Responsible Consumption and Production

The present paper is focused on using capital markets in the Asia-Pacific region to channel more resources for infrastructure development, while mobilizing assets managed by institutional investors, such as pension funds and insurance companies. To this end, the paper is structured as follows. First, an analysis of the level of capital market development in the region is conducted, which indicates that markets remain at a nascent stage in many economies. Banks continue to dominate private financing in the region. Second, a review is carried out on the size of institutional investors from which it is suggested that prudential regulation might need to be adjusted to enable greater infrastructure investment. Third, different modalities for investors seeking infrastructure exposure are highlighted and initiatives launched by different countries to support the development of infrastructure-related instruments are presented. Fourth, a review is made on the actions to support capital market development, which is critical for greater involvement of institutional investors. Fifth, ways to address constraints hindering infrastructure investments are presented. Finally, the paper concludes with proposals of strategies that are adapted to each country’s circumstances and designed to further tap this source of financing for infrastructure development.

The present paper provides estimates of the value of the digital economy of New Zealand through the use of the supply-use tables. By design, no changes are made to the production boundary as the products being assessed are already included within the production boundary and gross domestic product (GDP). The approach is a practical attempt at using the framework first presented in the paper entitled “Measuring digital trade: towards a conceptual framework”, and in particular, the “nature” component of the framework. This is extended to the whole economy to identify “digital” transactions in the country’s National Accounts Commodity Classification. The main finding from this paper is that the “digitally ordered” and “digitally delivered” aspects of the framework were able to be broadly applied. However, the significant material assumptions and the broad nature of the product classification at the aggregate level meant that our estimates were not of high quality. For the year ending March 2015, the estimate of the value of gross output of New Zealand that can be delivered digitally was 27.9 billion New Zealand dollars (NZ$) (US$18.8 billion), while for digitally ordered gross output, it was NZ$109.2 billion

China’s international investment law and policy have been the subject of detailed study since the liberation endeavour of the late 1970s, which was a landmark change in the country’s development path and integration into the global economy. The country’s active participation in the global economy is mirrored by its evolving profile of cross border capital flows, with China both a prominent source of, and destination for, foreign investment. Indeed, China’s rise as a global investor has made its approach to international investment an important issue on which a considerable amount of literature has already been published. The recent past has, nevertheless, seen several important events within China, as well as bilateral, regional and global events influencing China’s approach towards international investment and adding new perspectives thereto.

An advance pricing agreement (APA) is a formal arrangement between a tax authority and a multinational enterprise (MNE) in which the parties jointly agree on the MNE’s transfer pricing methodology, estimated taxable income, and tax payments for a fixed period, thus reducing the likelihood of an income tax dispute. We argue that APAs, which were developed by governments to solve MNE-state problems in one realm (international taxation of related party transactions), have had unintended consequences for both parties due to the spillover impacts of APAs into other policy realms. We explore this argument in the European Union state aid cases where, in the context of competition policy, APAs can be viewed as hidden, discretionary policies that can be misused by lower-tier governments to attract or retain inward foreign direct investment by offering individual MNEs preferential tax treatment. Our paper contributes to this literature by analyzing the unintended consequences of APAs and recommending policy changes to reduce these negative spillovers.

The world has changed dramatically over the last two decades, moving through two distinct phases of globalization. Tapping into the rapid growth of goods and services trade (WTO, 2016a), the first wave of globalization was propelled by value chains, enhancing specialization, productivity and access to markets (Reeves and Harnos, 2017; OECD, 2017). The second is marked by digitalization and it is characterized by the flow of ideas, information and innovation, which has further enabled the exploitation of global business opportunities through internet applications.

This article shows evidence that FDI policies during the catch-up process may leave a trace in the openness of innovation activities in latecomer economies, based on a comparative analysis between the Republic of Korea and China. The past industrial policies of the Republic of Korea favoured creating local technological competence based on the transfer of foreign knowledge in codified form, leading to a low level of global connection in local knowledge creation. By contrast, Chinese policies encouraged the entrance of foreign firms in the Chinese market, leading to a higher level of global interaction in innovation activities. Based on the findings, the article presents policy recommendations and suggests avenues for future research.

As multinational enterprises increasingly disaggregate their value chains and assign functional responsibilities to foreign subsidiaries, they are increasingly focused on augmenting spatially distant activities and resources. At the same time, despite subsidiary managers operating at the “middle” of the organization and having awareness of operational and strategic contexts, they have received significant criticism for hindering the successful coordination and integration of value chain activities. This appears counterintuitive as, on the one hand, MNEs are increasingly disaggregating their value chains and, on the other, subsidiary managers act as frontline managers, at the intersection of their local context and the MNE. We examine the resource stocks of six subsidiaries and the activities of subsidiary managers locally and across global value chains. The results indicate that integration responsibilities are decentralized, as properties of subsidiary mandates, and that the subsidiary managers’ connectivity activities significantly affect the strategic influence that they subsidiary can exercise locally and globally. The results also contain important information for policymakers.

This paper explores the link between foreign direct investment (FDI) and the BEPS (base erosion and profit shifting) practices of multinationals (MNEs). It puts the spotlight on the outsize role of offshore investment hubs as major players in global corporate investment, a role that is largely due to MNEs’ tax planning, although other factors contribute. The paper shows that tax avoidance practices enabled by FDI through offshore hubs are responsible for significant leakage of development financing resources. In policy terms, these findings call for enhanced cooperation and synergies between international tax and investment policymaking.

In response to calls for more policy-relevant academic research, this paper undertakes a stewardship approach to examine an engaged scholarship policy programme targeted at supporting the internationalization of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Scotland, namely the Global Companies Development Programme (GCDP). The study was undertaken by academics and included a combined formal evaluation and research study, a follow-up workshop and group interviews over a ten-year-period. This study extends the stewardship approach to the engaged scholarship context. The findings suggest that stakeholders view their collaboration as a “supra-organizational” formation through which they can identify and empathize with its objectives; require skilful boundary spanners who consistently promote the objectives of the collaboration in the participating organizations; and, accentuate effective knowledge generation and transfer to SME internationalization activities that reflect the outcomes of their collaboration. We discuss policy implications for the development of private-public and inter-agency partnerships.

This article examines the theoretical and empirical links between a new generation of industrial policy, which is rapidly emerging as a dominant paradigm in development economics, and foreign direct investment (FDI). It finds that thus far, the theoretical role of FDI in “new” industrial policy has been vague, despite openness to FDI being one of the characteristics which sets it apart from an “old” generation of industrial policy, which advocated protectionism. Based on primary and secondary research, the article argues that a set of interventions into the economies of low- and lower-middle-income countries combined with an in-depth understanding of the complex interactions involved in TNC subsidiary upgrading, the internationalization processes within TNCs, and TNC strategies and objectives on the part of policymakers, offers such countries the opportunity to maximize the benefits of FDI and move further up in global value chains.

This study draws on preliminary case evidence to explore the motivations and advisability of engagement by African multinational enterprises (MNEs) in outward foreign direct investment (FDI) activities outside their home region. It complements recent research on MNEs from emerging markets, focused on the BRICS (Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China, and South Africa) economies, with virtually no attention to potentially important players from rising Africa. The MNEs explored in this study are active in the energy, manufacturing, construction, chemicals, agribusiness, extractive/mining, and financial services sectors, and they have investment footprints both in countries in the North and the South. Their investment decisions are motivated by the search for market opportunities, strategic assets/resources and performance-boosting relationships, though more advanced economies appear to attract more strategic asset-seeking FDI from African MNEs. The paper argues that intra-regional investments by African MNEs should continue to be prioritized, but selective and strategic extra-regional FDI, undertaken with an eye on furthering global competitiveness, also requires appropriate policy support. This seems even more sensible given that the acceleration of borderless digital internationalization and the increasingly blurred nationality of MNE affiliates are lessening the relevance of regional distinctions.

Owing to rising unemployment among Saudi nationals, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has instituted Saudization, a localization policy that strives to induce the employment of more Saudi nationals in the private sector. A major gap in the literature is the lack of empirical investigation regarding the relationships between indigenization and the underlying principles of its process. This study seeks to fill this gap. The study assesses the success or otherwise of the Saudization initiative empirically and uncovers several features. It finds that TNCs that experience the external pressures to “localize” their workforce, and those that wish to enhance their social legitimacy, are more likely to comply with Saudization. Furthermore, TNCs do not believe that the process of localization provides them with economic gains. Legal coercion to adhere to the Saudization initiative turns out to be a highly significant instrument in making TNCs adhere to the localization process. The study also finds that neither age nor the size of the firm have an impact on the Saudization programme. Implications for theory and practice are drawn out.

The study examines the relationship between performance and patterns of autonomy and the network relationships used by the foreign subsidiaries of transnational corporations (TNCs) in world cities compared to those subsidiaries outside these locations. This is done by exploring if these patterns differ in foreign subsidiaries in Greater Copenhagen compared to elsewhere in Demark. The findings reveal that there are important differences in the relationships between performance and the autonomy and network structures in foreign subsidiaries. These findings are discussed and policy implications distilled. The study finds that the scope of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) policy could be usefully extended to encompass urban development thereby helping cities develop assets, institutional support and infrastructure that can enhance agglomeration benefits and global connectivity. The findings indicate policies, aimed at helping subsidiaries embed in host location networks and incorporate these networks into other parts of the parent company, could be beneficial. The paper also discusses economic and social inequality that can stem from network patterns and the inclination of subsidiaries to operate autonomously in world cities. It proposes policy options that can lead subsidiaries to undertake high-value activities and innovation in world cities.

The Norwegian countryside is a magnificent playground for a kid. Swing-sets and slides are fun. But for a child, nothing beats striking out into rolling hills and mysterious towering forests. There is adventure everywhere. I have always lived in a city, but I was lucky growing up to have ample opportunity to explore these treasures of Norway.

To change a society, as the philosopher Ivan Illich wrote, “you must tell a more powerful tale, one so persuasive that it sweeps away the old myths and becomes the preferred story, one so inclusive that it gathers all the bits of our past and present into a coherent whole, one that even shines some light into our future so that we can take the next step…”

In 2015, engineering student Jorge Zapote and his team from the University of Calgary decided to take on a problem that affects millions of poor, rural families around the world – and one whose solution could be key to remedying climate change. They wanted to find a low-cost way of keeping fruit and vegetables cool and fresh in low-resource settings without using electricity.

What wouldn't we do for our kids? We play in the park, cut down on sugar, walk them home from school, talk around that all-important dinner table - the stuff of everyday life that shows we care.

History was made recently when a court recognized the rivers Ganges and Yamuna as a living entity. This affords opportunities to tackle problems related to water and climate change sustainably amid the rapid melting of Himalayan glaciers, the depletion of groundwater resources, pollution of ground and surface water resources, erratic rainfall patterns that wreak havoc with human lives and property, and calamities like flash floods, landslides, avalanches and famines.

There was no need to implore our forebears to get outdoors and be in nature. Presumably these ancestors also rarely experienced any gap between what was interesting in their environment and what was important to attend. But the times are ever-changing. Today these two vectors – the important and the interesting – are often at odds as inordinate amounts of information, and the ease of accessing it, dominate our swirling world.

When I presented core concepts and findings on local economic development as a possible report to the Club of Rome under the title "The Blue Economy: 100 innovations, 10 years, 100 million jobs," in April 2009, I sketched out a vision. This was based on an understanding that nature in general – and a wide range of ecosystems in particular – has overcome nearly every imaginable challenge over the past millions of years, and therefore provides an inspiration for how society can chart a pathway towards the future.

The Aqua Republica game combines game mechanics and hydrological simulations to help people better appreciate the inter-linkages between water resources, social and economic development, and environmental sustainability.

Human well-being and wealth are not only determined by economic activity but also by the services we get from nature. Gross Domestic Product measures economic transactions, regardless of whether they are positive or negative for human well-being or a nation’s wealth. It cannot measure the sustainability of economic activities, and it doesn’t capture the contribution of nature to our welfare.

Hier encore, les habitants des zones limitrophes du Parc national de la forêt impénétrable de Bwindi et du Parc national des gorilles de Mgahinga, en Ouganda, étaient les pires ennemis des gorilles de montagne. Ils sonnaient le tocsin lorsque ces hôtes des forêts tropicales voisines, perçus comme une menace, pénétraient dans leurs jardins. Avec des conséquences souvent fatales pour cette espèce en péril.

Les habitants du village karen de Hin Lad Nai, niché au coeur des forêts luxuriantes de la province de Chiang Rai, au nord de la Thaïlande, pratiquent depuis des siècles l’agriculture itinérante par rotation. Cette technique agricole durable de défrichement et de brûlis – un temps critiquée à tort pour sa contribution au changement climatique – est utilisée pour régénérer les terres.

Il gisait par six mètres de fond depuis près de cinq siècles. Pourtant, le coffret d’offrande inca trouvé dans le lac Titicaca en 2014 est sorti quasiment intact de l’eau. À l’intérieur de celui-ci se trouvaient un lama miniature et un cylindre d’or, signes de religiosité et de pouvoir dans l’Empire inca.

The Karen inhabitants of the village of Hin Lad Nai, nestled in the lush forests of Chiang Rai province in northern Thailand, have practised rotational shifting cultivation for centuries. This sustainable slash-and-burn cultivation technique – once mistakenly criticized for contributing to climate change – has been used around the world to regenerate the land and support biodiversity.

Ce sont des changements qui ont lieu partout sur la planète, sous toutes les latitudes. À notre insu le plus souvent. Et pourtant, ils modifient les aires de répartition des espèces dont nous dépendons directement. Cette redistribution du vivant est la manifestation tangible du déplacement invisible des isothermes, ces lignes imaginaires de même température qui se déplacent vers les pôles et les sommets des montagnes, telles des ondes, sous l’impulsion du réchauffement global. La mise en évidence de ces changements dans la répartition du vivant nécessite d’importantes quantités de données, à la fois historiques et récentes.

In 1997, I went to Borneo to investigate fires which had been raging uncontrolled for months across a vast area of pristine tropical forest. An intense El Niño event had triggered a deep drought, and a thick yellow haze had settled over much of Indonesia, Malaysia, and beyond.

Les îles ont toutes un âge, une situation géographique et un degré d’isolement différents. Ces caractéristiques les rendent uniques et leur permettent d’abriter des écosystèmes présentant des concentrations de flore et de faune qu’on ne trouve nulle part ailleurs, certaines espèces développant des attributs rares comme le gigantisme, le nanisme et l’aptérisme (incapacité à voler).

L’année dernière, la télévision a servi de refuge à beaucoup d’entre nous pendant la crise sanitaire liée à la pandémie de Covid-19. Au niveau le plus élémentaire, notre consommation de médias reflète notre envie de nous divertir ou d’échapper, même brièvement, au stress, à l’ennui ou à la solitude.

Des perruches dans les parcs de Bruxelles, d’Amsterdam ou de Londres ; des plantes sauvages prospérant sur le bitume ; des bâtiments industriels investis par des chauves-souris ou des rapaces : des études récentes montrent l’étonnante faculté de certaines espèces à s’acclimater à ce milieu bruyant et densément peuplé qu’est la ville.

Raréfaction de certaines espèces, contraction des zones naturelles, pollution des sols et des eaux, modification des écosystèmes sous l’effet du changement climatique : les maux dont souffre la planète sont connus, documentés. Depuis longtemps. Des actions d’ampleur tardent pourtant à être mises en oeuvre à l’échelle de la planète.

En 2015, les pays qui se sont engagés à atteindre les Objectifs de développement durable ont décidé de consacrer davantage de moyens à la recherche relativement à leur produit intérieur brut (PIB). D’après le Rapport de l’UNESCO sur la science 2021 publié le 11 juin, les dépenses mondiales en matière de recherche ont en effet augmenté de 19,2 % entre 2014 et 2018 – près de la moitié de cette croissance étant portée par la Chine. Malgré ces avancées, quatre pays sur cinq consacrent toujours moins de 1 % de leur PIB à la recherche.

Islands all have distinct ages, geographical locations, and degrees of isolation. These characteristics make each island unique – allowing them to house ecosystems with concentrations of flora and fauna found nowhere else. Some of these species evolve rare traits – such as gigantism, dwarfism, and flightlessness.

En 2014 se extrajo de las aguas del lago Titicaca, prácticamente intacta, una arqueta de ofrendas incaica en piedra que llevaba cinco siglos sepultada bajo el agua, a seis metros de profundidad. Dentro de ella se encontraron dos símbolos de la religiosidad y el poderío del Imperio Inca: una minúscula figura de una llama y una pequeña lámina de oro enrollada en forma de cilindro.

Изменение климата наблюдается повсеместно, на всех широтах, и зачастую происходит незаметно для нас. Однако оно отражается на среде обитания многих биологических видов, от которых мы непосредственно зависим, и приводит к изменению их ареала. Такое перераспределение живых организмов является прямым следствием смещения изотерм — условных волнообразных линий на карте, соединяющих точки с одинаковой средней температурой. Ввиду глобального потепления они сдвигаются в сторону полюсов и горных вершин. Для оценки изменений в распространении видов необходимо анализировать огромные объемы данных за длительный промежуток времени.

Por razones de mi cargo en el Instituto de Hidrobiología de Wuhan, desde 1982 frecuenté a Qi Qi [pronúnciese: “chi chi”]. Era el único ejemplar vivo en cautividad existente en el mundo de una especie de delfín del río Yangtsé, denominado baiji en chino y Lipotes vexillifer (“el abanderado abandonado”) en latín taxonómico.

В 2014 году исследователи подняли со дна озера Титикака удивительную находку — каменную шкатулку вре- мен Империи инков. Она хранилась на глубине шести метров на протяжении около пяти веков, однако ни сама она, ни ее содержимое почти не пострадали. Внутри шкатулки были обнаружены миниатюрная фигурка ламы и свернутая в цилиндр золотая фольга — символы религиозности и власти у инков.

Еще совсем недавно жители Уганды, проживающие в окрестностях национальных парков «Непроходимый лес Бвинди» и Мгахинга, были самыми опасными врагами горных горилл. Когда животные, воспринимаемые ими как угроза, проникали к ним в сады, люди подавали сигнал тревоги и освобождали свои владения от непрошеных гостей — нередко ценой жизни этих и без того исчезающих животных.

Попугаи в парках Брюсселя, Амстердама и Лондона, пробивающиеся сквозь асфальт дикие растения, промышленные здания, захваченные летучими мышами и птицами: недавние исследования подтверждают удивительную способность некоторых видов приспосабливаться к условиям густонаселенного и шумного города.

В 1997 году я прибыл на Борнео с целью собрать материал о пожарах, уже несколько месяцев бушующих в девственных тропических лесах острова. Мощный эпизод Эль-Ниньо повлек за собой сильнейшую засуху, в результате которой над большей частью Индонезии, Малайзии и соседних территорий навис густой желтый туман.