CAPITAL IN A FRONTIER ECONOMY: PORTUGAL, 1230–1500

ABSTRACTIn this paper we show that Portugal benefitted from comparatively low-interest rates from the 13th century onwards, well before the generalised drop in interest rates in Europe. Contrary to the thesis that frontier economies struggle with high-interest rates and scarcity of capital, we find that the country's low and stable interest rates can be explained by its wide availability of land, combined with monetary stability and a favourable institutional network. These conclusions are built upon an entirely new dataset of interest rates and returns on capital for Portugal in the period 1230–1500.

Transforming Ussuri

This chapter explores how Ussuri, the most populous district of the Maritime Province, was settled by Koreans, Russians, and Chinese. It accounts for state-directed migration programs that pulled or pushed each ethnic group and other significant factors that shaped patterns of mobility, including the environment, geography, and cross-border networks. Each group’s experience of migration and settlement was guided by a distinct set of circumstances. Most Russians who settled in the Maritime came from the Black Sea region and traveled through state resettlement programs. Chinese migration was cyclical and temporary in nature; Chinese tended to labor on large-scale enterprises in the frontier economy of the Russian Far East. Koreans were the most natural colonists in the Maritime. They worked and settled primarily in the countryside. The close proximity of Korea and established population base of Koreans in Ussuri facilitated the rise of seasonal migration and of cross-border networks.

The Metropolitan Effect: Colonial Influence on the Internationalization of Francophone African Firms

ABSTRACTDrawing on the experience of firms of various sizes from Francophone Africa, we explore how the internationalization trajectories of frontier economy firms may vary from those predicted by theory. The firms studied followed social, linguistic, cultural, and institutional gradients to internationalize first to France, rather than to neighboring countries, and did so in search of not only markets and resources but also legitimacy. In turn, the sales, resources, and legitimacy acquired in France supported further international expansion, sometimes even to neighboring countries. Although our insights derive from the experience of Francophone firms from Africa, we argue that for firms from all former colonies, the internationalization trajectory leads through the colonial center. Our findings underline the roles of legitimacy-seeking and network ties in the internationalization of frontier market firms and serve as a salutatory reminder of the lingering influence of colonial ties on international business.

Prospects for frontier economies in 2018

Subject Prospects for frontier economies in 2018. Significance Frontier economy definitions differ between investment banks and international organisations but tend to focus on fast-growing, low-income, relatively stable countries with exciting prospects. The Morgan Stanley Capital Investment index (MSCI) for frontier markets has risen by more than 25% in the last year, having fallen from mid-2014 to late-2016, buoyed by investors searching for yield, robust growth and development of bond and equity markets to fund expansions of infrastructure and public services. Emerging Asia's bond market has grown to 200 billion dollars in 20 years.