Can Russia Compete in the Global Economy?

A noted British economist and analyst of current developments in Russia investigates that country's competitiveness in global merchandise export markets by seeking to determine its trade specialization and comparative advantage in a global context. In search of consistent trends, the author compares Russia's scores in 2000 on the Balassa Index of Revealed Comparative Advantage with those of 2004, and also for that year with a selected list of international competitors (Brazil, India, China, Turkey, and the United States) as well. He then discusses recent (through June 2006) government efforts to stimulate export growth in sectors currently underrepresented in Russia's trade profile and assesses prospects for improvement in the balance of Russia's export profile. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: E20, F14, F40. 7 tables, 20 references, 1 appendix.     

The Structure of Russian Industrial Exports in Comparative Perspective

A British economist presents a comparative study focused on the change in the technological structure of Russia's high- and medium-technology industrial exports. The export profiles of 19 countries in the post-communist region, including the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe are compared with those of China, India, Brazil, Mexico, and Indonesia. Classifying 260 export activities for each of the 24 countries according to the level of technology intensity required in production, the author measures change in export structures by employing the Krugman Specialization Index and the Balassa Index of Revealed Comparative Advantage. The results of measures are followed by a discussion of implications for the future development of high-tech industries and higher value-added exports in Russia. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F14, O11, O30, P50. 4 figures, 2 tables, 36 references.     

Revisiting trade and industry policy

This paper introduces some of the recurrent themes of industry policy and debates about what governments can, might and should do – as well as have done – to foster desired patterns of economic development in a market economy. It does so by way of introduction to the four papers on Australian industry policy that make up this symposium.     

Writing up the region: anchor firm dismantling and the construction of a perceived regional advantage in Swedish news media

This study investigates how geographic representations and regional industrial identity in news media are used to mobilize local/regional actors and to attract inward and outward investments by mediating and narrating stories of the recovery and rebirth of a region in distress – that is, how media contribute to economic development in or of the region. The study targets media attention covering the dismantling and relocation of two regionally embedded life science and likewise anchor firms: the Pharmacia and Upjohn merger in Uppsala in 1995 and the closure of AstraZeneca's operations in Lund in 2010. By drawing on the method of framing and content analysis of news articles derived from a public media database, the analysis show that: (a) geographic representation and associations are intensified in times of media turbulence; (b) news coverage follows two subsequent phases (an initial ‘crisis’ phase and a following more optimistic ‘recovery’ phase) and (c) news media (as intermediary actors and arenas) by communicating ideas of a shared regional industrial identity contribute to the construction of a ‘perceived regional advantage’ (as understood and communicated by news media). Thus, regional industrial identity-building and how the region is perceived by internal and external audiences are important for regional development.     

The Viking Age settlement pattern of Langholt,North Iceland: Results of the Skagafjörður Archaeological Settlement Survey

An archaeological survey of the Viking Age settlement pattern in the Langholt region of North Iceland suggests that being early in this sequence conferred tremendous advantages to the settlers of this previously uninhabited landscape. Many of the farms established during the settlement of Iceland (which began about a.d. 870) are in use today. However, accessing the Viking Age landscape is difficult. In Langholt the earliest layers of most farmsteads are buried under a thousand years of occupational debris, while the abandoned sites have been covered by extensive soil deposition. Here we report on our coring and test excavation results that outline Viking Age farmstead location, establishment date, and maximum size by the end of the Viking Age. There is a strong correlation between farmstead size and establishment date. This correlation suggests that during the rapid settlement of Iceland, the farmsteads established by earlier settlers were wealthier and that wealth endured.     

中国民用机场竞争优势的空间分布特征

经过近20年的高速发展,我国民用机场业的整体竞争实力得以提高,但伴随繁荣发展的却是机场竞争优势的区域空间分布非均衡性矛盾的突出。无论是机场数量、机场等级、机场业务量、机场业务结构,还是机场的产权结构、经营模式和经营业绩,东部都占有绝对优势。基于机场竞争优势的空间非均衡性,也形成了非均衡发展的航空运输网络,这在一定程度上加剧了区域经济发展的非均衡性。因此,为了缩小地区机场竞争实力差距,提高中西部地区机场的竞争优势,各级政府应制定相关政策,加快中西部机场发展。增建中西部新机场,提高大中型机场等级,制定相应政策,加快中西部机场产权和经营模式改革,拓宽机场的融资渠道,开拓货邮市场,吸引和引导民营资本和外国资本注入中西部机场,为中西部机场提供高效运营、不断提高竞争实力的平台。     

An information-theoretic approach to the analysis of location and colocation patterns

The study of location and colocation of economic activities lies at the heart of economic geography and related disciplines, but the indices used to quantify these patterns are often defined ad hoc and lack a clear statistical foundation. We propose a statistical framework to quantify location and colocation associations of economic activities using information-theoretic measures. We relate the resulting measures to existing measures of revealed comparative advantage, localization, specialization, and coagglomeration and show how different measures derive from the same general framework. To support the use of these measures in hypothesis testing and statistical inference, we develop a Bayesian estimation approach to provide measures of uncertainty and statistical significance of the estimated quantities. We illustrate this framework in an application to an analysis of location and colocation patterns of occupations in US cities.     

辽宁省与日本的经贸合作

自辽宁省与日本开展经贸合作以来,双方经贸关系发展迅速,彼此都从优势互补的经贸合作中获得了一定的利益。但是,随着经济的全球化、东南亚一些国家及我国中、西部地区投资环境的改善和市场的进一步开放,国际市场上初级产品和劳动密集型产品的竞争愈益激烈,对辽宁省传统产品的出口构成了严重威胁,也影响着辽宁省与日本的经贸合作向纵深拓展。本文在分析辽宁省与日本经贸合作现状特点的基础上,探讨影响双方经贸合作进一步发展的主要因素,提出推进双方经贸关系不断向前发展的政策性建议。     

农村土地交易的权利配置及利益分享

农村土地交易的现状是令人担忧的,现行物权法为农村土地交易厘清了所有权及其相关权利的关系。但是。农村土地交易仅仅依靠物权法是无法解决的。农村土地交易权利配置与利益分享机制是解决农村土地问题的关键。构建以农地发展权为基础的农地制度,再进行具体的制度安排,是构建我国土地交易利益分享机制的有效途径。     

国内区域贸易、国际贸易与国家竞争力

大国国内区域贸易与国际贸易关系主要表现在两个方面:一是国内区域贸易与国际贸易存在一定程度上的相互替代的关系;二是国内区域贸易与国际贸易存在相互促进的关系,发展国内区域贸易能提升大国在国际经济中的竞争力。