In this article, justifications by producers (economic protectionism), consumers and social advocates (humanitarian motives) for including labour standards in international trade agreements are discussed. To date, little work has been undertaken to determine empirically whether low labour...

In this article, justifications by producers (economic protectionism), consumers and social advocates (humanitarian motives) for including labour standards in international trade agreements are discussed. To date, little work has been undertaken to determine empirically whether low labour...

Purpose of the paper: The construction industry is one of the largest employment providers in the developing world. It is also one of the least safe industries, with a high frequency of accidents resulting in financial losses, injuries, disabilities and deaths. Decent working conditions and...

The launch of the economic and monetary union in Europe and the 1997 financial crisis that underscored the disadvantages of currently employed exchange rate regimes raised questions about the feasibility of a similar monetary unification project for East Asia. Being one of the most dynamically...

The agricultural sector is an important sector that most people in East Asia rely on and growth in this sector may help to lift their standard of living. This study assessed what factors contributed to agricultural growth by applying the panel econometric approach. First, the long-run...

International agricultural trade has evolved over time. Processed foods and developing countries have become major growth markets for U.S. agricultural exports, and foreign direct investment (FDI) has become even more important than exports as a means of accessing foreign markets. The critical...

Professor Kojima of Hitotsubashi University is a leading Japanese economist in international economics. Two of his major ideas are reviewed: a theory of pro-trade FDI and an extended "flying-geese" theory of industrial development. Kojima's pro-trade FDI (which rests on the doctrine of...

This paper uses a survey of 1,826 firms distributed over ten East Asian metropolitan areas – Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul, and five Chinese cities – to investigate the sources of firm-level R&D capabilities. The analysis identifies the impact of 23 survey variables, classified by...

Introduction: A mere decade ago Japan’s financial system, and especially its banking system, was not only the largest but the strongest in the world. Nine of the world’s top ten banks in asset size were Japanese; the Big Four Japanese securities companies were the world’s largest; and its...

Is foreign direct investment (FDI) more resilient at the onset of an economic crisis and the subsequent economic collapse in a given host country compared to other forms of foreign capital inflows? Are affiliates of multinational enterprises in a crisis-hit country better equipped to withstand a...