R&D Productivity and the Organization of Cluster Policy: An Empirical Evaluation of the Industrial Cluster Project in Japan

Industrial clusters have attracted increasing attention as important locations of innovation. Therefore, several countries have started promotion policies for industrial clusters. However, there are few empirical studies on cluster policies. This paper examines the effects of the “Industrial Cluster Project” (ICP) in Japan on the R&D productivity of participants, using a unique dataset of 229 small firms, and discusses the conditions necessary for the effective organization of cluster policies. Different from former policy approaches, the ICP aims at building collaborative networks between universities and industries and supports the autonomous development of existing regional industries without direct intervention in the clustering process. Thus far, the ICP is similar to indirect support systems adopted by successful European clusters. Our estimation results suggest that participation in the cluster project alone does not affect R&D productivity. Moreover, research collaboration with a partner in the same cluster region decreases R&D productivity both in terms of the quantity and quality of patents. Therefore, in order to improve the R&D efficiency of local firms, it is also important to construct wide-range collaborative networks within and beyond the clusters, although most clusters focus on the network at a narrowly defined local level. However, cluster participants apply for more patents than others without reducing patent quality when they collaborate with national universities in the same cluster region.Industrial cluster; University-industry partnership; Small and medium enterprise; R&D; Patent

Improvement of the robustness on geographical networks by adding shortcuts

In a topological structure affected by geographical constraints on liking, the connectivity is weakened by constructing local stubs with small cycles, a something of randomness to bridge them is crucial for the robust network design. In this paper, we numerically investigate the effects of adding shortcuts on the robustness in geographical scale-free network models under a similar degree distribution to the original one. We show that a small fraction of shortcuts is highly contribute to improve the tolerance of connectivity especially for the intentional attacks on hubs. The improvement is equivalent to the effect by fully rewirings without geographical constraints on linking. Even in the realistic Internet topologies, these effects are virtually examined.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, 1 tabl

Hope and Society

Hope is a subjective representation that is wanted as something desirable in the future. Hope can be categorized according to factors such as achievability and sociality. In a Japanese nationwide questionnaire of approximately 2,000 people in their 20s to 50s, conducted in 2006, about 80% of respondents said they had some type of hope and 60% said that they believed their hope was attainable. The largest number of respondents described hopes regarding work, far outnumbering those who suggested hopes regarding family, health or leisure. Hope that is considered attainable is strongly defined by three social factors. This makes it possible to explain why a loss of hope spread between the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s. First, hope is influenced by the degree of choices available, which depends on affluence. Analyses have shown that people who are elderly and perceive their remaining time as limited, and those who have been marginalized in education and/or employment and/or who have low income and/or poor health, are more likely to report an absence of hope. Social changes, such as the falling birthrate, increase in low income population or unemployment, worsening health conditions and stagnating school advancement rates, have led to a rise in the percentage of people who lack hope. Secondly, hope is influenced by interpersonal relations based on exchanges with others, such as family members and friends. Individuals who grew up in an environment where they experienced expectations and confidence from their family are more likely to report having hope. Individuals with an awareness of having many friends are more likely to have hope. Further, those who interact with friends outside of work colleagues and family members are more likely to have hope regarding their work. Thus, friends have a great deal to do with the generation of hope not only quantitatively but qualitatively as well. The spread of loneliness among the Japanese population as a whole, symbolized by unstable family relations, bullying, social reclusiveness, NEETs, and the solitary death of senior citizens, has accelerated the spread of a loss of hope. In addition to economic and sociologic factors, we must focus on the narrative structure of society, which is believed to be necessary for facing an uncertain future, as a 2 social facet of hope. Statistical analyses show that individuals who have experienced setbacks that forced them to modify their hopes, and who, with the background of having overcome such obstacles, do not hesitate to make apparently vain efforts, are more likely to have attainable hopes. If the society in story consists mainly of people who have had such experiences and or who have such characteristics, people are more likely to have hope. We also need to have foresight about the direction of society beyond simply acceleration and efficiency, while being expected to make strategic judgments to avoid failures and to use non-wasteful problem-solving thought. Social circumstances in which there is no shared new value in story to provide such foresight can also contribute to an expansion of the loss of hope.

Techno-economic evaluation of cognitive radio in a factory scenario

Wireless applications gradually enter every aspect of our life. Unfortunately, these applications must reuse the same scarce spectrum, resulting in increased interference and limited usability. Cognitive Radio proposes to mitigate this problem by adapting the operational parameters of wireless devices to varying interference conditions. However, it involves an increase in cost. In this paper we examine the economic balance between the added cost and the increased usability in one particular real-life scenario. We focus on the production floor of an industrial installation where wireless sensors monitor production machinery, and a wireless LAN is used as the data backbone. We examine the effects of implementing dynamic spectrum access by means of ideal RE sensing, and model the benefit in terms of increased reliability and battery lifetime. We estimate the financial cost of interference and the potential gain, and conclude that cognitive radio can bring business gains in real-life applications

Interbank Networks in Prewar Japan: Structure and Implications

In this paper, we explore the structure and implications of interbank networks in prewar Japan, focusing on director interlocking. We find that approximately half the banks had at least one connection with another bank through director interlocking, and that a bank that had connections with other banks was less likely to fail than a bank without a network. The quality of networks also matters in the sense that the failure probability of a bank with a network was negatively associated with the profitability of the connected banks. On the other hand, there is no strong evidence of financial contagion through networks. In addition, networks of director interlocking contributed to the stabilization of the financial system through coordinating bank mergers.

Bank regulation and the network paradigm : policy implications for developing and transition economies

Current issues in banking policy range from the need to construct basic institutions and incentive structures in transition economies, to the challenges posed by the increasingly complex interactions involved in contemporary banking. The authors of this report outline the basic regulatory framework needed to reduce bank failures, as shown by recent experience. Theoreticians note that banking increasingly displays network characteristics that may call for corrective action but make policy intervention ineffective or counterproductive. Networks are susceptible to externalities, redundancy, (ensuring that flows cannot be obstructed by blocking just one path), and a tendency to adapt to disturbances in a complex manner. Regulation is justified, but the complexity of the network makes successful interventions hard to design. Supervision has a role, and the authors outline the basic regulatory measures needed, but the blurring of boundaries between banking and the rest of the financial network has placed an upper bound on the effectiveness of supervision. The authors conclude that although bank failures--mitigated by deposit insurance to protect small savers--must be put up with in designing banking policy, the social cost of bank failure is not as high as is sometimes thought.Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies

Vulnerability of Microfinance to Strategic Default and Covariate Shocks: Evidence from Pakistan

This paper investigates the repayment behavior of microfinance borrowers in Pakistan using a unique dataset of about 45,000 installments/repayments covering 2,945 microfinance borrower households over the period 1998-2007. In early 2005, the microfinance institution for these borrowers adopted a new system with strict enforcement of punishment against repayment delays/defaults. This reform led to a healthy situation with almost zero default rates, overcoming the previous problem of frequent defaults. We hypothesize that strategic default under the joint liability mechanism--if one group member is hit by a negative shock and faces difficulty in repayment, the other members who are able to repay may decide to default as well, instead of helping the unlucky member--was encouraged by weak enforcement of dynamic incentives and responsible for the pre-reform failure. As evidence for this interpretation, we show that a borrower’s delay in installment repayment was correlated with other group members’ repayment delays, beyond the level explained by possible correlation of project failures due to locally covariate shocks during the pre-reform period. The post-reform period is divided into two sub-periods by an earthquake in October 2005. Analysis of repayment behavior in the post-reform period yields the results that suggest that (1) the relative success under the new system was because of the suppression of strategic behavior among group members, thereby allowing joint liability schemes to function as individual lending schemes de facto and (2) the earthquake only marginally affected the new system in terms of repayment delays.group lending, joint liability, contingent renewal, strategic default, covariate shocks

Interbank Networks in Pre-war Japan:Structure and Implications

In this paper, we explored the structure and implications of interbank networks in pre-war Japan, focusing on director interlocking. It was found that approximately 60% of the banks had at least one connection with another bank through director interlocking. These connections resulted in the construction of complex networks of banks, not to be reduced to core-periphery structures. Based on this finding, the impact of the interbank networks on the financial performance and the survivability of banks was examined. It was revealed that while a bank with a network was not always more profitable compared to a bank without it, a bank which had a network with profitable banks was more profitable. Concerning the probability of failure, it was found that a bank with a network was less likely to fail than a bank without one. In this case as well, the failure probability of a bank was negatively associated with the profitability of the connected banks. In addition, interbank networks affected on bank mergers. Namely, a bank tended to choose a bank in the same network as a counterpart of the merger, which suggests that interbank networks played a role in coordinating bank mergers.

Formulating a Strategy for Securing High-Speed Rail in the United States, Research Report 12-03

This report presents an analysis of information relating to attacks, attempted attacks, and plots against high-speed rail (HSR) systems. It draws upon empirical data from MTI’s Database of Terrorist and Serious Criminal Attacks Against Public Surface Transportation and from reviews of selected HSR systems, including onsite observations. The report also examines the history of safety accidents and other HSR incidents that resulted in fatalities, injuries, or extensive asset damage to examine the inherent vulnerabilities (and strengths) of HSR systems and how these might affect the consequences of terrorist attacks. The study is divided into three parts: (1) an examination of security principles and measures; (2) an empirical examination of 33 attacks against HSR targets and a comparison of attacks against HSR targets with those against non-HSR targets; and (3) an examination of 73 safety incidents on 12 HRS systems. The purpose of this study is to develop an overall strategy for HSR security and to identify measures that could be applied to HSR systems currently under development in the United States. It is hoped that the report will provide useful guidance to both governmental authorities and transportation operators of current and future HSR systems