on the determinants of direct foreign investment evidence from east and southeast asia abstract a model of derived demand for foreign capital by a multiple product monopolist is estimated for seven asian countries direct foreign investment dfi inflows are estimated to be less elastic with respect to the costs of capital including taxes than to wages and to be more elastic with respect to aggregate demand in export markets than domestic demand the output deterrent effect of higher wages is estimated to outweigh any substitution toward greater capital intensity the estimates also suggest that dfi rises with greater costs within the investors home countries no similar effect occurs with respect to costs in rival host countries and concerns for political stability have overlain economic determinants

linking agricultural policies with obesity and noncommunicable diseases a new perspective for a globalising world abstract in light of the shift in policy paradigm in agriculture from state intervention to market liberalisation and globalisation this paper develops a series of hypotheses on the relationship between agricultural policies and consumer diets the first hypothesis is that the paradigm shift has led to greater specialisation of production so changing the ability and incentive for producers to supply certain foods relative to others second the shift has affected farmgate prices both up and down so creating opportunities for the industries which purchase farm commodities the food consuming industries fcis to substitute lower priced ingredients thereby influencing the nutritional quality and content of foods available in the marketplace third it has increased the ability of the fcis to add value through product innovation and marketing creating a market characterised by highly differentiated products targeted to individualised preferences thus increasing the acceptability of a wider variety and quantity of food products the changing agricultural policy paradigm has therefore altered the environment in which consumers make their food choices in the form of food availability affordability and acceptability nevertheless the paper finds no clear pattern when it comes to health the changes have affected both unhealthy and healthy foods and ingredients the key process of importance for health then is not whether the ingredients produced by agriculture are healthy or not but how they are substituted transformed distributed and marketed through the supply chain e g vegetable oils into transfats this leads to an important implication that policies to intervene directly in agricultural production to promote healthy eating are unlikely to be effective or efficient if they do not take into account how foods are processed distributed and marketed through the supply chain in practice this means that the potential for policy interventions in agriculture to improve diets is limited but nevertheless potentially important where it exists given the upstream nature of the change incentives could be created for the fcis to substitute healthier ingredients in their products and or to sell more of them in instances where these changes can be passed all the way to the consumer greater investment could also be made in fruit and vegetable production for local markets along with testing the hypotheses established in this paper the research priority should to identify the incentives that influence the products produced by the fcis with the objective of finding those most amenable to leveraging the supply chain towards healthier eating

evaluating social policy by experimental and nonexperimental methods although it is important to establish causal relationships in social policy evaluation the effects are difficult to observe due to sample selection to evaluate the performance of estimators designed to handle sample selection bias we analyse data from a norwegian rehabilitation project with a randomised experimental design the data permit us to compare the performance of different nonexperimental estimators with the experimental results in our case study we find that nonexperimental evaluation based on sample selection estimators with selection terms that fail to meet conventional levels of statistical significance is highly unreliable the difference in difference estimator and propensity score matching estimators perform better in our context jel classification c51 j24 h43 i12

location and the multinational enterprise john dunning s thoughts on receiving the journal of international business studies 2008 decade award a retrospective by john h dunning on location and the mne written in the form of responses to questions posed by rajneesh narula in an interview recorded at the university of reading which was shown at the jibs decade award session at the aib annual meetings in milan june 2008

assessing the case for social experiments rs ecent academic debates pit two alternative approaches to policy evaluation against one another the first is the experimental approach based on the random assignment of accepted program applicants to a recipient or treatment group and a non recipient or control group the second is the nonexperimental or econometric approach that uses a variety of microdata sources statistical methods and behavioral models to compare the outcomes of participants in social programs with those of nonparticipants the central question addressed in this paper is whether or not randomized social experiments aid in securing answers to basic questions about the evaluation of social programs there are many distinct and complementary approaches to the study of the impact of public policy including full general equilibrium analysis of policy impacts tinbergen 1956 auerbach and kotlikoff 1987 shoven and whalley 1992 kydland and prescott 1991 and less ambitious partial equilibrium microeconomic structural research programs such as those designed to estimate the impact of taxes on labor supply both approaches offer answers to many interesting counterfactual policy questions but their credibility rests critically on the quality of the empirical input used to generate their answers

organizations space and capital in the development of korea s electronics industry suarez villa l and han p h 1990 organizations space and capital in the development of korea s electronics industry reg studies 25 327 343 this paper analyses the effect of foreign and domestic capital on the organization of production and the spatial distribution of korea s electronics industry an assessment of korea s international advantages and their impact on trade labour employment and foreign capital is followed by factor analyses using data collected through establishment surveys these provide a set of significant organizational dimensions based on a differentiation of capital and regional location where scale is found to be a most important factor in production domestic capital contributes more than foreign capital to the integration of electronics in korea s productive structure but has a lower export emphasis and tends to concentrate more in the primate metropolitan region suarez villa l et han p h 1991 organisations espace et capital dans le developpement de l electroniqu

instruments randomization and learning about development there is currently much debate about the effectiveness of foreign aid and about what kind of projects can engender economic development there is skepticism about the ability of econometric analysis to resolve these issues or of development agencies to learn from their own experience in response there is increasing use in development economics of randomized controlled trials rcts to accumulate credible knowledge of what works without overreliance on questionable theory or statistical methods when rcts are not possible the proponents of these methods advocate quasirandomization through instrumental variable iv techniques or natural experiments i argue that many of these applications are unlikely to recover quantities that are useful for policy or understanding two key issues are the misunderstanding of exogeneity and the handling of heterogeneity i illustrate from the literature on aid and growth actual randomization faces similar problems as does quasi randomization notwithstanding rhetoric to the contrary i argue that experiments have no special ability to produce more credible knowledge than other methods and that actual experiments are frequently subject to practical problems that undermine any claims to statistical or epistemic superiority i illustrate using prominent experiments in development and elsewhere as with iv methods rct based evaluation of projects without guidance from an understanding of underlying mechanisms is unlikely to lead to scientific progress in the understanding of economic development i welcome recent trends in development experimentation away from the evaluation of projects and toward the evaluation of theoretical mechanisms jel c21 f35 o19

farm policies and added sugars in us diets abstract we examine how us farm policies for sweetener crops have affected the consumption and composition of sweeteners in the us diet r d expenditures have lowered the unit cost of commodities used in sweeteners but have generated more technical progress in corn than in sugar crops increasing use of corn in food production ceteris paribus commodity programs have raised the price of sugar and decreased the price of corn thus high fructose corn syrup hfcs became an inexpensive substitute for sugar in food from 1970 on however the effect of policy on ingredient prices has become less important over time today the farm value share in sweetened food is below 5 and hfcs is a specialized input in many food items with limited substitution possibilities the current link between us sweetener consumption and farm policy is weak recent evidence from other high income countries shows little relationship between sweetener consumption and sugar policies

farm subsidies and obesity in the united states national evidence and international comparisons abstract many commentators have claimed that farm subsidies have contributed significantly to the obesity epidemic by making fattening foods relatively cheap and abundant but u s farm policies have generally small and mixed effects on farm commodity prices which in turn have even smaller and still mixed effects on the relative prices of more and less fattening foods other factors have had much more influence on reducing the farm prices of food commodities and the consumer prices of food such that any effects of u s farm policies on u s obesity patterns must have been negligible moreover while many arguments can be made for changing u s farm subsidies even entirely eliminating the current programs could not be expected to have a significant influence on obesity rates international evidence reinforces this finding the countries that support their farmers most strongly tend to have relatively low obesity rates in these countries the main support for farmers comes through trade barriers and higher consumer prices which like u s policies for sugar dairy orange juice and beef discourage consumption and reduce obesity in contrast with agricultural subsidies agricultural r d has had a significant effect in the past on the relative price of food commodities and food and has the potential to influence obesity patterns in the future but r d policy is a very blunt instrument for pursuing public health policy objectives

assessing an experimental approach to industrial policy evaluation applying rct to the case of creative credits experimental methods of policy evaluation are well established in social policy and development eco nomics but are rare in industrial and innovation policy in this paper we consider the arguments forapplying experimental methods to industrial policy measures and propose an experimental policy eval uation approach which we call rct this approach combines the randomised assignment of firmsto treatment and control groups with a longitudinal data collection strategy incorporating quantitativeand qualitative data so called mixed methods the rct approach is designed to provide a causativerather than purely summative evaluation i e to assess both whether and how programme outcomesare achieved in this paper we assess the rct approach through an evaluation of creative credits auk business to business innovation voucher initiative intended to promote new innovation partnershipsbetween smes and creative service providers the results suggest the potential value of the rct approachto industrial policy evaluation and the benefits of mixed methods and longitudinal data collection

distinction between intermediate and finished products in intra firm trade abstract although intra firm trade has been viewed as associated with vertical integration which exploits opportunities for exchange between inherently dissimilar economies it is more common between developed countries where horizontal integration is expected to dominate using unique data from 1974 to 1990 on swedish firms application of a tobit model explains variations in majority owned manufacturing affiliates internal imports of intermediate and finished goods on the basis of firms international organization of production effects which are unobservable in aggregate figures show up only when finished and intermediate goods are separated

the impact of foreign direct investment on export structure and employment generation abstract the literature on foreign direct investment often treats its determinants and consequences independently this is particularly so for empirical studies the purpose of this paper is to consider both aspects simultaneously and to provide some empirical evidence on the nature of foreign investment and its impact on export structure and employment generation the method consists of a model which includes both industry specific and location specific determinants of foreign direct investment in the export sector and their effects on the employment generating capacity of individual manufacturing industries it is estimated for three digit s i c industries in puerto rico in 1979 the results suggest that puerto rico s export sector consists of us based firms producing on a large scale these firms are primarily attracted to the island by relatively higher profits than on the mainland low wage labor is not considered an important inducement to foreign investment in puerto rico the labor intensity of the island s export sector lags behind that of comparable countries due to the capital intensive nature of its principal exports the island s manufacturing employment can be more effectively increased by altering the composition of exports than by inducing present firms to hire more workers

relative food prices under structural adjustment preliminary findings from latin america abstract this article examines the effects of changes in policies concerning exchange rates and consumer subsidies on relative prices of staple foods in selected latin american countries in countries where previously high subsidies on imported foods were reduced sharply or eliminated during the 1980s prices of imported tradables have risen relative to prices of domestically produced foods elsewhere the impact of structural adjustment programmes has not been very clear and more in depth research is needed

the location of overseas production and production for export by u s multinational firms abstract the location of overseas manufacturing production is influenced by common factors that operate in all industries notably proximity to the united states and to other markets within industries opposites attract low wage and low capital intensity parents choose high wage countries production for export is attracted by large internal markets in host countries economies of scale in production presumably make large markets economical as export bases another factor is high trade propensities of host countries u s firms tend to export from high wage countries but labor cost is not in general a major influence on the location of export production

mechanism experiments and policy evaluations randomized controlled trials are increasingly used to evaluate policies how can we make these experiments as useful as possible for policy purposes we argue greater use should be made of experiments that identify the behavioral mechanisms that are central to clearly specified policy questions what we call mechanism experiments these types of experiments can be of great policy value even if the intervention that is tested or its setting does not correspond exactly to any realistic policy option

integrating climate change and health into food policy an analysis of how climate change can affect food prices and population health abstract the inter related nature of food health and climate change requires a better understanding of the linkages and a greater alignment of policy across these issues to be able to adequately meet the pressing social and health challenges arising from climate change food price is one way through which climate change may affect health the aim of this study of the global and australian food systems is to provide a whole of system analysis of food price vulnerabilities highlighting the key pressure points across the food system through which climate change could potentially have the greatest impact on consumer food prices and the implications for population health we outline areas where there are particular vulnerabilities for food systems and food prices arising from climate change particularly global commodity prices agricultural productivity short term supply shocks and less direct factors such as input costs and government policies we use australia as a high income country case study to consider these issues in more detail the complex and dynamic nature of pricing mechanisms makes it difficult to predict precisely how prices will be impacted should prices rise disproportionately among healthy foodstuffs compared to less healthy foods there may be adverse health outcomes if less expensive and less healthy foods are substituted higher prices will also have equity implications with lower socio economic groups most impacted given these households currently spend proportionately more of their weekly income on food the ultimate objective of this research is to identify the pathways through the food system via which climate change may affect food prices and ultimately population health thereby providing evidence for food policy which takes into account environmental and health considerations

how much priority is given to nutrition and health in the eu common agricultural policy agriculture in the european union eu is strongly influenced by the common agricultural policy cap there have been repeated calls for cap to address nutrition related health particularly obesity and non communicable disease ncd in the eu however aligning agricultural policy such as cap with nutrition is complex not least because the aims of agricultural policy are predominantly economic presenting a challenge for developing coherence between agricultural trade and health policy this research examined the political priority given to nutrition related health concerns within cap to date and the solutions suggested by agricultural trade and health policy makers and public health nutrition advocates via interviews of 20 high level participants from respective sectors the participants provided diverse perspectives often varying by sector and institution on the connections between agricultural policy and nutrition related health the extent to which nutrition concerns have been addressed via cap and whether cap is an appropriate and effective policy approach to improve nutrition related health in the eu in the future the key findings suggest the need for communication and agreement of clear high level nutrition guidelines clarity on the eu mandate to address nutrition related health concerns via policy and stronger engagement of civil society in the issues if cap is to address nutrition more than it is doing currently the difference in worldviews between agricultural trade representatives and those from public health also needs to be addressed

assessing food value chain pathways linkages and impacts for better nutrition of vulnerable groups abstract this article offers insights into assessing the effectiveness of post farm gate agri food value chains at improving the nutrition intake of vulnerable groups it develops a conceptual framework integrating the value chain concepts with agriculture and nutrition and identifies key outcomes and requirements for value chains to be successful at delivering substantive and sustained consumption of nutrient dense foods by poor households other frameworks linking value chains with nutrition have been published but this article provides the analytical lens to assess post farm gate value chains to achieve improvements in the intake of nutritious foods by the target populations food must be safe to eat on a sustained basis nutrient dense at the point of consumption and consumed in adequate amounts on a sustained basis this shifts the focus to the role of public actions and policy in terms of shaping the functioning of food value chains by assessing the limits of what business can and cannot contribute in a given market context policy makers and other relevant stakeholders will be more capable of creating an appropriate institutional environment that shapes how value chains operate for the benefit of vulnerable target groups designing and implementing effective policies and strategies with respect to the role and use of market based interventions

international investment location decisions abstract in international location tournaments governments compete for foreign investment with tax and other short run incentives such tournaments can be won if agglomeration economies are sufficiently powerful to overcome investors desire to spread investments as a hedge against risk we focus on manufacturing investments by u s multinationals in the 1980s our econometric results suggest that agglomeration economies are indeed the dominant influence on investor calculations paradoxically short run incentives have limited apparent impact on location choice we conclude that high cost tournament play is unnecessary for countries with good infrastructure development specialized input suppliers and an expanding domestic market

agricultural taxation in developing countries a survey of issues and policy this study surveys the experience of agricultural taxation in developing countries in the context of the ongoing policy debate about the tax structure and administration affecting agricultural producers using the examples of a number of countries it analyzes the conceptual and practical problems associated with different tax regimes governments in most countries have reduced indirect export taxes on agricultural producers however the revenue from direct taxes on farmers has not increased a major problem in most countries has been the measurement of actual agricultural income different measures for presumed income have been used with varying success they seem to have the most potential for increased revenue in many countries but their effective implementation is constrained by the political and administrative considerations

food product composition consumer health and public policy introduction and overview of special section as efforts to improve diets in high income countries intensify attention has turned to how policies may influence diet composition the case studies in this special issue contribute to our understanding of how two main types of policies have influenced food product composition and dietary outcomes 1 policies affecting food manufacturers input costs and 2 information policy affecting competition research on the first type of policy is relatively new but suggests that us commodity policies would not be good policy instruments to influence diets except through the long run impacts of agricultural research research on the impacts of information policy continues to demonstrate that it can spur food industry competition to introduce healthier products but may not result in healthier diets international comparisons show where the us experience may have relevance for other high income countries

determinants of us direct foreign investment in the caribbean this study evaluates two groups of variables economic and structural locational associated with us short and long run direct foreign investment dfi in the caribbean over the 1983 1994 period separate generalized least square models for the caribbean and latin america were estimated to determine whether differences existed between the two regions as to the variables associated with the levels of dfi this helped provide insights as to the strategies that should be maintained or introduced to give the caribbean a competitive edge in attracting the limited amounts of us dfi likely to be available for investment in the western hemisphere

multinational enterprises and wage costs vertical fdi revisited abstract this study explores how wage costs for high skilled and less skilled labor in host countries affect the level of affiliate activities conducted by foreign mnes we find support for vertical fdi in the sense that more fdi is conducted in countries where less skilled labor is relatively cheap in addition we find that skilled wage cost premia also affect fdi activities previously associated with horizontal fdi i e local affiliate sales consequently the potential effects of relative wage costs on mne activities are large rough calculations suggest that more than 20 percent of us affiliate sales in 1998 can be attributed to skilled wage cost premia

cheap food policy fact or rhetoric abstract the term cheap food policy has frequently been used as a descriptor for us commodity programs by those who contend payments to farmers ultimately result in lower food costs for consumers more recently farm policy has been criticized for contributing to the obesity problem in the us by making large quantities of fattening foods widely available and relatively inexpensive this paper econometrically evaluates the impact of direct government payments on the affordability of food in the us in the aggregate and across specific food groups the models find direct payments do not significantly affect the affordability of food either in the aggregate or across specific food groups