In the ever‐changing electronic environment of the twenty‐first century, price is one of the key strategic elements that is often overlooked by firms. The paper addresses differential pricing in business‐to‐consumer electronic commerce, in particular differential pricing for hotel services sold on the Internet. Hotels are able to take advantage of differential pricing for various segments because the market for hotels can be divided into narrow customer segments. An overview of e‐commerce and Internet marketing is provided. The characteristics of products sold online and differential pricing are discussed. Pricing policies for on‐line marketing are examined with a special emphasis on differential pricing, customer loyalty and segmentation. With the help of secondary data, online pricing strategies used by hotels on the Internet are evaluated. Finally, conclusions are drawn and implications for the hotel industry are discussed.

By most standards China's post-1978 economic reforms have been a colossal success. Much of that success can be attributed to China's encouragement of foreign trade and its shift from state-owned enterprises to more market-oriented institutions such as township and village enterprises (TVEs). This article uses a province-level panel analysis to measure the contribution these reforms have made to China's growth. Like earlier cross-section studies of economic growth rates, the model explains differences in growth rates of per capita income between provinces by using initial endowments, demographic variables and measures of investment in human and physical capital as explanatory variables. Important contributions in this study are its focus on the role of TVEs and foreign trade and its use of time series data from the provinces. The results are consistent with earlier cross-country studies: strong evidence of convergence, a positive role for lagged investment and an insignificant role for human capital investment as measured by school enrolment. China's market-oriented reform has also contributed to its growth: openness has played a positive role and township and village enterprises have been strongly significant.

This study examines China's efforts to transform its financial system to support an emerging market economy. China's first serious financial reforms began in 1984 with the separation of the People's Bank of China from other commercial banks. By 1991 China had moved from a centrally administered monobank system to a diversified financial institutions framework. Other reforms followed such as the ones carried out in 1993. Selected banking indicators are used to investigate the impact of these reforms. We find strongly significant differences between the pre-1993 and post-1993 periods for all indicators except the growth rates of domestic credit and deposits and the foreign liabilities to total deposits ratio. Our results suggest that although the financial reform of 1993 has reduced the risk of an imminent banking crisis, China's financial system is still inadequate and in risk of failing.

Assesses the economic strengths and weaknesses of the six member states of the Co‐operation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) and the patterns of trade between these states and the European Union (EU): the GCC’s largest trading partner. Explains the tariffs applied by the GCC states and the provisions of the EU‐GCC Free Trade Agreement; and considers its implications for trade, tariff revenues, industry, development prospects and political stability. Believes that it will contribute positively to the GCC and EU economies and help to reduce “tension between east and west”.