Administrative costs of regulation and foreign direct investment: evidence from Standard Cost Model implementation in non-OECD countries

In recent years both developed and developing countries have experienced an increasing number of government initiatives dedicated to reducing the administrative costs (AC) imposed on businesses by regulation. We use a bi-linear fixed-effects model to analyze the extent to which government initiatives to reduce AC through the Standard Cost Model (SCM) attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) among 32 developing countries. Controlling for standard determinants of the SCM, we find that the SCM in most cases leads to higher FDI and that the benefits are more significant where the SCM has been implemented for a longer period.

Quantitative analysis of indexed publications on seventeen model organisms in nine countries, from 1974 to 2006

Developed countries have an even distribution of published papers on the seventeen model organisms. Developing countries have biased preferences for a few model organisms which are associated with endemic human diseases. A variant of the Hirsch-index, that we call the mean (mo)h-index (""model organism h-index""), shows an exponential relationship with the amount of papers published in each country on the selected model organisms. Developing countries cluster together with low mean (mo)h-indexes, even those with high number of publications. The growth curves of publications on the recent model Caenorhabditis elegans in developed countries shows different formats. We also analyzed the growth curves of indexed publications originating from developing countries. Brazil and South Korea were selected for this comparison. The most prevalent model organisms in those countries show different growth curves when compared to a global analysis, reflecting the size and composition of their research communities.

Diagnostics for the Developing World: Microfluidic Paper-Based Analytical Devices

Microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (mu PADs) are a new class of point-of-care diagnostic devices that are inexpensive, easy to use, and designed specifically for use in developing countries. (To listen to a podcast about this feature, please go to the Analytical Chemistry multimedia page at pubs.acs.org/page/ancham/audio/index.html.)

The Relationship between Transport Infrastructure and EconomicGrowth: An Empirical Analysis Comparing Developing and DevelopedCountries

Gross domestic product (GDP) is generally considered as the most important index and comprehensive measure of the size of economy. This paper investigates empirically the relationship between transport infrastructure (focus on highways) and GDP growth based on a production function approach. The physical stocks of transport infrastructure were used instead of monetary data to measure public capital together with several other variables (labor and private capital) that were hypothesized to affect economic growth. Then we explore a number of subsequent studies that use panel data covering the period between 1992 and 2004. An investigation was done to compare developed countries and developing countries. Results indicate that physical units are positively and significantly related to economic growth. Furthermore there was an interesting finding that the output elasticity with respect to physical units for developed countries is higher than developing countries.

Corporate social responsibility of small businesses: a developing country perspective

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has emerged as an important concept for developing countries in recent years. This paper investigates the issues of CSR relating to small businesses that have emerged as a result of market-based reforms in developing countries, where the compliance of voluntary standards, code of conduct and regulations are limited. The paper argues that prevalence of corruption, lack of rule based governance, resource constraints for effective capacity building on the part of the state and lack of awareness have created a weak and unethical corporate culture leading to low levels of CSR in developing countries. Using Bangladesh agriculture sector as an exemplar, this paper investigates how small businesses trading in agricultural inputs with no brand capital and low public visibility are behaving in a socially irresponsible way, in an environment of inadequate regulatory sanctions and compliance by selling contaminated inputs to farmers who are mostly poor and not even aware of their rights. The low levels of CSR is undermining and also threatening the sustainability of the positive impact of the market-based reforms undertaken in this sector. The paper proposes that integrated governance linking state, private sector and civil society can promote good governance and better CSR relating to small businesses .

Labour and economic development: emerging issues in developing Asia

Contents:
Child labour and economic development : emerging issues in developing Asia /​ Gamini Herath and Kishor Sharma
Child labour in developing countries : review of theoretical and : empirical issues /​ Gamini Herath
Cumulative causation as explanation and policy base for child labour /​ G. Bamberry
Child labour : an integrated approach /​ Manohar Pawar
Trade, growth and child labour practices in South Asia /​ Kishor Sharma
An overview of child labour laws, prevention strategies and assessment of their effectiveness in Bangladesh /​ Jesmul Hasan
An overview of child labour in India /​ Subhashini Subbaraman and Harald von Witzke
Child labour in India : a critical evaluation of four issues /​ Anna Pinto
Prevention of child labour in Nepal : an overview of strategy and effectiveness
Chiranjibi nepal
Prevention of child labour in Pakistan : analysis of strategy and effectiveness /​ Shafqat Munir and Hassan Mangi
Issues relating to prevention of child labour in Sri Lanka /​ Nisha Arunatilake and Roshani de Silva.

NGO's use of the media to create changes in corporate activities and accountabilities : evidence from a developing country

This paper investigates how social and environmental NGOs use the news media to create changes in the operations and associated accountabilities of multinational companies operating in, or sourcing products from, a developing country. In this research, we explicitly seek the views of senior officers from global and local NGOs operating in Bangladesh, as well as the views of journalists from major global and local news media organisations. Our results show that social and environmental NGOs strategically use the news media to effect change in the operating and disclosure policies pertaining to corporate labour practices. More particularly, both the NGOs and the news media representatives stated that NGOs would be relatively powerless to create change without media coverage. Our results also show that the media agenda has been responsible for creating improvements in working condition within Bangladesh, but further improvements are necessary. This is the first known study to specifically address the joint role of NGOs and the news media in creating changes in the social and environmental operating and disclosure practices of organisations operating in developing countries.

Vulnerability, trade, financial flows and state failure in small island developing states

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are very different to other developing countries. Relative to GDP they have the highest levels of foreign trade and aid receipts of all developing countries. Remittances from abroad are a far more important source of income for SIDS, and some depend very heavily on export revenues. The quality of governance varies tremendously among SIDS, they are over-represented among countries classified as fragile states and many are prone to state failure. These and other factors combine to make SIDS highly vulnerable to external economic shocks. Achieving development in SIDS is as a consequence an especially complex task that requires an understanding of the roles played by aid, trade, remittances and governance in these countries. This paper looks at these issues, along with providing various stylised facts about SIDS. In so doing it serves as a background and broad contextual setting for the papers that follow in this Special Issue on 'Fragility and Development in Small Island Developing States'.

Why ERP systems fail to generate intended benefits in developing-country organisations

ERP adoptions in developing countries such as Sri Lanka have struggled to achieve intended benefits. To identify reasons for this problem, this paper begins by integrating ERP benefit-derivers models in developed countries, and Hayami’s technology-transfer model, which argues that three factors retard adoption of imported technology in a developing country, namely, culture, institutions and resources. The model is tested using four in-depth case studies in Sri Lanka. The results suggest that Hayami’s factors, culture, institutions and resources, are, indeed, key factors that make benefits from ERP systems difficult to achieve in Sri Lanka, and by inference, in other developing countries.

Intellectual property, creativity and innovation : IP models and the political economy of developing Asia

In advanced capitalist societies, intellectual property laws protecting such subject matter as copyright and patents are justified by a combination of theories, which include the provision of economic incentives to foster creativity and innovation and the prevention of unfair competition. IP academics and policy makers have differing views about the appropriate balance between these objectives and public interest considerations such as health, education and the protection of the environment. These different views entered the policy debate in Asian developing countries in connection with an unprecedented introduction and expansion of IP laws over the last 25 years. This paper will use case studies of law reform from Asia, in particular Southeast Asia, to show that the policy considerations of governments in reforming their laws were often quite different from the standard rationale mentioned above. As much of the IP was, at least initially, held by foreigners and introduced to attract foreign investment, national development considerations were joined with the more commonly quoted objectives to promote the rights, creativity and innovation of individuals. Such national development objectives at times coincided and at other times collided with official explanations and received wisdom about the effects of stronger IP rights.

Especially in the early postcolonial period, copyright laws and other IP laws were frequently restricted or simply not implemented, if they conflicted with development policies in areas such as education or public health. Such policies were slowly changing in the wake of WTO-TRIPS and other international agreements. Nevertheless, the implementation and enforcement of the IP laws has been uneven. Specialised institutions such as courts and IP administering agencies compete with other branches of government and administration for limited funding and a rich repertoire of informal dispute settlement procedures has kept the number of court cases relatively low. In some countries, censorship laws have influenced freedom of expression and led to quite idiosyncratic interpretations of intellectual property laws. Governments often also retain a role in the assessment of licensing and technology transfer contracts. And while there are many programs to foster individual creativity, in most cases R & D activities are still largely taking place in government institutions and this has influenced the thinking about intellectual property rights and creativity in the context of employment.

The paper uses a few case studies to examine the implementation of IP laws in selected Asian developing countries to point to the quite different institutional setting for IP law reform in comparison to European or American models. It reaches some tentative conclusions as to the likely effects on creativity and innovation under these different circumstances.

Environmental incidents in a developing country and corporate environmental disclosures : a study of a multinational gas company

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the environmental disclosure initiatives of Niko Resources Ltd – a Canada-based multinational oil and gas company – following the two major environmental blowouts at a gas field in Bangladesh in 2005. As part of the examination, the authors particularly focus on whether Niko’s disclosure strategy was associated with public concern pertaining to the blowouts.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors reviewed news articles about Niko’s environmental incidents in Bangladesh and Niko’s communication media, including annual reports, press releases and stand-alone social responsibility report over the period 2004-2007, to understand whether news media attention as proxy for public concern has an impact on Niko’s disclosure practices in relation to the affected local community in Bangladesh.
Findings – The findings show that Niko did not provide any non-financial environmental information within its annual reports and press releases as a part of its responsibility to the local community which was affected by the blowouts, but it did produce a stand-alone report to address the issue. However, financial environmental disclosures, such as the environmental contingent liability disclosure, were adequately provided through annual reports to meet the regulatory requirements concerning environmental persecutions. The findings also suggest that Niko’s non-financial disclosure within a stand-alone report was associated with the public pressures as measured by negative media coverage towards the Niko blowouts.
Research limitations/implications – This paper concludes that the motive for Niko’s non-financial environmental disclosure, via a stand-alone report, reflected survival considerations:
the company’s reaction did not suggest any real attempt to hold broader accountability for its activities in a developing country.
Originality/value – This is the first known paper that investigates a multinational company’s disclosure behavior in relation to environmental incidents which occurred in a local community.

Corporate social reporting preferences in a developing country : evidence from Iran

This paper provides new empirical evidence regarding corporate social responsibility information needs, perceptions and preferences in a developing country, Iran. While there is substantial research which has examined CSR practice, little reference has been made to the needs of major ‘users’ in developing countries. Results show that users of CSR information favor the corporate annual report as the primary disclosure source. They identified information about environment as the most important CSR information. While respondents believe that the level of CSR information provided is insufficient, the overall levels of understandability and credibility are acceptable. Users also indicated that they would prefer to have government as opposed to professional regulations governing CSR disclosure. This is a significant examination specifically directed at major users of CSR information in Iran; the findings presented in this paper contribute as a platform for the evolution of CSR disclosure guidelines in developing countries.