Since 1995, the offshoring of services to India has rapidly evolved from a curiosity only studied by a few scholars to a phenomenon portending a major shift in the geography of global economic activity. The article examines the evolution of Indian global services provision quantitatively and qualitatively through the use of four case studies. The first case study examines the challenge that the Indian information technology systems integrators (ITSIs) pose to the formerly larger—but now roughly comparable in terms of employment—incumbent developed-nation ITSIs. Because IT systems have become central to nearly every enterprise, the second case study illustrates the wide variety of enterprises that now have significant Indian offshore operations. The third case study describes the rapid growth of offshore integrated circuit design in India, a nation with now commercial-scale integrated circuit production. The final case study describes the emergence of high-opportunity entrepreneurial startups in India and the increasing number of Silicon Valley startups that very early in their lives or even as part of their business model have significant operations in India. The concluding discussion situates India within the global economy and speculates upon its future evolution.

Do regime change and market reform disrupt patterns of intergenerational mobility? China's political trajectory is distinctive from that of other communist regimes in two ways. During its first three decades, the regime enforced unusually restrictive barriers to elite status inheritance. And during the subsequent market transition, unlike most of its counterparts, the Communist Party survived intact. Data from a multigeneration survey suggest that despite their obvious exclusion from the party and related administrative careers in the Mao era, certain prerevolution elites transmitted one type of elite status to their offspring to a surprising degree. Party elites, in contrast, were hit hard by radical Maoism but recovered quickly afterward, and their offspring inherited elite status at much higher rates.

This article uses incomplete contract theory to study the allocation of control rights in public-private partnerships (PPPs) between pharmaceutical enterprises and nonprofit organizations; it also investigates how this allocation influences cooperation efficiency. We first develop a mathematic model for the allocation of control rights and its influence on cooperation efficiency, and then derive some basic hypotheses from the model. The results of an empirical test show that the allocation of control rights influences how enterprises invest in PPPs. A proper allocation provides incentives for firms to make fewer self-interested and more public-interested investments. Such an allocation also improves the cooperation efficiency of PPPs.

Published: Zhang, Zhe, Ming Jia, and Difang Wan. "Allocation of control rights and cooperation efficiency in public-private partnerships: theory and evidence from the Chinese pharmaceutical industry." International journal of health care finance and economics 9.2 (2009): 169-182.

Hospitals in Thailand operate in a multiple insurance payment environment. This paper examines 1) access to medicines and other medical technologies, 2) treatment outcomes, and 3) efficiency in resource use, among beneficiaries of the three government health insurance schemes in Thailand. Using 2003-2005 inpatient data for patients with three tracer diseases from three government hospitals, we find that utilization of more expensive items differs between patients whose insurers pay on a closed- or open-ended basis. Where new vs. conventional drugs are both available, patients whose insurer pays on a fee-for-service basis tend to have greater access to new drugs, compared to patients whose insurer pays on a capitated or case basis. Similar patterns were found where there are options between originator vs. generic drugs, drugs in different dosage forms, and more vs. less advanced diagnostic technologies. Effects of insurance payment are more pronounced where price gaps among the medical technologies are significant. Efficiency results are mixed, depending on nature of the disease conditions and type of resources required for treatment.

Published: Hirunrassamee, Sanita, and Sauwakon Ratanawijitrasin. "Does your health care depend on how your insurer pays providers? Variation in utilization and outcomes in Thailand." International journal of health care finance and economics 9.2 (2009): 153-168.