International Economics Commons^™

Deposit Insurance And Private Capital Inflows: Further Evidence, John Thornton, Yener Altunbaş

John Thornton

We use a simple differences-in-differences technique to exam- ine whether adopting explicit deposit insurance impacts on the scale of private capital inflows to developing economies. We present evidence suggesting that these inflows improved more in countries that adopted deposit insurance than in countries that did not adopt it.

Changing Revealed Comparative Advantage Of Textile And Clothing Sector Of Pakistan: Pre And Post Quota Analysis, Nawaz Ahmad

Nawaz Ahmad

Many Asian countries have been beneficiaries of quota abolition for textile and clothing sector since 2005. After the implementation of the Agreement on Textile and Clothing (ATC) in December 2004, member countries of World Trade Organization (WTO) have quota-free trade except People’s Republic of China (PRC). It was expected that Pakistan will be beneficiaries in textile and clothing due to expected superior export performance in this sector. Therefore, this study aims estimating revealed comparative advantage (RCA) of textile and clothing sector of Pakistan at HS-2digit level and SITC-3 digit level. It reveals Pakistan has comparative advantage in textile sector and …

The Role Of Family Ties In Mitigating Moral Hazard: Firm-Level Evidence From Tamil Nadu, India, Goldie Chow

Goldie Chow

Drawing on firm-level data from the district of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India, this study explores the role of family ties as a means to counteract potential moral hazard concerns. It is shown that firms will be more likely to employ family relations when faced with a higher hidden context for moral hazard. Specifically, the analysis finds that the presence of family members within the firm is higher when the firm provides general training and that firms that are more likely to do external business with family relations when it is believed that the legal system is not effective. Additionally, …

Changing Revealed Comparative Advantage Of Textile And Clothing Sector Of Pakistan: Pre And Post Quota Analysis, Nawaz Ahmad

Nawaz Ahmad

Abstract Many Asian countries have been beneficiaries of quota abolition for textile and clothing sector since 2005. After the implementation of the Agreement on Textile and Clothing (ATC) in December 2004, member countries of World Trade Organization (WTO) have quota-free trade except People’s Republic of China (PRC). It was expected that Pakistan will be beneficiaries in textile and clothing due to expected superior export performance in this sector. Therefore, this study aims estimating revealed comparative advantage (RCA) of textile and clothing sector of Pakistan at HS-2digit level and SITC-3 digit level. It reveals Pakistan has comparative advantage in textile sector …

Corruption, Democracy And Asia-Pacific Countries, Neil Campbell, Shrabani Saha

Neil Campbell

This paper argues that the relationship between democracy and corruption is nonmonotonic. When a country shifts from autocratic rule to highly imperfect democracy (an ‘electoral democracy’) it is frequently perceived that the level of corruption increases. Conversely, when the democracy level is already relatively high (approaching ‘mature democracy’) an increase in the level of democracy is typically expected to decrease the level of corruption. To assist with our discussion of these issues, before going on to the empirical part of the paper, we look specifically at the case of South Korea to illustrate how corruption responded to an increasing level …

Vico’S New Science Of Interpretation: Beyond Philosophical Hermeneutics And The Hermeneutics Of Suspicion, David Ingram

David Ingram

The article situates Vico's hermeneutical science of history between a hermeneutics of suspicion (Ricoeur, Habermas, Freud) and a redemptive hermeneutics (Gadamer, Benjamin). It discusses Vico's early writings and his ambivalent trajectory from Cartesian rationalism to counter-enlightenment historicist and critic of natural law reasoning. The complexity of Vico's thinking belies some of the popular treatments of his thought developed by Isaiah Berlin and others.

How China’S Economic Rebalancing Is Like The Movie Speed, Zheng Wang

Zheng Wang

No abstract provided.

A Note On Dummies For Policies In Gravity Models: A Montecarlo Experiment, Claudio Vicarelli, Maria Pina Cipollina, Luca Salvatici, Luca De Benedictis

Claudio Vicarelli

The use of the gravity model to evaluate the effect of policies in a cross-country framework is largely predominant in the international economics empirical literature. This literature usually implements importer and exporter fixed effects to account for the theoretical Multilateral Trade Resistances, while preferential trade policies are approximated through the use of dummy variables. Results from a Monte Carlo experiment confirms that the identification of trade policy impact using a gravity equation including fixed effects is severely limited. Moreover, the consequences of the error in measurement of the policy variable are magnified by the fixed effects control for unobserved heterogeneity.

Modelling Import Demand Function For A Developing Country: An Empirical Approach, Nusrate Aziz

Dr. Nusrate Aziz

Fdi Spillovers In Tanzania`S Manufacturing Sector, Johansein Rutaihwa

Johansein Rutaihwa

Using cross sectional data, this study analyses the spillover effects of foreign direct investment in Tanzania’s manufacturing sector. The findings reject a proposition that FDI intensity has improved domestic manufacturing firms productivity; no vertical technological spillovers occurred and a negative correlation between vertical spillover and FDI presence was found. Instead there is a positive correlation between FDI and horizontal technology spillover. The study, therefore, recommends that the government should make concerted efforts to ensure that FDI promotion addresses technology spillovers both within the industry and across the sector; as well as strengthening and widening the education system to enable it …

Can We Really Trust Offshoring Indices?, Davide Castellani, Luca De Benedictis, Daniel Horgos

Luca De Benedictis

This paper argues that offshoring indices often measure something different than what we think they are. Using data from input-output tables of 21 European countries from 1995 to 2006 we decompose an offshoring index, distinguishing between a domestic (structural change) and an international component (imported inputs ratio). Regarding offshoring of business services, a large share of the index variation is driven by the domestic component. This is even more pronounced for overall service offshoring. In the case of material offshoring, by contrast, the international component drives the main variation of the indices. Our results therefore show that, regarding (business) services, …

Imports Of Intermediate Inputs And Country Size, Mohammad Amin, Asif Islam

Mohammad Amin

The present paper analyzes the relationship between country size and the use of imported intermediate inputs by firms in 76 developing countries. Recent evidence indicates that the use of imported inputs can have a large positive effect on productivity and growth thus motivating a better understanding of the determinants of imported inputs. Our results confirm that relative to large countries, firms in small countries are both likely to use more imported inputs and a larger share of imported inputs in their total inputs. Interestingly, adjusting for the mean level of imports of inputs and exports of goods in our sample, …

Tackling Undeclared Work In Croatia And Four Eu Candidate Countries, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

Leakage, Welfare, And Cost-Effectiveness Of Carbon Policy, Kathy Baylis, Don Fullerton, Daniel H. Karney

Don Fullerton

We extend the model of Fullerton et al (2012) to explore cost-effectiveness of unilateral climate policy in the presence of leakage. We ignore the welfare gain from reducing greenhouse gas emissions and focus on the welfare cost of the emissions tax or permit scheme. Whereas that prior paper solves for changes in emissions quantities and finds that leakage maybe negative, we show here that all cases with negative leakage in that model are cases where a unilateral carbon tax results in a welfare loss. With positive leakage, however, a unilateral policy can improve welfare.

Examining The Institutional Framework For Investment In Tanzania: A Perspective From The Executive Opinion Survey, 2012-13, Johansein L. Rutaihwa

Johansein Rutaihwa

This policy brief looks at the country-level findings from the 2012/13 Global Competiveness Report prepared for the World Economic Forum; highlights the current institutional set up in relation to investment; and identifies institutional and policy reforms that could stimulate growth and make Tanzania more competitive on the global market.

The Economics Of Corruption In Developing Countries, Ramchandra Akkihal, Harlan M. Smith Ii, Roger Adkins

Harlan M. Smith

Official corruption, unfortunately, is endemic in the developing world. One factor in the spread of this illegal activity has been the propensity of developing-country governments to intervene heavily in their economies, often in the attempt to guide, direct, and control economic activity in order to promote the desired pace and style of economic development. Such regulatory efforts, though now on the wane in much of the developing world, continue to generate opportunities in many countries for bureaucrats in control of scarce resources to allocate them on a non-market basis, to further their own economic, political, and social prospects.

Why Over-Financialization In The Eurozone Periphery Was Inevitable: A Crisis Of Flawed Legislation And Competitive Imbalances, Maximilian Bevan

Maximilian Bevan

Over the past three years, the heads of state in the Euro area have argued over the proper monetary mechanisms to alleviate the protracted European debt crisis. This paper illuminates the often-overlooked aspects of this crisis – the fundamental failures of the monetary union from its inception. It expands the scope of analysis on the Eurozone crisis by addressing the over-financialization in the Eurozone periphery (Greece, Portugal, and Spain) within a political-economy framework. It explicates the direct relationship between the political manipulations of the legislation by Germany (analyzed from a public choice perspective) and the resulting economic consequences that the …

The Sino-Centric Fault-Lines Of Turkish Geopolitics, Oğuz Dilek Dr.

Oğuz Dilek Dr.

Turkey has recently started to situate its security into a new geographical expanse with borders inching closer to the emerging China-centered world, and away from the European Peninsula. China by forming voluminous trade links with energy-rich Middle Eastern and Caucasian states has made the economic geography around Turkey’s borders appealing more than ever. Two outcomes lying face-to-face transpired from this new neighborhood. First, Turkey now enjoys an economic shelter that provides additional export outlets and foreign financial resources at a time of great distress in the West. Second, now Turkey’s material wellbeing is contingent on countries, such as Russia and …

When The Claim Hits: Bilateral Investment Treaties And Bounded Rational Learning, Lauge N. Skovgaard Poulsen, Emma Aisbett

Lauge N. Skovgaard Poulsen

Using the international investment regime as its point of departure, the paper introduces notions of bounded rationality to the study of economic diplomacy. Through a multi-method approach, it shows that developing countries often ignored the risks of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) until they themselves became subject to an investment treaty claim. Thus the behavior of developing country governments with regard to the international investment regime is consistent with that observed for individuals in experiments and field studies: they tend to ignore high-impact, low-probability risks if they cannot bring specific ‘vivid’ instances to mind.

Global Poverty Estimates: A Sensitivity Analysis, Shatakshee Dhongde, Camelia Minoiu

Shatakshee Dhongde

Challenges Of The Cooperative Movement In Addressing Issues Of Human Security In The Context Of A Neoliberal World: The Case Of Argentina, Stefan Ivanovski

Stefan Ivanovski

The response of some Argentine workers to the 2001 crisis of neoliberalism gave rise to a movement of worker-recovered enterprises (empresas recuperadas por sus trabajadores or ERTs). The ERTs have emerged as former employees took over the control of generally fraudulently bankrupt factories and enterprises. The analysis of the ERT movement within the neoliberal global capitalist order will draw from William Robinson’s (2004) neo-Gramscian concept of hegemony. The theoretical framework of neo-Gramscian hegemony will be used in exposing the contradictions of capitalism on the global, national, organizational and individual scales and the effects they have on the ERT movement. The …

The Stability Of Offshore Outsourcing Relationships: The Role Of Relation Specificity And Client Control, Stephan Manning, Arie Y. Lewin, Marc Schuerch

Stephan Manning

Offshore outsourcing of administrative and technical services has become a mainstream business practice. Increasing commoditization of business services and growing client experience with outsourcing have created a range of competitive service delivery options for client firms. Yet, data from the Offshoring Research Network (ORN) suggests that, despite increasing market options and growing client quality and cost efficiency expectations, clients typically renew provider contracts and develop longer-term relationships with providers. Based on ORN data, this paper explores drivers of this phenomenon. The findings suggest that providers promote contract renewal by making client specific investments in software, IT infrastructure and training, and …

Securing Access To Lower-Cost Talent Globally: The Dynamics Of Active Embedding And Field Structuration, Stephan Manning, Joerg Sydow, Arnold Windeler

Stephan Manning

This article examines how multinational corporations (MNCs) shape institutional conditions in emerging economies to secure access to high-skilled, yet lower-cost science and engineering talent. Based on two in-depth case studies of engineering offshoring projects of German automotive suppliers in Romania and China we analyze how MNCs engage in ‘active embedding’ by aligning local institutional conditions with global offshoring strategies and operational needs. MNCs thereby contribute to the structuration of field relations and practices of sourcing knowledge-intensive work from globally dispersed locations.Our findings stress the importance of institutional processes across geographic boundaries that regulate and get shaped by MNC activities.

New Silicon Valleys Or A New Species? Commoditization Of Knowledge Work And The Rise Of Knowledge Services Clusters, Stephan Manning

Stephan Manning

This paper explores knowledge services clusters (KSCs) as a distinct and increasingly important form of geographic cluster, in particular in emerging economies: KSCs are defined as geographic concentrations of lower-cost skills serving global demand for increasingly commoditized knowledge services. Based on prior research on clusters and services offshoring, and data from the Offshoring Research Network (ORN), major properties and contingencies of KSC growth are discussed and compared with both high-tech clusters and low-cost manufacturing clusters. Special emphasis is put on the ambivalent effect of commoditization of knowledge work on KSC growth: It is proposed that KSCs attract most projects if …

National Contexts Matter: The Co-Evolution Of Sustainability Standards In Global Value Chains, Stephan Manning, Frank Boons, Oliver Von Hagen, Juliane Reinecke

Stephan Manning

In this paper, we investigate the role of key industry and other stakeholders and their embeddedness in particular national contexts in driving the proliferation and co-evolution of sustainability standards, based on the case of the global coffee industry. We find that institutional conditions and market opportunity structures in consuming countries have been important sources of standards variation, for example in the cases of Fairtrade, UTZ Certified and the Common Code for the Coffee Community (4C). In turn, supplier structures in producing countries as well as their linkages with traders and buyers targeting particular consuming countries have been key mechanisms of …

The Dangers Of Diversity: Ethnic Fractionalization And The Rule Of Law, Michael Touchton

Michael Touchton

Research linking ethnic cleavages to economic underdevelopment is a hallmark of recent efforts to explain economic growth. Similarly, the rule of law as a credible commitment to property rights and contract enforcement is also identified with economic development. Rather than treating these factors as rival explanations for economic development around the world, I propose the rule of law as the causal mechanism through which ethnic fractionalization (EF) influences growth in many countries. I argue ethnic diversity negatively impacts the rule of law due to the prevalence of ethnically-based patronage networks in developing countries. Public officials, I argue, face greater incentives …

Professional And Trade Associations In A Nascent And Formative Sector Of A Developing Economy: A Case Study Of The Nasscom Effect On The Indian Offshoring Industry, Nir Kshetri, Nikhilesh Dholakia

Nikhilesh Dholakia

As important sources that shape institutional structures in an economy, professional and trade associations play significant roles in bringing and legitimating institutional changes. This paper examines the roles of professional and trade associations' impacts on institutions associated with a nascent and formative sector of a developing economy. In empirical terms, the paper offers an in-depth case study of India's National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) on institutional changes related to the offshoring industry. The NASSCOM case shows that under appropriate conditions, professional and trade associations represent an alternative to the state in shaping the industry landscape.

¿Quo Vadis Paraguay? ¿A Westfalia O Al Mercosur?, Francisco Carlos Ruiz Diaz

Francisco Carlos Ruiz Diaz

Las relaciones políticas y económicas entre países están estrechamente vinculadas entre sí. Para entender los cambios en la economía mundial, es necesario ahondar en los aspectos centrales de la política internacional, o en otras palabras, de las relaciones internacionales. El sistema actual de las relaciones internacionales se sustenta sobre pilares de los Tratados de Paz de Westfalia de 1648. Estos acuerdos se firmaron con el propósito de poner fin a la guerra de los treinta años, librada entre las potencias hegemónicas de la Europa del Siglo XVII. Los dos aportes más importantes de estos Tratados fueron la imposición del concepto …

From Transformation To Revitalization: A New Research Agenda For A Contested Global Economy, Lowell Turner

Lowell Turner

[Excerpt] The revitalization perspective is hardly new. With deep roots in both labor movement history and industrial relations research, such work was marginalized for much of the postwar period both in union strategy and in the field of industrial relations. What is new is the rather sudden arrival of revitalization research in the mainstream of industrial relations along with a broader literature on contentious politics in a global economy (e.g., Klein, 2002; Delia Porta & Tarrow, 2004). This introductory article offers an overview of the revitalization perspective, deepened in relevance by contemporary struggles for democratic representation in the modern workplace …

'The Determinants Of Outward Processing Exports In The European Union' , Brighton: Ids, Dirk Willenbockel, Dimitra Petropoulou

Dr Xavier Cirera

This paper analyses the determinants of outward processing (OP) trade; specifically, imports of intermediates subsequent to processing abroad. A model where firms choose between OP and importing intermediates directly from a third country (generic offshoring, GO) predicts higher tariffs, lower monitoring costs and higher quality make OP more likely, while better institutions and rule of law abroad lower contractual breakdown risk under GO making OP less likely. Analysis of EU trade data from 2002 to 2008 emphasizes proximity, quality differentiation and weaker rule of law as OP determinants. Results suggest relationship-specific investments and monitoring under OP may offset contractual uncertainty.