nep-tra New Economics Papers
on Transition Economics
Issue of 2023‒09‒11
eight papers chosen by
Maksym Obrizan, Kyiv School of Economics


  1. 30 years after the fall of Communism: Lessons learned for inward FDI By Zimny, Zbigniew
  2. Regional incidence and persistence of high-growth firms: Testing ideas from the Entrepreneurial Ecosystems literature By Alex Coad; Clemens Domnick; Pietro Santoleri; Stjepan Srhoj
  3. Macro Dimensions of Financial Inclusion Index and its Status in Developing Countries By Shah, Shahid Manzoor; Ali, Amjad
  4. About governance, production, and territorial dimensions of farm competitiveness – the case of Bulgaria By Bachev, Hrabrin
  5. Competition for Exclusivity and Customer Lock-in: Evidence from Copyright Enforcement in China By Youming Liu
  6. Trade conflicts and credit supply spillovers : Evidence from the Nobel Peace Prize trade shock By Jin Cao; Valeriya Dinger; Ragnar E. Juelsrud; Karolis Liaudinskas
  7. Information frictions and the two margins of trade: Evidence from Slovenian manufacturing By Zaurino, Elena; Polanec, Sašo
  8. Income inequality under colonial rule. Evidence from French Algeria, Cameroon, Tunisia, and Vietnam and comparisons with British colonies 1920–1960 By Facundo Alvaredo; Denis Cogneau; Thomas Piketty

  1. By: Zimny, Zbigniew
    Abstract: Accomplishing a goal widely shared by emerging economies but achieved by few, East European countries attracted large amounts of FDI, especially export-oriented FDI, easing their transition from communist into market economies. This Perspective highlights key factors behind the EU11's success and draws potential lessons for other countries.
    Date: 2023
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:colfdi:362&r=tra
  2. By: Alex Coad (Waseda University); Clemens Domnick (European Commission - JRC); Pietro Santoleri (European Commission - JRC); Stjepan Srhoj (University of Split)
    Abstract: Policy-makers and scholars often assume that a higher incidence of high-growth firms (HGFs) is synonymous with vibrant regional economic dynamics, and that HGF shares are persistent over time as Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (EEs) have slowly-changing features. In this paper we test these hypotheses, which are deeply rooted in the EE literature. We draw upon Eurostat data for up to 20 countries over the period 2008-2020 and study HGF shares in NUTS-3 regions in Europe. Analysis of regional rankings yields the puzzling finding that the leading EEs in Europe, apparently, are in places such as southern Spain and southern Italy. These places would not normally be considered Europe’s foremost entrepreneurial hotspots. Additional results do not provide strong support for the hypothesis that more developed regions feature higher HGF shares. We do find evidence consistent with HGF shares displaying persistency over time. However, we show that more developed regions do not have higher persistence in their HGF shares, and that the strength in persistence does not increase across the HGFs distribution, which does not support path-dependency as the main mechanism behind the observed persistence. Overall, we call for a more nuanced interpretation of both regional HGF shares and the EEs literature.
    Keywords: Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, High-Growth Firms, Persistence, Firm Growth, Entrepreneurship Policy, Regional Policy
    Date: 2023–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:wpaper:202302&r=tra
  3. By: Shah, Shahid Manzoor; Ali, Amjad
    Abstract: Promoting financial inclusion is the priority of every country’s policymaker and financial experts. So that, every individual as well as business can get equal and affordable financial services. Because financial inclusion deals with providing affordable as well as equal access to financial products and services to the masses of the country, especially to the financially deprived entrepreneur as well as businesses. The importance of financial inclusion is widely recognized but the literature lacks the efficient, comprehensive, and updated measurement of financial inclusion which can be used to judge the accurate level of financial inclusion. This study tries to fulfill this gap by constructing an updated and comprehensive index of financial inclusion for developing countries by using the updated data from 2005 to 2020. This updated data is collected from the world bank, the central banks of every country, and the finance divisions of every country. Furthermore, this study constructs a macro-level multidimensional index of financial inclusion by using socio-economic and financial dimensions. The value of the constructed index lies between 0 to 1. This study divides the score of financial inclusion into three categories 0 to 0.30 for low financial inclusion, 0.31 to 0.50 for medium financial inclusion, and 0.51 to 1 for high financial inclusion. The present index reveals that all developing countries have a medium and lower level of financial inclusion. Estonia is the only country that achieve higher financial inclusion in 2009-10. This proposed index gives the updated measurement of financial inclusion which is easy to compare among economies.
    Keywords: Financial Inclusion, Macro Dimension, Socio-Economic, Financial inclusion index
    JEL: G2 O1
    Date: 2023–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:118036&r=tra
  4. By: Bachev, Hrabrin
    Abstract: The issues related to proper assessments of the competitiveness of farming enterprises in general and of different type and locations has been among the most topical for academicians, agro-business managers, interest groups, administrators, politicians, international organizations, and the public at large. Farm competitiveness has been usually assessed through traditional indicators of technical and accountancy efficiency, the productivity of factors of production, the profitability of activity, the farms’ market position, shares, etc. A systematic approach for defining competitiveness and formulating its pillars, principles, criteria, and indicators has been rarely implemented, and the critical governance aspects have been largely ignored. This paper incorporates a holistic multi-pillar framework and assesses the levels of and correlations between the competitiveness of Bulgarian farms of different juridical types, economic sizes, product specialization, and ecological and geographical locations. For assessing the level of competitiveness of farms, a system of 4 pillars (Economic efficiency, Financial endowment, Adaptability, and Sustainability), 4 criteria for each Pillar, and 17 particular and 5 integral indicators are used. The study has found out that the level of competitiveness of agricultural holdings in the country is at a good level, but there is significant differentiation in the level and factors of competitiveness of holdings with different juridical types, sizes, product specialization, ecological and geographical location. The low adaptive potential and economic efficiency to the greatest extent contribute to lowering the competitiveness of Bulgarian agricultural producers. A large share of farming enterprises has a low level of competitiveness, and if measures are not taken in due time to improve governance and public support, a large part of Bulgarian farms will cease to exist in the near future. The suggested approach for assessing the competitiveness of farms should be improved and applied more widely and periodically. The precision and representativeness of the information used should also be increased by increasing the number of farms surveyed, which requires close cooperation with other interested parties, and improving the system for collecting agro-statistical information in the country and the EU.
    Keywords: competitiveness, production, financial, and governance pillars, farms
    JEL: Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q18
    Date: 2023
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:118035&r=tra
  5. By: Youming Liu
    Abstract: Copyright law grants copyright owners exclusive rights so that they have adequate financial incentives to create and innovate. However, when firms are copyright owners, they can leverage their right to sell or distribute products exclusively and thus obtain excessive financial gains. This paper studies the music streaming industry, where streaming services compete for exclusive licenses from music labels. Service providers use unique content to attract users, tailoring their services to individual preferences to create switching costs that lead to user lock-in. Using theoretical analysis and descriptive empirics, I show that exclusivity confers advantages in competition for a service that can generate larger lock-in effects. I then construct a dynamic structural model in which consumers face switching costs when making subscription decisions. I estimate the model using monthly data from China’s music streaming market over 2014–17. Finally, I simulate market outcomes under two alternative policies: a compulsory licensing provision and a mandatory data portability policy. The policy simulation shows that compulsory licensing that enforces non-exclusive distribution would not improve market competition by “leveling the field” between dominant and small services as intended. On the contrary, this policy increases market concentration, enlarging the gap in market share between dominant and small services. In contrast, mandatory data portability that reduces switching costs would decrease market concentration, bringing more users to smaller services.
    Keywords: Econometric and statistical methods; Firm dynamics; Market structure and pricing
    JEL: L13 L42 L51
    Date: 2023–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bca:bocawp:23-43&r=tra
  6. By: Jin Cao; Valeriya Dinger; Ragnar E. Juelsrud; Karolis Liaudinskas
    Abstract: In this paper, we examine how a trade conflict’s impact on the real economy can be amplified by financial intermediaries. After China’s implicit ban on the imports of Norwegian salmon in response to the decision on 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, we find that banks that are highly exposed to the salmon industry cut back lending to non-salmon firms and households by 3-6 percent more than other banks. Furthermore, we find that the reduction in lending was not driven by the erosion of bank capital, but rather by the shift in expectations about the performance of loans to salmon producers, which drove highly exposed banks to increase their loan loss provisions and reduce risk-taking.
    Keywords: Trade shock, Bank lending channel, Expectation shock.
    JEL: F14 G21
    Date: 2023–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bno:worpap:2023_6&r=tra
  7. By: Zaurino, Elena (European Commission); Polanec, Sašo (University of Ljubljana)
    Abstract: We empirically investigate whether firms lower information frictions in foreign sourcing through prior exporting. Using a panel of Slovenian manufacturing firms in the period 1996-2011, we estimate the probability of import entry in a new market when the firm is already exporting to the same country and we find a positive and significant relation. To control for the endogeneity of the export decision, we implement an instrumental variable approach exploiting the notion of sequential exporting. Moreover, we rule out productivity growth as being the only predictor of entry in a foreign market through several falsification tests. These findings suggest information frictions play an important role for firms trading in international markets.
    Keywords: Sourcing, Import entry, Information Frictions, Sunk costs
    JEL: F14 L20 D22 D83
    Date: 2023–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrs:wpaper:202307&r=tra
  8. By: Facundo Alvaredo (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Denis Cogneau (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Thomas Piketty (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)
    Abstract: We assess income inequality across French and British colonial empires between 1920 and 1960, exploiting for the first time income tax tabulations. As measured by top income shares, inequality was high in colonies. Europeans comprised the bulk of top income earners, and only a minority of autochthons could compete income-wise. Top income shares were no higher in settlement colonies, those territories were wealthier and the average European settler was less rich than the average expatriate. Inequality among autochthons was moderate, and inequality among Europeans was similar to that of the metropoles. The post-WWII fall in income inequality can be explained by the one among Europeans, mirroring that of the metropoles, and does not imply that the European/autochthon income gap was very much reduced. After independence, the mass recruitment of state employees induced a large increase in inequality among autochthons. Dualistic structures lost their racial dimension and changed shape, yet persisted.
    Keywords: Inequality, Top incomes, Colonialism, Africa, Asia
    Date: 2021–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03324907&r=tra

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