"First Mover" Investment Advantages in Sub-Saharan Africa: Why Northern Multinationals Should React (Quickly) to Their Southern Counterparts

Direktinvestition; Multinationales Unternehmen; Standortfaktor; Afrika südlich der Sahara

Reducing structural dominance and entry barriers in Russian industry

Many industrial firms in Russia have undergone changes in ownership, but relatively few have been competitively restructured. Using survey and other data, the author suggests that much of Russian industry is immune from robust competition because of heavy vertical integration, geographic segmentation, and the concentration of buyers and sellers, in selected markets. Moreover, regulatory constraints protect incumbent firms from competition with new entrants, both domestic and foreign. The author sketches a reform agenda for Russia's post-privatization program, which emphasizes the restructuring of anti-competitive structures and the reduction of barriers to entry. The author's proposed reform agenda calls broadly for strengthening Russia's nascent rules-based framework for competition policy to reduce discretion, increase transparency, and improve accountability.Markets and Market Access,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Small and Medium Size Enterprises,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Private Participation in Infrastructure,Small Scale Enterprise,Microfinance

Remote semi-continuous flow rate logging seepage meter

The movement of groundwater and its associated solutes from upland regions was implicated in the degradation of receiving surface water bodies. Current efforts to directly measure this influx of water incorporate manually operated seepage meters which are hindered by severe limitations. A prototype seepage meter was developed by NASA Langley Research Center and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University that will allow for the semi-continuous collection and data logging of seepage flux across the sediment water interface. The meter is designed to operate at depths to 40 meters, and alleviate or minimize all disadvantages associated with traditional methods while remaining cost effective. The unit was designed to operate independently for time periods on the order of weeks with adjustable sample sequences depending upon hydrologic conditions. When used in conjunction with commercially available pressure transducers, this seepage meter allows for correlations to be made between groundwater discharge and tidal/sea state conditions in coastal areas. Field data from the Chesapeake Bay and Florida Bay systems are presented

The distribution of foreign direct investment in China

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has played a major role in China's push toward a market-oriented economy. Recent inflows account for 40 percent of combined flows of FDI to all developing countries, making China the biggest developing country FDI recipient. This record is impressive, but certain problems must be overcome if FDI is to continue to help sustain the country's record growth rate and further its economic development. For one thing, FDI in China is highly concentrated geographically, and its sector distribution is highly uneven. The authors empirically analyze the geographic determinants of FDI in China. They find that FDI's geographical distribution in China is determined mostly by GNP, infrastructure development, level of general education, and coastal location. Althoughthe sectoral distribution of FDI is coming into line with the rest of the world, in the past, FDI has been biased toward speculative types of investment, especially in the real estate sector.International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Foreign Direct Investment,Economic Theory&Research

Seeds of corruption - Do market institutions matter?

Ten years into the transition, corruption is so pervasive that it could jeopardize the best-intentioned reform efforts. The authors present an analytical framework for examining the role market institutions play in rent-seeking and illicit behavior. Using recently available data on the incidence of corruption, and on institutional development, they provide preliminary evidence on the link between the development of market institutions, and incentives for corruption. Virtually all of the indicators they examine appear to be important, but three are statistically significant: 1) the intensity of barriers to the entry of new business. 2) The effectiveness of the legal system. 3) The efficacy and competitiveness of services provided by infrastructure monopolies. The main lesson emerging from their analysis: a well established system of market institutions - clear and transparent rules, fully functioning checks and balances (including strong enforcement mechanisms), and a robust competitive environment - reduces opportunities for rent-seeking and hence incentives for corruption. Both the design, and effective implementation of such measures are important if a market system is to be effective. It is not enough, for example, to enact first-rate laws if they are not enforced. The local political economy greatly affects whether a given policy reform will curtail corruption. Especially important are the following factors in the political economy: a) the credibility of the government's commitment to carrying out announced reforms. B) The degree to which government officials are captured by the entities they regulate or oversee. C) the stability of the government itself. D) The political power of entrenched vested interests. Economists in the field of industrial organization, antitrust, and regulation have long recognized these factors as potent determinants of opportunistic behavior, corruption, and"capture"of government officials. Only now are they becoming conventional wisdom among specialists in economies in transition.Decentralization,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Legal Products,Governance Indicators,Legal Products,National Governance,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies