Journal Press India®
The world of international business is confronting new opportunities and challenges with evolving systems of internationalisation. In each issue of FOCUS, we attempt to bring to our readers topical research areas in international business which can be of interest to both academicians and policymakers. The first article in this issue analyses the possibility of a multipolar world in the 21st century, with a place for South Asia as a distinct unit. While there is immense potential for South Asia to emerge as a powerful unit in view of its demographics, diversity, dynamism and IT knowledge, the region faces a number of persisiting problems like poverty, population, corruption, poor quality of education, and weak democratic governance.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) has always been an area of interest for the international business community. In view of its importance, the article on FDI and economic development measures and analyses the determinants and patterns of inward FDI from a global perspective. The paper evolves a set of six composite indices and establishes certain basic principles of FDI theory in terms of efficiency-seeking FDI, resource-seeking FDI and market-seeking FDI. Another paper looks at the interesting question of whether institutional integration leads to economic integration, using the case study of India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreements. Studying the impact of bilateral trade openness and deepening, the author finds that institutional integration has brought about many positive changes in the socio-economic conditions of member countries.
Two papers in this issue reflect on the performance and potential of areas related to India’s exports. The first paper looks at the Indian handloom industry which is one of the oldest industries and well recognised worldwide. Known for its product varieties and unmatched craftsmanship, the industry is facing a number of challenges today. This paper reviews the export performance of the sector and the supporting institutional framework. It also examines marketing efficacy of the sector empirically and suggests export marketing strategies to the firms engaged in export of handloom goods. The second paper reviews the current state and performance of Special economic Zones (SEZs) in India. Over a period of time, SEZs have witnessed generation of employment, investments and exports. The paper highlights issues of SEZs and their expectations with regard to the formulation and modification of policies. High operational cost, fall in market demand, global slowdown, lack of skilled manpower are some reasons held accountable for slack growth of SEZs in India. A robust policy design and efficient implementation can lead to the effective functioning of the SEZs which is an important mechanism for promoting trade and investment, along with generation of employment.
Any contemporary discussion on business is incomplete without addressing the concerns of environment and sustainability. In view of this, this issue brings out two papers related to these dimensions. One of these papers examines the Carbon credit market in India which has provided ample opportunities to Indian companies to switch to cleaner technologies. The paper also analyses the launch of Environmental Index Greenex by Bombay Stock Exchange to assess the energy efficiency of Indian companies and carbon performance of stocks. The other paper presents a critical review of the existing literature on Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) that looks at the relationship between economic growth and environmental quality. The author suggest that owing to global implications of environmental degradation, more efforts are required to examine the validity of EKC as a global phenomenon by relating a composite index of environmental degradation to a better measure of economic development across nations.
With the support and feedback of our readers, we try to make each successive issue of FOCUS as interesting and informative as possible. We look forward to your continued patronage and contributions to see FOCUS scale new heights.
Dr. Niti Bhasin
Editor