Business Cycles of Non-mono-cultural Developing Economies: The Case of ASEAN Countries

Based on analyses of actual data, we reveal that many Asian developing economies own economic structural features of "non-mono-cultural economy" and the "large primary good sector", which have not been discussed in developing economies RBC literature. We also examine the input-output tables to develop a model reflecting actual developing economies' structures. Referring to the analyses, we construct RBC models of ASEAN countries. Based on the model, we find that approximately half of GDP volatility is attributable to domestic productivity shocks, and the remaining half is attributable to price shocks.

Trade and Business Cycle Correlations in Asia-Pacific

Recent empirical studies challenge the traditional theory of optimum currency areas by arguing that a monetary union enhances trade and business cycle co-movements among its member countries sufficiently as to obviate the need for national monetary policy. This paper examines the empirical relationship between trade and business cycle correlations among thirteen Asia-Pacific countries, paying particular attention to the structural characteristics of their economies and other issues not explored fully in the literature. According to our result, although trade is relevant to the business cycles of individual countries, the main determinant of their international correlations is not the geographical structure of their trade but what they produce and export --more specifically the extent to which their output and exports are concentrated on electronic products.

Family Business in Mexico: Responses to Human Resource Limitations and Management Succession

Indigenous firms in Mexico, as in most developing countries, take the shape of family businesses. Regardless of size, the most predominant ones are those owned and managed by one or more families or descendent families of the founders. From the point of view of economics and business administration, family business is considered to have variety of limitations when it seeks to grow. One of the serious limitations is concerning human resource, which is revealed at the time of management succession. Big family businesses in Mexico deal with human resource limitations adopting measures such as the education and training of the successors, the establishment of management structure that makes control by the owner family possible and divisions of roles among the owner family members, and between the owner family members and the salaried managers. Institutionalization is a strategy that considerable number of family businesses have adopted in order to undergo the succession process without committing serious errors. Institutionalization is observed in such aspects as the establishment of the requisite condition to be met by the candidate of future successor and the screening by an institution which is independent of the owner family. At present these measures allow for the continuation of family businesses in an extremely competitive environment.

Family Business in Peru: Survival and Expansion under the Liberalization

It is argued that joint stock companies would be transformed from family firms to managerial firms with their development in size and scope. Such managerial firms would have many small shareholders; hence the ownership and management of the firm would be separated. However, in many developing countries including Peru, family businesses, in which families control both ownership and management, still play an important role in the national economy. After the liberalization of economy, which started in Peru in the 1990s, the national market has become more competitive due to the increase in participation of foreign capitals. To secure competitiveness, it is indispensable for family businesses to obtain management resources such as financial, human and technological resources from outside of the families. In order to do so without losing the control over ownership and management, Peruvian family businesses have incorporated companies with distinct characteristics to the extent that they can secure the control over ownership and management inside of their group. While keeping exclusive control of companies in traditional sectors, they actively seek alliance with other families and foreign capitals in competitive sectors. The management of companies with different degrees of control allows them to survive in today's rapidly changing business environment.

Business Cycles and Seasonal Cycles in Bangladesh

The empirical regularities of the Bangladesh business and seasonal cycles are documented in this study. Spectrums, seasonality, volatility, cyclicality, and persistence in the level and variance of macroeconomic variables in Bangladesh are explored using monthly and quarterly macroeconomic series. Most of the features of U.S. and East-Southeast Asian business cycles are common to Bangladeshi business cycles; however, there are some differences. As is seen in the U.S. and European economies, seasonal cycles accentuate the features of business cycles in Bangladesh. To our surprise, the seasonal cycles in Bangladesh embody the features of business cycles in the U.S. and East-Southeast Asian economies more thoroughly than they do the business cycles in Bangladesh.

International real business cycles : a re-visit

It is well known that several quantitative properties of international real business cycle models with are at odds with the data. First, the cross-country correlations are much higher for consumption than for output, while in the data the opposite is true (the BKK puzzle). Second, cross-country correlations of employment and investment are negative, while in the data they are positive. This paper quantitatively shows that preferences with a zero income effect on labor supply help generate a correct cross-country correlation in employment even without any restrictions on financial markets. In a bond economy, a zero income effect in labor supply, combined with time-to-build investment, can generate a positive cross-country correlation in investment, and the BKK puzzle is also resolved when the inter-temporal elasticity of substitution in labor supply is low.

Platforms, network effects and small business dynamics in China : case study of the Shanzhai cell phone industry

This paper seeks to argue the significance of platforms on emerging markets through a case study of the Shanzhai cell phone industry in Shenzhen, China. In this industry, value chains are being driven by both the technology platforms and the market platforms. The former include MTK baseband chipset, and so-called Shared PCBA and Shared Mould. The latter include the North Huaqiang Market and the Purchasing and Money Platform. Technology platforms greatly reduced the technological barriers to entry for independent design houses and system integrators, while market platforms markedly improved their poor marketing and purchasing abilities. Due to factors such as social networks, supporting industries, informality and platform governance, strong network effects have been exhibited in the two types of platforms, which have not only fostered numerous start-ups, but have also led to effective exploitation of emerging markets.

The gap between recognition and the 'compensation business' : the claim against Britain for compensation by Kenya's former Mau Mau fighters

During the first Kibaki administration (2002-2007), a movement by the former Mau Mau fighters demanded recognition for the role that they had played in the achievement of independence. They began to demand, also, monetary compensation for past injustices. Why had it taken over 40 years (from independence in 1963) for the former Mau Mau fighters to initiate this movement? What can be observed as the outcome of their movement? To answer these questions, three different historical currents need to be taken into account. These were, respectively, changing trends in the government of Kenya, progress in historical research into the actual circumstances of colonial control, and a realization, based on mounting experience, that launching a legal action against Britain could turn out to be a lucrative initiative. This paper concludes that, regardless of the actual purpose of the legal case, neither of their objectives was certain to be achieved. Two inescapable realities remain: the doubts cast on the reputation of the government by its decision to lift the Mau Mau‟s outlaw status – a decision that was widely seen as a latter-day example of the „Kikuyu favouritism‟ policy followed by the first Kibaki administration – and the popular interpretation of the involvement of Leigh Day, well known in Kenya ever since the unexploded bombs case for its success in obtaining substantial compensation payments, as a vehicle for squeezing large amounts of money from the British government for the benefit of the Kikuyu people.

The business management strategy of Iran's large apparel firms : overview of results from a questionnaire survey and interviews 2009-2011

This paper is an overview of the results from a questionnaire survey and subsequent supplementary interviews of Iran's large apparel firms conducted by the author in 2009-2011. Most of the large apparel firms in Iran are based in Tehran and have been in business for some twenty years. They have a solid business with regular customers, but in general have hesitated to expand the size of their firms. Following the relaxation of restrictions on the procurement of raw materials that existed in the 1990s, the results of survey and interviews show that the firms have developed new channels of procurement although they depend to a considerable degree on imported raw materials and machinery. They have managed to maintain their level of output even with the rapid increase in imports since 2000, although the number of firms has decreased. Low-priced Chinese products have basically not been their rivals; instead, the inflow of foreign name-brand products have hit them heavily.

Inflation targeting in Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines : the impact on business cycle synchronization between each country and the world

This paper empirically analyzes whether and to what extent the adoption of inflation targeting (IT) in Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines has affected their business cycle synchronization with the rest of the world. By employing the dynamic conditional correlation (DCC) model developed by Engle (2002), we find that IT in Asia has little effect on international business cycle synchronization and the effect is positive in some of the countries, if any. These findings basically seem to be consistent with the evidence from relevant literature.

Migration, labor and business in the worlding cities of the Arabian Peninsula

This short essay, built on a foundation of more than a decade of fieldwork in the hydrocarbon-rich societies of the Arabian peninsula, distills a set of overarching threads woven through much of that time and work. Those threads include a discussion of the social heterogeneity of the Gulf State citizenries, the central role of development and urban development in these emergent economies, the multifaceted impact of migrants and migration upon these host societies, and the role of foreign 'imagineers' in the portrayal of Gulf societies, Gulf values, and Gulf social norms.

State-business relations in the smaller gulf monarchies -- the role of business actors in the decision-making process

The Arab monarchies of the Gulf have been undergoing striking socio-economic changes caused by the ending of the rent-based welfare state model on which they had largely relied since the 1950s. In this perspective, this paper aims at examining the comparative role of local business communities in affecting the orientations and the outcomes of the policies implemented during the period of high oil prices in the 2000s. This paper pays a special attention to the impact of the Arab Spring on the state-business relations in two of the smaller Gulf monarchies (Bahrain and Oman).

Changes in source of profits and business strategies? : some evidence from the Philippines' universal banks in the 2000s

In the 2000s, the Philippines' local banking sector have conducted very conservative lending behavior and at the same time, gradually but continuously improved their profitability in terms of ROE (return on equity). A set of analyses on the flow of funds and segment reports (information) of local universal banks, whose loans outstanding to the industrial sector have dominated more than three fourths of the total outstanding, shows that (1) they have actively manage assets overseas, (2) their profitability has come from investment activities in the securities markets, and (3) some universal banks have shifted their resources into the consumer/retail segment. Although further refinement in the dataset is needed for a more detailed analysis, diverse business strategies would be expected among the local universal banks in the near future.