الصفحة 1
الصفحة 1
National Tax Policy in Europe : To Be or Not to Be?
The book is dedicated to the question of how much room for national tax policy Member States of the European Union will find necessary and possible to maintain in the future. It focuses on the possibilities Member States have and the constraints they face, such as the need to enhance competitiveness and attractiveness to inward foreign direct investment, to finance social programmes and the limitations imposed by European and International Law. The research question is looked at from economic as well as from legal points of view. This comprehensive approach and the answers given will be of interest to scholars and policy makers alike and may guide the path for future tax developments in Europe.
Multinational Enterprises, Foreign Direct Investment and Growth in Africa : South African Perspectives
How can Africa, the world’s most lagging region, benefit from globalisation and achieve sustained economic growth? Africa needs greater investment by Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) to improve competitiveness and generate more growth through positive spill-over effects. Despite the fact that Africa’s returns on investment averaged 29% since 1990, Africa has gained merely 1% of global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows. The challenge for African countries is how to be a more desirable destination for FDI. The study integrates three currents of economic research, namely from the literature on (endogenous) economic growth, convergence and regional integration, the explanations for Africa’s poor growth and the growing understanding of the role of MNEs in a global economy. The empirical side of the book is based on an econometric study of the determinants of FDI in Africa as well as a detailed firm-level survey conducted in 2000.
Internationalisation of European ICT Activities : Dynamics of Information and Communications Technology
The internationalisation of information and communication technologies has accelerated since the 1990s in Europe and worldwide. Taking a close look at the empirical analysis of competitive trade positions, trends in foreign direct investment and the internationalisation of research and development in ICT brings many new insights about the expansion, innovation and adjustment in the EU’s most dynamic sector. Moreover, the analysis discusses case studies on key players in ICT and suggests major policy conclusions for a field considered fundamental in the context of the EU’s Lisbon Agenda. The theoretical and empirical analysis gives a new and differentiated picture of European ICT where the links between telecommunications dynamics, software innovation and digital services are crucial. Outsourcing, insourcing and offshoring are natural elements of a new digital international division of labour which require reforms in both the EU member countries and at the supranational level.
International Trade and Multinational Activity : Heterogeneity of Firms, Incentives for Foreign Direct Investment, and International Business Cycle Dynamics
During the last 25 year, the neoclassical Heckscher-Ohlin trade theory has been extended to the ‘new’ trade theory by including imperfect competition and fixed costs into the analysis of trade relations. Furthermore, these micro-oriented trade models are increasingly used to analyze macro-oriented questions. Chapter 2 of this study investigates the dynamic welfare effects of exposure to trade in a new trade model, which is extended by firm heterogeneity.
International Competitiveness in Africa : Policy Implications in the Sub-Saharan Region
The effects of international trade and foreign direct investment on developing economies have always been controversial. With the unstoppable spread of globalization and the supremacy of "open" policies over "closed" ones, the debate between "participating" and "not participating" in the world economy has been superseded by discussions on the best policy measures for expanding participation and enhancing the accrued welfare gains. Policies to strengthen international competitiveness are almost unanimously considered important means towards those ends. This book examines two policies frequently used to enhance international competitiveness in Sub-Saharan African economies: exchange rate policy and productivity-related policy.
Europes Automotive Industry on the Move : Competitiveness in a Changing World
The automotive industry is a major pillar of the modern global economy and one of Europe’s key industries. There can hardly be any doubt about the important role of this sector as an engine for employment, growth and innovation in Europe, and there are crucial challenges and opportunities ahead. The authors shed light on a broad range of issues – globalisation and restructuring, trade and foreign direct investment, innovation, regulation, and industry policy – and put a special focus on the new member states. While change may be inevitable, progress is not. This book shall serve as a map to all stakeholders: business executives and policy makers, investors and scholars.
Elements of Multinational Strategy
Integrates the academic study of international trade and foreign direct investment with the actual strategic and operational decisions of exporters and multinational enterprises.
Deep Integration, Global Firms, and Technology Spillovers
This book explores the impact of deep regional economic integration on spillovers of knowledge and technology across countries. Deep integration through signing deep regional trade agreements (DRTAs), which cover various policy areas in addition to tariff reductions, may or may not facilitate technology spillovers among their signatories. To understand the mechanism of the impact of deep integration on technology spillovers, this book starts by analyzing the behavior of global firms. Factors that affect global firms’ activities, such as export, foreign direct investment (FDI), offshore outsourcing, are examined. Micro data on Japanese firms are employed for the analysis. Then, the relationships between bilateral trade patterns and technology spillovers and between types of FDI and technology spillovers are investigated in detail.
Locational Tournaments in the Context of the EU Competitive Environment : A New Institutional Economics Approach to Foreign Direct Investment Policy Competition between Governments in Europe
The last decade has witnessed a dramatic change in attitude towards foreign direct investment (FDI) and a significant increase in competition between governments to attract FDI as a result. These "locational tournaments" are perpetuated not simply by classical factor endowments, but also by government interventions that impact both market imperfections and FDI flows.
Applying the Kaizen in Africa : A New Avenue for Industrial Development
At present, how to develop industries is a burning issue in Africa, where population growth remains high and economic development has thus far failed to provide sufficient jobs for many, especially young people and women. The creation of productive jobs through industrial development ought to be a central issue in steering economic activity across the continent.The authors of this book, consisting of two development economists and five practitioners, argue that the adoption of Kaizen management practices, which originated in Japan and have become widely used by manufacturers in advanced and emerging economies, is decisively the most effective first step for industrial development in Africa.This open access book discusses what Kaizen management is, why it is applicable to Africa, and why it can provide Africa with a springboard for sustainable economic growth and employment generation.
Accounting and Financial System Reform in a Transition Economy: A Case Study of Russia
Much has been written about the economic and political problems of countries that are in the process of changing from centrally planned systems to market systems. Most studies have focused on the economic, legal, political and sociological problems these economies have had to face during the transition period. However, not much has been written about the dramatic changes that have to be made to the accounting and financial system of a transition economy. This book was written to help fill that gap. Using Russia as a case study the authors examined all the major aspects of accounting reform, starting with problems of implementation. They also examined the current state of auditing in Russia. They also devote chapters to corporate governance issues, the Russian tax system and the problems Russian enterprises face when they try to attract foreign direct investment.
A Successful Transformation? : Restructuring of the Czech Automobile Industry
This book investigates the complex processes of the post-1990 transformation in the Czech automotive industry and its selective integration in the West European automobile manufacturing system. The post-1990 restructuring of the Czech automotive industry is analyzed in the context of its pre-1990 development and in the context of the Central and East European automobile industry as a whole. Specifically, the book examines the development and post-1990 restructuring of the Czech passenger car industry, the components industry and truck manufacturing. Major topics covered include the development of the Czech automotive industry before 1990, the detailed case study of Škoda Auto, the effects of the post-1990 privatization in the Czech automotive industry, the role and effects of foreign direct investment during the post-1990 restructuring, the restructuring of the Czech truck industry, and the rapid development of the automotive components manufacturing.
