This paper examines in a dynamic game-theoretic framework framework, the role of social institution of money and markets in facilitating exchange. It reveals how, depending on the level of transaction costs associated with a market setup (synonymously, trading posts) appropriate monetary trade...

Provision of safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and personal hygiene are vital for the sustainable environmental conditions and reducing the incidence of diarrhoea, malaria, trachoma, hepatitis A & B and morbidity levels. Not having access to water and sanitation is a courteous expression...

We express a doubt on the conventional wisdom namely, of a positive relationship between wage and productivity, of a formal sector firm in a developing economy where the firm can either go for subcontracting to the informal sector to minimize wage cost along with apprehension of extra-legal cost...

The paper investigates institutional reforms in Vietnam and their impact on the economic performance of firms. Using the provincial competitiveness index 2006 (PCI06) and firm-level data in Vietnam in 2005, the results show that provincial competitiveness is economically and statistically...

This paper has analyzed the trends, patterns and determinants of outward Investments by Indian enterprises that have increased notably since the onset of reforms. It finds that the sharp rise in outward investments since 1991 has been accompanied by a shift in geographical and sectoral focus of...

Many large firms in low scale economy industries are actively considering outsourcing options, in the face of competition from smaller more efficient players. Based on a review of the theoretical literature and a case-study of outsourcing decisions at two large vertically integrated footwear...

In 1989 a research team from the AustraliaJapan Research Centre (AJRC) undertook a study of the prospects for the East Asian steel industry for the 1990s. The aim was to assess the impact of developments in the region on industry strategies in Australia. This paper reviews those projections to...

The paper starts by recapitulating the basic arguments provided by economic theory to explain the existence of the patent system. The paper then concentrates on the three important ICT industries viz., telecommunication equipment, computer hardware and semiconductor industries. The issues...

The US economy had accelerated economic growth since the late 1990s. At first, many economists and policy makers believed that the rapid growth in the IT industry and IT investment contributed to the acceleration in US economic growth and many advanced countries supported the IT industry and IT...

Cross-border production networks have been playing an increasingly important role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries’ trade in recent years, but micro-level studies are rare. This paper uses firm-level data from the two most active ASEAN countries in...