Foreign Presence Research Articles

The Role of Ethnic Diversity in Stimulating Innovation Processes: Comparative Analysis of Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary

Purpose: Since existing literature suggests that ethnic diversity is one of the key elements that shape the dynamics of innovation, we examine whether inventions generated by ethnically diverse teams in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary are more valuable than those created by homogenous teams of native researchers. Design/Methodology/Approach: Using the OLS method, we estimate the parameters of the regression model in order to examine the relationship between ethnic diversity and the quality of technical solutions created as well as to determine which ethnic group and which combination of these groups (for each country) has the greatest impact on the quality of inventions. We take the frequency of citation as a measure of the quality of inventions, and the degree of ethnic diversity in the inventor team is measured using the Herfindahl index. Findings: Based on a cross-sectional data set being a sample of 2518 international patent applications (PCT) from 2004-2012, we have observed that both the mere presence of foreigners as well as greater ethnic diversity in the inventor team significantly increase the quality of technical solutions in Poland and Hungary, and moderately in the Czech Republic. Our study has also revealed that of all ethnic groups, Americans have the greatest impact on the citation of inventions, and it is the case in all three countries covered by the study. The optimal combination of individual groups, however, is different for each of these three countries: in Poland, the highest quality of inventions is related to the presence of citizens of the US, Belgium, Japan and Turkey, in Hungary – the US and Israel, and in the Czech Republic – the US, Germany and Canada. Practical Implications: The research results can be used by decision makers in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary when shaping the countries’ migration and innovation policies. Originality/Value: Original research.

The Solution To The Ambivalence Of The Presence Of Foreigners To The Indonesian Public Welfare: Inevitability Of Immigration Toward WBK/WBBM

In the era of globalization, the intensity of human traveling between countries is getting higher. It influences the foreigners in Indonesia becoming greater in number every year. This condition creates ambivalent impacts on public welfare. On the one hand, the influx of foreigners spending their money on tourism, not to mention their funds in investment, can help empower the society in Indonesia. On the other hand, it can be a threat to the society if many foreigners commit wrongful deeds like breaking the rules for becoming illegal workers. For their presence in Indonesia, foreigners could contribute to the public welfare, so a bureaucratic reform is needed since a bad bureaucratic caused many foreigners to commit wrongful deeds or even be hesitant about visiting Indonesia. One of the ways to reform the bureaucracy is by building Integrity Zone for Corruption-free Zones (WBK) and the Serving and Clean Bureaucracy Zone (WBBM), especially in the area of Directorate General of Immigration.

MAIN TRENDS OF TERRORISM IN AFRICA TOWARDS 2025

A região sahel-saariana, correspondente à África Ocidental e Central, permaneceu no centro do ativismo terrorista na África Subsaariana. Os países mais afetados continuam sendo Mali, Níger, Burkina Faso e Nigéria. No entanto, houve mudanças nas ações de vários grupos. Por um lado, Boko Haram diminuiu seu nível de violência, o que se manifesta na redução do número de vítimas civis, enquanto novas células foram reativadas na fronteira do Mali com Burkina Faso. Nesta área em particular, houve um aumento substancial de grupos como o Estado Islâmico no Grande Saara e o Estado Islâmico da África Ocidental, entre outros grupos de menor grau de organização. Por esse motivo, problemas de segurança e presença militar estrangeira foram mantidos em todos esses países. Uma situação semelhante é apresentada no Chifre da África, onde Al-Shabaab (ALS) é o grupo principal, afetando não apenas a Somália, mas também o Quênia com suas ações transfronteiriças. O papel do governo federal e as tropas da AMISOM foram insuficientes para reduzir ou finalmente eliminar a ALS. Por essas razões, o terrorismo continua sendo o maior desafio de segurança da região subsaariana e não será mitigado a longo prazo.

Measuring Competition in Banking Sector in Oman

Purpose of the study: The purpose of the study was to investigate and measure the competitive environment in the banking sector in Oman. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study considered an effort towards measuring the nature of competition of 12 out of 16 Omani banks from 2009 to 2019 over applying Panzar and Rosse (PR-model). It measured the competition index, called H-statistic, as it gives a quantitative assessment of the competitive nature of the studied market. The non-structural model was adopted to measure the competitive behavior of the banking sector. The data was taken from Muscat Securities Market (MSM) over obtaining financial statements of banks and data was tested using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Findings: The result showed that it was not able to reject the monopolistic competition that H value considered between values of zero and one for the banking market in Oman. Thus, Omani banks operate under monopolistic competition. Practical Implications: The study has interesting policy implications. It is recommended to encourage foreign banks' presence to enhance the competitive condition of the banking sector thus making sure the exit and the entrance of banks in the industry to raise the competition. Social Implications: The flexibility in the competitive condition of the banking sector will lead to an increased competition so this will produce a variety of services and products to improve the banks’ performance and customer satisfaction. Originality/value: This is the first study of its kind in studying and testing the competitive environment for the banking sector in Oman using the PR-model. Keywords: Banking Competition in Oman, Monopolistic Competition, Market Equilibrium, Market contestability, Pazan, and Rosse (PR model).

Performance Efficiency of Engineering Industries in India

Purpose of the study: To critically analyze the financial growth pattern and the overall performance efficiency of industrial machinery companies in India. Design/Methodology/Approach: The data collected from the financial statement of the companies for 10 years from 2007-2008 to 2016-17 were analyzed with the help of different accounting and statistical tools. Discriminant analysis has been adopted for analyzing and interpreting the quantitative data was carried out using SPSS. Findings: The study revealed that good performance efficiency of the engineering industry over the period 2007-2017, most Indian engineering industries exist with high net profit. The poor performance companies need of the hour to increase profit by reducing costs. Practical Implications: The study has interesting policy implications. It is recommended to encourage foreign banks' presence to enhance the competitive condition of the banking sector thus making sure the exit and entrance of banks in the industry raise the competition. The pursuit of modernization, in fully hardening the resources of information technology should be relentless. It is a field that demands great attention and expertise. Originality/value: This research work is one of its first kind as no study was conducted before focusing on the performance perspectives of the engineering industries in India. Keywords: Financial Performance, Engineering industries in India, Financial statement analysis, Modernization, Discriminate Analysis

Technological spillovers from multinational firms

AbstractThis paper aims to identify genuine technological spillovers from multinational firms (MNEs). To this end, we use data on R&D from MNEs to measure spillovers, while most of the existing literature uses output to measure the foreign presence in an industry (what we call output‐based spillovers). In line with the existing literature, we distinguish between horizontal spillovers (i.e., intra‐industry linkages) and vertical spillovers (i.e., backward—or downstream—and forward—or upstream—inter‐industry linkages). Our results show that the three types of technological spillovers from MNEs are positive, with the horizontal spillovers the larger ones, followed by backward spillovers. The effect of forward spillovers is much smaller in magnitude. Moreover, we find that not controlling for industry size (i.e., technological spillovers from all firms in an industry) leads to underestimating both horizontal and backward spillovers from MNEs, and to overestimating forward spillovers from MNEs. Finally, we find that the distinction between technological and output‐based spillovers is of great relevance. The size of backward technological spillovers is approximately 44% of the size of output‐based backward spillovers, while for horizontal spillovers both types of spillovers are quite similar. Importantly, output‐based forward spillovers are negative while technological forward spillovers are positive.

PENGAWASAN ORANG ASING MENURUT UNDANG-UNDANG KEIMIGRASIAN DI INDONESIA

The implementation of the immigration function is very important in maintaining the sovereignty of the Indonesian state. Supervision of foreigners in Indonesia is carried out by the Immigration Office based on Law Number 6 of 2011 concerning Immigration. One of the main activities of immigration is immigration control as contained in Articles 38, 39, 40, and 41 of the Immigration Law. Immigration control is carried out on Indonesian citizens and foreigners, in terms of: granting permits for Indonesian citizens and foreigners; entering and leaving the territory of Indonesia, both Indonesian citizens and foreigners; the presence of foreigners and the activities of foreigners. Problems that arise and are related to the political, economic, social and cultural aspects of society will greatly affect the stability of State security. The immigration function which regulates and supervises the presence of foreigners in Indonesia has a significant role. Obstacles in the supervision of foreigners in Indonesia include: institutional factors, namely the organization of the surveillance activities is not yet independent, immigration control is integrated with immigration investigations and immigration actions. There are also factors in the lack of regulations for administrative and operational supervision, human resources who are not able to apply an efficient and effective approach in each implementation of their main duties and functions, and the lack of facilities and infrastructure.

Dampak Spillover Penanaman Modal Asing terhadap Produktivitas Industri Manufaktur Medium-High Technology di Indonesia

This study examines the impact of foreign presence in the Medium-High and High technology manufacturing industry in Indonesia. Using a balanced panel data that consists of 2,397 firms and in the year of 2010-2014, the data was estimated using the multiple regression method. The results show that there is positive spillover when local and foreign firms are in the same industry. Conversely, in different industries, negative spillover occurs in forward linkage when local firms buy the output of foreign firms and no spillover occurs in backward linkage when local firms become the suppliers of foreign firms. The Indonesian government must assure that foreign investment policies must benefit the domestic companies, considering there are some potential losses for domestic enterprises by the presence of foreign direct investment in the domestic market.

Are local workers better‐off from foreign presence? A firm‐level panel data analysis of a service industry

AbstractThis study extends the international investment literature by shedding light on the impact of foreign presence on the host country's workforce in a highly skilled service industry. The empirical analyses utilize a rich panel dataset of firms in the professional, scientific and technical service industry of Vietnam's emerging economy. The adopted estimation strategy takes into account possible endogeneity problem and measurement bias. The results indicate that local workers in the industry are generally better‐off from the presence of foreign firms which pay much higher and simultaneously induce domestic counterparts to pay higher. The subgroup analyses provide deeper insights into the heterogeneous impact of foreign presence, carrying important implications for the local labour market.

Uma Lulik as Heritage: Authorised Heritage Discourse in Timor-Leste*

Timor-Leste has endured different foreign presences: the Portuguese colonisation (1515-1974), the Indonesian military occupation (1974-1999) and, since the restoration of the national independence (2002) which has been defined the “NGOs invasion” (Brunnstrom, 2003). These different governances have produced various Authorised Heritage Discourses – AHD (Smith, 2006) whose echoes are traceable in the current national AHD. This paper, based on 15 months of ethnographic fieldwork, shows the entanglements between the previous colonial AHDs and the current one in Timor-Leste, in regard to ancestral houses (uma lulik). The aim is to examine heritage as a historical process by showing how the current post-colonial AHD is affected by the inference of the past and colonial perspectives on the local heritage, producing and reproducing neo-colonial governmentalities.

Foreign ownership and market power: The special case of European banks

Abstract The paper examines the nexus of foreign ownership and competition which is at the center of recent mandates for coordination between competition and regulation policies. We match estimates of market power with ownership data for 949 banks in 26 European countries over 1997-2013. We show that well-capitalised banks tend to enjoy high monopoly rents through cost-cutting strategies after entering emerging markets via M&As. Foreign presence has a U-shaped relationship with market power in the developed Europe, where Greenfield investments appear also as a mechanism through which country-level foreign presence leads to lower mark-ups. The results are robust to various specifications that address parameter heterogeneity and selection bias.

Eco-epidemiological factors' of Head Lice in 10-12 year-old girls in Birjand City in 2017

Introduction: Lice are external parasites found in all socioeconomic classes around the world, which infect millions of people, especially children aged 5-14 years. Considering the growing and epidemiological trend of head lice in recent years, despite careful health care, more prognosis is needed. Therefore, this study aimed to study eco-epidemiological factors of head lice in 10-12 year-old girls in Birjand City in 2017.
 Methods: This cross-sectional study with descriptive-analytic approach was conducted in Birjand City in the 2017. The participants were selected using cluster sampling method from girl primary schools in Birjand City and its suburb areas. Data were entered into SPSS version 22 and analyzed by logistic regression test at significant level of 0.0.5
 Results: Head lice was evaluated in 2417 elementary school girls. The prevalence of head lice infection was 13.6% (n=329) in the population. The prevalence of contamination in urban areas was two times higher than the suburb areas. Significant correlations were observed between head lice infestation and father's education, mother's education, parent's job, family income, nationality, presence of foreigners in a class, habitat, history of previous student infections, presence of an infected person in the family, use of common Chador (piece of cloth worn by Muslim women to cover their body and hair) for praying at school. (p<0.05)
 Conclusion: The prevalence of head lice infection in the present study was higher than other studies. The prevalence of head lice infection was also higher in the suburbs. So, preventive measures, especially in the suburbs are required with regard to factors associated with infection by the health system.

International technology transfer: evidence on foreign direct investment in Albania

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the presumed role played by foreign direct investment (FDI) in transferring technology from home country into a host country. This paper uses data from Albanian manufacturing industry; first, to examine whether foreign presence results in technology transfer and, if yes, what type of technology is more prevalent and to what extent? Second, the paper attempts to investigate the purported determinants of technology transfer.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses two main methodological approaches; first, the technology transfer was determined using an arithmetic index developed using simple arithmetic average. This index is determined using all the industries and taking six key components of technology into consideration. They included: products; production processes; technology and innovation; supplier and customers system; human resource management, training and reporting system; financial management, marketing and organizational structure. Second, assuming a limited dependent relationship between the variables and the technology transfer, a Tobit technique was proposed to examine the significant determinants of technology transfer. Technology transfer was proxied by the technology transfer index developed.FindingsThe results clearly demonstrate that FDI plays an important role in technology transfer and that notwithstanding the industrialization of Albania. As per the technology transfer index developed, product-related technology transfer ranked highest followed by the process-related technology. The Tobit results generated indicated that firm age, performance, absorptive capacity, labor mobility, innovation, demonstration effect and systematic support were all key determinants of technology transfer. Surprisingly, size of the firm did not seem to matter.Research limitations/implicationsThe results have possible managerial and policy ramifications. First, the government should continue to provide basic infrastructure. Second, the government needs to formulate policies focused on human capital accumulation. Third, policies should be focused on firm learning and innovation in order to build technological and absorptive capabilities. Moreover, there should be increased effort to facilitate and encourage R&D. Fourth, the government should coordinate and support the institutions especially those that play a crucial role in industrial investment promotion. Fifth, the government should encourage systemic interactions among different entities. Sixth, since high competition from foreign firms can crowd out domestic investment, strategic measures to regulate such competition should be enacted.Originality/valueThe novelty in this paper is the broad conceptualization of technology transfer to include not only the direct but also the indirect mode of technology transfer, which often takes place in the form of spillovers. The physical technology transfer, as well as, its actual impact in the economy is examined to ascertain that technology transfer indeed takes place. The analytical framework adopted overlaps international business, technology transfer and technological innovation literature strands to examine the holistic process of technology transfer.

FOREIGN PRESENCE AND INDONESIAN FOOD INDUSTRY PERFORMANCE

This paper analyzes the influence of foreign presence on the performance of food industry in Indonesia using panel data from 28 subsectors in the period of 2011-2015. The data used is the Annual Survey of Large and Medium Industries (IBS) from Statistics Indonesia. The performance indicator utilized is the price cost margin (PCM). The PCM model was estimated using regression and tested with the Hausman statistical test. The results show that foreign presence increases the performance of Indonesia's food industry. Other factors that affect the industry's performance are industry concentration, market growth and imports of raw materials. Foreign presence, concentration and market growth have a positive effect on performance, meanwhile import ratio has a negative effect. The government needs to continue to encourage foreign investment in the food industry since the presence of foreign presence will improve industrial performance. In addition, efforts are also needed to supply quality raw materials by encouraging the development of domestic upstream industries.

Foreign capital and domestic productivity in the Czech Republic: a meta-regression analysis

ABSTRACTWe provide a quantitative synthesis of the literature studying the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the productivity of locally owned firms in the Czech Republic. To this end, we collect 332 previously reported estimates and use Bayesian model averaging to address model uncertainty. We find no evidence of publication bias, i.e. no sign of selective reporting of estimates that are statistically significant and show an intuitive sign. Our results suggest that more advanced techniques yield substantially larger positive effects (FDI spillovers). When placing more weight on estimates that solve important identification problems in the literature (such as using data on existing linkages between firms instead of approximations based on input-output tables), we find that, as of 2018, a 10-percentage-point increase in foreign presence is likely to lift the productivity of domestic firms by 11%. The effect is even larger for joint ventures, reaching 19%.

Foreign Presence and Industrial Concentration In Indonesian Food Industries

Indonesia requires foreign investment to meet the capital needs of the food industries. On the other hand, foreign presence can cause high industrial concentration. This paper analyzes the effect of foreign presence on the concentration of the food industry in Indonesia using panel data from 28 subsectors in the period 2011-2015. The data used is the annual Large and Medium Industries Survey (IBS) data from Statistics Indonesia. The concentration indicators used are the concentration ratio (CR4) and the Herfindahl Hirschman Index (HHI). By using panel regression, the result shows that foreign presence has a positive influence on the concentration of the food industry in Indonesia. Besides, the economies of scale and market size also significantly influence the concentration of the food industry. The result indicates that the government investment policy must endorse more competition among firms.JEL Classification Code: L66, L16 How to Cite:Nauly, D., Harianto., Hartoyo, S., & Novianti, T. (2020). Foreign Presence and Industrial Concentration in Indonesian Food Industry. Signifikan: Jurnal Ilmu Ekonomi, Vol. 9(1), 69-80. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15408/sjie.v9i1.12200.

Foreigners in the labour market in Śląskie Voivodship

The aim of the paper is to show how the presence of foreigners in the Śląskie Voivodship labour market was changing in the years 2014–2017. The scale of the influx of foreign workers into the labour market in Śląskie Voivodship was examined on the basis of the data on the number of declarations of intention to employ a foreigner and work permits issued, obtained from the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, and the information about the local labour market provided by the Statistical Office in Katowice. The paper also analyses the situation of both the unemployed and working foreigners, taking into account the type of the performed work and their legal status on the labour market, for the purpose of which result data from surveys of the labour market carried out by Statistics Poland were used. The study utilises methods of analysing time series, such as statistical indices and trend determination by the mechanical method (moving averages) and the analytical method (a classic method of least squares). The results of the study indicate significant changes in the situation of foreigners in the labour market in Śląskie Voivodship, and show that the demand for foreign workers, and thus their importance in the labour market have grown.

Investiční pobídky jako nástroj technologického transferu

The Czech business environment is considered a successful recipient of strategic foreign capital but are the Czech regions able to effectively absorb and use the foreign presence to develop their business environment? The aim of this article is to determine the extent of which the Czech business environment is able to benefit from the investment incentives granted to FDI located in the territory of six selected regions. The absorption capacity of regions – intensity – of the opportunity to take over the technological level of FDI is examined on a sample of the Czech regions in a time series of thirteen years (2002 – 2017) using the data of the CzechInvest, the Czech Statistical Office, the OECD and annual reports of multinational companies. By means of a constructed indicator of technology transfer intensity, it was found out that from the point of view of the indicator development, there is no regional convergence and the regions show significant regional disparities in the absorption of foreign presence. However, all the regions are managing to increase their absorption capacity of FDI, nevertheless in relatively weak intensity (ranging from 30 to 50 %). Investment incentives stimulate the growth of regional productivity but unevenly. Based on the calculations made, conclusions related to the benefits of granting this kind of state aid can be drawn.

Урегулирование сирийского конфликта – важный шаг на пути к региональной стабильности

The article explores the causes, main stages and consequences of the Syrian armed conflict, its negative impact on the entire system of regional security and stability in the Middle East. The author pays special attention to analyzing the prerequisites for the outbreak of a civil war in Syria, to large-scale interference of foreign states and non-state actors in the face of radical Islamist groups in this conflict. It is emphasized that Iran, Turkey, Russia and the USA have become the main external forces participating in the Syrian conflict. The role and importance of the Kurdish factor in the northern and north-eastern regions of Syria are also considered. The author concludes that, despite the defeat of the largest terrorist groups and the establishment by the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic of control over most of the country’s territory, it is too early to talk about resolving the conflict. The country remains split into several enclaves, most of the Syrians find themselves in a position of refugees abroad or reside in territories not controlled by Damascus. The most promising way to normalize the situation in the SAR seems to be the intensification of negotiations between representatives of the Assad government and the opposition in Geneva format, where one of the main issues on the agenda is the coordination of the draft future constitution. The author also believes that the defeat of the “Islamic State” in Syria in previous years can significantly reduce the foreign military presence in this country.

The Broad Dollar Exchange Rate as an EME Risk Factor

US dollar appreciation is associated with a darkening of the economic outlook for emerging market economies (EMEs). Using data from 21 EMEs, we find that a 1 percentage point (ppt) appreciation shock to the dollar against a broad basket of currencies dampens the growth outlook by over 0.3 ppt and growth-at-risk (the lowest 5% of growth outcomes) by 0.6 ppt. Dollar appreciation adversely affects investment growth-at-risk in particular and even export growth-at-risk, indicating that global financial conditions play a key role. Indeed, the negative impact is significantly larger in countries with high dollar debt or high foreign presence in local currency bond markets.