International Competitiveness

This paper considers the role of the seven innovation capability dimensions (learning, research and development (R&D), manufacturing, marketing, organizational, resource allocating and strategy planning) and the three firm characteristics (domestic market share, size and productivity growth rate) in determining the export performances for a sample of 213 Chinese industrial firms. The empirical analysis of this research reveals the findings listed below:

Globalization is very important for small economies such as Korea and Singapore. The single diamond model , The competitive advantage of nations) suggests some important determinants for a nation's global competitiveness. However, this model is incomplete, mainly because it does not incorporate multinational activities. A new approach, the generalized double diamond model Research in global strategic management: Volume 5: Beyond the diamond) offers some important extensions to Porter's original model. To test the validity of these two models this paper evaluates relevant data for both domestic and international variables in the case of Korea and Singapore. The results generally support the generalized double diamond model

Increasing competition among Latin American firms fosters more proactive processes aimed at reviewing business strategy. The research objective is to measure the impact of key variables on successful implementation of business strategy. Relying on the knowledge and experience of Latin American entrepreneurs and managers, the questions addressed include: How important is the role of the CEO and management actors? Do firms prioritize actions prior to implementing strategy? Are control and follow-up tools valued? How is a successful strategy implementation ensured? Research findings are expected to provide useful knowledge for management decision processes relating to successful implementation of business strategy.

This study applies Porter's diamond framework, which tries to identify the sources of international competitive advantage, to Turkey. The major objective is to contribute towards an improvement of this framework, and thus towards a better understanding of the sources of competitive advantage. The study also aims to shed some light on the competitive structure of the Turkish industry. The findings are generally supportive of Porter, meaning that the diamond framework works in a developing country setting. The results suggest, however, some major areas in the framework (especially domestic rivalry and the role of government) where one or more of the Turkish case studies contradict the Porter hypothesis. D

We test the impact of workers' remittances on the real exchange rate using a panel of 13 Latin American and Caribbean countries. The analysis reveals that workers' remittances have the potential to inflict economic costs on the export sector of receiving countries by reducing its international competitiveness. Our findings raise concerns parallel to those raised by Dutch Disease or Resource Boom models, where resource discoveries result in real exchange rate appreciation and shifting of resources from the traded to the nontraded sectors of the economy.

Since the early 1990s the theoretical and practical issues associated with organizational capabilities have been a major research focus in marketing. However, there has been little focus simultaneously on industry environment and internal competitive capability development. A manager's perception of his/her industry environment has the potential to impact the firm's marketing-related capability development through their strategic responses to their perception of the environment. This paper advocates that managers (i.e., firms) perceiving their industry environment as turbulent will develop superior market learning and marketing capabilities. Market learning will assist in the process of building superior marketing capabilities. Both capabilities lead to higher brand performance. To explore these issues a study was designed to measure perceived industry competitive intensity, market learning and marketing capabilities. Data were gathered from senior managers of commercial firms and the results largely support the hypothesized theoretical relationship that industry competitive intensity influences market learning activity and marketing capability development. Interestingly, the study findings suggest that market learning impacts brand performance through marketing capability. The findings significantly contribute to the debate on the influence of the competitive environment on a firm's internal capability development which suggests the need for further research to examine the industry competitive intensity-internal capabilities-firm performance relationship.

Occupational health and safety is established as a factor in international competitiveness, but we question the relevance of this economic argument at the organisational level. On this basis we assess the place of health and safety in the senior management agenda, based on ®ndings from recent market research. Out of this we take a brief perspective on the literature on performance assessment and corporate reputation, and their relationship with health and safety in the workplace. We then report original in-depth research on directors' attitudes to and practice in workplace health and safety. We conclude with a summary of the key issues and a discussion of directions for further work. # Safety Science 38 www.elsevier.com/locate/ssci 0925-7535/01/$ -see front matter # 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. P I I : S 0 9 2 5 -7 5 3 5 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 0 3 -0

Thermal mass combined with other passive strategies can play an important role in buildings energy efficiency, minimizing the need of space-conditioning mechanical systems. However, the use of lightweight materials with low thermal mass is becoming increasingly common. Phase Change Materials (PCMs) can add thermal energy storage benefits to lightweight constructions. There are many studies about the use of PCM in buildings, but there are still some difficulties for effective use and practical application of these materials. The study of applications used in real buildings could help us find solutions to these difficulties. This paper analyzed different PCM applications presented in highly efficient lightweight construction houses that have participated in the American Solar Decathlon, an international competition organized by U.S. Department of Energy. These houses have been tested and monitored in Washington DC, place with suitable climate conditions for short term thermal storage systems. The study started with a classification of the PCM applications and included an analysis of the systems, materials, switching temperatures, containments and design strategies used to improve the houses energy performance. Also, it included results of numerical simulations and experimentation that the participant team had done, complemented with information available in the literature about similar materials or applications.

Export development plays an important role in promoting economic growth and development. Understanding of export competitiveness has primarily been pursued in terms of economic variables and market conditions. The study involved an investigation into the determinants of export competitiveness of tea industry in Sri Lanka and to develop a framework to enhance the competitiveness of tea industry. Quantitative research approach was used and Porter’s diamond model with some adaptations was taken as proposed model of this study. E-mail survey compromised with the structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from the sample. Key managers of tea exporting firms were considered as the respondents. Partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was utilized to analyze the contribution of each factor on tea export competitiveness. The data obtained from the firm level survey were analyzed using Smart PLS version 2.0 statistical packages. Supported by the empirical evidences this study found out that factor conditions have the most significant influence of export competitiveness of tea industry and the second important is government support. Followed by government support, demand condition and brand loyalty have also made positive impact on export competitiveness of tea industry in Sri Lanka. While identifying important elements, results indicated that raw material, technology, physical infrastructure, information infrastructure, related industries, and firm characteristics have significant impact. Giving priority to those elements strategies should be developed to enhance competitiveness of Sri Lankan tea export. By creating favourable conditions, Sri Lanka can remain competitive position in the global tea industry for many years to come.

Key words: Tea industry, Competitiveness, Porter’s diamond model, Partial least squares structural equation

Increasing competition among Latin American firms fosters more proactive processes aimed at reviewing business strategy. The research objective is to measure the impact of key variables on successful implementation of business strategy. Relying on the knowledge and experience of Latin American entrepreneurs and managers, the questions addressed include: How important is the role of the CEO and management actors? Do firms prioritize actions prior to implementing strategy? Are control and follow-up tools valued? How is a successful strategy implementation ensured? Research findings are expected to provide useful knowledge for management decision processes relating to successful implementation of business strategy.

Inter-firm collaboration is not new. What is new is that such collaboration has exploded during the past couple of decades, in parallel to the intensification of international competition. Moreover, the nature of collaboration has changed, shifting from peripheral interests to the very core functions of the corporation, and from equity to non-equity forms of collaboration. Importantly, cooperation focusing on the generation, exchange, and/or adaptation of new technologies has risen at very fast rates. Research joint ventures, the focus of this paper, belong in the latter category. The proliferation of RJVs has created extensive interest among economists, business analysts, and policy decision-makers and led to the profusion of literature on the topic. This paper critically reviews the literature in industrial economics and strategic management that deals with RJV partner motives and RJV outcomes. The paper categorizes the different streams of this literature and indicates the state-of-the-art, synthesizes important understandings, and suggests key nodes of a future research agenda. Number total high-tech medium-tech low -tech Source: CATI Database

The topics of shared interpretation, organizational learning and firm internationalization have been studied extensively. Though considered important factors that shape the international competitive landscape, research synthesizing these interrelated areas has been limited to date. We use the balanced scorecard as a framework for assessing how organizational learning and sensemaking influence actions relating to a global marketing strategy and subsequent financial performance. Using data from 169 multinational corporations, findings indicate that a specific set of knowledge activities is related to balanced scorecard outcomes (e.g. customer performance, innovation and learning performance, and internal process performance). The hypothesized importance of customer performance is confirmed as the only balanced scorecard outcome significantly related to financial performance. A post hoc analysis revealed further insights for future research opportunities. Overall, these results suggest that firms can improve their competitive position by emphasizing shared interpretation within the organization and including balanced scorecard elements when assessing performance.

Since exporting is the most popular mechanism by which firms engage with international markets, understanding the drivers of export market performance is key to explaining firms' international competitiveness. The literature posits that the effective implementation of planned export marketing strategy is a key determinant of the performance of firms operating in international markets. Yet little is known about the specific nature and drivers of export marketing strategy implementation effectiveness. In this study we build on the implementation literature in marketing and strategic management to develop a new conceptualization of export marketing strategy implementation effectiveness. Drawing on dynamic capabilities theory, we empirically examine the export marketing capability antecedents and performance consequences of export marketing strategy implementation effectiveness in the context of manufacturing firms that are exporting to international markets. Results indicate that effective implementation of planned export marketing strategy contributes to export market and financial performance, and that marketing capabilities play an important role in enabling effective marketing strategy implementation in export venture operations.

Much of the research on quality practices and performance reflects a resource-based perspective of the firm, dealing primarily with internal issues of managerial and technological competence in developing and executing an effective TQM strategy. The neoclassical perspective on the influence of the competitive environment on quality practices and performance remains conspicuously absent in the empirical quality literature. Our study aims to address this gap by examining the contingent role of international competition on quality management and performance.

The PISA 2006 Science Literacy Assessment results report Finland as the first ranked country out of the 30 developed nations that participated in the testing (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2007). The United States was ranked 21st. Closer examination of school and student variables may help explain these outcomes. This article will use the PISA 2006 data to investigate how school resource indicators such as teacher qualifications, school resources, and school type, as well as student level indicators such as socioeconomic status and family resources affect science achievement. Comparisons will include the United States, Canada, and Finland. Due to the differences in the structure of educational systems and the makeup of student populations, findings have given an inaccurate impression that international competitiveness in science is not a viable option for the US (Ginsburg, Leinwand, & Pollock, 2007). Findings indicate school funding practices, teacher quality, school type, and family socioeconomic status impact student science achievement and have an effect on international school rankings.

This article compares the work of fashion models and ''new media workers'' (those who work in the relatively new medium of the Internet as dot-com workers) in order to highlight the processes of entrepreneurial labor in culture industries. Based on interviews and participant-observation in New York City, we trace how entrepreneurial labor becomes intertwined with work identities in cultural industries both on and off the job. While workers are drawn to the autonomy, creativity and excitement that jobs in these media industries can provide, they have also come to accept as normal the high risks associated with this work. Diffused through media images, this normalization of risk serves as a model for how workers in other industries should behave under flexible employment conditions. Using interview data from within the fashion media and the dotcom world, we discuss eight forces that give rise to the phenomenon of entrepreneurial labor: the cultural quality of cool, creativity, autonomy, selfinvestment, compulsory networking, portfolio evaluations, international competition, and foreshortened careers. We also provide a model of what constitutes the hierarchy of ''good work'' in cultural industries, and we conclude with implications of what entrepreneurial labor means for theories of work.

Michael Porter's “diamond” framework has as its focus a set of home country national determinants of international competitiveness. For applications to international business this presents analytical difficulties because Dunning's eclectic theory of the multinational enterprise demonstrates that it is the interaction between national and international determinants that leads to the competitive success of global industries. This article suggests a method of extending Porter's framework to incorporate the modern theory of the multinational enterprise; in particular, a variant of SWOT analysis is used to operationalize the Porter diamond. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The textiles and clothing sector employs millions of people in the European Union (EU) and has a combined annual turnover of more than e200 billion. Over the last decade or so, more than a million jobs have been lost in the industry, partly through modernisation, but mainly as a result of international competition, especially from developing countries. This competition is set to intensify with the abolition of import quotas in 2005, leaving the EU industry facing an uncertain future. This article explores five key drivers that are likely to affect the sector profoundly over the coming decade. For each driver, three "outlooks" have been articulated: an extrapolation of current trends and drivers ("Alpha" outlook), a situation where many things "go wrong" ("Beta" outlook), and a situation involving more visionary outcomes ("Delta" outlook). The aim is not to forecast the future, but rather to explore plausible outcomes for the industry over the coming decade. On this basis, a number of policy areas have been identified where the European Commission (EC) and Member States will need to address future threats and opportunities.

Carbon fibre is the most commercially significant of the advanced materials, and its development has been driven by both civil and defence interests. With the end of the Cold War, demand from the defence sector virtually collapsed. The data presented in this thesis reveal the consequent global restructuring of the industry. Over the five year period 1990-1995, European market share fell over twenty percentage points, while that of Japan increased markedly. Meanwhile, US production levels faltered and then recovered following government intervention to stabilise this dual-use technology. This thesis examines the subsequent international shift in the location and ownership of carbon fibre production capacity and the variation in corporate response over this turbulent time. It is found that the national business systems in which this particular high technology sector operates have played a fundamental role in shaping the eventual competitive structure of the industry.

The international competitiveness of the New Zealand (NZ) dairy industry is built on low cost clover-based systems and a favourable temperate climate that enables cows to graze pastures mostly all year round. Whilst this grazed pasture farming system is very efficient at producing milk, it has also been identified as a significant source of nutrients (N and P) and faecal bacteria which have contributed to water quality degradation in some rivers and lakes. In response to these concerns, a tool-box of mitigation measures that farmers can apply on farm to reduce environmental emissions has been developed. Here we report the potential reduction in nutrient losses and costs to farm businesses arising from the implementation of individual best management practices (BMPs) within this tool-box. Modelling analysis was carried out for a range of BMPs targeting pollutant source reduction on case-study dairy farms, located in four contrasting catchments. Due to the contrasting physical resources and management systems present in the four dairy catchments evaluated, the effectiveness and costs of BMPs varied. Farm managements that optimised soil Olsen P levels or used nitrification inhibitors were observed to result in win-win outcomes whereby nutrient losses were consistently reduced and farm profitability was increased in three of the four case study farming systems. Other BMPs generally reduced nutrient and faecal bacteria losses but at a small cost to the farm business. Our analysis indicates that there are a range of technological measures that can deliver substantial reductions in nutrient losses to waterways from dairy farms, whilst not increasing or even reducing other environmental impacts (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions and energy use). Their implementation will first require clearly defined environmental goals for the catchment/water body that is to be protected. Secondly, given that the major sources of water pollutants often differed between catchments, it is important that BMPs are matched to the physical resources and management systems of the existing farm businesses. r

The main purpose of this study is to determine the factors which significantly influence innovativeness of tea manufacturing and exporting firms in Sri Lanka. The research model is totally based on the knowledge obtained from literature and it consists with main three factors, corporate culture, working environment and networking. In order to test the model, primary data were collected through e-mail from the CEO/Owner of tea manufacturing and tea exporting firm using a structured questionnaire. Discriminant analysis and cross-tabulation analysis were performed to determine the significant difference between means of responses from more or less innovative companies. Findings of the study revealed that the drivers of innovation in tea manufacturing and exporting firms are corporate culture, working environment and networking. The main barriers for innovation of both more and less innovative companies are financial constraint and qualified human resources. 
Key words: Innovation, Tea Industry, Discriminant Analysis

Firms play a key role in growth of India and there is a need to enhance their competitiveness significantly. For that, they may need higher flexibility in their governance systems. This paper explores the relationship between flexibility in corporate governance (CG) mechanisms and international competitiveness (IC) in two knowledge-based industries in India during the period from 2006 to 2014.Using multiple regression model, the results suggest that flexibility in CG significantly affects IC. In addition, IC increases with the increase in firm size in the presence of other factors such as research and development intensity, marketing intensity, business group affiliation and industry dummy. Thus, the study is a novel attempt to establish the relationship between flexibility in CG and IC.

*Keywords:* Corporate Governance, Flexibility in Corporate Governance, Innovation for Export Competitiveness, Knowledge-based Industries, R&D intensity,  Marketing intensity

JEL Classification: G34, F14

European Union (EU) trade liberalisation policies will continue to push EU milk price downwards and necessitate increased efficiency and scale at farm and processing level to maintain profitability. In Ireland pasture-based dairying, based on the efficient conversion of grazed grass into milk can be competitive within the EU. Continued technical innovation increasing animal performance from grazed grass, increasing herd genetic potential and developing labour efficient lower fixed cost systems will be essential. At processing level, increased efficiency in commodity processing, higher margin product development and the evolution of milk payment systems to reflect the true product value of supplies received will be required.

International competitiveness has gained high importance for national food sectors in European countries, particularly initiated by the completion of the European Common Market, the rapid expansion of international business activities of private companies, and the accelerated concentration of food industries. Due to increasing interest in the competitive situation of these industries, the paper investigates the international competitiveness of European dairy sectors. After a description of important structural features in the milk production, milk processing and food retailing sectors in European countries and the discussion of different approaches to measure international competitiveness, the analysis is carried out at the meso-economic level by using "Revealed Comparative Advantage Indicators" to determine the competitive position of the German dairy industry. In comparison with other EU countries, the German dairy sector seems to have international competitive advantages in fresh, dried, and evaporated milk products. The results obtained verify the predominantly qualitative results found in the literature on the international competitiveness of this sector. [EconLit cite: L190]

on the engineering education. During the preparations for the competition the students have to plan, synthesize (mechanical/ electrical/ electronics/ programming aspects), design, fabricate, assemble, test and debug the robots. The project embeds in them not only all aspects of engineering product development, but also teaches them management techniques essential for proper coordination of the team of 15-20 students.

This paper reports a study modeling the UK Climate Change Agreements (CCAs) and related energyefficiency policies for energy-intensive industrial sectors. Bottom-up estimates of the effects of these policies are introduced into the energy-demand equations of a top-down dynamic econometric model of the UK economy with fifty industrial sectors, MDM-E3. This allowed estimation of the effects of the reduced energy use for the outputs from the sectors, i.e. the reductions in unit costs of the energy-intensive industries, on the demand for their outputs (both in the UK and in the export markets). The model is solved as a counterfactual 2000-2005 and as a projection 2005-2010 in a series of scenarios to allow estimation of the effects of the policies on inflation and growth, as well as on overall energy demand and CO 2 emissions. The system-wide final energy reductions is estimated to be 4.2 mtoe, or 2.6%, of total final demand for energy by 2010, including a rebound effect of 19%, with negligible effects on inflation and a slight increase in economic growth through improved international competitiveness.

Different bodies of literature emphasise the separate impact of the manufacturing sector and scientific capacity for competitiveness in developing countries. Scientific knowledge can increase productivity and promote innovation, while the manufacturing sector creates spillovers and generates processes of learning-by-doing. Yet, do these two processes complement each other? Do they, together, contribute to even higher international competitiveness? This paper explores these questions, drawing on an eleven-years panel data set for ten South American economies. We develop a moderation hypothesis model based on the congruence between science, industry, and international competitiveness. Our results support our hypothesis that scientific capacity and manufacturing development have a joint impact on international competitiveness that goes beyond their marginal effects and thus calls for future efforts to implement industrial policy.

Salesperson behavior aimed at improving internal company response to customer requests has received little attention in the industrial marketing literature in comparison to external, customer-directed behaviors. In this study, the phenomenon of "salesperson navigation" (SpN) is developed within the context of a research model of selected antecedents and boundary-conditions that influence a primary form of navigational behavior, or "exploratory navigation". The research model's utility in predicting sales performance is tested empirically with data from two Fortune 500 sales forces. The findings show that the traits of competitiveness and expert power significantly enhance the salesperson's propensity to engage in exploratory navigation behavior. Exploratory navigation, in turn, is found to have a significant and positive association with salesperson job performance, contingent upon specific boundary conditions within the salesperson's own organization (i.e., sales management support and internal competitive climate). The article concludes by offering sales researchers and industrial marketing managers implications derived from the study as well as directions for further work. . A secondary objective is to simultaneously explore whether specific characteristics of the sales context might act as boundary conditions on navigation. From a managerial standpoint, the expected utility of this research is two-fold: (i) helping sales managers better understand an overlooked salesperson competency (i.e., internal behaviors) which might, for example, enable better hiring decisions, while also (ii) helping industrial salespeople themselves better understand the types of behaviors which might underlie exemplary sales performance.

This paper was presented at the Conference on <( The Dynamics of Employment and Technology: Theories and Policies D, Udine, Italy, September 1-3, 1983. Comments in particular from the discussant, Josef Steindl are gratefully acknowledged. Errors remain however our own. Part of the research on which this work is based was developed within a project on << Technology and Italian International Competitiveness D, sponsored by the Italian Energy Agency (ENEA) and undertaken at IRS, Milan, with the coordination of Fabrizio Onida.

There are several factors which could significantly affect the international competitiveness of a country with respect to attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). Especially, factors related to business regulations and administrative costs of operating a business could be seen as important ones. The more strict business regulations could represent some sort of burden for any foreign investment. On the other hand, a business environment that significantly lacks the regulations could also be less attractive for new investors and vulnerable to malpractices. Overall high administrative costs of running a business could pose another significant obstacle for new foreign investment into a country. However, these costs are also mostly related to the business environment and regulations. In our paper, we aim to identify the potential effect of selected indicators related to business regulations and the costs of running a business on the inflow of FDI into the EU countries. A correlation analysis, as well as panel data regressions, is used in order to fulfill the aims of the paper. We used panel data retrieved from the World Bank database and identify several potential determinants of FDI inflows.

Chapter 6 Entrepreneurial Orientation and Entrepreneurs&#x27; Intentions and Objectives Thelma Quince and Hugh Whittaker Introduction Recognition of the economic significance of small firms, and high-tech small firms in par-ticular, grew during the last quarter of the 20th ...

This study assesses the macroeconomic impacts of increasing competition in the nontradable goods and labour markets in Portugal. We lean on evidence that the maintenance of low competition in these markets may have contributed to the recent poor performance of the Portuguese economy. The analysis is performed using PESSOA, a dynamic general equilibrium model for a small-open economy integrated in a monetary union, featuring Blanchard-Yaari households, a multi-sectoral production structure and a number of nominal and real rigidities.

This paper surveys the current features and the current trends of the French wine industry, which, while still leading in terms of both quantity and quality, is facing increasing and global competition in international wine markets. In terms of long-term trends, the French wine supply is characterised by a strong shift towards increased quality. Ro ughly speaking, it can be

Kenyan athletes have dominated international distance running in recent years. Explanations for their success include favourable physiological characteristics, which could include favourable genetic endowment, and advantageous environmental conditions. The aim of this study was to compare the demographic characteristics of elite Kenyan runners with those of the general Kenyan population. Questionnaires, administered to 404 elite Kenyan runners specializing in distances ranging from the 800 m to the marathon and 87 Kenyan controls, obtained information on place of birth, language, and distance and method of travel to school. Athletes were separated into two groups according to athletic success: those who competed in international competition and those who competed in national competition. The athletes differed from controls in regional distribution, language, and distance and method of travel to school; athletes also differed from each other with the exception of method of travel to school. Most national and international athletes came from the Rift Valley province (controls 20%, national athletes 65%, international athletes 81%), belonged to the Kalenjin ethnic group (controls 8%, national athletes 49%, international athletes 76%) and Nandi sub-tribe (controls 5%, national athletes 25%, international athletes 44%), and spoke languages of Nilotic origin (controls 21%, national athletes 60%, international athletes 79%). A higher proportion of all athletes ran to school each day (controls 22%, national athletes 73%, international athletes 81%) and covered greater distances. In conclusion, Kenyan runners are from a distinctive environmental background in terms of geographical distribution, ethnicity and travelled further to school, mostly by running. These findings highlight the importance of environmental and social factors in the success of Kenyan runners.

Since 2001 the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (ITEE) at the University of Queensland has been involved in RoboCup Junior activities aimed at providing children with the Robot building and programming knowledge they need to succeed in RoboCup Junior competitions. These activities include robotics workshops, the organization of the State-wide RoboCup Junior competition, and consultation on all matters robotic with schools and government organizations. The activities initiated by ITEE have succeeded in providing children with the scaffolding necessary to become competent, independent robot builders and programmers. Results from state, national and international competitions suggest that many of the children who participate in the activities supported by ITEE are subsequently able to purpose-build robots to effectively compete in RoboCup Junior competitions. As a result of the scaffolding received within workshops children are able to think deeply and creatively about their designs, and to critique their designs in order to make the best possible creation in an effort to win.

Abstract. The bankruptcy of financial institutions shows the rapid changes in the risks profiles of financial systems and processes. Although financial institu-tions have always managed the operational risks, the profile of this kind of risks is changing due to the increasing ...

Future costs of compliance with obligatory animal welfare standards in the EU for poultry and egg production are signiWcant and may lead to relocation of production to third countries. After an overview of diVerent rationales for complementary policies to prevent relocation, this article systematically compares such policies. Some policies, like multilateral agreements and labelling, may be supporting, but may not be able to prevent relocation comprehensively. Compensatory payments to domestic producers, in contrast, are eVective but disadvantage third country producers that comply with equivalent standards. Therefore, tariV discrimination may be a better alternative. A major drawback of tariV discrimination, however, is its severe institutional requirements. Future research questions include quantiWcation of potential relocation as well as transaction costs of various complementary policies.

Abstract—International competitiveness receives much attention nowadays, but up to now its assessment has been heavily based on manufacturing industry statistics. This paper addresses the need for competitiveness indicators that cover the service sector and sets ...

Growing concern that unilateral greenhouse gas emission reductions could foster carbon leakage and undermine international competitiveness of domestic industry have led a number of EU and US politicians to advocate the use of border-tax adjustments (BTAs) to "level the playing field". Such proposals have so far often been dismissed on administrative feasibility and protectionist grounds, but surprisingly little economic analysis has been performed to assess their actual impacts on leakage, competitiveness and welfare. This paper uses the global recursive-dynamic general equilibrium model ENV-Linkages to fill this gap. Two alternative scenarios are considered under which either the EU alone or Annex-I countries as a whole cut their emissions by 20% by 2020 (and 50% by 2050) relative to 2005 levels. A broad range of checks are performed to assess the robustness of the main results to key model parameters, country coverage, targets and design features of BTAs. Two main conclusions stand out. First, BTAs are an effective way of reducing carbon leakage, if there is only a small coalition of acting countries, such as, just the EU, because leakage (while typically small) mainly occurs through the competitveness rather than through the fossil fuel price channel in this case. However, the need for, and the effectiveness of BTAs declines rapidly with the size of the coalition, as BTAs address a smaller share of an even smaller rate of leakage. Second, BTAs entail small welfare losses as a world level. Perhaps more strikingly, they do not necessarily curb the output losses incurred by the domestic energy intensive-industries (EIIs) they are intended to protect in the first place. This is in part because EIIs in the EU and the US make important use of carbon-intensive intermediate inputs produced by these same EIIs in other geographical areas. Another, deeper explanation is that EIIs are ultimately more adversely affected by carbon pricing itself than by any international competitiveness losses. JEL codes: Q54, H25, D58

Innovation in SMEs exhibits some peculiar features that most traditional indicators of innovation activity do not capture. Therefore, in this paper, we develop a structural model of innovation which incorporates information on innovation success from firm surveys along with the usual R&D expenditures and productivity measures. We then apply the model to data on Italian SMEs from the &quot;Survey on