Search

This is the last of a four volume series on the role of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the economic growth and development of economies in the East Asian region. Earlier volumes highlighted the contribution that SMEs make to income, exports, employment, poverty alleviation, economic empowerment, and the wider distribution of wealth and economic opportunities in such economies. Their relatively small size, however, can often act as a significant disadvantage across key operational and strategic dimensions that inhibits the potential role that they play - for example, in terms of lack of purchasing power in the acquisition of resource inputs or of economies of scale in production; an inability to take advantage of market opportunities that require large production quantities, homogenous standards and regular supply; restricted access to finance and narrow profit margins that impede expansion and investment in innovation and product and process improvement, and participation in new market opportunities that include access to the supply chains of trans-national corporations (TNCs); and restricted ability to implement and take advantage of efficiencies from an improved internal division of labour. Such impediments are a key reason why governments, in both developed and developing countries, have implemented a range of policies designed to offset such perceived disadvantages that SMEs face.

This is the last of a four volume series on the role of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the economic growth and development of economies in the East Asian region. Earlier volumes highlighted the contribution that SMEs make to income, exports, employment, poverty alleviation, economic empowerment, and the wider distribution of wealth and economic opportunities in such economies. Their relatively small size, however, can often act as a significant disadvantage across key operational and strategic dimensions that inhibits the potential role that they play - for example, in terms of lack of purchasing power in the acquisition of resource inputs or of economies of scale in production; an inability to take advantage of market opportunities that require large production quantities, homogenous standards and regular supply; restricted access to finance and narrow profit margins that impede expansion and investment in innovation and product and process improvement, and participation in new market opportunities that include access to the supply chains of trans-national corporations (TNCs); and restricted ability to implement and take advantage of efficiencies from an improved internal division of labour. Such impediments are a key reason why governments, in both developed and developing countries, have implemented a range of policies designed to offset such perceived disadvantages that SMEs face.

Information and communications technologies (ICTs) are being used more and more by general practitioners (GPs) in their day-to-day activities. While a number of studies have shown that ICT adoption and use can provide real benefits to medical practices, there have been few studies to determine whether the perception of those benefits is uniform across the sector. This study examines whether differences in the perception of benefits exist between male and female GPs. The results suggest that the groupings and priorities of benefits arising from ICT use differ substantially between male and female GPs. Results also show, amongst other things, that male GPs are focussed on business efficiency, while female GPs are focussed on communication and practice expansion.

Information and communications technologies (ICTs) are being used more and more by general practitioners (GPs) in their day-to-day activities. While a number of studies have shown that ICT adoption and use can provide real benefits to medical practices, there have been few studies to determine whether the perception of those benefits is uniform across the sector. This study examines whether differences in the perception of benefits exist between male and female GPs. The results suggest that the groupings and priorities of benefits arising from ICT use differ substantially between male and female GPs. Results also show, amongst other things, that male GPs are focussed on business efficiency, while female GPs are focussed on communication and practice expansion.

Information and communications technologies (ICTs) are being used more and more by general practitioners (GPs) in their day-to-day activities. While a number of studies have shown that ICT adoption and use can provide real benefits to medical practices, there have been few studies to determine whether the perception of those benefits is uniform across the sector. This study examines whether differences in the perception of benefits exist between male and female GPs. The results suggest that the groupings and priorities of benefits arising from ICT use differ substantially between male and female GPs. Results also show, amongst other things, that male GPs are focussed on business efficiency, while female GPs are focussed on communication and practice expansion.

Information and communications technologies (ICTs) are being used more and more by general practitioners (GPs) in their day-to-day activities. While a number of studies have shown that ICT adoption and use can provide real benefits to medical practices, there have been few studies to determine whether the perception of those benefits is uniform across the sector. This study examines whether differences in the perception of benefits exist between male and female GPs. The results suggest that the groupings and priorities of benefits arising from ICT use differ substantially between male and female GPs. Results also show, amongst other things, that male GPs are focussed on business efficiency, while female GPs are focussed on communication and practice expansion.

This paper reviews and examines the arguments for government intervention in markets with the purpose of providing assistance to SMEs in a range of activities.

This volume is the third in a series on small and medium sized enterprises in East Asia, defined broadly to include the countries along the western rim of the Pacific from Japan and China in the north to Australia and New Zealand in the south, taking in the ASEAN countries along the way.

Policies to promote the development of SMEs are common in both developed and developing countries (Storey,1994; Levitsky, 1996; Hallberg, 2000) .

Policies to promote the development of SMEs are common in both developed and developing countries (Storey,1994; Levitsky, 1996; Hallberg, 2000) .

In this study, productivity growth in thirty-five Australian universities is investigated using nonparametric frontier techniques over the period 1998 to 2003. The inputs included in the analysis are full-time equivalent academic and non-academic staff, non-labour expenditure and undergraduate and postgraduate student load and the outputs are undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD completions, national competitive and industry grants and publications. Using Malmquist indices, productivity growth is decomposed into technical efficiency and technological change. The results indicate that annual productivity growth averaged 3.3 percent across all universities, with a range between -1.8 percent and 13.0 percent, and was largely attributable to technological progress. However, separate analyses of research-only and teaching-only productivity indicate that most of this gain was attributable to improvements in research-only productivity associated with pure technical and some scale efficiency improvements. While teaching-only productivity also contributed, the largest source of gain in that instance was technological progress offset by a slight fall in technical efficiency.

In this study, productivity growth in thirty-five Australian universities is investigated using nonparametric frontier techniques over the period 1998 to 2003. The inputs included in the analysis are full-time equivalent academic and non-academic staff, non-labour expenditure and undergraduate and postgraduate student load and the outputs are undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD completions, national competitive and industry grants and publications. Using Malmquist indices, productivity growth is decomposed into technical efficiency and technological change. The results indicate that annual productivity growth averaged 3.3 percent across all universities, with a range between -1.8 percent and 13.0 percent, and was largely attributable to technological progress. However, separate analyses of research-only and teaching-only productivity indicate that most of this gain was attributable to improvements in research-only productivity associated with pure technical and some scale efficiency improvements. While teaching-only productivity also contributed, the largest source of gain in that instance was technological progress offset by a slight fall in technical efficiency.

In this study, productivity growth in thirty-five Australian universities is investigated using nonparametric frontier techniques over the period 1998 to 2003. The inputs included in the analysis are full-time equivalent academic and non-academic staff, non-labour expenditure and undergraduate and postgraduate student load and the outputs are undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD completions, national competitive and industry grants and publications. Using Malmquist indices, productivity growth is decomposed into technical efficiency and technological change. The results indicate that annual productivity growth averaged 3.3 percent across all universities, with a range between -1.8 percent and 13.0 percent, and was largely attributable to technological progress. However, separate analyses of research-only and teaching-only productivity indicate that most of this gain was attributable to improvements in research-only productivity associated with pure technical and some scale efficiency improvements. While teaching-only productivity also contributed, the largest source of gain in that instance was technological progress offset by a slight fall in technical efficiency.

In this study, productivity growth in thirty-five Australian universities is investigated using nonparametric frontier techniques over the period 1998 to 2003. The inputs included in the analysis are full-time equivalent academic and non-academic staff, non-labour expenditure and undergraduate and postgraduate student load and the outputs are undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD completions, national competitive and industry grants and publications. Using Malmquist indices, productivity growth is decomposed into technical efficiency and technological change. The results indicate that annual productivity growth averaged 3.3 percent across all universities, with a range between -1.8 percent and 13.0 percent, and was largely attributable to technological progress. However, separate analyses of research-only and teaching-only productivity indicate that most of this gain was attributable to improvements in research-only productivity associated with pure technical and some scale efficiency improvements. While teaching-only productivity also contributed, the largest source of gain in that instance was technological progress offset by a slight fall in technical efficiency.

In this study, productivity growth in thirty-five Australian universities is investigated using nonparametric frontier techniques over the period 1998 to 2003. The inputs included in the analysis are full-time equivalent academic and non-academic staff, non-labour expenditure and undergraduate and postgraduate student load and the outputs are undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD completions, national competitive and industry grants and publications. Using Malmquist indices, productivity growth is decomposed into technical efficiency and technological change. The results indicate that annual productivity growth averaged 3.3 percent across all universities, with a range between -1.8 percent and 13.0 percent, and was largely attributable to technological progress. However, separate analyses of research-only and teaching-only productivity indicate that most of this gain was attributable to improvements in research-only productivity associated with pure technical and some scale efficiency improvements. While teaching-only productivity also contributed, the largest source of gain in that instance was technological progress offset by a slight fall in technical efficiency.

In this study, productivity growth in thirty-five Australian universities is investigated using nonparametric frontier techniques over the period 1998 to 2003. The inputs included in the analysis are full-time equivalent academic and non-academic staff, non-labour expenditure and undergraduate and postgraduate student load and the outputs are undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD completions, national competitive and industry grants and publications. Using Malmquist indices, productivity growth is decomposed into technical efficiency and technological change. The results indicate that annual productivity growth averaged 3.3 percent across all universities, with a range between -1.8 percent and 13.0 percent, and was largely attributable to technological progress. However, separate analyses of research-only and teaching-only productivity indicate that most of this gain was attributable to improvements in research-only productivity associated with pure technical and some scale efficiency improvements. While teaching-only productivity also contributed, the largest source of gain in that instance was technological progress offset by a slight fall in technical efficiency.

Policies to promote the development of SMEs are common in both developed and developing countries (Storey,1994; Levitsky, 1996; Hallberg, 2000) .

This paper reviews and examines the arguments for government intervention in markets with the purpose of providing assistance to SMEs in a range of activities.

This volume is the third in a series on small and medium sized enterprises in East Asia, defined broadly to include the countries along the western rim of the Pacific from Japan and China in the north to Australia and New Zealand in the south, taking in the ASEAN countries along the way.

The advent of the "New Economy" has important implications for how small and medium-sized enterprises will compete. This. paper proceeds by examining the key characteristics of the industries of the New Economy, and what they mean from the perspectIve of innovation and competition for SMEs.

Trust is a major issue in Internet transactions. This paper presents a model of trust on the Internet that focuses on three dimensions of trust. It investigates the perceived value a consumer places on these dimensions when set in the context of different product categories, price discounts, and delivery time. It is argued that the more willing an Internet merchant is to heed these three dimension of trusts, the greater the probability of transaction on the Internet.

Trust is a major issue in Internet transactions. This paper presents a model of trust on the Internet that focuses on three dimensions of trust. It investigates the perceived value a consumer places on these dimensions when set in the context of different product categories, price discounts, and delivery time. It is argued that the more willing an Internet merchant is to heed these three dimension of trusts, the greater the probability of transaction on the Internet.

The advent of the "New Economy" has important implications for how small and medium-sized enterprises will compete. This. paper proceeds by examining the key characteristics of the industries of the New Economy, and what they mean from the perspectIve of innovation and competition for SMEs.

The advent of the "New Economy" has important implications for how small and medium-sized enterprises will compete. This. paper proceeds by examining the key characteristics of the industries of the New Economy, and what they mean from the perspectIve of innovation and competition for SMEs.

Trust is a major issue in Internet transactions. This paper presents a model of trust on the Internet that focuses on three dimensions of trust. It investigates the perceived value a consumer places on these dimensions when set in the context of different product categories, price discounts, and delivery time. It is argued that the more willing an Internet merchant is to heed these three dimension of trusts, the greater the probability of transaction on the Internet.

During the 1980s, Australia moved from having one of the most heavily controlled banking and financial sectors to having one of the least controlled. The reasons for such an extensive and swift change in the operation of the financial sector are discussed, as well as the implications for the operation of monetary policy. These developments have had major implications for the way in which exogenous disturbances are transmitted to the macroeconomy, affecting financial variables immediately and, over a more prolonged period, non-financial variables. Considerable debate has taken place in Australia as to the beneficial consequences of such extensive deregulation for that economy, which is characterised as being very open but small by world standards. As a contribution to this debate the paper presents a theoretical macroeconomic framework applicable to such a small open economy, focusing upon the importance and role of the financial sector in the transmission of exogenous shocks to the macroeconomy. Two versions of the model are presented: that where the financial sector is heavily regulated (pre-1983 in Australia) and that where it is deregulated (post 1983). Comparisons are made between the adjustment of the macroeconomy for each of these versions, for a variety of exogenous shocks using a numerical simulation procedure. The results derived suggest that in general macroeconomic adjustment tends to be less turbulent, and steady-state equilibrium achieved more rapidly, with a deregulated financial sector, lending support to the viewpoint that such a policy has assisted the economy in adjusting to the turbulent developments of the 1980s and early 1990s.

During the 1980s, Australia moved from having one of the most heavily controlled banking and financial sectors to having one of the least controlled. The reasons for such an extensive and swift change in the operation of the financial sector are discussed, as well as the implications for the operation of monetary policy. These developments have had major implications for the way in which exogenous disturbances are transmitted to the macroeconomy, affecting financial variables immediately and, over a more prolonged period, non-financial variables. Considerable debate has taken place in Australia as to the beneficial consequences of such extensive deregulation for that economy, which is characterised as being very open but small by world standards. As a contribution to this debate the paper presents a theoretical macroeconomic framework applicable to such a small open economy, focusing upon the importance and role of the financial sector in the transmission of exogenous shocks to the macroeconomy. Two versions of the model are presented: that where the financial sector is heavily regulated (pre-1983 in Australia) and that where it is deregulated (post 1983). Comparisons are made between the adjustment of the macroeconomy for each of these versions, for a variety of exogenous shocks using a numerical simulation procedure. The results derived suggest that in general macroeconomic adjustment tends to be less turbulent, and steady-state equilibrium achieved more rapidly, with a deregulated financial sector, lending support to the viewpoint that such a policy has assisted the economy in adjusting to the turbulent developments of the 1980s and early 1990s.

This paper models the renegotiation of an international debt contract. The model is distinguished from and extends the Bulow-Rogoff (1989a) complete-information model in that it uses an incomplete-information sequential setting which more closely approximates the actual bargaining situation facing countries and their creditors. The model allows a focus on the reasons for delays in reaching agreement, highlighting the imporant role played by information in reducing the time taken to reach agreement. It also allows a focus on the acutal process of renegotiation, highlighting the choices faced by and the factors influencing the parties at each step of the bargaining. This contrasts with the instantaneous arrival at agreement by completeinformation models which lack this particular dimension.

This paper models the renegotiation of an international debt contract. The model is distinguished from and extends the Bulow-Rogoff (1989a) complete-information model in that it uses an incomplete-information sequential setting which more closely approximates the actual bargaining situation facing countries and their creditors. The model allows a focus on the reasons for delays in reaching agreement, highlighting the imporant role played by information in reducing the time taken to reach agreement. It also allows a focus on the acutal process of renegotiation, highlighting the choices faced by and the factors influencing the parties at each step of the bargaining. This contrasts with the instantaneous arrival at agreement by completeinformation models which lack this particular dimension.