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This paper analyses, for the first time, potential convergence patterns of hotel revenues across provinces in China. Through the club clustering methodology, the analysis uses a unique dataset of all hotels across all Chinese provinces. The findings document that these hotel revenues follow a diverging pattern on a national level, while a converging pattern is identified across certain provinces, thus forming specific clubs. When the analysis is extended to identify potential drivers for such diverging or converging behavior, the new results illustrate the role of productivity trends, management strategies and tax policies as those factors that drive such patterns. The results could be of substantial value, primarily for tourism policymakers to further improve the current framework of the Chinese hotel industry to introduce practices and policies that will allow the industry to catch up with the global market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are significant regional differences in the development of China's insurance industry. An important question is that such regional differences are expanding or shrinking? Based on Barrow's economic growth convergence model, this paper uses the σ convergence model to analyze the differences in the development of China's insurance industry and its trends. It draws on the statistics data from 1990 to 2020. The empirical results show that the convergence of China's insurance development is not obvious before 2006, but it shows a significant convergence after 2006. And, there are some differences between the Eastern, the Central, and the Western. Furthermore, when considering the spatial correlation, the convergence of insurance development among provinces in China is more obvious. This shows that the flowing of capital, technology, and labor force between regions may be beneficial to the balanced development of insurance among the regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of capital stock statistics for empirical research of the Chinese economy has for a long time been one of the major impediments in the profession. Professor Gregory Chow is one of the pioneers who attempted to deal with this matter. His seminal paper on China's capital formation and economic growth was published in 1993 (Chow, 1993). Since then many authors have estimated their own capital stock data series. However, most authors have focused on investigations at the national level and their findings are not without controversies. In particular, few studies have provided estimates of capital stock for China's regional economies. This paper adds to the existing literature in several ways. First, it presents a critical review of the methods and findings in the existing literature. Second, it proposes an alternative approach to estimate China's capital stock series by region as well as across three economic sectors (agriculture, industry and services). Finally, preliminary analyses of the derived capital stock statistics are conducted to examine growth, disparity and convergence in China's regional economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies Industry Convergence model to evaluate the input-output efficiency of agricultural development from 2006 to 2008, measures and assesses whether the financial agricultural development input expands the coverage of local agricultural development according to the degree of economic and financial input into agricultural development. The study shows that the economic and financial input into agricultural development in a majority of areas in our country is not adequate, that the use of agricultural development fund is not reasonable, and that the financial input into agricultural development can seldom expand the coverage of local agricultural development. Finally, from facilitating economic development, increasing financial income, enhancing financial support for agricultural development, making reasonable use of agricultural development and expanding the coverage of agricultural development, the paper proposes the measure of increasing the input-output efficiency of agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose — The purpose of this paper is to assess the change in Chinese managerial network systems to identify adaptation to Western strategic systems. Design/methodology/approach — A sequential explanatory approach was adopted — a quantitative analysis of personal value systems of Chinese managers visiting the UK using established cultural value dimensions, with qualitative semi-structured interviews to assist statistical inferences. Findings — The traditional values of Chinese managers are decreasing in importance and lower power distance is apparent. A more flexible, dynamic approach with increased heterogeneity in countering competitive challenges — a transvergence, rather than crossvergence or convergence — is inferred. Research limitations/implications — This paper has three major limitations. First, it applies cross-cultural methods but uses strategic theory as the interpretative framework. Second, the sample size is small, based on convenience sampling, and is specific to managers arriving at a foreign interface. Third, this research is exploratory and explanatory, designed to challenge present understanding. Future research at country interfaces should identify global patterns of strategic adaptation, creating stronger inferential arguments with convergence of economic problems as a causal mechanism. Practical implications — The practical implications are twofold: Chinese strategy is adapting to new economic problems not new ideological structures; managerial network systems and not Chinese firms are the locus of the adaptation. Originality/value — This paper draws together concepts from strategy, problem solving, decision making, and cultural values, arguing that Chinese strategic change results from a dynamic interaction between strategic problem-solving choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economic Horizons / Ekonomski Horizonti is the property of Economic Horizons and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Our paper is a starting point for further discussions on the value of political ties in China, their evolutionary trajectory along the process of globalization, and their influence in explaining variability in differentiated performance metrics. We hope that our work will provide an impetus for additions and extensions that view convergence and divergence as two interrelated and mutually dependent constructs. Ignoring one or the other might generate an incomplete view of the effects of globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Convergence trades exploit temporary mispricing by simultaneously buying relatively underpriced assets and selling short relatively overpriced assets. This paper studies optimal convergence trades under both recurring and nonrecurring arbitrage opportunities represented by continuing and “stopped” cointegrated price processes and considers both fixed and stochastic (Poisson) horizons. Conventional long-short delta neutral strategies are generally suboptimal and it can be optimal to simultaneously go long (or short) in two mispriced assets. Optimal portfolio holdings critically depend on whether the risky asset position is liquidated when prices converge. Our theoretical results are illustrated on pairs of Chinese bank shares traded on both the Hong Kong and China stock exchanges. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose - This paper seeks to assess the feasibility and desirability of a major emerging economy adopting and implementing fair value accounting (FVA), as codified in the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), by studying China's recent experience. Design/methodology/approach - The paper examines the extent of FVA adoption in China's new accounting standards ("2007GAAP"), reasons for differences from the International Accounting Standard Board's IFRS, and how 2007GAAP has been implemented in practice. Data are obtained from content analyses of IFRS and 2007GAAP FVA requirements, critical assessments of standard setters' official statements, and analyses of empirical evidence from official reports, media, and academic research. Findings - The authors find a high degree of adoption of IFRS FVA standards in China's 2007GAAP for financial instruments, but many differences for non-financial long-term asset investments. Standard setters justify this divergence by fundamental characteristics of the Chinese environment. The resulting differences from IFRS in the 2007GAAP FVA standards, and in their implementation, challenge official claims of "substantial convergence" between 2007GAAP and IFRS. Hence, the benefits desired by Chinese regulators from adopting FVA and international accounting convergence to IFRS may not be realized. Research limitations/implications - The findings are derived from aggregated data in government reports. These findings can be extended in future research by examining specific implementation outcomes in company financial statements. Originality/value - The paper contributes a timely critical examination of a major emerging economy's convergence with the controversial FVA requirements, which supports the IFRS's standing as a high quality set of accounting standards. The findings provide new insights into factors that can impede international accounting convergence in emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following rapid economic growth, the environmental pollution is getting worse in most regions in China. Meanwhile, the urbanization and industrialization of China has not completed yet, with energy consumption continuing to grow, environmental carrying capacity is becoming smaller and smaller, which leads to emission reduction cost continues to grow. This paper analysed convergence of economic growth and carbon emission intensity of the east, central and west regions in China by using panel date, and the results show that economic growth is β conditional convergence while carbon emissions intensity is β absolute convergence. By building relation model between carbon emission intensity gap and economic gap, introducing in elastic coefficient n, it was found that when the central and west regions narrow their economic gap with the east region by 1 percent, it leads to their carbon emission intensity gap with the east region narrow by 0.5712 and 0.5900 percent respectively, which shows that when the central and west regions are narrowing their economic gap with the east region, 'the narrowing' is based on energy-saving and emission-reduction. At the same time it can also be found that convergent rating of economy is quicker than that of carbon emission intensity, which suggests that energy-saving and emission-reduction is still what China need to follow when promoting balanced development of regional economy. Based on the above results, some useful suggestions to promote collaborative development of regional economy and synchronous collaborative development between regional carbon emission intensity and economic development were given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the Reform and Opening-up policy had been implemented in 1978, mainland China has experienced significant economic growth, with GDP rising on an annual average of about 10%. However, this growth miracle was far from being evenly distributed across space. It is, therefore, the aim of this paper to study the evolution of spatial disparities in economic development across the country between 1993 and 2012, a period which is characterized by all provinces having access to international markets and being open for international investors. We seek to answer the question of whether Central and Western Chinese provinces were catching up with the East. We define 'catching up' as a growing similarity among spatial units. Convergence processes might manifest in four dimensions, including (1) the spatial allocation of employment, value added generation and the fixed capital stock, (2) forms of technical change, (3) productivity patterns, and (4) income distribution. Results show that persistent phases of convergence appeared. However, in some cases the catching up of China's less developed parts with the flourishing East was limited to only a few Western and Central Chinese provinces. A high degree of path-dependency in economic development prevented catching up from taking place in a more uniform manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban agglomerations (UAs), which serve as pivotal hubs for economic and innovative convergence, play a crucial role in enhancing internal circulation and strengthening external linkages. This study utilizes the China city-level multi-regional input-output tables, incorporating the Dagum Gini coefficient and kernel density estimation methods, to perform a thorough quantitative analysis. Disparities within the national and global value chains ("dual value chains") of Chinese UAs from 2012 to 2017 were assessed. Additionally, the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method was applied to disaggregate the drivers of both national and global intermediate inputs (NII and GII). The study's key findings include the following: (1) The national value chain (NVC) within UAs exhibits robust growth, contrasting with the decline in the global value chain (GVC). (2) The inter-UA disparity contribution rate significantly surpasses the combined rates of intra-UA contribution and super-variation density. (3) Distinct evolutionary peak trends are discerned among various UAs within the "dual value chains", highlighting diverse spatial polarization characteristics and expansiveness. (4) The growth of the NVC has transitioned from a negative to a positive impact on NII, while the decline in GVC has substantially counteracted GII growth. Economic and demographic factors notably drive positive improvements in both NII and GII, whereas the efficiency of outflows presents a negative driving effect. Based on these findings, this study offers strategic recommendations to facilitate the effective integration of UAs into the new development paradigm, thereby providing a scientific basis for related decision-making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the theoretical framework of the Solow growth model, this paper employs a dynamic panel data approach to examine the impact of openness on growth and convergence in labor productivity in the Chinese provinces during the period 1984-2008. The study finds that regional openness has a significantly positive effect on regional growth in labor productivity in the Chinese provinces. When regional heterogeneity and regional openness are accounted for, the study finds fast conditional convergence in labor productivity across the Chinese provinces. As a byproduct, this study also estimates the structural parameters of the aggregate production function in the case of China. In sum, the major findings of this study lend strong support to the claim that openness promotes growth of labor productivity in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a new concept of convergence which is based on the metric entropy measure recently proposed by Granger et al. (2004, Journal of Time Series Analysis 25, 649–69) to investigate economic convergence in China. This entropy measure compares whole distributions of growth rates across individual provinces. Separately, based on this same entropy measure, we also implement cluster analysis to identify any convergence clubs. Our four main conclusions are: (1) while we certainly reject the null hypothesis that there exists a nationwide convergence, we do find that there exist convergence clubs for both the pre- and post-reform periods, (2) we find a number of very small convergence clubs. In particular, there are eleven and six convergence clubs for the pre- and post-reform periods, respectively, (3) in comparing the number and size of convergence clubs for both the pre- and post-reform periods, it could be argued that the extent of convergence is more prevalent during the post-reform period than during the pre-reform period and (4) convergence groups cannot be simply characterized by such unique features as region or the extent of policy preference level that are commonly used in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies the recently developed econometric methods of panel unit root tests and nonlinear mean reversion to investigate price convergence in China--the largest transitional economy in the world. We find that prices did converge to the law of one price in China for an overwhelming majority of goods and services, based on a large panel data set. The finding sheds light on the extent of the market economy in China, and casts doubt on Young's proposition that the economic reform has led to the fragmentation of Chinese domestic markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narrowing the gap in regional innovation efficiency is conducive to the coordinated development of regional economies. Fiscal science and technology (S&T) expenditure is the government's primary means of supporting regional innovation. It also plays an essential role in improving the efficiency of regional innovation. This study constructs a spatial convergence economic model based on a dynamic perspective. It also examines the relationship between fiscal S&T expenditure and spatial convergence of regional innovation efficiency. China's regional innovation efficiency shows a trend of conditional β-convergence. Fiscal S&T expenditure positively affects the spatial convergence of regional innovation efficiency and has an inverted U-shaped, nonlinear relationship as a whole. The transmission mechanism test revealed that the cross-regional flow of research and development (R&D) personnel can enhance this positive effect, and the role of R&D capital is not significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global surge in migration has led to diversification in immigrant populations and their migration patterns, even towards countries like Japan, China, and South Korea with traditionally low immigration rates. This study examines the forces driving migration among professional Hispano-Americans. It introduces an analytical framework, inspired by Archer and Bourdieu, that unravels the interplay between agency and structure, utilizing the concept of migratory trajectories to investigates dynamic shifts and subjective dimensions inherent in migration. Using grounded theory, in-depth interviews and a questionnaire survey involving 236 professionals reveal four distinct migration profiles. The data highlights the intricate nature of participants' migration expectations, shaped by tensions like the education-occupation gap, corruption, nepotism, and security concerns in their home countries. These aspirations are influenced by a convergence of economic, socio-cultural, and political factors, emphasizing professional growth, enhanced quality of life, and enriching socio-cultural experiences. Importantly, these expectations lead to a tendency to deviate from conventional migration routes, driven by a highly positive perception of destination countries. The findings shed light on the complex interplay of socio-structural tensions, migration expectations, and resulting trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The imbalance and insufficiency of China's regional economic development has led to huge differences in regional energy efficiency. Reducing the differences in regional energy efficiency has become an urgent energy issue in China. The constant absorption of foreign direct investment (FDI) has brought advanced technologies to China, which has an important impact on China's energy efficiency. To explore whether FDI can reduce regional energy efficiency differences, this paper investigates the existence of energy intensity convergence while incorporating foreign direct investment (FDI). Since existing research on regional energy intensity convergence lacks of consideration of the data spatial dependence, we focus on spatial econometric model to test energy intensity convergence. We use panel data of 30 provinces in China over the period of 2005–2014 to test energy intensity convergence by β convergence model. The empirical results show that considering the spatial dependence of the data, FDI can promote the formation of conditional energy intensity convergence. Further analysis found that the spillover effect of FDI plays an important role in this formation. In addition, the convergence speed accelerates after considering the spatial dependence. Finally, the spillover effect of FDI, which is global, inhibits the declining speed of energy intensity during the research period. The scale effect of FDI and energy rebound effect plays an important role in the effect of FDI on energy intensity. These results show that guiding foreign investment more reasonably in each province in China can make contributions to the reduction of energy efficiency differences. Highlights • Use spatial econometric approach to test the convergence of energy intensity. • FDI can promote the convergence of energy intensity. • The spillover effect of FDI plays an important role in the formation of energy intensity convergence. • The effect of FDI on energy intensity has brought a rebound effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse per capita GDP convergence among 28 Chinese provinces between 1952 and 2005 using the distribution dynamics approach. Compared with previous studies, we provide a more complete view by including some additional information such as the asymptotic half-life of convergence, mobility indices and the continuous version of the ergodic distributions. In addition, we also extend the analysis to evaluate whether patterns could differ if weighted by either the population living in each province or their economic sizes, together with the existence and magnitude of spatial spillovers. The unweighted, unconditional analysis corroborates and supplements previous findings, especially those indicating that convergence patterns differ strongly under either pre- or post-reform trends. Both the weighted and space-conditioned analyses indicate that convergence could be much faster when these factors are introduced in the analysis. Implications are especially relevant when weighing by population, since results indicate that the number of people escaping from relative poverty would be much higher than the figure predicted by the unweighted analysis. Resumen Analizamos aquí la convergencia del PIB per cápita entre 28 provincias de China entre 1952 y 2005, utilizando el enfoque de evolución dinámica de distribuciones. En comparación con estudios previos, proporcionamos una visión más completa mediante la incorporación de información adicional como la semivida ( half-life) asintótica de la convergencia, índices de movilidad y la versión continua de las distribuciones ergódicas. Además, ampliamos nuestro análisis a evaluar si pudiera haber diferencias en los patrones si se hiciera una ponderación basada en la población que vive en cada provincia o en sus tamaños económicos, junto con la existencia y magnitud de spillovers espaciales. El análisis incondicional, no ponderado, corrobora y complementa resultados de estudios anteriores, especialmente aquellos que indican que los patrones de convergencia difieren en gran medida bajo tendencias pre o post reforma económica. Tanto los análisis de naturaleza espacial como los ponderados indican que la convergencia podría suceder mucho más rápidamente si en el análisis se introdujesen estos factores . Las implicaciones son especialmente relevantes para la ponderación por población, ya que los resultados indican que el número de personas que podrían lograr salir de la una pobreza relativa podría ser mucho mayor que la cifra pronosticada por el análisis no ponderado. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Our paper examines the productivity levels of Chinese airline market over the period 2006–2016 using Malmquist productivity indexes. Applying a decomposition technique on the estimated productivity index we decompose airlines' productivity levels into technological, pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency change components. The results signify that the reforms made on the Chinese airline industry have forced the airlines to enhance both their catching-up ability and their innovation capacity. This in turn is reflected on their estimated productivity levels. Then in a second stage analysis we utilize the methodological framework by Phillips and Sul (2007, 2009) and we test for the existence of convergence clubs among the estimated productivity components. The results verify the hypothesis of convergence among airlines' technological change and pure technical efficiency levels identifying distinct convergence clubs. The estimated relative transition paths reveal the insights of the enhanced competition among the Chinese airlines. Highlights • We examine the productivity of Chinese airlines over the period 2006–2016. • We decompose airlines' estimated Malmquist productivity indexes. • We identify convergence on airlines' pure technical efficiency change levels. • We identify convergence on airlines' technological change levels. • The results suggest the existence of a highly competitive market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tests the hypothesis that the economic relationships between China and her major trading partners have changed over the past 20 years with the industrialisation of China, and the emergence of Japan as a source of investment and network trade in sophisticated manufactures, and the US as a source of finance and investment assets, supplier of services and an apparently inexhaustible demand for consumer and intermediate goods. Has this changed the size and direction of spillovers in the region, and has it curtailed or eliminated American economic leadership? We use time-varying spectral methods to decompose the links between the two leading Asian economies and the US. We find: (a) the links with the US have been weakening, while those based on China have strengthened; (b) that this is not new—it has been happening since the 1980s, but has now been reversed by the surge in trade; (c) that the links with the US have been rather complex, with the US able to shape the cycles elsewhere through her control of monetary conditions, but the China zone able to control the size of their cycles; (d) that Japan remains linked to (and dependent on) the US; and (e) there is no evidence that pegged exchange rates encourage convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After China launched its “Belt and Road” (BR) initiative, the international community became concerned that it may worsen the environmental performance of the BR countries. Due to a lack of data for empirical testing, this paper addresses this concern through an indirect method and draws the implications of the potential impacts of China’s BR initiative. This method empirically examines the effects of trade integration and regional cooperation, two major functions of the BR initiative, on energy efficiency (EE) convergence, a concept that describes the catching up process of EE across countries. A sample of 89 countries was selected to analyse the process of EE convergence from 2000 to 2014. The results indicate that although the gaps in EE among countries around the world become larger after 2010, regional cooperation may lead to a convergence process. It also finds that trade integration has a positive influence on convergence across the countries, especially among middle- and low-income countries. The results suggest that the BR initiative, through its roles in trade integration and regional cooperation, may promote EE convergence among countries. This is a desirable environmental outcome. This research also provides policy implications for both China and the other BR countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Nicolaita de Estudios Económicos is the property of Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The standard approach to studying financial industrial agglomeration is to construct measures of the degree of agglomeration within financial industry. But such measures often fail to exploit the convergence or divergence of financial agglomeration. In this paper, we apply Markov chain approach to diagnose the convergence of financial agglomeration in China based on the location quotient coefficients across the provincial regions over 1993-2011. The estimation of Markov transition probability matrix offers more detailed insights into the mechanics of financial agglomeration evolution process in China during the research period. The results show that the spatial evolution of financial agglomeration changes faster in the period of 2003-2011 than that in the period of 1993-2002. Furthermore, there exists a very uneven financial development patterns, but there is regional convergence for financial agglomeration in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) on international trade is prominent in recent years. The authors extend the international trade model with heterogeneous firms to include CBEC export and deduce that CBEC lowers the capability threshold for export. Firms and regions with different capabilities are affected differently, but the total regional export is increasing. In the empirical analysis section, they use panel data from 31 provinces in China from 2015 to 2018 and construct proxy variables for CBEC with CBEC comprehensive pilot zones and CBEC exporters. They find that CBEC contributes to economic growth and economic convergence. The underlying mechanisms include the convergence of regional exports and total factor productivity, while the convergence of capital isn't supported by the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which investigates the financial integration of stock markets of China and Russia at both national and sectoral levels in comparison with the U.S., euro area, and Japan from September 1995 to October 2010. The study uses a price-based approach for an existence and analysis of dynamics of stock market integration. The study reveals that the integration between Chinese and Russian stock markets depend on the assessment of sigma-convergence.

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) has been styled as a natural region drawn together by the Mekong River. However, the literature on regional identity has argued that regions are socially constructed phenomena. River basins in particular are historically evolved constructs of specific political and social relations. Drawing on concepts of regional identity and on the literature examining the links between culture and water, the article argues that the actors driving the GMS have exacerbated social tensions through hydropower programmes, thus failing to establish social coherence. These programmes focus on energy production for national economic growth and economic integration between GMS countries, but they ignore the need to govern water resources for the benefit of local communities, many of which are made up of ethnic minorities with specific cultural attachments to the river. This produces tensions around the type of development that takes place in the GMS, leading to value fragmentation rather than value convergence. The article explores these issues by focusing on the Chinese-built Lower Sesan 2 Dam in Cambodia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The disparity between government health expenditures across regions is more severe in developing countries than it is in developed countries. The capitation subsidy method has been proven effective in developed countries in reducing this disparity, but it has not been tested in China, the world's largest developing country.Methods: The convergence method of neoclassical economics was adopted to test the convergence of China's regional government health expenditure. Data were obtained from Provinces, Prefectures and Counties Fiscal Statistical Yearbook (2003-2007) edited by the Chinese Ministry of Finance, and published by the Chinese Finance & Economics Publishing House.Results: The existence of σ-convergence and long-term and short-term β-convergence indicated the effectiveness of the capitation subsidy method in the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme on narrowing county government health expenditure disparities. The supply-side variables contributed the most to the county government health expenditure convergence, and factors contributing to convergence of county government health expenditures per capita were different in three regions.Conclusion: The narrowing disparity between county government health expenditures across regions supports the effectiveness of the capitation subsidy method adopted by China's New Rural Cooperative Scheme. However, subsidy policy still requires further improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of African Studies Review is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the integration of national and sectoral stock markets between China and Russia and with other three global benchmarks including the U.S., euro area, and Japan. It states that the estimation period was divided into three sub-periods for beta-convergence to analyze stock market integration over time. It says that the national and sectoral levels based on a finding of beta-convergence suggests that the stock markets of China and Russia could be identified as isolated.

We used data from the Chinese stock market to quantify the amount of time for the market to converge to efficiency. Order imbalance may predict returns when there is no designated market maker. In spite of availability of the direction of trade information in the Chinese stock market, it takes longer for information regarding order imbalance to be incorporated into stock prices in China than in the USA. With information on past returns and order imbalance, it takes between 15 and 30 min to converge to efficiency in the Chinese stock market. The process of converging to efficiency depends highly on liquidity. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay evaluates the new road Giovanni Arrighi paves in Adam Smith in Beijing (2007) in relation to the scholarly debate on Europe's Great Divergence and the remarkable resurgence of East Asia in the global economy at the end of the twentieth century. At the center of Adam Smith in Beijing is the argument that the probability has increased that we are witnessing the formation of an "East Asian-centered world-market society," rivaling the historical "capitalist world-economy". We show how Arrighi's discovery of East Asia has led him to supplement the analysis of historical capitalism he presented in The Long Twentieth Century (1994). This brings about uncertainties and problems. On the one hand, Arrighi is clear in his view on the different paths of economic development followed by the Europe-centered capitalist world-system, and the Chinese-centered market-oriented world-system. These paths remained largely separate until deep into the nineteenth century. On the other hand, Arrighi is less clear on how the Asian market-oriented legacy survived its incorporation into a globalizing capitalist world-economy, a crucial precondition for Arrighi's political message. Characterized as a process of subordination, hybridization, or fusion, it remains difficult to extract from Arrighi an unambiguous understanding of the place of China and East Asia within the capitalist world-system. It is just as hard to understand the nature of that "interstitial" system itself. These conceptual and theoretical uncertainties suggest a central question and problem that hangs over Adam Smith in Beijing: What remains of the capitalist world-system as an analytical category that allows us to understand economic history and our possible futures? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the influence of economic and political factors that contribute to the convergence and/or divergence in value priorities of five East Asian societies—China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. We find that political and social-economic factors influence the values orientations of managers within this region. However, economic development level is an insufficient explanation for values convergence without consideration of the societal context and cultural traditions in which that development occurred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When Hong Kong reintegrated with China in 1997, one critical issue was whether the flourishing center of economic activity with an efficient administrative framework would lose its advantages and become just another city of the People's Republic of China. This article examines the process of managing transition as socialist China tries to accommodate capitalist Hong Kong. With strong forces of globalization at play, both units have had to embark on administrative reforms to make their systems compatible with the demands of the new circumstances. An overview of the reforms they have undertaken reveals that convergence is possible despite markedly different points of departure. However, while the forces of globalization press for increased convergence, the forces of institutional arrangements and history present a major challenge. The balance of the push and pull of convergent and divergent forces will determine the direction and outcome of administrative reforms in China and Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]