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on South East Asia |
| By: | Hui Huang; Yi Wang; Yiming Wang; John Whalley; Shunming Zhang |
| Abstract: | We combine a model of combined inter-spatial and inter-temporal trade between countries recently — used by Huang, Whalley and Zhang (2004) to analyze the merits of trade liberalization in services when goods trade is restricted — with a model of foreign exchange rationing due to Clarete and Whalley (1991) in which there is a fixed exchange rate with a surrender requirement for foreign exchange generated by exports. In this model, when services remain unliberalized there is an optimal trade intervention, even in the small open price-taking economy case. Given monetary policy and an endogenously determined premium value on foreign exchange, an optimal setting of the exchange rate can provide the optimal trade intervention. We suggest this model has relevance to the current situation in China where services remain unliberalized and tariff rates are bound in the WTO. Since there is an optimal exchange rate, a move to a free Renminbi float can be welfare worsening. We use numerical simulation methods to explore the properties of the model, since it has no closed form solution. Our analysis provides an intellectual counter argument to those presently advocating a free Renminbi float for China. |
| JEL: | F00 F11 F31 F40 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_1471&r=sea |
| By: | Xenia Matschke |
| Abstract: | A standard finding in the political economy of trade policy literature is that we should expect export-oriented industries to attract more assistance than import-competing industries. In reality, however, trade policy is heavily biased toward supporting import industries. This paper shows within a standard protection for sale framework, how the costliness of raising revenue via taxation may make export subsidies less desirable and import tariffs more desirable. The model is then estimated and its predictions are tested using U.S. tariff data. An empirical estimate of the costliness of revenue-raising is also obtained. |
| Keywords: | protection for sale, tariffs, trade protection |
| JEL: | F13 F16 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_1502&r=sea |
| By: | Biswanath Bhattacharyay; Prabir De |
| Abstract: | Open regionalism and integration between the world’s two largest developing countries - the People’s Republic of China (China) and India - in trade, investments and infrastructure development can foster outward-oriented development and economic and social benefits that could result in poverty reduction. In view of the increasing trend toward regional integration, particularly the expanded European Union and North American integration, the opportunity costs of not moving toward greater economic integration between China and India involving common neighbouring countries could be increasing. This paper discusses the above subject in the context of possible areas of China - India economic cooperation and integration in the Eastern and Northeastern region of India and Southwestern provinces of China, including neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Nepal. |
| Keywords: | India, China, economic cooperation and integration, trade, investment and infrastructure development |
| JEL: | F10 F20 Q10 Q40 R40 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_1508&r=sea |
| By: | Behrens, Kristian; Lamorgese, Andrea; Ottaviano, Gianmarco I P; Tabuchi, Takatoshi |
| Abstract: | We develop a multi-country Dixit-Stiglitz model to investigate the impacts of: (i) changes in the international distribution of consumers' expenditure; (ii) decreasing tariffs; and (iii) improvements in transportation infrastructure. We show that, in general, decreasing tariff barriers do not allow for any clear predictions regarding changes in industry location and welfare, whereas this is possible with respect to improvements in transportation infrastructure. In particular, infrastructural improvements have spatially limited impacts when the transportation network is locally described by a tree. Any decrease in transport costs is Pareto welfare enhancing in this case. |
| Keywords: | home market effect; imperfect competition; international integration; multi-country trade models; transportation networks |
| JEL: | D58 F12 F17 R12 |
| Date: | 2005–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5103&r=sea |
| By: | Amiti, Mary; Konings, Jozef |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the effects of trade liberalization on plant productivity. In contrast to previous studies, we distinguish between productivity gains arising from lower tariffs on final goods relative to those on intermediate inputs. Lower output tariffs can produce productivity gains by inducing tougher import competition whereas cheaper imported inputs can raise productivity via learning, variety or quality effects. We use Indonesian manufacturing census data from 1991 to 2001, which includes plant level information on imported inputs. The results show that the largest gains arise from reducing input tariffs. A 10 percentage point fall in output tariffs increases productivity by about 1%, whereas an equivalent fall in input tariffs leads to a 3% productivity gain for all firms and an 11% productivity gain for importing firms. |
| Keywords: | inputs; productivity; tariffs |
| JEL: | F10 F12 F13 F14 |
| Date: | 2005–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5104&r=sea |
| By: | Laeven, Luc; Levine, Ross |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether the diversity of activities conducted by financial institutions influences their market valuations. We find that there is a diversification discount: The market values financial conglomerates that engage in multiple activities, e.g., lending and non-lending financial services, lower than if those financial conglomerates were broken into financial intermediaries that specialize in the individual activities. While difficult to identify a single causal factor, the results are consistent with theories that stress intensified agency problems in financial conglomerates that engage in multiple activities and indicate that economies of scope are not sufficiently large to produce a diversification premium. |
| Keywords: | agency costs; banking; corporate diversification; economies of scope |
| JEL: | G20 G30 L20 |
| Date: | 2005–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5121&r=sea |
| By: | Subramanian, Arvind; Wei, Shang-Jin |
| Abstract: | This paper furnishes robust evidence that the WTO has had a powerful and positive impact on trade, amounting to about 120% of additional world trade (or US$8 trillion in 2003 alone). The impact has, however, been uneven. This, in many ways, is consistent with theoretical models of the GATT/WTO. The theory suggests that the impact of a country’s membership in the GATT/WTO depends on what the country does with its membership, with whom it negotiates, and which products the negotiation covers. Using a properly specified gravity model, we find evidence consistent with these predictions. First, industrial countries that participated more actively than developing countries in reciprocal trade negotiations witnessed a large increase in trade. Second, bilateral trade was greater when both partners undertook liberalization than when only one partner did. Third, sectors that did not witness liberalization did not see an increase in trade. |
| Keywords: | GATT; special and differential treatment |
| JEL: | F10 |
| Date: | 2005–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5122&r=sea |
| By: | Flandreau, Marc; Jobst, Clemens |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a new methodology to map international monetary relations in the 19th century. We identify an index of international liquidity and, applying techniques borrowed from formal network analysis (in particular, blockmodelling) we produce a formal ranking of currencies according to their degree of international circulation. The resulting indices are powerful tools to study the logic of the emergence of international currencies, as well as useful controls for cross-section regressions. |
| Keywords: | international monetary system; key currency; networks; pound sterling |
| JEL: | F31 N32 |
| Date: | 2005–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5129&r=sea |
| By: | Mélitz, Jacques |
| Abstract: | It is generally assumed that distance in the gravity model strictly reflects frictions impeding bilateral trade. However, distances North-South could also reflect differences in factor endowment that provide opportunities for profitable trade. This paper investigates the hypothesis that if we control for distance in the ordinary sense, differences North-South promote international trade. The hypothesis receives ample support. Moreover, the significance of differences North-South survives a battery of robustness tests, concerning period, distinctions between differences in latitude North-North, North-South and South-South, and controls for other measures of differences in factor endowment, such as differences in per capita output and differences in average temperature, rainfall, and seasonal range in temperature. The impact of differences North-South on bilateral trade has also been falling. This decline, in turn, might be partly responsible for the weakening of the influence of distance that has been occurring since World War II. This last hypothesis receives confirmation as well. Finally, the paper studies two country-specific aspects of distance: internal distance and remoteness. It does so by examining the impact of both on the country fixed effects themselves: that is, those that emerged earlier. Internal distance turns out to have a far greater impact than remoteness – by an order of ten. |
| Keywords: | bilateral trade; comparative advantage; distance; gravity; North-South trade; remoteness |
| JEL: | F10 F33 |
| Date: | 2005–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5136&r=sea |
| By: | Fazio, Giorgio; MacDonald, Ronald; Mélitz, Jacques |
| Abstract: | In this paper we test the well-known hypothesis of Obstfeld and Rogoff (2000) that trade costs are the key to explaining the so-called Feldstein-Horioka puzzle. Using a gravity framework in an intertemporal context, we provide strong support for the hypothesis and we reconcile our results with the so-called home bias puzzle. Interestingly, this requires fundamental revision of Obstfeld and Rogoff’s argument. A further novelty of our work is in tying bilateral trade behaviour to desired aggregate trade balances and desired intertemporal trade. |
| Keywords: | current account; Feldstein-Horioka puzzle; gravity model; home bias; puzzle; trade balance; trade costs |
| JEL: | F10 F32 |
| Date: | 2005–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5137&r=sea |
| By: | Altissimo, Filippo; Benigno, Pierpaolo; Rodriguez Palenzuela, Diego |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the long-run determinants of inflation differentials in a monetary union. First, we aim at establishing some stylized facts relating the regional dispersion in headline inflation rates in the euro area as well as in the main components of the consumer price index. We find that a relatively large proportion of it occurs in the Service category of the EU’s harmonized consumer price index (HICP). We then lay out a model of a monetary union with fully flexible prices, the long-run properties of which are analysed. Our model departs in several respects from the Balassa-Samuelson hypotheses. Our results are in contrast with the result that movements in the real exchange rate are mainly driven by regionally asymmetric productivity shocks in the traded sectors. Our results point instead to relative variations in productivity in the non-traded sector as the primary cause of price and inflation differentials, with shocks to productivity in the traded sector being largely absorbed by movements in the terms of trade in the regional economies. These shocks are also found to largely drive the variability of real wages at the country level. |
| Keywords: | currency area; PPP; Real Exchange Rate |
| JEL: | E31 F41 |
| Date: | 2005–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5149&r=sea |
| By: | Huang, Yongfu; Temple, Jonathan |
| Abstract: | Several recent papers have argued that trade and financial development may be linked, either for political economy reasons, or because foreign competition and exposure to shocks lead to changes in the demand for external finance. In this paper we use the cross-country and time-series variation in openness to study the relationship between trade and finance in more detail. Our results suggest that increases in goods market openness are typically followed by sustained increases in financial depth. |
| Keywords: | financial development; openness; trade |
| JEL: | F13 O16 |
| Date: | 2005–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5150&r=sea |
| By: | Gersbach, Hans; Hahn, Volker |
| Abstract: | We examine whether the central bank council of a monetary union should publish its voting records when members are appointed by national politicians. We show that the publication of voting records lowers overall welfare if the private benefits of holding office are sufficiently low. High private benefits of central bankers lower overall welfare under opacity, as they induce European central bankers to care more about being re-appointed than about beneficial policy outcomes. We show that opacity and low private benefits jointly guarantee the optimal welfare level. Moreover, we suggest that non-renewable terms for national central bankers and delegating the appointment of all council members to a European agency would be desirable. |
| Keywords: | central banks; transparency voting |
| JEL: | D70 E58 |
| Date: | 2005–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5155&r=sea |
| By: | Anderson, Kym; Martin, Will; van der Mensbrugghe, Dominique |
| Abstract: | This paper provides new estimates of the global gains from multilateral trade reform and their distribution among developing countries in the presence of trade preferences. Particular attention is given to agriculture, as farmers constitute the poorest households in developing countries but the most assisted in rich countries. The latest GTAP database (Version 6.05) and the World Bank’s LINKAGE model of the global economy are employed to examine the impact first of current merchandise trade barriers and agricultural subsidies, and then of possible reform outcomes from the WTO’s Doha Development Agenda. The results suggest moving to free global merchandise trade would boost real incomes in Sub-Saharan Africa proportionately more than in other developing countries or high-income countries, despite a terms of trade loss in parts of that region. Net farm incomes would all rise substantially in that and other developing country regions, thereby alleviating rural poverty. A Doha partial liberalization could move the world some way towards those desirable outcomes, but more so the more developing countries themselves cut applied tariffs, particularly on agricultural imports. |
| Keywords: | computable general equilibrium; developing countries; multilateral negotiations; trade policy reform; WTO |
| JEL: | C68 D58 F13 F17 Q17 |
| Date: | 2005–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5156&r=sea |
| By: | John Krainer; Mark Spiegel; Nobuyoshi Yamori |
| Abstract: | We develop an overlapping generations model of the real estate market in which search frictions and a debt overhang combine to generate price persistence and illiquidity. Illiquidity stems from heterogeneity in agent real estate valuations. The variance of agent valuations determines how quickly prices adjust following a shock to fundamentals. We examine the predictions of the model by studying price depreciation in Japanese land values subsequent to the 1990 stock market crash. Commercial land values fell much more quickly than residential land values. As we would posit that the variance of buyer valuations would be greater for residential real estate than for commercial real estate, this model matches the Japanese experience. |
| Keywords: | Real property ; Prices ; Japan |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedfwp:2004-16&r=sea |
| By: | Isabel Mendes; Isabel Proença |
| Abstract: | Recreation is one of the ecosystem’s secondary values of a well conserved natural ecosystem, associated with the direct use individuals make of these natural assets. In this paper we define and estimate the total economic recreation value to visitors of a particular natural area, a national park. An on-site individual observation Travel Cost Model, Count Data distributions, and a version of hyperbolic discounting framework distribution were used to estimate a measure for the present recreation use of the site and the total discounted recreation value for a 50 years period. The empirical estimates of the average representative visitor’s present equivalent surplus willingness to pay, based on the impact assumption of closure or loss of access to the park were 123 € per day per visit, and 593 € per each average five days length visit, per visitor. These values suggest that recreation use of nature has a higher value than certain economic activities in the area. |
| Keywords: | Recreation Use Value; Ecosystem; Estimation; Travel Cost Method; Welfare Measures; Count Data Models. |
| JEL: | C3 D1 D4 Q2 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ise:isegwp:wp82005&r=sea |
| By: | Duffy, Michael |
| Abstract: | Recent increases in Iowa farmland values and the turbulence in the stock market have resurrected a perennial question. Which is a better investment—the stock market or farmland? |
| Date: | 2005–07–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12401&r=sea |
| By: | Wang, Cheng |
| Abstract: | I conduct an equilibrium model of the labor market where workers and firms enter into dyamic contracts that can potentially last forever, but are subject to optimal terminations. Upon a termination, the firm hires a new worker, and the worker who is terminated receives a termination compensation from the firm and is then free to go back to the labor market to seek new employment opportunities and enter into new dynamic contracts. The model permits only two types of equilibrium terminations that resemble, respectively, the two typical kinds of labor market separations observed in practice: involuntary layoffs and voluntary retirements. The model allows simultaneous determination of its equilibrium turnover, unemployment, and retirement, as well as the expected utility of the new labor market entrants. |
| Date: | 2005–07–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12403&r=sea |
| By: | Campo, Isabelle Schluep; Beghin, John C. |
| Abstract: | We explore and investigate Japanese dairy markets. We first provide an overview of consumer demand and how it evolved after World War II. Using historical data and econometric estimates of Japanese dairy demand, we identify economic, cultural, and demographic forces that have been shaping consumption patterns. Then we summarize the characteristics of Japanese milk production and dairy processing and policies affecting them. We next describe the import regime and trade flows in dairy products. The analysis of the regulatory system of the dairy sector shows how its incentive structure affects the long-term prospects of various segments of the industry. The paper concludes with policy recommendations of how to reform the Japanese dairy sector. |
| Keywords: | consumption, dairy, Japan, milk, policy, trade. |
| Date: | 2005–08–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12406&r=sea |
| By: | Jeffrey Carpenter (Middlebury College and IZA Bonn); Erika Seki (University of Aberdeen) |
| Abstract: | Models of job tournaments and competitive workplaces more generally predict that while individual effort may increase as competition intensifies between workers, the incentive for workers to cooperate with each other diminishes. We report on a field experiment conducted with workers from a fishing community in Toyama Bay, Japan. Our participants are employed in three different aspects of fishing. The first group are fishermen, the second group are fish wholesalers (or traders), and the third group are staff at the local fishing coop. Although our participants have much in common (e.g., their common relationship to the local fishery and the fact that they all live in the same community), we argue that they are exposed to different amounts of competition on-the-job and that these differences explain differences in cooperation in our experiment. Specifically, fishermen and traders, who interact in more competitive environments are significantly less cooperative than the coop staff who face little competition on the job. Further, after accounting for the possibility of personality-based selection, perceptions of competition faced on-the-job and the treatment effect of job incentives explain these differences in cooperation to a large extent. |
| Keywords: | field experiment, cooperation, social disapproval, social preference, competition, Japan, fishing |
| JEL: | C90 C93 H41 M54 Z13 |
| Date: | 2005–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1691&r=sea |
| By: | Jeffrey Carpenter; Erika Seki |
| Abstract: | Models of job tournaments and competitive workplaces more generally predict that while individual effort may increase as competition intensifies between workers, the incentive for workers to cooperate with each other diminishes. We report on a field experiment conducted with workers from a fishing community in Toyama Bay, Japan. Our participants are employed in three different aspects of fishing. The first group are fishermen, the second group are fish wholesalers (or traders), and the third group are staff at the local fishing coop. Although our participants have much in common (e.g., their common relationship to the local fishery and the fact that they all live in the same community), we argue that they are exposed to different amounts of competition on-the-job and that these differences explain differences in cooperation in our experiment. Specifically, fisherman and traders, who interact in more competitive environments are significantly less cooperative than coop staff who face little competition on the job. Further, after accounting for the possibility of personality-based selection, perceptions of competition faced on-the-job and the treatment effect of job incentives explain these difference in cooperation to a large extent. |
| Keywords: | Field experiment, cooperation, social disapproval, social preference, competition, Japan, fishing |
| JEL: | C90 C93 H41 M54 Z13 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mdl:mdlpap:0513&r=sea |
| By: | Marco Battaglini; Stephen Coate |
| Abstract: | This paper develops an infinite horizon model of public spending and taxation in which policy decisions are determined by legislative bargaining. The policy space incorporates both productive and distributive public spending and distortionary taxation. The productive spending is investing in a public good that benefits all citizens (e.g., national defense or air quality) and the distributive spending is district-specific transfers (e.g., pork barrel spending). Investment in the public good creates a dynamic linkage across policy-making periods. The analysis explores the dynamics of legislative policy choices, focusing on the efficiency of the steady state level of taxation and allocation of tax revenues. The model sheds new light on the efficiency of legislative policy-making and has a number of novel positive implications. |
| JEL: | D7 |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11495&r=sea |
| By: | Nolan Sharkey |
| Abstract: | Research into the relationships between people and organizations that drive social behaviour and institutions in China has produced some profound findings on the structure of society in China. The network structure of private enterprise and the importance of Guanxi are often highlighted. While some scholars of comparative law have investigated the implications these issues have for legal reform/ development in China, too many projects assume that emulation of the laws in developed legal systems is the way forward for China. This ignores the importance of tailoring China’s laws to the structure of Chinese society. The debate surrounding the reform of income tax laws in China is no exception with many commentators looking to Western tax laws to solve such severe problems as tax avoidance and low revenue yields. This paper seeks to address some of the issues that arise in applying income tax laws based on those of developed countries to private enterprise in China with a particular focus on the legal design of the income tax unit. |
| Keywords: | China, tax reform, income tax |
| Date: | 2005–04–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nsw:discus:224&r=sea |
| By: | Johannes Jütting; Céline Kauffmann; Ida Mc Donnell; Holger Osterrieder; Nicolas Pinaud; Lucia Wegner |
| Abstract: | <P>Decentralisation has been advocated by donors and development agencies as an important factor broadening citizen participation and improving local governance, thereby promoting poverty reduction from the bottom up. On the basis of a comprehensive review of 19 country case studies documented in the literature, this paper questions this assumption.</P><P>The authors find that an unambiguous link between decentralisation and poverty reduction cannot be established. In some of the poorest countries characterised by weak institutions and political conflicts, decentralisation could actually make matters worse. Interestingly, the poverty impact of decentralisation would appear to depend less on the physical country setting, for example a country’s size or quality of infrastructure, than on the capacity and willingness of policy makers to ensure a pro-poor devolution process. Two important policy lessons emerge from this study. First, in an environment where the central state is not fulfilling ...</P> <P>La décentralisation a été recommandée par les pays donateurs et les agences de développement comme un facteur important d’incitation à une plus large participation des citoyens et à une meilleure gouvernance locale, facilitant ainsi la réduction de la pauvreté en partant de la base. Ce document de travail reconsidère cette hypothèse, en passant en revue 19 études de cas par pays disponibles dans la documentation.</P><P>Les auteurs estiment impossible d’établir un lien incontestable entre décentralisation et réduction de la pauvreté. Dans certains des pays les plus pauvres, en butte à la faiblesse des institutions et à des conflits politiques, la décentralisation, dans le contexte actuel, peut empirer la situation. C’est un élément instructif, l’impact de la décentralisation sur la pauvreté parait moins dépendre des caractéristiques physiques d’un pays, telles que sa superficie ou la qualité de ses infrastructures, que de la capacité et de la volonté des décideurs politiques à engager un ...</P> |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:devaaa:236-en&r=sea |
| By: | Jens Høj; Michael Wise |
| Abstract: | <P>Empirical work shows that competition is important for promoting economic growth. However, in Japan the promotion of competition has long been compromised by ministerial guidance and exemptions from the competition law. Thus, the level and growth of productivity have been low in many domestically oriented sectors and consumer welfare has suffered under high prices and the slow introduction of new goods and services. This misallocation of resources contributes to explaining why the Japanese economy had difficulty in coming out of the quasi-stagnation of the past decade. Recognising that gains from more pro-competition policies are substantial, the Japanese government has now made the promotion of competitive markets a cornerstone of its economic policy. Reforms to promote product market competition in Japan should inter alia focus on strengthening the legal framework by increasing fines to a deterrent level and introducing cartel destabilising measures, such as a leniency ...</P> <P>Concurrence sur les marchés de produits et performance économique au Japon <P>Des études empiriques montrent que la concurrence est importante pour promouvoir la croissance économique. Mais au Japon, la stimulation de la concurrence a longtemps été compromise par des directives ministérielles et des exemptions au droit de la concurrence. Aussi, le niveau et le taux de croissance de la productivité ont été bas dans de nombreux secteurs tournés vers le marché intérieur, et le bien-être des consommateurs a souffert de prix élevés et d’une diffusion trop lente des nouveaux biens et services. Cette mauvaise allocation des ressources contribue à expliquer pourquoi l’économie japonaise n’est pas parvenue à sortir de la quasi-stagnation de la dernière décennie. Conscient que des politiques plus propices au jeu de la concurrence peuvent s’avérer très bénéfiques, le gouvernement japonais a fait de la promotion des marchés concurrentiels l’une des pièces maîtresses de sa politique économique. Les réformes visant à stimuler la concurrence sur les marchés de produits au ...</P> |
| Keywords: | télécommunications, regulatory reform, network industries, réforme de la réglementation, industries de réseau, Japan, Japon, anti-trust law, competition law, cartel, productivity and growth, retail sector, energy, telecommunication, postal services, transportation, public procurement, réglementation anti-trust, droit de la concurrence, entente, productivité et croissance, secteur de détail, énergie, services postaux, transports, marchés publics |
| JEL: | F13 K21 L11 L16 L33 L42 L43 L81 L87 L92 L93 L94 L95 L96 O53 O57 Q18 |
| Date: | 2004–05–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:387-en&r=sea |
| By: | Yongchun Baek; Randall Jones; Michael Wise |
| Abstract: | <P>Maintaining rapid economic growth depends increasingly on productivity gains, particularly in the service sector. Competition has an important role to play in achieving such gains. However, Korea’s development strategy has tended to weaken competition and has left a legacy of government intervention. Strengthening competition requires upgrading competition policy, increasing openness to international trade and foreign direct investment and improving the regulatory framework in network industries. In particular, the power of the Korea Fair Trade Commission should be expanded, while raising the level of sanctions and scaling back special treatment for certain sectors. Barriers to imports remain above the OECD average, particularly in agriculture, while the stock of inward direct investment is among the lowest in the OECD area. Restructuring plans in the network industries, notably electricity and gas, have lagged behind schedule. Price distortions and the absence of independent ...</P> <P>Concurrence sur les marchés de produits et performances économiques en Corée <P>Le maintien d'une croissance économique rapide est de plus en plus tributaire des gains de productivité, en particulier dans le secteur des services. La concurrence a un rôle important à jouer dans la réalisation de ces gains. Néanmoins, la stratégie de développement de la Corée a eu tendance à affaiblir la concurrence et se traduit par une politique interventionniste héritée du passé. Le renforcement de la concurrence passe par une rénovation de la politique de la concurrence, une ouverture accrue aux échanges internationaux ainsi qu'à l'investissement direct étranger (IDE), et une amélioration du cadre réglementaire dans les industries de réseau. Il conviendrait de renforcer les prérogatives de la Commission coréenne de la concurrence, tout en alourdissant les sanctions prévues par la loi et en revoyant à la baisse les dispositions spéciales prévues pour certains secteurs. Les obstacles aux importations demeurent supérieurs à la moyenne de l'OCDE, notamment dans l'agriculture ...</P> |
| Keywords: | telecommunications, télécommunications, regulatory reform, network industries, réforme de la réglementation, industries de réseau, commerce de détail, Trade policy, politique commerciale, Korea, Corée, foreign direct investment, investissement direct étranger, anti-trust law, competition law, cartel, retail sector, droit de la concurrence, entente, législation antitrust, South Korean economy, electricity, gas, tariffs, chaebol, économie sud-coréenne, électricité, gaz, tarifs douaniers, chaebol |
| JEL: | F13 F21 K21 L11 L40 L43 L81 L94 L95 L96 O53 O57 Q17 |
| Date: | 2004–08–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:399-en&r=sea |
| By: | Isabelle Joumard; Tadashi Yokoyama |
| Abstract: | <P>Revamping fiscal relations across levels of government is of paramount importance in supporting fiscal consolidation and public sector effectiveness. This paper analyses a number of problems, including regulations that limit local governments’ ability to innovate and respond to local citizens’ preferences, the inefficient system of intergovernmental grants, the complex structure of local taxes and fiscal rules which are too lenient to secure fiscal discipline. The paper concludes that the grant system should be reformed to promote local governments’ incentives to introduce innovations so as to better respond to needs at lower cost. Barriers to the effective use of sub-national governments’ taxing powers should be removed while efforts should be made to keep the tax system as simple and neutral as possible. Existing fiscal rules and market instruments should be hardened. This would require that the central government state clearly that it will not intervene as a lender of last ...</P> <P>Optimiser l’impact de la décentralisation au Japon <P>La réforme des relations financières entre l’État et les collectivités territoriales est essentielle pour soutenir le processus d’assainissement budgétaire et l’efficacité du secteur public. Ce document met en lumière un certain nombre de problèmes, notamment les réglementations qui limitent la capacité des collectivités territoriales à innover et à répondre aux préférences des citoyens, un système inefficace de transferts intergouvernementaux, une fiscalité locale excessivement complexe et des règles budgétaires trop laxistes. Ce document conclut qu’une réforme du système des transferts est nécessaire pour inciter les collectivités territoriales à innover afin de répondre mieux et à moindre coût aux besoins des citoyens. Les dispositions institutionnelles qui limitent l’utilisation effective des pouvoirs des collectivités territoriales en matière d’impôts doivent être éliminées tout en s’assurant que le système fiscal soit le plus simple et le plus neutre possible. Les règles ...</P> |
| Keywords: | Japan, Japon, local government, fiscal discipline, discipline budgétaire, fiscal federalism, intergovernmental grants, fédéralisme financier, collectivités territoriales, transferts intergouvernementaux |
| JEL: | H1 H2 H7 R58 |
| Date: | 2005–01–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:416-en&r=sea |
| By: | Francesca Ceccato; Eleonora Cimino; Leonello Tronti |
| Abstract: | <P>Over the past years, non-standard, flexible employment contracts have gained in importance in many OECD countries. This has made it difficult for statisticians to apply standard classifications of working arrangements to measure and analyse labour market developments. This paper presents a new classification of atypical working arrangements, developed by Istat, the Italian Statistical Institute. The paper also uses this classification to quantify the level of atypical jobs and their development between 1996 and 2002 ... </P> <P>Au cours des dernières années, les contrats de travail flexibles, non standards, ont pris de l’importance dans beaucoup des pays de l’OCDE. Cela rend difficile aux statisticiens l’utilisation des classifications standard des organisations de travail pour la mesure et l’analyse des développements du marché du travail. Cette étude présente une nouvelle classification des différentes organisations de travail atypiques, développée par Istat, l’Institut Statistique Italien. L’étude utilise aussi cette classification afin de quantifier le nombre de contrats de travail atypiques et leur développement entre 1996 et 2002 ...</P> |
| Date: | 2004–12–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:stdaaa:2004/1-en&r=sea |
| By: | Martin Schaaper |
| Abstract: | This paper shows that China is catching up rapidly with other dynamic Asian economies and the Triad economies on a score of indicators relating to the knowledge-based economy. Taking into account that a number of measurement issues hamper international comparability to varying degrees, some of the main results are the following. • Economic growth in China has outpaced the other economies substantially. Nevertheless, GDP per capita is still considerably smaller than that of the other economies. • The main contributor to GDP in China is industry (mining; manufacturing; electricity, gas and water supply; and construction), which saw its share rise by 10 percentage points to 52% between 1990 and 2002. • Trade in goods as a percentage of GDP doubled between 1990 and 2002, reaching a level well above that of the Triad economies. The largest contribution to this expansion... |
| Date: | 2004–03–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:stiaaa:2004/4-en&r=sea |
| By: | Chiara Criscuolo; Ralf Martin |
| Abstract: | This paper shows that China is catching up rapidly with other dynamic Asian economies and the Triad economies on a score of indicators relating to the knowledge-based economy. Taking into account that a number of measurement issues hamper international comparability to varying degrees, some of the main results are the following. • Economic growth in China has outpaced the other economies substantially. Nevertheless, GDP per capita is still considerably smaller than that of the other economies. • The main contributor to GDP in China is industry (mining; manufacturing; electricity, gas and water supply; and construction), which saw its share rise by 10 percentage points to 52% between 1990 and 2002. • Trade in goods as a percentage of GDP doubled between 1990 and 2002, reaching a level well above that of the Triad economies. The largest contribution to this expansion was made by... <P>Les multinationales et le rôle préponderant de la productivité américaine: le cas de la Grande-Bretagne <P>D'après des études américaines au niveau de l'entreprise, les multinationales américaines sont plus productives que les autres multinationales. Cette situation pourrait s'expliquer par le rôle prééminent de la productivité aux États-Unis ou par la facilité avec laquelle les entreprises américaines exercent leurs activités sur le territoire de leur pays. La démonstration serait plus convaincante si les entreprises américaines étaient en tête à l'extérieur des États-Unis. Nous étudions la productivité des établissements industriels détenus par des entreprises américaines situées au Royaume-Uni. Notre étude se démarque de beaucoup d'études consacrées aux établissements industriels à capitaux étrangers de trois manières. Premièrement, grâce à une nouvelle base de données, nous pouvons identifier non seulement les multinationales étrangères, mais également les multinationales nationales. Nous concluons que les multinationales du Royaume-Uni sont moins productives que les établissements ...</P> |
| JEL: | F23 L60 |
| Date: | 2004–04–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:stiaaa:2004/5-en&r=sea |
| By: | Benu Bidani (World Bank); Niels-Hugo Blunch (The George Washington University); Chor-ching Goh (World Bank); Christopher J. O'Leary (W.E. Upjohn Institute) |
| Abstract: | Recent years have seen a surge in the evidence on the impacts of active labor market programs for numerous countries. However, little evidence has been presented on the effectiveness of such programs in China. Recent economic reforms, associated massive lay-offs, and accompanying public retraining programs make China fertile ground for rigorous impact evaluations. This study evaluates retraining programs for laid-off workers in the cities of Shenyang and Wuhan using a comparison group design. To our knowledge, this is the first evaluation of its kind in China. The evidence suggests that retraining helped workers find jobs in Wuhan, but had little effect in Shenyang. However, in terms of earnings impacts, retraining appears to have increased earnings in Shenyang but not in Wuhan. The study raises questions about the overall effectiveness of retraining expenditures, and it offers some directions for policymakers about future interventions to help laid-off workers. |
| Keywords: | Active labor market programs, job training, impact evaluation, propensity score matching, China |
| JEL: | J23 J31 |
| Date: | 2005–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upj:weupjo:05-111&r=sea |
| By: | Suparna Chakraborty (University of Minnesota) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the role of technology shocks as a propagation mechanism for business cycles using the new technique of business cycle accounting (BCA) and some new evidence from Japan. BCA technique enables us to model the economy as a standard growth model, but extends it to allow multiple propagation channels (referred to as wedges). Applying it to Japan during the period 1980 to 2000, I find that though technology shocks play an important role in propagating market frictions, they are by no means enough to account for the observed economic fluctuations. Investment wedges play a major role, something that standard RBC models fail to recognize and consequently tends to overemphasize the role of technology shocks. |
| Keywords: | business cycle accounting, wedges, propagation mechanism, technology, aggregate fluctuations, japan |
| JEL: | E |
| Date: | 2005–08–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpma:0508002&r=sea |
| By: | Nava Ashraf (Harvard University); Dean S. Karlan (Yale University, Economic Growth Center); Wesley Yin (Princeton University) |
| Abstract: | We designed a commitment savings product for a Philippine bank and implemented it using a randomized control methodology. The savings product was intended for individuals who want to commit now to restrict access to their savings, and who were sophisticated enough to engage in such a mechanism. We conducted a baseline survey on 1777 existing or former clients of a bank. One month later, we offered the commitment product to a randomly chosen subset of 710 clients; 202 (28.4 percent) accepted the offer and opened the account. In the baseline survey, we asked hypothetical time discounting questions. Women who exhibited a lower discount rate for future relative to current tradeoffs, and hence potentially have a preference for commitment, were indeed significantly more likely to open the commitment savings account. After twelve months, average savings balances increased by 81 percentage points for those clients assigned to the treatment group relative to those assigned to the control group. We conclude that the savings response represents a lasting change in savings, and not merely a short-term response to a new product. |
| Keywords: | Savings, commitment, hyperbolic preferences, microfinance, development economics, program evaluation, field experiment, self-control |
| JEL: | C93 D11 D12 D14 D81 D91 G11 O12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egc:wpaper:917&r=sea |
| By: | Luc Savard (GREDI, Département d'économique, Université de Sherbrooke); Stéphane Mussard (GREDI, Université de Sherbrooke and Université de Perpignan G1K 7P4) |
| Abstract: | This article combines computable general equilibrium (CGE) micro-simulation modeling and the Gini multi-decomposition analysis. The CGE-micro-simulation approach enables one to generate endogenous income distributions following government policy interventions. The introduction of these endogenous distributions into the Gini multi-decomposition, that merges income source and subgroup decompositions, provides powerful information to decision makers, which analyze the trade-off between inequality and efficiency whereas Gini multi-decomposition is usually applied in a partial equilibrium context. This is done by imposing the assumption that either the income or the price effects are exogenous. |
| Keywords: | , Micro-simulation, Multi-decomposition, Philippines. |
| JEL: | D63 D31 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:shr:wpaper:05-02&r=sea |