Competitive Adjustment and Advancement in Global Commodity Chains II: The Case of the Singapore Garment Industry

This is the second part of a contribution to the debate on the possibilities of leveraging economic globalisation — through incorporation in international production networks and global commodity chains (GCCs) — as a strategy for developing countries to industrialise and advance their position in the world economy. In the first part, we analysed the experience of the East Asian apparel industry and addressed the issues of sustaining positions, upgrading to more rewarding roles, and advancing to less dependent positions within production networks and GCCs. We developed an analytical framework at both the firm and industry levels, and subsequently identified alternative firm- and industry-level strategies and trajectories. The present paper deals with these issues in the context of the Singapore apparel industry. Based on extensive empirical research, we demonstrate that although the East Asian experience of upgrading and repositioning within the GCC is to some extent emulated in the case of the Singapore apparel industry, the outcomes have been less favourable in terms of the depth, extent and strength of these trajectories. The differing outcomes can be explained in terms of different (systemic) conditions in the Singapore business environment, including the agency of local players, the geography of sourcing networks, and the role of the state and prevailing business attitudes. Our conclusions merit continued attention in both research and policy circles on the development of capabilities at the firm level, and the role of local business and institutional environments in local industry development processes under globalisation.     

信息产业发展对宁波城市内部结构的影响

该文从信息产业的概念和分类人手，着重分析信息产业发展对城市产业结构、社会结构和空间结构的影响。对宁波市信息产业与城市产业结构的内在关系进行了量化研究；探讨信息产业对城市内部社会结构分异的变化趋势；提出了信息产业对城市内部空间结构功能置换的两种模式和地域扩张的促动机制。     

中国劳动力资源配置区域差异分析

区域经济发展和经济结构调整的关键在于劳动力资源的合理配置。中国各省市区劳动力资源的产业和行业分布具有显著的地域差异，在空间分布上东、中、西部具有差异，西部地区的西南和西北地区也存在差别，这种规律反映了我国经济发展和产业结构高级化的区域差异。根据劳动力行业配置的区位熵排序结果，将各省市区分成4种类型：大都市型、沿海高工业化水平型、中等工业化水平型、中下等工业化水平型。这些类型具有自东向西有规律性的分布，与我国的经济发展格局和工业化水平的东西差异相应。     

Digital effects in the spatial economy of film: towards a research agenda

A new assemblage of digital technologies, organized around compressed software formats and broadband Internet infrastructures, is reconfiguring the motion picture industry. In this paper, I review the impacts of digitization upon the spatial economy of film in the United States via a commodity chain framework. The discussion raises some important themes for conceptual debate in economic geography.     

Crisis, coincidences and strategic market behaviour: the internationalization of Indonesian clothing brand-owners

Despite the fact that most Indonesian brand-owners continue to emphasize their marketing activities in the domestic market, several brand-owners have started to export clothing under their own label. This has been particularly the result of the economic crisis in the late 1990s, which affected companies serving the domestic market. Companies were trying to compensate for the loss of sales on the domestic market by redirecting their marketing activities to foreign countries. This export strategy has been driven largely by the sole aim to survive. However, in addition to these export activities, some companies have rather sophisticated, long-standing business relations to their distributors in overseas markets. This paper explores these export activities in the context of the global commodity chain framework.     

新疆对中亚五国的外贸结构,问题及对策

本文在分析新疆对中亚五国的外贸结构基础上，阐述了目前在与中亚五国的贸易中存在的一些问题，提出相应的对策建议，以推动新疆与中亚五国外贸发展的良性循环。     

中国汽车工业──改革开放后的重整与国际化

大规模的重整和广泛的国际化是改革开放后中国汽车工业发展的两个主要特征。作者首先从企业组织结构、生产能力与品种结构、规模经济和空间分布等四个方面分析了近二十年来中国汽车工业重整的效果及所形成的行业特征;其次根据利用的外资和技术的来源以及涉及的技术形态分析了其国际化的程度及在世界汽车工业中的位置;最后总结了中国汽车工业面临的若干问题,并提出在散乱的格局和跨国公司竞争的双重压力下,中国汽车工业正处于成长的关键时期。     

内陆待开发地区产业发展模式探讨——以内蒙古为例

以内蒙古为例，探讨了内陆待开发地区的产业发展模式，内陆待开发地区经济发展的主要制约因素是缺乏资金，缺乏技术，缺乏人才，因此，其经济发展必须有选择，有重点地优先发展部分行业。一般说来，待开发的内陆地区其经济发展必须以资源优势为依托，以市场为导向，开发优质名牌产品，发展优势产业，建设主导产业，带动地区经济的起飞。     

论江苏若干矿产资源开发利用的新方向

江苏泥炭大多数为低有机质分解较强的低位泥炭，适于制作肥料或制成腐肥使用；江苏硅质原料丰富，一种以硅为主的化肥——硅肥正日益显示其重要性；湖泊淤泥具有颗粒微细、含砂量少、可塑性高、结合力强、干燥敏感性好和收缩率较大等特点，是生产空心砖的最佳原料；高家边组泥页岩和坟头组底部细粉砂质泥岩及泥质粉砂岩是良好的陶粒原料、砖瓦、陶瓷建材以及水泥用粘土质原料；利用矿泉水与茶的结合能够生产出高、中、低多效应的复合型新产品。上述尚未被利用或利用程度不够的矿产资源有着广泛的开发利用前景。