an area with potential for helping relief organizations and for tremendous growth in operations research.     

Assessing the impact of cost optimization based on infrastructure modelling on CO2 emissions

Traditionally, logistics design is driven by a need to reduce costs and improve customer service. Recently, the environmental concerns from transport have been increasingly discussed. The traffic levels and associated energy consumption are influenced by supply chain structure, modal split and vehicle utilization. This paper aims to assess the impact of the traditional cost optimization approach to strategic modelling on overall logistics costs and CO₂ emissions by taking into account the supply chain structure (number of depots) and different freight vehicle utilization ratios (90%, 75% and 60%). The simulation model, based on a European case study from the automotive industry, considers strategic and operational level decisions simultaneously. The analysis shows that the optimum design based on costs does not necessary equate to an optimum solution for CO₂ emissions, therefore there is a need to address economical and environmental objectives explicitly as part of the logistics design.     

How Can We Better Understand Current and Future Workforce Values in the Global Business Environment?

Our study tested the predictive power of socioeconomic development theory and age differences theory to explain work values across cultures and across age groups. We compared the values orientations of future managers, business students under the age of 25, with those of current managers and professionals, who we split into three decade groups (30 to 39, 40 to 49, and 50 to 59). Our respondents (n = 1,518) come from six diverse societies: Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, Russia, the United States, and Vietnam. Our findings indicate that both theories contribute to our understanding of work values and behaviors. One implication is that while socioeconomic development theory makes an important contribution, it is clearly not sufficient by itself to explain work values/behavior differences in the global context. The study findings and the discussion of them will hopefully provide multinational managers with a clearer assessment of current and future workforce values/behavior. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.