The Role of the Namayande in Iran's Textile Industry

The Iranian textile industry still remains important as one of the largest sources of employment within the non-petroleum sector, although it no longer plays the large role it used in the country's economy (having been replaced by petroleum as the economy's primary industry). The subject of this study are middlemen known as namayande in the Iranian textile industry who plays a very important role in the operations of the innumerable small and medium-sized private firms. When private firms import materials from abroad, namayande make the connections between them and foreign sellers. These middlemen are not local sales agents of foreign companies as is usually the case; rather the namayande specialize in purchasing goods for local buyers. This study will point out some of the reasons why the namayande exist, and examine the present state of Iran's textile industry along with the particular management problems found within the firms' operations.

An Economic Derivation on Trade Coefficients under the Framework of Multi-regional I-O Analysis

The gravity model, entropy model, potential type model and others like these have been adopted to formulate interregional trade coefficients under the framework of Multi-Regional I-O (MRIO) analysis. Since most of these models are based upon analogies in physics or on statistical principles, they do not provide a theoretical explanation from the view of a firm's or individual's rational and deterministic decision making. In this paper, according to the deterministic choice theory, not only is an alternative formulation of the trade coefficients presented, but also a discussion of an appropriate definition for purchasing prices indices. Since this formulation is consistent with the MRIO system, it can be employed as a useful model-building tool in multi-regional models such as the spatial CGE model.

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.