Research on the Export Problem of the Zhejiang Clothing

In recent years，the quantity of the Zhejiang clothing export is more than the Guangdong province has become the first export province in China. This paper mainly analyses the clothing trade present situation in present and the existing problems and solutions

Unveiling Protectionism: Regional Responses to Remaining Barriers in the Textiles and Clothing Trade

this chapter focuses on the competitive advantage of China.garment industry, competitive advantage, China

The Role of Overseas Chinese in Europe in Making China Global: The Case of Portugal

This paper aims at analysing the characteristics and dynamics of the Chinese business community in Portugal in the context of the growing phenomenon of Chinese migration flows to Portugal and to Europe. By means of original research based on primary data obtained through questionnaires and interviews applied to Chinese entrepreneurs and business associations the paper provides an in-depth analysis of the role that this community plays both as a facilitator of China’s integration in the world economy and a potential bridge between the European Union (EU) and China. The study concludes that the Chinese business community in Portugal is rather heterogeneous, dominated by immigrants from Zhejiang province, who operate predominantly in the service sector (retail and wholesale trade), taking advantage of the guanxi network within Europe so as to make use of the advantages of the European single market in order to consolidate competitive advantages. Moreover, this community plays a pro-active role in fostering China’s integration in the global economy by acting as windows for the penetration of Chinese exports on the one hand and by capturing and channelling foreign direct investment to China on the other hand.Chinese business community in Portugal; Overseas Chinese network (guanxi); EU Single Market; EU-China trade and investment relations

Does Comparative Advantage Explain Export Patterns in China?

Revealed comparative advantage indices are calculated for China (1980-2000 period) and the Chinese provinces (1990-1998 period) and then incorporated into a reduced form export equation. The results of China’s export patterns show that China has moved from a heavy industry-oriented development strategy to a comparative advantage one, with, however, marked differences among provinces. The econometric results show that this shift had a significant impact on the exports, besides the effects of real effective exchange rate, world demand, and domestic supply.China, Export patterns, Exchange rate, Comparative advantage

What are the impacts of implementing ISOs on the competitiveness of manufacturing industry in China?

Based on the proposed ‘PIE’ analytical framework, this paper argues that the preparation, implementation and evaluation of international standards (ISOs) affect the competitiveness of (foreign-financed) export-oriented manufacturing industry in southern and southeastern China, both in the short- and long-term. During the period of preparation, the decision to adopt ISOs is mainly driven by market demand and/or by the decisions of established competitors. Negative effects due to the diversion of scarce resources and institutional resistance to change during the period of transitional implementation are offset by the overall enhancement of the firm's productivity in the long run. ‘Tailoring for the external audit’ and ‘second-best’ practices are two strategies commonly employed by Chinese firms to lower the transaction costs involved in ISO audits

Effects of WTO membership on income distribution and labour movement in China – A CGE analysis

Using a CGE model (PRCGEM) updated to 2002, the paper explores how WTO membership could affect earnings in 40 industries across 31 regions (and 8 regional blocks) of China during the period 2002–2007. Taking into account labour movement between regions within China, the direct contribution of WTO membership to overall economic growth and development is predicted to be small, with a rise in real GDP of only 6.48% short term and 5.6% long term. However, structural economic change and the WTO shock should increase regional output, especially in the established coastal economies. Regional labour movement is found to increase 69.2% at the completion of economic structural reforms. A slight decrease in the Gini coefficient for income inequality is also anticipated.applied CGE modelling; China; WTO; labour movement; inequality

Labour Quality and Inward FDI: A Firm-level Empirical Study in China

This paper uses a large sample of Chinese cross-section firm-level data with comprehensive information about labour quality to investigate the relationship between labour quality and FDI distribution in China. Using parametric, IV-GMM and non-parametric techniques, the author finds that labour quality measured by education level plays an important role on deciding the distribution of FDI but labour quality measured by working certificates lose their significance. The author also finds that labour quality has a more significant impact on other foreign investments than HMT invested firms and the impacts of labour quality on FDI is strongly uneven across industries and provinces.education, foreign direct investment, labour quality

Income Distribution and Labour Movement in China after WTO Membership: A CGE Analysis

applied CGE modelling, China, WTO, labour movement, inequality

An institutional approach to the development of the textile and clothing clusters in China: the case of Zhejiang Province

China has now become the largest producer and exporter of textile and clothing products in the world. The objective of this research is to explore the relationship between the complicated interactive process of institutional change and the development of industrial clusters in China. It focuses on the distinctive institutional factors that have allowed the textile and clothing clusters in China to benefit from globalisation while those in other transitional economies have not done so. The research also aims to make a thorough investigation into how the dynamic change of the public-private interface has influenced the development and upgrading of the textile and clothing clusters in contemporary China-in-transition, with all the political and social implications that the process entails. The research mainly uses the New Institutional Economics Approach (NIE) and gives weight to institutional change through multiple case studies of textile and clothing clusters in Zhejiang province, East China. The micro case studies are effective in illustrating the interaction between institutional change and industrial development. The research argues that the unique institutional factors leading to the rapid development of textile and clothing clusters in China include hybrid ownership, public entrepreneurship and the specialised wholesale market. The research has also shown that the theory of local state corporatism alone fails to explain the great success of textile and clothing clusters in China. The development and upgrading of textile and clothing clusters in China has witnessed extraordinary institutional change through co-evolution between the public sector and the private sector, which can be reflected through the interaction among social networks, entrepreneurship and performance of local government. The flexibility in the public-private interface is one unique endogenous institutional arrangement embedded in the economic system in China. It is a dynamic process of institutional embeddedness, deembeddedness and reembeddedness with a diversity of economic regimes coexisting at different hierarchies of governmen