Economic Integration

Cities and Geography

Richard E. Baldwin , Philippe Martin , in Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, 2004

4.4 The geography of goods and ideas: stabilizing and destabilizing integration

The main focus in the NEG literature has been on the consequence of falling transaction costs on trade in goods. We have shown that in a dynamic model with endogenous growth and localized spillovers, lower trade costs on goods have an effect on industry location but also on the growth rate. These effects can be "catastrophic" or not, depending on the mobility of capital.

Economic integration, however, is a multi-faceted phenomenon. Up to this point, we have look at two types of closer integration – lowering the cost of trade in goods, and making capital more mobility. There is another aspect of integration, however, which can also be important, namely integration that results in lower barriers to the spatial diffusion of learning knowledge spillovers. What might be called the cost of trading ideas. In the model introduced above (localised spillovers and immobile capital) we can study the impact of making trade in ideas freer by changing the 'learning spillover' parameter λ. 14

4.4.1 Globalization and the newly industrialized countries

One exercise that illustrates the interactions focuses on the fact that both ϕcat and ϕCP′ are increasing in λ. The intuition is that as spillovers are becoming more global, an increase in the Northern share of capital does not decrease much the relative cost of innovation in the North (a destabilizing effect), so that the capital income effect (the stabilizing effect based on lower trade costs on goods) must be stronger. One important implication is that from a situation with full agglomeration in the North (sK = 1) and fixed trade costs on goods, a gradual increase in λ (more globalized spillovers due for example to falling telecommunication costs) initially has no impact on Southern industry. However, because the cost of innovation in the South decreases with λ, Tobin's q in the South increases with λ. At some point, when λ is high enough, q * becomes more than 1, and the South begins to innovate. The value of this threshold level which we call λmir (for "miracle") is

(30) λ mir = φ ( 2 L + ρ ) L ( 1 + φ 2 ) + ρ φ 2 .

As in the case of falling trade costs on goods, there is a second critical value where the symmetric equilibrium becomes stable. This value, denoted as λmir′ is the level of λ such that ∂q/∂sK evaluated at the symmetric equilibrium becomes negative. As with the North take-off, the "miracle" in the South would appear as a virtuous circle: as it starts investing, its wealth and permanent income rise so that market size in the South and profits made by local firms increase. In turn, as the number of innovations made in the South increases, the cost of future innovations decreases. This "miracle" implies a jump in the investment rate, as Tobin's q in the South is more than 1, and rapid industrialization. Also incomes between the South and the North converge. Figure 8 describes the effect of an increase in λ on the model's stability properties in a diagram with λ and sK on the axes.

Figure 8. Falling transaction costs on ideas: stability properties of equilibria in the presence of localized spillovers.

4.4.2 The learning-linked circular causality

Another way to characterize the essential interplay between the cost of trading goods and ideas is to focus on the symmetric outcome rather than the fully-agglomerated outcome.

It is useful to point out that the localization of learning in the I -sector creates its own distinct agglomeration force. This new force, which is very much akin to a cost-linkage that operates in the I-sector, can be called learning-link circular causality. That is, if a region gets a slightly large amount of knowledge, it becomes a more attractive (cheaper) place to produce more knowledge, all else equal. Since a faster rate of knowledge creation sustains and deepens the region's advantage, an initial bit of 'knowledge shifting' leads to 'knowledge-creation shifting' which in turns leads to knowledge shifting.

Given this logic, it should be clear that making it easier to trade ideas (i.e., raising λ) tends to stabilize the symmetric equilibrium. We see therefore that there can be a tension between the de-stabilizing tendency that arises when goods become cheaper to trade and the stabilizing tendency that arises when ideas become easier to trade.

To investigate a scenario in which the cost of sharing ideas λ changes together with the cost of trading goods ϕ, Figure 9 depicts what Baldwin and Forslid (2000) call a "stability map". This shows how the model's stability properties vary with λ and ϕ. The diagram plots the break and sustain points against the various possible values of λ and ϕ. The dashed curve is the break point and the solid curve is the sustain point. The curves partition the map into three regions. When trade is not very free, and/or knowledge spillovers are very free, then the symmetric outcome is stable and the core–periphery outcomes does not exist. This is the Northwest region in the diagram. When trade is quite free and/or knowledge flows are very restricted, only the core–periphery outcomes are stable. This is the Southeast region of the map. For a narrow range of ϕ's, two asymmetric interior equilibria are the only stable equilibria and this is shown as the area between the two curves.

Figure 9. Stability map for LS model: stabilizing and destabilizing integration.

The results also point out to a stark difference between lowering trade costs on goods and lowering transaction costs on ideas. Lower trade costs on goods may foster divergence in incomes if it triggers an agglomeration process. However, lowering transaction costs on ideas has the opposite effect as it can make the core–periphery equilibrium unstable and trigger a sudden industrialization in the South which leads to convergence. In our model, the distinction between trade costs on goods and transaction costs on ideas is an easy one. However, in reality trading goods often implies exchanging ideas in the process so that the processes that govern the evolution of the two types of transaction costs are certainly intertwined.

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International Trade: Economic Integration

Anthony Venables , in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition), 2015

Abstract

Regional economic integration occurs when countries come together to form free trade areas or customs unions, offering members preferential trade access to each others' markets. The article reviews the economic effects of such agreements on member countries and on the world trading system. Effects on member countries include the benefits and costs of trade creation and trade diversion, as well as gains from increased scale and competition. 'Deeper' integration can be pursued by going beyond abolition of import tariffs and quotas, to further measures to remove market segmentation and promote integration. Effects on the world trading system are not clear-cut. There is little evidence that regionalism has retarded multilateral liberalization, but neither is there support for the view that continuing expansion of regional agreements will obviate the need for multilateral liberalization efforts.

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Smart city and metropolitan governance

Mats Andersson , in Solving Urban Infrastructure Problems Using Smart City Technologies, 2021

11.2 How can cities benefit from cooperation on the smart city subject in a metropolitan area?

The mismatch of economic integration and political fragmentation in metropolitan areas creates a need for collaboration among the local governments, to seize opportunities for efficiency/cost-effectiveness and prevent wasteful competition (see checklist: "An agenda for action for coordinating a collaboration effort among local governments with regards to smart cities").

An agenda for action for coordinating a collaboration effort among local governments with regards to smart cities

Specifically, regarding smart cities, municipalities can benefit from coordination activities (check all tasks completed):

_____1. Joint strategic planning of smart city applications to ensure: (i) harmonized policies and actions; (ii) compatible technologies (as required); and (iii) coherent evolution of the smart-city applications in the area.

_____2. Metro-wide data capture to ensure adequate input for infrastructure and other planning to identify and inform potentials for joint initiatives at metropolitan scale; highlight possible duplications (waste) and gaps; and measure outcomes at the metro-area level.

_____3. Capturing economies of scale for solutions and ongoing operations through joint initiatives by the local governments in the area.

_____4. Implementing a pilot in one jurisdiction and assessing potential for metro-wide application, or piloting different technologies in different cities and measure impacts in a controlled manner.

_____5. Creating a joint development unit or institute (a focal point) for research, training and joint planning, identifying high-value potentials for the area, driving coherent overall solutions, and possibly function as a "control center" for some implemented applications.

To be stronger by acting together may simply translate to cost savings or lower transaction costs by joint procurement (anything from sensors to full ICT systems) and joint staff-training programs. It may also involve pooling of funds for a facility or equipment for shared use.

11.2.1 Intermunicipal coordination increases overall productivity

The governance structure of agglomerations that include multiple municipalities is known to have a direct impact on the overall productivity. Work by OECD [2,3] shows that a metropolitan area of any given size with twice the number of municipalities is associated with around 6% lower productivity. The existence of a governance mechanism at the metropolitan level can cut this by almost half (to 3%). Networked public services, for example, power, transport, water supply, and sewerage service tend to be prime candidates for smart technologies, for example, with remotely controlled consumption meters, smart card readers, etc. Such network services are often also prime candidates for metropolitan-scale, coordinated solutions to gain efficiencies. Other services which lend themselves to metropolitan-scale approaches are disaster risk management (e.g., flood control), emergency services (e.g., addressing health epidemics), and air pollution control.

11.2.2 Difference in financial capacity among the cities is a common challenge

Large differences may exist in the tax base, creating significant differences in the service provision. This can be addressed through harmonization of local taxes and fees or arranging some area-based revenue-sharing (beyond what is addressed through an inter-governmental fiscal transfer system in the country). Such solutions have, for example, been applied in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) in the United States, and in the metropolitan areas of Marseilles and Lyon in France.

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Regional economic cooperation in South Asia: a literature review

Gordhan K. Saini , in Prospects of Regional Economic Cooperation in South Asia, 2012

The desirability of the South Asian Free Trade Area

The effects of South Asian economic integration have not been investigated quantitatively, as quantitative studies on economic integration in South Asia are very limited and there are few qualitative studies on SAARC and SAPTA. There are various reasons for this. Firstly, many trade analysts have not paid much attention to this region until recently, since it is not important in terms of global trade, investment and growth. Secondly, data on trade and other variables related to countries in this region are sparse. Thirdly, the volume and value of illegal trade are very high, and published data do not reflect the real picture of the trade structure in the region. Finally, non-tariff barriers on trade are important in South Asia compared to many other regions in the world, and the recognition and quantification of non-tariff barriers are difficult ( Bandara, 2004). Despite these constraints, there are several empirical and analytical studies that have generated a debate over the desirability of SAFTA.

In the 1990s Govindan (1994) estimated the price elasticities of demand for food imports for a number of South Asian countries within a partial-equilibrium framework. The results suggest that the South Asian PTA will lead to a welfare increase in the region through expansion of intra-regional trade. They further point out that economic integration can increase food security in the region. This study, however, focused only on food security and agriculture, and ignored the effects on manufactures and services trade. DeRosa and Govindan (1995, 1996) extended Govindan's work by employing the Armington system of bilateral trade demands, and examined alternative approaches to trade liberalization in South Asia within a partial-equilibrium framework. These studies focused on three policy approaches: firstly, preferential trade liberalization in the SAARC region; secondly, preferential trade liberalization between SAARC and APEC countries; and thirdly, unilateral trade liberalization by the SAARC countries. The results support SAPTA in terms of the expansion of intra-regional food trade. Contrary to Govindan (1994), these studies suggest that welfare gains may increase significantly as a result of much broader trade liberalization with other parts of the world.

Bhagwati and Panagariya (1996), however, systematically showed that the extent of intra-regional trade has little bearing on whether the union is beneficial or harmful in welfare terms, except when all trade is already intra-regional, in which case there is no extra-regional trade to divert and trade creation is the only possibility. The reason is that the change in intra-regional trade due to a tariff preference at the margin bears no obvious relationship to the existing volume of intra-regional trade.

Sengupta and Banik (1997), using the gravity model, predict a 30 per cent increase in official intra-SAARC trade and as much as 60 per cent if illegal trade, which is currently out of the official count, becomes a part of official trade. These results are intuitive; India being large, the impact of its FTA trade with small neighbors cannot be proportionately large. Rajapakse and Arunatilake (1997) used the same approach to investigate the implications of SAPTA for Sri Lanka, and found the country will gain from it. Samaratunga (1999) investigated the effects of SAARC-APEC trade links using the gravity model; results indicate that the potential for SAARC export expansion into APEC countries was limited within the 1991–1995 policy framework.

Pigato et al. (1997) briefly assessed the effects of SAPTA using a global computable general equilibrium model of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP). This study found that SAPTA will create welfare gains for its member countries. However, unilateral trade liberalization will create larger gains for the region. The creation of SAFTA 'would be highly desirable' and 'economic gains would be significant, especially for the smaller countries'. This study also states that organizations like SAARC and SAPTA will reduce political and border tension in the region and have a positive effect on South Asian regional integration.

In contrast to these studies, some observers have a negative view on SAFTA. They believe that SAFTA is largely 'trade diverting' and hence reduces efficiency. Panagariya (1999) illustrates this point by using a simple two-dimensional trade diagram. He rejects the idea that forming SAFTA is beneficial for the region, and argues that 'it is in the region's interest to push ahead with its non-discriminatory liberalisation rather than promote trade preferences'. Srinivasan (1998) holds a different view, and believes that despite trade diversion and negative or small gains, SAPTA will help countries in the region to engage in faster and deeper unilateral liberalization and keep the momentum of the process of trade liberalization. Panagariya (1999) points out that this is a misguided argument, and SAFTA is 'likely to become a binding constraint on true, non-discriminatory liberalisation'. He uses examples of Mexico and Brazil joining the Southern American Common Market (Mercosur), and states that these two countries have virtually abandoned unilateral trade liberalization and raised their tariffs.

The studies reviewed here have contributed valuable inputs to the debate on the desirability of SAFTA. Three different viewpoints on SAFTA can be summarized as shown in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1. Three different viewpoints on SAFTA

Optimistic view Pessimistic view Moderate or intermediate view
Pigato et al. (1997) Panagariya (1999) Srinivasan and Canonero (1995); Srinivasan (1998)
This group believes that SAFTA will be 'highly desirable' and economic gains will be significant, especially for small economies in the region
Many South Asian politicians hold this view; some empirical studies also support it
This group believes that SAFTA is 'highly undesirable', and will lead to trade diversion and slow down unilateral trade liberalization This group believes that potential gains from SAFTA, though less than those from unilateral liberalization, are significant for small countries in the region
Preferential trade liberalization is good as part of a coordinated liberalization in countries in the region, and will lead to unilateral trade liberalization

Source: Bandara and Yu (2003).

Bandara and Yu (2003) reviewed the controversies related to the desirability of SAFTA by using the GTAP model as a tool to quantify its effects, in comparison to the effects of unilateral liberalization and some other policy options. The results support the pessimistic view, and indicate that South Asian countries may gain more from unilateral and multilateral trade liberalization than from SAFTA. However, hypothetical FTAs between South Asia, NAFTA and the EU will also be beneficial for the region.

Rahman et al. (2006) found evidence of both intra-bloc export creation and export diversion in SAPTA. Bangladesh, India and Pakistan are expected to gain from joining the RTA, while Nepal, the Maldives and Sri Lanka are likely to be negatively affected. Among the other RTAs covered in the study, AFTA, NAFTA, the SADC, Mercosur, the Andean Community of Nations and the EAC are associated with intra-bloc export creation and net export diversion. The EU and the Bangkok Agreement are found to be intra-bloc and net export diverting. BIMST- EC is found to be intra-bloc export diverting but there is no evidence of net export creation or diversion. Although none of the RTAs covered in the study has been found to be net export creating, more than one-third of members of these RTAs are positively affected by joining the RTAs. Raihan and Razzaque (2007) examined the features and prospects of different regional integration and bilateral FTAs in South Asia involving Bangladesh. They estimated that the trade creation and diversion aspects of the total welfare effects of SAFTA scenarios and its full implementation will lead to welfare gains for India, Sri Lanka and other South Asian countries, though Bangladesh suffers a welfare loss, mainly driven by the negative trade diversion effect. Simulation results also suggest that the negative trade diversion effect can be undermined by associated unilateral trade liberalization measures. Daniel (2007) evaluates SAFTA within the global structure of overlapping RTAs using a modified gravity equation: first, SAFTA will have a minor effect on regional trade flows and the impact on custom duties would be a manageable fiscal shock for most members; second, RTAs with NAFTA and the EU dominate those with ASEAN.

The analysis shows that SAFTA will not benefit the region much economically, and the recent progress of SAFTA is not very encouraging either. The experience of the last 15 years demonstrates that it is very difficult to achieve meaningful regional cooperation in economic and social matters in South Asia without proper resolutions of political conflicts between member countries. Given this, some member countries in the region have chosen another route, i.e. entering into RTAs. For example, Sri Lanka signed such an agreement with India in 1998, which is successful in promoting bilateral trade. India has also entered into a number of bilateral RTAs with countries such as Afghanistan, Chile and Thailand and comprehensive economic cooperation agreements with countries such as Singapore and Korea, and some 15 similar agreements are at negotiation stage. These developments reflect a more pessimistic future for SAFTA. The studies discussed in this chapter indicate that the issue of economic cooperation in South Asia warrants further quantitative investigation (Table 3.2).

Table 3.2. Summary of quantitative assessments of RTAs in South Asia

Study Nature of study Policy questions Results
Elasticity approach
Jayaraman (1978) Considers the effects of a hypothetical customs union comprising India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal
Follows standard conventional theory of customs unions, and develops a hypothetical customs union model in a partial-equilibrium framework
Implications of stronger South Asian economic cooperation Shows the gains from South Asian customs union would be insignificant
Under some scenarios, small countries such as Nepal and Sri Lanka will lose
Rahman et al. (1981) as an extension of Bhuyen (1979) Estimates static trade effects of a customs union comprising India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka; model developed following the original Viner model of economic integration
Price elasticities of import demand and elasticities of substitution were estimated to estimate trade effects; welfare gains and losses due to reallocation of resources after formation of the customs union are derived from estimated effects of the integration scheme
Exploring possibility of forming a South Asian customs union wherein all trade barriers within the region are removed while a common external tariff is imposed against all outsiders Trade creation effects of a South Asian customs union appear to be greater than trade diversion effects
Shows an increase in intra-regional imports by 43 per cent of pre-union intra-regional imports; effects are found to vary between member countries
Govindan (1994) Uses econometric estimates of price elasticities of demand for food imports by major SAARC countries to gauge trade effects of SAPTA within a partial-equilibrium framework Implications of SAPTA in terms of agriculture and food security in South Asia Indicates that South Asian welfare will improve through substantial expansion of intra-South Asian trade in food commodities
Suggests that closer economic relations in South Asia can increase food security in the region
DeRosa and Govindan (1995, 1996) Extensions of Govindan (1994), using a simple import demand framework and Armington system of bilateral trade demands in conjunction with a priori values of demand elasticities of substitution, recent disaggregated data on SAARC foreign trade and protection data for India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka Considers three policy options: effect of SAPTA, looking at effects of removal of tariffs and para-tariffs on intra-regional imports; effect of closer economic ties between SAARC and APEC countries, looking at removal of trade barriers between the two regions; effect of unilateral trade liberalization in South Asia Supports SAPTA in terms of increase in food trade, but suggests that SAARC countries might achieve much larger gains in trade and welfare by intensifying efforts to integrate South Asian economies with the world economy Found that net trade creation of SAPTA is limited due to extensive trade diversification
Gravity models
Srinivasan (1994); Srinivasan and Canonero (1995) Two similar studies using a gravity model of international trade to investigate the implications of SAPTA Consider economic prospects for South Asian countries under three policy scenarios: preferential trade liberalization within region; an extension of preferential trading to the EU; unilateral trade liberalization Demonstrate that small countries will gain much from preferential trade liberalization (increase in trade by 3 per cent, 21 per cent and 59 per cent of GDP for India, Bangladesh and Nepal, respectively); large countries would gain much from extension of preferential trade to the EU (increase in trade by 30.4 per cent, 13.5 per cent and 26.0 per cent for India, Bangladesh and Nepal, respectively)
Suggest unilateral trade liberalization will yield greatest gains
Rajapakse and Arunatilake (1997) Uses gravity model of bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and other SAARC countries to explain benefits of SAPTA from a Sri Lankan perspective Analyzes some impediments to intra-SAARC trade from a Sri Lankan perspective Shows there is good potential for improvements in bilateral trade with removal of restrictive trade measures; however, suggests no SAARC countries can hope to achieve sustainable economic growth merely by trading among themselves
Samaratunga (1999) Develops a gravity trade model to analyze bilateral trade among South Asian and APEC countries; unlike some previous studies using gravity models, it incorporates trade-policy-related variables such as tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade Examines potential for trade between South Asia and APEC countries Suggests potential for expansion of South Asian exports to APEC region is limited, and unless policy changes occur, the region's exports may even begin to decline; findings indicate need for policy reforms if the region is to achieve its goal of higher exports as a vehicle for growth
Frankel et al. (1997) Very extensive study examining bilateral trade patterns throughout the world using a gravity model; in this model, South Asia is a separate region Focuses on trade blocs around the world and their viability Provides evidence to support trade blocs in Europe, the western hemisphere, East Asia and the Pacific; however, there is no evidence for a South Asia-only trading bloc
Supportive evidence for a South Asia-East Asia trade
bloc
Macro models
Naqvi et al. (1984); Naqvi and Samad (1992) Develop independent country models linked through a trade subsystem by developing an integrated macroeconometric model, known as SAARC-Link model and used for planning and simulation purposes Examine implications of a regional trading bloc in South Asia Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have benefited most when harmonious development strategies have been pursued; most outward-oriented trade policies will bring similar results for India
Suggest regional trade expansion is not a zero-sum game and all countries will gain from regional trade
expansion
Guru-Gharana (2000) Similar to the above, develops a macroeconometric model focusing on intra-SAARC trade links
Uses five national models for five major South Asian countries and links them
through a trade subsystem
Model was developed for forecasting two illustrative scenarios: base scenario and optimistic scenario Predicts that all five countries in model would dramatically benefit following intra-SAARC trade expansion and other policy measures
CGE evaluations
Pigato et al. (1997) Employs global computable general equilibrium (CGE) modeling approach and uses GTAP model based on version 3 of GTAP database; in this database, South Asia is divided into India and the rest of South Asia Examines effects of a South Asian RTA under two policy scenarios: effects of preferential trade liberalization in region; effects of unilateral trade liberalization Shows that SAPTA generates significant benefits for India and the rest of South Asia (0.5 per cent of GDP or 1992 US$1.3 billion increase for India; 1.0 per cent of GDP or 1992 US$0.7 billion increase for the rest of South Asia)
Siriwardana (2001) Uses GTAP model and version 4 GTAP database, which contains data for India, Sri Lanka and the rest of South Asia individually Focuses on bilateral trade liberalization between Sri Lanka and SAARC countries and implications for Sri Lanka; conducts 12 trade-liberalization-related
experiments between SAARC, ASEAN
and other Asian countries
Suggest Sri Lanka will benefit from bilateral trade liberalization with SAARC countries, and will benefit further by expanding bilateral trade liberalization into ASEAN and other Asian countries; however, results are mixed in terms of detailed commodity-wise analysis
Siriwardana (2002) Uses GTAP model but based on version 5 of database, which contains data for Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and the rest of South Asia Explores two plausible policy scenarios for free trade in South Asia: effects of elimination of all tariffs between South Asian countries under an FTA; effects of 10 per cent common external tariff targeting nonmembers of proposed
South Asian FTA
Suggests trade liberalization is beneficial to South Asian countries in terms of GDP and welfare gains under both policy scenarios; extent of benefits varies between countries
If FTA is established for South Asia, effects of trade creation are likely to outweigh effects of trade diversion, leading to net expansion of trade in entire region
Bandara and Yu (2003) Comprehensive study applying GTAP model and using version 5 of GTAP database, which contains data on South Asia at a much more disaggregated level (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the rest of South Asia listed separately) Conducts a series of policy simulations, such as unilateral trade liberalization by South Asia; preferential trade liberalization in South Asia; preferential trade liberalization between South Asia and ASEAN; and multi-trade
liberalization
Suggests impact of preferential trade liberalization is very small, but impact of unilateral trade liberalization is significant for South Asian countries
Under preferential trade liberalization, small countries will lose or gain marginally

Source: Bandara (2004).

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Simulation for land area operation management

Yong Zhou , ... Bochi Liu , in Port Planning and Management Simulation, 2022

9.1.1 Introduction to truck configuration for quayside cranes

With the growing influence of global economic integration, coastal port container business shows a trend of rapid growth. In order to adapt to the trend of large ships, a part of domestic large-scale container ports, such as the Port of Shanghai, have already been equipped with twin 40  ft quayside cranes for handling operations.

The main difference between twin 40   ft and single 40   ft quayside cranes is that twin 40   ft quayside cranes have two independent lifting devices. Single 40   ft quayside cranes need to position the container 2 times in a lifting operation cycle, while twin 40   ft quayside cranes require the operators to position the containers 4 times [2]. To better understand the handling process of twin 40   ft quayside cranes, the work flow is presented in Fig. 9.1. Compared with the single 40 quayside crane, one operating cycle of twin 40   ft quayside cranes consumes more time, which is twice as long as positioning, locking, and decoupling containers.

Fig. 9.1

Fig. 9.1. Workflow for handing process of twin 40   ft quayside crane.

Data from Y. Peng, W. Wenyuan, Z. Qi, C. Modi, Z. Ran, Simulation-based trucks configuration for twin 40 feet quay cranes in container terminals, Int. J. Eng. Technol. 9(5) (2017) 354–358.

In theory, twin 40   ft quayside cranes can load and unload two 40   ft containers at the same time per lifting operation. The single handling efficiency should be 50% higher than ordinary bridge cranes. However, the actual use of the situation is not ideal [3], and one of the important reasons is the lack of container trucks, which leads to effective convergence and coordination problems between horizontal transportation system and twin 40   ft quayside cranes.

In contrast to the commonly-used single 40   ft quayside cranes, traffic conditions at terminal apron during the handling operation of twin 40   ft quayside cranes are more complicated. On one hand, the trucks at terminal apron and behind the quayside cranes are greatly hindered from moving, since the queue length of trucks under twin 40   ft quayside cranes is longer, resulting from more container trucks and longer time of single lifting operation. On the other hand, the operation point (where containers lifted by lifting arm) of single quayside cranes increases from 1 to 2, as a result, a more complicated lane-changing driving state will be carried out, resulting in an increase in lane-changing interference between trucks. Both types of interruption make more negative effect on the coordinative operation of the horizontal transportation system and the twin 40   ft quayside cranes, and hence limit the performance of twin 40   ft quayside cranes.

On the basis of analyzing the operating characteristics of twin 40   ft quayside cranes, this chapter takes a large-scale container terminal in Dalian as an example and establishes a microscopic traffic simulation model for the terminal based on the framework proposed in Section 7.2.3. In particular, the driving behaviors are simulated in detail and the operation process of 40   ft quayside cranes is added into the model. By running the simulation model, the traffic operation rule at container terminal with twin 40   ft quayside cranes is discussed. Based on the mean delay of trucks under quayside cranes and yard cranes, the impact of the number of container trucks allocated to twin 40   ft quayside cranes on traffic conditions is analyzed.

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Indonesia: the search for alternatives

Diah Widarti , in Globalization, Flexibilization and Working Conditions in Asia and the Pacific, 2008

1 Introduction

Many people generally perceive globalization to be economic integration through trade and foreign investment, with the pros and cons of globalization usually discussed at the macro level. However, empirically based debates on whether, and the extent to which, workers benefit from globalization are rather scant. This is particularly the case for the region of East Asia and the Pacific, including Indonesia, which has been praised for its successful integration in the world market ( Lee and Wood, 2007).

Global integration is expected to stimulate economic growth, to reduce poverty through the multiplier effects of expanding job opportunities, and to boost real wages. Nevertheless, this might not be true for many developing countries. These countries are increasingly concerned that global integration may only benefit developed countries and may be catastrophic for developing countries. There is evidence that economic globalization tends to reinforce the links between poverty, informality and gender, as global competition tends to encourage formal firms to shift formal waged workers to informal employment, where job security is minimal or non-existent (Carr and Chen, 2002).

This chapter investigates changes in employment conditions for individual workers in Indonesia in the context of labour market reforms and globalization, examining, in particular, the experience of vulnerable groups of workers. This study is based on the available secondary data, particularly the National Labour Force Survey (NLFS: locally referred to as Survai Angkatan Kerja Nasional/SAKERNAS), the National SocioEconomic Survey (SUSENAS), the Intercensal Population Survey (SUPAS) (CBS, 1992) and the administrative records maintained by the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration (MOMT).

This chapter is organized as follows: section 2 discusses government policies and labour market reforms passed in response to globalization. To provide a clear picture of changes in the Indonesian labour market, section 3 describes trends in labour force participation, unemployment, underemployment and employment structure.Section 4 discusses how labour market reforms and changes affected employment conditions: employment status, wages, hours of work, occupational health and safety, social security, industrial relations, as well as poverty. Section 5 covers the social debates on labour market reforms and consequences, including public opinion of the changes, specific policy measures suggested, the overall policy direction, the alternatives proposed and an evaluation of these debates based on evidence provided in the previous sections.Section 6 will summarize and conclude.

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Multinational Corporations

B. Kogut , in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001

5 Globalization

The peculiar conflict in the world economy is the growing trend toward economic integration without a concomitant growth in global political and social institutions to regulate and arbitrate this trend. Multinational corporations are rapidly adopting advanced information technologies to increase the efficiency and capabilities of their operations. Valuable information, such as software or financial services, is transmitted digitally. Governments are often unable to tax the value of these services or control their content. Moreover, information technologies, often supported by private telecommunication networks, permit, for example, a unit in Germany to control the manufacturing operations located in Brazil.

Digital technologies permit a high degree of integration and, in the short run, aggravate the gap between countries that are rich and those that are poor and do not have the infrastructural capabilities. However, these technologies are beginning to have profound effects on some regional economies. In parts of China, India, Israel, and elsewhere, advanced satellite transmission transmits digitally encoded work between their sites and other organizational units of multinational corporations located elsewhere. Whereas before the Indian engineer from Bangalore might have tried to migrate to the US to bring his human capital to a more attractive labor market, the increasing wages and job prospects in India are encouraging many to stay at home and participate digitally in the world economy.

These trends have unclear effects on multinational corporations. They permit more easily the development of projects that are in continual development, as work passes from one unit to the next as the day advances. They also allow more easily the coupling of less expensive labor in one country with more expensive skilled labor in another.

At the same time, the origins of the multinational corporation laid in its ability to organize labor on a worldwide basis on principles other than ethnic and cultural identities. This organization has never been without cost and risk. The growth of a world digital economy permits alternative ways by which labor can cooperate and be coordinated on a world basis. The intriguing question at this point in history is whether the multinational corporation, though still a vital presence in the world economy, nevertheless will recede relatively in importance as information technologies reduces the meaning of geographic distance.

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Multinational Corporations

Bruce Kogut , Alicja Reuben , in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition), 2015

Globalization and the Digital Information Economy

The peculiar conflict in the world economy is the growing trend toward economic integration without a concomitant growth in global political and social institutions to regulate and arbitrate this trend. MNCs are rapidly adopting advanced information technologies to increase the efficiency and capabilities of their operations. Valuable information, such as software or financial services, is transmitted digitally. Governments are often unable to tax the value of these services or control their content. Moreover, information technologies, often supported by private telecommunication networks, permit, for example, a unit in Germany to control the manufacturing operations located in Brazil.

Digital technologies permit a high degree of integration and, in the short run, aggravate the gap between countries that are rich and those that are poor and do not have the infrastructural capabilities. However, these technologies are beginning to have profound effects on some regional economies. In parts of China, India, Israel, and elsewhere, advanced satellite transmission transmits digitally encoded work between their sites and other organizational units of MNCs located elsewhere. Earlier the Indian engineer from Bangalore might have tried to migrate to the United States to bring his human capital to a more attractive labor market, whereas the increasing wages and job prospects in India are encouraging many to stay at home and participate digitally in the world economy.

These trends have unclear effects on MNCs. They permit more easily the development of projects that are in continual development, as work passes from one unit to the next as the day advances. They also allow more easily the coupling of less expensive labor in one country with more expensive skilled labor in another.

At the same time, the origins of the MNC laid in its ability to organize labor on a worldwide basis on principles other than ethnic and cultural identities. This organization has never been without cost and risk. The growth of a world digital economy permits alternative ways by which labor can cooperate and be coordinated on a world basis. The intriguing question at this point in history is whether the MNC, though still a vital presence in the world economy, nevertheless, will recede relatively in importance as information technologies reduce the meaning of geographic distance.

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Handbook of the Economics of International Migration

Brian C. Cadena , ... Stephen J. Trejo , in Handbook of the Economics of International Migration, 2015

6 Conclusion

At first blush, there are several reasons to expect problems with the economic integration of American immigrants. Unlike other important host countries such as Australia and Canada, the US makes little or no effort to regulate either the volume or the skill content of immigration flows to fit with current labor market needs. Moreover, a large share of US immigration is illegal, and the government appears to have limited control over this predominantly unskilled flow. Finally, inequality and the returns to skill in the US labor market have been rising over the last few decades as large numbers of unskilled immigrants have entered the country. Both in terms of design and implementation, US immigration policy seems haphazard.

Despite all of these warning signs, the labor market performance of US immigrants is surprisingly good. Immigrants have little trouble finding jobs, and this is particularly true of unskilled immigrants. Most immigrants experience substantial earnings growth as they adapt to the American labor market, and the wages they earn are commensurate with their skills. Overall, the US-born second generation has achieved educational parity with mainstream society; for some Hispanic groups, however, this is not the case. On the whole, immigration to the US has not had large adverse consequences for the labor market opportunities of native workers. Therefore, with regard to the economic integration and labor market impacts of immigration, it is not obvious that the seemingly haphazard nature of US immigration policy has led to unfavorable outcomes.

Despite the explosion in recent years of economic research on the integration and impact of international migrants, many topics are ripe for further investigation. Regarding the labor market assimilation of immigrants, much could be learned from additional studies like Lubotsky (2007) that exploit longitudinal data. Moreover, we need to better understand the relative importance of particular human capital investments and other factors that drive the post-arrival earnings growth of immigrants, such as additional schooling (Betts and Lofstrom, 2000), becoming proficient in the host country language (Bleakley and Chin, 2004; Chiswick and Miller, 2010; Borjas, 2013), acquiring citizenship (Bratsberg et al., 2002; Mazzolari, 2009), and legalization of formerly undocumented immigrants (Kossoudji and Cobb-Clark, 2002). With respect to the descendants of immigrants, important and understudied topics include the following: how growing up with an undocumented parent affects the US-born children of immigrants (Bean et al., 2011), why intergenerational convergence seems to be slower for some Hispanic groups (Perlman and Waldinger, 1996, 1997; Smith, 2003; Telles and Ortiz, 2008), and the extent to which selective ethnic attrition distorts inferences regarding the socio-economic attainment and relative standing of later-generation members of various immigrant groups (Duncan and Trejo, 2011a, 2013).

In recent years, Hispanic immigrants have increasingly settled in new regions of the US where formerly they had little or no presence (Fischer and Tienda, 2006; Card and Lewis, 2007). This so-called "Hispanic Diaspora" creates unique issues for receiving communities and schools that often had little previous experience with immigrants (Fry, 2011), and it will be important to monitor the integration of Hispanic immigrants in these new destinations. Moreover, some of these new destinations have sizeable African-American populations (e.g., Atlanta, Georgia, and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina), which makes it interesting to study whether the labor market impacts of immigration on native workers are different in these cities (Card and Lewis, 2007). A related and controversial issue is the potential role that immigration plays in the declining employment and rising incarceration rates of African-American men. Research to date on this question reaches conflicting conclusions (Raphael and Ronconi, 2005; Borjas et al., 2010), so further work would be useful.

In this chapter, our discussion of the consequences of US immigration has focused on the labor market, which is the area that has received the greatest amount of attention from economists and policymakers. Some of the most provocative and promising new research, however, has begun to explore important impacts that immigration might have beyond the labor market. For example, progress has been made in understanding how low-skilled immigration affects particular prices (Cortes, 2008) and how certain groups of natives respond to such price changes (Furtado and Hock, 2010; Cortes and Tessada, 2011). Housing expenditures are a large budget item for almost all families, and therefore immigration's impact on the price of housing is a significant policy concern (Saiz, 2003, 2007; Saiz and Wachter, 2011). Immigration increases the number of business establishments located within a metropolitan area (Olney, 2013) and also changes the types of retail stores available to consumers (Mazzolari and Neumark, 2012). Because the research emphasis in the past several decades has been on the effects of low-skilled US immigration, we welcome recent work investigating how high-skilled immigration impacts innovation and patenting (Hunt and Gauthier-Loiselle, 2010; Kerr and Lincoln, 2010) and even the amount and kinds of research produced by US-born mathematicians (Borjas and Doran, 2012). Given the important academic and policy issues raised by the large numbers of immigrants received by the US over the past several decades and the likely continuation of these flows in the foreseeable future, research on US immigration shows no signs of slowing down.

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Determinants of spatial (dis)integration

Rongxing Guo , in China's Spatial (Dis)integration, 2015

Interprovincial panel data

The major task of this chapter is to quantitatively investigate the sources for changes in China's spatial economic integration over time. Thus, the use of the cross-sectional data from China' s provincial economies in different years enables that the estimated results are not artifact of any particular time period and to allow for changes in coefficients. Generally, a decade-long period is appropriate for this kind of research because analysis for a shorter period would not reflect relevant social and economic changes, but significant changes in transportation and communication technologies would have to be accounted for if a longer one is used. Of course, a longer period is still more helpful if three or more sets of cross-sectional data are available. However, this would increase inevitably the costs in data collection. In this chapter, after taking into account data availability, we only focus on two years, 2000 and 2010.

The largest numbers of observations (i.e., interprovincial samples) for both 2000 and 2010 are 465, which are counted as the following:

C 31 2 = 31 ! 2 ! ( 31 - 2 ) ! = 31 × 30 2 = 465 , where 31 is the number of China's provinces.

However, because the data on interprovincial trade are unavailable for the two provinces of Hainan and Tibet (including 59 province pairs) from 2000 as well as for 13 province pairs (i.e., Beijing–Hainan, Guizhou–Tibet, Hainan–Heilongjiang, Hainan–Jilin, Hainan–Liaoning, Hainan–Ningxia, Hainan–Shanghai, Hainan–Tianjin, Hainan–Tibet, Hainan–Xinjiang, Jilin–Tibet, Ningxia–Tibet, and Tibet–Yunnan) from 2010, the total numbers of observations that can be actually used for our regressions are reduced to 406 (i.e., 465-59=406) for 2000 and 452 (i.e., 465-13=452) for 2010 accordingly.

A brief statistical description of selected variables included in Equations 4.1 to 4.3 is given in Table 4.2a (for 2000) and 4.2b (for 2010).

Table 4.2a. Descriptive statistics for the panel data on selected variables, 2000

Variable Observations (n) Minimum Maximum Mean SD
lnTRADEij 406 2.99573 11.59910 6.84499 1.36932
ln(GDPiGDPj) 465 5.73532 13.62832 10.70744 1.43231
ln(GDPPCiGDPPCj) 465 16.19674 20.00507 17.70224 0.69716
ln(Distanceij) 465 4.91998 8.75037 7.47203 0.64053
Ethnic56ij 465 0.06160 0.99930 0.75563 0.24827
k=1. Bai 465 0.00001 0.00532 0.00004 0.00028
k=2. Blang 465 0.00000 0.00001 0.00000 0.00000
k=3. Buyi 465 0.00001 0.00129 0.00005 0.00008
k=4. Dai 465 0.00000 0.00008 0.00000 0.00001
k=5. Daur 465 0.00000 0.00120 0.00001 0.00006
k=6. Dong 465 0.00001 0.01331 0.00011 0.00077
k=7. Dongxiang 465 0.00000 0.00303 0.00001 0.00015
k=8. Gelao 465 0.00000 0.00009 0.00001 0.00001
k=9. Han 465 0.06061 0.99682 0.74690 0.25065
k=10. Hani 465 0.00000 0.00003 0.00001 0.00001
k=11. Hui 465 0.00025 0.15621 0.00371 0.00904
k=12. Jingpo 465 0.00000 0.00001 0.00000 0.00000
k=13. Kazak 465 0.00000 0.00012 0.00000 0.00001
k=14. Kirgiz 465 0.00000 0.00004 0.00000 0.00000
k=15. Korean 465 0.00002 0.01072 0.00013 0.00064
k=16. Lahu 465 0.00000 0.00002 0.00000 0.00000
k=17. Li 465 0.00000 0.00159 0.00001 0.00007
k=18. Lisu 465 0.00000 0.00023 0.00000 0.00001
k=19. Manchu 465 0.00006 0.03705 0.00118 0.00443
k=20. Maonan 465 0.00000 0.00089 0.00000 0.00004
k=21. Miao 465 0.00004 0.03037 0.00069 0.00280
k=22. Mongol 465 0.00008 0.01789 0.00064 0.00164
k=23. Mulao 465 0.00000 0.00081 0.00000 0.00004
k=24. Naxi 465 0.00000 0.00047 0.00000 0.00002
k=25. Qiang 465 0.00000 0.00004 0.00000 0.00000
k=26. Salar 465 0.00000 0.00047 0.00000 0.00003
k=27. She 465 0.00000 0.00372 0.00004 0.00024
k=28. Shui 465 0.00000 0.00035 0.00001 0.00003
k=29. Tibetan 465 0.00002 0.22530 0.00074 0.01057
k=30. Tu 465 0.00000 0.00121 0.00002 0.00006
k=31. Tujia 465 0.00003 0.04172 0.00066 0.00438
k=32. Uyghur 465 0.00002 0.00027 0.00004 0.00002
k=33. Va 465 0.00000 0.00005 0.00000 0.00000
k=34. Xibe 465 0.00000 0.00187 0.00001 0.00009
k=35. Yao 465 0.00000 0.01114 0.00009 0.00064
k=36. Yi 465 0.00002 0.02577 0.00022 0.00196
k=37. Zhuang 465 0.00005 0.02701 0.00025 0.00142

SD, Standard deviation.

Table 4.2b. Descriptive statistics for the panel data on selected variables, 2010

Variable Observations (n) Minimum Maximum Mean SD
lnTRADEij 452 2.30259 12.62984 6.95446 1.76181
ln(GDP i GDP j ) 465 8.83243 16.76316 13.75672 1.38476
ln(GDPPC i GDPPC j ) 465 19.15152 22.40275 20.60043 0.62203
ln(DISTANCE ij ) 465 4.91998 8.75037 7.47203 0.64053
Ethnic56 ij 465 0.08280 0.99870 0.75979 0.24414
k=1. Bai 465 0.00000 0.00526 0.00005 0.00027
k=2. Blang 465 0.00000 0.00016 0.00000 0.00001
k=3. Buyi 465 0.00001 0.00231 0.00007 0.00016
k=4. Dai 465 0.00000 0.00011 0.00001 0.00002
k=5. Daur 465 0.00000 0.00105 0.00001 0.00005
k=6. Dong 465 0.00001 0.01301 0.00013 0.00076
k=7. Dongxiang 465 0.00000 0.00282 0.00002 0.00015
k=8. Gelao 465 0.00000 0.00033 0.00001 0.00003
k=9. Han 465 0.08176 0.99660 0.75070 0.24660
k=10. Hani 465 0.00000 0.00014 0.00001 0.00001
k=11. Hui 465 0.00020 0.14827 0.00356 0.00865
k=12. Jingpo 465 0.00000 0.00002 0.00000 0.00000
k=13. Kazak 465 0.00000 0.00071 0.00002 0.00004
k=14. Kirgiz 465 0.00000 0.00089 0.00000 0.00004
k=15. Korean 465 0.00001 0.00856 0.00013 0.00058
k=16. Lahu 465 0.00000 0.00003 0.00000 0.00000
k=17. Li 465 0.00001 0.00396 0.00003 0.00018
k=18. Lisu 465 0.00000 0.00026 0.00001 0.00001
k=19. Manchu 465 0.00011 0.03156 0.00111 0.00378
k=20. Maonan 465 0.00000 0.00080 0.00000 0.00004
k=21. Miao 465 0.00005 0.03136 0.00088 0.00296
k=22. Mongol 465 0.00005 0.01774 0.00056 0.00157
k=23. Mulao 465 0.00000 0.00073 0.00001 0.00003
k=24. Naxi 465 0.00000 0.00038 0.00000 0.00002
k=25. Qiang 465 0.00000 0.00005 0.00001 0.00001
k=26. Salar 465 0.00000 0.00053 0.00001 0.00003
k=27. She 465 0.00000 0.00306 0.00004 0.00021
k=28. Shui 465 0.00000 0.00029 0.00001 0.00003
k=29. Tibetan 465 0.00002 0.24438 0.00080 0.01149
k=30. Tu 465 0.00000 0.00120 0.00003 0.00007
k=31. Tujia 465 0.00006 0.04210 0.00079 0.00438
k=32. Uyghur 465 0.00001 0.00036 0.00004 0.00003
k=33. Va 465 0.00000 0.00006 0.00001 0.00001
k=34. Xibe 465 0.00000 0.00158 0.00001 0.00008
k=35. Yao 465 0.00001 0.01086 0.00011 0.00064
k=36. Yi 465 0.00002 0.03288 0.00027 0.00220
k=37. Zhuang 465 0.00005 0.02644 0.00031 0.00141

SD, Standard deviation.

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