Evaluating the Present State of Japan as An International Financial Center

Japan has various advantages over many other countries in terms of the capacity to further develop the capital, financial, and foreign exchange markets as a more internationally-competitive financial center. The advantages include the 2nd largest economic size (large market size), ample financial assets (large investor base), presence of many internationally-competitive knowledge-intensive manufacturing firms (large issuer base), good infrastructure, the 2nd largest stock market (large market access), role of the Japanese yen as one of key international currencies, etc. Despite these advantages and a series of reforms implemented since 1997 under the slogan of Japanese version of “Financial Big Bang”, Japan has not been able to foster an internationally-competitive international financial center until today. The gaps with the United States and United Kingdom have expanded further over the past decade. This paper gives a detailed analysis over the present state of Japan’s capital, financial, and foreign exchange markets to highlight where Japanese advantages and challenges lie, as compared with the United Kingdom and the United States. It also provides a clear picture of Japan’s position in Asia (Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and mainland China). It also reviews recent Government’s vision and actions.Japan, International Financial Center, Financial Big Bang

International Mobility of Engineers and the Rise of Entrepreneurship in the Periphery

entrepreneurship, knowledge economy, start-ups, information technology, venture capital, China, India, USA

International Cooperation on Trade and Labor Issues

The relationship between the labor market and international trade is a broad and complex subject that has been the focus of significant attention in recent years. Discussion and analysis in this area has covered a number of discrete issues, including the effect of shifting trade patterns on employment levels and earnings in domestic markets, the impact of wage levels and labor legislation on the location of production facilities, and the positive and negative aspects of the cross-border movement of workers, among others. The continuing importance of labor issues within the larger trade debate is highlighted by the inclusion of measures relating to labor standards and/or the cross-border movement of workers in recent bilateral and multilateral trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and the U.S.–Oman Free Trade Agreement. This paper aims to provide background for future work on trade-related labor issues by describing how labor issues such as internationally recognized labor standards and the cross-border movement of workers have been addressed by international organizations, as well as in U.S. trade legislation and recent trade agreements

Implications of Web 2.0 for financial institutions: Be a driver, not a passenger

Web 2.0 heralds a new era of communication with a massive increase in information supply and where news, opinion and services flow directly from user to user. Financial institutions can take advantage if they stay abreast of this development. However, any Web 2.0 presence of a financial institution must be authentic and consistent with the institution’s brand and corporate culture. To leverage the potential, the need for an immaculate reputation and the right type of brand is becoming ever more important.information- and communication technology; ICT technology; P2P; Web 2.0; banking; blog; virtual worlds; wiki; lending; e-business; e-commerce; B2C-e-commerce; internet; e-payments

Novartis and the United Nations Global Compact Initiative

The spirit of the Global Compact found fertile ground and has become an integral part of Novartis corporate strategy since the enterprise was formed by the merger of the two large Swiss pharmaceutical companies, Sandoz and Ciba, in 1996. Following a four-year concentration on economic consolidation and performance, Daniel Vasella (Chairman and CEO) signed the Global Compact. Together, productivity-based economic performance and a proactive approach to the expectations of society are envisioned as the key to long-term corporate success in the rapidly integrating global economic, political, and social environment of today’s large multinational corporation. This paper outlines the Novartis strategy and its implementation including the coalescing role of the Global Compact in the drive for sustainable corporate development. Following a review of extending corporate strategy to incorporate social concerns into the economic business model, the process of implementing the strategy will be assessed. In part three, specific examples of this strategic positioning will be outlined.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39911/3/wp526.pd

Giving Around the Globe: 2015 Edition

Giving Around the Globe presents regional profiles of giving by companies based in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. It then shows where North American companies are engaging internationally, by region and by country

Dynamic cities and creative clusters

The author focuses on how urban policies and the clustering of creative industries has influenced urban outcomes. The set of creative industries include those with output protectable under some form of intellectual property law. More specifically, this sub-sector encompasses software, multimedia, video games, industrial design, fashion, publishing, and research and development. The cities that form the basis for the empirical investigations are those where policy-induced transitions have been most evident, including Boston; San Francisco; San Diego; Seattle; Austin; Washington, D.C.; Dublin (Ireland); Hong Kong (China); and Bangalore (India). The key research questions are: 1) What types of cities are creative? 2) What locational factors are essential? 3) What are the common urban policy initiatives used by creative cities? The author explores the importance of the external environment for innovation and places it in the larger context of national innovation systems. Based on a study of development in Boston and San Diego, he isolates the factors and policies that have contributed to the local clustering of particular creative industries. In both cities, universities have played a major role in catalyzing the local economy by generating cutting-edge research findings, proactively collaborating with industries, and supplying the needed human capital. In addition, these two cities benefited from the existence of anchor firms and active industry associations that promoted fruitful university-industry links. Many cities in East Asia are aspiring to become the creative hubs of the region. But their investments tend to be heavily biased toward infrastructure provision. Although this is necessary, the heavy emphasis on hardware can lead to underinvestment in developing the talents and skills needed for the emergence of creative industries in these cities.Public Health Promotion,ICT Policy and Strategies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Decentralization,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,ICT Policy and Strategies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Educational Technology and Distance Education,Agricultural Research