Author: Mauro Caselli Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 25
Book Description
This paper looks at the question of how import activities and productivity are related. Using detailed production and cost data from a panel of Mexican manufacturing plants between 1994 and 2003, the paper is able to differentiate between two types of imports, materials (or intermediate inputs) and machinery and equipment (or capital goods), and to separately identify self-selection and learning effects of each type of imports at the plant level. The key findings are that there is evidence of both self-selection into importing and learning-by-importing, but not all imports seem to matter for productivity. Not only more productive plants tend to become importers of machinery and equipment rather than materials, but plants that start importing machinery and equipment also experience an increase in productivity, while the same does not occur when plants start importing materials. There is also evidence of productivity gains following entry into export markets and complementarities between exporting, importing materials and importing machinery and equipment. These findings seem to suggest that capital goods from abroad are more likely to embody technological improvements than intermediate inputs.
Author: Rainer Maurer Publisher: ISBN: Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 270
Book Description
The process of globalization is increasing the integration of all kinds of economic activity. Meanwhile, the international division of labor has reached levels unprecedented in history. The neoclassical theories of international trade predict positive net welfare effects of international economic integration; yet, in so doing, they primarily focus on static welfare effects. Early critics of the "free trade paradigm", like Friedrich List, hold that this focus on static welfare effects is a major shortcoming of these theories. New developments in the theory of economic growth make it possible now to analyze the dramatic effects of international trade on economic development and to develop new theories. In the first part of his book, Maurer derives different sets of conditions necessary for international trade to have a positive or negative effect on economic development. In the second part, he estimates the effects of international trade with capital goods on economic growth: the effect imports of capital goods may have on the transition towards steady state and the effect the international trade with capital goods may have on total factor productivity growth. The results indicate that capital goods imports have a significant positive effect on both sources of economic growth.
Author: Charles R. Hulten Publisher: University of Chicago Press ISBN: 0226360644 Category : Medical Languages : en Pages : 648
Book Description
The productivity slowdown of the 1970s and 1980s and the resumption of productivity growth in the 1990s have provoked controversy among policymakers and researchers. Economists have been forced to reexamine fundamental questions of measurement technique. Some researchers argue that econometric approaches to productivity measurement usefully address shortcomings of the dominant index number techniques while others maintain that current productivity statistics underreport damage to the environment. In this book, the contributors propose innovative approaches to these issues. The result is a state-of-the-art exposition of contemporary productivity analysis. Charles R. Hulten is professor of economics at the University of Maryland. He has been a senior research associate at the Urban Institute and is chair of the Conference on Research in Income and Wealth of the National Bureau of Economic Research. Michael Harper is chief of the Division of Productivity Research at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Edwin R. Dean, formerly associate commissioner for Productivity and Technology at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is adjunct professor of economics at The George Washington University.
Author: Daniel Lederman Publisher: World Bank Publications ISBN: 0821384910 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 153
Book Description
Does what economies export matter for development? If so, can industrial policies improve on the export basket generated by the market? This book approaches these questions from a variety of conceptual and policy viewpoints. Reviewing the theoretical arguments in favor of industrial policies, the authors first ask whether existing indicators allow policy makers to identify growth-promoting sectors with confidence. To this end, they assess, and ultimately cast doubt upon, the reliability of many popular indicators advocated by proponents of industrial policy. Second, and central to their critique, the authors document extraordinary differences in the performance of countries exporting seemingly identical products, be they natural resources or 'high-tech' goods. Further, they argue that globalization has so fragmented the production process that even talking about exported goods as opposed to tasks may be misleading. Reviewing evidence from history and from around the world, the authors conclude that policy makers should focus less on what is produced, and more on how it is produced. They analyze alternative approaches to picking winners but conclude by favoring 'horizontal-ish' policies--for instance, those that build human capital or foment innovation in existing and future products—that only incidentally favor some sectors over others.
Author: Mr.Koshy Mathai Publisher: International Monetary Fund ISBN: 1475531710 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 84
Book Description
China’s trade patterns are evolving. While it started in light manufacturing and the assembly of more sophisticated products as part of global supply chains, China is now moving up the value chain, “onshoring” the production of higher-value-added upstream products and moving into more sophisticated downstream products as well. At the same time, with its wages rising, it has started to exit some lower-end, more labor-intensive sectors. These changes are taking place in the broader context of China’s rebalancing—away from exports and toward domestic demand, and within the latter, away from investment and toward consumption—and as a consequence, demand for some commodity imports is slowing, while consumption imports are slowly rising. The evolution of Chinese trade, investment, and consumption patterns offers opportunities and challenges to low-wage, low-income countries, including China’s neighbors in the Mekong region. Cambodia, Lao P.D.R., Myanmar, and Vietnam (the CLMV) are all open economies that are highly integrated with China. Rebalancing in China may mean less of a role for commodity exports from the region, but at the same time, the CLMV’s low labor costs suggest that manufacturing assembly for export could take off as China becomes less competitive, and as China itself demands more consumption items. Labor costs, however, are only part of the story. The CLMV will need to strengthen their infrastructure, education, governance, and trade regimes, and also run sound macro policies in order to capitalize fully on the opportunities presented by China’s transformation. With such policy efforts, the CLMV could see their trade and integration with global supply chains grow dramatically in the coming years.
Author: Richard E. Baldwin Publisher: ISBN: 9781907142239 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 112
Book Description
The global financial crisis of 2008/9 is the Great Depression of the 21st century. For many though, the similarities stop at the Wall Street Crash as the current generation of policymakers have acted quickly to avoid the mistakes of the past. Yet the global crisis has made room for mistakes all of its own. While governments have apparently kept to their word on refraining from protectionist measures in the style of 1930s tariffs, there has been a disturbing rise in "murky protectionism." Seemingly benign, these crisis-linked policies are twisted to favour domestic firms, workers and investors. This book, first published as an eBook on VoxEU.org in March 2009, brings together leading trade policy practitioners and experts - including Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean and former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo. Initially its aim was to advise policymakers heading in to the G20 meeting in London, but since the threat of murky protectionism persists, so too do their warnings.
Author: Alice Hoffenberg Amsden Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 9780674549845 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 270
Book Description
Under free-market shock therapy, many economies of former socialist countries of Eastern Europe have declined. Why has there been so much stagnation, inflation, and de-industrialization, and what can be done to produce a turnaround? This book addresses these questions in revealing detail.
Author: Robert E. Baldwin Publisher: University of Chicago Press ISBN: 0226036553 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 560
Book Description
People passionately disagree about the nature of the globalization process. The failure of both the 1999 and 2003 World Trade Organization's (WTO) ministerial conferences in Seattle and Cancun, respectively, have highlighted the tensions among official, international organizations like the WTO, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, nongovernmental and private sector organizations, and some developing country governments. These tensions are commonly attributed to longstanding disagreements over such issues as labor rights, environmental standards, and tariff-cutting rules. In addition, developing countries are increasingly resentful of the burdens of adjustment placed on them that they argue are not matched by commensurate commitments from developed countries. Challenges to Globalization evaluates the arguments of pro-globalists and anti-globalists regarding issues such as globalization's relationship to democracy, its impact on the environment and on labor markets including the brain drain, sweat shop labor, wage levels, and changes in production processes, and the associated expansion of trade and its effects on prices. Baldwin, Winters, and the contributors to this volume look at multinational firms, foreign investment, and mergers and acquisitions and present surprising findings that often run counter to the claim that multinational firms primarily seek countries with low wage labor. The book closes with papers on financial opening and on the relationship between international economic policies and national economic growth rates.
Author: World Bank Publisher: World Bank Publications ISBN: 1464814953 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 511
Book Description
Global value chains (GVCs) powered the surge of international trade after 1990 and now account for almost half of all trade. This shift enabled an unprecedented economic convergence: poor countries grew rapidly and began to catch up with richer countries. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, however, the growth of trade has been sluggish and the expansion of GVCs has stalled. Meanwhile, serious threats have emerged to the model of trade-led growth. New technologies could draw production closer to the consumer and reduce the demand for labor. And trade conflicts among large countries could lead to a retrenchment or a segmentation of GVCs. World Development Report 2020: Trading for Development in the Age of Global Value Chains examines whether there is still a path to development through GVCs and trade. It concludes that technological change is, at this stage, more a boon than a curse. GVCs can continue to boost growth, create better jobs, and reduce poverty provided that developing countries implement deeper reforms to promote GVC participation; industrial countries pursue open, predictable policies; and all countries revive multilateral cooperation.
Author: Mauro Caselli
Author: Rainer Maurer
Author: Charles R. Hulten
Author: Daniel Lederman
Author: Mr.Koshy Mathai
Author: Richard E. Baldwin
Author: Richard E. Baldwin
Author: Alice Hoffenberg Amsden
Author: Robert E. Baldwin
Author: World Bank