Innovation Briefing


		No.2 December 2006

Expert Column

Free Trade Agreement, the Role of the State, and the Survival of Small and Medium-Sized Business

By Jaehoon Lee, Published December, 2006 (No. 2)

Ever since David Ricardo had argued in the British Commons for the repeal of the infamous Corn Laws, inter-state trade—inter-state free trade, to be more precise—has been proven to benefit those nations involved in trade. Nonetheless, the world has been taking a longer route just to confirm that free trade indeed does contribute to the economic growth of nations involved in trade.

As the world vacillated between free trade and protectionism, countless conflicts followed to defend and uphold trade ideals. The zenith of all the conflicts waged between the two ideas was perhaps the Great War (World War I) in which the British Empire imbued with free trade ideals collided with protectionist Germany in 1914. After all, Cordell Hull may have been quite right to have sought

Interviews with innovative SMEs

Specialty coating materials to prevent forgery, coating systems for stamping on specialty packaging. Noah Chemomaterials, the small giant in the global business community

By the APEC SME Innovation Center, Published December, 2006 (No. 2)

“Is it a bag from Chanel?”
“Really? Wow! I am so envious!”
In a restaurant, girls got mesmerized by a Chanel bag, hanging over the shoulder of their friend. Only one looks unmoved and finally opens her lips with a cynical comment, "From its logo, I can tell it is fake."

How can you distinguish originals from fakes in the global market for luxury goods where the number of counterfeit

Industrial automation is just around the corner. Nihon Shoryoku Kikai, a small business in Japan, has been a pioneer in the field of factory automation.

By the APEC SME Innovation Center, Published December, 2006 (No. 2)

In 2002, Japan was suffering an economic downturn, the worst in more than a century, disgracing its honor as the economic powerhouse of Asia. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Japan, however, did not cease to make strenuous efforts to develop technologies, serving as the locomotive of the nation’s economic recovery. It was SMEs that put an end to the decade-long economic slump. NSK, or Nihon Shoryoku Kikai, stands at the c

News briefing (SME Innovation cases in APEC)

Tax concessions for marine evacuation manufacturer

By the AusIndustry, Published December, 2006 (No. 2)

A unique design and a focus on continuous research and development is Liferaft Systems Australia’s lifeline. The Hobart-based company designs, manufactures and exports marine evacuation systems for large passenger craft, such as ferries, from its purpose-built facilities.

Managing Director, Michael Grainger, says the company has achieved success in the international marine safety market through its unique marine evacuation system

Canada: Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP)

By the APEC SME Innovation Center, Published December, 2006 (No. 2)

Canada has been successful in fostering technology-based SMEs. The R&D share of SMEs is one of the highest in APEC member economies. Canada has high level of public R&D expenditure when compared with other high-income APEC member economies, such as the United States, Japan, and Korea.

As large portion of government expenditure goes to NRC (Gloss.1) and 20 NRC institutes spread over the territ

Korea: SME Technology Innovation Development Program

By the APEC SME Innovation Center, Published December, 2006 (No. 2)

Korean SME policy during the 1970s to 1980s was geared toward protecting SMEs in a vulnerable position from market structure driven by large companies. Starting in the late 1990s, the trend of world economy has been shifted from the comparative advantage over production factor costs structure to the innovation-led economic structure using knowledge and information. To meet the ever-changing environment, the needs for technology and knowledge-l

Upcoming events of the APEC SME Innovation Center

SMEIC Published a Research Report on the Innovation Promoting Policy for SMEs in APEC	2006-12-29
The Daegue initiative Launched	2006-12-29
SMEIC Published a Report on the Economic Impacts of Innovative SMEs and Effective Promotion Strategies	2006-12-29

Reader's Contribution

Will Korea Survive the War?

By JoongAng Ilbo (July 3, 2006), Published December, 2006 (No. 2)

Korea became the first target in America’s free trade agreement (FTA) drive in Asia. That might suggest Korea is more eligible for the agreement than others in the region which are eager to seat at the negotiation table. As the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) began to lose its glamour, formation of an economic bloc such as the European Union (EU) is getting more and more elusive. Against this backdrop the U.S. shifted its strategic focus to bilateral commitment, and Korea emerged as one of the most attractive targets. If the U.S. forges a bilateral agreement with Korea, the world’s 11th largest trading nation with strong manufacturing and IT capabilities, it will put America in

Positive effects of the Korea-U.S. FTA on small businesses in Korea

By Ku Seung Park, Published December, 2006 (No. 2)

The effects of free trade agreements (FTA) on economies should be assessed based upon their implications to economic welfare of a nation, in terms of production and consumption. On the production side, the implications are measured by the level of economic welfare resulted from the effects of trade creation(Gloss. 1) and trade diversion(Gloss. 2). On the consumption side, changes in domestic prices of goods and terms of trade(Gloss. 3) are used to quantify ec

No.2 December 2006 (www.apec-smeic.org)

APEC SME Innovation Briefing