Traditional And Non-Traditional Determinants Of Foreign Direct Investment In Developing Countries

This paper extends previous studies on the determinants of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by looking at both traditional and non-traditional factors that influence the amount of FDI flowing to developing countries. Emphasis is placed on the role of non-traditional qualitative factors. Data from 1998 and 2000 for fifty-five developing countries are employed to estimate an empirical model of FDI. Results indicate that FDI is significantly affected by several qualitative factors such as the level of economic freedom, level of corruption, and the level of international trade regulations adopted in the host country. These findings support the need for increased considera- tion of cultural and institutional factors in attempting to better estimate and understand the devel- opment process

Deployment Issues And Security Concerns With Wireless Local Area Networks: The Deployment Experience At A University

This paper presents and discusses various issues pertaining to the deployment of Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs).  The popularity of WLANs has steadily increased in the last two years and has led to their deployment in a variety of organizations.  Yet, making a business case for WLANs is an important step in their deployment.  In addition to highlighting the need for a business case for WLAN deployment, the paper outlines the reasons for, benefits of, and security problems associated with, their deployment.  The latter part of this paper presents a case study about the deployment of a WLAN at the University of Akron.  Therein, it discusses the context for the deployment, the process that was used to justify the deployment, and the efforts made to protect users’ information from security deficiencies of wireless networks

Off-Shoring And Outsourcing

Because of a dramatic decrease in transportation and telecommunication costs, the digital revolution, and the forces of globalization, off-shoring has accelerated in the past few years.  While there is little doubt that off-shoring has brought hardship to thousands of workers and communities, there is also little doubt that it has benefited many worker and communities.  Today, off-shoring continues to generate considerable debate on the long-run impact. Also, there is considerable misunderstanding about this phenomenon.  In this paper, the authors make a distinction among the terms outsourcing, offshore outsourcing, and off-shoring.  Off-shoring has been facilitated by a deconstruction of the value chain, allowing firms to evaluate all activities as potential candidates for being performed outside the firm.  Reasons for the acceleration of off-shoring are outlined.  An explanation of why off-shoring is not a villain for the developed economies is also provided

Culture and Income across Countries: Evidence from Family Ties,

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to examine how much difference in income can be explained by familial culture that persists in different societies. Design/methodology/approach – We employ a two-step methodology to evaluate the impact of familial culture on income across countries. In the first step, we construct the macro measures of familial culture from micro survey data. In the second step, the growth model is estimated.Findings – First-step micro regression results show that family is more important to female, richer, highly educated, unemployed and married individuals. Male, poorer, less educated and unemployed individuals are more likely to respect and love parents unconditionally. The same group is also more likely to think that parents must do the best for their kids. Finally, the macro results show that the strength of national familial ties explains significant differences in income across countries. Research limitations/implications – We show that countries with weak family ties are richer than those with strong family ties. These results are useful for policymakers who design public policies that accommodate the type of familial culture that persists in their society. Originality/value – We construct the macro measures of familial culture from the micro survey data. The paper adds to the literature on the effect of culture on income at the macro level

Is the “Dominant Firm” Dominant? An Empirical Analysis of AT&T’S Market Power

In this article, we estimate the degree of market power held by AT&T in the interstate long-distance market in the postdivestiture period. Our approach makes use of the dominant firm/competitive fringe model to impose the structure needed both to obtain estimates of the relevant structural parameters and to translate these parameters into an estimate of AT&T\u27s residual demand elasticity and associated Lerner index. Because of the continued presence of regulation and other considerations, however, a direct estimation of the residual demand elasticity is not feasible. Consequently, we take a more indirect approach that combines estimation of the elasticity of fringe firm supply, market demand estimation, and extant market share data to generate estimates of the desired elasticity. The resulting estimates strongly support the conclusion that AT&T lacks significant market power in the postdivestiture long-distance market

Determinants Of Innovative Capability Of A Country And Its Role In Economic Growth

This paper discusses the role that innovation plays in global competition and provides examples showing how firms from selected emerging markets use innovation to compete with global firms from the developed world. This paper also discusses the role of innovative capability in growth of a country by suggesting that in the long-term, a nation’s higher order competitive advantage can only be built with the innovative capability of its firms. In this context, an empirical model was used to identify the determinants of innovative capability of a country. The discussion of these determinants should be useful to policymakers in countries attempting to promote economic growth by improving the productivity of firms in their respective countries

The impact of globalisation on income inequality

This paper utilises a globalisation index measure to examine the relationship between globalisation and income inequality within developed and developing countries. Controlling for structural and social indicators, our results show that for developing countries, an increase in globalisation is associated with an increase in inequality. Our results also indicate that the impact of the globalisation index on income inequality is insignificant for developed countries. For all countries in our sample, the results indicate that a worsening of the globalisation index is associated with an increase in income inequality.globalisation index; income inequality; Gini Index; inequality index; developed countries; developing countries; globalisation.

Economics of intrastate trucking regulation: Some empirical evidence

There is a widespread misconception that the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 thoroughly deregulated the U.S. trucking industry. Actually, the Act only partially reduced the federal regulation of interstate trucking operations. At the state level, the Act left the decision to deregulate intrastate trucking to state regulators who could decide (a) whether there should be any intrastate deregulation, and (b) the institutional arrangements under which such deregulation would take place. While several states subsequently adopted deregulation, most states continue to regulate either the trucking rates charged by intrastate motor carriers, the entry of new carriers, or both. One purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that influence the regulators' net political returns from regulating the trucking industry and the probability of a state regulating the trucking industry. In addition, we investigate empirically whether such regulation has influenced the rates charged for intrastate trucking services. Our results suggest that variables reflecting the relative strengths of special interest groups explain the fact that some states choose to deregulate intrastate trucking while others do not. Special interest groups exerting influence on regulation of intrastate trucking are: (1) providers of railroad services, (2) providers of sea transportation, (3) regulators, (4) and farmers. This paper yields some empirical evidence showing that as special interest groups gain or lose strength over time and/or across states it affects states' decisions to adopt or unadopt policies.