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Domestic Demand (domestic + demand)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting54%
Humanities and Social Sciences27%

Selected Abstracts

How sustainable is the Japanese recovery?

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK, Issue 4 2004
Article first published online: 14 OCT 200
For nearly two years the Japanese economy has grown significantly faster than commentators expected, raising the question of whether the country has finally broken out of its long economic malaise. This article by Simon Knapp examines recent developments to see whether this recovery is sustainable. It argues that over the last year the recovery has broadened out beyond merely the export sector, although there are good reasons to believe that growth as measured by GDP has been overstated and that many serious structural problems remain. Business investment has surged on the back of rising profitability and an improved labour market has helped lift consumer confidence. At the same time the paper recognises the importance of China's boom in stimulating the Japanese economy over the last two years, and estimates that this factor may have boosted the level of GDP by between 1 to 2%. With Chinese growth now moderating to more sustainable levels, export growth will slow over the next year or so. However, domestic demand should now be strong enough, in the absence of major external shocks, to generate GDP growth of around 1.5 to 2% per annum in the medium term; a respectable figure given the country's falling population. [source]

CAP Reform in the Dairy Sector: Remove Export Subsidies and Retain Milk Quota

EUROCHOICES, Issue 2 2004
Zohra Bouamra-Mechemache
Summary CAP Reform in the Dairy Sector: Remove Export Subsidies and Retain Milk Quota The reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy of June 2003 introduced major policy changes, In the dairy sector the aim is to decrease price distortions between the EU and world dairy markets through successive reductions in milk intervention prices. However, the milk quota system is still in place and successive increases in milk quotas are planned. The question is whether these dairy reforms are going in the right direction given the three main characteristics of the EU dairy sector. First the price inelasticity of both milk supply (due to quota) and domestic demand means that price distortion mainly affects the distribution of economic surplus between consumers and producers but does not generate significant net losses in economic welfare. Second, the ,large country' position of the EU on the world market means that the EU should remove all export subsidies, which will reduce EU exports and increase world prices. Third, the projected increase in EU aggregate demand for milk favours a reduction in all subsidies. The CAP is going in the right direction in the dairy sector. But to reduce price distortions all subsidies should be removed as soon as possible and the milk production quota should be retained. La réforme de la PAC laitiére: supprimer les subventions aux exportations et conserver les quotas La réforme de la PAC en juin 2003 est un changement majeur. En ce qui concerne le secteur laitier, l'idée consiste à diminuer les distorsions entre les prix européens et ceux du marché mondial par une série de réductions progressives du prix d'intervention. En même temps, le système des quotas reste en place et des accroissements progressifs sont envisageés pour les droits à produire. La question. est alors de savoir si une telle politique est bien orientée, compte tenu des trois caractéristiques principales du secteur laitier européen. En premier lieu, la faible élasticité-prix aussi bien de l'offre (à cause des quotas) que de la demande, implique que les distorsions, si elies affectent la répartition des bénéfices entre producteurs et consommateurs, ne génèrent pas de très grandes pertes sociales au niveau du bien-être global. Ensuite, l'importance de l'Union européenne sur les marchés mondiaux implique que l'UE doive réduire ses subventions à l'exportation, ce qui diminuera le volume des exportations et en fera remonter le prix, Enfin, l'accroissement prévisible de la demande globale européenne en produits laitiers devrait conduire G une réduction des subventions de toute sorte. La PAC est done sur la bonne voie en matière laitière. Mais pour réduire les distorsions, il faut le plus vite possible supprimer les subventions et conserver les quotas laitiers. Reform der GAP im Milchsektor: Abschaffung der Exportsubventionen und Beibehaltung der Milchquoten Die Reform der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik vom Juni 2003 führt zu erheblichen Politikänderungen. Im Milchsektor ist das Ziel, die Preisverzerrungen zwischen der EU und den Weltmärkten für Milchprodukte durch eine sukzessive Reduzierung der Milchinterventionspreise zu verringern. Das Milchquotensystem bleibt jedoch weiter bestehen und sukzessive Erhöhungen der Milchquoten sind geplant. Es ergibt sich die Frage, ob die Reform bei den vorhandenen drei Charakteristika im EU Milchsektor in die richtige Richtung geht. Erstens bedeuten das gegebene preisunelastische Angebot von Milch (wegen der Quotierung) und die Nachfrage im Inland, dass die Preisverzerrung sich vomehmlich auf die Verteilung der ökonomischen Rente zwischen Konsumenten und Produzenten auswirkt, nicht aber zu bedeutenden Wohlfahrtsverlusten führt. Zweitens fuhrt die Abschaffung aller Exporterstattungen für Milch und Milchprodukte dazu, dass die EU Exporte sinken und damit wegen der EU als relative großes Land die Weltmarktpreise für Milch steigen werden. Drittens begünstigt die vorausgesagte Zunahme in der aggregierten Milchnachfrage in der EU eine Reduzierung aller Subventionen. Die GAP entwickelt sich im Milchsektor in die richtige Richtung. Es sollten aber alle Subventionen so schnell wie möglich abgebaut und die Milchquote sollte aufrechterhalten werden, um Preisverzerrungen zu reduzieren. [source]

Don't Leave Me Hanging on the Anglophone: The Potential for Online Distance Higher Education in the Asia-Pacific Region

HIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 2-3 2004
Simon MarginsonArticle first published online: 9 DEC 200
Abstract In the last decade there have been many attempts to mount online distance higher education programs on a global scale, led by the e-learning industry and university companies and consortia, some with government support: e.g. Universitas21 Global, Cardean University, Fathom, NYUOnline and the UKe-University. A primary commercial objective has been student markets in the Asia-Pacific nations, especially China, given unmet domestic demand and the growth of cross-border education. However while for-profit providers such as the University of Phoenix Online have shown mass online programs are viable in targeted markets, albeit more expensive than face-to-face programs, would-be global ventures have faltered or collapsed. The paper reviews the failure of English language global e-learning in the light of industry marketing strategies, the economics of online education, and the specifics of Asia-Pacific nations including unmet demand for education. It argues that for exporter universities, the potential of cross-border online education can only be realised if communications capacity in the Asia-Pacific nations is enhanced; and online programs are teaching-intensive, and customised for cultural and linguistic variations. Long-term equal partnerships with local and system providers are essential. For policy makers, the implosion of global e-learning points to the need to use expert judgment in relation to the different options for enhancing the capacity of higher education at home and abroad. It also suggests the need for greater scepticism about commercially driven scenarios and claims of company prospectuses, and about the viability of market-controlled paths of development. [source]

Global crisis and beyond: Sustainable growth trajectories for the developing world

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR REVIEW, Issue 2 2010
Jayati GHOSH
Abstract. Despite recent signs of output recovery, casual resumption of the growth model that crashed in 2008,09 will exacerbate the domestic and global imbalances that caused the crisis in the first place , to the detriment of the real economy, equitable development, and employment recovery. The model's environmental unsustainability is also evident. The author therefore argues for a broad policy agenda including reform of the international financial system, development strategies re-focused on wage-driven domestic demand and viable agriculture, fiscal promotion of greener technologies and demand patterns, and redistributive social policies to reduce inequalities and act as macroeconomic stabilizers in downturns. [source]

Can macroeconomic policy stimulate private investment in South Africa?

JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 7 2008
New insights from aggregate, manufacturing sector-level evidence
Abstract This study explores the determinants of investment using both aggregated industry-level data and disaggretated data on 27 sub-sectors of the manufacturing sector for the period 1970,2001. According to the results in this study, the government has potentially powerful means at its disposal to stimulate private investment. In particular, a domestic demand stimulus and public investment expansion will produce large gains in private investment. While the direct effects of lowering the interest rate appear to be quantitatively small, indirect effects operating notably through domestic demand and cheaper credit are likely to be large. The evidence in this study also indicates that it is important to minimise exchange rate instability to encourage investment. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

The decline of a regional fishing nation: The case of Ghana and West Africa

NATURAL RESOURCES FORUM, Issue 1 2004
John Atta-Mills
Abstract Inadequate trade policies, globalization of the fishing industry, dominance of Europe's distant water fleets, declarations of exclusive economic zones (EEZs) by neighbouring West African nations, overfishing and a lack of good governance contributed to the decline of Ghana as a regional fishing nation, a position it had held since the 18th century. The prohibitive cost of access arrangements limited Ghana's access to distant waters. The country's marine environments have been impacted by overexploitation of stocks and the use of destructive methods. Subsistence fishing has become the sole means of survival for many fishers. The decline of the fishing sector has limited the country's ability to meet domestic demand and threatened the economic and food security of many Ghanaians. The article traces the early history of Ghana's fisheries, their gradual decline during the last four decades, and outlines recommendations for policy changes to address the situation and steer the nation on a course towards sustainable fisheries. [source]

Accounting for Growth in the Australian Wine Industry, 1987 to 2003

THE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 2 2001
Glyn Wittwer
A computable general equilibrium model of the Australian economy is used to account for the dramatic growth in Australia's wine industry between 1987 and 1999, and to project grape and wine volumes and prices to 2003. Export demand growth has made a major contribution to total output growth in premium wines, and accounts for most of the increase in the producer price of premium red wine. Domestic consumer preferences have shifted, mainly towards premium red wine, but there is also some evidence of growing demand for premium white wine since the mid 1990s. From the perspective of producers, productivity growth, while being less important than growth in domestic demand, appears to have more than offset the negative effects on suppliers of wine consumer tax increases. From the domestic consumers' perspective, however, tax hikes have raised retail prices much more than productivity gains have lowered them. The high and sustained levels of profitability resulting from export demand growth have led to a massive supply response in Australia. Even so, by 2003 Australian wine output will still be less than 5 per cent of global production. [source]

The Timber Trade in Southeastern Brazil, 1920,1960

BULLETIN OF LATIN AMERICAN RESEARCH, Issue 3 2005
Christian Brannstrom
Logging economies in Latin America have long supplied forest resources to international and domestic markets. One of Latin America's more significant timber regions supplied South America's largest industrial metropolis, São Paulo. However, relatively little is known about the historical geography of logging in Brazil, or elsewhere in Latin America, in part because of the bias of forest histories to the destruction, rather than utilisation, of forest resources. This study focuses on domestic demand for hardwood and its salient characteristics: transport, the distribution of sawmills, the use of contracts and dangerous working conditions. [source]

Employment Effectiveness of China's Economic Stimulus Package

CHINA AND WORLD ECONOMY, Issue 1 2010
Fang Cai
E24; E27; J21 Abstract Using an input-output method, this paper simulates the impacts of the global financial crisis and the decline of exports on China's economy and employment. With shrinking external demand, boosting domestic demand becomes crucial for maintaining economic growth and promoting employment. Our simulated results indicate that an investment scenario with employment as a priority can achieve the objective of employment maximization without significantly reducing growth. Public investment should focus on employment, education, health, housing and social security to rebalance China's economy so that it can realize sustained and stable economic growth. [source]

Determinants of Competitiveness: Observations in China's Textile and Apparel Industries

CHINA AND WORLD ECONOMY, Issue 2 2009
Chi-Keung Lau
C15; F14 Abstract This paper attempts to explore key determinants of competitiveness in the textile and apparel industries, with special reference to Chinese Mainland. The authors conduct a survey that is designed to use productivity, supply-side and demand-side determinants to measure enterprises' competitiveness. The collected survey data is then analyzed using factor analysis to capture the related determining factors indicative of competitiveness at the enterprise level. The findings demonstrate that government policies and related industry infrastructure are the most important determinants of competitiveness in the textile and apparel industries, followed by domestic demand. This suggests that the improvement of industry infrastructure can foster industry performance, and that more resources should be endowed to enhance the domestic business competitiveness of local enterprises. The development of domestic demand will foster the competitiveness of the textile and apparel industries on a more sustainable basis. [source]

International Prosecutions and Domestic Politics: The Use of Truth Commissions as Compromise Justice in Serbia and Croatia

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES REVIEW, Issue 4 2009
Brian Grodsky
Since the end of the Cold War, increased efforts at international criminal justice have begun to transform transitional justice for the worst cases of atrocities from a predominantly domestic affair to an international one. I examine side-effects of international pressure for criminal justice, arguing that political elites struggling to balance conflicting international and domestic demands may launch "compromise justice" policies designed to satisfy both, but which in effect weaken mechanisms that transitional justice scholars posit make postconflict reconciliation most likely. I apply this argument to the former Yugoslavia, examining Serbian and Croatian truth commissions as a form of "compromise justice." [source]