Institutions of the ‘Belt & Road’ Initiative: A Systematic Literature Review

China is the second largest economy in the world. It has experienced tremendous economic growth in the history of development. Recently China is going through a period of slow economic growth. In 2013, it launched a large-scale global project-the Belt and Road Initiative. It is termed as ‘project of the century’. Almost 65 countries are assembled under the Initiative. There have been pertinent questions and much confusions with regard to the aims and structure of the Initiative. This article reviews some high-quality peer-reviewed works to find out the nature and goals of the Belt and Road Initiative. In doing so, we have followed the research methodology of systematic literature review. The institutional dynamics and aspects of the Initiative; such as, the Silk Road Fund, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the economics corridors are explained in the paper. The data reveal that trade and economic activities in the countries along the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative are on the increase. The evidence presented in this study would facilitate to advance further research in the newly emerging field of the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative. Keywords: China, The Belt and Road Initiative, Institutions, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Maritime Silk Road, Silk Road Economic Belt

Technical Efficiency and Its Determinants of Rice Production in Cambodia

The present study aims to measure the technical efficiency and establish core factors affecting rice production in Cambodia. A four‐year dataset generated from the central government document “Profile on Economics and Social” of 25 entire provinces between 2012 and 2015 and the stochastic production frontier model (SFA) was applied. The results indicated that the level of output (quantity) of Cambodian rice production varied according to the different level of capital investment in agricultural machineries, total rice actual harvested area, and technical fertilizer application within provinces. Furthermore, evidence revealed that the overall mean efficiency of rice production is 78.4%, which implies that there is still room to further improve technical efficiency given the same level of inputs and technology. More importantly, the findings revealed that irrigation, production techniques and amount of agricultural supporting staff are the most important influencing factors of rice production’s technical efficiency in Cambodia. In conclusion, the present study strongly recommends the development of irrigation systems and good water management practices to be considered and bring about more effective actions by the central government as well as related agencies for improving rice production in Cambodia in addition to capital investment and improving technical skills of supporting staff and rural farmers

Technical Efficiency and Its Determinants of Rice Production in Cambodia

The present study aims to measure the technical efficiency and establish core factors affecting rice production in Cambodia. A four‐year dataset generated from the central government document “Profile on Economics and Social” of 25 entire provinces between 2012 and 2015 and the stochastic production frontier model (SFA) was applied. The results indicated that the level of output (quantity) of Cambodian rice production varied according to the different level of capital investment in agricultural machineries, total rice actual harvested area, and technical fertilizer application within provinces. Furthermore, evidence revealed that the overall mean efficiency of rice production is 78.4%, which implies that there is still room to further improve technical efficiency given the same level of inputs and technology. More importantly, the findings revealed that irrigation, production techniques and amount of agricultural supporting staff are the most important influencing factors of rice production’s technical efficiency in Cambodia. In conclusion, the present study strongly recommends the development of irrigation systems and good water management practices to be considered and bring about more effective actions by the central government as well as related agencies for improving rice production in Cambodia in addition to capital investment and improving technical skills of supporting staff and rural farmers

China’s economic integration with the Greater Mekong Sub-region: an empirical analysis by a panel dynamic gravity model

The purpose of this study is to fill an existing gap in the literature by addressing the following research question: what are the major determinants of China’s regional economic integration with the Greater Mekong Sub-regional countries (GMS), namely; Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam? The author measures the economic integration in terms of bilateral trade and foreign direct investment (FDI). In accordance with the literature, the present study adopts a panel gravity framework method to analyze the significant factors affecting the bilateral aggregate exports flows of China with five economies of the Greater Mekong sub-region. Data were collected from both the Chinese national and the international sources over the period of 23 years, spanning from 1993 to 2016. The time period was chosen on the consideration of data availability. The result shows that the gravity model is econometrically fitted to our dataset. Among other factors GDP, bilateral exchange rate, and population have a positive impact on regional trade integration with the GMS. The author´s second-stage regression analysis confirms that China’s accession to the WTO impacts positively on the bilateral trade. China’s accession to the WTO is a significant factor for facilitation of trade flows. As expected, distance hinders regional trade. Furthermore, the role of historical trade relationship between China and GMS countries is estimated in the dynamic model. The result shows that China’s trade relationship with GMS countries is determined historically

THE GRAVITY MODEL OF TRADE: A THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE

Purpose. The purpose of this study is to trace the theoretical developments of the gravity model of trade. The key question is: what are the dominant features of the development of the gravity trade model? Methodology. This research is conducted by employing a number of methods that include the historical, descriptive and analytical methods. The main contribution of this paper is to trace the historical and theoretical development phases of the gravity model. Findings. This study is a novel attempt in terms of the identification of the four distinctive phases of the development of the gravity model. This work would, therefore, expand the existing literature on the gravity model. We argue that the development of the gravity model is the outcome of many research efforts. A large body of literature has given the model a solid theoretical foundation. But there is no consensus about the proper econometric estimation methods of the model. The gravity model is significant both historically and analytically. It is a useful tool for the analysis of international trade. It has become a popular research device used by the researchers and policy makers around the world. The gravity is regarded as one of the most successful models in the literature of international economics. Originality. The original contributions of this paper lie in streamlining the consistent historical development of the gravity model over a longer period of time-frame, ranging from 1885 to 2018. Limitations and Implications. This work is theoretical aspects of the trade gravity model. Future researchers could overcome the limitations by combining the theoretical and empirical studies in a paper. This paper can help the future researchers in dealing with the broad body of literature of gravity model. Acknowledement. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grants No.71673223 & 71473197), and a PhD scholarship from the China Scholarship Council (CSC). The first author would like to thank the CSC for the financial support. He also acknowledges the invaluable research advice and guidance received from Dr. Yoto V. Yotov, professor at the School of Economics of the Lebow College of Business at Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA. The authors are highly grateful to the anonymous reviewers, managing editor, and the editor-in chief for their kind help and critical comments on the earlier drafts of the paper. However, the authors are responsible for the contents and limitations of the study. They declared no conflict of interests