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on South East Asia |
| By: | Kiyoshi Urakami (Urakami Asia Management Research) |
| Abstract: | Asian business has undergone substantial changes with the emergence of China. This paper aims at describing general trends in China business strategies being sought and followed by the Japanese multinationals in the electronics industry based on the authorfs practical business experiences with Hitachi, Ltd. in the region. One of the objectives of the paper is to document the authorfs experiential viewpoints and approaches. |
| Keywords: | Regional headquarters, Greater China region, Market place, Full ownership business |
| JEL: | F1 F2 |
| Date: | 2005–06–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpit:0506004&r=sea |
| By: | Junmin Wan (Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | The hypotheses of non-addiction, myopia and rational addiction are tested using annual, quarterly and monthly data. Changes in the prices of Japanese cigarettes can be viewed as natural experiments from the point of view of consumer behavior, because the Japanese government controls cigarette prices. The empirical results of this paper support the addiction hypothesis. The short-run and long-run price elasticities range from - 0.338to -0.421, and from -0.679 to -0.686, respectively; thus, increases in tax revenues in the long-run are likely to be smaller than those in the short-run. As a result, tax increases would be an effective means of curbing smoking and reducing its social cost. Furthermore, the debt compensation programs for the Japan Railway and the National Forestry will not go according to plan, unless revenues are increased in the future. |
| Keywords: | smoking, rational addiction, tax revenues |
| JEL: | D12 E21 H29 |
| Date: | 2002–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:04-11&r=sea |
| By: | Junmin Wan (Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces a new way to examine the effects of mandatory information disclosure on inter-brand cigarette demands and the behavior of a monopolistic firm in Japan. I estimated inter-brand demands by including nicotine, tar content, and policy event information in the model and by using cigarette brand sales data. I found that the mandatory disclosure of nicotine and tar content information decreased the intake of nicotine and tar per capita and per smoker; thus mandatory disclosure is likely to increase consumersf welfare, if we suppose that they always choose their favorite cigarette. Furthermore, I found that the monopolistic firm supplied more, new, and better quality products, discontinued the production of poorer quality goods, and conducted more R & D, in response to disclosure mandates. |
| Keywords: | Rational addiction; Smoking; Health information; Tobacco control |
| JEL: | I18 D11 D12 |
| Date: | 2002–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:04-12&r=sea |
| By: | Junmin Wan (Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces a new way to examine the effects of mandatory information disclosure on inter-brand cigarette demands and the behavior of a monopolistic firm in Japan. I estimated inter-brand demands by including nicotine, tar content, and policy event information in the model and by using cigarette brand sales data. I found that the mandatory disclosure of nicotine and tar content information decreased the intake of nicotine and tar per capita and per smoker; thus mandatory disclosure is likely to increase consumersf welfare, if we suppose that they always choose their favorite cigarette. Furthermore, I found that the monopolistic firm supplied more, new, and better quality products, discontinued the production of poorer quality goods, and conducted more R & D, in response to disclosure mandates. |
| Keywords: | inter-brand cigarette, nicotine, tar, mandatory disclosure |
| JEL: | I18 D12 D82 |
| Date: | 2004–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:04-13&r=sea |
| By: | Takayuki Ogawa (Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops an overlapping-generations model with nominal wage rigidities and examines the welfare effects of debt policy during recessions. Issues of public debt stimulate aggregate consumption demand and create employment. Future generations then face both increased wage incomes and higher taxes. If the amount of outstanding bonds is already large, debt policy deteriorates the welfare of future generations by levying heavy taxes. By contrast, if the outstanding bond issue is relatively small, debt policy can be Pareto improving by creating more employment. Therefore, the welfare implications of debt policy during recessions can be discriminated from those during booms. |
| Keywords: | debt policy, overlapping generations, welfare effects. |
| JEL: | E12 E24 H63 |
| Date: | 2004–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:04-14&r=sea |
| By: | Akiomi Kitagawa (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University); Ryo Horii (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University); Koichi Futagami (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | Using an overlapping generations model, this note shows that an improvement in the efficiency of human capital production decreases the net income of the young household while increasing that of the old. Without compensating redistribution, it deteriorates lifetime utilities of all generations except for the initial old households. |
| Keywords: | human capital; intergenerational income distribution; overlapping generations. |
| JEL: | J24 O15 I22 |
| Date: | 2004–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:04-15&r=sea |
| By: | Masahiro Enya (Faculty of Politics, Economics and Law Osaka International University); Akira Kohsaka (Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | We examine dynamic patterns of macroeconomic variables in East Asia immediately after the Asian financial crisis. Particularly, focusing on East Asia, we can identify their distinctive features from those of aggregate cross-country results. Also, we check with the financial crises in East Asia in the 1980s in order to make sure to what extent the contrast between the aggregate cross-country results and that of the Asian financial crisis comes from differences in time (external environment) or in country structure or both. Some distinctive features in East Asia include higher real interest rates in the crisis year, persistent output as well as investment slowdown, and different behaviors of trade and fiscal surpluses after the crisis. The results suggest that initial monetary tightening be responsible for the unexpectedly serious recession and that favorable external conditions and fiscal stimulus did contribute to the post-crisis real recovery even without credit recoveries. |
| Keywords: | macroeconomic dynamics, East Asia, financial crisis |
| JEL: | E5 O11 O53 |
| Date: | 2004–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:0405&r=sea |
| By: | Junyi Shen (Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University); Yoshizo Hashimoto (Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis proposes that there is an inverse-U-shape relationship between environmental degradation and per capita income. This evidence has been manifested to be existed in most air pollutants and several water pollutants by estimating on cross-country data. Different from most earlier empirical studies, this paper uses the cross-province panel data of seven pollutants from China to investigate whether the EKC hypothesis may even exist on a country level. The estimated results find out that the EKC hypothesis exists in five of these pollutants, while the other two show a N-shape relationship between pollutant emission and per capita income. Moreover, this paper suggests some problems of this regression as being remained for future study. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), pollution emission, economic growth, GDP per capita |
| Date: | 2004–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:0409&r=sea |
| By: | Masamitsu Ohnishi (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University; Daiwa Securities Chair, Graduate School of Economics, Kyoto University); Yusuke Osaki (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | For single?period complete financial asset markets with representative investors, we introduce a bull market measure for uncertain state occurrence and its associated ordering between representative investors in markets based on their marginal rate of substitution between equilibrium consumption allocations among possible states. These concepts combine and generalize the likelihood?ratio?dominance relation between probability prospects of state occurrence and the Arrow?Pratt ordering of risk aversion in expected utility settings. By analyzing the comparative statics for bull market effects on equilibrium asset prices, we derive some monotone properties of the risk?free rate and discounted prices of dividend?monotone assets. |
| Keywords: | Equilibrium Derivative Price, First-order Stochastic Dominance, Noise Risk, Risk-Neutral Probability. |
| JEL: | C65 D51 D81 G12 |
| Date: | 2004–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:0410&r=sea |
| By: | Santha Chenayah (Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya); Eiji Takeda (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | At present, the per capita generation of solid waste in Malaysia varies from 0.45 to 2kg/day depending on the economic status of an area. In general, the per capita generation rate is about 1kg/day. Even though 17,000 tonnes/day of solid waste is being generated, only 5% is being recycled. If this particular scenario continues without appropriate mitigation, Malaysia will be facing a serious problem in municipal solid waste management. Hence, government has targeted 22% of waste to be recycled by 2020. Various strategies have been formulated in achieving this figure. In Malaysia, research is being done vastly on recycling but very few related to multicriteria. As a first step, we propose here an evaluation of various recycling strategies and ranking them based on multicriteria to provide an insight on increasing the recycling activities among residents. Since values of alternatives are imprecise, ambiguous and/or uncertain, the multicriteria outranking analysis is particularly useful in order to facilitate further detailed consideration. The problem of the selection or the ranking of alternatives submitted to a multicriteria evaluation is not an easy problem economically or mathematically. We propose a modified PROMETHEE analysis for treating multicriteria problems. |
| Keywords: | solid waste management, recycling, multicriteria decision-aid (MCDA), PROMETHEE, outrank-ing relations. |
| JEL: | C44 C61 Q53 |
| Date: | 2005–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:0501&r=sea |