Impact of industrial linkages on firm performance in development zones

This article investigates the effect of industrial linkages on firm performance in Chinese development zones, using Jiangsu Province as a case study. An ordered response model based on the dependent variable being ordinal was developed. The empirical results reveal an insignificant relationship between industrial linkages and firm performance. Our interpretation of this finding mainly lies with the global and domestic challenges that have changed the way participating firms operate and organize in the development zones of Jiangsu. When many other economic factors take precedence over industrial linkages in driving superior firm performance, firms feel it less important to get closer to their suppliers or customers, therefore weakening the impact of industrial linkages. Although this article primarily focuses on development zones in Jiangsu Province, the findings and discussion will provide insights for other development zones in China that may be, reviewing their development strategies because most of them have similar development problems

Import Substitution Industrialization [ISI]: An approach to Global Economic Sustainability

Globalisation has over the years brought about openness, thus creating an inextricable link among countries through various channels, including trade and investment. Consequently, there has been a substantial expansion in trade in goods and services and the flow of foreign direct investment between developed and developing countries. Even though, both have benefitted from this global openness, the balance of benefits is mainly tilted to developed countries, reinforced by the fact that developing countries have been importing more and exporting less to these countries – a reflection of the under-developed state of their industrial sector, which is evident in their export of mainly unrefined or primary products, with little or no value addition taking place. This gives attestation to the presence of an insignificant import substitution-oriented manufacturing activity in such countries, which have rendered them heavily reliant on imports for their survival – by extension making them highly susceptible to external risks and shocks. This brought about the inception of ISI, which originated from as early as in the 1930s through into the 1960s in Latin America and some parts of Asia and Africa – a notion that was meant to incorporate three stages, namely ‘domestic production of previously imported non-durable consumer goods, extension of production to a wide-range of consumer durables and complex manufactured items and finally, exporting of manufactured goods, with the vision of diversifying to multiple range of items’ (Bussell,, n/d)

Ethiopia's urban economy Empirical essays on enterprise development and the labour market

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:D203305 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Age-size effects in productive efficiency A second test of the passive learning model

Paper written July 1995Available from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:9350.8339(WPS/96-2) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo