China’s transport and communications firms: transforming national champions into global players

China’s entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) exposes its state‐owned maritime, aviation and telecommunications operators to unprecedented competition. This development raises a series of critical issues about China’s transition from a state‐planned regime towards a real market economy. How will China’s leading state‐owned firms in deep‐sea container shipping, air passenger transport and telecommunications respond to the dilemma posed by the World Trade Organisation and to what extent has Hong Kong been involved in China’s transport and communications restructuring process? These broad issues are addressed by examining progress on the Chinese Government’s post‐1993 plans to restructure each of the key state enterprises in sea‐land transport, air transport and telecommunications. Specifically we are concerned with the degree to which China’s national champions in these transport and communications arenas have been remade into global players. Particular attention is paid to the role of Hong Kong in this transformation since its return to China in 1997. Our studies show that China has transformed its national champions into a global players in container shipping. The process may be beginning to happen in air transport but has yet to get underway in telecommunications.     

中国省域农业产业竞争力评价与分析

将竞争力理论与国情相结合构建中国省域农业竞争力评价指标体系,综合应用因子分析法与德尔菲法确定指标权重,并以全国性的统计年鉴数据为基础对中国大陆地区31个省市的农业产业竞争力进行评价与动态分析。     

More than a ‘blip’: The changed character of South‐East Asia’s engagement with the global economy in the post‐1997 period

Abstract: Through reviewing South‐East Asia’s recent economic engagement with the global economy, this paper points to profound recent transformations in the scope and character of the region’s development. Foreign direct investment was the key driver of regional growth in the pre‐1997 period, yet currently, the region faces a more difficult and multifaceted economic arena from which to attract such funds. Foreign direct investment is more selective, both geographically and by sector, than was the case in that earlier period. This paper explains the confluence of economics, business practices and politics that are giving rise to these outcomes, and concludes from this that development trajectories in South‐East Asia will become more diverse between the countries of the region, with implications for how we understand regional economic performance.     

我国养殖大黄鱼的出口竞争力分析

本文通过对我国大黄鱼产业出口现状的描述,揭示了大黄鱼出口市场的基本特征：由于我国大黄鱼养殖产地集中,出口省份也较为集中,并且面临着严峻的贸易壁垒。同时,文章通过运用出口竞争力指标,对几个省份的大黄鱼出口优、劣势作出了分析。并提出了积极寻找新型出口方式、拓展出口市场、加强出口产品的多样化以及合理规避贸易壁垒等建议,以实现大黄鱼出口利润的稳步增长。     

Geographical ‘handicaps’ and small states: Some implications for the Pacific from a global perspective

Abstract: Research on the economic performance of small states has concentrated on the implications of small size and thin local markets. An interesting feature of many of the world's smallest states, of which the Pacific region has many, is that they face additional challenges than just small size. Many are remote from global markets for their products. In addition, a large number are also islands, many of which are also mountainous. Many of the smaller states are not just islands, but are also archipelagos. Hence in addition to small size, many of the world's small states also exhibit four other characteristics that may affect their economic performance: insularity, remoteness, being archipelagos and being highly mountainous entities. This paper examines the nature of the challenges posed by these four characteristics and seeks to produce empirical evidence of how difficult it has been to overcome these challenges. The paper draws on empirical evidence for 126 very small global states, dependent territories and highly autonomous regions. The paper then turns to the position of the Pacific small states and dependent territories.     

The Changing Organisation of Work in Malaysia’s Electronics Industry

The early growth phase of Malaysia’s electronics industry coincided in the 1970s with high unemployment and accelerated rural­urban migration and a willingness to make considerable concessions to foreign transnationals seeking suitable cheap and passive labour sites. The result was a very rigid exploitation of the labour force. Interviews with a variety of contemporary electronics firms show how this changed in the I 980s and I 990s. Demand for labour increased and unemployment declined, automation removed much of the labour intensity and raised the need for skill and cooperation and commitment of those hired to work in an increasingly sophisticated sector. Wages rose and management practices changed, together with the introduction of flexible production techniques, preventative maintenance and quality control, each of which required considerable employee participation. Despite these changes, both firms and government have resisted attempts nationwide unionisation of the industry.