Thomas R. Leinbach

The Oil boom and after : Indonesian economic policy and performance in the Soeharto era

This book analyzes Indonesias economic policies and performance in the previous decade. It assesses Indonesias process of economic restructuring, and its implications for the countrys future economic development. Doronila examines fiscal practices and assesses the performance of crucial economic sectors. He also examines the implications of economic restructuring and deregulation policies for the people of Indonesia and provides insight into the problems of restored democracies that are struggling to survive economic crises and military revolt.

MOBILITY IN DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT: CHANGING PERSPECTIVES, NEW INTERPRETATIONS, AND THE REAL ISSUES

Abstract Aside from the acknowledged basic importance of transport in development, there remains the question of contemporary interpretations on its real role and the issues and concerns that must drive new research. A brief capsule of recent salient transport research is provided. The emphasis however is on the new conceptualizations of development and how mobility may be viewed and inserted in such interpretations. The paper addresses concerns such as the role of women, control of resources, institutional structures, environmental sustainability, the nature of transport enterprises and service delivery and employment and the labor process among others. Prescriptions for new research are provided. Salient development issues with transport dimensions which deserve further inquiry are de-agrarianization, the non-farm rural economy and the changing nature of the urban transition. Especially critical is our need to have a deeper understanding of personal and family mobility needs and to encourge transport policies directed to these.

A goal programming approach to public investment decisions: A case study of rural roads in Indonesia

Abstract The development planner must often face complex problems with multiple, conflicting objectives. Goal programming provides a general methodology for solving such problems. The tool is applied here to aid in the selection of rural road projects in the Indonesian Rural Works Program. Selection criteria are formalized into a set of nineteen goals which form the basis for a goal programming model. Changes in priority levels of goals and weights are used to analyze the respective effects upon the spatial distribution of investments. The approach is applicable to a wide range of problems and a variety of sensitivity analyses. Despite clear advantages, several drawbacks must be noted. First, the application of the methodology, given its degree of sophistication, is limited to a central decision making unit which has access to appropriate software. Second, the technique assumes that the planner has the ability to formulate alternative actions and consequences in a quantifiable expression.

Transport and Third World development: Review, issues, and prescription

Transport investment accounts for a major share of the capital formation of less developed countries. In fact, up to 40% of public expenditure is devoted to transport infrastructure investment with still additional amounts coming from the World Bank and advanced nation technical assistance programs (Button, 1993). These simple facts provide striking evidence once again of the prevailing recognition of the important role of transport in development. Yet, the exact role of transport in development continues to remain ambiguous and indeed has been subjected to periodic reappraisals. A legitimate question then in this light is: what do we really know about transport and development in the Third World? And perhaps even more important, what directions should our inquiries take? What are the questions which should form the basis of new research? This latter is suggested for indeed there is a widespread sense that meaningful and penetrating research on this important topic has been quite inconspicuous in recent years. Have we, as social scientists and policy makers, no new directions which are worth pursuing? This brief perspective has several purposes. First, it is intended to capsule some of the salient research on transport and development especially since the early 1980s. Second, and more important, it attempts to suggest some new research directions for consideration and possible inquiry. The commentary and review is confined largely to transport development and impact in the rural and regional context. Despite the critical importance of investments in Third World cities as well as the other modes of transport it is the land transport sector, and especially roads and regional development, that continues to receive the lions share of the budget allocations and has the potential to affect the largest number of beneficiaries.

Competitive Advantage in Global Production Networks: Air Freight Services and the Electronics Industry in Southeast Asia

Abstract Drawing upon Porter’s diamond theory of competitive advantage and recent work on global production networks (GPNs), this article examines the causes and consequences of spatially uneven air freight services. Air freight flows have grown rapidly because airborne trade enables firms to reconcile time-based competition and spatially dispersed production. The importance of air freight services in this regard is particularly relevant to electronics manufacturers. Case studies of freight forwarders—the traditional intermediaries between the firms that send and receive goods by air and the airlines that actually move air freight from city to city—in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines are used to demonstrate the manner in which firms and places attain a competitive advantage in the performance of these services and how geographic variation in air freight services, in turn, affects the operations and performance of electronics firms. Finally, the article discusses the importance of these services in mediating the ability of firms and places to move to new positions along the value chains of which they are a part as their former roles become untenable.

The Pattern and Impact of the Filter Down Process in Nonmetropolitan Kentucky

An important facet of the changing pattern of economic activity in the United States has been the decentralization of branch plant operations to nonmetropolitan areas. Standardization of production processes in metropolitan areas permits the extension of operations into smaller communities to maintain continued cost savings for the parent firm. The research examines the role of transportation, industrial sites, labor supplies, and labor competition as determinants of the spatial development of branch firms in nonmetropolitan Kentucky. The analysis also focuses on (1) branch employment changes between 1970 and 1980 disaggregated by town size, (2) changes in the sectoral distribution of plants between 1950 and 1980, and (3) the current distribution of branch plants within SIC categories. The results suggest that community infrastructure rather than labor supply alone is important in accounting for employment levels. In addition, short-term employment changes are more a function of external as opposed to int...

Globalized Freight Transport

The worldwide movement of freight has emerged as one of the most critical and dynamic aspects of the transport sector. The contributors to this study examine the current state of global freight transport, with an emphasis on Europe and North America and their extra-regional linkages. These original contributions synthesize existing knowledge, highlight new developments, problems and possible solutions, and underscore the need for further research.

Globalization, e‐economy and trade

The first position paper of Stella Focus Group 1 on Globalization, E‐Economy and Trade aims to highlight the main concepts around which the activities will develop. It addresses the transport and trade implications of the shift from an economy dominated by physical movements to one where electronic communications aid and, indeed, under certain circumstances, eliminate or reduce physical flows. In particular, it points out that the revolution taking place is mainly due to deep changes in distribution processes caused by the spread of e‐commerce and by a production system based on networks of different types (production, financial, information, etc.). Major topics for exploration are the specific roles of networks, new interpretations of access and distance in virtual and physical spaces, the adoption, spread and impact of e‐commerce, the multifaceted process of integration and Internetworking, territorial competitiveness in the digital economy, intermodality, and the growth of logistical systems and their impact upon supply chains. Factors surrounding the shippers’ choice of freight transport services, communications and transport patterns between consumers and businesses, and general sustainability in these increasingly complex systems are also important. All these topics are ripe for research from both theoretical and methodological perspectives.

Airspaces: Air Transport, Technology, and Society

In the course of the last century, air transport leapt from the pages of science fiction to become a relentless mechanism for economic and social change. For millions of people, the airline industry has redefined the scope and pace of everyday life. The success of air transport, both for passenger and cargo traffic, has been founded upon technological change, much of it defense-related. Commercial aircraft rapidly improved, especially after World War II, in range, capacity, speed, and safety. Combined, these changes have driven the cost of air transport steadily downwards, fostering unprecedented personal mobility for an increasing share of the world’s population and helping to shape a new international division of labor. Although the airline and aircraft industries were profoundly shaken by the attacks of September 11, 2001, ongoing technological advances promise to amplify the impact of air transport still further, not only in the busiest hubs, but also in the distant places that have heretofore lain on the margins of the jet age.

National innovation systems, firm strategy, and enabling mobile communications: the case of Nokia

An important element of the growing e–economy is the emergence of firms in the telecommunications sector and the ways in which these are evolving, competing and attempting to capture markets based on strategic goals. A key aspect is the ‘wireless’ or ‘mobile’ telephony phenomenon, which has attracted users across the globe and is gaining importance as new developments linking it to the internet are realised. Utilising the perspectives of competitive advantage and national innovation systems theory, our work examines the evolution of Nokia’s mobile phones and mobile, fixed and internet protocol (IP) networks divisions. The success of the firm can be attributed to a variety of factors. Among the most important are employment of the innovative industrial cluster concept, networking, and state promotion of an emerging information and communication technology (ICT) cluster through the liberalisation of the telephony market. Within the firm itself identification of core competencies (digital signal processing, electronics manufacturing, software platforms and architectures) and the development of niche markets has been important. A major factor in the success has been the ability to evolve technology and to place leading edge innovative products in the market in a timely fashion.