Economic conditions in sub-Saharan Africa have remained generally robust despite a sluggish global economy. The near-term outlook for the region remains broadly positive, and growth is projected at ...5¼ percent a year in 2012-13. Most low-income countries are projected to continue to grow strongly, supported by domestic demand, including from investment. The outlook is less favorable for many of the middle-income countries, especially South Africa, that are more closely linked to European markets and thus experience a more noticeable drag from the external environment. The main risks to the outlook are an intensification of financial stresses in the euro zone and a sharp fiscal adjustment in the US--the so-called fiscal cliff.
The aim of this study was to contribute to the literature debate on financial behavior and corporate capital structure by focusing on two aspects. First of all, we analyzed how the intensity of ...exports and therefore the percentage weight of foreign sales compared to total sales affect the leverage of companies. Secondly, we have analyzed which are the most significant factors influencing the financial behavior of SMEs. The financial information for the analysis were collected from the Sabi database of Bureau Van Dijk (BVD). To select the companies to be included in the sample, we followed a methodology capable of ensuring that the sample of export oriented and non-export oriented companies was adequately represented. The overall sample size was 2000 companies. The analysis showed that export intensity has a negative and significant impact on leverage, suggesting that as exports increase, leverage decreases. In addition, profitability and business risk are negatively related to leverage, while the tangibility of the assets and growth correlates positively with leverage.
•We examine how financial capital affects the decision to export (export propensity) and the share of exports over total sales (export intensity) by foreign subsidiaries of multinational enterprises ...(MNEs).•We dissect exports into intra-firm exports (exports to sister affiliates and parent firms) and arm’s length exports (exports to third-party external customers). We focus on the types of capital which can be used to finance exports, namely, intra-firm loans and bank loans.•We theorise that these two financing sources have different impacts on subsidiary export behaviour.•We use a survey dataset of subsidiaries, host-country data, and two-part models to test our hypotheses.•We find that intra-firm loans are positively related to arm’s length export propensity and intensity; however, intra-firm loans have no significant relationship with intra-firm export propensity and export intensity. Bank loans only have a positive impact on the likelihood of subsidiaries becoming arm’s length exporters, but they do not help subsidiaries with arm’s length export intensity. Bank loans negatively impact the likelihood of subsidiaries becoming intra-firm exporters; however, once subsidiaries participate in intra-firm exports, bank loans are positively associated with intra-firm export intensity. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory and practice.
In this study, we build upon internalisation theory in the international business literature and international trade finance in the international economics literature to examine how financial capital affects the decision to export (export propensity) and the share of exports over total sales (export intensity) by the foreign subsidiaries of multinational enterprises. We dissect exports into intra-firm exports (exports to sister affiliates and parent firms) and arm’s length exports (exports to third-party external customers), and we focus on the types of capital that can be used for financing exports, namely intra-firm loans and bank loans. We theorise that these two financing sources have different impacts on subsidiary export behaviour. To test our hypotheses, we use a survey dataset of subsidiaries, host-country data, and two-part models. Our findings show that intra-firm loans are positively related to arm’s length export propensity and intensity; however, intra-firm loans have no significant relationship with intra-firm export propensity and export intensity. Additionally, on the one hand, bank loans have a positive impact on the likelihood of subsidiaries becoming arm’s length exporters, but they do not help subsidiaries with arm’s length export intensity. On the other hand, bank loans negatively impact the likelihood of subsidiaries becoming intra-firm exporters; however, once subsidiaries participate in intra-firm exports, bank loans are positively associated with intra-firm export intensity. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory and practice.
Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa Prepared by the Policy Wing of the IMF African Department, this first, annual issue of Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa analyzes economic, ...trade, and institutional issues in 2004, and prospects in 2005, for the 42 countries covered by the Department (for data reasons, Eritrea and Liberia are excluded). Topics examined include responses to exogenous shocks, growth performance and growth-enhancing policies, and the effectiveness of regional trade arrangements. Detailed aggregate and country data (as of February 24, 2005) are provided in an appendix and a statistical appendix, and a list of relevant publications by the African Department is included.
In recent years, energy-related CO2 emissions embodied in international trade and the driving forces have been widely studied by researchers using the environmental input–output framework. Most ...previous studies however, do not differentiate different input structures in manufacturing processing exports and normal exports. Using China as an example, this paper exemplifies how implications of results obtained using different export assumptions differ. The study posits that the utilization of traditional I–O model results in an overestimation of emissions embodied in processing exports and an underestimation in normal exports. The estimate of CO2 emissions embodied in China's exports drops by 32% when the extended I–O model is used. The choice of export assumption has more impact on the decomposition results for processing exports. The study further highlights that for a country with an export structure similar to China, it is meaningful to look into the impact of export assumption in embodied emission studies.
► We study the issue of exports assumptions in embodied emission studies and structural decomposition analysis. ► The implications of the results obtained using two different exports assumptions are not the same. ► Utilization of traditional I–O model results in an overestimation of emissions embodied in processing exports. ► Utilization of traditional I–O model results in an underestimation of emissions embodied in normal exports. ► The choice of exports assumption has more impact on the decomposition results for processing exports.
We ask how export demand shocks associated with the Asian financial crisis affected Chinese exporters. We construct firm-specific exchange rate shocks based on the precrisis destinations of firms' ...exports. Because the shocks were unanticipated and large, they are a plausible instrument for identifying the impact of exporting on firm productivity and other outcomes. We find that firms whose export destinations experience greater currency depreciation have slower export growth and that export growth leads to increases in firm productivity and other firm performance measures. Consistent with "learning-by-exporting," the productivity impact of export growth is greater when firms export to more developed countries.
Brewing justice Jaffee, Daniel
2007, 2007., 20070328, 2007-04-27
eBook, Book
Fair trade is a fast-growing alternative market intended to bring better prices and greater social justice to small farmers around the world. But is it working? This vivid study of coffee farmers in ...Mexico offers the first thorough investigation of the social, economic, and environmental benefits of fair trade. Based on extensive research in Zapotec indigenous communities in the state of Oaxaca, Brewing Justice follows the members of the cooperative Michiza, whose organic coffee is sold on the international fair trade market. It compares these families to conventional farming families in the same region, who depend on local middlemen and are vulnerable to the fluctuations of the world coffee market. Written in a clear and accessible style, the book carries readers into the lives of these coffee producer households and their communities, offering a nuanced analysis of both the effects of fair trade on everyday life and the limits of its impact. Brewing Justice paints a clear picture of the complex dynamics of the fair trade market and its relationship to the global economy. Drawing on interviews with dozens of fair trade leaders, the book also explores the changing politics of this international movement, including the challenges posed by the entry of transnational corporations into the fair trade system. It concludes by offering recommendations for strengthening and protecting the integrity of fair trade.
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