From the Editor

This article revises the thesis that exporting firms learn to be more innovative and efficient as they have contact with certain information flows from their foreign activity. It begins by exploring the connections between two concepts: self-selection and learning-by-exporting. The study proceeds with a comparative analysis of the most recent literature and presents common facts and key issues still open to debate. Learning-by-exporting should be measured directly using firms' innovative performance. Given the lack of suitable data on firms' innovative activities, most studies—although without consensus—have followed an indirect approach using productivity measures.     

From the Editor

The primary rationale for international trade models has been Adam Smith's analogy of a tailor and a shoemaker. Most free trade models relate to it in some way. Unfortunately when generalized to apply to nations, the model has serious defects.

This article develops a network flow model of international trade, simple enough for general comprehension, yet capable of dealing with the many complexities of international trade. Some of the current methods of trade management are also reviewed.

A variable compensatory tax is proposed to replace many of the current, inadequate trade management techniques. It is relatively simple to implement, fair to trading partners, precludes retaliation, and is based on measured performance in international trade.     

Note from the Editor

This article examines the theoretical justification and the empirical relevance of the claim that during the process of a country's economic growth, its balance of payments goes through a distinct pattern of balance-of-payments stages. The theoretical analysis shows that this could happen only in very limiting cases. Since the American economy has been presented in the literature as a country where the balance-of-payments actually went through the predicted pattern of stages, the statistical analysis is applied to the U.S. balance-of-payments data over the period 1970-1985. The tests show that the U.S. balance-of-payments has not followed any regular pattern and therefore the balance-of-payments thesis is not verified with the American data.     

The Evolution of International Business Textbooks

As a field of study, international business (IB) has evolved with accelerated tempo in the last four decades. The subject has brought with it an increasing plethora of textbooks. We analyze the contents of major textbooks, both classic and new, to find the extent to which these textbooks cover the various components of the common body of knowledge in IB, as organized around a conceptual model. Using this model, we study some 27 textbooks published between 1976 and 2008, and categorize their content. Our primary objective is to determine the extent to which there is commonality among textbooks. Additionally, we study the evolution over time in the content of the same textbooks from one edition to the next and explore the reasons for these changes. We present the results in graphic and tabular forms, depicting areas where themes may converge or overlap. This study’s conclusions will contribute to a better understanding of the epistemological roots of the field and its evolution over time. Scholars who write textbooks, textbook users, and publishers will benefit from this analysis.