This paper presents an analysis of the technological efforts made by Transnational Corporations(1) (TNCs) affiliates in Brazil. Many studies have indicated that most TNCs concentrate their main technological activities in their home, developed countries. However, empirical investigation has shown TNC affiliates in Brazil have presented a higher profile than local firms in terms of both innovative performance and R&D efforts. This study is an attempt to examine the technological efforts of TNC affiliates in Brazil and their main determinants, considering the recent changes in TNC strategies for global organization of production and technological activities. The study is based on data analysis from 450 firms controlled by foreign capital operating in São Paulo State in 1996. The database was taken from the first PAEP - Pesquisa da Atividade Econômica Paulista -, which comprises not only economic indicators, but also includes an innovation survey based on OECD guidelines. Using multivariate techniques, we have identified distinct strategies of TNCs subsidiaries in regard to technological activities, which reflect different technological effort patterns. In addition, the article reveals that such diversity of technological strategies has been influenced by the size of firms...

The mission of the ABRF is to advance life sciences core facilities and biotechnology laboratories through research, communication, and education. To facilitate this mission, the ABRF has implemented ABRF Affiliates and Chapters and the ABRF Affiliates and Chapters Committee for the following purposes: a) To encourage the establishment, support the operations, and facilitate the coordination of new regional and special interest groups that have goals related to those of the ABRF in support of life sciences shared resources; b) To establish partnerships and collaborate with other existing organizations that have goals related to those of the ABRF in support of life sciences shared resources; c) To promote the technologies, research support and administration of biomolecular resource facilities; d) To promote the development and applications of biotechnologies as shared research resources and to facilitate the advancement of life sciences research; e) To play a leadership role in networking core laboratories, researchers, and students, matching those with similar and complementary interests and skills; e) To enhance communication on the regional, national and international level regarding ABRF activities; to enhance the visibility of the ABRF in the scientific community; to educate the scientific community about the value of the ABRF; and to broaden the number and diversity of core laboratories and biotechnology laboratories that take advantage of the ABRF research group studies and ABRF membership networking opportunities; and f) To enhance the visibility of the ABRF with funding agencies that support the development...

The mission of the ABRF is to advance core facilities and biotechnology laboratories through research, communication, and education. To achieve this mission, the ABRF has implemented both the ABRF Affiliates and Chapters Program and the ABRF Affiliates and Chapters Committee for the following purposes: a) To encourage the formation and coordinate the activities of new regional and special interest groups whose goals are aligned with those of the ABRF.b) To support the operations of and establish collaborative partnerships with these groups.c) To promote biomolecular resource facilities by fostering both technical and administrative excellence.d) To enhance and extend our leadership role in the networking of core laboratories by connecting researchers, students and other stakeholders with synergistic interests and skill sets.e) To enhance communication on the regional, national and international level.f) To enlighten the scientific community concerning the value of the ABRF.g) To increase the number and diversity of laboratories that benefit from ABRF sponsored by activities.

This study uses Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to simultaneously capture youths’ perceptions of peer affiliates and social contexts to determine their association with youths’ current and future mood states. A sample of 82 seventh grade students (36 at risk for developing or escalating rule-breaking and substance use, and 46 randomly selected) from four schools participated. Utilizing EMA methodology students reported on their peer affiliations, perceptions of peer affiliates, moods, activities, location, and behaviors during their free time. Data from three assessment waves were collected; each wave consisted of 27 randomly prompted assessments during a week. Youth spent a large portion of their free time watching T.V., on the computer, or playing video games. Being “out and about” increased over the school year, whereas adult supervision decreased, showing an increase in potentially risky situations. Happiness was associated with affiliating with peers who were perceived as popular. Negative moods were associated with affiliating with peers by whom they are teased or treated meanly. Multilevel models found that both levels and lability of negative moods (i.e., sadness, anxiety) were predicted by risk status and affiliating with peers who tease them. Compared to boys...

Alagoana agroflowerculture demonstrates the articulate necessity in the producting clain segments; in order to reduce the costs with insumes like mineral epices, thate represent a significative percentage. The really used managing protects the improvement of the production, but yet there is a lack of special studies abut nutricional standard and informations. This search has had as objective, avaliate the components as production from H. Golden Torch. The experiment was realized in Federal Acrotecnic School. We adapted the experimental delineation in happened blocks, with treatments and five repetition. T1 (Test); T2 (AM); T3 (EGY); T4 (CF); T5 (TF); T6 (CLU), T7 (EG+AM); T8 (CF+AM); T9 (TF+AM) and T10 (CLU+AM). We measure and avaliat variables. Affiliats Number (NPT); stem number(NHF);Length of stem (CHf); diameter of the stem (DHF), Length of the bractea (CB); number of the leaves (NFl) and the follicle area (AFh). The obtained results with the orthogonal contrasts dice showed that contrasts from (T3 to T6) Ks, (T7 to T10) presented 89,3 affiliates less than organominerals treatments. In the contrast (1), treatments didn t manured (Test) with 64,0 floral stems were inferior from medium of all manured treatments. To the stem length...

This paper examines whether the degree of spillovers from foreign direct investment is affected by the foreign ownership share in investment projects. The analysis, based on an unbalanced panel of Romanian firms from 1998-2000, provides evidence consistent with positive intra-sectoral spillovers resulting from fully-owned foreign affiliates but not from projects with joint domestic and foreign ownership. This finding is consistent with literature suggesting that foreign investors tend to put more resources into technology transfer to their wholly-owned projects than to those owned partially. The data also indicate that the presence of partially foreign-owned projects is correlated with higher productivity of domestic firms in upstream industries, suggesting that domestic suppliers benefit from contacts with multinational customers. But the opposite is true for fully-owned foreign affiliates, which appear to have a negative effect on domestic firms in upstream industries. These results are consistent with the observation that foreign investors entering a host country through greenfield projects are less likely to source locally than those engaged in joint ventures or partial acquisitions. They are also in line with the evidence suggesting that fully-owned foreign subsidiaries use newer or more sophisticated technologies than jointly-owned investment projects...

Many countries compete against one another in attracting foreign investors by offering ever more generous incentive packages and justifying their actions with the productivity gains that are expected to accrue to domestic producers from knowledge externalities generated by foreign affiliates. Despite this being hugely important to public policy choices, there is little conclusive evidence indicating that domestic firms benefit from foreign presence in their sector. It is possible, though, that researchers have been looking for foreign direct investment (FDI) spillovers in the wrong place. Multinationals have an incentive to prevent information leakage that would enhance the performance of their local competitors in the same industry but at the same time may want to transfer knowledge to their local suppliers in other sectors. Spillovers from FDI may be, therefore, more likely to take place through backward linkages-that is, contacts between domestic suppliers of intermediate inputs and their multinational clients-and thus would not have been captured by the earlier literature. This paper focuses on the understudied issue of FDI spillovers through backward linkages and goes beyond existing studies by shedding some light on factors driving this phenomenon. It also improves over existing literature by addressing several econometric problems that may have biased the results of earlier research. Based on a firm-level panel data set from Lithuania...

The authors provide a detailed study of the Swiss pension system, analyzing its strengths and weaknesses. The unfunded public pillar is highly redistributive. It has near universal coverage, a low dispersion of benefits (the maximum public pension is twice the minimum), and no ceiling on contributions. Low-income pensioners receive means-tested supplementary benefits. Payroll taxes are low, but government transfers cover 27 percent of total benefits. Total benefits amount to 9.1 percent of GDP, equivalent to 15.2 percent of covered earnings. The funded private pillar was made compulsory in a defensive move against the relentless expansion of the public pillar. The compulsory pillar stipulates minimum benefits in the form of age-related credits, a minimum interest rate on accumulated credits, and a minimum annuity conversion factor, aimed to smooth changes in interest rates over time. Low-income workers are not required to participate in the second pillar. The first and second pillars as well as supplementary benefits are admirably integrated. Company pension plans are free to set terms and conditions in excess of these minimums, and most offer benefits exceeding obligatory levels. The second pillar has accumulated large financial resources...

This dissertation explored the capacity of business group diversification to generate value to their affiliates in an institutional environment characterized by the adoption of structural pro-market reforms. In particular, the three empirical essays explored the impact of business group diversification on the internationalization process of their affiliates. The first essay examined the direct effect of business group diversification on firm performance and its moderating effect on the multinationality-performance relationship. It further explored whether such moderating effect varies depending upon whether the focal affiliate is a manufacturing or service firm. The findings suggested that the benefits of business group diversification on firm performance have a threshold, that those benefits are significant at earlier stages of internationalization and that these benefits are stronger for service firms. The second essay studied the capacity of business group diversification to ameliorate the negative effects of the added complexity faced by its affiliates when they internationalized. The essay explored this capacity in different dimensions of international complexity. The results indicated that business group diversification effectively ameliorated the effects of the added international complexity. This positive effect is stronger in the institutional voids rather than the societal complexity dimension. In the former dimension...

This dissertation explored the capacity of business group diversification to generate value to their affiliates in an institutional environment characterized by the adoption of structural pro-market reforms. In particular, the three empirical essays explored the impact of business group diversification on the internationalization process of their affiliates. ^ The first essay examined the direct effect of business group diversification on firm performance and its moderating effect on the multinationality-performance relationship. It further explored whether such moderating effect varies depending upon whether the focal affiliate is a manufacturing or service firm. The findings suggested that the benefits of business group diversification on firm performance have a threshold, that those benefits are significant at earlier stages of internationalization and that these benefits are stronger for service firms. ^ The second essay studied the capacity of business group diversification to ameliorate the negative effects of the added complexity faced by its affiliates when they internationalized. The essay explored this capacity in different dimensions of international complexity. The results indicated that business group diversification effectively ameliorated the effects of the added international complexity. This positive effect is stronger in the institutional voids rather than the societal complexity dimension. In the former dimension...

We juxtapose the main characteristics of 2403 foreign affiliates with and without intra-firm trade in 19 sub-Saharan-African countries in 2010. While intra-firm trade is scarce among foreign affiliates in the sample, arm’s length trade is a very popular activity, even among those with intra-firm trade. The main distinguishing features of the average foreign affiliate with intra-firm trade are its larger size and higher productivity level. Its size premia range between 31.5% and 56.3% and its productivity premia between 25.4% and 30.7%.

The authors analyze the determinants and implications for financial stability of the mix of international banks' claims countries receive. In particular, they distinguish between local claims, extended by international banks through their affiliates in a host (or claim recipient) country, and cross-border claims, booked from outside the host country, typically from banks' headquarters in their home countries. Using data on U.S., Spanish, and Italian banks' foreign claims across countries, the authors find that the share of local foreign claims is primarily driven by the degree of "freedom" in the host banking sector and by business opportunities in the local market. Entry requirements, startup and informational costs associated with international banking also play a role, but their influence is less robust. Finally, they find that the mix of international bank claims has implications for financial stability, since foreign claim volatility is lower in countries that receive a larger share of local claims.

This paper examines the association between the default risk of foreign bank subsidiaries and their parents during the global financial crisis, with the purpose of understanding what factors can help insulate affiliates from their parents. The paper finds evidence of a significant positive correlation between parent banks' and foreign subsidiaries' default risk. This correlation is lower for subsidiaries that have higher capital, retail deposit funding, and profitability ratios and that are more independently managed from their parents. Host country regulations also influence the extent to which shocks to the parents affect the subsidiaries' default risk. In particular, the correlation between the default risk of the subsidiary and the parent is lower for subsidiaries operating in countries that impose higher capital, reserve, provisioning, and disclosure requirements and tougher restrictions on bank activities.

Are jobs created by foreign investors good jobs? The evidence reviewed in this article is consistent with the view that jobs created by FDI are good jobs, both from the worker's and the country's perspective. From the worker's perspective, this is because such jobs are likely to pay higher wages than jobs in domestic firms, at least in developing countries, and because foreign employers tend to offer more training than local firms do. From the country s perspective, jobs in foreign affiliates are good jobs because FDI inflows tend to increase the aggregate productivity of the host country.

The World Bank Group's work focuses on achievement of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The goals call for eliminating poverty and achieving inclusive and sustainable globalization. The MDGs lay out a blueprint for the World Bank Group, setting its priorities and measuring its results. The World Bank is the world's largest funder of education; the world's largest external funder of the fight against HIV/AIDS; a leader in the fight against corruption worldwide; a strong supporter of debt relief; and the largest international financier of biodiversity, water supply, and sanitation projects. The recipients of the World Bank Group's fiscal 2008 financial commitments are using the funds in more than 670 projects, many of them collaborative efforts of two or more of the affiliates. The projects are designed to overcome poverty and enhance growth by improving education and health services, promoting private sector development, building infrastructure, and strengthening governance and institutions. They are practical plans to help developing countries move from poverty and become more competitive in a globalizing world. The Bank Group is also preparing a strategic framework on climate change and development - a plan for integrating climate change and development challenges without compromising growth and poverty reduction efforts. The framework will include priorities...

This paper analyzes the lending behavior of foreign-owned banks during the recent global crisis. Using bank-level panel data for countries in Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, and Latin America, the paper explores the role of affiliate and parent financial characteristics, host location, as well as the impact of parent geographic origin and reach on foreign banks' credit growth. Overall, the analysis finds robust evidence that foreign banks curtailed the growth of credit relative to other banks, independent of the host region. Banks from the United States reduced loan growth less than other parent banks. Neither the global nor regional reach of parent banks influenced the lending growth of foreign affiliates. However, the funding structure of foreign bank affiliates and the capitalization of parent banks do help explain the lending behavior of foreign banks during the global crisis. Although not the focus of the paper, it also finds that government-owned banks played a countercyclical role in all regions.

Complex social life requires individuals to recognize and remember group members [1] and, within those, to distinguish affiliates from nonaffiliates. Whereas long-term individual recognition has been demonstrated in some nonhuman animals [2–5], memory for the relationship valence to former group members has received little attention. Here we show that adult, pair-housed ravens not only respond differently to the playback of calls from previous group members and unfamiliar conspecifics but also discriminate between familiar birds according to the relationship valence they had to those subjects up to three years ago as subadult nonbreeders. The birds' distinction between familiar and unfamiliar individuals is reflected mainly in the number of calls, whereas their differentiation according to relationship valence is reflected in call modulation only. As compared to their response to affiliates, ravens responded to nonaffiliates by increasing chaotic parts of the vocalization and lowering formant spacing, potentially exaggerating the perceived impression of body size. Our findings indicate that ravens remember relationship qualities to former group members even after long periods of separation, confirming that their sophisticated social knowledge as nonbreeders is maintained into the territorial breeding stage.

This paper presents an analysis of the technological efforts made by Transnational Corporations' (TNCs) affiliates in Brazil. Many studies have indicated that most TNCs concentrate their main technological activities in their home, developed countries. However, empirical investigation has shown TNC affiliates in Brazil have presented a higher profile than local firms in terms of both innovative performance and R&D efforts. This study is an attempt to examine the technological efforts of TNC affiliates in Brazil and their main determinants, considering the recent changes in TNC strategies for global organization of production and technological activities. The study is based on data analysis from 450 firms controlled by foreign capital operating in São Paulo State in 1996. The database was taken from the first PAEP - Pesquisa da Atividade Econômica Paulista -, which comprises not only economic indicators, but also includes an innovation survey based on OECD guidelines. Using multivariate techniques, we have identified distinct strategies of TNCs subsidiaries in regard to technological activities, which reflect different technological effort patterns. In addition, the article reveals that such diversity of technological strategies has been influenced by the size of firms...

Paper prepared for the 32nd EIBA (European International Business Academy) Conference, “Regional and Business Location and Competitiveness”, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Fribourg Fribourg, Switzerland, 7th-9th December 2006; Using a database comprising more than 8,000 affiliates, this article describes, maps and analyses the geographic pattern of the world’s largest food and beverage multinational enterprises (F&B MNEs) over 1996-2000. F&B MNEs are attracted by affluent and/or large markets for foodstuffs. F&B MNEs are also highly internationalised. However, this proposition should be nuanced. 1) These companies keep a stable foreign to total affiliates rate (no substantial evidence of de-localisation of facilities situated in the home-country could be found over 1985-2000); 2) EU-15 and Asian companies are regionally focussed, and North-American and Rest of Europe enterprises tend to a bi-national structure; 3) they combine great country spread with limited cultural diversity; 4) within the company, the configuration of some specific economic activities is geographically concentrated. Results provide substantial verification of the hypothesised positive relationship between the nationality of the parent and affiliates’ location. The home-region and the location of affiliates according to a cultural pattern are statistically associated. Finally...

The annual conference of the Earthquake Research Affiliates, California Institute of Technology, was held on 2-3 April 1973 on the campus of the California Institute of Technology. Some of the papers presented at the conference dealt with earthquake hazards and insurance, and it was decided to publish these papers to make them more widely available. In addition, other papers dealing with the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the 1971 San Fernando earthquake were discussed at the conference, and these papers have also been included in this publication to make them more available. The papers "Earthquakes and Fire Protection'' and "Analysis for Earthquake Insurance" were presented by J. C. Fulton and D. G. Friedman who are participating members of the Earthquake Research Affiliates program. The papers "Insurance Losses in the San Fernando Earthquake" and "Earthquake Design Criteria" were presented by G. W. Housner and P. C. Jennings, staff members of the California Institute of Technology. The paper by L. C. Baker, Jr. was originally presented at the Conference on Earthquake Risk, September 22, 1971 that was sponsored by the Joint Committee on Seismic Safety of the California Legislature; it is reproduced here, with his permission...