Determinants and Policies to Foster the Competitiveness of SME Clusters: Evidence from Latin America

This paper attempts to identify key determinants of competitiveness in SME clusters, with especial reference to Latin America. It takes the debate forward as its extended framework adds country- and firm-level determinants to the existing cluster-level factors of the 'collective efficiency' approach. Based on an enlarged analytical framework, policies recommendations to foster clusters' competitiveness are provided at different levels. Empirical evidence strongly suggests that joint action may not be enough for clusters to face new competitive pressures. This confirms the narrow scope of the 'collective efficiency' approach, and suggests that policy intervention in Latin America should go beyond the mere promotion of inter-firm linkages to foster the competitiveness of SME clusters.

Industrial Realities in Nigeria: From Bad to Worse

This paper assesses the industrial performance and capabilities of Nigeria over the last decade. It explores Nigeria's export and production capacity, growth, structure and technological upgrading and compares it to other Sub-Saharan countries. Evidence shows that Nigerian industry is inexorably falling behind and becoming increasingly marginalized in the international and regional industrial scene. Total manufacturing value added and manufactured exports have significantly declined and there has been a technological downgrading of Nigeria's traditional manufacturing sectors. Moreover, increased dependency on oil extraction puts a serious threat to Nigeria's industrial competitive future. Severe flaws in the education system, technological stagnation of domestic companies, lack of foreign investment in manufacturing, negligible technology transfer and weak ICT infrastructure constitute significant factors for failure. Further analysis should however include other factors not explored in this exercise, including macro-economic and fiscal policies, governance and the regulatory and business environment.

Indicators of the Relative Importance of IPRs In Developing Countries

There remains considerable controversy on the economic impact of TRIPS (interpreted here as the tightening of IPRs) in developing countries; needless to say, the new round of WTO negotiations adds considerable interest to this controversy. This paper focuses on the long-term structural issues concerning the impact of TRIPS on industrial and technology development in poor countries. It does not, therefore, deal with such important current issues as the cost of medicines, agricultural inputs or genetic materials. Even in the analysis of technology development, it has a limited objective. It seeks to indicate the potential significance of IPRs by differentiating developing countries according to the expected impact of stronger protection. It does not measure statistically the strength of IPR regimes or their impact on development as such.

Determinants of Innovation Capability in Small UK Firms: An Empirical Analysis

The paper is an empirical investigation of key internal and external sources of innovation capability in small and medium firms (SME) in the UK. An experimental measure of innovation capability is designed, which captures not merely the occurrence of innovations but also their scientific complexity and originality. The results obtained with this measure compare favourably to those obtained with more conventional statistics. A range of factors internal to firms are found to be relevant, including owners' technical education and prior working experience in large firms and R&D institutions, technical skills of the workforce, and investments in R&D and training. Significant external factors are: public financial support for R&D, and interaction with nearby R&D and training institutions. Although interaction with customers, suppliers and similar-oriented firms are more frequent than the former, there is no evidence that intensive linkages of this kind would be important for innovative capability. These findings do not support the thrust of current UK policy, which seeks to promote SME innovative performance through the formation of geographical clusters of firms in similar lines of business

The Decline of Syrian Industry: An Assessment of Performance and Capabilities During the 1990s

Syrian manufacturing industry has several advantages: it has a long history and a strong entrepreneurial base, relatively low wages and a good location to serve large markets in oil-rich neighbours and Europe. It has not, however, performed well. This paper focuses on its record in the 1990s, benchmarking indicators of performance and competitive capabilities against selected comparators. Manufacturing growth has been erratic and probably low; manufactured exports have declined dramatically and its composition has shifted towards primary products. The demise of the Soviet block, which provided a soft market for Syrian exporters, has exposed their competitive weaknesses. The competitive base of Syrian industry has been eroding. With greater openness, Syria faces enormous challenges in terms of building new technological capabilities to strengthen existing activities and diversifying into more dynamic non-oil manufactured exports

China’s Competitive Performance: A Threat To East Asian Manufactured Exports?

There is growing concern in Southeast and East Asia about the competitive threat posed by China’s burgeoning exports, exacerbated by its accession to the WTO. The threat is not confined to labour-intensive products but spans the whole technological and skill range. At the same time, China is rapidly raising its imports from the region, and it is not clear whether its burgeoning exports will damage its neighbours. We examine the dimensions of China’s competitive threat in the 1990s, benchmarking competitive performance by technology and market, and finds that market share losses are so far mainly in low technology products, with Japan being the most vulnerable market. We analyse market share changes and highlight product groups that are directly or indirectly exposed to a competitive threat. We examine intra-regional trade and find that China and its neighbours are raising high technology exports in tandem: the nature of the international production systems involved lead to complementarity rather than confrontation. China is thus acting as an engine of export growth for its neighbours in terms of direct trade. However, this will change as China moves up the value chain and takes on the activities that have driven East Asian export growth

Elementos utópicos en la India descrita por Onesícrito

Onesícrito de Astipalea fue uno de los intelectuales que acompañaron a Alejandro Magno en su gran expedición y, en principio, ha sido relacionado con la 'escuela' cínica, puesto que se conservan algunos testimonios que hablan de su formación con el famoso Diógenes de Sínope

Algunas consideraciones críticas sobre los viajes de Eudoxo de Cícico

El relato de las supuestas navegaciones emprendidas por Eudoxo de Cícico con destino a la India se ha conservado en la obra de Estrabón, quien, a su vez, se basó en lo escrito al respecto por Posidonio. El tono empleado en la narración de las aventuras de Eudoxo no parece demasiado realista y, al compararlo con las otras noticias transmitidas a través de la obra de Cornelio Nepote, observamos un tono claramente paradoxográfico, esto es, literario. Todo ello se enmarca en el ámbito de los debates geográficos de época helenística, donde uno de los temas predilectos fue el de la posible circunnavegación de África

Ethnography and Ancient History

Se trata de un artículo para una enciclopedia anglosajona donde se explica el surgimiento de la etnografía en la antigua Grecia y su relación con la historia antigua