Value chain analysis for sea cucumber in the Philippines

This study examined the sea cucumber industry in the Philippines through the value chain lens. The intent was to identify effective pathways for the successful introduction of sandfish culture as livelihood support for coastal communities. Value chain analysis is a high-resolution analytical tool that enables industry examination at a detailed level. Previous industry assessments have provided a general picture of the sea cucumber industry in the country. The present study builds on the earlier work and supplies additional details for a better understanding of the industry's status and problems, especially their implications for the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) funded sandfish project "Culture of sandfish (Holothuria scabra) in Asia- Pacific" (FIS/2003/059). (PDF contains 54 pages

Social, Economic, and Regulatory Drivers of the Shark Fin Trade

The demand for shark fins is arguably the most important determinant of the fate of shark populations around the world. This paper examines the role that social and economic factors in China play in driving the trade both historically and under current trends of economic growth. The use of shark fin as a traditional and socially important luxury food item, along with rapidly expanding consumer purchasing power is expected to place increasing pressure on available resources. At the same time, the migration of the trade from its former center in Hong Kong to Mainland China has resulted in a severe curtailment of the ability to monitor and assess impacts on shark populations. Although recent international policy responses to this issue have resulted in the implementation of shark finning bans in some areas, these measures are likely to encourage full use of dead sharks; i.e. discourage carcass discards, as called for under the FAO International Plan of Action-Sharks, but not reduce shark mortality.Asia, China, demand, finning, fisheries, management, seafood, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Relations/Trade, Q2,

Value chain analysis for sea cucumber in the Philippines

This study examined the sea cucumber industry in the Philippines through the value chain lens. The intent was to identify effective pathways for the successful introduction of sandfish culture as livelihood support for coastal communities. Value chain analysis is a high-resolution analytical tool that enables industry examination at a detailed level. Previous industry assessments have provided a general picture of the sea cucumber industry in the country. The present study builds on the earlier work and supplies additional details for a better understanding of the industryÆs status and problems, especially their implications for the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) funded sandfish project ôCulture of sandfish (Holothuria scabra) in Asia- Pacificö (FIS/2003/059).Economic analysis, Trade, Pricing, Echinoderm fisheries, Philippines, Luzon I., Pangasinan, Philippines, Palawan I., ISEW, Philippines, Mindanao I., Davao Gulf,

Intellectual property protection in a globalizing era

Intellectual property ; Globalization ; Technological innovations ; Patents

Concentration Analysis of New Private Residential Units Market in Hong Kong

The new residential property price in Hong Kong has rocketed in the last decade and has ranked within the top three metropolitan cities in the world. Housing is a necessity for most people, high residential property price has its social ramification. The rocketing price seems not solely the result of the market. As such, this raised the issue of competition in this market. This study employs Concentration Ratio and Hirfindahl-Hirschman index to evaluate the market concentration of the New Private Resident Units Market in Hong Kong. Using the best information available in the public domains and applying universal thresholds, the New Private Resident Units Market in Hong Kong is considered moderately concentrated. It is noted that the big five listed developers in Hong Kong are collectively holding a dominant position of the potential supply. Moreover, the top three have comparable market shares thus suggesting no monopoly exists. It is also found that the substantial land banks held by the five big listed developers, amount to 60% of that owned by the Government. These developers will therefore retain their dominant market power in the future. Further study is recommended to examine whether the big developers have abused their market power

Reefs at Risk in Southeast Asia

Draws on detailed information to analyze current threats to coral reefs across Southeast Asia and provides an economic valuation of what will be lost if destructive fishing, over-fishing, and marine based and inland pollution coastal development continue

Confucianism and capitalist development in the East Asian newly industrialised societies

The immediate concern of this thesis is to understand the role played by Confucianism in the capitalist development of the East Asian NISs. In pursuit of this aim, it focuses on the relationship between Confucian political philosophy and state intervention in economic activities, on Confucian family practice and its links to modem organisations, on the Confucian emphasis on frugality and hard work and the work ethic, and on the Confucian stress on knowledge and high level modem education. It contends that through these mechanisms contemporary Confucian values have helped to facilitate the development of capitalist order and economic growth in the East Asian NISs. The thesis also explores the Confucian tradition and its modern transformations. It traces the historical evolution of Confucianism and shows how, more recently, it has changed in response to the challenge of capitalist development. It further identifies the contemporary forms of Confucian values and illustrates their variations across different East Asian societies. This line of enquiry is pursued empirically through an analysis of the development of Confucian themes in one of the principal spaces for public commentary and debate on economic, social and political issues - the popular press. The present analysis is one of the first to investigate the practical deployment of Confucian themes in everyday public discourse. The thesis approaches the questions in a Weberian tradition, which takes culture as an explanatory variable in social change, and recognises the influence of socioeconomic conditions on cultural change at the same time. It believes that change is an integrated process which involves all sectors of society. During this process cultural, social, political and economic forces compete and interact with each other within the specific contexts that conditioned the change. The capitalist development in the East Asian NISs is a process which involves the interaction between Confucianism and capitalism. Capitalism failed to develop in the Far East when it first emerged, due to the inhibitions of traditional Confucianism. But after it had triumphed in the West and been introduced to these societies by the colonisers, Confucianism could no longer resist the force of capitalist modernity, it had no choice but to adapt to the new situations. As a result, Confucian culture absorbed the idea of profit seeking, competition and rationalisation of economic activity, but retained its emphasis on collectiveness, family, and harmony. Combined with the continuing Confucian emphasis on education, merit, hard work, discipline and high achievement motivation, these values form a potent underpinning for economic growth. And this force has given rise to a special kind of capitalism in the East Asian NISs

Human Capital and Income Inequality

This study investigates empirically how human capital, measured by educational attainment, is related to income distribution. The regressions, using a panel data set covering a broad range of countries between 1980 and 2015, show that a more equal distribution of education contributes significantly to reducing income inequality. Educational expansion is a major factor in reducing educational inequality and thus income inequality. Public policies that improve social benefits and price stability contribute to reducing income inequality, while public spending on education helps to reduce educational inequality. In contrast, higher per capita income, greater openness to international trade, and faster technological progress tend to make both income and education distribution more unequal. Using the calibration of empirical results, we find that we can attribute the rising income inequality within East Asian economies in recent decades to the unequalizing effects of fast income growth and rapid progress in globalization and technological change, which have surpassed the income-equalizing effects from improved equality in the distribution of educational attainment during the period