Level Of International Competitiveness Research Articles

Evaluación comparativa para la competitividad internacional: Lecciones para la política pública

Este artículo presenta los resultados de un estudio de “benchmarking” sobre la posición de competitividad de Jamaica en relación con otras economías pequeñas similares en el Caribe. Enmarcado en el modelo “Dual Double Diamond” y la metodología de “Rank Xerox Benchmarking”, el trabajo analiza la posición competitiva de Jamaica a nivel internacional con Singapur, la economía pequeña abierta más competitiva en el mundo. También se compara la relación con tres economías en el Caribe y la América Central: Barbados, Trinidad y Tobago y Costa Rica. Los resultados revelaron la débil posición de Jamaica relativa a Singapur, el país “benchmark”. Algunos factores que inciden en estos resultados son un ambiente macroeconómico inestable, instituciones débiles, desconfianza hacia los funcionarios públicos y condiciones de los factores pobres. Estos conductores de la competitividad estaban presentes en Singapur de una manera positiva, lo que permitió a la economía mejorar su diamante de competitividad nacional. Las lecciones aprendidas de la historia de Singapur tienen implicaciones para Jamaica y otras economías pequeñas abiertas similares que están experimentando un declive en sus niveles de competitividad internacional.

Sports chiropractic management at the World Ice Hockey Championships

BackgroundIce hockey is an international sport. Injuries occur in a full body fashion, to a number of tissues, commonly through body contact. There is a lack of literature documenting the scope of sports chiropractic practice. Thus, it was the aim to document the type, scope and severity of conditions presenting to, and the treatment provided by, the New Zealand team chiropractor acting as a primary health provider for the duration of the 2007 World Ice Hockey Championships.MethodsAll conditions presenting were recorded. Diagnosis was recorded along with clinical parameters of injury: injury type, severity, mechanism and whether referral or advanced imaging was required. All treatment provided was continuously recorded, including information on the number of treatments required and the reason, duration, type and location of treatment.ResultsPlayers presented for diagnosis of injury 50 times. Muscle (34%), joint (24%) and tendon injuries (18%) were most common. Players presented with a new injury 76% of the time. Most injuries had been present for less than one week (84%), with 53% occurring through a contact mechanism. Injuries were common at training and match locations. Only two injuries required the player to stop playing or training, both of which were referred for advanced imaging. During the study, 134 treatment consultations were rendered to 45 player injuries. Eighty per-cent of injuries were managed with four or less treatments. Three quarters of treatment was provided at training locations with treatment duration predominantly being between 11-15 minutes (71%) and 16-20 minutes (27%). Most treatment delivered was passive in nature (71%) although combination active and passive care was provided (27%). Treatment typically involved joint (81%) and soft tissue based therapies (81%) and was delivered in a full body manner.ConclusionsThis study documented the injury profile of ice hockey at an international level of competition. It documented the conditions presenting to a chiropractor for diagnosis and the treatment provided. Treatment was consistent with that recommended for chiropractic management of athletic injuries. This documentation of sports chiropractic scope of practice fills a void in the literature and assists in determining a role for sports chiropractors as primary health providers or in multidisciplinary sports management teams.

Surviving globalisation

This paper investigates the effects of international trade on firms' strategies for industry exit, either via closedown, switching industry or being acquired. We use a rich dataset of Swedish firms that extends over two decades to track firm choices between alternative strategies. We find that higher levels of international competition increase the probability of exit by merger and closedown. If trade is more intra-industry in character, the effect of import penetration on the probability of exit is less. The probability of exit by switching industry is higher in revealed comparative disadvantage industries. Finally, we find that the geographical source of international competition is important, the effects of trade on exit being strongest when trading partners are other OECD countries.

Pinnacles or plateaus?

When looking at the research communities of many countries, two different models prevail in the way that science is organized and funded. Some countries—particularly the USA and the UK—support a select group of institutes that are widely considered to be ‘the elite’ in the communities that they serve. These places are the ‘pinnacles’ that rise above the rest and attract the most funding, the best researchers and the best students. In other countries, such as Germany or Canada, the ‘plateau’ model predominates. There are many excellent locations for conducting research, but the differences between them are less pronounced. Countries that adopt the plateau model can obviously have a high scientific output, but their lack of well‐known, iconic locations—akin to Harvard, Cambridge or Stanford University—makes them seem less interesting to politicians, funders, high‐flying scientists and students. The question then is, what is the best way to organize science? Should countries focus on creating an elite of well‐funded, attractive locations that take the best researchers and win the biggest grants? …

The Fall and Rise of the Gender Difference in Elite Anaerobic Performance 1952-2006

To compare the historical evolution of performance for males and females in anaerobically dominated sprint events in three different sports: running, swimming, and speed skating. Times of the top six finishers in a total of 283 men's and women's Olympic and world championship finals held between 1952 and 2006 were analyzed, and performance differences between males and females were calculated for each final position. After a relatively faster rate of improvement among females from the 1950s to a nadir in the 1980s, the gender difference in anaerobic performance at the highest levels of international competition has actually increased during the last 15 yr. Overall, the time-based performance difference for all six events analyzed has increased from a low of 10.3% in the period 1976-1988 to a current difference of 11.5% for the period 2000-2005. Analysis of elite sprinting performance in running, swimming, and speed skating during the last 50 yr reveals that the performance difference between males and females has ceased to narrow and has actually widened since the mid-1990s. The change observed cannot be explained by declining women's participation in sport, poorer training practice, or reduced access to technological developments, but it does coincide with dramatic improvements in the scope and sensitivity of drug testing. Current gender differences in performance, and the underlying differences in performance power, may now reasonably reflect the true physiological differences between males and females.

A review of international construction research: Ranko Bon's contribution

Literature on international construction is rich in adopting conceptual frameworks to investigate levels of international competitiveness and making inter‐country comparisons about sources of national competitive advantage. However, there are limited studies that result from collaborative work between different country researchers about development of custom frameworks to investigate complexities of international construction business, experience‐based generic libraries applicable to international construction projects and forecasting models. Ranko Bon's contribution to the international construction literature is invaluable as he has dealt with broad trends and dominant patterns of change in the global construction market by referring to judgments of experts from all over the world and helped dissemination of this practical information which may be used by policy makers and construction professionals seeking jobs in the global market.

APPLYING FUZZY ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS IN LOCATION MODE OF INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS ON AIRPORTS COMPETITION EVALUATION

This paper has three, main objectives: (a) the establishment of competitiveness criteria for the location mode of the airport; (b) this study first divides international logistics into two stages and four modes of development categories from the viewpoint of value-added. Then, the evaluation criteria for transshipment mode and re-processing export mode are established; (c) and integrates Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) approach to the international competition level for a comparative analysis of the suitable location mode of each airport (Chiang Kai Shek, Hong Kong, and Singapore’s Changi International Airport). The empirical results indicate that the proposed method can be used to identify the suitable location mode when international logistics system developed by airports.

Adolescents sportifs, offre et demande de substances pour améliorer la performance

Introduction. – Little is known about the main methods and means employed to supply adolescents with doping agents and others substances used to improve their sporting performance. Main facts. – A study in France among all the adolescent of the ‘Union nationale du sport scolaire’, using a self-completed questionnaire, furnished 6402 exploitable questionnaires, corresponding to 48.9% for the girls and 51.1% for the boys, both aged on average from 16.1 ± 2.2 years. These adolescents practise on average 10.0 ± 5.2 hours of sport per week. 21.9% participate on a national or international competition level. Of our respondents, 4.0% said they had been enticed into using products, which are prohibited for athletes. 10.3% of the adolescents stated that they had received substances to improve their performance at least once from an average of two different people. It was mostly a friend, their parents and the family doctor. In nearly half the cases (46.6%), the adolescent paid for the product. Conclusion. – It is necessary to better understand the ways in which this black market functions: for example; the initial sources of the products sold, the number and the ‘profiles’ of the dealers, the general organisation of the market and the sums of money involved.

Effects of 16 weeks of training prior to a major competition on hormonal and biochemical parameters in young elite gymnasts.

The aim of this study was to investigate the response to 16 weeks of training on selected hormonal and biological parameters in seven international competition level female artistic gymnasts (14.5 +/- 1.2 years). Data were collected at the beginning of the first training week (W1) and in the 16th week (W16). Assessments also included anthropometric measurements, dietary intake for 7 days and Tanner staging. No gymnast had reached menarche and the puberty stages corresponded to Tanner's pubertal stage 2. The gymnasts were smaller than average for their age group, with a height:weight ratio above the 50th percentile. Energy intake was about 31% lower than recommendations. Significant decreases in IGF-I, IGFBP3, IGF-I:C ratio and triglyceride values and increases in uric acid and creatinine levels were noted. Cortisol values were high regardless of the period. This training provided evidence for alterations in resting somatotropic and adrenocorticotropic parameters.

Benchmarking competitiveness in transition economies

This paper constructs an indicator for the current level of international competitiveness of countries in transition. We find that Hungary is the most competitive country in the group while Turkmenistan is the least. Competitiveness measurement, in our view, is a way to use uniform criteria to gauge the extent to which a country makes use of various levers to promote sustained improvements in its well‐being. We construct our measure of competitiveness drawing upon both the popular literature on competitiveness as well as modern economic theory. The approach acknowledges the importance of synergies between firms, markets, and government and, above all, the crucial role of institutions. Our choice of variables stresses the special characteristics of transition countries. By bringing to bear all the existing data on these countries, together with new survey data collected for the purpose, we are able to go beyond the mere ranking of countries to decompose the sources of competitiveness into their constituent parts. This allows policy makers to identify areas where their countries are lagging behind relative to other countries in their region. Our indicator is also compatible with the Global Competitiveness Report series categories, thus allowing us to benchmark transition countries against the rest of the world.JEL classification: C82, O47, O57, P27, P52.

The evolution of vertically integrated organizations: the role of historical context

Vertical integration across three different types of economies and selected industries is studied to trace historical, political, and economic influences on the evolution of vertically integrated structures. Specifically, the focus in this article is on the industrial development that took place in Germany, the UK, Japan and the USA. The role of a domestic market, colony markets, and attempts to become a dominant colonizer all play a significant role in the development of various industries, and the efficiency levels that they attained. The role of government, the level of international competition, and other integration drivers salient in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are also discussed. A broad view of structural and contextual forces provides a better understanding of why certain industries chose to integrate the way they did.

Firms, regions and competitiveness: a broad‐brush approach

The objective of this paper is to give an account of the first step of a research programme which has recently been completed. The first step can be labeled a broad‐brush approach in order to separate it from later steps. It is intended to give an explorative indication of the extent to which sectors within manufacturing industry are dependent upon regional resources for productivity and innovation to reach a level of international competitiveness, as well as identifying which resources are of importance. The aim has been to identify the conditions for the vast majority of sectors and regions, and thereafter in later steps via the residuals, to point to relations and phenomena which are not sufficiently accounted for. These deviations from the norm, have been examined using a different approach from that employed here. Part of the second step is presented very briefly at the end of the paper.

Crafting a value-driven vision for a national tourism treasure

The growing level of international competition in the tourism marketplace, and the length of lead times for developing the major facilities necessary to meet this competition, have made strategic level planning increasingly imperative. A critical early stage in the strategic planning process is the formulation of a destination vision – a statement that provides an inspirational portrait of a desired future for the destination. Typically, such visions are market-driven. For certain destinations however – those having a very special meaning for stakeholders – the vision formulation process may be driven, not by market forces, but by the values (the “deeply held, enduring beliefs”) of those affected. One example of such a vision is presented in this paper. It concerns a vision developed for a unique national treasure – and a global tourism icon. The treasure/icon in question is Banff National Park, located in the province of Alberta, Canada.

The Exchange-Rate Regime in the Transition Period

The exchange rate has a fundamental but dual role in the process of macroeconomic adjustment in the transition to a market economy: on the one hand, it sets the level of international competitiveness; on the other, it plays a key role in preserving macroeconomic stability. The authorities therefore face a serious trade-off: exchange-rate depreciation may induce higher international competitiveness in the short run, but it increases domestic inflationary pressures, and vice versa. This paper argues that the exchange-rate regime and exchange-rate policy did indeed play a crucial role in determining the patterns of macroeconomic adjustment in transition economies in the 1 990s. Transition countries were confronted with a number of important policy questions: which exchange-rate regime to adopt; how to evaluate the equilibrium exchange rate, and which criteria to use; what the magnitude and path of the initial adjustment in their exchange rates should be; and how to return to convertibility. Unfortunately, there is no single, straightforward answer. A variety of different types of exchange arrangement are possible, ranging from more or less permanently fixed rates to freely floating rates. Many countries started with severely depleted foreign-exchange reserves, which effectively dictated the choice of exchange-rate regime. This

Globalism, Exit, and Free Social Riders: A Dysfunctional Integration Theory

Abstract. This paper examines the role of capital disinvestment in the development of common EU policies, and suggests that mobile capital in low–tech sectors (where technology gains do not support high unit labour costs) is susceptible to high social costs, and will avoid them through exit. Integration theories have failed to assimilate the implications of this. While theorists have been busy making the case for either states or institutions as the key actors upon whom integrative outcomes in Europe depend, not enough attention has been paid to the influence of organized interests, and particularly whether they derive systemic power from the structure of the international economic system. Three points may be made. First, the relative power of interests changes with the internationalization of the economy. Second, the power of capital relative to labour is likely to vary along several axes: the degree of mobility, the level of international competition faced by the sector or firm, and the sensitivity to policy costs. Third, the dilemma posed by capital mobility to political bargains among socio–economic actors may help us get to the bottom of the long–standing debate among integration theorists regarding both the likely outcome of integrative efforts and the identity of the most relevant actors.

Adoption of just-in-time manufacturing methods at US- and Japanese-owned plants: some empirical evidence

Since the early 1980s, when Japanese manufacturing firms in a number of industries-including auto, electronics, and machinery-achieved high levels of international competitiveness, Japanese manufacturing practices-particularly those associated with just-in-time manufacturing (JIT)-have attracted considerable attention in North America. Transfer to the United States of JIT is characterized by special production management practices involving inventory and quality control, industrial relations, and supplier-manufacturer relationships. Because so many different aspects of plant operation are involved, the transfer of JIT requires a substantial effort on the part of US manufacturers. Despite this barrier, anecdotal evidence suggests that substantial transfer of Japanese production methods has taken place and that this transfer has had a significant impact on the performance of US manufacturing plants. However, there is little empirical evidence of this process that is based on broad samples of plants and workers from various manufacturing industries. The purpose of this paper is to help fill this gap in the literature. Using a sample of US and Japanese-owned manufacturing plants in the United States in three different industries, we show that the implementation of JIT has improved many of the performance measures for these US manufacturing plants.

Japanese Manufacturing Methods at U.S. Manufacturing Plants: Empirical Evidence

Some Japanese manufacturing industries, such as the auto, electronics and machinery industries, achieved high levels of international competitiveness in the 1980s. Consequently their manufacturing and business practices attracted the attention of North American manufacturers (Nakamura and Vertinsky 1994). It is possible that firms' difficulties in dealing with ex-ternal market related problems and associated legal restrictions over which firms have little control have prevented certain Japanese business practices, such as supplier-manufacturer relationships and corporate control practices, from being adopted by many North American firms to a significant degree. On the other hand U.S. manufacturing firms do have control over their production methods and, to a lesser degree, the industrial relations on their own shop floors. It is Japanese business practices in these areas that U.S. manufacturing firms spent substantial amounts of resources to transplant to their U.S. operations in the 1980s. There is considerable anecdotal evidence that transfer of Japanese production methods has had significant impacts on the performance of U.S. manufacturing plants (e.g. Krafcik 1988). There is, however, relatively little empirical evidence based on a broad sample of plants and workers. The purpose of this paper is to fill in this gap in the literature.

Prospective echocardiographic screening for coronary artery anomalies in 1,360 elite competitive athletes

A nomalous origin of the left main coronary artery (LMCA) from the anterior (right) sinus of Valsalva, as well as other congenital coronary anomalies, have been incriminated as causes of sudden death in asymptomatic persons,‘” including competitive athletes.4 We previously reported that it is possible to identify such malformations prospectively, using conventional transthoracic echocardiography, and have suggested the possible role of echocardiography in the detection of anomalous origin of the LMCA in screening young athletes for cardiovascular disease.5 Therefore, the present investigation was undertaken to assess the efficacy of this diagnostic approach and the prevalence of such coronary anomalies in a surviving athletic population. Between January 1990 and August 1991, 1,360 athletes were evaluated consecutively at the Institute of Sports Science (Rome, Italy) and routinely subjected to an echocardiographic assessment that included examination of the ostia of the right and left coronary arteries, using cross-sectional views of the aorta from the parasternal and apical windows.6 In each of these athletes particular care was taken, in a prospective fashion, to achieve the optimal dejnition of the coronary ostia. Of the 1,360 athletes, 87 (6%) were excluded because of technically unsatisfactory echocardiograms, in which the origin of neither the left or the right coronary artery (RCA) could be imaged from d@erent acoustic windows. Thus, the @al study population comprised 1,273 athletes. All were asymptomatic and judged to be free of systemic or cardiovascular disease. Athletes were 13 to 49 years of age (mean 22); 828 were male (65%). Each was an elite athlete, having participated in vigorous training programs and competition for periods of 3 to 20 years. They were engaged in a wide range of 25 di$erent sports and about one third had achieved an international level of competition. In 1,257 of the 1,273 athletes (9X7%), the ostium of the LMCA was visualized with its origin in the normal position (at, or about, 5 o’clock in the short-axis view of the aortic root) (Figure 1). In only 16 athletes was the ostium of LMCA not visualized; however; in these 16, the RCA was identijied in its proper position and there was no evidence of the LMCA emanating from the right sinus of Valsalva. Therefore, in the 1,273 athletes studied, an anomalous origin or course of the LMCA could be excluded. In 225 of the 1,257 athletes in whom the LMCA was visualized, the course of the LMCA could be followed to its btjia-cation for 3 to 20 mm (average 11); in 87 of these 225 athletes the proximal portions of the left anterior descending and the left cir-

La competitividad del sector agrícola

​This article presents the conditions in which the Peruvian agrarian sector develops its activities, and in which it should reach levels of international competitiveness. It also analyzes the historical conditions -of both socioeconomic and institutional nature- that have obstructed the arisen of a modern entrepreneurial spirit. Finally, it presents the threats and risks that this sector will face in the next century. It concludes that the essential condition to succeed consists in having a systematic understanding of the agrarian activities.

Globalization versus regionalization: Which way for the multinational?

ncreasingly, I managers are confronted by calls for dramatic change in the way their businesses should compete internationally. Nowhere is this more apparent than in so-called “global” industries, where managers have been urged to introduce offshore manufacturing, cut costs through worldwide economies of scale, standardize products internationally, and subsidize national market-share battles through international cash flows or other support activities. These actions form the basis of “global strategies” that have been suggested as the emerging pattern of international competition. Two fundamental assumptions drive this thinking. The first is that a sizable number of competitors are indeed using global strategies to compete; the second is that performance can be improved by pursuing global strategies, particularly in an industry that has global structural characteristics. For managers in global industries the message has been, “Either quickly adopt a global strategy or see your competitiveness diminish.” In fact, some observers have gone so far as to suggest that the imperatives to globalize are so great and the benefits so pronounced that globalization is fast becoming the strategic norm rather than the exception. Although such comments are directed toward managers in the front-line global industries (for example, semiconductors, aircraft parts, pharmaceuticals, and heavy machinery), they are also being heard by senior managers in numerous other industries that are beginning to face greater and greater levels of international competition.