The role of foreign investors in debt market development - conceptual frameworks and policy issues

To take full advantage of foreign investors, a host country must provide an appealing environment: a stable economic and political environment; a fair, rational, and, comprehensive legal system; a fair, reasonable, and, balanced tax program; a fair, productive, and, balanced regulatory system; and transparency in economic, financial, legislative, and regulatory systems. The country should also liberalize capital account transactions. To do so successfully, and minimize risks associated with foreign investors, capital account liberalization must be properly sequenced. The chief danger is removing most restrictions on capital account transactions, before addressing major problems in the domestic financial system, and hence risking a crisis. Typical major problems include shaky, inconsistent macroeconomic management; severe asymmetric information problems (such as inadequate accounting, auditing, and disclosure practices) in the financial, and corporate sectors; implicit government guarantees; and inadequate prudential supervision, and regulation of domestic financial markets, and institutions. Essential infrastructure must be developed if domestic debt instruments are to be opened to international portfolio investment. Developing countries should implement well-synchronized settlement, and depository arrangements. The risks from short-term debt - which could threaten financial stability - are best through sound financial management, and prudential regulation. A case could de made for additional policy measures aimed at curbing over-reliance on short-term debt. (Chile, Colombia, and Israel, for example, have adopted measures to influence the level, and composition of portfolio capital inflows). Arguably, liberalization of trade in financial services is integral to full liberalization of capital markets. Foreign firms operating in a domestic market may transfer useful technology, and know-how. Concern that hedge funds can dominate, or manipulate markets, can be dealt with through measures to strengthen supervision, regulation, and market transparency - as well as by strengthening reporting requirements for larger traders, and positions. The ability of hedge funds, and other foreign investors to take positions in domestic financial markets, could also be limited to: a) Taxing short-term capital flows (as Chile does). b) requiring banks, and brokers to raise margin, and collateral requirements. c) Limiting financial institutions; ability to provide the domestic credit needed to short the currency, and their ability to loan the securities needed to short equity, and fixed-income markets.International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Fiscal&Monetary Policy,Financial Intermediation,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Financial Intermediation,Banks&Banking Reform

Period and toroidal knot mosaics

Knot mosaic theory was introduced by Lomonaco and Kauffman in the paper on `Quantum knots and mosaics' to give a precise and workable definition of quantum knots, intended to represent an actual physical quantum system. A knot (m,n)-mosaic is an $m \! \times \! n$ matrix whose entries are eleven mosaic tiles, representing a knot or a link by adjoining properly. In this paper we introduce two variants of knot mosaics: period knot mosaics and toroidal knot mosaics, which are common features in physics and mathematics. We present an algorithm producing the exact enumeration of period knot (m,n)-mosaics for any positive integers m and n, toroidal knot (m,n)-mosaics for co-prime integers m and n, and furthermore toroidal knot (p,p)-mosaics for a prime number p. We also analyze the asymptotics of the growth rates of their cardinality

Internal Labor Markets Under External Market Pressures

This is the published version. Copyright 2014 by Industrial and Labor Relations Review.Through an empirical investigation of 11 Korean firms before and after the Asian financial crisis, the author examines the impact of increasing external market pressures on internal labor market (ILM) practices. In addition, the merits of ILMs are tested by capturing the reactions of white-collar managers within these firms. The author posits that 1) firms may desert ILM practices in the face of external pressures but do so in varying degrees, and 2) despite reduced values placed on firm-specific human capital in the marketplace, ILM practices continue to have merit in promoting consummate cooperation and delaying perfunctory cooperation. The findings generally support the hypotheses, and implications of these results for theory and practice are discussed

Total Factor Productivity and R&D Capital in Manufacturing Industries

This study analyzes total factor productivity in manufacturing industries for a sample of OECD countries. The estimates of Malmquist indexes clearly indicate that research and development (R&D) capital is an important determinant of productivity growth in manufacturing industries. The empirical results also show that it is the pace, not the intensity, of R&D investment that is significantly related to the extent to which R&D capital formation contributes to output growth. Furthermore, this study finds that productivity gains in manufacturing industries depend importantly on R&D spillovers as well.

Construction of biorthogonal wavelet vectors

AbstractThe construction of all possible biorthogonal wavelet vectors corresponding to a given biorthogonal scaling vector may not be easy as that of biorthogonal uniwavelets. In this paper, we give some theorems about the construction of biorthogonal wavelet vectors, which is followed by simple computations for constructing all parametrized biorthogonal wavelet vectors supported in [-1,1]. This approach is also suitable for the case of compactly supported orthogonal uniwavelet. Moreover, we give examples parametrizing all biorthogonal wavelet vectors corresponding to well known biorthogonal scaling vectors

Technical Efficiency in the Iron and Steel Industry: A Stochastic Frontier Approach

In this paper we examine the technical efficiency of firms in the iron and steel industry and try to identify the factors contributing to the industry's efficiency growth, using a time-varying stochastic frontier model. Based on our findings, which pertain to 52 iron and steel firms over the period of 1978-1997, POSCO and Nippon Steel were the most efficient firms, with their production, on average, exceeding 95 percent of their potential output. Our findings also shed light on possible sources of efficiency growth in the industry. If a firm is government-owned, its privatization is likely to improve its technical efficiency to a great extent. A firm's technical efficiency also tends to be positively related to its production level as measured by a share of the total world production of crude steel. Another important source of efficiency growth identified by our empirical findings is adoption of new technologies and equipment. Our findings clearly indicate that continued efforts to update technologies and equipment are critical in pursuit of efficiency in the iron and steel industry.

Executive search relationships – contacts between executives and search firm professionals: scale development and validation

This exploratory study investigates the nature of contacts between executives and search firm professionals, which together encompass the executive search relationship. An initial scale was developed, reviewed by experts and tested. Factor analysis led to a revised scale for further testing, which based on multiple samples identified three types of executive search contacts: (1) search firminitiated contacts; (2) executive-initiated contacts; and (3) contacts for mutual benefit. Correlational studies among these types as well as related concepts in networking behavior are presented, showing executive search relationships to be a unique and distinct measure. A discussion of the executive search construct’s potential to enhance our understanding of the predictors of career success is provided, along with opportunities for further research

Japans Lost Decade Revisited: Total Factor Productivity and Economic Growth

This paper examines the decade-long economic slump in Japan during the 1990s. In the neoclassical growth framework, a fall in total factor productivity growth is expected to slow down the economys long-term growth. This papers findings based on the Malmquist index show that Japans productivity growth rate in the 1990s is not only historically low but also lags considerably behind the contemporaneous growth rates in other OECD nations. Building upon the Japanese experience, this paper considers policy responses to the current global financial crisis