Innovation in the Manufacturing Sector： The Case of Serbia

The paper presents the results of research on innovation activities of manufacturing firms in Serbia. In order to answer the question how innovation takes place in one transition country, key influencing factors were identify （i.e., firm＇s size, age, ownership, industry sector, personnel qualifications and experience）. Based on the analysis of a sample comprising 73 firms, the study tried to highlight certain innovation barriers, which may have a negative impact on the total efficiency of economic performance, and growth and development of manufacturing firms in Serbia. Comparing overall innovation activities of Serbian firms to the other transition countries, it can be concluded that majority of the fhnns had innovation performances below the level EU-27. This study draws out the potential contributions to existing literature of managing innovation in Serbia.

A Study on Similar Financial Models in Manufacturing Sector

In this paper, we subdivide the sample of manufacturing companies listed in two stock exchanges in China from the year 2000 to 2009 into two categories： the firms which adopted the similar financial models and those which did not. Then we use t-test and nonparametric test to explore the differences between the two sub-samples in cash management, assets and liabilities structures, assets turnover ratios, profitability, liquidity and growth rates. The results show that the former has shorter Cash Conversion Cycle （CCC）, quicker assets turnover, higher Debt Ratio （DR）, higher growth rate and thus has better profitability. In addition, the regression analysis results further demonstrate that Return on Invested Capital （ROIC） of similar-financial-model firms are positively related to Net Profit Margin （NPM） （p 〈 0.01）, and negatively to CCC （p 〈 0.01）, Interest Expense Ratio （IER） （p 〈 0.01）, the Ratio of Interest-Bearing Debt to Total Liabilities （IBDR） （p 〈 0.01） and the ratio of Net Receivables to Sales Revenue （NRSR） （p 〈 0.01）. Moreover, negative relationship between ROIC and dummy variable GROUP implies that the former has better profitability than the latter.

The Regional and Industrial Effects of FDI on Chinese Manufacturing Sector

This paper investigates the regional and industrial effects of FDI on Chinese manufacturing sector since China entered WTO. We find that FDI plays a different role in the development of different areas and industries through a comparison with state-controlled industrial enterprises in China. More establishments of smaller foreign funded enterprises and less foreign capital with a high level of management should promote the competition to stimulate manufacturing growth in eastern area, while fewer establishments of foreign funded enterprises with a large capital should make a great stimulus to the western manufacturing development. Both foreign capital and the establishment of foreign industrial enterprises have a great effect on the whole manufacturing sector by industry.

FDI in Hi-tech Service Sector and Hi-tech Manufacturing Increased

China’s foreign trade from January to July According to the Customs statistics,China’s total import and export in January-July reached RMB 13.21trillion,down 3%year on year.Among these,the export was RMB 7.6 trillion,down 1.6%;the import RMB 5.61trillion,down 4.8%.The surplus was RMB 1.99 trillion,up 8.7%.(In

Employment and Wage Effects of RMB Exchange Rate for Manufacturing Sectors in China and the US

By creating a labor market dynamic general equilibrium model, this paper derives the pass-through mechanism of exchange rate's employment and wage effects,carries out an empirical study on the employment and wage effects of RMB exchange rate for manufacturing sectors in China and the United States based on ridge regression, and examines the role of industry characteristics in this process. Research findings suggest that: RMB depreciation will drive employment and wage growth for most of China's laborintensive manufacturing sectors, and RMB appreciation will increase employment for certain capital-and technology-intensive sectors; but RMB depreciation has insignificant employment and wage effects for most sectors in the US. Hence, in achieving the longterm stability of RMB exchange rate, China should take advantage of RMB appreciation's manufacturing upgrade effect and ensure the steady growth of manufacturing employment.The US should make breakthroughs in various links of its economic development in order to tackle unemployment, instead of blaming RMB exchange rate. In addition, the nature of business activities and trade union characteristic are both significant factors that lead to differences in inter-sector employment levels of Chinese and US manufacturing sectors.Technology characteristic and other monopolistic characteristics exert decisive effects on the difference of wage return for various sectors in China and the US.

Activity Based Costing Adoption Among Manufacturing Companies in Nigeria

The study examines the extent of adoption of Activity Based Costing （ABC） among naanufacturing companies in Nigeria. The primary data were sourced through questionnaires administered to the Management Accountants of 40 selected manufacturing companies in South Western part of Nigeria. Descriptive statistics was employed to analyze the data. The study reveals that inability of the traditional cost systems to provide relevant cost was the most highly ranked reason in their decision to adopt ABC. Traditional methods of allocating overhead were therefore believed to be deficient in terms of improving global competitiveness. Also, 60% of the respondents have adopted ABC due to increased ranges of products, competition and increased overhead. Familiarity with and adoption of ABC was found to be across the manufacturing, more than half of the sample are familiar with it. The 40% of respondents who have not adopted ABC cited the cost and complexity involved with implementation as the main reason in non-adoption. However, cost of implementing ABC was enormous which hinder the small scale manufacturing from adopting it. This result may reflect the fact that larger firms are more likely to have the diverse mix of products or services that makes the use of ABC advantages. Consequently, the study recommends that the companies who have not adopted ABC because of its high cost of implementation should endeavor to consider its adoption because in the long run the benefits derive from it will outweigh its cost. It helps to identify inefficient products, departments and activities and helps to allocate more resources on profitable products. In conclusion, the senior management should also give their utmost support to the implementation and success of ABC.

Effect of financial constraints on the growth of family and nonfamily firms in Turkey

This study examined whether family-owned firms have advantages for accessing external financial sources for growth.Especially in developing countries with imperfect markets,firms can face difficulties accessing external financing sources;however,family-owned firms might have some advantages in this regard over nonfamily firms.Unlike previous studies,this study considered that,in the Turkish context,nonfamily firms are financially constrained while family firms are not.To examine this hypothesis,we used the generalized method of moments(GMM)approach to analyze panel data from 2006 to 2017.The findings showed that financing constraints were a significant obstacle to growth for nonfamily-owned manufacturing firms while the effect was not present for family firms since they are controlled by large,well-established family groups.These results elucidate the relationship between corporate ownership and growth among Turkish firms,especially those with strong links to large family-owned corporations.The results also revealed that reputation and network may facilitate easier access to external financing sources,especially when considering the“Big Six”family ties of firms.

Internationalization and the Creation of New Products and Processes in the Mexican Manufacturing Industry

This paper analyzes the relationship between internationalization and the generation of new products and processes, using data from 2,285 Mexican manufacturing firms during the 2008-2009 period. The purpose is to understand how the insertion in international markets, either through exporting, importing, receiving foreign direct investment, or outsourcing affects the innovative outcomes of manufacturing finns. Using logistic regressions, this paper contributes to the literature analyzing the case of a single developing country and concludes that, after controlling for the size of the firm, its innovative effort, and the market concentration of the industry where the firm is situated, exporting does not promote product or process innovations but promotes the generation of innovation for the world; being an importer does not affect the innovative outcomes of the firm; Foreign Direct Investment （FDI） also promotes innovation for the world, while outsourcing inhibits the generation of both products and innovations for the world.

The Impact of Firm Characteristics, Industry Types, and Financial Ratios on SMEs＇ Utilization of Tax Incentives

This study aims to contribute to the growing literature on issues of tax incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises （SMEs）. Through comprehensive exploration of data, the study investigates factors leading to successful and unsuccessful utilization of tax incentives among SMEs. Financial ratios were calculated based on the information retrieved from the companies＇ annual financial statement. Apparently, these financial ratios are evidence of how successful the companies are in utilizing the tax incentives. In this study, 129 small companies and 71 medium-sized companies were selected as samples for the period of 2003-2007. The result indicates that financial structure such as retained earnings, tax burden, cash flow, and inventory level determined the ability of companies to utilize tax incentives; hence leading to higher earnings generated from the business operation. The age of the companies affects the utilization of tax incentives and this denotes that older companies are more capable of generating higher earnings. Hence, a thorough analysis of the data allows us not only to determine the success of the company in utilizing tax incentives but also to identify the determinants that impact their performance.

Electrical and Electronic Waste in Northwest Mexico

The waste derived from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is of interest now worldwide, in some countries due to the rapid technological development and in others due to technological dependence through the acquisition of second hand equipment. Therefore it is necessary to implement strategies for the sustainable management of electrical and electronic equipment at the end of its useful life. This paper presents the results of an investigation that was conducted in a city located in the Northwest of Mexico, which seeks to understand the management practices of household WEEE generators. A survey was applied to a representative sample of the population with a confidence level of 90%. Six home appliances were quantified and it was found that approximately 21% of them are disposed directly as part of the household flow of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), while 79% are storage for a latter sale, repair or reuse. The results obtained support the need to develop evaluations and to implement possible scenarios for the sustainable management of Electrical and Electronic Waste.

The effects of financial liberalization on productivity:Evidence from India’s manufacturing sector

Using a panel of India’s registered manufacturing firms and both economy-wide and firm-level financial data,we investigate the effects of India’s financial liberalization on the productivity of its manufacturing sector in the 1990s and 2000s.Our dynamic panel analysis shows that the series of financial liberalization policies/measures,at both the macro and micro levels,significantly enhanced the productivity of the manufacturing sector.Total factor productivity increased for all firms,including those owned by the state government,with greater gains for the firms in the private and foreign sectors.Our results suggest that policies favoring financial liberalization should be pursued further in order for India to foster higher economic growth.

Energy rebound effect in China's manufacturing sector:Fresh evidence fromfirm-level data

The rebound effect refers to the phenomenon that individuals tend to consume more energy in the face of energy efficiency improvement,which reduces the expected energy-saving effect.Previous empirical studies on the rebound effect of regions and sectors do not provide microscopic evidence.To fill this gap,we use China's firmlevel data to estimate the rebound effect in China's manufacturing subsectors,providing a detailed picture of China's rebound effect across different sectors and different regions in 2001-2008.Results show that a partial rebound effect robustly appears in all industries,and the disparity between sectors is quite broad,ranging from 43.2%to 96.8%.As for the dynamic rebound effect of subsectors,most subsectors present an upward trend,whereas few subsectors show a clear downward trend.As a whole,the declined trend of the rebound effect is driven by the descent of minority sectors with high energy consumption and high energy-saving potential.In addition,we find that the disparity of the rebound effect across sectors is more significant than that across regions.

Restrictions on Foreign Investment Admission in Mining and Manufacturing Sectors will be Greatly Relaxed

'China will significantly reduce restrictions on foreign investment admission in the service,manufacturing and mining sectors by amending the Catalog of Industries for Guiding Foreign Investment and related policies and regulations.'Wang Shouwen,Vice Minister of Department of Commerce has

Structural Transformation under Trade Imbalances： The Case of the Postwar U.S.

A striking feature of the structural change literature is that, even though the U.S. economy is often used as a benchmark for calibration, the traditional mo- dels cannot account for the steep decline in manufacturing and rise in services in the U.S. since the late 1970s （Buera and Kaboski, 2009）. In order to solve this puzzle, this paper develops a three-sector model to evaluate various factors that could have contributed to the structural transformation process from 1950 to 2005. The results show that, in addition to traditional explanations, such as non-homothetic preference and sector-biased productivity progress, international trade is another major source of structural change and is able to explain about 35.5% of the overall employment share decrease in American manufacturing. The quantitative calibration estimates that the inter-sector trade makes a moderate contribution, while trade imbalances dominate the recent contraction of manufacturing employment share. Our results suggest that calibrated models based on U.S. data have to be adjusted by trade factors.