1,720,963 research outputs found
Income Distribution and Poverty in a CGE Framework: A Proposed Methodology
Full text linkThe paper discusses methodologies addressing income distribution and poverty in a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model framework, by describing how to link CGE results with household survey data to analyze income distribution and poverty implications. The most basic approach is simply to fit the household income/expenditure to the survey data by suitable parametric distribution functions. The post-simulation poverty indices can be estimated by either assuming that the income of each individual household within the group moves proportionally with the group's mean income, or by our proposed elasticity method. In our proposed method, we use the elasticity estimated from existing surveys to calculate the change in expenditure of each subgroup category in response to change in the household category's mean consumption, supplied by the core model's simulation, to derive post-simulation poverty indices. Our approach may better capture intra-group income distribution of households and moderate gains or losses in welfare from economic growths.Computable General Equilibrium, Income Distribution, Poverty.
Firm Characteristic Determinants of SME Participation in Production Networks
Full text linkThis paper provides an empirical analysis of small and medium enterprise (SME) participation in production networks. It gauges firm characteristic determinants of SME participation in production networks. The empirical investigation utilizes results obtained from an ERIA Survey on SME Participation in Production Networks, conducted over a three month period at the end 2009 in most ASEAN countries (i.e., Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos PDR) and China. The results suggest that productivity, foreign ownership, financial characteristics, innovation efforts, and managerial/entrepreneurial attitudes are the important firm characteristics that determine SME participation in production networks. The paper extends the analysis to identify the determinants that allow SMEs to move from low to high quality or value adding participation in production networks. The results suggest that size, productivity, foreign ownership, and, to some extent, innovation efforts and managerial attitudes, are the important firm characteristics needed by SMEs to upgrade their positions in production networks. The finding suggests that SMEs really exploit competitiveness from economies of scale only when they are able to engage in production networks.
SME Participation in ASEAN and East Asian Integration: The Case of Cambodia
Full text linkCovering 201 firms, this study employs a questionnaire survey to explore the impact of trade policy on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Cambodia. The results show that more than half of the surveyed firms were aware of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and larger firms tend to use FTAs more frequently than SMEs. The key reasons for not using FTAs were a lack of knowledge and not knowing how to use the forms. The strong import linkages with ASEAN and East Asia (as compared to export linkages) suggest that Cambodian firms take advantage of sourcing cheaper intermediate inputs from ASEAN and East Asian economies and then export the final products to the U.S. and EU markets through generalized system of preferences (GSP) and Everything But Arms (EBA) arrangements. The surveyed firms hold the perception that the AEC has or would decrease their domestic and export sales as well as their profitability, and face more competition in local and foreign markets. On the other hand, they think the AEC has or would decrease import costs and enhance accessibility to intermediate inputs. The impacts are believed to occur through the reduction of import and export tariffs/ duties, increase in custom procedures, standards and regulations, recognition of professional qualifications, improved investment processes, and better connectivity. The empirical results indicate that compared to non-users, the active FTA users appear to be larger, have higher labour productivity, and have experience with multiple export markets. They are also members of business associations, and have higher skill intensity and technological capability. Firm size, higher labour productivity, access to business networks, active use of information and communications technology (ICT), having more experiences with multiple export markets, skilled human capital and technological capability are important factors for firms to use multiple FTAs and participate in regional integration.Shandre M. Thangavelu, Sothea Oum and Samsen Nea
Asia's Environmental Problems: Common Features, and Possible Solutions
No full textAsia’s developing economies are faced with serious environmental problems that
threaten to undermine future growth, food security, and regional stability. This
chapter considers four major environmental challenges that policymakers across
developing Asia must address in the coming decade: water management, air
pollution, deforestation and land degradation, and climate change. These challenges,
each unique in their own way, all display the features of “wicked problems”. First
developed in the context of urban planning, and now applied much more broadly,
wicked problems are dynamic, complex, encompass many issues and stakeholders,
and evade straightforward, lasting solutions. Detailed case studies are presented in
this chapter to demonstrate the intricacy and importance of Asia’s environmental
challenges. The fundamental implication of this finding is that there will be no easy
or universal solutions to Asia’s environmental problems. This is a warning against
over-optimism and blueprint or formulaic solutions. It is not, however, a counsel for
despair. We suggest seven broad principles that may be useful across the board.
These are: a focus on co-benefits; an emphasis on stakeholder participation; a
commitment to scientific research; an emphasis on long-term planning; pricing
reform; tackling corruption, in addition to generally bolstering institutional capacity
with regard to environmental regulation; and a strengthening of regional
approaches and international support.This report was commisioned by Economic Research Institure for ASEAN and East Asi
Harmonizing Biodiesel Fuel Standards in East Asia: Current Status, Challenges and Way Forward
Full text linkAbstract: This paper discusses the development of and policy towards biodiesel fuel (BDF) in the East Asia Summit (EAS) Region (hereafter East Asia), with a focus on activities related to harmonizing BDF standards. It finds that the EAS countries have actively promoted the development of BDF for a variety of reasons. To minimize problems with engines arising from the use of BDF, most EAS countries have established their national BDF standards. However, these diverse standards cause barriers for BDF trade and act against the regional interest in maximizing benefits from BDF production and utilization. Therefore, the EAS policy makers decided to harmonize BDF standards, and a regional benchmark standard has been published. Through a comparative review of existing national standards against the benchmark, it finds that the harmonization is beneficial economically and environmentally, and is technically feasible but practically stalled due to the lack of political determination. Therefore, among a few policy implications, the key message to deliver is a call for political determination to implement the harmonization in the EAS region. Since harmonization of BDF standards has been tried in other regions, the findings of this paper may supplement the literature, enhance understanding of the EAS case, and provide lessons and implications that may be helpful in advancing similar harmonization elsewhere.
Location Choice of Multinational Enterprises in China: Comparison between Japan and Taiwan
Full text linkThis paper explores the location choice of MNEs in China, shedding special light on the role of agglomeration of same-nationality firms. In particular, we examine how its role differs according to investors’ productivity. Furthermore, we compare the location choice of Japanese and Taiwanese MNEs in China, because Taiwanese MNEs are expected to experience less uncertainty in investing in China than Japanese MNEs, due to Taiwan’s linguistic and cultural advantages in China. We find that, less productive Japanese firms prefer to locate close to larger same-nationality agglomerations, there are no differences in location according to firms’ productivity in the case of Taiwanese firms.
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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