Forecasting Housing Investment in Developing Countries

In this paper we estimate alternative models of the growth rate of real housing investment for Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the U.S. Pure time series models generally provide superior fit to these growth rate data both within and out of the sample period. These time series models are then used to forecast investment growth rates in other countries. The results indicate that such time series models can be used to provide reasonable accurate forecasts for other countries.     

Firm Networks and Korean Subsidiaries in the United States

ABSTRACT This article examines the role of intra‐, inter‐, and extra‐firm networks in influencing the location and investment of Korean firms and their subsidiaries in the U.S. Based on a survey of Korean subsidiaries in the U.S. in 2004, this article finds that inter‐firm relations with customers and suppliers, as well as intra‐firm relations in the form of parent firms’ knowledge of the U.S. play an important role in locational decision. Korean subsidiaries’ relationships with U.S. places are strongly influenced by home‐based practices that favor hierarchical intra‐firm organization and embedded sociopolitical extra‐firm relationships that emphasize blood, school, and regional ties. Location in U.S. industrial clusters does not increase Korean subsidiaries’ level of autonomy from parent firm's control that could help facilitate the sourcing of local knowledge and resources. Only improved intra‐firm network positionality positively contributes to increased subsidiary autonomy. Overall, the findings indicate that while inter‐firm relations may be important in locational selection among Korean firms, network norms are largely maintained through intra‐firm and, to a lesser extent, extra‐firm relations.     

Compatibility of evolutionary and mutation breeding methods

X-ray induced barley mutants and their prototype Hannchen were tested for their behaviour in evolutionary breeding (the term is used to indicate the application of population genetics to plant breeding). It was shown that only the better mutants survive. Eventually only the fittest mutants and recombinants will comprise the population.Contribution from the Crops Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Agronomy Departments of the University of California and of Arizona, co-operating. The mutants were selected from a culture grown for R. S. Caldecott at Brawley California in 1955.Research Agronomist and Geneticist, Crops Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Field Station, Supt., University of California, respectively at Davis, California, Tucson, Arizona, and Tulelake, California.     

S-RNase genotyping and incompatibility group assignment by PCR and pollination experiments in Japanese plum

Most Japanese plum-type cultivars are self-incompatible and cross pollination is necessary to ensure fruit set. In this study, the S -RNase genotype and the incompatibility group of 68 Japanese plum-type cultivars were determined by PCR amplification of the S-RNase gene. The S -RNase genotype of 50 cultivars is first reported here and five new Japanese plum S -RNase alleles ( So , Sp , Sq , Sr , Ss ) were identified. The results obtained, together with information compiled from previous studies, allowed describing 12 new incompatibility groups (VIII–XIX). The self-incompatibility of several cultivars and the cross-compatibility among different incompatibility groups were verified by self- and cross-pollination experiments followed by observation of pollen tube growth. Five cultivars behaved as self-compatible, but two of them do not have the Se allele, which has been correlated with self-compatibility. Thus, additional sources of self-compatibility different from Se appear to be involved in Japanese plum self-compatibility.     

Labor Market of a U.S.-Japanese Automobile Joint Venture

Starting with a brief location analysis of the plant site, in this paper we analyze the characteristics and geography of the labor market for a U.S.- Japanese automobile joint venture. Based on a survey of the firm's employees, we show that the labor market is two-tiered and stretches over many states in the United States. There are clear differences in skills, gender and socio-demographic characteristics between short and long distance movers, and American workers are willing and able to adapt to technology and work practices originating in a different culture. Most employees hold positive opinions of the work environment and practices at the plant, Japanese influence in the U.S. economy and U.S.-Japanese economic relations, despite perceiving Japan as an economic threat to the United States. We conclude with some policy implications of our findings and an agenda for future research.     

From R&D to Innovation and Economic Growth in the EU

ABSTRACT Over the last two decades many European governments have pursued ambitious research and development (R&D) policies with the aim of fostering innovation and economic growth in peripheral regions of Europe. The question is whether these policies are paying off. Arguments such as the need to reach a minimum threshold of research, the existence of important distance decay effects in the diffusion of technological spillovers, the presence of increasing returns to scale in R&D investments, or the unavailability of the necessary socio‐economic conditions in these regions to generate innovation seem to cast doubts about the possible returns of these sort of policies. This paper addresses this question. A two‐step analysis is used in order to first identify the impact of R&D investment of the private, public, and higher education sectors on innovation (measured as the number of patent applications per million population). The influence of innovation and innovation growth on economic growth is then addressed. The results indicate that R&D investment, as a whole, and higher education R&D investment in peripheral regions of the EU, in particular, are positively associated with innovation. The existence and strength of this association are, however, contingent upon region‐specific socio‐economic characteristics, which affect the capacity of each region to transform R&D investment into innovation and, eventually, innovation into economic growth.     

Globalization and Regional Change in the U.S. Furniture Industry

ABSTRACT Furniture manufacturing has experienced rapid globalization in recent years. This is mainly the result of global production networks established by large manufacturers and retailers seeking to reduce costs in a highly competitive environment. The industry's globalization has been facilitated by technological innovations and the global reduction of trade and investment barriers. In the U.S., furniture‐producing regions are experiencing tumultuous change. Growing numbers of firms are outsourcing production to China, which is now responsible for about half of all U.S. furniture imports. Employment levels have plummeted. However, an analysis of spatial patterns of employment, output, and capital investment in U.S. furniture manufacturing shows that regional change is not uniform. Southern regions characterized by larger firms specializing in wooden case goods production have been especially vulnerable to job loss.     

Canadian Investment in Northern New York: Impact of Exchange Rates on Foreign Direct Investment

This paper investigates the determinants of Canadian direct investment in Northern New York, focusing on the influence of changing foreign exchange rates. Hypotheses are formulated that new investment should be positively related to the value of the U.S. dollar while expansions of existing facilities ought to be unrelated to exchange rate movements. These predictions are supported by the data. Since Canadian investment is found to behave quite differently from domestic-source investment, we conclude that other factors besides exchange rates account for much of this difference.¹     

Globalization and Restructuring during Downturns: A Case Study of California

Restructuring through foreign outsourcing, whereby greater imports of manufactured inputs substitute for blue‐collar labor, is shown to intensify when industries experience declines in sales. The magnitude of this effect was four to seven times greater in California industries experiencing a 20 percent sales decline from 1987‐1992, relative to those industries whose sales dropped by 5 percent. Foreign outsourcing explains a quarter to two‐fifths of the rise in payroll inequality between blue and white collar workers in California and perhaps five to ten percent of the rise in the remainder of the U.S. Past work linked growing inequality with foreign outsourcing and restructuring with economic downturns. Here, foreign outsourcing is used as an example of a particular efficiency augmenting measure, which occurs predominantly, though not exclusively, in troubled industries.     

The rise of Chinese foreign direct investment in the United States: Disentangling investment strategies of state-owned and private enterprises

Over the last two decades, China's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) has expanded rapidly. The country is now the world's second-largest source of OFDI. China is often viewed as a monolithic investor, however, without sufficient attention to the differences between investments by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private enterprises (PEs). To shed light on the internal complexity and heterogeneity of Chinese OFDI, we construct a panel dataset of investments in the U.S. across the 50 states and Washington, D.C. from 2005 to 2017, which we analyze using a spatial autoregressive model. We find clear evidence that the ownership structure of Chinese firms affects investment strategy and entry mode. Statistical analysis indicates that SOEs are more likely to pursue greenfield investment motivated by market-seeking and resource-seeking objectives, while PEs pursue mergers and acquisitions in order to obtain strategic assets. We also detect a positive and significant relationship between the presence of Chinese overseas communities and OFDI, with the strength of the correlation depending on ownership structure. Finally, we find that Chinese OFDI is spatially dependent, meaning that investments flow to states where they are already concentrated nearby.     

Japanese service sector multinationals and the hierarchy of Pacific Rim cities

The explosive growth of Japanese service sector activities overseas since 1985 has had a significant impact on Pacific Rim cities. However, previous accounts of Japanese direct foreign investment in services have been constrained by official statistics which provide comparative information only at a national level. This paper uses establishment level data to assess changes in the spatial patterns of Japanese service firms among 35 cities as well as changes in the hierarchy of cities in the Pacific during the years 1985 to 1995. The period saw important changes in Japan’s economy such as the emergence of a ‘bubble economy’ up to 1990 and domestic recession after that. The results show the importance of Hong Kong, Singapore and Los Angeles as centres of Japanese service firms. However, the analysis indicates that a shift occurred in Japanese service sector focus over the study period, across the Pacific Rim from North America and Oceania to cities of the Asia-Pacific region. Along with that shift the concentration of services in just a few cities has remained unchanged, even though some new cities have emerged in importance.     

Migration regions and population redistribution

"Gross and net migration flows among...[U.S.] states for 1975-80 were used to define migration regions, or groups of states with similar patterns of net interchange. This typology may be characterized as a transition from a northeastern 'core' which lost to all other regions to a northwestern 'periphery' which gained from all other regions. Florida and California were found to have an important role in redistributing population. The typology was also valid for all age groups and across racial and ethnic categories. The typology remained meaningful when the 1975-80 data were compared to 1965-70 and 1980-85 data, despite great volatility in net migration and significant change in the placement of many states." Data are taken primarily from the 1980 census.     

Growth of Creative Occupations in U.S. Metropolitan Areas: A Shift‐Share Analysis

ABSTRACT This article uses a shift‐share model to investigate the growth of creative occupations in U.S. metropolitan areas during the 1990s. Empirical findings indicate that the performance of the creative economy varied widely across the U.S., and that the highest competitive growth rates of the creative workforce occurred in the Rocky Mountain, Southeast, and Southwest regions. Further analysis focused on whether high competitive workforce growth between 1990 and 2000 translated into high competitive employment growth from 1999 to 2003. The results show that many of the areas with the highest competitive growth rates of creative economy employment from 1999 to 2003 were some of the weakest regions in terms of creative workforce growth during the 1990s. This raises questions about the extent to which jobs follow people in the creative economy, and suggests that an initial strong presence in the creative economy is not a prerequisite for future growth.     

Improvements of Fiber Yield and Fiber Fineness by Expressing the iaaM Gene in Cotton Seed Coat

Cotton,the most important natural fiber crop in the world,is a mainstay in China's economy.However,for over two decades,cotton yields both in China and U.S.have been at a plateau.One reason for this plateau is the limitation of current cotton germplasm.Cotton fibers are single cells resulting from elongated cells of the ovule epidermis.IAA regulates both plant growth and differentiation,and it has important roles in cotton fiber development.     

Should State and Local Government Bidding for Big Businesses Be More Like eBay?

During recent decades, and especially after the economic downturn that began in the late 2000s, many U.S. state and local governments have intensified their pro‐growth efforts to promote corporate investment and jobs, including ever higher incentives (such as tax breaks and grants) in their bidding wars for big businesses. This paper draws an analogy—between bidding for big businesses and bidding on eBay—to highlight the drawbacks of high‐profile bidding wars among governments given that the large corporations establish the bidding rules in their favor. The main consideration raised is whether state and local government bidding for big businesses, which operates analogously to an auction, should be more like eBay, whose rules are fair not only for sellers but also for bidders.     

自交亲和与自交不亲和日本梨中S4基因的研究进展

综述了近20年日本梨中与自交亲和和自交不亲和有关的S4基因的研究进展。这些结果包括：“二十世纪”(基因型为S2S4)为自交不亲和品种,其突变品种“奥嗄二十世纪”(基因型 为S2S4SM,SM=stylar part mutant;花柱部分突变)为自交亲和型。“奥嗄二十世纪”自交亲和的原因有三点：(1)S4SM基因被删除或者是低水平表达。(2)S4SM基因仅在柱头表达。(3)S4SM基因表达较迟。这主要是由于“二十世纪”S基因座上的S4等位基因发生了高度突变成为S4SM基因或者S4等位基因被删除,导致其基因产物花柱中的S4-RNase受到高度抑制或缺乏的缘故。S4基因由997bp组成,其中85~768bp为684bp的阅读框,925~931bp和943~950bp为多聚腺苷酸信号。S4基因的表达产物为S4蛋白,S4蛋白由228个氨基酸残基组成,其中N端的27个氨基酸残基为信号肽,成熟的S4蛋白由201个氨基酸残基组成。S4蛋白的生理功能是抑制花粉的萌发和花粉管的伸长。     

Sources of Output Change in the U.S. Economy

Output changes in the U.S. economy from 1972 to 1977 are analyzed using a 477-sector input-output framework. The empirical model is based on benchmark data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Commodity output changes are attributed to technical change, import substitution, changes in domestic final demand, and changes in export demand. Special attention is given to the importance of international trade and the patterns of change observed in rapidly growing and declining sectors. The results indicate that 71 percent of the sectors lost domestic market share to imports, but on balance international trade contributed to positive output change through increased exports. Technology changes became increasingly important in sectors of the economy experiencing either rapid growth or decline. Conversely, final demand, exports, and import substitution generally appeared to be most important in the slowly changing sectors. These findings confirm and expand on earlier work that indicated a dominant role for technology changes in explaining output changes in emerging and declining industries.     

New Immigrants Seeking New Places: The Role of Policy Changes in the Regional Distribution of New Immigrants to Canada

Canada, the U.S., and Australia have recently experienced an increased regional dispersion of entering immigrants. American research suggests that a mixture of economic push factors (away from states like California) and pull factors (toward states with growth of low‐wage jobs) and changing government policies and regulations contributed to the development of the New Gateways. Very few studies have been conducted to determine why the regional dispersion of entering immigrants occurred in Canada. This paper assesses the extent to which changes in immigration selection programs, notably, the Provincial Nominee Programs, contributed to the regional dispersion of entering immigrants. Using data from immigrant landing records, this study shows that different factors accounted for changes in the share of immigrants settling in different destinations. Changes in immigration selection programs played the primary role in the increasing numbers going to Saskatchewan and Manitoba, although improving economic conditions may have played an indirect role. Shifts in immigrant source regions were an important factor in the decrease in immigration to Toronto and in the increase to Montréal. Economic conditions likely played a significant role in the changes in the shares of new immigrants going to Toronto, Montréal, Calgary, and Edmonton.     

Regional population growth rate differences: note

"This note investigates regional population growth in the U.S. for 1959-84, taking into account four city sizes and three time periods. It is found that the growth is largest in city size (0.5-1.0) million and (1.0-2.0) million. Over time, the growth is largest in the less urbanized regions." The note aims to supplement the findings of Daniel Garnick and is based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.     

Spillovers and Local Growth Controls: An Alternative Perspective on Suburbanization

ABSTRACT Since the 1970s, many local jurisdictions in politically fragmented metropolitan regions have enacted growth control and management measures to tackle the challenges arising from rapid suburban growth. These locally implemented growth controls have produced spillovers—the spatial shifts of homebuilding and households to nearby localities. Using data for California, this paper investigates the link between growth controls and homebuilding. The results suggest that some of the excess homebuilding can be linked to the presence or absence of growth control measures and thus be attributed to spillover effects. Moreover, generators of spillovers are nearly exclusively located in urban areas along the coast whereas the receptors of spillovers are primarily found at the metropolitan fringes and in peripherally located jurisdictions of the interior.