China and Brazil: Economic impacts of a growing relationship

The paper analyses the economic impacts of China's re-emergence on Brazil, looking at both the direct effects of China on Brazil in terms of bilateral trade and investment flows and the indirect effects through increased competition in export markets for manufactured goods and higher world prices for primary commodities. Despite a surge in Chinese FDI in Brazil in 2010, the main driver of bilateral relations is trade. While bilateral trade has grown rapidly, the pattern that has emerged has given rise to concern because Brazil's exports are concentrated in a small number of primary products while imports from China are almost entirely of manufactured goods that are becoming more technologically sophisticated over time. Brazil has benefitted in the short term from the high prices of primary commodities (partly caused by growing Chinese demand), but has lost export markets to China in manufactures, contributing to the "primarization" of the country's export basket

China?s Global Growth and Latin American Exports

China?s global expansion has led to concerns amongst other developing country exporters that they will be displaced by Chinese competition in their export markets. The paper develops a new index to measure the extent of the competitive threat which countries face from China, which is then applied to empirical data on US imports from China and 18 Latin American countries. It also presents new estimates of the impact of China on the value of Latin American exports to the US over the past decade, using an extension of constant market share analysis. It finds that, contrary to many previous studies, China has had a significant impact on the exports of a number of Latin American countries and that this has increased since China joined the WTO in 2001.China, Latin America, USA, exports, competitiveness

Globalization, Production and Poverty

globalization, employment, poverty, value chains, Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa, Vietnam, textiles, garments, horticulture

Measuring the Competitive Threat from China

In recent years there has been a growing literature that analyses the threat which Chinese exports pose to the exports of other developing countries. The paper provides a critique of the standard measures of export similarity which have been used to estimate the threat from China in these studies. Two alternative indices, the static and the dynamic index of competitive threat, are developed and estimated for 18 developing countries and compared with estimates for the standard measures. It is shown that the latter tend to underestimate the extent to which countries are threatened by China. They also distort both the rankings of countries according to the extent to which they face competition from China and the direction of change in the competitive threat over time.China, competition, export similarity, exports, trade

CSR, tax and development

This article explores and critically examines the connections between tax and development on the one hand and tax and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the other. It does so because, while there is increasing recognition of the importance of taxation to efforts to resource the state and to finance ways of tackling poverty, there is a surprising lack of attention to tax avoidance and evasion as a CSR issue for transnational corporations operating in the South, even among those companies that pride themselves on being CSR leaders. We review evidence of these trends, provide an empirical analysis of how leading firms deal with tax in their corporate reporting and make the case for including taxation as a new frontier in progressive CSR

China's global growth and Latin American exports

China's global expansion has led to concerns amongst other developing country exporters that they will be displaced by Chinese competition in their export markets. The paper develops a new index to measure the extent of the competitive threat which countries face from China, which is then applied to empirical data on US imports from China and 18 Latin American countries. It also presents new estimates of the impact of China on the value of Latin American exports to the US over the past decade, using an extension of constant market share analysis. It finds that, contrary to many previous studies, China has had a significant impact on the exports of a number of Latin American countries and that this has increased since China joined the WTO in 2001

Globalization, production and poverty

The impact of globalization on poverty is a matter of keen debate but empirical work in this area has been dominated by cross-country regressions. This paper attempts to link the more macro impacts of globalization, particularly as manifested through the impact on employment, with the micro level analysis of poverty at the individual and household level. The link is provided through the analysis of specific value chains (horticulture, textiles and garments) which are driven by changes at the global level but which have impacts at the local level in terms of employment and poverty. The paper reports on studies carried out in four countries—Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa and Vietnam—which have all become more integrated with the global economy in recent years. The approach presented gives no universal conclusions about the impact of globalization on poverty but shows that outcomes are highly context dependent. – globalization ; employment ; poverty ; value chains ; Bangladesh ; Kenya ; South Africa ; Vietnam ; textiles ; garments ; horticultur

Measuring the competitive threat from China

In recent years there has been a growing literature that analyses the threat which Chinese exports pose to the exports of other developing countries. The paper provides a critique of the standard measures of export similarity which have been used to estimate the threat from China in these studies. Two alternative indices, the static and the dynamic index of competitive threat, are developed and estimated for 18 developing countries and compared with estimates for the standard measures. It is shown that the latter tend to underestimate the extent to which countries are threatened by China. They also distort both the rankings of countries according to the extent to which they face competition from China and the direction of change in the competitive threat over time. – China ; competition ; export similarity ; exports ; trad

Bargaining and the Multinational Corporation: Lessons from Chilean Experience

SUMMARY If neo?classical theories of foreign investment are rejected then approaches to direct foreign investment bargaining, as a form of planning, have a special importance. The assumptions on which the neo?classical theories concerned are based are reviewed and strategic considerations for negotiations with multinationals identified. The Chilean motor industry negotiations are reviewed as a pioneer example. RESUME Les Negociations sur L'investissement et les Sociétés Multinationales: Lecons de L'expérience Chilienne Si on rejète les théories néo?classiques de l'investissement à l'étranger, alors prend une importance spéciale la façon d'aborder les négociations directes sur l'investissement à l'étranger, en tant que forme de planification. On passe en revue les suppositions sur lesquelles sont basées les théories néo?classiques concernées, et on définit des considérations stratégiques portant sur les négociations avec les sociétés multinationales. Celles de l'Industrie Automobile Chilienne sont analysées en tant qu'exemple pionnier. RESUMEN Negociaciones y Corporaciones Multinacionales : Lecciones de la Experiencia Chilena Si se rechazan las teorías neo?clásicas de la inversión extranjera, los enfoques que ven las negociaciones sobre inversión extranjera directa como una forma de planificación adquieren importancia especial. El articulo revisa los supuestos en que se basan las teorias neo?clásicas correspondientes e identifica las consideraciones estratégicas para las negociaciones con corporaciones multinacionales. Como ejemplo pionero se revisan las negociaciones en la industria automotriz chilena