The key role of intermediaries in Thailand's fresh food distribution system

New overseas retail formats have been entering emerging markets since the late 1990s. Accordingly, research on the advance of transnational retailers into emerging markets has recently flourished, and Thailand, one of the most popular host countries for transnational retailers, has often been examined as a case study. Many of these studies clarify the retail internationalization process and conclude that the new formats are driving the host countries' traditional distribution system toward a fundamental change. Although these studies consider the host countries' circumstances, they do not necessarily pay sufficient attention to specific characteristics of those host countries. In case studies of Thailand, the specific roles of intermediaries throughout the entire retail and distribution system are commonly overlooked. This paper argues that intermediaries continue to play an important role in Thailand's distribution systems, especially in the system of fresh vegetable distribution. This study first explains why earlier studies often attached less importance to the examination of intermediate distribution systems, despite the necessity of considering the roles of intermediaries for a deeper understanding of the impact of new retail formats on the host countries' distribution system as a whole. After discussing the key roles of intermediaries in Thailand's vegetable distribution system, this paper concludes that because modern retailers' involvement, particularly that of transnational retailers, at the agricultural production stage is still limited in Thailand, they often rely on intermediate distributors, such as local assembling wholesalers, coordinator-type intermediaries, and wholesale markets, for the intermediate distribution process.     

An empirical procedure to evaluate monetary management under exogenous changes in the money supply

This article proposes an empirical procedure to evaluate central banks’ monetary management in a presence of exogenous changes in the money supply. Monetary shocks deviate the market interest rate from the target, and the monetary authority decides its optimal intervention in the money market, bearing in mind the benefits and costs of re-establishing its target interest rate. According to monetary management theory, typically a central bank will allow for variation in the interest rate within a range around the target interest rate, thereby intervening in the money market when the interest rate trends toward a point outside that range. In this context, we develop an empirical strategy to analyse central bank’s reactions to exogenous money changes by making a statistical comparison of the actual and the estimated intraday shift in the money supply. We also employ our method to test the reactions of the Brazilian Central Bank to liquidity shifts caused by changes in the Treasury Single Account (TSA) balance. Using different metrics of analysis, the applications of our procedure confirms the predictions of the optimal monetary management theory.     

PACIFIC RIM TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT: HISTORICAL ENVIRONMENT AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

Pacific Asia is deep rooted in its cultural heritage and historical background, which have set the tone for regions success. These same factors also have created rather different trading practices, compared with those of the West — practices that are less transparent and full of hidden private trade barriers.
Interdependence within the region suggests integration, but Pacific Asia has taken a course of non-exclusive cooperation rather than following the exclusive course of the European Community (EC) and of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The latter two trade blocs threaten the continued success and development of Pacific Asia. Although the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) sends relief, fostering a cooperative rather than a retaliative Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization offers the most promise.     

On the maximum number of balancing subsets

Let a₁,…,a_n be a finite sequence of n real numbers. A subset {i₁,…,i_r} of the set {1,…,n } is called a balancing subset for a₁,…,a_n if a_i1 + … + a_ir = 0. We discuss in this paper the maximum number of balancing subsets for given n.     

Corporate governance beyond the shareholder–stakeholder dichotomy: Lessons from Japanese corporations' environmental performance

Although corporate environmental performance (CEP) is determined by corporate governance (CG) typified by board and ownership structures, in‐depth research on stakeholder‐oriented CG is sparse. This study seeks to fill this void and promote an alternative vision of good governance. Japanese corporations have often been criticized for their stakeholder‐oriented practices such as less independent boards and the dominance of stable domestic shareholders. However, these practices are not necessarily problematic if effective monitoring mechanisms are in place. Using a database of Japanese listed corporations over 2012–2015, this study shows that both board size and composition enhance CEP, confirming the advisory function of boards. Contrastingly, foreign blockholders, who are expected to play a monitoring role, significantly constrain CEP. Japanese corporations are evolving toward a hybrid CG that aims to narrow the shareholder–stakeholder divide, and the findings will offer useful lessons for the modification of shareholder‐oriented CG.     

Restructuring East Asian exchange rate regimes

This paper investigated the degree of misalignment of the East Asian currencies against the U.S. dollar and against the Japanese yen under a de facto dollar-pegged exchange rate regime (January 1995 to May 1997). We found that overvaluation against the yen started in the Malaysian ringgit and the Philippine peso from January 1996 and the Thai baht from June 1996. Although the Indonesian rupiah and the Korean won against the yen were still undervalued in May 1997, degree of misalignment of both currencies narrowed from April 1995. Large withdrawal of Japanese claims after the financial crisis reduced Japanese bank lendings from $123.8 billion to $85.9 billion in end-June 1998. In 1998, Japanese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to East Asia fell as much as 44% from the previous year. In conclusion the paper stresses the importance of the stability in yen/dollar exchange rate to avoid large volatility in Japanese capital flow.     

Legal structure,business organisations and lobbying: The Japanese publishing sector, 1990–2001

How did incumbents in Japanese publishing maintain resale price maintenance (RPM)? This article sheds light on the inter- and intra-industrial structure that enabled the protection of RPM, or the fixed price system, amid the country-wide liberalisation in the 1990s. By analysing textual data including governmental reports, trade papers in publishing and leaflets adopted for lobbying, the critical decade was reconstructed. It addresses a scarcity of business history literature about the link between RPM and business organisations, particularly concerning lobbying.