Integration and Growth in East Asia

This paper empirically analyzes the experience of East Asiaf s economic growth with data both at aggregate-economy and micro-firm levels, focusing on the role of international integration through trade and direct investment. The analysis within a framework of cross-country panel regression shows that trade openness and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows have a positive effect on GDP growth -particularly in the 1970s and 1980s- while FDI outflows appear to have a negative effect on GDP growth. Micro-level evidence based on manufacturing data in the Republic of Korea (Korea) confirms the positive effect of trade and investment integration on plant-level productivity growth. It also suggests that the relationship between FDI outflows and productivity growth depends on the characteristics of a recipient economy. We find that FDI to the Peoplefs Republic of China tends to reduce productivity growth of firms in Korea, while FDI to the United States or Japan works in favor of productivity growth.Integration; Growth; Trade; Foreign direct investment; East Asia

Integration and Growth in East Asia

This paper empirically analyzes the experience of East Asiafs economic growth with data both at aggregate-economy and micro-firm levels, focusing on the role of international integration through trade and direct investment. The analysis within a framework of cross-country panel regression shows that trade openness and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows have a positive effect on gross domestic product (GDP) growth? particularly in the 1970 and 1980s?while FDI outflows appear to have a negative effect on GDP growth. Micro-level evidence based on manufacturing data in the Republic of Korea (Korea) confirms the positive effect of trade and investment integration on plant-level productivity growth. It also suggests the relationship between FDI outflows and productivity growth depends on the characteristics of a recipient economy. We find that FDI to the Peoplefs Republic of China tends to reduce productivity growth of firms in Korea while FDI to the United States or Japan works in favor of productivity growth.integration, growth, trade, foreign direct investment, East Asia

The Impact of Outsourcing on the Japanese and South Korean Labor Markets: International Outsourcing of Intermediate Inputs and Assembly in East Asia

Applying a common empirical approach to comparable industry-level data on production, trade, and labor markets for Japan and South Korea, this paper aims to investigate the impacts of outsourcing on different sectors of the labor market focusing on differences in educational attainment. While outsourcing measures used in previous studies only take account of the outsourcing of intermediate inputs, this paper, utilizing the Asian International Input-Output Tables, incorporates the outsourcing of assembly. The econometric results indicate that outsourcing to Asia (particularly to China) has a negative impact on the demand for workers with lower education and a positive impact on the demand for workers with higher education both in Japan and Korea. Moreover, the international outsourcing of assembly has a significant impact on skill upgrading, particularly in the Korean electrical machinery sector.Outsourcing, labor demand, skill upgrading, Japan, Korea, manufacturing, Asian International Input-Output Tables

Technology Upgrading with Learning Cost

Adoption of new technology requires diversion of resources from direct production activities to learning/adjusting activities, which could reduce productivity temporarily. Focusing on the existence of such "learning cost", we derive a simple model on the optimal timing for technology upgrading. This model suggests that a firm perceived to have better learning ability will show more frequent technology upgrading and higher market value even with possibly lower current profitability. The model predictions are supported by regression results from a panel data set of more than 1,000 companies in the US during the late 1980s and the early 1990s. Simulations based on an extended model reproduce the negative correlation between investment growth and TFP growth.Technology, Learning, Total factor productivity (TFP), Market Value

Do Japanese CEOs Matter?

In a country where individualism is not valued, we ask whether the CEO (shacho) of a Japanese corporation affects corporate behavior. To answer this question, we construct a shacho-firm matched panel data set in the period 1990 through 2002 of all listed 1,419 Japanese manufacturing firms and their 3,520 shachos. We utilize three distinct empirical methodologies to detect a shacho effect. First, we attempt to separate a firm-fixed effect from a shacho-fixed effect. We are unable to disentangle a shacho-fixed effect. Second, we examine whether the year of or the year after a shacho change was a turning point in the firm's 1990 to 2002 history of performance and policies. Our answer is generally no, even when the shacho change is non-routine. Third, we employ a classic event study to check whether the market thinks a shacho change is value-relevant. We do find a significant positive price response on the day a shacho change is announced, especially when the shacho change is non-routine. We are thus left to conclude that shachos do not matter in the Japanese corporation in this decade of a stagnant economy, though the market remains optimistic.

Evolution of industrial policy and green growth in Korea

행사명 : Future of the World Trading System: Asian Perspec

The Impact of Outsourcing on the Japanese and South Korean Labor Markets: International Outsourcing of Intermediate Inputs and Assembly in East Asia

Applying a common empirical approach to comparable industry-level data on production, trade, and labor markets for Japan and South Korea, this paper aims to investigate the impacts of outsourcing on different sectors of the labor market focusing on differences in educational attainment. While outsourcing measures used in previous studies only take account of the outsourcing of intermediate inputs and do not capture the outsourcing of the final production stage (assembly), this paper, utilizing the Asian International Input-Output Tables, incorporates the outsourcing of assembly, taking into account the growing importance of the international fragmentation of production in Asia. The main findings can be summarized as follows. First, reflecting the fact that outsourcing to Asia (particularly to China) has a negative impact on the demand for workers with lower education and a positive impact on the demand for workers with higher education, relative wage shares of workers by educational attainment have changed substantially both in Japan and Korea. Second, the overall effects of total outsourcing in terms of increasing (decreasing) the relative demand for workers with higher (lower)education have been insignificant in Korea partly because a substantial part of Korean outsourcing remained directed towards Japan, shifting labor demand away from workers with tertiary education towards workers with lower education. Third, both in Japan and Korea, the international outsourcing of assembly has a significant impact on skill upgrading, particularly in the electrical machinery sector

The Internationalization and Performance of Korean and Japanese Firms: An Empirical Analysis Based on Micro-data

Both Korea and Japan are leading exporting countries of advanced manufactured products, and the competitive and efficient manufacturing activities are important pillars of the affluence of the two economies. Yet, comparing the manufacturing sectors of the two countries in the 1990s brings to light a startling contrast in their performance. Applying the same empirical method to the analysis of micro-data for Japanese manufacturing firms for 1994-2001 and Korean manufacturing plants for 1990-98, this paper examines differentials in Japanese and Korean productivity growth. This paper focuses on the role of competition in firm dynamics and on the importance of internationalization as a major determinant of firm performance.

The Internationalization and Performance of Korean and Japanese Firms : An Empirical Analysis Based on Micro-Data

Both Korea and Japan are leading exporting countries of advanced manufactured products, and the competitive and efficient manufacturing activities are important pillars of the affluence of the two economies. Yet, comparing the manufacturing sectors of the two countries in the 1990s brings to light a startling contrast in their performance. Applying the same empirical method to the analysis of micro-data for Japanese manufacturing firms for 1994-2001 and Korean manufacturing plants for 1990-8, this paper examines differentials in Japanese and Korean productivity growth. This paper focuses on the role of competition in firm dynamics and on the importance of internationalization as a major determinant of firm performance