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301. Present Conditions of North Korean Industry and Possible Reconstruction Plans

Author:
Lim Soo-ho and Hong Seok-ki
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI)
Abstract:
Since the collapse of industry during the 'Arduous March' (1995-1997), Pyongyang has continuously launched reconstruction plans but has failed to see a rebound. The key is to restore industrial linkages; however, the DPRK allocated a majority of state investment to the defense industry under the 'Military First Economic Policy.' As long as the 'strategic sector' retains priority, a sound outcome seems to be out of reach. In reality, North Korea's comparative advantage lies on labor-intensive business, with abundant labor forces at a low cost. After unification, such industries will have bright prospects with technology and capital not only from South Korea, but also from China and Japan. The economic integration scenario of the two Koreas -- whether radical or gradual -- will decide industrial policies for the upper half of the peninsula in the post-unification era.
Topic:
Economics, Science and Technology, History, Reconstruction, and Industry
Political Geography:
Japan, China, Asia, South Korea, North Korea, and Korea

302. Hard Times for Soft Power: A Q&A with Joseph Nye

Author:
Michelle Nicholasen
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Last December, the Weatherhead Center recognized the upcoming retirement of University Distinguished Service Professor Joseph S. Nye, Jr. by dedicating the 2016 Manshel Lecture on American Foreign Policy to him. One of the most influential foreign affairs scholars of our time, Nye served as Center director from 1989 to 1992—though his roots at the Center trace back to its infancy in 1961, when he was a research assistant to Director Robert Bowie. Nye's accomplishments run deep. He began his distinguished career as a Harvard faculty member at the Kennedy School of Government in 1964, and became the school's dean in 1995. He held security appointments in both the Carter and Clinton administrations, and his thought leadership has influenced heads of state and policy makers around the world. He is perhaps best known for coining the term “soft power,” which describes the ability of states or institutions to attract and persuade others through noncoercive means. The Weatherhead Center sat down with Nye to discuss the fate of soft power in the context of current US foreign affairs—and also asked him to share his memories of early days at the CFIA.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Science and Technology, and Soft Power
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, China, Europe, Asia, and North America

303. A Change in the Winds for Software Piracy

Author:
S. Michael Impink Jr.
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Depending on the industry, piracy either stifles economic growth or fosters innovation. In many technology and pharmaceutical industries, piracy impedes innovation because of its deleterious effect on profits, whereas in the fashion industry, piracy drives participants to produce the latest, trendiest designs. The business strategy of software producers, intellectual property owners, and computer device manufacturers has a substantive impact on piracy, not fully captured in the current literature. My research focuses on how business factors—the competitive landscape of device manufacturers, the evolving strategy of intellectual property owners, and the shift away from traditional licensing models—affect intellectual property rights and software piracy in high-growth countries.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Intellectual Property/Copyright, Piracy, and Business
Political Geography:
United States, China, Asia, and North America

304. Chinese Investment in Critical U.S. Technology: Risks to U.S. Security Interests

Author:
Council on Foreign Relations
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
Chinese firms, both private and state-owned, have in recent years invested billions of dollars in the U.S. technology industry, raising concerns that a powerful rival has gained or could soon gain access to sensitive and, in some cases, critical technologies that underpin American military superiority and economic might. At the workshop entitled “Chinese Investment in Critical U.S. Technology: Risks to U.S. Security Interests,” held in San Francisco, on July 18, 2017, CFR convened nearly thirty current and former government officials, academics, bankers, investors, and corporate executives to explore whether the large and growing early-stage Chinese investment in critical U.S. technology poses a threat to U.S. national security, and, if so, to outline policies that mitigate the risks of unbridled Chinese investment and to bolster U.S. competitiveness.
Topic:
Security, Science and Technology, Foreign Direct Investment, and Cybersecurity
Political Geography:
United States, China, Asia, and North America

305. Ecommerce and Firm Performance: Evidence from Korea

Author:
Kyu Yub Lee
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:
Official estimates peg global business-to-business ecommerce at 15 trillion dollars and global business-to-consumer ecommerce at 1.2 trillion dollars in 2013 (UNCTAD 2015). When we turn to official estimates for Korea, it is easy to find that Korea’s business-to-consumer ecommerce market is grow-ing at more than twenty percent per year and has emerged as the third larg-est global ecommerce market in Asia. It is not very much surprising to know the numbers for Korea since Korea is one of the world’s most ad-vanced countries in terms of information and communication technology. However, it is somewhat surprising that we know little about how ecom-merce firms or establishments are distributed in the economy of Korea. In addition, we know little about how ecommerce establishments perform relative to their counterparts of a similar age and size in the same industry. The paper aims to characterize and test performance differences between ecommerce and non-ecommerce firms or establishments. Although the number of ecommerce establishments makes up a small fraction of the economy, ecommerce establishments have a heavier weight in sales, em-ployment, and wage. Due to endogeneity of ecommerce variable, the paper reconstructs the 2010 Korea Census dataset by using Propensity Matching Score and shows that in manufacture ecommerce establishments have, on average, larger sales-per-worker and pay higher wage whereas in services ecommerce ones have higher sales-per-worker but pay no larger wage than their counterparts of a similar age and size in the same industry. It also adds quantile estimates showing that sales-per-worker differences between ecommerce and non-ecommerce establishments in manufacture are positive and statistically significant only at lower quantiles of the distribution. In ser-vices, sales-per-worker differences between them are positive and signifi-cant at most of distribution but turns to be negative, though not significant, at above upper quantile of the distribution.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Labor Issues, and Economic Policy
Political Geography:
Asia and South Korea

306. Promoting Water Security in Central Asia through International Research Partnerships

Author:
Katherine E. Himes
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Science forms an important nexus with diplomacy and international relations. First, science in diplomacy supports foreign policy objectives. Second, diplomacy for science utilizes international relations to facilitate and advance cross-border scientific and engineering relationships and programs. Third, science for diplomacy leverages scientific and technical cooperation to bolster relations between and among countries. The term science diplomacy captures these three relationships.
Topic:
Security, Diplomacy, Science and Technology, Water, and Partnerships
Political Geography:
Central Asia and Asia

307. Chinese and Indian Competition in Space Heats Up

Author:
Sudha Ramachandran
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
China Brief
Institution:
The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:
At the height of the Cold War the United States and the Soviet Union used money and weapons to build satellite states; today China and India are using satellites in space to win influence and secure their geo-political and economic interests. They see each other as competition in the global satellite launch business. So how do the Indian and Chinese space programs compare? In which areas is competition likely to be most intense?
Topic:
Economics, Science and Technology, Geopolitics, Soft Power, and Space
Political Geography:
China, India, Asia, and Sri Lanka

308. ICTs in Humanitarian Response: A learning review of a three-year, five-country programme

Author:
Amy O'Donnell
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The Scaling Humanitarian ICTs Network (SHINE) funded by Sida, set out with the theory of change that the quality and efficiency of humanitarian aid can be improved in a variety of contexts through the adoption of Information Communications Technologies (ICTs). With applications in Ethiopia, DRC, Mali, Indonesia and Iraq, ICTs were introduced to enable digital registrations, mobile data collection, cash/voucher programming and systems for accountability. While ICTs hold promise for saving time, money and improving accuracy, this learning report sets out to unpack these benefits and identify the conditions that need to be in place in order for ICTs to significantly add value to humanitarian response.
Topic:
Development, Science and Technology, Accountability, Humanitarian Crisis, and Data
Political Geography:
Africa, Iraq, Indonesia, Middle East, Asia, Ethiopia, Mali, and Democratic Republic of Congo

309. The Porter Hypothesis Goes to China: Spatial Development, Environmental Regulation and Productivity

Author:
Pedro Naso, Yi Huang, and Tim Swanson
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Environmental Studies, The Graduate Institute (IHEID)
Abstract:
We examine the relationship between environmental regulation and competitiveness in China. Exploiting exogenous changes in national pollution standards for three industries—ammonia, paper and cement—we test whether environmental regulation increases industry productivity. Our results show that the strong version of the Porter hypothesis does not hold, but that regulation might reallocate productivity spatially. We show that regulated industries that are located in newly developing cities see an increase in their productivity as compared to the same industries in other cities. This means that environmental regulation is more likely to drive the spatial distribution of productivity changes than it is to drive the pace and direction of technological change.
Topic:
Development, Environment, Science and Technology, Regulation, Productivity, and Competition
Political Geography:
China and Asia

310. An Uncompleted Attempt at the End of the Nineteenth Century: The Shipping Company of Sakarya River

Author:
Ömer Karaoğlu
Publication Date:
06-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bilgi
Institution:
Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:
XVIIth century and next periods were the years of the expansion of commercial capitalism by means of shipping trade. The activity of west in Mediterranean trade along the line a series of developments which constricted the Ottoman domination. At the beginning of the XIXth century, it was seen the expansion in foreign trade and financial dependence conjunction with the process of integration with western economies. In this process, the western countries experienced the significant improvements in the ship technology and sea transporting. The steamships moved to a new phase the superiority of western capitalism. The Ottoman State tried to develop the resistance by reforms in this new process. It was intended to improve the water resources of Anatolia and also to prevent damage to agricultural lands in accordance with the Tanzimat reforms. It was realised the public services in order to get benefit of the rivers to contribute to the national economy. The river transporting failed mostly. The old shipping technology was dependent on the wind directions. It could be done the transportation on the rivers such as Euphrates, Tigris, Nile and Danube. The shipping company of Sakarya river was aborted attempt in Ottoman territory. It was given the concession for this initiative that was started towards the end of Abdulaziz I (1861-1876) period but it was not ready for operating activities in the legal term. This study is the subject of this unfinished experiment.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Maritime Commerce, Water, and Shipping
Political Geography:
Europe, Asia, and Ottoman Empire