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The Chinese Government has promulgated the "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI) to increase trade flows and integrate goods markets between China and BRI countries. The validity of purchasing power parity (PPP) implies well‐integrated goods markets, a precondition for further economic convergence, and the next stage of economic integration in factor, service, and financial markets. Our study aims to examine the validity of the PPP and the extent of goods market integration between China and selected BRI countries in Africa. Since the functional form of the cointegrating relationship may not be exact or linear, we adopt the nonparametric rank tests for analysis without prior knowledge and specification of the functional form. We also address the rank problems that occur in multivariate rank tests. Our empirical results provide strong evidence of an unrestricted PPP relationship with reasonably strong evidence of nonlinearity in the data. We also find that some African BRI countries have experienced goods market integration with China during the second‐half period only. This indicates that the introduction of the BRI in 2013 and China's active involvement in African economic development through BRI projects are leading to enhanced goods market integration between China and Africa. The results indicate favorable prospects of closer economic cooperation in the factor, service, and financial markets to build a free trade area or common markets with BRI countries in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The validity of purchasing power parity (PPP) between two economies implies goods markets of the two are well integrated. This is a pre-condition for further economic convergence. This study examines validity of the PPP between China and European countries. Since the functional form of the cointegrating relationship may not be exact or linear, we adopt the nonparametric rank tests for analysis, without prior specification of the functional form. We also address the rank problems that occur in multivariate rank tests. The results indicate strong support for nonlinear PPP relationships between China and European countries, especially during the second subsample period. This indicates China's rising economic power, particularly in the most recent decade. Although there have been disputes between China and Europe, these results suggest favorable prospects for closer economic cooperation between the two sides and the need for formulation of common policies to pursue an integrated market in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates one of the key factors of sustainable development in the tourism sector: productive efficiency. A firm is technically inefficient when it can produce a higher output level with existing input quantities. Technical inefficiency can be reduced by stimulating the incentive of workers and employing suitable managers. On the other hand, scale inefficiency occurs when an enterprise is not producing in the constant returns to scale region. Such inefficiency can be lessened by reallocating resources to achieve an optimal production scale. Most previous empirical studies of efficiency analysis are based on the assumption of convex production sets. This paper points out that when this assumption does not hold, policies on resources allocation would be misled. To remedy this deficiency, this paper adopts a newly developed empirical frontier to model nonconvexity in the production set. It is found that, in the tourism sector, travel agents and hotels are technically efficient and scale inefficient. Consequently, a policy which leads to the merging of small firms to improve the efficiency of the market will best suit the sustainable development of the tourism sector. Our results are very different from those derived from the existing production frontiers in Data Envelopment Analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the dynamic relationship between the consumer price index (CPI) and the producer price index (PPI) in the UK, France and Germany from 1997 to 2013. We employ the momentum-threshold autoregressive (MTAR) cointegration model for empirical analysis. The results show that the CPI and the PPI are cointegrated with bi-directional long-run Granger causality between CPI and PPI, signifying the existence of both demand-pull and the cost-push nature of inflation. The estimates of threshold vector error correction models (TVECMs) indicate asymmetric adjustments to equilibrium, where upward adjustments are statistically significant but downward adjustments are sluggish and insignificant. Moreover, we generate the unconditional half-life estimates as a measure of persistence, which reveal robust evidence of complex non-linearities in the adjustment process. Our overall results provide valuable information for policymakers to formulate inflation-control policies and optimal policy horizons under a non-linear framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the price convergence of beverage products within Australia in order to assess the efficacy of intranational cross-border movements of products under the Australia's Mutual Recognition Agreement. Since the cointegrating relationship between product prices may not be exact or linear, we adopt the rank tests for analysis which do not require prior knowledge and specification of the linear or nonlinear functional form. Our results validate the price convergence of all beverage products within Australia, with the exception of a few regions in the milk market. Furthermore, a subset of the cointegration relationships exhibits nonlinear long-run price co-movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses post-90s teenagers in Hong Kong for their willingness to communicate their educational plans, personal challenges and academic difficulties to their parents, their teachers and their peers. Through logistic regression methods, this paper identifies demographic characteristics of those who are willing to share and those who are not, from a dataset of 308 students. Characteristics of those who are reluctant to share with anyone about any problems are also identified. This paper finds out a direct relationship between relationship closeness and the teenager's willingness to self-disclose. We conclude by discussing potential social policies that can possibly promote family and social harmony. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The South African meat industry plays an important role in food provision, income generation, and economic stability. However, inflation-driven volatility in commodity markets has intensified the focus on the nexus between producer and consumer price indexes, as significant meat price changes affect both producers and consumers. Therefore, this study explored the association and the causality between consumer price index (CPI) meat and producer price index (PPI) beef, mutton, pork, and chicken from 1991 to 2023 using the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) and Granger causality test. The findings of the study revealed a short- and a long-run relationship among the variables with an adjustment speed (ECT) of 67.67%. No causal relationship was found between PPI beef and CPI meat, while unidirectional relationships were identified between CPI meat and PPI chicken, pork, and mutton. These results suggest that consumer meat prices impact production prices for chicken, pork, and mutton, but not for beef, indicating that beef price changes are influenced by factors other than general meat price fluctuations. Thus, while price controls or subsidies may manage price changes in chicken, pork, and mutton, further research or targeted strategies are needed to address the unique factors influencing beef prices. Ultimately, understanding these dynamics will enhance price stability in the meat market, benefiting consumers, producers, and the overall stability of the South African economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of China Quarterly 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.)

This study aimed to examine the interaction effect of the nomination committee's effectiveness on the board of directors' characteristics and firm performance (measured by return on assets and earnings per share). The nomination committee was scored for committee separation, size, independence, meeting frequency, and the number of female directors. The study selected all listed firms on the Bahrain Bourse for two years, 2020 and 2021, using ordinary least-squares regression to examine the relationship. The results showed that the interaction of the nomination committee with some characteristics of the board of directors had a significant impact on firm performance. With the interaction of the nomination committee, board meeting frequency became significantly positively associated with firm performance as measured by return on assets and earnings per share, as opposed to the insignificant results found in the direct relationship. Similarly, with the interaction of the nomination committee, the number of female directors became more significantly positively associated with firm performance using the measurement of return on assets, while it became significantly positively associated with firm performance using earnings per share, compared to an insignificant positive impact found in the direct relationship. The results show that there is a need to re-evaluate the role of the board of directors and strengthen its effectiveness. This study is the first to alert policymakers, businesses and their stakeholders, and researchers to the significance of having an effective nomination committee, which could play an important role in enhancing the board of directors' effectiveness and hence firm performance. It makes a significant contribution to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the interaction impact of NC (as a score) on BOD characteristics and firm performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An author index for the January/February-November/December 2011 issues of "The Chinese Economy" is presented.

Copyright of Studia Universitatis Petru Maior, Series Oeconomica is the property of Petru Maior Unversity, Faculty of Economics Law & Administrative Services 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 presents abstracts of economics literature. They include "Regional versus global risk sharing in East Asia," "What determines saving rates in Korea?," "Productivity differential and the relationship between exports and GDP in Fiji: an empirical assessment using the two sector model," and "Hard or soft? Institutional reforms and infrastructure spending as determinants of foreign direct investment in China."

This study examines whether there are changes to the inter-influence between the economic positions of Guangdong and Hong Kong. We use the Granger causality test to determine the mutual influence of Guangdong and Hong Kong in their economic positions. Our result indicates that there is a long-term cointegrating and stable economic relationship between Guangdong and Hong Kong. In addition, the result of the ECM Granger causality test suggests that the economies of Guangdong and Hong Kong are substitutes for each other but not complementary. Our analyses of the structural changes before and after 1997 show that the lead economic position between Guangdong and Hong Kong changes before and after 1997. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An author index for the May 2006 issue of "Asian-Pacific Economic Literature" is presented.

This study examines how Christian informants understand and practice external (charitable) giving outside of their church, both in terms of money and volunteering time and effort. While existing quantitative researches have informed us primarily about the determinants of giving in the West, we carry out a small case study in a church in an Asian city of Hong Kong to explore how local Christians understand and practice external giving. It is found that external giving is not just an obligatory religious code of conduct that the Christians are obliged to follow. More essentially, drawing reference from the concept of technology of the self, we argue that giving is an integral part of the making of the Christian self. Through giving, individual Christians redefine, transform, and enact their sacred selves in relation to God and others in the community of the faithful. At a collective level, external giving contributes to the construction of a sacred moral economy, which places Christian givers and the needy recipients in a transcendent social relationship. In this state of transcendent social relationship, the givers and recipients are all children of God, hence of equal status. As such, the secular social distinction and material hierarchy distinction between these two groups pales into insignificance. Furthermore, we argue that while secular considerations of economic rationality colour how Christians select the recipients of their giving, these practical concerns are also spiritualized and incorporated into their logic of Christian morality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]