Why RMB should be more flexible

Purpose – This report examines the recent developments and trends relating to the Chinese government’s policy actions and the key issues that determine the choice of exchange rate regime in China. An up-to-date “stock-take” of the economic indicators is conducted to determine what is suitable for China in light of the rapidly evolving nature of the world economy and trading environment. This paper discusses the role of economic development, trade competitiveness, capital flow, foreign exchange reserve, and RMB internationalization in the determination of the RMB exchange rate regime. Design/methodology/approach – This research uses an inductive approach to gain a fine-grained understanding of the complex, multifaceted aspects of China’s exchange rate policy. A combination of statistical analysis, including basic descriptive statistics, trend analysis, and a correlation study are used to explore the association between various indicators and their implications. The report also draws on analysis of a broad range of data sources and the work of numerous researchers and research institutions. Findings – A more flexible exchange rate regime can play a complementary role towards rebalancing the Chinese economy by raising the buying capacity of families, rebalancing growth towards domestic consumption, and reducing reliance on export. China’s price elasticity of the demand for exports was relatively low that the appreciation of the Chinese currency has almost no influence on optimizing China’s trade balance. A more flexible two-way flow in RMB would be suitable under the current cash flow scenario in China. Reduced intervention will facilitate further adjustment in reserves. Lastly, in the early stage of RMB internationalization, flexibility in the exchange rate is one of the factors that influences its growth prospect as a reserve currency. Research limitations/implications – The findings and conclusion are derived based on the latest empirical information, statistical evidence, and economic theory. This inquiry does not build on a theory, and aims to neither verify a theory, nor test hypotheses. Rather, it aims to demonstrate, assess, and explain significant roles that various economic factors play in shaping the future exchange rate regime of China. Originality/value – This paper presents the rationale behind a more flexible two-way exchange rate, by assessing the latest empirical data and theoretical explanation that support such a move. Keywords Foreign exchange, Financial markets and the macroeconom

Socialist workers - Is China’s labour market at a turning-point?

This document is part of a digital collection provided by the Martin P. Catherwood Library, ILR School, Cornell University, pertaining to the effects of globalization on the workplace worldwide. Special emphasis is placed on labor rights, working conditions, labor market changes, and union organizing.CLW_2010_Report_China_socialist_workers.pdf: 9 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

A low carbon investment plan for South Australia

On 1 December 2015, the South Australian Government released a Low Carbon Investment Plan for South Australia, a landmark document which sets out how the state will achieve $10 billion in low carbon generation by 2025. The Plan is built around four key strategies for supporting low carbon generation investment in South Australia. These are a competitive policy and regulatory environment; providing information for investment; demonstrating use on the government’s own assets or using government procurement to sponsor uptake by others; and  facilitating projects to leverage external funding.   Some key initiatives under the Plan include The release of the Bio-energy Roadmap for South Australia which the first stage in further developing South Australia’s bio-energy industry. The information released includes analysis of South Australia’s bio-energy potential and spatial data as a first step towards creating a substantial and sustainable bio-energy industry. An invitation to the energy industry to respond to an Expression of Interest for Low Carbon Electricity Supplies and Services to service up to 100% of the South Australian Government’s electricity needs. An expression of Interest for reducing emissions from the Government’s vehicle fleet  and support for Adelaide’s first electric car share initiative incorporating solar PV and battery storage in the CBD

Talent management practices: perceptions of Egyptian academics

Purpose –This paper focuses on three out of 24 business schools in Egypt in order to investigate talent management practices of academics there. Design/ methodology/ approach – A total of 350 academics were contacted and 245 of them were interviewed in 49 face-to-face focus groups. The interview length for each focus group is about 45 minutes and is conducted in Arabic, the mother tongue of all respondents. . Upon conducting the interviews, the authors used thematic analysis to determine the main ideas in the transcripts. Findings – The authors did not detect any systematic approach for the management of academic talent in the chosen public business schools. Instead, there were irresponsible unorderly procedures undertaken by these business schools in staffing, empowering, motivating, evaluating and retaining those talents. Furthermore, the authors realized an absence of many cultural and technical dimensions like adaptability, consistency and knowledge sharing which may hurdle academic staff desires to do their best effort in teaching and conducting research. Moreover, these addressed academic members narrow perception of the concept “talent” that includes only musical and sports figures - the matter that reflects their lack of understanding for one of the hottest concepts in HR academic and practical arenas nowadays. Research limitations/ implications – The focus is only on a single perspective (academics) and a single area (Upper Egypt) - a matter that neglects a variety of views (e.g. minister of Egyptian higher education and schools’ deans). Additionally, the results/ findings of this study cannot be generalized to academic settings in other countries because the data is collected only from public business schools in Upper Egypt. Practical implications – The authors recommend officials in Egyptian public business schools foster constituting academic talents pool which will determine the main academic features, practical characteristics and research focus that academics should address. Moreover, the authors suggest business schools establish continuous academic rapport and feedback reports which would assist in monitoring talented academicians’ level of satisfaction towards their departments’ procedural justice, distributive justice, work-related communication and most importantly, the level of inclusion they feel. Originality/ value – This paper contributes by filling a gap in HR management, in which empirical studies on the practices of managing talents have been limited so far

Transformation of China’s energy sector: trends and challenges

The conclusions presented here sum up the contributions in the Special Issue regarding the managing of China's energy sector, particularly regarding the demand and profile of energy as well as the marketization of the sector. Strategic, organizational and policy issues relevant to the main theme are set out. Both demand and supply scenarios for the nation's energy are seen as in flux, as the economy slackens and dependence on imports rises. Unprecedented levels of urban environmental pollution and steady growth of energy consumption in the wake of a rising living standard have brought the issue to headline-prominence as never before. China's rapidly increasing renewable energy will not change its heavy reliance on coal and a lesser extent oil in the coming decade. After decades of transformation, China's energy sector now operates in a domestic market characterized by strong governmental influence and monopolistic state firms. Abroad, China's firms are exposed to heavier market pressure and competition. While the state's policies have succeeded in ensuring energy supplies and propelling China's renewable energy manufacturers into global prominence and opening up domestic market, much room for improvement exists in the competitiveness of the domestic market and domestic energy firms, transparency of pricing and the effectiveness of regulation

Toward a construct of liability of origin

In this paper, we advance a novel concept of liability of origin to explicate the mechanisms through which location can be become either a liability or an advantage. Our analysis sheds light on how firms’ ability to compete and gain legitimacy can be derailed or enhanced by their geographical location. We illustrate our theoretical analysis using multiple cases in the airline industry in Africa. Four distinct phases that explicate how liability of origin manifests in firms’ legitimacy quest are indicated. Our work highlights how actions and inactions of rival firms can make the geographical origin of a firm “geographicalness” to shift from being a strategic asset to become a liability. We outline a number of implications for practice and fruitful avenues for future research

Nation branding: what is being branded?

Nation branding and nation brand are two different concepts. A nation has a brand image with or without nation branding. This paper examines the concept of nation branding, focusing on the central question of what is being branded. It differentiates nation branding from product branding, and draws comparisons between nation branding and product-country image. Paradoxical issues around the concept and the wider context in which nation branding can be applied are also discussed. More research is needed to find out if and how nation branding could help the economic development in a country. As many other non-marketing factors also affect a nation’s image the role played by nation branding may turn out to be only a modest one

More heat, less light! The resource curse & HIV/AIDS: A reply to Olivier Sterck

We reported fairly robust results suggesting that resource rich countries did less well containing HIV/AIDS than resource poor states (de Soysa and Gizelis, 2013). We argued that public action to prevent the spread of disease was going to be weaker in resource rich states because rulers would have less incentive to fight disease. Olivier Sterck (this issue) criticizes our study on several grounds, arguing that resource rich states can provide anti-retroviral therapy (ART) and thereby fight the AIDS epidemic. He, however, finds no relationship between resource wealth and HIV/AIDS. We argue that his reanalyses do not fully address the theoretical association between resource wealth and the spread of HIV/AIDS and that his argument about ART is more wishful than a realistic expectation. Future research should probe more carefully why resource wealth has not been deployed more effectively for fighting disease-a point we can all agree on

What next for children's services? Can policy at a local or national level have any significant impact on the outcomes for children and their families?

In England at both strategic and operational levels, policy-makers in the public sector have undertaken considerable work on implementing the findings of the Every Child Matters report and subsequently through the Children's Act 2004. Legislation has resulted in many local authorities seeking to implement more holistic approaches to the delivery of children's services. At a strategic level this is demonstrated by the creation of integrated directorate structures providing for a range of services, from education to children's social care. Such services were generally under the management of the Director of Children's Services, holding statutory responsibilities for the delivery of services formally divided into the three sectors of education, health and social services. At a national level, more fundamental policy developments have sought to establish a framework through which policy-makers can address the underlying causes of deprivation, vulnerability and inequality. The Child Poverty Act, 2010, which gained Royal Assent in 2010, provides for a clear intention to reduce the number of children in poverty, acknowledging that ‘the best way to eradicate child poverty is to address the causes of poverty, rather than only treat the symptoms’. However, whilst the policy objectives of both pieces of legislation hold positive aspirations for children and young people, a change of policy direction through a change of government in May 2010 seems to be in direct contrast to the intended focus of these aims. This paper explores the impact of new government policy on the future direction of children's services both at the national and local levels. At the national level, we question the ability of the government to deliver the aspirations of the Child Poverty Act, 2010, given the broad range of influences and factors that can determine the circumstances in which a child may experience poverty. We argue that poverty is not simply an issue of the pressure of financial deprivation, but that economic recession and cuts in government spending will further increase the number of children living in poverty