Determinants of EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) Adoption and Integration in the US and Japanese Automobile Suppliers

This paper examines determinants of EDI adoption and integration in the US and Japanese automobile suppliers. The paper constructs several hypotheses based on the transaction-cost and resource- dependence approaches, and tests these hypotheses by using data from the automobile suppliers. Our study shows: (1) the resource-dependence approach seemed more effective in explaining EDI adoption, while the transaction-cost approach seemed more effective in explaining EDI integration; (2) the transaction-cost approach seemed more suited to the US context, while the resource-dependence approach seemed more suited to the Japanese context; (3) EDI adoption and EDI integration had positive impacts on EDI performance in the US, suggesting the higher validity of our framework in the US.Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), Business-to-Business Electronic Commerce, Automotive Industry, Automobile Suppliers, Technology Adoption

Measuring Regional Market Integration in Developing Asia: a Dynamic Factor Error Correction Model (DF-ECM) Approach

This paper examines empirically the dynamic process of regional market integration in twelve Asian economies using a new modeling approach combining DF with ECM. This approach enables us to obtain latent regional dynamic factors which correspond well with the 'foreign' parity variables in theory when a market is imperfectly integrated and which act, in explaining domestic short-run price adjustments, as leading-indicators in an errorcorrection form. The power of the DF-ECM approach is illustrated in its application to measuring market integration in the developing Asian region using monthly data from the past decade.Law of one price; market integration; dynamic factor; error-correction model

What lies beneath the euro's effect on financial integration? Currency risk, legal harmonization, or trade?

Although recent research shows that the euro has spurred cross-border financial integration, the exact mechanisms remain unknown. We investigate the underlying channels of the euro’s effect on financial integration using data on bilateral banking linkages among twenty industrial countries in the past thirty years. We also construct a dataset that records the timing of legislative-regulatory harmonization policies in financial services across the European Union. We find that the euro’s impact on financial integration is primarily driven by eliminating the currency risk. Legislative-regulatory convergence has also contributed to the spur of cross-border financial transactions. Trade in goods, while highly correlated with bilateral financial activities, does not play a key role in explaining the euro’s positive effect on financial integration. JEL Classification: F1, F3, G2, K0euro, European Union, financial integration, FSAP, law and finance, regulation, Trade

Economic integration and location of manufacturing activities: Evidence from MERCOSUR

Economic integration leads to a reallocation of resources across sectors and space. Location patterns resulting from North-North and North-South regional trade initiatives have been documented in several studies. However, empirical evidence on South-South agreements is rather limited. In this respect, MERCOSUR provides an interesting case study. This paper aims at answering the following questions: What are the main driving factors explaining location patterns in the Southern Cone? To what extent has the establishment of MERCOSUR affected location of economic activities? Using data for the period 1985-1998, we identify the determinants of manufacturing location patterns and assess their changes in the context of increased economic integration. We find that preferential trade liberalization has fostered the influence of factors underlined by the recent trade theories, such as economies of scale and inputoutput linkages, relative to comparative advantage considerations. --Economic Integration,Location of Industrial Activities,MERCOSUR

Economic Integration and Location of Manufacturing Activities: Evidence from Mercosur

Economic integration leads to a reallocation of resources across sectors and space. Location patterns resulting from North-North and North-South regional trade initiatives have been documented in several studies. However, empirical evidence on South-South agreements is rather limited. In this respect, MERCOSUR provides an interesting case study. This paper aims at answering the following questions: What are the main driving factors explaining location patterns in the Southern Cone? To what extent has the establishment of MERCOSUR affected location of economic activities? Using data for the period 1985-1998, we identify the determinants of manufacturing location patterns and assess their changes in the context of increased economic integration. We find that preferential trade liberalization has fostered the influence of factors underlined by the recent trade theories, such as economies of scale and input-output linkages, relative to comparative advantage considerations. Keywords: Economic Integration, Location of Industrial Activities, MERCOSUR JEL-Classification: F14, F15, L60

US Disposable Personal Income and Housing Price Index: A Fractional Integration Analysis

This paper examines the relationship between US disposable personal income (DPI) and house price index (HPI) during the last twenty years applying fractional integration and long-range dependence techniques to monthly data from January 1991 to July 2010. The empirical findings indicate that the stochastic properties of the two series are such that cointegration cannot hold between them, as mean reversion occurs in the case of DPI but not of HPI. Also, recursive analysis shows that the estimated fractional parameter is relatively stable over time for DPI whilst it increases throughout the sample for HPI. Interestingly, the estimates tend to converge toward the unit root case after 2008 once the bubble had burst. The implications for explaining the recent financial crisis and choosing appropriate policy actions are discussed.Personal Disposable Income, House Price Index, Fractional Integration

US Disposable Personal Income and Housing Price Index: A Fractional Integration Analysis

This paper examines the relationship between US disposable personal income (DPI) and house price index (HPI) during the last twenty years applying fractional integration and long-range dependence techniques to monthly data from January 1991 to July 2010. The empirical findings indicate that the stochastic properties of the two series are such that cointegration cannot hold between them, as mean reversion occurs in the case of DPI but not of HPI. Also, recursive analysis shows that the estimated fractional parameter is relatively stable over time for DPI whilst it increases throughout the sample for HPI. Interestingly, the estimates tend to converge toward the unit root case after 2008 once the bubble had burst. The implications for explaining the recent financial crisis and choosing appropriate policy actions are discussed.personal disposable income, house price index, fractional integration

Skilled and Unskilled Wage Dynamics in Italy in the ‘90s: Changes in the individual characteristics, institutions, trade and technology.

In this paper we use individual micro data on workers combined with industry and regional data to study the wage dynamics of skilled and unskilled workers in Italy in the period 1991-1998. Being different to previous empirical studies, our data allow us to explore in a unique framework the role of many of the factors indicated in the literature as possible causes of the widening of the wage gap between skilled and unskilled workers: changes in the individual characteristics of workers, changes in the institutions of the labour market, increasing international integration and skill-biased technological progress. Our results show that international integration, both in terms of trade in goods and in terms of international labour mobility, plays a role in determining the wage dynamics of skilled (white collar) and of unskilled (blue collar) workers. In addition, in line with the research in labour economics, our findings show that the individual characteristics of workers, and the institutional variables matter more in explaining skilled and unskilled wage dynamics than differential wage one.Skilled and unskilled wages, individual characteristics, labour market institutions, international trade.

On currency crises and contagion

This paper analyzes the role of contagion in the currency crises in emerging markets during the 1990s. It employs a non-linear Markov-switching model to conduct a systematic comparison and evaluation of three distinct causes of currency crises: contagion, weak economic fundamentals, and sunspots, i.e. unobservable shifts in agents' beliefs. Testing this model empirically through Markov-switching and panel data models reveals that contagion, i.e. a high degree of real integration and financial interdependence among countries, is a core explanation for recent emerging market crises. The model has a remarkably good predictive power for the 1997-98 Asian crisis. The findings suggest that in particular the degree of financial interdependence and also real integration among emerging markets are crucial not only in explaining past crises but also in predicting the transmission of future financial crises. JEL Classification: F30, E60, E65, E44

Dropout intent of students with disabilities

We examine the mechanisms explaining the dropout intentions of students with disabilities by integrating Tinto’s model of student integration, the student attrition model, the composite persistence model, and insights from social stratification research. The resulting theoretical model posits that not only students' academic and social integration, but also their private resources (financial, home learning, and personal resources) are crucial for academic success. Analysing data from a 2020 Germany-wide student survey, we find that students with disabilities are substantially more likely to intend to drop out of higher education than students without disabilities. Linear regressions and Kitagawa-Oaxaca-Blinder decompositions show that their lower academic integration and fewer personal resources are most relevant for explaining this difference, while their lower social integration, home learning, and financial resources play subordinate roles. Further analyses reveal that dropout intent is highest among students with psychic disabilities, followed by students with learning disabilities and students with physical disabilities. Regarding all three disability groups, less academic integration and fewer personal resources are most relevant for explaining their higher dropout intent (compared to students without disabilities). However, the disability groups differ regarding the importance of the different explanatory factors. Overall, our results highlight the importance of considering both students' integration into higher education and their private resources for understanding student-group-specific dropout intent