Showing papers on "Economic interdependence published in 2023"

Economic globalisation and labour market outcomes in Africa

Abstract: Abstract Decoupling the causal impact of globalisation on labour market outcomes is critical for economic policy and sustainable development. Previous studies have uncovered a positive, but sometimes conflicting results on the relationship between globalisation and the labour market in different countries and periods. I investigate how labour market outcomes respond to economic globalisation using data from 41 African countries from 1991 to 2019 and estimation techniques that correct for autocorrelation, heteroscedasticity, heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence. Results show that the effect of economic globalisation on all labour market outcomes is bounded to an interval of zero, allowing me to rule out the possibility of any causal effect. These results challenge literature on the putative benefits of economic globalisation. Nonetheless, the findings are consistent with the observed pattern of jobless growth in most African countries over the past three decades. Moving forward, Africa’s development strategy should not only rely on economic liberalisation, but on consolidating domestic macroeconomic policies and institutions. JEL Classification: F16; F66; E24; C23.

Structural Elements in East Asian Peace: Deterrence and Economic Interdependence

Abstract: This article is a response to Timo Kivimaki’s important article about peace in East Asia. The article focuses on Northeast Asia’s structural configurations (i.e., economic interdependence and deterrence systems) contributing to peace in East Asia. This article essentially argues when it comes down to peace in East Asia, two subregions of East Asia, namely Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, must be analyzed to recognize different subregions’ structural orders affecting East Asia as a whole.

US–China Strategic Competition: Through the Matrix of Complex Interdependence

Abstract: Indo-Pacific region has been a great testing ground for analysing the politico-economic and geo-strategic dynamics of the great powers’ competition. Since the early 1990s, China and the US have had constant sporadic contestations about their control over the Western Pacific. The end of the Cold War has seen the Indo-Pacific gradually emerge as the epicentre of their strategic pursuits. Attempting to elucidate underpinning theoretical debates of this competition, this study revolves around various evolving push and pull factors undergirding the dynamics of this region where all global as well as regional powers have remained trapped in their ever-expanding complex interdependence. The fact that the Indo-Pacific has also gained spotlight due to its increasing economic significance has increased the US–China competition and consequently drastically altered its geo-strategic and security dynamics as well. This chapter contends that in spite of their expanding complex economic interdependence, it is the clash of geopolitical interests of the two “great powers” that has driven this perpetual politico-economic insecurity across this region. While the US has sought to persistently defend mechanisms that explain and legitimise its sole “superpower” status, China being a revisionist state, has striven hard to evolve an alternate “balance of power” that the US sees as a challenge to its global dominance. The US, therefore, has been reviving its time-tested hub-and-spokes security architecture and cultivating new friends where India has come to be its new strategic partner for countering rising China. The chapter shows how, in the short term, a clash between the US and China is less likely as quintessential China will continue to avoid directly confronting the US pre-eminence unless its defined “redlines” or core interests are threatened. The two sides therefore will continue with their off-again-on-again interactions to manage their trust deficit and to carve out a sustainable future for themselves.

Cooperation and the Organisation of Production and Markets: A Critical Survey

Abstract: Abstract This critical survey examines the role of cooperation in production and exchange, the relationship between the organisation of production and markets, and, more generally, the nature and functioning of productive systems. It traces ideas about the relationship between markets, industrial organisation, and power, from Adam Smith and Karl Marx to the early neo-classical economists, before turning to the evolution of liberal economic thinking that accompanied the emergence and growth of large organisations with market power. This is then confronted with Alfred Marshall’s methodological and theoretical contributions to both economics and industrial organisation and development, and his attempt to reconcile the neo-classical economic dilemma of increasing returns in production and competition in markets. During the inter-war years, and especially after his death in 1924, Marshall’s ideas were strongly challenged—and ultimately abandoned—by neo-classical economists. However, this debate re-emerged nearly a half century later, when the Fordist mass production model faced growing competition from more cooperative forms of industrial organisation. Based on solid empirical research into contemporary industrial districts and localised productive systems, there was a re-discovery of the importance of cooperation in production, and an acknowledgement of the significance of Marshall’s earlier contributions. Inspired by these developments, Frank Wilkinson’s ‘productive systems’ approach brings together the threads running through Smith’s, Marx’s, and Marshall’s analysis of the dynamics of cooperation in production and exchange, to explore the implications of the mutual and conflicting interests inherent to production, industrial organisation, and economic development.

New Trends in Sino-Japanese Economic Interdependence under RCEP

Abstract: Despite the constant political friction between China and Japan, the economic and trade exchanges have been closely linked, and the degree of economic interdependence has continued to deepen. With the optimization of China's industrial structure and the enhancement of China's economic strength, the asymmetric Sino-Japanese interdependence is changing in a direction favorable to China, and China is gradually reducing its dependence on Japan's economy. The signing of RCEP marks the FTA relationship between Japan and China for the first time. A wide range of tax reduction commitments have been arranged, and mid-to-high-end intra-industry trade cooperation represented by mechanical and electrical products has been strengthened. RCEP is further facilitating the upgrading of China's industrial and export trade structure, thereby improving asymmetric interdependence. However, due to Japan's vigilance against China's rise and the deterioration of Sino-US relations, Sino-Japanese relations still face more significant uncertainty. Under the RCEP framework, opportunities and challenges coexist in Sino-Japanese relations. The two countries should actively leverage the advantages of economic interdependence to achieve mutual benefit and then promote political mutual trust through economic cooperation.

Japan’s New Regional Reality: Geoeconomic Strategy in the Asia-Pacific

Abstract: The intensification of the US-China great power competition in the Indo-Pacific region is now drawing significant attention from the international community. This is understandably so as its strategic implications are tremendous. The great power rivalry shapes the global and regional balance of power both militarily and economically. The characteristics of international rules and norms are largely shaped by their political commitment to those regulations. Strategic alignments are also constructed by the will of those great powers. As a result, we tend to conclude that in the era of great power rivalry and power shift, the protagonists are essentially those global superpowers, and small and middle powers cannot help but being more ‘reactive’ to the changes created by the superpowers—shifting their strategies for survival. Saori Katada’s book, Japan’s New Regional Reality, defies this realist-oriented conventional wisdom, providing a more nuanced understanding of the formulation and reformulation of the geoeconomic strategy of a non-superpower, Japan. The book’s argument is clear and concise. Defining geoeconomics as ‘the use of economic instruments by governments in pursuit of national goals as they cultivate economic and political advantages in economic growth, competitiveness, and sustainability’ (2), Katada argues that Japan has spontaneously shifted its geoeconomic strategy from neomercantilism to a more liberal approach, the ‘state-led liberal strategy’, in the post-Cold War era. This state-led liberal strategy is different from a conventional liberal strategy, by which the West generally embraces the free market with less government intervention. Rather, the government attempts to set the formal, high-level economic rules and establish regional institutions through government initiatives.

The Characteristics of China-South Korea Relations from the Perspective of Complex Interdependence

Abstract: In the context of economic globalization, the links between countries and different state actors are deepening day by day. Since countries are in such an interrelated and mutually influencing environment, it is of great value to study the relations and development characteristics of countries from the perspective of complex interdependence. In the context of changes in the current economic, political, social and cultural fields between China and South Korea, it is very necessary to analyze these issues from the perspective of complex interdependence. Based on the literature, this paper will analyze the current development characteristics of China and South Korea in various fields, and use PRISMA to screen the relevant literature. To identify the path for the future growth of China and South Korea, which should work together to forge a future-focused China-South Korea relationship as a community with a shared future that depends on and supports one another, as well as to analyze these issues between the two nations, the complex interdependence theory will also be applied.

Interdependence vs. Geopolitics: Securitization and Partial Recoupling of Sino-American Relations

Abstract: Economic interdependence is traditionally viewed as essential to peace and cooperation in international relations. However, in an era of rising geopolitical competition, broad economic ties have become a new source of tensions and conflicts. This chapter analyzes how strategic competitions and political tensions shape economic and technological ties between the United States and China. There are enduring problems in the relationship. Beijing worries that the U.S. will disrupt China’s domestic order, while Washington is concerned about China’s challenge to the U.S.-led international order. Security concerns of both countries have shaped their policies toward each other. The scenario of complete decoupling is too costly for both economies. Despite political tensions, the United States and China must be prepared to cope with each other as a major power for a long time. With the framework of competitive coexistence, China and the United States should build a responsible and resilient recoupling scenario. Unlike complete and limited decoupling, recoupling seeks to preserve most normal economic ties between the two countries while carefully managing dependencies and risks.

Paradoxes of interdependence and dependence”: A qualitative study of economic difficulties and relational encounters prior to men’s suicide in Ghana

Abstract: ABSTRACT Purpose This study aims to explore the relational encounters that are shaped by economic difficulties prior to the suicides of men in Ghana. Method Using a qualitative study design, and with the aid of a semi-structured interview guide, data were collected from 21 close relatives of nine men who took their lives in Ghana. Results/Findings A Reflective Thematic analysis (RTA) showed themes reflecting four relational tensions corresponding to unique demographic profiles and circumstances of economic dependence on others: from dependence to independence; from control to living with and on others; from provider to dependence; and regaining control in a dependent relational context. Conclusion The men’s economic challenges produce paradoxes of interdependence and dependence in that the interdependent social ethic enjoins persons in crises to disclose or seek help from close relations, yet for some men, doing so often draws social taunts, which further taint the social image of these men and contribute to suicides. Increased public education is needed to change unhealthy gender norms that affect men in social and economic adversity. Provision of practical economic support for men in economic and financial adversities is highly recommended.

Russian-Vietnamese economic cooperation in new conditions

Abstract: The article considers the prospects for Russian-Vietnamese economic cooperation in the new geopolitical conditions, forcing Russia to intensify the "turn to the East" policy. It is shown that as a result of the reforms, Vietnam has managed to turn into one of the fastest growing economies in the world, deeply integrated into global production chains and economic ties, pursuing a multi-vector foreign economic policy, balancing between the largest players in the Asia-Pacific region. Despite the historically high level of diplomatic relations between Russia and Vietnam, economic ties between two countries are comparatively poor. It is concluded that the sanctions imposed against Russia by unfriendly countries will negatively affect the prospects for the development of economic relations with Vietnam due to the rise of transaction costs and the risks of secondary sanctions on Vietnamese counterparties. However, an adequate and realistic strategy of reorientation towards interaction with the countries of East and South-East Asia will help Russia to increase economic cooperation with Vietnam, as well as strengthen the development of its own eastern regions.

Liberalism to Realism: Economic Interdependence on Political Relationship in Sino-Japanese Case

Abstract: This paper discussed the correlation between economic interdependence and political relationship through case studies on the Franco-German relationship and the Sino-Japanese relationship. First, the paper focused on analyzing the Franco-German relationship through liberal theories. The result shows that economic interdependence has an effect on countries political relations. Then, a counterargument to the Sino-Japanese case was presented to show that political relationships and economic interdependence are independent factors. Realism applied better in Sino-Japanese relations in the 21st century than liberal theories. This work has contributed to indicating that the economic theory of liberalism has flaws in scenarios outside of Europe. Also, economic interdependence and political relationship have been supported to be independent factors.

Militarized Conflict, Trade, and Economic Development in a Structural Equation Model With Spatial Considerations

Abstract: While conflict pervades virtually every aspect of society, there have been relatively few crossovers between Regional Science and Peace Science. This paper pays tribute to Walter Isard, pioneer of peace science research, and Kieran Donaghy, who has contributed to research on arms race dynamics and macroeconomic stability. We review studies that examine the impact of (i) trade on conflict, (ii) the economy on militarized disputes, and (iii) conflict on economic development. The analysis develops a structural equation model (SEM) to test the hypotheses simultaneously using the Correlates of War project data. Consistent with the liberal proposition, we found that the pacifying effect of trade is robust across alternative SEM specifications. Controlling for standard explanatory variables, the SEM estimates reveal that the indirect impact of economic development on conflict mediated by trade is statistically significant at the 0.1-percent level. Trade is, therefore, a critical intervening variable that transforms conflict-inducing economic expansion into a pacifying influence on militarized disputes. The spatial version of the SEM confirms that democracies do not attack each other. While trade does not appear to have a local spillover effect on conflict, proximity to neighboring democracies does lead to fewer conflicts. The final hypothesis argues that conflict affects national economic performance, which Donaghy refuted in his 1995 Conflict Management and Peace Science paper. Consistent with Donaghy’s finding, the estimates reject the claim that conflict disrupts economic stability. The conclusion section discusses the implications for Kieran Donaghy’s larger body of work.

Geoeconomics as a tool of modern geostrategy

Abstract: The scholarly article presents different analytical approaches to modern understanding and manifestation forms of geoeconomics as a tool of geostrategy. It contains a comprehensive list of conceptual tools, empirical roots, and case studies on the political-economic essence of geoeconomics. The paper’s particular contribution is its direct connection with the practice and rooting of international political economy and poorly studied determination of geoeconomics with geostrategy in the evolving structure of the global world order and new vectors of geoeconomic dynamics of Ukraine. Based on the evolutionary method, the author has developed a matrix of approaches to understanding geoeconomics, demonstrated its progress, conducted a critical analysis of each of them, and put forward an original version and model of interpreting the relevant dynamic phenomenon following the strategic national interests of Ukraine. The myth of static assumptions about the existence of geoeconomics as a self-sufficient system that should have replaced geopolitics was debunked. Using the case study method, the key factors facilitating the geoeconomic expansion of China, the USA, and Russia are highlighted. Emphasis is placed on the role of other states in the formation of geoeconomics, and the issue of strategic autonomy is elucidated. The author justifies the genuine interest in geoeconomics as a component of geostrategy, demonstrates its determination, and specifies the main modern tools of geoeconomics. The impact of the military discourse on geoeconomics is proven, and the vectors of geoeconomic de-sovereignization of some countries in the context of economic globalization, geosecurity expansion, and the growing role of services in the GDP structure. The importance of studying the role of artificial intelligence, android robots and humanoids in GDP formation was separately emphasized; options of their influence on the world’s geoeconomics and the development of humanity as a whole amidst neo-economics are modeled.